I wish they’d have a conversation about it. In movies, the villain always gives his plan away by talking too much and revealing his secrets. But Lord Loss never discusses Bec’s state of mind. There’s no mention of the war between the Demonata and mankind, or what role he wants Bec to play in it.

The pair enter a room filled with chessboards, and the demon master’s face lights up. After our showdown in Slawter, he said I’d spoiled chess for him, but that’s not true. He’s still a fanatic, as evidenced by the care he takes of the boards and the way he describes them to Bec, telling her where he got them, the games he’s played, the opponents he’s faced.

“Did you carve any of these yourself?” Bec asks.

“No,” he says morosely. “I started to, several times, but chess is like a religion for me. Whenever I sat down to make a set of my own, it felt like sacrilege.”

Bec looks around at the array. She seems to be searching for one in particular. “What about the original Board?” she asks eventually.

“Why do you seek that?” Lord Loss’s eyes narrow.

“I don’t seek it,” Bec smiles. “I’d just like to see it again. I know you took it from the cave after Drust died.”

“You mean after you killed him,” Lord Loss murmurs.

Bec stiffens, then tilts her head. “Aye.”

Lord Loss clicks several fingers. A demon with five legs and a neck like a giraffe scurries away and returns with a crystal board, the first that was ever made on this world. According to Kernel, it was a tool of the Old Creatures. They used it to help mankind evolve.

Lord Loss holds the Board reverently, then passes it to Bec. She treats it the same careful way he did, examining it closely. “It’s amazing,” she whispers. “I can feel the power, so different from ours.”

“The magic of the Old Creatures,” Lord Loss sniffs. “It’s nothing special.”