“I stepped back, pivoted on a heel, and swivelled my hip for a side kick. It probably seemed, to a casual observer, that I was warming up, taking a few well-aimed kicks at an inanimate object.But in my mind, THWACK, I was kicking, THWACK, a certain Master vampire, THWACK, in the face.”

“He stepped forward and punched Dorian in the face, hard enough that I heard a thwack."Ow," moaned Dorian, wincing from the pain. "My greatest asset.”

“I bit back a gag. “Gods, your breath is kicking.” I pulled the blade free, revolted by the sucking sound. “For real.”Cocking its head to the side, it blinked. “Kicking?”“Yeah.” Spinning around, I planted my left foot and kicked out, catching the fury in the stomach. It flew back, smacking into the tree. “See? Kicking.”

“I grabbed the sides of the machine and tried to shake it. No dice. Then I kicked it. Still nothing.I glared at the machine. “Let them out.” I punctuated my statement with a few more useless kicks.“You have an anger-management problem.”I whipped around at the sound of the warm, lilting British accent behind me.”

“One who kicks up one's heels should not kick the bucket.”

“When life kicks me, I kick it back.”