Page 73 of How a Vampire Falls

“Works for me,” Tai said, “but you’ll want to step off the—”

Before he could finish, Ryker launched at him, full speed and full strength, both feet aiming for Tai’s upper body. Tai ducked so fast, Leslie almost lost track of him. Ryker sailed over his friend’s crouching body and landed on his feet, then spun and charged again about five times faster and harder than he’d come at Leslie. Tai evaded him again, then changed direction and made an offense of his own. His palm brushed Ryker’s back, making the first physical contact of the match.

Their arms and legs were like whirlwinds, their gaits like quicksilver. They leapt and spun and flipped away from oneanother in moves smoother and more intricate than Leslie had ever seen before. When a heel or hand landed, Ryker or Tai gave a shout of triumph.

At first, Leslie thought Ryker had no chance. His friend was too fast and too wily, choosing evasion most of the time, which seemed to be a solid strategy as Ryker continued attacking. Surely Tai would tire him out or cause him to make a frustrated mistake. But Ryker did neither. He kept coming, his blue eyes sparking with competition and determination, his teeth bared at his best friend in what was only partly a friendly grin. The other part of it was pure predator. Tai’s face, by contrast, was utterly blank.

Twenty minutes into the match, Ryker managed to seize Tai in a full arm-lock. Tai flipped him over his back, but Ryker grabbed hold of him again, and then they were wrestling on their feet, face to face, hands and arms locked, trying to push one another off the mat. Tai hissed as his feet were forced to slide back, back, back—and then he ducked under Ryker’s arm and tugged Ryker halfway around with him. But Ryker kept hold of him and with sheer strength propelled Tai backward. Tai’s back arched as he resisted, and for a long moment he seemed suspended off his feet in the air. Then he buckled, and Ryker landed with his knees on either side of his friend’s torso, pinning Tai’s arms above his head.

Tai’s body bucked like an angry horse, but he couldn’t get Ryker off him. He resisted for a long few seconds, then lay suddenly, perfectly still.

“Okay,” he said.

At the single word, Ryker was up and pulling Tai to his feet. “Good match.”

“Good match,” Tai said.

“That was incredible,” Leslie said as they joined her beside the mat. “How even is it between you two? Do you win half, lose half?”

“Pretty much,” Ryker said.

“He’s got me beat with brute strength,” Tai said. “But he’s slow. So…” He shrugged. “Yeah, it’s pretty close to fifty/fifty.”

To Leslie’s eyes, neither of them could be called slow, though Tai’s grace and speed were stunning to watch in a way Ryker didn’t quite match. “But if Ryker’s stronger, how do you ever pin him?”

Tai smirked. “Want to see?”

“Absolutely.”

Ryker rolled his eyes. “Bring it.”

The words had barely left his mouth when Tai sprang at him and propelled him back onto the mat.

As if the first match had been a warmup, they went at each other now with even greater fluidity and speed. Watching Ryker and Tai turn sparring into a sort of aggressive dance, Leslie could describe them only with poetry. They were like lightning when it jumped from cloud to cloud without ever striking the earth. They were like water sliding over smooth stones.

They were vampires. This was what their bodies could do, whatherscould do. Pride for what she was swelled in her chest as she watched the two men.

This match was longer than the first. Neither vampire could manage to pin the other for over half an hour. Then Tai feinted and crouched and, with his leg nearly skimming the mat, swept both of Ryker’s legs from under him. Ryker was flipped onto his back, and as he began to spring up, Tai hit him with his open hands against both Ryker’s shoulders. Using his body weight as well as gravity, Tai brought his friend back down to the mat.

Ryker didn’t buck at all. He laughed. “Okay.”

Then Tai was on his feet, hauling Ryker up by the hand. “Good match.”

“Good match,” Ryker said.

Leslie tried to find her words. She wanted them to know how impressive they were, but they likely already did. Or maybe vampires who had lived in community so long weren’t awed by one another.

Ryker left the mat to join her. “There you go. That’s how he beats me.”

“I’ve never seen anything like you two. There’s no point in me getting back out there.”

“Of course there is, if you enjoy it. And there’s no reason you can’t beat one of us, with enough practice.”

To his second point, she shook her head. She could practice for a century and never beat either of them. But on his first point…he was right. She couldn’t care less about being the best. She stepped onto the mat.

“My turn,” she said.

“Tai, will you record us?”

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