Rook

door and down a corridor to his office.
    The pain from getting punched in the jaw was fading a little, and she gazed around curiously. The office was nice—nicer than hers. Wealth had been splashed around here, and it showed. Flames crackled in the fireplace. The walls were covered with warm wood paneling and large portraits, similar to the ones that decorated her office. Heavy drapes framed a huge window, but the eye was drawn automatically to a massive desk, behind which Grantchester had settled himself. He gestured, and Myfanwy was guided over to the chair in front of the desk. The scaly guy maintained contact, moving his hand to rest on the side of her neck. The little girl moved to take her place behind the Bishop.
    “Well, here we are,” said Grantchester. “We have a lot to talk about, but before we begin, would you care for a drink? It’s late enough, and the day’s been long enough that a cocktail is certainly warranted.” He got up and opened a cabinet that revealed a well-stocked bar.
    So we’re going to pretend this is just a regular conversation?
thought Myfanwy.
Okay; I can play polite if he can
.
    “That’s very kind of you, but I’m fine,” said Myfanwy coolly. She wanted as many of her wits about her as possible. She watched as Grantchester mixed, stirred, and poured his drink. He was such a handsome man, she thought. Tall and well built, with beautifully cut dark hair. He was dressed in a tailored suit, and smelled nice. Such a shame that he turned out to be the traitor.
    “I heard about the events in Reading,” Grantchester remarked over his shoulder. “Was it honestly so bad that it required the presence of young Callahan?”
    “At the time, it seemed like the best option,” she said. “It was only through luck that the entity was destroyed before he arrived.”
    “How fortunate that you emerged relatively unscathed,” said Grantchester as he settled himself back in his chair. “Now, to business. I expect you’ve figured out that the rest of the Court isn’t coming? They never got your summons.” Myfanwy’s heart sank. It hadn’t been much of a hope, but she’d have given a lot to see Alrich walk through the door. Or even the Lord and Lady. “Wattleman is asleep in his secure residence, Farrier is spending the night reviewing the dreams of all the students at the Estate, and Alrich is in Scotland. And thanks to the heightened alert and the need to screen people, Apex House is functioning on a skeleton crew this weekend.”
    “But how did you know that I was going to reveal you as the traitor?” Myfanwy asked in bewilderment.
    “Your office and that of your assistant are bugged,” he replied carelessly. “I’ve had listening devices there ever since it was my office. You’d be astounded at the kinds of things people say while they’re waiting to meet with you. I actually hadn’t used them for years, but after recent events I’ve had someone listening constantly.” He smiled and took a sip of martini.
    “So,” continued Grantchester, “when I heard you say that you knew who the other double agent in the Court was, I put a call in to one of my people in the Rookery. He was serving as the guard at the Rookery’s command suite, and I ordered him to stop your assistant and that young Pawn. Well, stop them and shoot them,” he corrected himself. Myfanwy felt a horrendous wrench of grief at his words, and blinked to keep the tears from forming.
    “In fact,” said Grantchester, “all the troops who have guard duty at the command suite are mine. You’ve got to be strategic with your people, you know. Why were you dragging that young Pawn around anyway?” he asked curiously. “If you don’t mind my asking.”
    “He just got caught up in things,” said Myfanwy softly. “He heard me talking about the Grafters, and I didn’t want to risk his telling anyone else.”
    “I know exactly what you mean,” said Grantchester. “After all, Icouldn’t let you tell anyone else about my divided loyalties, could I? Which brings me to the same question. How did you know?” Myfanwy thought about providing him with some creative instructions on where he could go and what he could do with himself when he arrived, but she restrained herself.
    Talk it out,
she told herself.
Buy yourself some time. Something may emerge, some opportunity.
She took a deep breath.
    “Well, you may remember that immediately after Gestalt was exposed as a traitor, I went up to see him at