Senshi (A Katana Novel) by Cole Gibsen Read Free Book Online Page A

scream.”
    His breath came out faster. “It is your first time. I think they expect you to.” His hand moved lower.
    The sour smell of the sweat that beaded along his skin made Akiko dizzy. She sucked in air through her mouth as she fumbled a hand inside of her robe. She knew if she fought him she’d be cast out of her home, arrested, maybe even worse. But none of that mattered. She’d choose death a thousand times over rather than let the smelly, sweaty, foul-mouthed samurai have his way with her.
    As his hand moved lower, almost to the curve of her breast, she found what she’d been searching for. There was no going back.
    Before his fingers could grope her further, Akiko slid the curved dagger from its hiding place and pressed it against his cheek. He froze.
    In a voice barely louder than a whisper, she said, “You will get off me.”
    He didn’t move. “You cannot be serious.” His eyes widened in disbelief. “If you go through with this, I will have your head for a trophy.”
    To prove how serious she was, Akiko dug the knife into his skin until he gasped and a thin line of blood trickled along the blade. “You will get off me,” she repeated. “That was not a request.”
    Slowly, he removed his hands from her robe and backed away. His eyes burned with rage.
    Akiko stood, keeping the knife in front of her. To her surprise, her grip on the weapon remained sure and unwavering. “You will leave me. Now.”
    His hands balled into fists that trembled at his sides. “You have no idea what you have just done.” With blood trailing down his cheek in a steady stream, he spun on his heels, whipping his robes behind him, and left.
    But he wasn’t gone long.
    An hour later he returned with two of the daimyo’s guards to place Akiko under arrest for assaulting a samurai. There was only one punishment for such a crime.
    Death.

10
    I slid my sunglasses on so Quentin couldn’t see my clenched-shut eyes. We were about to cross the Jefferson Barracks Bridge that would take us into Illinois, and I couldn’t bear to watch. Being a samurai, the list of things that scared me was short, but Quentin’s driving made the top.
    A semi truck’s engine grumbled, shaking the Mini Cooper as Quentin weaved into the next lane. A car honked to the right of me and I tightened my already white-knuckled grip on the seatbelt.
    “Learn to drive!” Quentin yelled before swerving the car to the left.
    I opened my eyes to find us narrowly missing the car in front of us. “Q!” My throat was so tight with fear I practically had to spit out his name. “I didn’t live through a ninja attack only to have you kill me in a car accident.”
    He rolled his eyes and waved his hand dismissively. The Mini veered toward a tow truck until he brought his hand back to the wheel and steadied the car in its lane. “Please. I’m the only one on the road who knows how to drive. You should thank me for keeping you alive.”
    “You better hope you do, because if you kill me, I’m totally haunting your ass.”
    He laughed. “You know what your problem is, Ri-Ri?”
    “My best friend is a reincarnated stunt-car driver?”
    “No. You’re too stressed out.”
    I settled back against my seat. “Understatement of the year.”
    “You should try meditating.” Quentin flipped on his blinker a nanosecond before turning onto the off ramp. “It’s been proven that people who meditate can actually move brain waves from the stress-housing right frontal cortex to the calmer left frontal cortex.”
    “Uh-huh.” I was glad Quentin couldn’t see me roll my eyes under the dark shades. “For your information, I tried meditating after school today. It just … didn’t go so well.” I thought about the memories I’d resurfaced and how they left me anything but relaxed. “Anyway, I can see you’re enjoying your birthday present.”
    He nodded. “Yes, thank you.”
    For Quentin’s birthday I’d renewed his subscription to Psychology Today . I supported