---
The lesser vampire moved sideways with unnatural ease.
Too quick for him. It was too clean.
He caught the attacking arm, then twisted it, and drove a knee into the other man's abdomen before the prisoner had even finished understanding he had missed.
The impact doubled the man over.
The lesser vampire followed instantly, one hand around the back of the neck, the other driving the man down into the dirt with humiliating force.
Not a lucky exchange. Not desperation. It was a control power.
The prisoner tried to rise, swinging backward in blind panic, but the lesser vampire was already behind that movement, stepping through it, striking once across the ribs, once behind the knee, then forcing him down again before any real recovery could form.
Sekhmet watched closely.
The transformed man's speed had risen sharply. His coordination too. His aggression remained under command rather than spilling outward.
