Chapter 230: Fracture XXXV
The room darkened, candles and torches struggling against the nearly imperceptible billow of black smoke. Ozra's face was inscrutable. Ancient, even. Utterly devoid of the casual sort of friendliness that had possessed him mere moments ago. It occurred to me, even as I sensed the growing tension and took a step forward, that this was much closer to the way he'd appeared when I'd first approached him, in the hells.
As I'd suspected, the previous cheery, almost warm affectation was little more than a persona he'd adopted, tailoring himself to someone he expected to be more susceptible to affability and charm.
From the way Maya bristled, and she pressed in closer beside my sister, she'd noticed, too.
Between them, a small compartment extended out of the board, muddy burgundy silk housing an additional queen and several other spare pieces. The significance of this only registered belatedly, when I reviewed what Ozra had claimed. Before the uniform shift to the panthanian rule set, there'd be no need for additional pieces, nor the compartment to house them.
"Did you know from the start?" Ozra asked, his voice dead, entirely impassive. But there was a blade hidden within it.
If this all went sideways and the arch-fiend lashed out, Maya was quick on her feet. She'd yank Annette out of the way of any immediate danger. But I needed to be ready to put myself in between them if it came to that. I'd told myself that Ozra wouldn't do anything to jeopardize our existing deal, but I'd never seen him lose. In my limited experience, the older a divine or demonic being was, the worse they handled being bested. And if Annette misread the room? Mocked him?
It could go bad fast.
My little sister shook her head, completely focused on reversing the pieces turn by turn, reviewing the game. "When you gave me the choice between white and red, I turned the board. There was something loose. A jostle, or click. Nothing telling, but I was advised to question everything. So I noted it and moved on. Then I noticed how archaic your play-style was, and the narrative formed, along with more questions."
Annette reversed a series of aggressive captures, the side of her mouth quirking upward. "I quite enjoyed this exchange. The sudden upsurge of violence and offensive action after endless positioning. It surprised me. I took you as a defensive player to this point. Was it only because you were playing red?"