Hollering, Gant swipes at her with the knife. This time Xena gives a yelp of real pain and lets go. Gant swipes again, misses, and then Valkyrie is barrelling into him. The knife falls. Valkyrie catches him with an elbow that cracks against his chin. He tries to make a space between them, but she has a hold of him now and she won’t let go. She digs her fingers into his face, shredding across his features. He panics, tries to push her off. She’s like a limpet. There’s no dislodging her. Gant’s eyes are squeezed shut. His face is bleeding. Danny watches as Valkyrie’s fury is let loose. It’s terrifying.

They fall and Valkyrie is on top. Xena dances nearby, barking her rage and thirst for blood. Valkyrie crouches over Gant, starts slamming her right palm into his face.

He tries to push her off and she grabs his wrist, wrenches it and Gant hollers in pain.

Valkyrie leans in, and snarls. “Not so much fun when you’re on the receiving end, is it?”

“Please!” Gant squeals. “I’m an old man!”

“Damn right you are,” she says, and drops with an elbow to the jaw. Gant goes limp.

Valkyrie puts both hands on his face, shifting her weight to jump to her feet. Then she stands, well out of the way of his limbs.

“Xena,” she says, “hush.”

Immediately, Xena quiets down. But her tail doesn’t stop wagging as she keeps her eyes fixed on Gant.

Valkyrie walks over to Danny and helps him stand. He hadn’t even realised he’d collapsed. “You OK?”

He nods. It’s a blatant lie, but Valkyrie doesn’t seem to mind.

Once he’s on his feet, she leaves him, walks back to the front door. She shuts it.

The dog barks and Danny looks back and Gant is halfway to the Cadillac with Xena biting into his already bloody leg. He curses in pain and throws himself through the broken window, shaking Xena off as he drags his legs in after him. Valkyrie’s hands glow and white lightning catches Gant in the shoulder as he squirms behind the wheel. The engine roars to life and the car lurches forward. Valkyrie fires again, burning a deep scorch mark into the Cadillac’s body, but she’s too late to stop it. They watch it speed away, swerving dangerously.

Once it’s out of sight, Xena stops barking.

“Dammit,” Valkyrie mutters. She looks back at Danny. “You in any mood for a car chase?”

“You can have one if you want,” he says. “I’ll wait here.”

Valkyrie shakes her head. “Naw. I reckon we’ve done enough these last few days, what do you say?”