"Better," she said.
Sweat began to form. Gravel scattered. Boots pounded.
The tension shifted from hostility to determination.
She escalated.
Odette raised both arms.
The air pressure in the yard increased dramatically. Movement became harder. Breathing slightly heavier.
"Adapt," she instructed.
The shifters lowered their center of gravity instinctively. The vampires narrowed their movements, conserving motion.
One pair timed their advance perfectly, the shifter drawing Odette's attention with a feint, vampire slipping through the reduced pressure.
Odette flicked two fingers.
The wind reversed direction.
They collided with each other.
A few laughs broke through the yard.
Ambrose's gaze sharpened with approval.
Odette walked calmly through the field of struggling warriors.
"You can't overpower air," she said evenly. "You can't outrun telekinesis. But you can outthink it."
She lifted three at once, two vampires and one shifter and suspended them upside down.
