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What would happen if I robbed him of his grisly satisfaction?
How would he respond if I cut off his supply of desperate grief?
I close my eyes. Forget the boards, the game, Lord Loss. Think about Dervish and the speed with which he pushed me into this encounter. He could have prepared me for this in advance, told me about Bill-E and Lord Loss, worked with me on my weapons and chess skills, just in case he ever had to use me. But he didn't. He dropped me in it. No training or commands, except one simple, core piece of advice — don't act — react
.
Understanding clicks in. My eyes snap open. I've been going about this the wrong way! Thinking, plotting, planning — those are all the things Dervish told me not to do. He warned me to obey my instincts, let the magic flow, react to the lunges and parries of the demons. He was talking about hand-to-hand combat, but why shouldn't those guidelines apply at the chess board too?
I recall the way he launched into the game. No hesitation. No long study of the boards. I assumed it was because he had his game plan set clear in his mind before he sat down — but perhaps he didn't have one at all!
“Grubitsch?” Lord Loss asks, fake concern in his expression. “Are you well, my young friend? Can you continue?”
I stare at him wordlessly for a long, pregnant moment.
Then I laugh.
“Of course I can!” I boom, startling the demon master. “Forgive me for the long delay — I was trying to remember if I left the light on in my bedroom before coming down.”
“What?” he blinks.
“Dad hated it when I left the lights on,” I tell him, casually moving my queen on the middle board forward, presenting her to Lord Loss's rook. “Electricity bills don't pay themselves, you know. Your move.”
Lord Loss stares at me, astonished, then down at the board. “That was an unwise choice,” he mutters. “Born of haste, perhaps?”
“No,” I smirk. “I knew what I was doing.”
“You can retract the piece if you wish,” he says.
“Really?”
“It is not normally allowed.” He smiles. “But I will make an exception. Take your queen back. Recalculate. Choose a wiser course of action.”
“Very kind of you.” I pull the queen back six places to her original position, pause a moment — then move her forward into the exact same spot as before.
Lord Loss's face darkens. I throw my head back and rock with laughter.
“You would be well advised not to try my patience,” he hisses.
“To hell with your patience,” I jeer. “This game bores me. You bore me. Take my queen or drag things out — I don't care anymore.”
“You wish to concede defeat?” Lord Loss asks with undue eagerness.
“Nope,” I chuckle. “You'll have to come take me. And if you don't — if you play it coy, like you have been — I'll chase you. I'll give you no option but to rid me of my queens, rooks, and bishops. And you know what I'll do then, old friend? I'll giggle! I'll guffaw! I'll positively explode with every last scrap of mirth I can muster!”
“You've lost your mind,” he croaks.
“No.” I smile spitefully. “You've lost your juicy meal ticket. I won't play the sad, bewildered victim any longer. You'll never feed from me again. You can kill me, but you won't squeeze one further drop of pleasure from me, not if you keep me alive for twenty lifetimes!”
The demon lord's jaw trembles. His eyes flare with pale red light. The snakes in his chest slide under and over each other in a sudden frenzy. Then he reaches out, pushes his rook forward with a stubby, ill-shaped excuse for a finger, and knocks my elfin queen from the table.
In response, I look him straight in the eye — and laugh.
SPIRAL TO THE HEART OF NOWHERE
LORD Loss surrounds my king on the middle board — checkmate. I giggle as my king melts. While it's still bubbling, I move a knight forward on the board to my right, then sit back and twiddle my thumbs, whistling tunelessly.
“This show of indifference does not become you,” Lord Loss says stiffly, attacking my knight with a pawn.
