A/N: As you may have noticed, there was a small mistake (actually it was a very big one o.0) in chapter four. Of course the coin replaces the KING, not the queen. I corrected that in the last chapter. Just wanted to let you know so you won't be confused.
This is the last chapter of the story. Thanks, merci and Danke to everyone for reading and for your kind reviews! They mean a lot to me!
The devil started pacing up and down the room, swooping his long, dark cloak behind him. He was literally fuming, yellow puffs of sulfurous breath came from his nostrils.
Never before… never had a human had the guts to challenge him this way and he felt very reluctant to take the challenge. But then there was his coin. With that the human had the power to call him back to earth whenever he wanted and that was an even bigger annoyance and humiliation.
House felt sick and his vision started to blur again. The angrier the devil got, the more sulfur he breathed out. The air in the room was already filled with yellow mist.
"Go ahead!" The devil suddenly was at the table so quick, that it seemed he had disappeared in the corner and re-appeared at the chessboard out of thin air.
House stared down at his white chess pieces. He now wished he had chosen black and would be able to just answer his opponent's moves. Playing chess with the devil was so unreal, that he had now idea which strategy to follow. House lifted his hand and moved a pawn forward. The devil immediately moved one of his own pawns in response.
Still undecided about a strategy, House moved another pawn. Again, the devil made his move within a second.
Unsure if the devil had a plan or just moved the pieces as fast as he could to unsettle him, House thought about his tactic a little more. If he sacrificed two of his pieces he could get into a pretty good position for a bishop fork. For a while he planned ahead, then made his next move.
Two of the pawns met in the middle and House took the devil's pawn. One piece down, one move closer to his goal. He looked over to Wilson, who was still slumbed on his bed, shivering from the cold in the room.
The moment House had taken the devil's pawn from the board, Wilson lifted his head.
"Hey," House said softly, but Wilson looked right through him.
"He's mine," grinned the devil with a very mean streak in his voice. Wilson turned to face him and smiled faintly although his eyes were still blank. House was still far away from winning this game.
A chess game had to be won with wits and intelligence and House was sure there was no way to cheat. Strategy had always been a strength of his and he thought that he had a good chance to win Wilson's soul back. The hope that the devil was used to cheating and that he would not be able to beat his chess skills gave House a feeling of power.
"Smiling, are you?" the devil snarled. "You really think you can beat me? Oh, it's this hope again. Stupid human thing this is."
House ignored him and continued smiling. He had a plan. He moved his bishop forward and threatened the devil's rook that was guarding the king. He had him cornered and was very close to chessmate already.
"No," hissed the devil and House's bishop burst into green flames.
For a few seconds House was blinded by the bright light. When he looked back on the board, the bishop was gone, the square where it had been was just a black hole.
House stared at it in disbelieve, but didn't say a word. He had not expected this way of cheating, but now that he saw the still smouldering square, he was not surprised at all. His courage and hope on the other hand had vanished with the bishop. How was he supposed to win, when the devil destroyed every piece, that threatened one of his?
With a dull feeling of hopelessness, House watched the devils next move. The destroyed bishop had protected his knight and now the devil used the freed path to take the white knight.
A low mourn filled the silence and House wasn't sure if it was his own silent protest or if it had been Wilson, feeling his tormented and torn soul.
"Wilson?" House whispered, looking over to the limp figure on the bed. The yellow mist filled the air now and Wilson's face was white and pale. He was breathing low and his now half-closed eyes were still empty. He did not answer.
The devil stayed still, quite enjoying the desperate looks House threw at Wilson and the damaged chess board. There was no way that impertinent human would win. He had never let a soul slip away from hell before. And it would certainly stay that way. There was no way he would give up his posessions, neither coin nor soul.
House tried to think, - think of a way to keep the devil from destroying his pieces. Was there a way to make them fire-proof or to stop the devil's powers?
Absent minded, House moved a pawn to the destroyed square. The moment his fingers let go of it, the pawn fell through the board and the table. Puzzled House glanced under the table, but it was gone.
"What kind of game is this supposed to be?" he growled angrily.
"My kind of game," laughed the devil and another wave of putrid breath washed over House.
So it wasn't only the attacking pieces bursting in flames, he couldn't use the damaged squares, either. Of course these rules did not apply to House's cloaked opponent. With a little cackle the devil pushed one of his pieces onto the smouldering square and it hovered above the board, standing in a perfect position to attack House's king, the coin.
Wilson's head sank to his chest.
House did not look at him anymore. The sight of Wilson, sinking deeper and deeper into a soulless darkness distracted him too much.
If the devil destroyed all pieces that threatened his, there was only one way to beat him: the devil must not see, that his king was attacked. Of course this was a strategy that would work only once and House had to think which pieces he could sacrifice.
"Make your move." The low snarl of the devil made House look up. He had been deep in thought about his next move. Obviously the thinking had been taken too long for the impatient devil.
House took a deep breath and regretted it the moment he did so. The sulfur-laden mist streamed into his lungs, blocking the oxygen. He coughed and gasped for air, but only inhaled more yellow mist. Still choking on the sulfurous air and with watery eyes he reached out for his rook and pushed it forward. The first move to his trap was done.
The devil was indeed not a very good chess player, House noticed. He did not seem to plan ahead, there was no recognizable tactic. On the other hand there was no skill needed as long as the devil could still blast away every piece that he found threatening.
House was now able to make his moves a little faster. He had it all thought through and just had to follow his plan. After a few moves, he dared to look over to Wilson again and was surprised to see that he had lifted his head. His face was turned towards the chess board, although his eyes were still blank. Could it be that he reacted to the progress of House's strategy?
The devil followed House's glance and his eyes widened as he saw Wilson sitting a little more upright again.
"Where?" he hissed and searched the chess board. He must have had overlooked something. His low growl rolled like a earthquake in his chest, deep and dangerous. House did not dare to look him in the eyes.
Non of House's pieces was attacking right now and the devil finally decided to take one of the white pawns and swooped it of the board.
That pawn had been a planned sacrifice and House tried hard not to show his satisfaction. He was too afraid to give his strategy away. Next to him on the bed Wilson stirred and for the first time he seemed to be uncomfortable from the sulfurous mist.
House felt sick and he hoped he wouldn't have to leave for the bathroom. He had no idea what the devil would do if he was left alone with the board. House's vision was so blurred now, that the pieces were swimming before his eyes. He grabbed one of the white pieces that stood next to his knight, hoping he'll get the right one. He felt and quickly put the piece down again, it was a pawn. House fumbled for the other piece, hoping to get hold of his bishop now. He knew were every single chess piece had to be in the end, but it wasn't easy getting them there. House felt the round head of the bishop and moved it forward. Holding his breath his glanced at the devil. Would he see the upcoming trap?
Wilson gave a little cough and swallowed hard. The sulfur took effect. The devil whirled around to stare at Wilson, then turned back to the chess board. He checked if all his pieces were safe right now and finally decided to destroy House's bishop. Again the green flames danced and hissed on the chess board and another smouldering square was unusable for House, his bishop was gone.
House closed his eyes for a second to fight the nausea and desperation. His trap had been destroyed. He held his face in his hands for a while. There was no chance to change his tactic now, he had to go on.
Wilson took a deep breath. Now again undisturbed by the sulfur. A big step back, House thought and watched the devil make his next move. A pawn moved forward? Or was it the rook? House couldn't identify the pieces anymore. He wished for fresh air for his eyes and his lungs, but the mist was everywhere, streaming through his skin into his body, intoxicating every organ, suffocating him. His head was spinning fast now and he held his face with both hands, a futile attempt to stop it.
House counted on the poor chess skills of his opponent. He sacrificed one piece after the other, trying to keep the devil's attention away from the white queen. Again and again the white pieces burst into flames, leaving burned squares behind.
Wilson had started to cough again and was now holding his aching head, swaying slowly on his bed.
The devil watched him angrily, monitoring the chess board even closer.
As happy as House was to see a little life returning to Wilson, he was also worried that the constant improvement showed the devil exactly what House was up to.
Don't give it away! House thought, staring insistently at Wilson. Don't!
For a split second he thought he saw a glimpse of understanding in Wilson's eyes. But when he looked closer, they were blank again. And if there were any feelings at all, House could only detect a faint sadness in Wilson's face.
Maybe he'll be happy again, thankful that I won back his soul, thought House. Or maybe he would just be incredibly angry at me for losing it in the first place. House winced at the thought, but then again felt hope to hear Wilson lecturing him, scolding him as he always did when House had done something stupid.
The green flames had almost distinguished the white pieces on the board and House tried hard to keep the devil's attention on his last two pieces on his opponent's side, while he opened the the way for his queen that was supposed to do the last move, to take the black king.
With only three white pieces left on the board, House had to keep an even closer eye on the black pieces that constantly drew nearer to the coin. Everything was lost if the devil got into a position that could attack the last bit of Wilson's soul. House did not have any defenses left. It was all or nothing.
House moved his knight forward, then to the left, leaving the door open for his queen, but at the same time threatening the devils queen. Would the devil know he had to give up his queen to save his king?
Check, House did not dare to say it out loud. This warning was given by fair players, but nothing in this game had been fair.
House and the devil both turned towards Wilson, but he did not move. He breathed in the poisonous air low and steady, his arms were hanging limply at his side again.
The devil grinned, House's last move obviously did not threaten any of his pieces.
House turned back to the chess board again. Wilson did not get any better, he even looked a little worse than before. Had he made a mistake? He scanned the board, looked at every piece, black and white, and considered every possible move. But there it was: the knight that attacked the black queen and the white queen that attacked the black king.
Everything would be over with the devil's next move. Would he be clinging to his own queen and safe her by taking the knight? Or would he see, that the knight only disguised the attack of the white queen?
House kept his face straight and stared at the board unseeingly, the room swirling around him and his stomach revolting against the sulfur. There was nothing he could do, but hope that the devil would make the wrong decision.
Hope might be a 'stupid human thing', but it was all there was left to save Wilson's soul.