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Lord Loss surroundsht forward on the board totunelessly

"This show of indifference does not becoht with a pawn

"No show," I s a rook deep into ene afterwards to check my opponent’s response

"This is ridiculous, Grubitsch," Lord Loss says

He fakes an encouraging saaain You must concentrate If not, you and your uncle - "

"Chess is duames, it’s silly and pointless People who take it seriously are fools I’m sorry, but I can’t pretend to respect your foolishness any longer, regardless of what’s at stake"

The derey teeth "I could reach across and crush you into a million pieces!" he hisses

"But that won’t silence le "Have you moved?" I lean forward to advance a pawn on the board to my left

"Leave that alone!" he shouts "I haven’t had my turn yet!"

"Well hurry up," I tut "I’ve wasted enough tiet it over and done with"

Lord Loss tre Catches himself Mutters darkly and takes one of my pawns on the far left board Before he’s placed it on the desk, I push forward the pawn on the board toabout su except Lord Loss, his fa any longer His features are contorted with hatred He takes long, agonised pauses before eachthe torment out, but because he’s unsure of hi songs, but I don’t want to go overboard Indifference is infuriating enough He’s unaccusto no interest in the , delicious decades of pressure contests, feeding off the anxiety of those he faces, growing strong on it He doesn’t kno to cope with a vacant, yawning teenager

I don’t play blindly, but I play recklessly, pushing forward on all three boards, taking wild chances, surrenderingLord Loss with more chances to finish me off than he could have ever dreaitated to press for the kill He fuly takes a few of my pieces but doesn’t follow up on the captures

And then I start taking his pieces

I capture pawns first, a few on each board I line the with thehts falls prey to ht On the far left board I take a rook and bishop in quick succession While he struggles to shore up his defences on that board, I push ht into the path of a black bishop

Lord Loss gasps, his face lighting up He sweeps the bishop forward, giggling intensely, eyes shining evilly

I snort at the deht in behind his bishop "Check"

He freezes Stares at the knight, then his king, then the captured queen in the led paly," he commends me with icy politeness

"Actually, I only saw the opening as you were reh luck always plays a part in childish games like these"

Lord Loss turns his face away in disgust "You are a disgrace to the gaoad hi child’s challenging tone "Dare ya!"

He hisses Fixes his gaze on the boards Studies them feverishly

I pick at the nail ofclippers instead of scissors

The balance of power lurches wildly between us Lord Loss works hard to take three of ht on the board to my left, the one on which I lost ht and does all he can to repulsein there, aht After a while I start thinking how lonely he looks, a single white knight stranded amidst a sea of black, and to provide him with company, I press forith a bishop and a rook

Lord Loss throws everything into s the three white irritants He abandons attack coh they were responsible for some personal insult After several frenzied twists and cutbacks, he traps my bishop and chuckles fiercely "Next ht," I sigh, then grin impishly and push a pawn forward I’ot there, but it’s now only one space away froe it for any piece I like "But on the move after that, my pawn becomes a queen - much preferable to a bishop, don’t you think?"

Lord Loss stares at the pawn, then the knight, then back at the pawn

Two of his spare arms unfold around him He covers his eyes And moans

"Checkmate"

I mutter the word e melt?" I ask curiously

Lord Loss doesn’t respond His eyes are fixed on the trapped king on the board to h he can spot a way out if he looks at it long enough

"I asked if I couldexplodes into tiny shards I duck to avoid the flying bits of crystal When I look again, Lord Loss’s face is peppered with shiny splinters Blood trickles from the cuts

"You should take more pride in your appearance," I tell hi like that"

"I’ll see you suffer for this," he says hoarsely, red eyes bulging "Win or lose, I’ll find a way to pay you back for the insults you’ve dealt ht"

"I don’t knohat you’re talking about," I smile "It surely can’t be an insult to show no interest in a game in which I have no interest"

"Later," Lord Loss hisses, head shaking violently "Later!"

He turns to the board on ht - the one with the Incan pieces - and broods over it in hts

He pushesoffme tothreat When I can’tout of the path of his soldiers, shrugging it off when he captures one ofnet

Lord Loss’s breath thickens the closer he gets to victory Bloody sweat seeps fronore the danger I’m in Keep one eye on Dervish as I shift a pawn forward He’s locked in close-quarters co Artery away froth, while Vein chews on his left leg It looks serious, but I observe with cool disinterest

Lord Loss grunts contentedly and takesAnother few moves and I’ll have to sacrificenow," Lord Loss notes sadistically

"Only becauseone of ht of the board, to covering it betweenwickedly, he swiftly takes ht with a pawn

I wince - then wink "I can’t believe you fell for that one," I chortle

Picking up h the gap left by the pawn he ht - and knock Lord Loss’s black queen clean off the table

His breath stops His mouth closes His stomach rumbles

"Checkmate in four moves," I note drily "Or is it three?"

In response, Lord Loss picks up his king and crushes it softly between his ers

"To," he croaks, and turns to the board on my far left - the final board - the decider

Lord Loss ishly He plays with sad re every tiaht

I feel a bubble of joy rising in my chest - and swiftly ht seize upon it and revive with a flourish Although it’s difficult, I reupon thoughts of victory