Jorick tackled Claudius to the floor. His hands scrabbled for Jorick's throat and cold laughter hissed through his pale lips. He threw Jorick off of him and climbed to his feet. "You fought your way through to retrieve your pet, how touching. What a shame the effort was wasted."

Jorick stood quickly and slammed Claudius back into the cold stone wall. "Hardly."

"If your goal was to fight a losing battle, then you're right, you were a success, but if it was to kill me, ...