A Game Of Chess With A Vampire Chapter 24: Who Is This?

Draven pondered for a mont in silence.

"Clairvoyance and precognition."

"Huh?" Avelina arched her brows. "What sort of abilities are they?"

"Clairvoyance is an ability that simply involves the extrasensory perception of information or events that cannot be perceived through the ordinary senses. In simpler words, I can sit right here and perceive what is happening a long distance away from ," Draven clarified.

Avelina blinked her eyes twice. "That’s...really cool."

She smiled and asked, "What about the other one?"

"Precognition. It is an ability that allows to instinctively glimpse five seconds into the future before any event transpires—a negative event specifically," Draven briefly explained.

He looked at her and glanced at the bewildernt on her face.

"It’s like this, Avelina," he proceeded to clarify. "If you were to suddenly pick up a knife and throw it at without my knowledge, I would instantly see five seconds into the future of how you would do it and the rest of the event that would occur afterward. It’s as though ti had stopped at that mont, thus allowing to leisurely dodge it."

He continued, "It is the ability that makes it kind of impossible to kill . My father does not have an idea of this ability, which is why he is bewildered at how I am always able to survive every single bullshit he does to . He only has knowledge of the clairvoyance ability."

Avelina was speechless. Her jaw had fallen in amazent, and her eyes lit up in awe.

"Draven," she called in a sudden recollection of sothing.

"Yes?" Draven tilted his head to one side.

"Who are those two kids I t?" Avelina queried with curiosity.

Draven deliberated for a mont before answering, "The little boy is Ryan’s son, and the little girl is Lestat’s daughter. Lumian has yet to produce an offspring of his."

"The little boy must be the sa age as your son, is he not?" Avelina asked.

Draven imdiately went still. His hand trembled, and he darted his eyes around, unable to respond.

Avelina, who noticed the sudden change in his expression, rapidly fluttered her lashes at the realization of what she had done.

"I am so sorry. I didn’t an to. I just—"

"It’s fine, Avelina." Draven awkwardly half-smiled at her. "And no, my son would be older if he was alive."

A regretful light flickered in Avelina’s eyes, and she pinched between her brows, the urge to slap herself overwhelming her.

Draven, who was amused by her behavior, chuckled in a barely audible voice and looked at the chessboard.

He proceeded with explaining the rest of the information that Avelina needed to know about chess.

"What about the pawns?" Avelina inquired along the way with folded arms, her eyes glistening with attentiveness.

Draven smirked.

"I think the na makes it quite obvious what kinds of chess pieces they are."

"Heh?" Avelina wrinkled her brows.

"They are pawns! Pawns, Avelina! They are the only feeble pieces that can capture other pieces in a way that’s different from how they normally move. They do it by moving one square diagonally forward to the left or right."

"Oh...I see." Avelina nodded her head.

"So, how do I play then?" she inquired.

Draven took a deep breath.

"Before we begin, I would like to teach you the rules of chess first, so that when you lose, you won’t assu that I cheated."

"Draven, I am just a beginner. It is only right that you will beat . You’re clearly an expert, and even after a month, I’m very sure that I still won’t be able to beat you." Avelina chuckled. "How long have you been playing chess?"

"One year. I discovered the ga of chess a year ago," Draven replied with a soft smile, deepening his dimples.

"Wow..." Avelina grinned charmingly and leaned onto the table. "So, what are the rules of this ga?"

Draven, with his brow raised, gave Avelina a look that said: Why are you grinning?

Avelina cackled.

"I am just excited to learn this ga. I would be able to keep myself occupied with it and of course—" She shrugged. "—It would be nice to try beating you so ti. "

"Oh...?" Draven appeared a bit surprised.

He could not help but add inwardly. Beat ? That will take you quite a while.

"Yes!" Avelina responded, cupping her hands together. "So, teach all you can."

Draven stared at her and couldn’t help but reflect on how they had naturally gotten so comfortable around each other.

He recalled buying her, and how she looked like a frightened kitty whose life remained one out of its nine lives. Her pleas, questioning, and petrified gaze—he rembered them vividly. She was totally different and carefree now.

He half smiled and proceeded to explain, "The rules of chess are quite basic and simple. You can move one piece per turn, except if you are casting. You cannot move a piece to a square occupied by a piece of the sa color."

He went on and on with his explanation. "The best part of this is that this ga can end in three ways."

"Hmm? Three ways?" Avelina struggled to comprehend.

"Yes." Draven nodded his head, his lips curving into a grin. "One, checkmate, two, stalemate, and lastly, draw."

"Checkmate is simply when your king is in check and there is no legal move that you can make to get out of check. On the other hand, stalemate is when you have no legal move to make but your king is not in check."

"Does that an that I can still play further?" Avelina curiously inquired.

"No, but your opponent cannot claim a win either, which makes it a draw. Hence, ga over!" Draven responded.

"Ah, I see," Avelina finally comprehended.

Draven affird with a light smile. "Anyways, for the last one, a draw is when neither you nor your opponent can win, either because of insufficient material to checkmate, for example, king versus king, or because of a repetition of moves. The lack of progress for a certain number of moves can also be the reason," he said.

Avelina folded her arm and leaned back on the cushion. "Is that all?"

"No, there are two more rules left." Draven shook his head.

"The ga can also end by resignation when you or your opponent decides to concede the ga. The last one is pawn promotion. Pretty rare in my opinion."

"Why do you say so?" Avelina was rather intrigued.

Draven elucidated briefly, "Pawn promotion occurs when a pawn reaches the opposite end of the board. Then, you can choose to promote the pawn to a queen, rook, bishop, or knight of their color."

"If any of my pawns kill my father, the king, and take the throne from him in my place, consider that pawn promotion. But that is near impossible nor would I allow it."

Avelina asked, "Why do you say it’s rare?"

"Isn’t it obvious?" Draven raised his brow at her. "If two skilled players were competing, that move would be the hardest to pull."

"Oh, right, right, that makes sense." Avelina nodded in agreent.

"I think I am fully ready to—"

She went silent at the sudden sound of soone’s footsteps. In unison, she and Draven turned their heads.

A gorgeous middle-aged woman clad in a sleek black form-fitting dress made of silk was walking towards them. Her neck was adorned with a gold necklace, while her ears held onto ruby-studded earrings.

On her fourth finger was a diamond ring that sparkled under the morning sun. She looked impressive and gorgeous, and she did not fail to exude power, sophistication, and otherworldly glamor.

"Mother!" Draven stood up from his seat, his face not looking delighted at all. He had a rather frigid expression.

The lady whose na was Lilith went ahead to say, "I’m glad that you still rember , son."

She shifted her gaze to Avelina. "Who is this?"

"I am Avelina. Nice to et you," Avelina said calmly.

Lilith scrutinized her from head to toe and scoffed. "Who do you think you are talking to?"

"Huh...?" Avelina blinked her eyes in confusion.