Rook

even a little control, the room would be filled with some cocktail of organic chemicals. She couldn’t spare the effort needed to stop the Bishop from moving, and he jerked to his feet, gasping heavily.
    “Damn, but that’s unnerving,” Grantchester rasped. “I suppose I should have taken your new capabilities into account. The last time… well, the last time you exceeded expectations too. But this is simply amazing.”
    Well, this is a fun little standoff,
she thought tightly.
Neither of us can use our powers to take out the other.
She thought of her gun in its ankle holster and wondered if she dared go for it, though dividing her concentration seemed like the worst thing she could do.
    Suddenly he called out in a loud voice, “Norman, Miriam, come in, please!”
    More large guards, to break the stalemate,
she thought. A side door into the boardroom opened, and two people emerged. They were, however, much smaller than she had anticipated. One of them was shorter than Myfanwy. The other was taller, but terribly thin and gangly.
    What kind of secret agents does Grantchester employ?
Myfanwy wondered before she got a good look at them.
Oh… young ones.
The short one was a girl of about eleven, and the taller was one of those teenage boys made up exclusively of elbows and Adam’s apple.
And scales,
she noted. Both were toting guns, but that was not all that caught her attention.
    The gangly youth was covered in flesh-colored scales that glittered in the light. Long scars sliced up his face from the corners of his mouth. The little girl had massive talons coming out of her fingers. Both of them stared at Myfanwy with dead eyes.
    Graduates of Camp Caius, I suppose,
she thought with increasing dread.
So what do I do now? If I release Grantchester to take them on, he’ll be able to use his powers. Although he wouldn’t gas his own troops, would he?
she wondered, and then rapidly came to the conclusion that he most certainly would.
What do I do?
At that point, the decision was made for her by the Bishop.
    “Take her,” he ordered. The youth smiled and moved toward her, opening his jaws. He hissed, and the inside of his mouth was bloody red.
    “No!” Myfanwy exclaimed in panic, wrenching her powers off Grantchester. Before she could slam them at the young man, however, the little girl dashed forward, moving with inhuman speed, and leaped up, smashing her in the jaw with an uppercut.
    Myfanwy reeled and fell back on the floor, struggling to stay conscious. Distantly, she heard Grantchester’s voice and forced her eyes to open.
    “She’s not dead, is she?” asked the Bishop.
    “No, my Lord,” said the little girl. “Would you like her to be?” The talons on her fingers grew and began to drip a viscous black fluid. She peeled her lips back and flashed a mouthful of fangs.
    Myfanwy reached out feebly with her hands and her powers to ward off the little girl, but the scaly youth was there. His dry fingers closed around hers, and she felt her commands disrupted. The girl twitched a little, but that was all. And Myfanwy could feel a creeping numbness spreading through her, dulling her perception of those around her. She pushed against it, but with a jolt, her abilities went still.
    Oh, what the hell is
this? she thought. She could sense her abilities but couldn’t actually use them. Was it her imagination or could she
feel
her synapses snapping ineffectively?
    “That took a little longer than usual, Norman,” said Grantchester mildly.
    “She put up a fairly good fight, Lord,” said the scaly boy in a defensive tone.
    “Don’t whine,” said Grantchester sharply, and both his acolytes straightened up.
    “Yes, my Lord,” they said in unison.
    “Sit her up,” said Grantchester. The young man kept his fingers tightly on hers, but with his other hand, he helped her up into a sitting position. She gently moved her jaw and flinched. Much to her surprise, it felt like it was still connected to the rest of her skull.
That little bitch has a good right arm,
she thought foggily.
    “Myfanwy.” She brought her gaze up to the Bishop. “Now that we have these formalities out of the way, and you’re a bit more pliable, perhaps we should move to a more comfortable setting?”
    Without waiting for her to respond, he turned and walked away. The Camp Caius kids stood her up. Her limbs were almost as uncooperative as her powers, but she was able to shuffle along awkwardly as Grantchester led them through the side