Rook

pursed her lips and turned to Poppat. “You know, Mahesh, I feel somewhat hesitant about wiping the building off the face of the earth, since we have people alive in there.”
    “I can understand that, Rook Thomas,” Poppat began, “but standard oper—”
    “Yes?” she interrupted, with her eyebrows high.
    “Well, it is quite clear, and Rook Gestalt has never hesitated to—”
    “Yes, quite.” There was an uncomfortable silence, broken mercifully and hesitantly by Lydia.
    “Rook Thomas? The Rookery has an update on the analysis of the chanting.”
    “Anything useful?” she asked.
Am I going to have to sign a death sentence for fourteen of my people?
    “I think you need to hear it,” said Lydia.
    “All right,” sighed Myfanwy. Lydia twisted some selector knob. The chanting increased throughout the room, but a part of it had been augmented, amplified. Now layered over the droning was a tense voice, insistently repeating itself.
    “Send in the Rook… Send in the Rook… Send in the Rook… Send in the Rook…”
    “Figures,” said Myfanwy bitterly.

20
     
    Dear You,
    Six girls. Eight boys. That’s the current number of kids in the Camp Caius stable, and they’re an intriguing little bunch of brats, ranging in age from eleven to twenty-two. The pages I copied give me the basic details, but only the barest beginning in describing their powers. The impression I get, however, is that these kids are possessed of nothing in the way of natural power but rather undergo an extraordinary amount of surgery with an eye toward instilling abilities, which is the most disgusting thing I’ve ever heard of.
    This whole endeavor is completely alien to the Checquy style of doing things and it is, as far as I know, almost impossible. I’m not even sure why these kids were chosen. See, the students don’t seem to have anything in common. They all come from different parts of the country, and their families are from different social classes and backgrounds. I’ve researched their families, I’ve checked their NHS records, I’ve looked into everything about them, and I can’t find a reason that they were plucked out of their homes.
    Let’s face it. If you want to look at this in as cold a manner as possible, there are plenty of children out there that can be gotten easily. Orphans. Street children. Hell, you can import them. Given how long Camp Caius has been around, you could probably breed them. But these children were taken from private British families—so you have the people of Camp Caius putting themselves to enormous trouble for no apparent reason. Doing this sort of thing is a major task even for the Checquy, so I just don’t understand it.
    Once in a while, I sit back, amazed at what the Checquy does. From what little I recall of my family life, it was pretty tight. My parents wereeducated people, relatively well-off, independent. And yet they crumpled when Wattleman and Farrier told them that the Checquy was taking me. You’d expect a fight from them. A word of protest. Even a lawsuit. At the very least, you’d expect them to contact the media. If the government comes and takes your kid, you’re going to talk about it. Maybe look for some support group. Instead, families keep it secret. And why?
    Well, many of the Estate students are unnatural. Think about Gestalt. Would you want that in your house? So a lot of parents are relieved to have their children taken away. In fact, some are willing to pay. For those whose families do want them, it gets uglier, because the Checquy has been doing this for a very long time and they have become very good at it. They lie, they threaten, they make promises. And they have the law backing them up. I’m still not sure exactly what story Wattleman and Farrier gave my father that last day. I wasn’t paying very close attention.
    With all of these tools, they can bludgeon people into compliance or deceive them completely. Parents are left believing that their children are deathly ill, have horrendous mental problems, are contagious, whatever. In the end, they know their children are no longer available to them and that the government is taking over their care. A depressing number of families are left feeling that they have been done a favor.
    Anyway, I’m still trying to work out what the deal is with Camp Caius.
    Regards,
    Me
     

21
     
    R ook Thomas, at the very least you should wait for the second team of Barghests to arrive from the Rookery,” pleaded