Si-on got up slowly.
He wiped the blood from his mouth and looked around for his glasses. They lay a few steps away in the ash, one lens cracked. He picked them up, looked at them for a moment, and then folded them and tucked them into his robe.
When he looked back at Echo, his eyes were narrow and very focused.
"You're right," he said. "I underestimated you."
"Everybody does," Echo said. "It's my favorite thing about people."
Si-on raised both hands. The light gathered around them, brighter than before.
Echo knew what was coming. The smoke had slowed Si-on down, but it hadn't stopped him. Sooner or later, Si-on would find a clean path, or drag the fight out of the smoke, and Echo would be back where he started. One good hit didn't change that.
He couldn't keep playing defense and waiting for openings. He had to get ahead.
So he stopped thinking about sound.
