Rook(98)

“The boy has counted two hundred and fifty-eight.”

She glanced at Jennifer’s lolling head. Perhaps it was no wonder there were only two hundred and fifty-eight left.

“Do either of you know where Tom Bellamy is?”

“Wasn’t he down there?”

“Those cells were empty. Where is Gerard?”

“Shaking like a leaf in his office. He thinks you’re going to …”

“… pop up out of nowhere and cut his throat.”

“Right. The yard looks clear. Hurry and get her to the warehouse and see if anyone there has any medical training. I’ll be coming with Tom Bellamy. Tom and Jennifer get into a landover first, or if Tom’s not there … They must get away first, and Gerard gets on the last. The very last. And then you need to disappear, everyone gone well before highmoon. Do you understand?”

“And you?”

She wondered where Cartier had found these two, what they were doing in such a horrible place as the Tombs, and how they had ever gotten drawn into the machinations of the Red Rook. “I’ll come soon.”

And Cartier would know what to do if she didn’t. She refused to consider what would happen if Spear did not get out of the flat with the passes. With any luck they would be out of the city and on their way to the coast by nethermoon.

Or maybe luck served only LeBlanc tonight.



LeBlanc swayed just slightly on the settee, trying to explain the workings of Luck. émile grinned, enjoying himself while Renaud wiped the sweat from his forehead.

“But have you no faith, Cousin Albert?” émile said, tossing a coin up and down in one hand. It landed on face every time. “Show me how your Goddess works. I want to see it with my own eyes.” He watched Andre and Peter slip in, skirting around the violinists.

“Fate,” said LeBlanc, his voice thick, “is not … a game. They began it when … the machines fell … out of the sky. The survivors … they knew when the satellites fell … that only Fate was in control. Not a game.”

“I am not playing a game, Albert. I am learning about your Goddess. She is real, isn’t she?”

LeBlanc stretched out a hand and took the coin. Peter was not far away, his arm around the woman with the turban, and Andre had just picked up a glass from a tray.

“The tradition of the Goddess states that when … when using the coin the … facade …” He turned the coin over, to show the facade of the premier’s building. “… means … no. Face means … is …” LeBlanc held the coin between his palms without finishing his sentence, fingers lifted to rest just below his odd eyes. émile leaned in, Renaud watching closely, Peter and the woman with the turban laughing as they danced. Andre had moved behind LeBlanc, bending to observe the proceedings.

“Goddess, does … does …”

“émile,” émile supplied.

“Does émile … truly … want to learn of you?”

LeBlanc flipped the coin into the air, and at the same time Peter and the woman with the turban bumped into Andre, knocking him into LeBlanc, then spinning into Renaud, spilling a goblet of wine between them. LeBlanc caught himself on the tabletop as the coin hit the glass and rolled, settling with a clink that was almost unheard in the aftermath.

“Oh, I am sorry, Albert, let me fetch a man to clean you up …”

LeBlanc looked around to see Peter brushing the red liquid from Renaud’s front, and with a smooth, unseen movement, émile flipped the coin to face. LeBlanc turned back to check the will of Fate, his face lighting up at the sight of “yes.” He didn’t seem to be aware that the pendant with its hidden clock was no longer around his neck.



Sophia slipped the sword up to Gerard’s neck without him realizing she was there. He’d had his back turned, examining the window, but he went still at the chill of steel. Gerard sighed, and slowly raised his hands.

“Who will die at highmoon?” She didn’t even bother with the gruff voice of the holy man. There was no time.

“Tomas … Bellamy. And the Bonnard girl.”

Sophia tried to breathe through her anger. “And where is Tom Bellamy?”

“I do not know!” Gerard sounded frightened now. He probably thought she was about to run him through, now that his usefulness was expiring. “When I came to the Tombs … he was not in his cell.”

“Then think, Gerard. Where would LeBlanc take a prisoner he didn’t want the Red Rook to find?”

“I do not know!”

“Listen to me,” Sophia said. “I do not want to hurt you. I will if I have to, but I don’t want to. Your wife is waiting for you, and you’re about to be gone from this place. Help me. Where does LeBlanc go when he comes to the prison? What does he do?”

The firelight was almost gone, the room smoky and dim. Sophia glanced out the window. Well past middlemoon. She poked Gerard just a tiny bit with the sword.

“There is one thing,” he said. “But I do not think … I do not know if …”

“Tell me.”

“The lift,” Gerard whispered.

“Tell me!” Sophia prodded.

“Sometimes the lift comes down from LeBlanc’s office. But then … there is no one on it.”