A pained whine escaped her before she collapsed face first onto the ground.
I watched with an impartial gaze as she lay there, unconscious. "I guess I should have asked this before, but how is one declared the winner?"
Thomas folded his arms across his chest. "One must concede the battle."
I arched an eyebrow at him. "So, if an opponent is knocked unconscious..."
"The other can do whatever they want until the opponent wakes and concedes," Liam finished.
No wonder she'd thrown me into the car. She'd probably thought I'd be out for the count, and she could get in a little torture before I regained consciousness.
Too bad for her I'd managed to flip the script.
I leaned my butt against the SUV she'd managed to partially destroy and folded my arms over my chest.
What to do?
A devious thought occurred to me, and a smile took up residence on my face.
"Anyone have a pen or marker?" I asked.
Nathan held a black felt tip pen out to me, even as confusion settled on the faces of those around us.
At least one person understood what I was about to do.
While we waited for Kat to wake, I occupied myself drawing on her face. Juvenile, I know, but nowhere near as horrible as the fate she had planned for me.
I showed restraint, confining myself to terms like loser and Aileen is number one. I also drew a unicorn pooping rainbows and a star murdering the moon.
"You have an interesting imagination," Callie remarked as she examined my drawings.
Kat stirred before I could respond.
"You're awake," I said happily. "We've been waiting. Are you ready to concede now?"
Her lips parted, the magic crouched in her chest springing toward me.
My hand flashed out as I dug my claws into either side of her throat. Blood slid out of the holes I'd created.
Callie cooed and clapped her hands in approval from the sidelines.
Kat's magic faltered as I smiled down at her.
"Ah, ah, none of that now," I crooned.
My crazy was showing, but I didn't mind. Fear was a powerful motivator, especially among the supernaturally inclined.
"Right now, if I was to flex my hands, I could rip out your trachea, maybe even damage your carotid artery or jugular," I instructed in case she missed the obvious.
"You probably won't die, but you also won't be able to talk. That would be a pity since Thomas informs me this isn't over until one of us concedes." My smile widened. "Exactly how merciful do you expect I'll be in the time it takes you to heal?"
Judging by the fact her body was struggling to heal the damage I'd already inflicted that could take quite a while.
For the first time something other than arrogance crouched in Kat's eyes. Fear. Not enough, but it was a start.
I cocked my head. I could do better. "Did you know I spent time with the Army's interrogation guys? Not much, but enough to pick up a thing or two."
Kat scrabbled at my hand, struggling to loosen my grip. I didn't budge.
