A Cat's Chance in Hell Read Online Free PDF Page A

had been before. When they did meet up during her university days, she acted beaten and demoralised. She felt that she was letting down her father by not being a Hunter. It was Kyle who had convinced her to learn how to fight properly, saying that if she got her degree and proved capable of holding her own against an enemy, Byron would have no reason to keep her out. Kyle had underestimated how much she would take his advice to heart.
    She’d thrown herself into her study of Animal Behaviour and Ethology and took up a variety of martial arts, studying both fighting styles and the history behind them. She became immersed in Korean, Japanese and Chinese fighting styles and weapons, as it was so difficult to use bullets to stop a supernatural, not to mention that it was also illegal to own or fire a handgun or rifle in the City. She picked four different styles of fighting to learn. Her main focus was Hapkido, a Korean art of self defence; it taught kicks, hits, pressure techniques and defence against sword attacks, a favourite weapon of present day Vampires. Her second choice was Taekwondo, which, although also essentially a self-defence styled martial art, also taught jumps, kicks, hand strikes and blocks perfect for close quarters fighting. She also studied a Japanese martial art called Chanbara, an in-depth study of sword fighting, and invaluable in a modern sword fight. Her final choice of martial art was a little heard of style called Capoeira which originated in Africa, and was perfected in Brazil by slaves brought across in the 17 th century. Capoeira combines martial arts, music and dance to form an aggressive style of fighting including elbow thrusts, feints, parries, kicks and headbutts, anything to win the fight. Her training choices seem to have been the perfect education for a Hunter.
    It took her four years of blood, sweat and tears – literally – before she decided she was ready to prove her point to Byron decisively. She insisted on taking on two of the best Hunters of the SMV at the same time, and had wiped the floor with them. Byron had been forced to admit she could handle herself and had finally welcomed her into the fold, inducting her as the first female Hunter ever. He had also incorporated much of her martial arts training into the training routines of the existing Hunters, and into initiation training for future Hunter hopefuls.
    Her choice of weapons was as considered and unusual as her choice of martial arts training. Her weapon of choice being her sword, Nex, appropriately meaning Death in Latin. Nex was a Kris, an Indonesian dagger with a cruel and distinctive appearance. The Kris being renowned for its curved, wave-shaped blade, designed specifically for stabbing and sliding easily between ribs. Perfect for hitting the heart of any target. There was another more mystical aspect to a Kris. These blades are considered to have an essence or life-force of their own, and the makers of these blades firmly believe that the blade has to choose the wielder, not the other way around. If you choose to own one of these blades you are required to first sleep with it under your pillow, so that the spirit of the blade may communicate with the potential owner. If the blade sends a good dream, perhaps of victory and conquests, then the match is considered harmonious and the owner may keep the dagger. If the dream is bad and shows portents of doom and failure then the blade is sent back to the maker to await the next potential owner. After Gabi had been matched with Nex she’d had the maker remodel the hilt of the dagger and had several gems, including the stone from her father’s signet ring, embedded in the end of the hilt. She was rarely without the blade, and it did indeed seem to have magical qualities in her hands, Nex had tasted heart’s blood many, many times.
    Her back-up blades were Butterfly swords. Kyle himself liked to carry these as back-up weapons. They are perfect in close quarters fighting.