“Neutralize?”The truth of the euphemism wasn’t lost on me.“You mean kill.”
Mercer’s expression hardened slightly.“This is war, Miss Bladewell.The U-19 has sunk three Allied vessels in the past month.Over four hundred lives were lost.”
“And adding thirty more German sailors won’t bring them back,” I countered.
“This isn’t about vengeance,” Mercer said, though something in his tone suggested otherwise.“It’s about operational security.We cannot risk being discovered.”
“There are other ways,” I insisted.“We can disable their weapons, their communications, and their navigation systems.Render them helpless without bloodshed.”
“Dead Germans can’t spread tales of monsters,” Mercer replied.“Any survivor becomes a potential witness of what we are.”
Desiderius, who had been studying the submarine diagram with careful attention, looked up.“Perhaps they should,” he suggested.“If the Germans believe they are fighting against superhumans, think of the panic, the blow to their morale.”
Mercer considered this.“Psychological warfare has merit,” he admitted reluctantly.
“But it also has risks,” I added.“If the Germans learn what we are, what’s to stop them from acquiring their own ‘superhumans’?We could find ourselves facing enemies who share our abilities but lack our restraint.”
Mercer laughed dismissively.“That’s preposterous.The German high command would never sanction such methods.They’re too rigid, too traditional in their approach to warfare.”
“As was our government,” I reminded him, “until desperation made the unthinkable acceptable.”I gestured to our assembled flock.“We stand as living proof of how quickly men abandon their principles for the sake of victory.”
A muscle twitched in Mercer’s jaw—the only outward sign that my words had landed.“Your concerns are noted, Miss Bladewell.But ultimately irrelevant.”He straightened, assuming the posture of command that seemed as natural to him as breathing once had.“This is why we’re here.I command this unit, not you.General Gantry’s orders were explicit.”
The mention of Gantry’s name—and the implicit threat against Bishop Harkins that it carried—effectively ended the debate.I pressed my lips together, containing arguments that would serve no purpose now.The decision had been made long before this moment, perhaps before we had even boarded this vessel.
“Beta team,” Mercer continued, “led by Desiderius with Thomas, Rebecca, and Maria, will secure the engine room and communications center.”He turned to me.“Gamma team, under Miss Bladewell with Brother Andrew and Sister Constance, will locate and secure any intelligence materials.”
The delegation of teams was strategic—he had assigned me the task furthest from direct combat, with the two vampires whose control was unquestioned.Our most vulnerable, our newest recruits, were given the mostvioletof assignments.He also split me up from Rebecca and Ruth, perhaps realizing I might use my influence as their sire to limit their aggression.A strategic decision that ensured German throats would meet newly-sharpened fangs rather than mercy.
Dr.Gallow stepped forward, directing crewmen to distribute what appeared to be specialized equipment.“Waterproof garments,” he explained.“Designed to withstand extreme pressure and to streamline your movement underwater.”The black rubber suits looked eerily like a second skin, complete with hoods that would cover everything but our faces.
“These have never been tested at the depths you’ll be operating,” Gallow added, his scientific curiosity evident despite the tension of the moment.“The data from your descent will prove invaluable for future operations.”
“We’re not your laboratory rats, Doctor.”
His smile was thin and entirely professional.“Everything in war advances science, Miss Bladewell.Your participation is merely more...unique than most.And your unique physiology eliminates the need for breathing apparatus and grants you resistance to the crushing depths where no human diver could survive.”
As my flock donned the strange garments, I noticed Ruth’s excitement, the gleam in her eyes that spoke of anticipation rather than apprehension.She had embraced Mercer’s vision of their purpose more fully than I had feared.Rebecca’s movements betrayed nothing—each gesture calculated, economical, her eyes fixed forward with the blank intensity of a chess master contemplating sacrifices several moves ahead.The others fell somewhere between—uncertain, anxious, but committed to the path before them.
“Remember your training,” I told them as I helped Constance adjust her hood.“Both kinds.The discipline Desiderius taught you will serve you as well as the combat skills Captain Mercer emphasized.Control is your greatest weapon.”
“Two minutes,” Mercer announced.“The U-boat is surfacing to confirm our identity before attacking.”
He moved to the railing, his body coiled with predatory readiness.“On my signal, we drop simultaneously.The water will be cold and the pressure intense, but your bodies can withstand it.Remember—we move as shadows, invisible until the moment we strike.”
Beneath the rubber of my wetsuit, my fingers found the smooth beads of my olive-wood rosary.Each one slipped past like a small absolution as I prepared myself to guide my flock into bloodshed—the very thing from which I had once promised to deliver them.
“God forgive us,” I whispered, too softly for even vampire hearing to detect.“For we know exactly what we do.”
The dark shape of the U-boat broke the surface a hundred yards from our vessel, its conning tower emerging like the spine of some ancient sea beast rising to challenge us.Mercer raised his hand, poised to give the signal that would commit us to our first act of war.
“Now,” he said, and we leaped into the void between ship and sea.
Chapter 17
Thewaterclosedovermy head like a frigid tomb, swallowing all sound save the thundering pulse of my own body adjusting to the sudden pressure.I plummeted downward, the weight of the ocean pressing against me from all sides with a force that would have crushed human bones to powder.My flesh, no longer truly living, withstood what no mortal could endure.The cold penetrated immediately—not as painful as it would have been in life, but present, insistent, a reminder that we moved through an environment hostile to humanity.Below me, the dark shape of the U-boat loomed, metal gleaming dully in the filtered moonlight that penetrated the first few meters of water.
My flock descended around me, their bodies cutting through the Atlantic with inhuman grace.Ruth and Rebecca spiraled downward like twin torpedoes, covering distance with a speed that would have seemed impossible had I not witnessed it myself.Brother Vincent, true to his military background, maintained a rigid formation, his hands moving in the signals he’d taught us during training—simple, effective gestures visible even through the murky depths.Left flank secure.Right flank advancing.Maintain current depth.
