Shantay Petoskey

Shantay Petoskey, a Bishop of the Croatoan, becomes one of Rook Myfanwy Thomas’s most dependable allies as the threat from the Grafters reaches across national lines. Her introduction joins diplomacy to action: she comes to England bearing urgent intelligence about an implanted Grafter, then repeatedly demonstrates that she can support Myfanwy not only with information and counsel but also in the field. At the reception attack, her ability to turn her skin into protective metal makes that alliance literal, placing her between an armed attacker and the people she is shielding.

Identity and Introduction

Shantay arrives at the Rookery as the Croatoan representative presented to Myfanwy by Ingrid Woodhouse. She is a senior official, a Bishop of the Croatoan Court, but the formal title does not prevent her from immediately inviting Myfanwy to use her first name. Myfanwy, who has been worrying that she may need to pretend familiarity with visiting officials, is relieved to discover that the two have not met before. The encounter begins with Myfanwy’s uncertainty and embarrassment at the grand introduction; Shantay meets her with easy warmth, helping the conversation move from ceremony to direct exchange.

Myfanwy notices Shantay’s striking appearance, describing her as tall, slim, and dressed in an outfit whose expense is difficult to judge but whose effect is unmistakable. That first impression is partly comic: Myfanwy privately hopes that Shantay’s beauty has come at the expense of her intelligence, only to find herself facing a woman who is also composed, informed, and capable. The contrast between the polished diplomatic entrance and Shantay’s later readiness for combat establishes a character who can move comfortably between public authority and practical danger.

The Grafter Intelligence and Joint Response

Shantay explains that the Croatoan Court was impressed by a report Myfanwy had written, and that its timing had proved crucial. Four hours before their conversation, Croatoan Pawns had acquired a woman who entered the country through LAX. Examination revealed specific implants that Shantay makes clear were not cosmetic. Myfanwy recognizes them as Grafter enhancements, connecting the discovery to the danger already confronting the Checquy.

The agents had not identified the woman through the detection dogs Myfanwy assumes might have been involved; the dog procedure had not yet been established. Instead, the woman became conspicuous after being followed by three albinos and then suddenly erupted into violence. Shantay reports that the Croatoan team managed to subdue her, but that she killed thirteen people at the airport. The operative remains alive, though she has entered a coma-like state in a secure Croatoan location in Nevada and cannot be roused by their people. Shantay and Bishop Morales responded to the discovery by arranging to travel to England, treating the presence of one Grafter as a serious concern and the appearance of two in a short period as a more disturbing sign. Her account makes the danger a shared national problem rather than a matter for either organization to handle alone.

The captured woman also gives the discussion a direct connection to the earlier interrogation of Peter Van Syoc. Myfanwy proposes that Dr. Crisp may be able to wake the operative, drawing on the success one of the Croatoan Pawns had had with Van Syoc. She explains that Dr. Crisp is the Checquy’s chief information extractor and that his abilities allow him to read a person in unusual detail. Shantay counters that the Croatoan has a woman skilled with the dead, but raises the concern that Dr. Crisp killed the last person he interrogated. Myfanwy corrects her: Van Syoc was killed by the Grafters, not by Dr. Crisp, and then explains what Dr. Crisp had told her. The exchange shows Shantay’s willingness to question the proposed arrangement, while also revealing the careful negotiation required to share expertise and access across institutional boundaries.

Friendship and Support for Myfanwy

Shantay’s alliance with Myfanwy is not limited to the Grafter investigation. When Myfanwy is confronted with the possibility that Bronwyn Thomas may be her sister, she remains cautious: the identity has to be checked, and the real Bronwyn might be living in Australia. Shantay recognizes the emotional weight beneath the request for dossiers and offers to help with the background check. Her response is both practical and personal; she proposes that they work through the information together, while Myfanwy admits that having a sister would be welcome if the apparent connection proves genuine.

Shantay does not promise that the relationship is real. Instead, she holds open the possibility and offers to verify it, giving Myfanwy room to hope without treating hope as proof. She also points out that, if the checks succeed and Bronwyn is indeed her sister, Myfanwy will have a different set of problems to face. The moment characterizes their friendship as candid rather than merely reassuring: Shantay supports Myfanwy while retaining a clear-eyed sense of the complications ahead.

That closeness persists in their daily dealings. Shantay arrives early at Myfanwy’s office, before Ingrid, bringing the latest Croatoan reports on the captured Grafter. The scene’s smaller details—coffee and pastries supplied by Ingrid, and the unexplained disappearance of the minibar contents from Shantay’s hotel room—place their working relationship within an informal rhythm. Shantay can be a visiting Bishop and an intelligence partner without remaining distant or ceremonial.

Action and Ability

When Myfanwy decides that she must enter a dangerous situation despite the local forces having been liquefied, Mahesh Poppat warns that it is not her field and objects to letting her go alone. Shantay steps forward in a Pawn combat uniform, her hair coiled at the back of her neck, and insists on accompanying her. Myfanwy protests that harming a Croatoan Bishop during a Checquy operation could have serious repercussions. Shantay’s answer is blunt: Myfanwy herself is likely to die if she goes alone, so the diplomatic risk cannot be treated as a reason to leave her unsupported. The exchange turns Shantay’s loyalty into a concrete choice to share the danger rather than observe it from safety.

Her willingness to enter the field is matched by a distinctive defensive capability. During Myfanwy’s confrontation with Norman Goblet, Goblet threatens her and begins to challenge her confidence that she can make him talk. Shantay appears behind him and knocks him unconscious. Her hands are covered in polished silver metal, which has protected them during the intervention; after the blow, the metal recedes into her skin, leaving portions formed as rings and bracelets. The action ends Goblet’s immediate threat and gives Myfanwy an opening, while also showing that Shantay’s metallic transformation is not simply ornamental: it can serve as armor and as a means of forceful intervention. Myfanwy responds with admiration and a joke about wishing she could grow her own accessories, a brief return of the lightness that marks their rapport even amid danger.

The Reception Attack and Narrative Role

During the assault on the Checquy reception, Eliza turns her weapon on Shantay and the old man she is carrying. Shantay’s body becomes a skin of glittering armor, and she curls herself over Sir Henry Wattleman to protect him. The bullets ricochet from her, preventing the attack from reaching its intended targets. When Eliza runs out of ammunition, she abandons that target and turns toward a Retainer defending Lady Linda Farrier. Shantay’s action therefore has a clear immediate consequence: she shields Wattleman from gunfire and forces the attacker to seek another opening.

Across these encounters, Shantay occupies several roles without being reduced to any one of them. She is a diplomatic representative bringing the Croatoan’s intelligence to England, an informed partner in the response to Grafter infiltration, a friend who helps Myfanwy investigate a possible sister, and a combatant whose transformed body protects others. The repeated movement from conversation to intervention gives her relationship with Myfanwy its particular force: trust is built not only through agreement, but through the willingness to share uncertainty, work, and physical risk.