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Hippogryph was softening him up. These tactics wouldn’t win him any direct points, but they would slow Max down.

All right, then. Sauce for the goose…

He circled Hippogryph, who lunged, then pulled back, too fast. He lost traction on the ice, waved his arms, and-

Max wagged his finger, and waited. Playing a little possum, are we? He could wait.

On the sidelines, Eviane’s eyes were unblinkingly wide as she watched the action. One of Max’s hands was hanging out there, a little slow to react. Hippogryph lunged for it, and caught the wrist.

Max caught the catching hand, yanked, torqued sideways, and did a jumping scissors-left leg in front, right leg in the back-and twisted his hips clockwise. Both of them hit the ice, but poor Hippogryph was underneath.

Trianna screamed in sympathy. Next to her, Francis Hebert winced. “Goddamn.” Charlene looked first bewildered, then alarmed.

Girl still doesn’t understand gravity.

“No point.”

Hippogryph got back up, but some of the deviltry was out of his eye, and in its place was a little more respect. “For a clown, you move pretty good.”

Max grinned and glowed. He charged right at Hippogryph, and then pulled back as the smaller man dropped to hands and knees.

Max’s feet slid on the ice. He lost his balance, and wobbled wildly trying to save it. He couldn’t.

“Aw, shit!” he screeched, flopping back against the ice as Hippogryph stood up.

“Point!”

Max looked ruefully back at the crowd, and winced as they groaned.

Hippogryph was at him before he could finish getting up, and scythed his standing leg out from beneath him. “Arrgh!” Max screamed, and slammed into the ice again.

This time he stayed there for a minute, and glared up. Two points. Two points down, just like that. How embarrassing. Well. He was back up to his knees, and Hippogryph circled him.

He wobbled. Favored the left leg, and circled Hippogryph limping. Hippogryph grabbed one of his hands, whipped Max around until Max countergrabbed and stopped himself dead on the ice. The two men were frozen. Then Max inhaled powerfully, reached down between Hippogryph’s legs, and hoisted him completely off his feet and into the air, all two hundred and thirty pounds of him.

Then slammed him into the ice.

“Point!”

Hippogryph lay stunned, eyes unfocused, and started to get up. He thought better of it and stayed down. The two mermaids floated up to throw kisses at him through the ice.

Hippogryph stood up. They circled each other, Hippogryph more cautious now. He had learned something that he didn’t enjoy. Max slid a step forward, tried to steady himself, balanced on one foot And Hippogryph, unable to resist the opportunity, lunged in with a pushing hand.

Max spun, and banged bodies with him. He grabbed and threw, somersaulting in midair And landed back first, on top of Hippogryph. He felt the impact, heard the wind driven completely out of his opponent’s lungs.

Max carefully picked himself up. He had never touched the ice.

The snowman looked at him with an expression which could only have been incredulity. “Ah… point!”

Hippogryph stood. His face darkened poisonously, then cleared. He shook his head with regret. “Nice move,” he said. “We could have used you in Mexico City.”

Max laughed and extended a hand. Hippogryph snatched at it. Max calmly pulled his back, and watched Hippogryph’s feet dance on the ice as he fought desperately to regain balance.

Max leaned forward and pushed Hippogryph’s left shoulder with his forefinger. The smaller man’s feet flew out from underneath him, and he thundered into the ice.

The applause was even louder.

Max bent and untied the belt from his thigh, and turned back toward Eviane. Her mouth hung open slightly, and she stared at him, those beautiful green eyes as wide as saucers.

“My lady,” he said, holding the belt out. “I won this for you, and for you alone. It is to your pleasure, and in your name have I battled.”

He handed it to her, and she was still staring up at him, dazed. “And?”

“And…” She was standing very close to him. Very. “And I claim my reward,” he said, and bent to kiss her. Her lips brushed his. Her eyes, so clear and bright, clouded. With no warning at all, she turned and ran.

The others laughed as she disappeared. But Max had seen something in that moment, a glimpse of a different person. He wasn’t sure who or what it was he had seen, but it was nothing to laugh at or about.

Leaving the others behind, he ran out after her.

Max stood in a gentle snowfall, peering through the white for the woman who had fled the recent battleground.

“Eviane!” He called her name, heard his voice echoed by the low whine of the wind, reflected from far mountains. There were more mountains visible now, dotting what had earlier seemed an endless plain.

They were just barely visible in the drifting snow, despite the crispness of the air and the comparative clarity.

“Ow!” A lightly packed snowball hit him in the side of the head, causing more surprise than dismay. He whipped around.