Hugo bellows a laugh. “How many of you do I have to throw off?”

“You came into my home,” says Daniel. “You threatened my family.”

“I also killed your friend,” says Hugo.

“Sure,” says Daniel, “that too.”

The sword comes up lower than Daniel expected, so he changes plans and runs up the blade. Putting his knee in Hugo’s face feels good.

Hugo screams with his mess of a mouth and brings it up again. This time Daniel steps aside and touches the point on Hugo’s wrist that opens his fingers. The sword flips up, way above them, end over end.