She frowned down at the staff, playing a little with her grip. "You can knock someone out when you cause their head to snap to the side," she said. "Basic biology. It causes the brain to hit the side of the skull, triggering a blackout. I'm not sure I have the brute strength to do much more damage than that."

Maybe if she hit someone in the windpipe.

Someone mortal and squishy.

It was a myth, back home, that all vampires were super strong. That they could run like the wind. Turn into bats. Hear a heartbeat across the room.

Sam was lucky when she could pull the top off of a pickle jar.