Chương 64: A New Way to Play

Meanwhile… Vaelith I awoke to the smell of dusty tombs. Ugh… the worst sort of smell. The same smell I associated with the endless hours I'd spent studying tactics as a child. A place where snobs like the rest of my family amassed knowledge not for knowledge's sake, but to make themselves feel superior to everyone around them. A false superiority. That much I knew for certain now. I opened my eyes, and a faint candlelight drew my gaze.

As suspected, rows and rows of books lined shelves built into polished redwood walls. Their leather spines caught the flickering orange glow, while long shadows stretched across a dark carpet beneath my feet. The room was eerily quiet. I sat up and realized I was lying on something soft. Reaching beneath me, I pulled out a fine purple pillow with yellow tassels. I gave it a fluff. Comfy. I stretched my muscles… and felt surprisingly rested. Strange, considering the weird dream I'd had.

Standing, I ran my hand across the polished wood. Not a speck of dust. This place was used. Or, at the very least, maintained. I moved toward the shelves and ran my finger gently across each tome. I recognized a few. Okay… I recognized most. I'd been forced to read them before. Ashes Before Dawn: Thirty-Seven Principles of Demonic Warfare by Seraphax Nectra. A Thousand Lives for the Throne by Commander Vaust Malra. The Sovereign's Blade: Victory Through Sacrifice by… Vaelor Noctara. I grimaced.

I grabbed the last book by its spine and deposited it into the nearest brazier. The pages caught almost immediately. Flames curled around the cover, eating through the leather and parchment. Black smoke rose toward the ceiling as the familiar scent of burned paper filled the library.

"Do you mind?" a voice asked. I turned. A redcap stood nearby in some sort of black-and-white maid's outfit, hands planted firmly on its hips like a disappointed mother.

"Honestly, you're a guest in this castle and you burn the lady of the house's things? Do they not teach you any manners in whatever demon family you come from?"

"They do," I replied, smirking.

"Which is why I know which ones to follow and which to ignore."

"You'll be paying for that," the maid said while sweeping up the blackened ash that had begun to spread across the nearby carpet.

"Very well," I replied.

"Put it on my tab." The redcap gave an irritated harrumph before falling quiet. I forced a false cough into my hand.

"Well, enough of this. I need to find the others." I walked toward the nearest door and pulled the golden handle… nothing. Grumbling, I tried another. Still nothing. Not even a budge.

"Can you do me a favor?" I asked.

"And point me out of here?"

"After such rude behavior, you want me to— grr, the audacity!" The redcap cleared their throat.

"You are not permitted to leave. The lady of the house has deemed it so."

"Not permitted, eh?" I replied, letting my displeasure show.

"You know, I'm fatigued of people trying to tell me where I can and cannot go." I stepped forward with all my weight and booted the door. It didn't move. Not even slightly. My ego stung. Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

"I'll be honest. I didn't expect it to hold that well."

"Magic," the redcap maid explained.

"Your brute strength won't save you here. Best to play along with the lady of the house. She is a generous host."

"And yet I am not so generous a guest. But fine. Where can I find the 'lady of the house'?"

"You called?" Ysra appeared from a nearby dark corner. I stared at her.

"How long were you just standing there in the dark?" Ysra put a hand to her chin.

"A moment… but I heard everything all the same. You know, I liked that book you burned. Not the tactics inside. I feel those lacked heart. Give me a good old heroic tale against the odds any day." She glanced toward the brazier, where Vaelor's book continued to blacken and curl.

"No, I enjoyed peeking into the mind of the author. How they felt. How they lived. I'm quite certain you can appreciate that."

"Oh, I know what's in his mind. And I know how he lived. Believe me, you weren't going to find anything so dark and twisted on those pages." Ysra smiled.

"Delightfully eye-opening."

"So, is this it?" I asked.

"Are you just going to prattle on about my past, trying to goad me into a fight? You said you enjoy a heroic story? Something with heart?" I thumped my chest.

"Then try me. If the doors won't budge, I'll simply tear down the walls. If I can't, then the roof itself."

"Now, hold on there before you go breaking all my things. I don't have protections on the walls or roof, so I'm sure you could break them easily." Ysra sighed dramatically.

"My servants would detest me if I gave them any more manual labor, and they seem on the edge of striking already." The redcap maid muttered something beneath her breath.

"No," Ysra continued.

"Let's settle this another way. You want to see your friends?" I nodded.

"To make sure they are unharmed?" I nodded again.

"Fine… then play me for it."

"Play you in what—" Ysra swiped her hand. Behind me, a table appeared with two chairs. And sitting atop it was a game board. A game I recognized intimately—Sovereigns. I froze.

"Not that game," I said, my hands beginning to shake.

"Anything but that game."

"Oh, but why?" she replied in a falsely sweet voice.

"Surely this game cannot give you that much pause."

"I know you saw my memory. I know you felt what I felt. I know you know how I feel when I even think about it."

"I do," Ysra admitted.

"Which is exactly why you must play me." Her voice softened slightly.

"I do not force you to do so out of anger. I do not wish to torture you. I wish to help you. To help you break your fear. To show you that, perhaps, sacrifice is not always a vital necessity." At that, my interest was piqued. A way to play without sacrifice. I'd spent my entire life dedicating myself to that purpose. To finding a way to win without it. I'd failed. But had the witch done it? Had she succeeded where I could not? Slowly, I made my way toward the table. I pulled out the chair and sat.

I looked down at my pieces. Gold. The opposing side was purple. I felt Ysra's fingers dance across my shoulder. I flinched, almost reaching up to grab her. I resisted the urge. Barely. Ysra sat across from me, crossed her legs, and leaned both elbows against the table, making the wood creak softly beneath her weight.

"I will allow you the first move." Trying to figure out what sort of game she was playing, I reached forward and moved a piece. She did the same. Again. And again. I moved. She moved. The small wooden pieces clicked against the board in the quiet library. I tried to follow her movements. At first, what she was doing seemed almost random. But over time, it became clear.

"You mean to sacrifice to win. That isn't—""—I am playing as your brother would. Next, I will show you how I play." I grumbled.

"Not exactly." I pointed toward several pieces.

"He likely would have sacrificed there a few rounds ago to open the middle of the board and allow the pieces at the back to form a spear aimed at my Sovereign." Ysra stared at the board.

"You see so much, and yet you are so blind. Fine. Let us reset—""—But the game isn't—""—Do you wish to play a game, or do you wish to learn a lesson?" Slowly, I nodded. We reset the board. Again, I played my game. Safe moves. Calculated moves. Moves requiring no sacrifice. This time, Ysra's strategy was different. Less unfocused, less like a guerrilla force striking from random directions. More symmetrical. More deliberate. We played. Move after move. Piece after piece. And eventually… I saw what she meant.

Ysra smiled.

"You finally understand." I checked the board again. No. This couldn't be. She hadn't been playing to kill my Sovereign at all. She had been playing to capture it. She didn't have individual units. She had built a net. And it had successfully entangled every one of my pieces. I scanned the board for another move. Anything. But the only move I saw available was the one that would decide my Sovereign's fate… directly into the trap. I leapt back. Everything fell into place.

The chair toppled behind me, and the force of my movement shifted the table enough to send several pieces scattering across the floor.

"Yes," Ysra repeated.

"You finally understand."

"I need to tell them. I need to—" I turned and sprinted toward the door, but as I reached for the handle, a darkness crept into my mind, and time lost all meaning.