I pushed both hands onto his chest, and using his ribs for leverage flipped myself backwards into another crouch. The shock on fox bitch’s face flashed in the dim light. Yes, I had some mad skills too, let’s just hope they were enough.

I could tell that she hadn’t expected me to move so quickly; however her recovery was admirable. Her footsteps were swift, short brown hair bouncing on her shoulders.

I tried to slow my rapid pulse so I could focus on what was coming at me. Her movements were smoother than the males. She’d had training. I brought both of my hands up to guard my face. This was going to get interesting.

Two steps in and she swung a left-right-left-cross combo at my face. I ducked the first and blocked the second, before countering with my own combo. Which she managed to block. She had fast hands, really fast. I decided to change strategies. Just because she was good with her hands didn’t mean she could grapple. I needed to get her to the ground.

When she came at me again, I waited until the last second and let her punch graze me before dropping to the floor and smashing her in the stomach. She wheezed as the air left her lungs, then I wrapped myself around her legs and took her down. Her head smashed into the stone floor, and I swear I heard that dull echoing hit of skull on cement all the way into my bones. I hated that wet, bouncing sound. It turned my stomach.

She got her elbows under herself, trying to arch up and flip me off her. It wasn’t happening today. I smashed both knees into her chest and she hit the deck again. Her eyes rolled back in her head. I waited for her to react, but she looked to be out. Guess I needed to downgrade her skills from mad to mediocre. I pulled myself wearily to my feet. Now that my adrenalin and anger had been worked off, I was feeling every inch of the exhaustion which was about to level me.

“You about done, Jess?”

I spun and shrank into a crouch. How the hell had Louis crept up on me?

The sorcerer was leaning casually against the wall at the entrance of the alley. He had that smile on his face which he wore when he thought I was amusing. I didn’t ask him why he hadn’t helped me. He knew I wouldn’t have appreciated his interference. I strolled across to his side, and as he straightened his expression sobered.

“So besides that…” he said, waving toward the carnage I’d left behind, “are you doing okay?”

I swallowed, all the events of the past few days crashing in on me. “The Four are here, outside of the mountains.”