“Justice,” I corrected.“For Ruth.For Rebecca.For Thomas and all the others who died believing they served a higher purpose, not realizing they were merely sacrificial pigs on the Order’s bloody altar.”
Catherine moved closer to me, her confusion giving way to tentative understanding.“You want to destroy them from within?Like...like spies?”
“I want to expose them,” I clarified.“To understand how deep their influence runs, how they’ve maintained their power despite the changing world around them.”I turned to Dupont.“You said the Order deliberately cultivated hatred between vampires and werewolves.What else have they manipulated?What other lies have they spread?”
Desiderius nodded slowly, his initial hesitation resolving into grim determination.“The Order has operated in shadows for centuries.Perhaps it’s time they faced the light.”
Dupont studied me.“This is a dangerous game you propose, Mademoiselle Bladewell.The Order will be suspicious—particularly Gallow.He’s seen your resistance to his methods, your dedication to your spiritual path.”
“Then we’ll give him what he expects,” I replied.“A vampire shaken by loss, questioning her former convictions.Seeking a new purpose after watching her flock die despite her prayers and faith.”
“And you think he’ll believe such a convenient conversion?”Dupont challenged.
“Men like Gallow see what they expect to see,” I said.“He expects me to be broken by this loss.He won’t question if that brokenness leads me toward his cause rather than away from it.”
Dupont ran a hand through his disheveled hair, considering my words.“And if he doesn’t believe you?If this ruse fails?”
“Then we’ll be no worse off than we are now,” I answered.“Hunted, endangered, with few allies and fewer options.”
Catherine trembled beside me, her newly turned nature making her more vulnerable to fear and uncertainty.“I don’t know if I can do this.Pretend to support those who killed our family.”
I placed a steadying hand on her shoulder.“You don’t have to pretend to support them.Only to follow my lead.”
“Why can’t I just go back to the convent in New York?”
“Compromised.”Desiderius shook his head.“Those of our kind who remain there will be targeted soon, if they haven’t been already.I suspect luring us to the war was a part of a double-plan, one to sacrifice us for another cause, another to leave those in the convent and monastery without our protection.”
I clenched my fists.I hadn’t thought of that.I now felt two needs warring within me.Infiltrate the Order, or hurry back to protect what might remain of those we’d left behind.
“I have not heard from my connections inside the Order that any plans have yet to be carried out against your mission in New York.I will continue to monitor the situation on your behalf.”
His words only slightly lifted my concern.Still, it was something.If they weren’t in immediate danger, perhaps I’d have an opportunity tobothinfiltrate the Order and warn them, somehow, that they might relocate.
Dupont pressed his bandage against his rapidly-healing wound.“You understand what you’re proposing?Once you position yourself as sympathetic to the Order, there’s no easy retreat.You’ll be expected to prove your loyalty—perhaps in ways that challenge whatever remains of your humanity.”
I met his gaze with the cold determination that loss had crystallized within me.My posture straightened, shoulders squared against the weight of grief and responsibility.In that moment, I felt the change that had begun the night before complete itself—the preacher’s daughter who had clung to redemption through prayer and restraint giving way to something harder, something capable of justice rather than mere survival.
“They took everything from me,” I said, each word precise and measured.“My flock.My mission.The souls I swore to guide toward salvation.Now I will take everything from them.”
Several seconds of silence passed as Dupont considered my proposal.Dust motes danced in the thin beam of sunlight that still shot through the hold Desiderius had made in the wall.
“Very well,” Dupont finally said.“But I do not think your proposal of a sudden change of heart is sufficient.”
“What do you suggest?”Desiderius asked.
Dupont sighed.“I will report that you three led a heroic but doomed mission that successfully destroyed the German ammunition depot.I’ll explain that you fought alongside Order operatives rather than against them, demonstrating unexpected loyalty to the cause.”
“Gallow will question it,” Desiderius observed.“He’s seen our resistance to his methods.”
“Which is why I’ll emphasize your tactical effectiveness,” Dupont countered.“Results speak louder than ideology to men like Gallow and Gantry.They care less about your motivations than your utility.”
I shook my head.“They saw us as weapons from the beginning.Nothing more.”
Dupont shifted his position, wincing as his wounded shoulder pressed against the stone wall.“Before we proceed further, there’s something you should understand about my position in all this.”He drew a deep breath, his amber eyes meeting mine with unexpected intensity.“I do not work only for the French military, Mademoiselle Bladewell.My true allegiance lies with Bishop Harkins and a faction within the Church that few know exists.”
I tilted my head.“The bishop?You workforBishop Harkins?”
“I serve at his direction,” Dupont confirmed.“As do others like me—those who understand that not all supernatural beings are damned by their nature.The bishop leads a small but determined resistance against the Order’s influence within the Church.”
