Darquesse moved in, shoved Kitana back and kicked at her leg. The girl’s force field was adapting, reconfiguring itself to defend against physical attacks. Darquesse kicked again and again, her boot smashing against the force field, driving the leg back slightly but not inflicting any damage. Darquesse ignored Kitana’s laughter and focused instead on the fields of power she was picking up whenever they clashed. Kitana’s power was purely instinctual, the force field a defence conjured up out of desperate necessity. But there was no thought behind it, no design, no subtlety, and as such it was a brittle thing, easily broken. Darquesse kicked again, and at the same time she sent her magic twisting downwards. The force field held against her boot but her magic slipped through, curled round Kitana’s leg, went taut and then snapped. Kitana’s leg broke backwards and her scream was like something a wild animal might utter.