Rook

terrifying and effective combatant, but it is his formidable intellect that makes him the organization’s most valuable asset. He represents a vast bodyof corporate knowledge (I’ve been prevailing upon him to commit it to paper for several months), and he handles his role brilliantly.
    Practically everything we know about vampires is the result of having Alrich on staff, but he is famously close-lipped, and he has still never been tested. We don’t even know how vampires are made—it was one of the conditions Alrich set for his entry into the Checquy, that he would never be questioned about the procedure and that he would never be asked to create a new vampire. I mean, we know they come out of eggs, but that’s it. We don’t know where the eggs come from, or what material is inside them. Is something put in there to be changed? A corpse? A living person? A baby? Maybe there’s nothing put in there, and Alrich just grew. Maybe he was a normal person once. He will not say.
    As for other vampires, well, the other two—Pitt and Heller—have never been heard from again. We have no idea if they are still alive or if they are in the United Kingdom. Two vampires have been found since Alrich joined us, and both have been killed (one notably by Gestalt). Their bodies have yielded no clues to us, having dissolved away into blood and water upon their deaths. Their possessions give no indication of their origins or whether there are others. I wonder if the two the Checquy killed were related to Alrich somehow—could he perhaps be using the Checquy as his private army, manipulating us in a master game of vampire politics? It is a disquieting theory, and one without any real basis beyond my own paranoia.
    Within the Checquy, Alrich is regarded with a peculiar mixture of fear, pride, and blasé acceptance. He is a vampire, and some people are distantly aware that he was once an enemy of the Checquy. But he’s our vampire, and besides, he’s been here forever. Longer than almost anyone. Newcomers are taken aback at first, but it’s almost a mark of pride to ignore his inhumanity or to think it unimportant.
    And, after all, none of us are normal.
    Alrich is the personification of charm, and so it is easy to forget that he is a predator, a predator of human beings. He does not need to kill his prey, and his ability to mesmerize his victims means that they need never know. However, I have noticed that those who work under Alrich tend to die younger than they should. His staff also suffers from a higher rate of sick leave than any other section of the Checquy. If this were brought to the attention of theorganization, there would be a substantial reaction. Is Alrich feeding on his staff? Is he modifying their memories? I don’t know for certain, but a formal inquiry would be a very bad thing for the Checquy.
    Already, within the Court there is wariness. Alrich will never rise above the rank of Bishop, that is understood. Does he chafe at that? What are his priorities? Will he remain with the Checquy forever, or is this simply an apprenticeship, an adolescent phase? Perhaps one evening he will open his eyes and simply leave. His motivations are alien to us.
    If Alrich is our enemy, then you face a foe who has power on every level. His strength means he could shred you like a dried leaf. His mental abilities can prevent you from taking any action. His speed can outdraw your fastest reflexes. His cunning and authority will prevent you from mustering any support within the organization. And his lack of humanity means that he will not hesitate to destroy you if he deems it necessary.
    However, his predatory nature means he might play with you beforehand.
     
    “So, what
are
you doing here without any bodyguards?” asked Myfanwy. “Because Security Chief Clovis has two people following me around, and they’re incapable of blending in anywhere, so I had to ditch them.”
Although at this exact moment that doesn’t seem like the wisest decision I ever made.
“Thank God Clovis can’t see the two of us right now. He’d be furious,” she said, sipping delicately from the apple martini Alrich had ordered for her.
If Alrich were going to kill me, surely he wouldn’t have bothered to buy me a drink. Although that doesn’t mean he’s not the traitor.
    “My personal habits mean that I require a certain amount of privacy,” said Alrich, looking everywhere but at Myfanwy.
    “Your personal habits?” echoed Myfanwy. “I