Amelia Atwater-Rhodes - In the Forests of the Night

Aubrey's eyes widen, no doubt wondering when I became so bold. I do not look at the human girl, though I know she has not left the table. She is sitting very still, but I can hear her breath and her heartbeat.

"Risika, why are you sitting on the table?" Aubrey finally asks me.

"Why not?"

"There are chairs," he points out. The girl behind me is slowly standing, inching away as if I might reach out and grab her if she catches my attention. I almost laugh. I am already smiling—the slow, lazy, mischievous smile of a cat.

"It seems your date is leaving, Aubrey," I comment, and the girl freezes. " Is she more afraid of me than she is of you? "

"Go away, Christina," Aubrey says to the frightened girl, who darts off.

"You have no class, Aubrey."

He frowns momentarily at my words but then decides to ignore them. "I forgot to comment on your new style of hair, Risika," he says. "It reminds me of that dumb beast in the zoo."

"I noticed that you tied her up before you killed her. Was one tiger too much for you to handle? "

We play this deadly game well, each of us striking at the other without blows—and it is indeed a deadly game. Who will lose their temper first? Who will strike the first physical blow?

"Risika, no one creature is too much for me to handle," Aubrey laughs.

"Oh, brave Aubrey," I say. "Save us from the defenseless animals!"

He shoves my shoulder, taking me by surprise and pushing me off the table. Then he stands. So far he has not drawn a weapon.

I sit on the floor, in the mist, and laugh. "You fool," I say. "You complete fool."

Several of the humans have gathered around us, wondering what is going on. This is not a smart thing to do when two vampires fight. However, humans are curious to the point of stupidity, and they do not think about possible casualties if the fight gets out of hand.

I stand from the mist, my laughter gone from the air but still in both our minds.

"You're like a child, Aubrey," I say. "The neighborhood bully, I suppose. You can terrorize humans and children, but what would happen if someone fought you who knew what they were doing?"

"Get out, Risika. I don't want to fight you again. We've done this before." His voice is cold, meant to frighten, but I do not heed it.

"We've done this before, have we? Where is your fancy blade then, Aubrey? You offered it to me and asked me to kill you if I could. I think I deserve a second chance."

"Why do you feel compelled to challenge me again, Risika? You still wear the scar I gave you last time. Are you so determined to bear another? "

"I wear this scar as a sign that I will one day repay it. 'Do unto others as you would have them do unto you,' Aubrey. I will avenge this scar and every scar you have put into my heart."

"Really? How, Risika?" he asks me, leaning against the table casually. "I am far older than you — "

"Does it matter, Aubrey?" I respond, slowly circling him. He does not turn to keep me in sight until I am completely behind him, but he does turn. He does not like having me at his back.

"Perhaps not, but I am meaner, Risika, and I am deadlier. A viper, hidden in the grass."

A viper—how apt. Does he know how often I have compared him to that exact creature?

"A garden snake, Aubrey, hiding in the grass. I am not weak anymore, but I think you are." I lean forward, my hands on the table between us.

I am lying, of course. I know he is stronger than I, but I am not about to admit that to him.

"That remains to be seen, does it not?" he answers, turning away from me as if he doesn't care where I am.

Another deadly game. We circle each other. I am not afraid to have you behind me — I do not fear you that much, we say to each other. Yet we watch our backs, because we are both vipers, willing to kill and simply waiting for a chance.

"Shall we find out?" I suggest coolly. I am not bothering to hide my aura, and I can feel it stretch out, strike Aubrey's aura, and crackle around it. I search his aura, looking for weaknesses, as I know he searches mine.

"Why are you so eager to lose, Risika? "

He is afraid of me, I realize. He is playing for time—trying to make me lose my nerve. Why? Because he is afraid he might lose? It does not seem possible that Aubrey thinks I could win.

I walk around the table toward him until I am close enough that he turns, not trusting me.

"Why are you stalling, Aubrey?" My power snaps out and hits his like a whip. He staggers a bit—I am strong, and I am reckless, and I really do not like him.

His own power lashes out, and I feel a burning in my veins. My vision mists over for a moment, a moment in which Aubrey draws his knife.

"You always need your blade, don't you, Aubrey? Because without it you'd lose, wouldn't you?" I circle behind him, and he turns to keep me in sight. Like the game of insults, this is one I can win: Follow me, watch me, but do not let me get behind you, because you know I hate you and will kill you if given a chance. It is only in the actual fight that I fear I might lose.

"Come now, Aubrey—just like old times. You threw your blade down then and dared me to pick it up; are you too afraid to do so now?"

I lash my power around his wrist. His muscles spasm, but he holds on to the knife.

'Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.' I have nothing to fear, Aubrey—what about you?"

His power flares out with his anger, and I hear wood crack. One of the tables splits down the middle, and a human jumps out of the way barely in time.

"Impressive," I say scornfully, and lash out with my own power. The mirrored walls fracture into spiderweb patterns with no single inch left whole. Hairline cracks run through every surface, but not one piece falls out. Aubrey backs up a step, away from me.

"Coward," I say. "Do you back away from me? " I take a step forward, ever aware of the knife in his hand, and he steps back again, almost running into one of the humans, who jumps away quickly.

Aubrey glances behind him and notices the crowd for the first time. It is mostly human, but there are some of our kind. I see Jager lounging against the wall and Fala, Jager's fledgling, sitting cross-legged on a table.

"Are you all talk, Aubrey? Are you too afraid to fight?" I circle to the left as he moves to get behind me, so that I end up behind him. Once again he has to turn to keep me in his sight.

"Why would I be afraid?" he asks, his tone mocking. "It would not hurt me to destroy you, Risika."

"I'm sure it wouldn't, Aubrey, but we will never have a chance to test the theory," I answer.

"Test it again, you mean," he says. "We have tested it once before."

I ignore his words and reach out, my aura striking his in its center and latching on. The average human sees nothing, and the vampires see only a shimmering space between us, but Aubrey feels it, and I feel it.

He stumbles again, bringing his shields up and throwing my power back at me. I hold on with my mind, though I fall into a table, and feel his power crackling around my own.

Humans have one thing to use in a fight: their bodies. Among my kind, opponents fight with their bodies, but also with their minds. I can feel Aubrey's power beating against my shields, trying to get into my mind, trying to latch on to my own power. I push him away from my mind, trying to get into his, all the while circling, moving closer, dodging the knife, circling away.

My eyes mist over for a moment, and my veins burn as Aubrey lashes out again. I stumble, and he strikes out with his blade. I narrowly dodge, falling back, barely catching myself before I fall to the floor. Aubrey is there in a moment, but I am not.