He said, “The Undead are serving two purposes for me now. With the growth of the clan alliance, you know that I have found it useful to place humans around the capitals and camps of our allies, and our potential allies.”
“Why must you use humans as spies?”
“No one suspects their food. They can move unnoticed, and they may hear things that would be useful to me. Don't worry, Hallow, you shouldn't have to speak to them directly. I have vampire agents in place across Europe. I would hate for you to sully yourself.”
Hallow couldn't quite hide her sneer. “You realize it is likely these Undead spies will be killed? Just in the course of a normal day's feasting. They are just humans.”
“Let them die then. I'll replace them.” Cesare gave Hallow a light touch meant to reassure her that he was quite sure of his course. “Now, my other duty for the Undead is in the south. The operations of the Equatorian army have created a chaotic situation in the Rhone Valley, with refugees everywhere. I have sent hundreds of Undead to insinuate themselves into those human streams and create chaos where they can. But more, I have chosen certain Undead who have been sent into Equatoria.” He glanced up, annoyed at Hallow's questioning expression. “Do you have some quibble with this strategy too?”
“Suicidal missions are one thing, my lord,” she replied, “but I don't like arming humans. The Undead are clumsy at best and potentially traitorous at worst.”
“Traitorous? Don't be ridiculous. They'll do anything for me. They want to be me.”
“Don't the Undead wonder why they've never seen any of their colleagues return as a vampire? How long before they start to question this?”
“They've already created a complicated set of ideas to explain away the inconsistencies in their doctrine. Humans are good at that. For them, it's all about faith.”
The female continued to listen to her prince, trying to hide her doubts but failing.
“You must have faith too, Hallow. I know what I'm doing. I don't use just the Undead. I have an Equatorian traitor who is serving me. With his assistance, Undead infiltrators are tasked with certain important duties inside Equatoria.”
“Such as?” Hallow asked suspiciously.
Cesare bared his teeth in a semblance of a grin. “Killing Empress Adele.”
The ambassador nearly rolled her eyes and asked with slight sarcasm, “How many times are you going to attempt to kill that girl?”
“Until she's dead!” Cesare shouted violently, then squeezed his hands into fists and snarled, “Until she is dead.”
FIFTEEN METAL MONOLITHS shaped in human form stared down with empty black eyes at the three people gathered before them. The iron men towered twelve feet, standing silently in a line, as wind-driven snow piled onto their steel shoulders. One of the great suits of armor had its chest-cavity hatch open, revealing the complex controls enabling a man to operate the mechanical anatomy. The White Guard had formed a wide cordon to keep the curious away from the camp’s new arrivals.
“This,” Adele announced, “is our newly formed Galahad Battalion.”
Anhalt took in the motionless army a moment. “Galahads?”
“So I dubbed them,” Adele said. “They’re like giant knights.”
“Yes, I see,” the general commented, stuffing his hands in the pockets of his greatcoat. “Majesty, you well know that we tested these land tanks two years ago, but the General Staff decided against buying them from the Katangans. They are difficult to keep fueled, so their range is limited. And they proved wildly unreliable.”
“That was my father’s General Staff, who were not always the most progressive of men. The Katangans have improved these tanks enormously. They are much more maneuverable now. In addition, I’ve brought experienced Katangan drivers whom King Msiri has seconded to our army. Given my limited needs for them, these machines will serve our purposes.”
“And your purposes are?” Greyfriar stared at the machines with curiosity.
“A diversion of sorts,” Adele said. “Each carries a flame thrower, fifty-caliber machine guns, and explosives.” She gestured to Anhalt, who stood thoughtfully with a thumbnail to his lips. “You need only to occupy the vampires’ attention long enough to allow me to do what I must.”
“What can you hope to accomplish alone that my army has been unable to do for the past months?”
“The Bastille above Grenoble is located on a dormant rift. I intend to activate it, like I did in the Mountains of the Moon.”
Anhalt cast a sharp glance at her.
Greyfriar pointed out the obvious. “The city is riddled with my…with vampires.”