“I’m flattered you want to fuck me as well as murder me. Really, Liam, that’s sweet.”

He grinned. “Valentine’s Day was just last month, after all.”

He was forcing me toward the door and I let him. Deliberately I pulled my longest knife from my pants leg, the one that was practically a small sword, and switched it with my throwing knives in my right hand.

Liam grinned wider when he saw it. “Impressive, but you haven’t seen my lance yet. Drop your trappings and I’ll show you. You can even keep a few knives on, if you’d like. Would only make it more interesting.”

He lunged forward, but I didn’t take the bait. Instead I flung the five knives in my left hand at him and whirled to avoid the blow from the ghoul behind me. With a single swipe that reverberated through my arm, I sent the blade into the ghoul’s neck with all my strength.

It came out on the other side. The ghoul’s head rotated on its axis for a moment, wide eyes fixed on mine, before it plopped to the ground. There was only one way to kill a ghoul, and that was it.

Liam yanked my silver knives out of him as if they were merely toothpicks.

“You nasty bitch, now I’m going to hurt you! Magnus has been my friend for over forty years!”

That signaled the end to the bantering. Liam came at me with incredible speed. He had no weapons except his body and his teeth, but those were formidable. Liam pounded his fists into me, and I retaliated with punishing blows. For several minutes, we just hammered at each other, knocking over every table and lamp in our path. Finally he threw me across the room, and I crashed near the unusual art piece I’d admired. When he came after me, I kicked out and knocked him backward into the display case. Then I tore the sculpture off the wall and chucked it at his head.

Liam ducked, cursing when the intricate artwork broke into pieces behind him.