Vampire boxing match

An excited roar silenced him. They were passing an alley. He hadn’t
been paying attention, but when he heard the roar, he glanced up. A group
of people crowded around two men, cheering them on. Larten caught
glimpses of fists flying. “A boxing match,” he noted.

“Shall we go and observe?” Wester asked.

“Why not?” Larten grinned. “It is fun to watch humans beating each
other up.”

The pair moved into the alley and pressed through the throng. When
they got to the front, they were confronted with a peculiar sight. Both
boxers were large men, but one was massive–tall and broad–with hands that
wouldn’t have looked out of place on a giant. It should have been a onesided
contest, but the larger man wasn’t defending himself. He just stood,
letting his opponent punch him. And all the time he was laughing.

“Come on!” the bigger man shouted as his opponent panted and wiped
blood from his hands. The blood hadn’t come from the giant, but from the
other man’s knuckles, the skin of which had been torn up. “You can do
better than that.”

“I think he’s tiring, Yebba,” somebody else said. “Perhaps he would
appreciate a rest.”

“To hell with rest!” The boxer snarled and started hitting the larger man
again, blow after blow to his chin and cheeks, without any noticeable effect.

***

The Saga of Larten Crepsley: Birth of a Killer, Chapter 22