It was met head-on by a shield of his own, and the two energy barriers were engaged in a classic push-off.

"What's wrong, Dallface? Don't want to settle this up close and personal?"

The mouthing off was just a distraction, though. If she was paying attention to the details, she might have noted that he hadn't looked directly at her the whole time. She also might have heard, over the sound of their shields clashing, the brief sound of metal wrenching and tearing from the bridge below, somewhere behind her. That would be Julian yanking out one of the street lamps and pulling it at her from behind, hoping to catch her of guard.