The Sicilian Defence [Derek Hale]

Chapter Fifty-Two

Staring up at the ceiling I tried to figure it all out. The chess pieces were glued to the ceiling due to the creativity of my mind. I was lying on the floor with my legs up against the wall and my ankles crossed over each other. It reminded me of when Derek and Scott went to rescue Boyd and Cora and at the time we'd hoped Erica from the vault in the bank. It was exactly like that. Except, there was no full moon and I was staring up at the sky trying to figure out a game.

Derek has sat a little distance away from me with his own chessboard in front of him. "What are you doing?" A voice asked and I dragged my eyes away from the chessboard up in the air to see Peter, "and, more importantly, why aren't you healing?"

"It's from one of their swords. It'll heal."

"By playing chess?" Peter asked.

"Back in his room, Stiles had a board with my name on one of the pieces. If this is a game to him, then I need to figure out the plays," Derek explained.

"Shouldn't she be doing this?" Peter mused, and I could feel his eyes on me but I'd already returned my eyes to the ceiling trying to figure it all out.

"I am doing it," I droned, not wanting to bother with too much emotion just in case I lost my place or it all left me.

"Not so easy to do when it's a game without rules..."

"What does that mean?"

I dragged my eyes away from it again pushing my self over until I was sat normally on the floor. He always loved to say the useful things near the climax of the battle. Couldn't he tell us before it became a major problem as any normal person would? "You're dealing with the kind of spirit that's lived too long to play by human rules. It's a fox spirit that chose to become human-- and supposedly, that's something they can do only after about one hundred years. If a Kitsune is an annoying pain-in-the-ass, then a Nogitsune, which is a dark Kitsune, is a freaking disaster. Besides, chess is Stiles' game. It's not the game of a Japanese Fox."

I couldn't help but scoff out of amusement, "chess is not Stiles' game," I pointed out. I've played against him way too many times to ever believe him to be grand at chess. Maybe because he'd never come close to defeating me, but then was I being unfair? I don't think I am. "And can you start giving your enlightening speeches before we risk our lives several times?"

"Yes, I have missed your teenage angst, Grace," he droned, and I offered a serene smile as I usually did. These innocent smiles seemed to get me out of a lot of trouble considering I'm not even a cute child anymore. "Do yourself a favour and put something on that... before it gets infected," he added on as he looked back to Derek.

He walked out, and I couldn't help raise my brow. Is that all he came to say? Pushing myself to my feet, I walked over to Derek looking down at the board in front of him. "Move the knight over here," I mused shifting it for him and he glanced up at me before sighing.

"And we lose again."

"No."

"What?"

I continued with the play moving the pieces on both sides before I came to a stop. I know this play. I've done it so many times because..." this is Stiles favourite play."

"What?" He asked, and I knelt downshifting them all back into position.

"Do you remember the names? Which names were on which pieces?"

"No."

"Okay... erm... well... this is the one he always uses. It's his reaction and his safety net. What if he's using it now?"