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"You&039;re loco!" I screas," Dervish answers calmly, "but I don&039;t think I&039;m crazy"
"You ht a couple of deets to his feet and picks up his Lord of the Rings chess set He heads for the door
"Where are you going?" I snap, lurching in front of hi this down to the cellar," he says "I need to have five sets in place before I suame is played on a separate board"
"Didn&039;t you hear me?" I hiss "I won&039;t do it! I&039;m not - "
"Grubbs," he silences me with a smile "It&039;s OK I asked You refused That&039;s the end of it It was a request, not a colare at him suspiciously "It was?"
He nods "There are others who can help One of randmaster He&039;ll face Lord Loss I&039;ll handle Vein and Artery" He nods at a plain chess board to ed if you&039;d help me carry the sets down"
My eyes narrow "If you&039;re trying to trickout of his way, I pick up the board and follow hi our ti hard about what Dervish said
"If you&039;ve got friends who can help," I mutter, "why ask ht you ht want to be part of this"
"But it doesn&039;t make sense," I press "You need the best person for the job Why offer it to me?"
"Ideally I want to face Lord Loss with soe and ability under fire," he says "Someone who&039;s faced a demon and lived I only personally know six people who&039;ve done that Meera was one of them But she can&039;t do it now"
"What about the others?"
"Four of them are currently out of contact" He reaches the door to the cellar and stops talking while he opens it with his elbows Silence as we descend I wait until we&039;re at the wine rack which hides the entrance to the secret passageway before asking, "And the sixth?"
"You&039;re the sixth," he says, stepping forward into darkness
The secret cellar Five chess sets lie in place on the three tables, which we&039;ve shoved together, piling the books and other odds and ends on the floor Dervish is lining up the pieces, ht places Bill-E&039;s still chewing on the deer carcass He spits and snarls at us every so often
Dervish hasn&039;t said anything since our trip doith the first two boards We&039;ve worked silently, carting in the boards and pieces, clearing the tables and rearranging them It&039;s only nohile I watch hie to broach the subject again
"I still don&039;t understand why you want me to help Why not wait for Meera to recover? You don&039;t have to stage the contest tonight, do you?"
"No," Dervish says "But waiting&039;s dangerous Lord Loss can reverse the change, even in one who&039;s been a olf for several years But often the mind can&039;t be restored Every day ait drives Bill-E closer to the point fro him back
"Besides," he adds, "hoould we explain his absence to his grandparents, teachers, the police? We&039;re in the middle of an unreal adventure, but we&039;re still part of the real world Try telling a cop you&039;ve got a boy locked up in a cage because he&039;s a olf - see where it lands you!"
"I didn&039;t think of that" I e a sick smile, which quickly fades "I&039;ood to you"
Dervish wipes a spot of dust froht demons and lived to tell the tale You&039;ve tapped into your ht them on their own terrin
"I want to help," I groan "I&039;d do alet Bill-E out of the hell he&039;s in But I saw Artery work Gret like a puppet, and - "
"Don&039;t beat yourself up over it," Dervish interrupts kindly "You&039;re under no obligation You cahtmare I shouldn&039;t have asked And I wouldn&039;t have, except"
He doesn&039;t finish, so I say it for his "Like I said, there&039;s a friend I can call But I&039;d rather have you If I told you anything else, I&039;d be a liar"
Studying Bill-E as Dervish fetches weapons His face and hands red with the deer&039;s blood Patting his stoh unnatural yellow eyes
Thinking about Lord Loss Recalling the ferocious power and speed of Artery and Vein Fearing for my uncle&039;s and brother&039;s lives
Dervish enters with a small axe, a mace and a sword Lays them on the floor with the others he&039;s already installed Part of the rules - he can use as many weapons as he pleases
"Would you wantI could keep my mouth shut
"I&039;ve seen you play," Dervish says "No offence, but you&039;d have to fight - Lord Loss would crush you on the chess boards"
"But you&039;d stand a better chance against Vein and Artery than er and experienced I know nothing about weapons or ic knows you That&039;s what matters You tapped into your potential when you faced the deain Instinct"
"But you&039;re the logical choice," I insist "You&039;d be better than me"
Dervish nods sombrely "Probably"