A Company of Monsters (The Sorcerers of Verdun Book 2)

by Shami Stovall

Battery crossed his arms and then uncrossed them. “I thought the Russian Empire had the largest standing army in the world. I agree with Geist. Why would we bring them to France?”

  “Tsar Nicholas Romanov has taken personal command of the military,” Major Reese said with a single laugh. “Since then, the Russian Empire has been on a failing offensive. They’ve lost millions of soldiers yet haven’t advanced far into Austria-Hungary, and large segments of the nation have fallen into disarray.”

  “It would make it easy for specialized enemy sorcerers to sneak into the empire and target non-military sorcerer families,” Dreamer concluded. “Dastardly tactics of the highest order.”

  Vergess shook his head. “There’s something else to this mission you’re not telling us, isn’t there? Let me guess. The Royal House Romanov hasn’t approved the relocation of the families we’re supposed to rescue?”

  “No,” Major Reese said. “As a matter of fact, all Russian sorcerers have been instructed to remain within the empire unless otherwise given direct military order.”

  “So, you want us to run this operation in secret.”

  “Correct.”

  “Are these sorcerer houses really that important that we would need to risk a diplomatic incident over them? None of the Royal Houses are known for their reasonableness.” Vergess huffed and shook his head. “Why don’t we focus on catching the sorcerers who are killing people?”

  Major Reese glared at his feet. “The four families I need you to rescue have extremely rare and valuable sorceries. We cannot allow the enemy to have them, especially not because a buffoon wearing the costume of a general thinks he knows what he’s doing.”

  Geist caught her breath. The Royal House Romanov had ruled the Russian Empire for over 300 years. They were powerful sorcerers in their own right, with their own brand of unique sorcery. Although Geist had never met any of the royal family, she knew the Royal House Habsburg-Lorraine well. They were a royal house of competent and powerful sorcerers. Surely the Royal House Romanov would be similar, or at least far from the buffoon Major Reese had painted the current Tsar.

  “What if we’re caught taking Russian sorcerers?” Geist asked. “Do you think this would anger the Tsar?”

  Major Reese nodded.

  Victory and Dreamer exchanged quick sidelong glances.

  Vergess huffed again. “I still think we’d be better suited to hunting down the perpetrators.”

  “Germany and Austria-Hungary have thousands of sorcerers they could task this mission with,” Geist intoned. “Killing one squad would result in another taking their place. We need a permanent solution if we want to protect our allies.”

  “Hiding them in Paris is our permanent solution?”

  “The war won’t last forever.”

  It can’t.

  Geist clenched her fists, digging her nails into her palms. Could the Ethereal Squadron afford to anger the Russian Empire? They currently fought on the side of Britain and France—they were one of the three pillars that made up the Triple Entente—and if they exited the war, Germany and Austria-Hungary wouldn’t be caught between two fronts. They could shift all their soldiers to fight in France.

  And what if the United States joined the enemy forces? Geist thought, her heart rate increasing with each dire scenario she painted in her mind. We would never win in that circumstance. The Ethereal Squadron would be taken before the sorcerers of Germany and Austria-Hungary and hacked apart for their magic… maybe even melted together to form monsters of war.

  The weight of the operation hit Geist hard. They had to travel into the war-plagued Russian Empire to save sorcerer families from their own Tsar. If they were caught, it could cause an incident, perhaps even worthy of the Russian Empire withdrawing from the war entirely.

  “Can we at least attempt to reason with the Tsar?” Geist asked, her voice distant.

  Major Reese let out a long sigh. “I’ve sent word to the Tsar many times. He has not been a reasonable fellow. However, you will need to travel through Petrograd to reach one of the houses. If you think you can get the Tsar to listen, then you have my blessing to attempt it, but no matter his reply, you must continue with the operation.”

  “Tipping him off to our intentions doesn’t sound like a good idea to me,” Blick said.

  “I would have to agree,” Major Reese said.

  Before anyone could add anything further, Major Reese pushed a small folder across his desk. Geist walked over and took their instructions. Each page had information on a separate sorcerer family, right down to the living members and their estimated wealth.

  “These are your targets,” Major Reese said. “House Solovyev, House Lungin, House Menshov, and House Kott. I had been in contact with them until communication over the border basically disappeared. When last I heard, they wanted out of the Russian Empire. I suspect they’ll be receptive to your appearance.”

  Battery glanced over Geist’s shoulder to look over the paperwork. “Is there a chance they’re already dead?”

  “Yes.”

  Another strike straight to the heart of the issue. They needed to protect civilian sorcerers from the horrors of the Great War.

  “Can we at least destroy this team of killers if we find them?” Vergess asked.

  “Don’t allow a manhunt to jeopardize your goal. None of the houses should be put in danger, but if you can deal with the enemy squad, do it.”

  Although Geist had agreed with Major Reese about rescuing the houses rather than hunting down the killers, she didn’t mind the thought of somehow accomplishing both. The team who destroyed House Watson had taken the lives of children, after all. They didn’t deserve mercy. They didn’t deserve anything.

  Geist closed the file. “We’ll handle this, sir.”

  The rest of her team nodded along with her words.

  “Good,” Major Reese replied. “Then you leave this afternoon. Take your equipment and send word right before you cross the border.”

  Four

  The Port City of Riga

  “We might not see each other for a long while,” Cross said. She opened her locker and withdrew her spare gloves and clothing. Then she neatly folded them and placed them into her bag. “I’ll be joining the Romanian campaign.”

  Geist remained quiet.

  Cross touched her silver necklace—a holy cross from the St. Augustine’s Roman Catholic Church in London. She twisted the ornament between her fingers.

  “I’m worried about your safety,” she said.

  “It’ll be easier to remain hidden in the barracks with Victory around.”

  “I wasn’t referring to your gender. I’m worried about whether you’ll make it back from your operation.”

  Before Geist’s team discovered her identity as a woman, Cross had been her sole confidant. As the Matron-in-Chief at Fort Belleville, Cross had even helped in disguising Geist as a man. Cross performed all physical examinations and checkups and provided Geist cellucotton for her monthly moments of blood.

  I never would’ve joined the Ethereal Squadron if it hadn’t been for Cross. The least I can do is dispel her doubts.

  “The Russian Empire is ally territory,” Geist said. “I’m more concerned about your assignment in the Kingdom of Romania.”

  “They need expert healers. I asked to be assigned once I heard the death tolls.”

  The Kingdom of Romania remained neutral the first two years of the war. They sold oil—their fields rich with it, more so than any other European nation—and allowed Germany to pass through to Turkey without hindrance. Although they had joined the allied powers, everyone knew Romania had strong ties to the enemy. Romania only joined the war on the allied side so they could take back Transylvania under the guise of “fighting the Central Powers,” though Turkey wasn’t even the biggest threat. The moment Romania had their land, the whole nation could change sides. The Central Powers would probably allow them to keep Turkey in exchange for the troops and tactical advantages.

  And th
en Cross would be in the heart of enemy territory.

  Geist folded her arms and gave Cross a long stare.

  “What about you?” Cross asked. “Didn’t the Austro-Hungarian prince want you for your blood? What if they specifically target you for their blood collection? Specter sorcery isn’t common.”

  Geist shook her head. “I doubt it. The prince wanted me before they created their GH Gas. They no longer need dynastic legacy to pass sorceries from one person to another. Besides, my father and brothers work for the crown prince. If he wanted blood, he could have it.”

  The locker room grew quiet. Cross finished packing her bag, her eyebrows knitted together. The expression didn’t suit her. Her regal posture and perfect golden hair came straight from fairy tales. Anything that marred her stately appearance looked out of place. Geist regretted upsetting her, especially when they would be parting ways soon.

  “Have you said goodbye to Victory?” Geist asked, hoping to change the subject.

  Cross didn’t answer. She hefted her bag over her shoulder and straightened her dress.

  “You don’t have to hide anything from me,” Geist said.

  “I’ve spoken to Victory. He shared the same concerns you did, but I’ve made up my mind. My family won’t be able to deny me anything once I return a war hero.” Cross brushed a strand of her hair to the side. She relaxed a bit, her expression neutral. “Once this ordeal is over, Victory and I can be together without fear of protest from my father. I just need to be strong. The light is at the end of the tunnel—I can feel it.”

  Geist nodded.

  Then Cross smiled. “You know, you never did tell me about you and Vergess.”

  “W-well, that’s different.”

  Heat flooded Geist’s face the more she stumbled through excuses in her head. No one was supposed to know about her relationship with Vergess, even if it were obvious to those who knew them.

  Cross walked toward the door. She placed her hand on the handle. “Be safe, Florence. I want us all to meet back in Paris once the Central Powers have fallen.”

  The weight of the request dug into Geist’s thoughts. She found it hard to find the words to respond—to promise they would all be together—and decided instead on silence. There were no guarantees in war, even if Geist was determined to make sure her team made it through the Russian Empire without trouble.

  “Until we meet again.”

  The ship rocked with the waves of the Baltic Sea.

  Geist read over her operation notes, her focus drifting after the long travel. For some reason, no matter how many times she rode on a ship, the rocking took its toll. Her stomach twisted, and her chest tightened, but she pushed through the nausea.

  The top of each briefing page read: OPERATION ORPHEUS. The rest of the page consisted of tiny Corona 3 typewriter print. The paragraphs detailed each sorcerer house, their estate, and any known information on associations and ties to the Royal House Romanov.

  The three brothers of her squad—Battery, Victory, and Blick—sat in the far corner of the passenger lounge. The rocking of the ship didn’t seem to bother them. Battery and Victory flipped through the operation notes with ease. Blick took his time. His half-lidded eyes and slacked posture betrayed his boredom.

  Dreamer and Vergess sat near the windows overlooking the deck. The waves glistened in the light of the setting sun, a glorious sight that Dreamer couldn’t keep his eyes off. His operation paperwork sat in his lap while he soaked in the golden rays of a dying day. Vergess didn’t glance up. He read through his brief and then read through it a second time afterward.

  The last member of the Ethereal Squadron assigned to Operation Orpheus was none other than Heinrich von Veltheim. Heinrich wasn’t normally a field operative like the others. Like Tinker, he sat behind fort walls and engaged in a war of information, research, and development. He sat next to Geist and read his notes without a sound, his black-framed glasses occasionally sliding down his slender nose when he reached the bottom of every page.

  “I’m surprised you weren’t assigned to London,” Geist said, keeping her voice low.

  No one else sat in the ship’s lounge, but she didn’t want to disturb the quiet.

  Heinrich huffed. “I will be traveling to London after this operation concludes. Major Reese has asked I train several Russian sorcerers on the basics of our magi-tech operations. I would have submitted my notes through a coded telegraph, but the major doesn’t trust traditional forms of communication.”

  “Several telegrams have been intercepted by German spies.”

  “Still. I find his archaic way of spreading information to be troublesome.”

  “I have instructions to protect you,” Geist said. She glanced down to the front sheet of her notes and pointed to the objectives. His name wasn’t listed, for security reasons, and instead Heinrich was referred to as the researcher. “I also have instructions to pick a codename for you.”

  Heinrich lifted an eyebrow but didn’t glance up from his notes. “I’ve always found the Ethereal Squadron’s use of codenames to be questionable. Germany doesn’t require their Abomination Soldiers to choose aliases.”

  “It prevented enemies from targeting specific sorcerers, especially during the Napoleonic Wars.”

  “We can choose anything?”

  Geist chuckled. “Not quite.”

  Normally, with field operatives, the codename came from their powers on the battlefield. Researchers, engineers, and medics had other rites of passage. How did Tinker get his codename? she wondered. She thought back to Battery and how he earned his name by empowering others.

  “I’ll think about it,” Geist stated. “You have an unusual circumstance. What did Tinker call you when you two worked together on the anti-gas grenades?”

  “He called me all manner of derogatory terms, but I suppose his favorite was traitor.” Heinrich glanced up from his reading and huffed. “If Vergess can have a codename that doesn’t directly reflect his turncoat actions, I demand the same treatment.”

  “Turncoat would be an amusing name,” Geist said with a chortle.

  Heinrich responded with a sharp sneer. “You Americans have an odd sense of humor.”

  Do Germans even have a sense of humor? Geist glanced over to Vergess. He had a slight smile on his face, and although he sat at least three tables away, she knew he heard the entire conversation. His apex sorcery heightened all his senses, and he tended to use it to his advantage whenever possible, especially when team matters were discussed.

  Victory stood, walked over, and took a seat next to Geist, a slight frown on his face.

  “We’re heading to the port city of Riga,” he said as he tapped the papers.

  Geist nodded. “That’s right.”

  “We could stay on the ship and land in Petrograd instead. It’ll add a day to our travels, but I think landing in the capital of the Russian Empire would be safer.”

  “We’re meeting a member of the Ethereal Squadron in Riga. Plus, one of the houses we need to speak to is located just outside of Riga.”

  “Two of our target houses are just outside of Petrograd,” Victory said.

  Geist flipped through her notes until she came to House Kott. “Out of all the sorcerer houses on the list, this one is closest to the Eastern front. They would be the easiest to target for our enemy operatives, and if Germany has plans to invade—and I suspect they do—they might want all sorcerers in the area dead regardless.”

  Victory stroked his chin as he stared down at the notes. He had a charisma about him, and his neat haircut and smooth face added to his clean-cut mien. Geist understood why Cross swooned in his presence.

  “We’ll be taking the train to Petrograd afterward,” Geist said.

  Victory nodded. “I see. Depending on how long we need to speak with House Kott, this may even be faster.”

  Geist hoped her decisions wouldn’t cost them any lives. Would the enemies target Petrograd first, since they could get two houses with one stone? Or perha
ps she was worrying for nothing. The variables made everything seem uncertain.

  But with magic…

  “Can’t you use your sorcery?” Geist asked. “If you see something terrible with this plan, you need to tell me.”

  Victory inhaled, closed his eyes, and then exhaled. Heinrich stopped reading and paid close attention as Victory sat motionless in his chair. Although powerful and beyond useful, Victory’s powers were the least flashy in the group. A slight chill filled the ship lounge, but otherwise there was no indication his sorcery had been used.

  Geist held her breath. Victory always reported multiple possibilities, since the future wasn’t totally determined. Many things could happen depending on the actions of a million individuals. What would he see in Riga?

  “In all my visions…” Victory scrunched his eyes and rubbed at the bridge of his nose. “We arrive at House Kott. And then we encounter… eyes.”

  Heinrich straightened his glasses. “Pardon me? Eyes?”

  “Yes. We will face eyes in Riga. That’s what I hear Vergess screaming whenever I picture their house and estate. Something about eyes. And then… we’re running.” Victory rubbed harder at his face, his voice strained.

  “Anything else?” Geist asked.

  “Death,” Victory added. “Geist, I think you might’ve made a wise choice. So many of my visions involve us not arriving in time because we chose to go elsewhere.” He opened his eyes and shook his head. “We must head straight for House Kott once we reach port. But we should be careful. I saw blood everywhere. Like stumbling upon the scene of a gruesome murder.”

  “Are we walking into a trap?”

  “No. The enemy is always surprised in my vision. But they’re not helpless, either.”

  “Who are they?”

  Everyone else in the lounge stopped and turned to face them. Geist gripped her uniform pants with a tight fist, her heart beating hard against her ribs. They would engage the enemy the moment they arrived? She could barely believe it.

  “Abomination Soldiers,” Victory muttered. “I would stake my life on it. They’re hidden in the shadows, and my visions become too blurry after that. The closer we get to House Kott, the clearer my sight will become.”