The manacles fell away not a moment too soon, and Clement spun just in time to avoid the deadly arc of a blade.
His enemy attacked again, the knife cutting through the air with a dull hiss, and again, he evaded - slice, duck, repeat. On the fourth pass, he scored a cut along his shoulder. He was better prepared by the fifth strike, his hands capturing the man's wrist and effectively dislodging the weapon from his grasp.
The fight was Clement's - or at least, it should have been had his focus not momentarily faltered. Claudette suddenly gave a sharp cry of pain, and all it took was the brief dart of his eyes in her direction for his opponent to regain the upper hand.
"Ha! Fool!"
