Final chapter of this story. Thanks you all
Demon Child chapter thirty: The chessboard
Matt was in his break playing chess with Diego when he saw his sister and Darren rushing up to him
"Don't talk to me for a moment…" he muttered. "I need to concent…"
"We need to talk, now!" Lea interrupted him, dragging him out from his arm.
"What the…one sitting-down game that I actually like and you drag me from it?!" he protested
"Lea had another revelation." Darren shortly said. "Vision." He supplied after seeing Matt's confused expression. "She mostly wrote." And he showed him the paper. Matt, Darren and Lea went to the chess room (Lea swore she would ask Matt why he was playing chess in his break of 10 minutes) and, after realizing that Diego couldn't hear them, sat down in front a chessboard.
8x8
B1, C3, H8 and 4
"What does that means?" asked Lea confused
"I don't know. 8 multiplied by 8?" asked Darren back
"64. But I think I misspelled that. I wrote "Caballo"
"No, no." interrupted Matthew. "It's right, caballo means knight in Spanish..." Matt's eyes trailed off to what he was doing, and Darren saw a black and white board. He had never seen anything like it. Matt seemed to snap out of his trance.
"That's it, Lea! Your revelation is a chess move!" said Matt triumphantly
"And?" asked Lea excitedly. Matt grinned sheepishly
"I don't know, but we are nearer."
The ones who didn't understand a thing were Marie and Julian White, who were sitting on the sofa of the Wakeman's house, having received a phone call from Rîus.
"Okay Rîus what's going on? I had go out early from my job anyway, but why did you called us here?" the Kaiju sighed and sat in front of them. He looked very tired.
"I usually like to deal with things like this on my own, without anyone else. But now, I think that it's fair to let you know. I think…I know, that they are preparing to attack. My kind is preparing to attack."
Marie and Julian were stunned. "How do you know that?" asked Julian, grateful for having bought that gun the other day (not that Marie knew anything of course)
"It's very subtly, the changes in the air, the disguising just as Darren and I do, just as his parents did. They are trying to get to know the enemy from the inside, to attack its weak points. They are infiltrating."
"W-Why are you telling us all this?" asked Marie with a whisper. Rîus smirked.
"It's obvious isn't it? We have to protect them"
They didn't know that one of the children they were trying to protect was walking to his own Hell on earth at that very moment
Vale walked through the city with heavy steps. He didn't want to do this, he really didn't. But the door had been walked through, and now there was no way back.
His family, his friends, his life. He was going to miss it like hell. His parents were the best he could have asked for…his running away would have them devastated.
Knowing Matt, he'd try to go and rescue him himself, or to hope he'd come back. Vale supposed Belloc wouldn't be as negligent as before. He flinched at the thought
Lea. His sister, his Kmenawe, his Lea. How would she survive when she realized what he had done? Would she forgive him? Would she be angry at him? Belloc had said that he knew of a way to separate them without them dying a few days later, but the thoughts plagued him, what if there wasn't.
Darren. He didn't want to say all that to him, he didn't felt that way. He just hoped he had had more time to make peace with him.
He was doing this for all of them. He hoped they would forgive him.
I'm out of there. I am going to go with you.
Nothing.
Vale was confused. He had expected this to be quick, before he lost control, before he revealed his fear…
But there was silence, and there was no other way that keep walking.
He knew what he was going to miss the most.
Love it's a trap, it promises you a happy future. But the day that it lacks, it will only give you nostalgia, the deepest pain in the soul.
"What's the idea?" asked Darren, who didn't understand a thing about chess.
"Okay, there's a theory, so we have to test it, but I think Lea's revelation it's tied to the language of chess." Explained Matt
"A bit clearer? I remind you that I'm six." Argued Lea, she was getting an unpleasant feeling in her stomach.
"I think that the symbology of your revelation can be deciphered with chess." Explained Darren, frowning at Matt
"Yeah, that can be. For example, Vale is supposed to be a Prince, and in chess the most related piece is the King." The older boy explained, making Darren chuckle a little.
"What a great ego. But it can be, it can be. He's like the leader of the group."
"So each one of us...is a piece?" inquired Lea, looking at the black and white pieces.
"Of course. For example, you, Darren, could be the pawn..." Lea then explained the meaning to Darren, who sniffed offended.
"Are you saying that I have no value?"
"No! It's just, the goal of the pawn is to move for all the board, and reach the other side, to transform into what you want to be." Said Matt, at which Darren calmed down. Lea had picked up the paper again.
"Here it says Dyllon, the barefooted. What does that even means?"
"My middle name is Dyllon." Said Kaiju supplied
"The pawn represents an infantryman, and the name means 'the soldier who goes on foot.' Understood?" Lea and Darren nodded
"We will have to play a part in this war, but it's very difficult for me, Darren, and even Vale to choose a side in this. You asked me when it should happen, I am not Lea, I can't know, I know that it's near. The hardest part of being human, is to enter temporality. The Kaiju live in the now, the past don't hurts us and the future do not trouble us, but humans do not know how to live in the now. The only organization has been hunting single Kaiju down, instead of preparing for a war." Rîus continued.
"A war like that again…" Marie muttered horrified. Rîus smiled sadly
"The human fear is fear that something hurts in the future as in the past hurt."
"The war it's going to be like a chess game, if the black pieces make a move, the spirits will be crushed, a lot of pieces will be taken, until the white ones move, and then the whole chessboard illuminates."
"And the kids…the kids are the pieces?" asked Julian. Rîus shook his head.
"No, and this is the way this war will be different, for us, at least. Black pieces Kaiju, white pieces humans. Belloc knows what he's doing moving his pieces like that. This time, the board that it will be played, it's Valentine."
"One of your revelations it's a move. The queen is threatened." Darren pointed out
"If Vale's the King, then Lea is the Queen. Something it's wrong with her, Matt."
"Let's put the piece on the board, to understand. Ok...B1 to C3. Of course, that's the Knight's move. That's practically a checkmate, it's impossible to resolve. The thing is, who the Knight is."
"Belloc." said Lea. "Beside Caballo, I wrote Belloc, and Caballo is Knight. He's the Knight, guys. He's the threat."
"He's threatening Lea, if he takes her, he kills her, but it also threatens the King." Darren said
"Of course, it's clearly a checkmate; the Knight takes both Lea and the King."
"And the game ends."
They were distracted by a loud thump. Darren and Matt looked behind them to see Lea passed out.
Valentine stood in the edge of the city, looking at the desert in front of him. Was he supposed to walk all the way to there? Or his father had let him walk by himself all this time just to see if he wasn't going to chicken out?
"Exactly." A voice said behind him. The boy whirled around and took a step back. Effectively, Belloc was standing before him.
"Unlike you, I keep my promises in my free will." Vale snapped. He backed away more. "How do I know you won't hurt my family once I'm in the lair?"
"You can't know." Belloc simply answered.
"I will go with you, but you'll have to promise me one thing: You won't hurt any of the Whites when the war unleashes. You will leave the Whites alone." Belloc reduced the distance between them. Now he'd have to promise it, if only just to avoid future arguments. It was a pity, really, that the boy had figured it out. Like he said, he could always kill them when he had him.
"And what if I don't promise it?" but Vale had the answer beforehand
"I will always try to escape and disobey you. But, if you don't hurt them, I'll cooperate. Promised?"
He looked up to see his father smirking. "I promise."
Vale backed away instinctively. God, no, please, don't, please I don't...This is what he had been dreading. Would it hurt to be separated? Before he knew what was going on, Belloc had placed a hand over his chest and muttered something. Vale bit down hard to keep the tears and screams at bay. The pain was incredible, a crucial part of his identity, of him was being teared apart. His chest, his whole body hurt with an ache so powerful, with an umbearable cold spreading through him. Let it end, please let it end...I'll be good...
His vision was blurry from the pain, black spots danced through it. That was the last thing he saw. After that, everything went black.
LEA'S POV
The war has begun. They come from all over, no one knows where they are, because they are many, they are all. And they are everywhere. They get stronger with our fear, our pain. They are coming, they are getting more. They are darkening the world. His subjects are moving, his warriors are soaring. His pawns are loyal and blind. They just destroy, leaving behind pain and waste.
They will attack the vital parts, the heart itself of our army. But there is always a beacon, a light in the darkness. Our side is ready to deploy their pieces on the board.
I see that love is light, and love becomes flesh. The pain not only mortifies, it also awakes. It's time to become warriors.
Actions will be taken. The war has begun, and there will only be one winner.
And there we reach the final chapter of "Demon Child"
A sequel will soon be posted, so don't worry, I'll publish it this when it will.
Thanks for all of the ones who reviews, favorited, followed and read my story, it meant a lot to me.
Until the sequel,
H. E. B.