The Chessboard Undead Prince

Chapter the Sixth

After enduring the agony of hanging from the ceiling for hours, Adonis finally found relief as the Duchess and her dreadful daughters departed. As he dropped to the ground like a cat, his muscles protesting with pain, a sinister grin crept across his face. Now, he could start the hunt.

The three brats had given him pools of information, which he now stored in his mind like a hunter preparing for the kill. With his knives at the ready, he set out to instil fear in the hearts of his prey. Time to scare some rabbits.

To hunt an animal, you must know your terrain for your game. Bait it, and then drive it down, slowly increasing the fear register, and once it reaches the peak, the death blow.

To bait effectively, one must understand the terrain and manipulate the instincts of the quarry. Adonis began by appealing to their desires: Cammalleri's obsession with attire and jewels, Delia's attachment to her puppy, and the Duchess's longing for her husband.

Dahlia's rooms were on the second level, the fifth door to the left. Adonis surveyed the room with disdain. Outdated tapestries adorned the walls, while worn-out furnishings filled the space. He opened the armoire doors. Gowns packed so thick you could barely stick your hand in to wrestle them out. Getting the gowns out proved easy, as he simply ripped them out. He grunted as he grasped a gown set in rubies, and smothered in layers of linen. God, did she need to die in rubies to get herself noticed in court?! He tore through the armoire, slashing at the extravagant gowns with his knives until they lay in tatters at his feet. Each slice was a mockery of Dahlia's vain attempts to garner attention, reducing her prized possessions to nothing more than shredded remnants of her shallow existence.

Wouldn't there be hysterics!

Satisfied with his handiwork, Adonis slipped to the back room. He closed the chamber doors from the inside and slipped out the window. Balancing on the sill, he locked the windows, too. He dropped to the gravel and headed to the kitchens.

The head cook was from Fineas' care. A master in the kitchen. Cammalleri was there, dipping her finger into a spiced pumpkin sauce with roasted parsnip sticks. Servants bustled around her wide girth to the ovens with cauldrons of tomatoes to be roasted with peppers and black garlic, and pots of kneaded bread to be baked. They stirred vegetable stock over the fire pits, sautéing vegetables in pans with onions and red wine. Orders barked in the air.

"Turn down the head on that lobster!"

"Where's my steak?"

"You're getting greasy oil everywhere!"

A servant set down a tray of pounded steaks near the cooking station. "These need to rest before caramelizing."

No one saw a single rump fillet of steak disappear. Adonis held it between finger and thumb as he made his way to the trees near the pond. Berries were scattered and squashed on the wooden path and he crushed a handful of the hard red berries and smeared it over the raw slab of meat. These were belladonna and just one was poisonous. He shimmied up the creepers and dropped into Cammalleri's quarters. There was a plush dog basket in the corner of the bedroom, and the puppy was in it.

Adonis paused, considering his choices: Kill the mut now or leave it the meat.

The spaniel drew back its jowls, revealing nippy canines. It was about to go into a barking volley. Adonis wiggled the steak temptingly. Instantly, the pup's ears went floppy and its mouth opened. He dropped the steak onto its bed. "Sweet dreams," he murmured as the puppy began gnawing the belladonna-soaked steak.

Thirdly, there was the Duchess of Carlin herself.

He climbed further up to the third floor. the window was locked, from the outside. He cursed his luck. Dammit!"