The Black God

No part of her was willing to admit he was probably right about her body giving out on her if she hadn't rested. Her urgency to find Brandon was too strong for her to care, and she had wanted to kill Jonny alongside the rogue vamps when she awoke and realized how much time had passed.

"Begin," Charles said. He stepped back to give them more room.

I wish I had real knives, Ashley thought darkly. She drew a breath and lowered herself into a fighting stance. "Bring it, ikir," she ordered.

"Trust me. I will, Natural," Jonny replied. The corner of his lips curved up briefly.

Ashley anticipated his first move. He vanished and reappeared behind her. She smashed an elbow into his cheek and then kicked. Both blows landed perfectly, and Jonny cursed before vanishing once more.

She closed her eyes so she could focus her senses on the faint charge of power preceding his appearance. When he materialized, he was close enough to knock her off balance as she twisted out of his reach.

Their lethal dance continued with each of them landing blows and neither getting much of an edge on the other. Ashley hated knowing he was able to win easily. He could move fast enough to touch her, and a single touch was all it took for him to cripple her from the inside out with his power. But he didn't this time. He seemed genuinely interested in facing her on her terms as much as possible.

Charles monitored from the sidelines, yelling instructions to both as they sparred.

"Think first, Natural!"

"Hit harder, ikir!"

Gradually, she became aware of two things. The first, Jonny was what Charles claimed - brilliant at maneuvering her where he had neither the speed nor agility to match her skill. And second, she was holding her own against someone capable of Traveling. His advantage was his power, which meant she was able to face anyone on the planet but a god and win. She had never fully believed anyone capable of defeating her without being faster and better than she was, and she began to understand a little better how Jonny's mind worked.

Sparring - and battle in general - were incredibly accurate gauges of a person's inner fortitude as well as physical strength. Jonny was resourceful and shrewd in his use of the terrain, her body, even her speed against her. He fought her directly when he needed to and Traveled to reset the battlefield to his advantage.

Through it all, he was in complete control of himself and his emotions. Ashley quickly realized how methodical he was, how calculating each move became once he set it in motion. Even when she landed blows, she had to wonder if he was giving up hits in one instance so he could outmaneuver her in another. Her athleticism was a good defense but not the best offense against someone manipulating her into position.