Rook

sister?”
    “Yeah,” said Myfanwy defensively.
    “How can you have a sister?” She lowered her voice. “You’ve been
you
for only two weeks.”
    “This body has a sister,” said Myfanwy. “It is just as much my body as the person’s you worked for before, so, yes, I have a sister. She tracked me down.”
    “How?”
    “Tax records.”
    “I see, and how do the Grafters know about her?” asked Ingrid.
    “I was out with her last night,” said Myfanwy guiltily.
    “You went out last night?”
    “We went clubbing” came the reply.
    “Clubbing?” Ingrid exclaimed.
    “Yeah.” Myfanwy felt herself blushing. “That’s how my phone got all slimy. What did you think happened?” With a visible effort, Ingrid calmed herself.
    “Rook Thomas, I am not your mother, nor am I a member of the Court, and I know that you are a clever woman, so of course you do not need me to point out how abominably stupid that was. You don’t need me to point out that you put your life, your sister’s life, and the well-being of the nation in danger. And now we’ve got lunatic Grafters on the line.”
    “I know,” said Myfanwy in a small voice.
    “What is your sister’s name?”
    “Bronwyn.”
    “And her birthday?”
    “Why is that important?” asked Myfanwy, confused.
    “I’ll put it down in the book so that you don’t forget to get her something,” said Ingrid matter-of-factly.
    “That’s a lovely thought, but shouldn’t we be worrying slightly more about the Grafter’s insane threats and slightly less about updating my birthday book?” asked Myfanwy, wondering if perhaps her secretary had poured herself too much therapeutic alcohol.
    “The comms department said that they’d let us know when they had a successful trace,” said Ingrid. “Do you have a plan?”
    “Well, since I don’t know anything about this Ernst von Suchtlen that I’m supposed to have in custody, I figure we’ll trace the call, track down the man with no skin, unleash the might of the Checquy upon him, and you and I can kick him once they’ve got him down. That should take care of everything. Except for the traitors in the Court, but I’m sure that will all be sorted out once we have the Grafter head honcho,” outlined Myfanwy. She took a contemplative sip of her amber fluid.
    “Do you know how long it takes for them to trace a call?” asked Myfanwy.
    Ingrid shrugged helplessly.
    “Okay, well, I guess I should get back to the business of running domestic operations,” she said. “Is there anything new from the Court?”
    “You need to get your nominations in by the end of Friday,” said Ingrid after checking her tome of an organizer.
    “Nominations?” repeated Myfanwy blankly.
    “Replacements for Rook Gestalt and Chevalier Gubbins,” said Ingrid.
    “Right, of course. Um, so what’s the process for that whole thing?” asked Myfanwy.
    “Actually, I’m not too familiar with the procedure,” said Ingrid. “I gather that it’s one of the things only the members of the Court are supposed to know, although I’m fairly sure it involves the Prime Minister, the Minister of Defense, and the ruling monarch.” Myfanwy gaped at her, and Ingrid looked a trifle embarrassed. “The secretaries talk,” she said. “But I
do
know that you have to come up with a list of five possible people from within the Checquy, for both the Rook position and the Chevalier position.”
    “Gosh,” said Myfanwy anxiously. “Ten people. Well, I’ll have to give that some thought. How about Colonel Hall? I like him, and he seems very knowledgeable. I looked over his file at one point, and he’s exceptionally qualified. Do you know he oversaw army troops in Northern Ireland? And various peacekeeping missions overseas?”
    “He’s very nice,” agreed Ingrid. “His secretary adores him and his team worships him, but I’m afraid he can’t be a member of the Court.”
    “Why not?” asked Myfanwy as her secretary flushed.
    “Well, because he isn’t a Pawn,” said Ingrid.
    “No powers, huh?”
    “No powers,” agreed Ingrid. “It’s a law of the Checquy that only those who are powered can rise to command.”
    “I’m not comfortable with the fact that you have to have bizarre powers to be a member of the Court,” said Myfanwy. “I mean, Inever use mine. Or at least, hardly ever, and almost never for Courtly duties.”
    “Yes, but in theory, you could be called out to supervise operations. Frankly, you’re lucky that you