Read The Gates of Hell (Matt Drake 3) for Free Online

watching.
    Kovalenko.
    What she didn’t know was why? Was he expecting some kind of show? Whatever it was, she knew the Blood King’s reputation. It wouldn’t be quick or easy, which discounted a hidden bomb or gas canister.
    The dog-leg at the end of the room, just before her sister’s chair, no doubt concealed a surprise or two.
    Mai inched forward, elated to find Chika still alive but under no illusions as to how long Kovalenko intended that to last.
    As if in reply, a voice boomed out over hidden speakers. “Mai Kitano! Your reputation is unprecedented.” It was Kovalenko. “Let us see if it is well deserved.”
    Four figures slipped out from behind the blind dogleg. Mai stared for a second, hardly able to believe her eyes, but then had to choose a stance as the first of the killers raced toward her.
    Running fast, shaping himself for a flying kick, until Mai easily slipped aside and executed a perfect spin kick. The first fighter crashed to the ground, shaken. The Blood King’s laughter resounded through the speakers.
    The second fighter came at her now, giving her no chance to finish the first one off. The man was twirling a chakram —a steel ring with a razor sharp outer edge—on the end of a finger and smiling as he advanced.
    Mai paused. This man was an adept. Deadly. To be able to wield such a dangerous weapon with confident ease spoke of years of hard practice. He would be able to throw the chakram with a mere flick of the wrist. She quickly evened the odds.
    She ran toward him, cutting down his range. When she saw his wrist jerk she dived into a slide, slipping underneath the arc of the weapon, straining her head as far back as she could as the evil blades sliced the air above her.
    A lock of her hair fell to the floor.
    Mai crashed feet first into the adept, kicking at his knees with all her might. This was no time to take prisoners. With a crunch, she both heard and felt, the man’s knees gave way. His scream preceded his fall to the ground.
    So many years of training lost in an instant.
    The man’s eyes betrayed much more than personal anguish. Mai briefly wondered what Kovalenko might have over him, but then a third fighter entered the fray and she sensed the first was already up on his feet.
    The third was a big man. He pounded the floor toward her like a big bear stalking its prey, bare fleet slapping the concrete. The Blood King urged him on with a series of grunts and then burst out laughing, a maniac in his element.
    Mai looked him straight in the eyes. “You don’t have to do this. We are close to catching Kovalenko. And freeing the hostages.”
    The man wavered for a moment. Kovalenko was snorting high overhead. “You make me quiver, Mai Kitano, quiver with fear. Twenty years I have been but a myth and now I break my silence on my own terms. How could you…” He paused. “Or anyone like you, ever measure up to me?”
    Mai continued to stare into the big fighter’s eyes. She sensed the one behind her also pausing, as if awaiting the outcome of a mental struggle.
    “Fight!” the Blood King suddenly screamed. “Fight, or I will have your loved ones flayed alive and fed to the sharks!”
    The threat was real. Even Mai could see that. The big man exploded into action, running at her with arms outstretched. Mai reviewed the strategy. Hit and run, strike swift and devastatingly hard, then get out of harm’s way. If possible, use his size against him. Mai let him come, knowing he would expect her to use some kind of evasive move. When he got to her and grabbed at her body, she stepped inside his reach and swept his legs.
    The sound of him hitting the floor drowned out even the demented cackling of the Blood King.
    The first fighter now struck her hard, aiming for her lower back and landing a painful blow before Mai twisted and rolled, coming up behind the downed man and giving herself a bit of space.
    Now the Blood King let out a shriek. “Chop her sister’s fucking head off!”
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