Chapter 107 The Grave-Digger
SILAS
I watch from the rooftop. Non-combatant. Observer. Recorder of history.
This is what I do. Document death. Keep records. Ensure nothing is forgotten.
My notebook is open. I'm writing as fast as I can.
7:04 AM - First death. Vampire hunter (designation V-12). Shot by Marie Castellano. Silver bullet to chest.
7:05 AM - Second death. Wolf fighter (designation W-03, name: James Moreau). Incinerated by dragon fire.
7:06 AM - Third death. Fae warrior (designation F-07). Beheaded by vampire hunter.
The count rises. Fast. Brutal.
By 7:15 AM, I've recorded twenty-three wolf deaths. Fifteen vampire hunters. Three fae warriors.
Forty-one dead in eleven minutes.
This isn't battle. It's massacre. Both sides bleeding out.
I document everything. Who killed whom. How they died. Where they fell.
Someone needs to remember. When this is over, when survivors tell stories, they'll forget details. Misremember. Create myths.
I provide truth. Exact. Detailed. Undeniable.
7:18 AM - Wolf fighter (W-22, name: Sarah Klein). Throat torn by Cormac's enforcer. Bled out in forty seconds.
7:19 AM - Vampire hunter (V-34). Staked by Valentina Corvino. Turned to ash.
7:21 AM - Dragon mercenary (D-03). Holy water attack by Tom Cracksman. Burned from inside. Died screaming.
The pattern becomes clear. Wolves are dying faster than vampires. Three to one ratio. Unsustainable.
But fae warriors are evening the odds. Killing vampires at incredible rates. Thirty fae are worth sixty vampires easily.
Without the fae, this would already be over. Total extermination in twenty minutes.
With the fae, it's contested. Brutal. Balanced.
I watch Callum fighting Cormac. Twin brothers trying to kill each other. The symbolism is perfect. Two Londons at war. Old power structure versus new resistance.
7:24 AM - Wolf enforcer (from Cormac's pack, designation CE-08, name: Marcus Williams). Shot by Valentina Corvino. Silver bullet to head. Instant death.
I notice something. The Hermetic Order mages aren't just maintaining magical barriers. They're collecting.
Every time someone dies, mages are moving to the bodies. Not all bodies. Selective. They're choosing specific corpses.
Young wolves. Hybrid victims. Rare supernatural variants.
They're harvesting.
I watch Professor Fell coordinate the collection. He's pointing. Directing. His mages are grabbing bodies. Transporting them somewhere.
Not for burial. For study.
The battle isn't just extermination. It's harvest. Hermetic Order is using the chaos to collect specimens for their hybrid program.
7:28 AM - Fae warrior (F-12). Overwhelmed by four vampire hunters. Died fighting. Took two vampires with her.
7:29 AM - Wolf fighter (W-41, name: Danny Castellano). Mauled by dragon. Died from massive trauma.
Danny. Marie's brother. I knew him. Good kid. Nineteen years old.
Dead.
I write it down. Dispassionate. Exact. That's my role.
The body count keeps rising. By 7:30 AM, I've recorded sixty-three deaths total.
Thirty-four wolves. Twenty-two vampires. Seven fae.
Mathematically, the Rookeries is losing. More deaths per minute. Higher casualty rate.
But they're still fighting. Still standing. That matters.
I watch Hermetic Order mages collect more bodies. They've taken twelve so far. All young. All unusual in some way.
This is calculated. They're using Parliament's extermination as cover for specimen acquisition.
The battle's real purpose isn't killing the resistance. It's harvesting supernatural diversity for human experimentation.
7:33 AM - Vampire hunter (V-51). Torn apart by fae warrior. Died in pieces.
7:34 AM - Wolf fighter (W-52, name: Unknown). Beheaded by Cormac Brennan personally. Alpha executing his own kind.
The violence is escalating. People aren't just dying. They're being destroyed. Torn apart. Incinerated. Obliterated.
I document everything. Every death. Every method. Every second.
Because this battle will change London's supernatural balance. The casualties on both sides are too high. Too public. Too witnessed.
Parliament can't hide this. Too many bodies. Too much destruction. Even the Veil has limits.
7:38 AM - Dragon mercenary (D-06). Staked by Callum Brennan. Died trying to kill Cormac.
7:39 AM - Fae warrior (F-18). Killed by magical attack. Hermetic Order mage eliminated them to protect harvesting operation.
That's new. Hermetic Order attacking fae. Crossing lines.
The battle's fracturing. Not just wolves versus vampires. Multiple factions. Multiple agendas.
I watch Professor Fell direct another body collection. Young hybrid child. Dead from crossfire. He's smiling as his mages take the corpse.
This is their real goal. Not extermination. Harvest.
The battle is cover. The deaths are opportunities. The resistance is raw material.
I write it all down.
Every death matters. Every body counts. Every detail preserved.
Because someday, someone will ask: what really happened at the Rookeries?
And I'll have the answer.
Exact. Detailed. Undeniable.
7:42 AM - Running count: 78 deaths. 42 wolves. 26 vampires. 10 fae.
7:42 AM - Observation: Hermetic Order harvesting bodies. 15 specimens collected. Focus on young/hybrid/variant supernaturals.
7:42 AM - Conclusion: Battle's real purpose isn't extermination. It's harvest. Hermetic Order is collecting supernatural corpses for hybrid breeding program.
I close my notebook. Enough documentation. Time to act.
If someone doesn't stop the harvesting, this battle serves exactly the purpose Hermetic Order wants.
Dead resistance. Collected specimens. Scientific advancement through genocide.
That can't happen.
I'm non-combatant. Observer. Record-keeper.
But even I have limits.
I descend from the rooftop. Moving toward the battlefield.
Time to interfere.