“You brought them here?”I asked, betrayal sharp in my voice.
Ruth stepped forward, her posture defiant.“We came willingly.We need every advantage for the mission.”
“You don’t understand what you’re sacrificing,” I pleaded.
“We understand perfectly,” Rebecca countered, her usual reserve cracking to reveal unexpected bitterness.“Our humanity is already gone, Alice.At least this way, we’re useful.”
I stomped a foot.“How can you speak that way?After all the progress you’ve made?After all we’ve been through together?”
“I’m not disavowing my faith,” Rebecca replied, a calmness in her voice suggesting this wasn’t her first treatment.“What’s wrong with using outside assistance?These missions we’ve done so far they’ve—“
“They’ve been successful!”
Rebecca sighed.“You might be able to retain control no matter what, Alice.But you’ve always been different.For me, for the rest of us, we still struggle.When we fight, when we get a scent of blood, the temptation is too much—“
“You will not be tempted beyond what you can endure!”I insisted.“And you have no idea what the long-term consequences of these treatments might be!”
Mercer moved to stand beside Gallow, their unlikely alliance united against my objections.“You and Desiderius must also comply,” he stated flatly.“Or face the consequences.”
“What consequences?”I asked, though I already knew the answer.
“Exposure of Bishop Harkins,” Mercer replied without emotion.“Elimination of the entire unit as failed experiments.The General’s orders were quite specific on this point.”
I watched as Ruth, Rebecca, and Constance formed a line beside Catherine’s table, rolling up their sleeves.Gallow prepared fresh syringes, the amber liquid within catching the harsh light.
“The choice is simple,” Gallow added, his voice dripping with false sympathy.“Comply with my recommendations or face the consequences.”
I thought of Bishop Harkins—his kindness, his belief in redemption even for creatures like us.The sanctuary he had provided when others would have destroyed us without hesitation.And I thought of my flock, these souls entrusted to my care, now willingly submitting to procedures that could compromise everything we’d accomplished, all of our progress, all in the name of turning us into more efficient killers.
As Gallow approached Ruth with the first syringe, I moved without conscious thought, placing myself between him and the line of waiting vampires.My fists clenched at my sides, my body coiled with the tension of impossible choices.
“No,” I said, the single word echoing in the transformed scriptorium where once monks had copied sacred texts by hand, preserving wisdom through darkest ages.“Not without knowing exactly what you’re doing to them.Not without their true consent, free from coercion.”
“You’re blocking progress, Miss Bladewell,” Gallow said, his scientific detachment finally cracking to reveal irritation.“And time is short.”
“Consider carefully,” Mercer warned.“General Gantry has staked everything on this mission’s success.Failure is not an option—for any of us.”
“I refuse.”
“Excuse me?”Mercer tilted his head.
“You heard what Rebecca said.I’m not like the rest.I don’t need your injections.I’ll remain compliant without them.”
“Desiderius will likely refuse as well,” Mercer added.“But here’s what’s at stake.One wrong move, one peep out of you begging me to exercise restraint, to have mercy on the enemy, and I’ll report you as in violation of our agreement.”
I held my gaze on the Captain, but I couldn’t find an argument.“This will not end well.Whatever he’s doing to us.You should understand as much as any of us, allowing ourselves to become experiments, letting them mess with our nature… that’s not the freedom or acceptance you say this is about.It’s coercion and control.”
Mercer took a deep breath.“Be that as it may, it’s a necessary sacrifice, Alice.”
”Anecessarysacrifice?Toward what ends?Completing a mission?What good is it to gain the whole world if you forfeit your soul?”
“No one is asking for your soul,” Mercer snapped.“Let your soul be damned so far as I care.Seek salvation if the pursuit of such dreams comforts you.All I’m interested in are your bodies, your abilities, your strength.We’re asking—no, demanding—your compliance.”
I stood unwavering, caught between defiance and submission, between protecting my flock’s bodies or their souls.Behind me, Ruth shifted impatiently, eager for whatever false courage Gallow’s serum might provide.Thomas whimpered on his table, the sound piercing me like a physical wound.And somewhere beyond these stone walls, an ammunition depot awaited our impossible assault—a mission designed not for success but for sacrifice.
Chapter 24
Istoodbeneathashattered archway, watching as Ruth executed a series of strikes against a wooden dummy that splintered beneath her blows.Her movements had changed since Gallow’s “treatments” began—sharper now, more precise, stripped of the hesitation that humanity leaves like a fingerprint on all motion.Captain Mercer circled her, calling commands that left no room for questions, only obedience.With each impact of her fist, I felt something crumble inside me, as if the dummy were a physical manifestation of all I had tried to build.
