My Date From Hell (The Blooming Goddess Trilogy, #2)

Game On (Part 4)

I sat back, proud of myself but trying not to visibly shake with nerves.

Kai gave my hand a reassuring squeeze.

Jack tilted his head, as if reassessing his opinion of me. He leaned forward and tugged the chess board closer. "Do you play?"

Theo was the chess fanatic; I just knew the basics. "Not really."

Jack surveyed the board. "I'll make you a deal." He picked up the white queen, fingering the piece idly.

I had a sinking feeling he was about to challenge me to a match. "Yeah. I'm going to trust the God of Tricksters."

Jack laughed. "Good point. I swear on the majesty of the Styx. That's binding."

I glanced at Kai for confirmation, who nodded.

"I'll kill Bethany's campaign if you play for it and win. Our own private version of Endgame." Jack turned a cruel glare on us, the queen clutched in his hand. "If I have to sacrifice, you all do too. One time offer. Take it or leave it."

I glanced at Kai, who gave me a tiny nod. But he didn't look happy about it.

I wasn't either, but it didn't seem like we had a choice. "Deal," I said to Jack.

"Wonderful." He replaced the queen on the board. "Let's bring your friends in."

I'd seen the show before so I thought I had a pretty good idea of what I was getting us all into.

Cue creepy game show music and think again.

Goosebumps broke out over my body as the opening trumpet music played and we found ourselves in a funhouse version of the Endgame set.

Usually, contestants found themselves dressed in costumes corresponding to the white pieces. As they headed across a massive black and white chessboard, a square would occasionally rise up, revealing a door. Players would step through and then via the miracle of editing, find themselves on another set where they would battle the "pieces" (actors) of the black team in various challenges.

They had to make it through all the rounds successfully in order to cross the board and put the black king into checkmate.

Got it? Now throw that image out. Have you ever seen a drawing by that artist Escher? The guy that does those crazy twisty staircases? Get into that vibe. Imagine a palace where corridors had been cut up and stacked on top of each other, stretching up into infinity.

The five of us were at the bottom of this madness. To our right was a marble archway with a set of stairs leading up to another archway and two staircases branching off in either direction. One of which looped back on itself.

To our left was a shorter staircase without an arch. The stairs led to a small landing. From there was another small staircase, and another landing. Continue up to infinity.

Occasionally, the corridors would connect with a straight hallway, lined with small arches.

Everything—floors, walls, stairs—was tiled in alternating black and white marble squares. The whole effect was dizzying and impossible and maddening. Tension cramped my gut. If the set was this insane, then the challenges were going to blow our minds.

And possibly kill us.

Way up at the top was a single gold door with a large black crown painted on it. I was betting that was the final way out, but I had no clue how we could possibly reach it. It looked like it would take days to get up there. If we didn't get lost and die of starvation first.

"Should have had a plan for the 'twisted mogul with penchant for trashy reality shows' part," Festos whispered to me.

That's when I noticed that his normal clothes had been replaced with a red tunic that hit mid-thigh, a white horse's head embroidered on it. The chess piece of the knight. He was barefoot.

I glanced down at myself. Same deal, except where Festos had fitted short sleeves, mine were butterfly and slightly longer. Wish I could have said the same for my shirt. I mean, dress. While it was a pretty green, it was slutasticly short. Any less of it and it would have been a belt. "Nice Chitons you guys wore," I hissed back.

"As if."

I realized that I had a white chess piece on my tunic as well. A pawn. How excellent to know Jack thought so highly of me.

Theo tugged at his brown tunic with one hand, his chain gripped tightly in the other, and frowned. His outfit sported a white bishop. Hopefully, his passion for chess would be an advantage for us, strategy-wise.

Not that I was eager to see how Kai was decked out or anything, but thought I should check and see if he was okay. A sly glance over my shoulder confirmed that yes, he looked quite fine in his purple tunic. He filled out what little of it there was very nicely. Like seriously.

And, shocker of shockers, he was the white king.

I turned to Hannah for appropriate snarky commentary, then panicked.

There was no Hannah.

The music ended with a big swell of horns. The space fell eerily silent.

Jack appeared in front of us dressed in a golden robe, the image of his black king piece taking up much of his torso. "Welcome to Endgame," he boomed. The echo was impressive.

"Where's Hannah, you bastard?" I asked, straining toward him and finding myself stuck in place.

I shot a furious glance over my shoulder at where Kai held me. My glower increased. His iron grip went nowhere.

Jack ignored the entire outburst. "Let's meet Team White."

He obviously wasn't going to deviate from his show's stupid script.