“Do you two spend a lot of time together?” Amy asked.
“Yeah. We work together, and Sensei Damon trains me out of work hours too. We’re also family friends.” Should I tell them he saved my life? Adam doesn’t know that, so I guess it doesn’t matter.
“Adam would hate that. He’ll try to separate you two. Maybe offer you a job working for him, or point out girls Damon likes. He’ll want to be the most important part of your life.”
“Should I pretend he is? Would he give up and go after someone else if he knew he’s not important to me in that way? He’s important in the way that I want to stop him.”
“If he’s invested in you, he won’t be deterred easily. You seem much more confident than I was, though.”
Kevin shook his head. “I don’t like a kid being the target, but if he’s already picked her, I can’t see a better way.”
Gareth’s blue eyes pierced through Kat. “You’re harder to read than Rambo. You seem weak and strong at the same time. You want to do this, though. Almost like your life depends on it. Why?”
“I don’t want Adam to hurt anyone else.”
“I already know that. Tell me something I don’t know, Kitty Kat,” Gareth replied.
“If I tell you, please don’t try to stop me. I need to help. The police can’t stop him. You know that. They can only punish him after. What if he kills a girl?”
Gareth sat forward intently. His voice compassionate: “Who have you lost, Kat?”
“Courtney Roberts, I mean Jamison.”
Gareth’s brow furrowed, and a tear came to his eye. “Fuck no! You’re the girl they called Emily, aren’t you?”
Damon glared at him the instant he swore. If Gareth noticed, he didn’t let on.
Kat nodded. “Yeah. Sorry, but I don’t think the cops are enough.”
All three of them nodded.
“Without us, the world is screwed, but we can only do what the law allows. You and Rambo, on the other hand…You ever need our help, you let us know. Call me any time, day or night.” Gareth got up and handed Kat his card.
Kevin stood up and handed them both his card. “Me too. All off the books.”
Kat smiled a little shyly. “Thank you.”
“Anytime, Kitty Kat.”
13
Kat looked out the window of her parents’ Outlander and waved to Chelsea, who was in the backseat of her parents’ dark blue Mazda SUV. Damon was leading the way in his black Ford Territory, with Connor keeping him company.
Dominique turned around and smiled proudly, “You’ve got this, baby.”
Kat beamed. “I don’t want to sound arrogant, but I know. Wow! I’ve come a long way, haven’t I? I don’t think I’m crap anymore.”
Tears of joy filled Dominique’s eyes. “You have come so far, baby. I thank God for karate and our cause. They brought you back to us, and you’ve improved so much from then. We could only have one child. That probably put a lot of pressure on you, but you’re more than we ever dreamed of.”
Eric chuckled. “Oh, I don’t know. I dreamed she could fly.”
Kat and Dominique both laughed, the mood much lighter.
The drive took just under two hours. Eric followed Damon into the car park at the Geelong Knightly Karate Gym. “Not too different from Lorikeet Meadows or Brisbane. I bet inside’s similar too. You’ll feel right at home.”
Damon smiled as he met them. “Of course she will. She’s surrounded by family. Just be yourself, Kat. This is just a formality. Well, so is next month, but you get a shiny new black belt then.” He smiled at Chelsea as she approached with her brother and sister following, her parents not too far away. “Just be yourself, Chels. You’ll both be fantastic as usual.”
Chelsea’s sister, who was five foot eight, the same height as Chelsea, smiled, flicked her dark ringlets back and tried to compose herself. “You’re Sensei Damon? Chelsea’s told us a lot about you.” I thought she was exaggerating.
Chelsea smiled. “This is Brianna and Riley.” She paused for a moment, “And my parents, Rachel and Justin; Sensei Damon. Mum, Dad, you remember Sensei Connor?”
Rachel smiled, reminding everyone of Chelsea. “Of course we do. Lovely seeing you again, Sensei Connor, and a pleasure to meet you, Sensei Damon.”
“Nice to meet you all,” Damon replied, aware of Brianna’s reaction. He turned to Chelsea’s parents. “Chelsea’s a credit to you. She’s a pleasure to teach and is always polite and friendly.”
Both parents smiled proudly, then Rachel smiled cheekily at Chelsea, “She’d better be.”
Riley looked directly at Kat and smiled. “Hi, Kat.”
Kat smiled back. “Hey, Riley.” She knew he kinda liked her, but he was fourteen. It was harmless. Kat felt someone else look at her and saw Adam walking over.
“Hey, Kat.” He wasn’t harmless at all.
Two teenage brown belt boys smiled at Kat and Chelsea as they walked past. Kat bit her bottom lip and became pale. They were even scarier than Adam.
Damon looked at Kat, then at Adam and the boys and back to Adam. “This is a long way to drive just to watch an assessment. This isn’t the actual grading, you know?”
“I know, Sensei Damon. Kat and I’ve been working together a lot. She’s been helping me with kata, and I’ve been helping her with kumite. I want to be here for her today.” Adam smiled at Kat and touched her shoulder. “You’ve got this.”
Kat bit her bottom lip again. How am I going to spar properly with Adam watching me?
Damon looked at Kat as though he read her mind. “Don’t worry. Everything’ll be fine. Sensei Connor and I need to chat in private with Chelsea and Kat. Secret assessment stuff. Come inside, girls.”
Damon whisked them downstairs and into the office.
Kat closed the door. “How am I going to spar properly with Adam watching me? He may realise how good I am.”
Damon put his hand on Kat’s shoulder in a completely different way than Adam had. It made Kat feel calmer. “From what we’ve learned, he thinks he can beat all women regardless of their ability. Just be yourself. Forget he’s watching you. We’ve got your back.”
Connor smiled and nodded. “We definitely have. You two, just be the best you can be today. Let us worry about everyone else.”
Kat bit her bottom lip and smiled. “I’m a bit nervous about the boys too. Their smiles seemed more than a ‘good luck for the assessment.’”
Chelsea put her arm around Kat. “Is this the first time you’ve noticed a boy looking at you since you were attacked?”
Kat nodded. “I think it’s the first time they’ve looked at me.”
All three of them shook their heads.
Chelsea smiled. “You’re a hottie, Kat. Boys look. Most at Lorikeet Meadows think you’re unapproachable unless it’s work-related, but they all think you’re gorgeous.” Chelsea glanced at Damon and Connor. “They also don’t want to compete with those two. Sorry, Sensei Damon, but some of the boys don’t believe you’re gay.”
Damon smiled. “As long as they don’t tell the girls that.”
“God, no! None of them want to compete with you,” Chelsea said, making the others chuckle.
“Well, good. You will both be fantastic. Concentrate on your assessment. We’ll take care of everything else. We’re family, remember? We look after each other. Go freshen up and we’ll meet you in the dojo, downstairs just like Lorikeet Meadows and Brisbane.”
Kat and Chelsea bowed at the entrance to the dojo and walked in, followed by their families and Adam.
Adam looked at the huge dojo. “Wow! I’ve never seen them with the partition taken out before. I guess they’re expecting a lot.” He turned to Kat, “Don’t worry about the numbers. Just remember, I believe in you.”
Riley looked at Adam. “Are you her Uncle?”
“No. I’m her friend and mentor.”
“So, you’re a black belt then? I thought Sensei Damon was her mentor.”
“I’m a black belt in
two other styles and have more experience than Sensei Damon.”
“You should do. You look way older than his Dad, Sensei Lucas.” Riley glanced at his mum, expecting her to reprimand him.
Rachel ignored Riley’s comments. “Where do you two want to put your equipment?”
Kat and Chelsea led the way and put their bags against the wall next to some chairs.
“Let’s go and warm up, Kat,” Chelsea suggested.
“Sounds good.” Kat hugged her parents and walked to a spare spot in the dojo with Chelsea.
The two brown belt boys who had smiled at them earlier walked over. “Hi, I’m Josh, and this is Ryan. Good luck for today. Can we warm up with you?”
Kat bit her bottom lip.
Chelsea smiled. “Sure. I’m Chelsea, and this is my best friend, Kat.”
A massive smile covered Kat’s face. She was now too happy to be nervous. “Let’s do kata, Sepai to start with.”
“Okay,” Josh said, “just don’t get discouraged. We should be better than you. We train with Sensei Lucas.”
Ryan smiled apologetically. “What my friend meant to say is, we train with Sensei Lucas, so if you want any feedback or advice, we’ll be happy to help.”
“We train with him on Fridays and train daily with his son, Sensei Damon. We’ll be happy to help you, also,” Chelsea replied, taking up the challenge. “Show us what you’ve got, one at a time.”
“I’ll go first. I’ve got gold medals in this kata. I haven’t seen either of you at the tournaments,” Josh said.
“I don’t compete, so you better show us,” Chelsea replied.
The girls watched Josh’s Sepai.
“Well, ladies?” Josh asked.
“That was really good. What do you think, Kat?” Chelsea asked.
“Your stances and technique are excellent. You take a little too long in some of the slow sumo stance moves though. They need to be a fraction faster.”
Josh blew his fringe out of his face. “They’re supposed to be slow. If you think you can do better, show me.”
Ryan looked at Josh. “Isn’t that what Sensei Lucas said?”
“Shut up!”
“This is how I do it. Let me know what you think.” Kat bowed in for Sepai.
“Wow! That was amazing. It looked…perfect,” Ryan said after Kat finished.
“There’s no such thing as perfect. It should get you through, though,” Josh said. “We better go and get ready for bow in.”
Ryan was about to argue when Cadence called out, “Kat! Chelsea!” and started running towards them.
“Fucking Sensei’s pet,” Josh growled as he started walking away.
Ryan shook his head as he walked with him. “Settle down. You’re just not used to losing.”
“You’re an expert at it. How do you handle it?”
“I pretend that you’re not such an arsehole.”
Cadence hugged Kat and Chelsea. “I wish you didn’t live so far away. You two will be awesome.”
“You will too.” Chelsea stopped herself from giggling as Riley started walking over. She waited until he joined them. “Cadence, this is my brother, Riley.”
Cadence smiled, showing both her dimples. “It’s great to meet you, Riley.”
“Um, um, yeah. Me too. I mean, um, are you Sensei Damon’s sister?”
She smiled. “Yeah, same dimples, hey? I’ve got better hair.”
Riley nodded like a bobblehead. “Absolutely! Are you Kat and Chelsea’s age, or a little younger?”
“I’m eleven. How old are you?”
Riley’s face looked like he was going to get a puppy and got socks instead. “Fourteen. Good luck for your assessment.” Riley walked straight back to his parents without saying anything to Kat or Chelsea.
Cadence gave the girls a half-smile. “I look a little older than I am. I get that reaction a bit from teenage boys.”
Chelsea giggled. “I bet.”
“How are you feeling for today?” Kat asked.
“Ready. This is going to be fun. I’m looking forward to sparring you two. We should do team kata together for the next tournament. Dad could bring me to Lorikeet Meadows with him on Fridays during the holidays. Maybe even some weekends. We’d be awesome together.”
“That’d be great. I haven’t competed since Brisbane. Maybe I should,” Kat replied.
Cadence beamed. “Yeah, you should. How about you, Chelsea?”
Chelsea glanced over at Josh. “Can we only compete against girls?”
Cadence answered before Kat. “You’ve never competed, have you? Just girls after you turn eight, but team kata is different. I’d like all kata to be. In teams, there are under eighteens and over eighteens and beginner, intermediate, and brown belts and above. We’d get to compete against Josh and Ryan until they turn eighteen. Ryan’s a sweetheart.” Cadence lowered her voice. “Josh has an attitude. Dad isn’t sure if he’s going to send him to grading next month. You saw what he was like when Kat wiped the floor with him.”
Kat blushed. “I wouldn’t say I wiped the floor with him.”
Chelsea nodded. “You did, Kat.”
“Oh yeah.” Cadence stopped smiling and lowered her voice. “Be careful with him during kumite. He may want to prove himself, especially if he spars Kat.”
Kat shook her head. “He’s not sparring Chelsea.”
Chelsea hugged Kat. “We’ll both be okay. Sensei Damon and Sensei Lucas are here.”
Cadence giggled. “I’m here too. I’m way scarier than my Dad and big brother.”
Lucas smiled at them from the front of the room. “Line up!”
“Line up together?” Cadence gave them both a quick hug.
“Absolutely,” Kat replied.
Cadence beamed. “This is going to be so much fun.”
The three girls ran to the front line and lined up together on the left-hand side. Only brown belts and above were being assessed. Ryan tried to line up three rows behind the girls.
Josh grabbed his arm. “We’ll line up next to the black belts. We’ll be one soon enough.”
Ryan circled his arm, which made Josh let go. “We’re all the same level. It doesn’t matter where we stand.”
“Speak for yourself. I’m standing where I belong. Do what you want.” Josh stormed off and pushed his way in between a brown belt boy he had beaten in tournaments and a black belt.
Lucas put his hand to his face and turned to Damon. “I doubt I’ll be able to grade him.”
Damon moved his hand to his cheek. “He certainly hasn’t got the right attitude. Would you like me to spar him?”
“It won’t do any good. You should be better than him. He needs to be beaten by someone he thinks he should be superior to. After Kat’s kata performance, I think he’ll target her or Chelsea. We won’t let him spar Chelsea.”
Damon smiled. “Yes, Sensei.”
Lucas lined up out the front with Heather, Damon and Connor standing next to him. “Heels together, bow. Congratulations on being sent for assessment. It means you have all trained hard and have good technique. I am interested in your technique and stances, but above all, I want to see a good attitude. A black belt is much more than a warrior. They are an example. A black belt should be confident in their own abilities, but not arrogant. They should help others learn and improve, yet remain teachable. Above all, they should be respectful to others, themselves, martial arts and the world itself. I will be looking for these attributes in every one of you today. Let’s start with combinations.”
Lucas, Heather, Damon and Connor took the class through combinations that got harder and faster as they went along. After an hour, most of the class was covered in sweat. Lucas kept them going until even Kat was sweaty.
“Heels together, bow, have a drink, towel off and line up for kata,” Lucas instructed.
Adam tried to grab Kat’s drink.
“I’ve got it,” Eric said, grabbing her drink bottle.
Dominique grabbed Kat’s towel. Kat r
an straight to her parents and accepted her drink bottle from Eric. She took a few sips. “Thanks, Dad,” and had a few mouthfuls of water.
“You’re doing great, baby.” Dominique handed Kat her towel.
“Thanks, Mum.”
Adam stepped forward and touched Kat on her upper arm. “Such a strong woman.”
He’s trying to make me think he treats me like an adult and my parents treat me like a child. “Thanks.” Kat took another few mouthfuls of water and handed the bottle back to her father. “Thanks, Dad. Let’s get back out there, Chels.”
“Heels together, bow. We’ll do every kata up until Sepai to my count and to your own timing. Heels together, bow, First Kata to my count.” Lucas watched as he counted out the kata and got the class to perform it again to their own timing.
Damon, Connor and Heather walked around the edges of the dojo to see the kata from different angles.
Heather walked up to Damon and spoke softly. “Kat’s kata is as good as Cadence’s, and she was almost born in the dojo. You’ve done so well with her.”
Damon shook his head. “Her kata was good before we met. She just needed to find purpose. We both did.”
Heather hugged Damon, not caring they were in the middle of an assessment. “I’m so glad you found it.”
Lucas watched the class finish Sepai to their own timing. “Well done. Brown belts, please move to the side and sit down. Black belts spread out.”
Chelsea, Cadence and Kat sat close together, watching the black belt katas with the other brown belts.
“I bet you two want to get out there as much as I do,” Cadence whispered.
Chelsea nodded as Kat whispered, “Oh yeah.”
“Excellent work, everyone. Brown belts, please stand up. Heels together, bow, go get a drink, put on your protective equipment and line up with a partner for kumite.”
Kat and Chelsea ran off to their parents and had a drink.
“You two were fantastic!”
“You both looked so good out there!”
“You two and Sensei Damon’s sister looked the best out there. Even better than the black belts,” Brianna said. “She looks so much like her big brother except for the hair.”
Riley shook his head. “Na. Cadence looks way better than her brother, but she’s only eleven.”
Our Cause (Let the Monsters Live in Fear Book 1) Page 10