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Intermission: Next step
The fire was burning low and one could hear the noises from the stable, so thick was the silence. The spare and dancing light was shining on the chessboard and the three pieces were still in the same position: the human girl facing the two supernatural creatures, a bit closer to the Archangel than to the Demon, but not very much.
She was looking at it, silently, dressed with the same dark green dress she had worn after calling the Archangel, her arms crossed, leaning on the edge of the table. The light of the fire was dancing on the bracelet around her wrist but she would have been unable to say if the silver twinkled more than the onyx did. Her eyes flickered from the chessboard to the bracelet as if she was expecting it to give her the answer.
She extended the hand toward the chessboard and frowned when seeing it tremble. She slightly arched her fingers till they stopped trembling and put her hand above the human-girl pawn. It waas obvious she wanted to draw her back if she could; but no backward step was possible, only forward, till the end of the game, and she caught herself hoping it would come very soon.
She took a deep breath and rapidly moved her hand. She gently tipped over the Archangel and pushed the human-girl pawn one square forward, saying at the same time, the voice thick with unshed tears:
"Next step, the Demon."
She crossed her arms again on the table, looked down at the chessboard and buried her face in her arms.
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