Shadow Slave

The vehicle stable of the battleship was quiet and tense. Hundreds of people were moving with somber haste as they secured various tools and pieces of machinery. Thankfully, most of the vehicles were safely fastened in their cradles. As Sunny stepped out of the shadows, he had to make way for a lumbering loader that thundered past, carrying a half-disassembled bulk of a massive engine.

All around them, the colossal vessel was trembling as its cannons continued to fire without stop. Muffled sounds of heavy ordnance sliding into the feeding mechanisms spread through the deck. From time to time, an especially loud noise announced that a powerful torpedo or a salvo of ballistic missiles were launched from their nests.

Sunny was not the only person who felt a grim sense of powerlessness as the titanic battle continued to unfold in this nameless patch of the deep, dark ocean. While the crews of the battleships and the Awakened serving the House of Night were locked in a furious fight with whatever ancient horror it was that had attacked the convoy, the hundred thousand soldiers of the First Army had nothing to do but wait and beg the dead gods for salvation.

He was better off than most, at least. Sunny had left one of his shadows on the upper deck to observe the battle. Even though it could only see the turbulent surface of the seething water and not the true confrontation that was taking place deep beneath, there was some relief in knowing what was going on.

The rest did not enjoy such a privilege. They could only infer what was happening beyond the metal confines of the vehicle stable by paying attention to the sounds and vibrations spreading through the ship.

Occasionally, a loud and startling bang would roll through the massive compartment, indicating that something had collided against the hull of the vessel from the outside.

Full of dark thoughts, Sunny walked toward the cradle holding the Rhino. Many people threw furtive glances at the passing Master, hoping to find comfort and reassurance in his authority. Noticing that, he made an effort to hide his unease and project an image of absolute confidence.

It seemed to have worked, calming the people down a little.

'Poor fools. What can I do that they can't?'

Reaching the Rhino, Sunny saw four Awakened standing near it with reserved expressions on their faces. Dorn, Quentin, Kim, Luster…

He frowned.

Belle and

straightened a little when he saw his superior

already

Sunny sighed.

lucked out, considering that

least everyone

find Luster missing. The dolt was exactly the kind of guy to be lured to his death by a vision of young beauties singing

stared at the young man, who shifted uncomfortably

was, theoretically, seaworthy. So, it was going to be their last hope in case the battleship went down.. getting the massive machine out of the vehicle stable was a tall task, of

that it was

the sealed blast doors of the giant compartment, then at the solid alloy bulkheads. Would he be able to tear through the hull of the ship, should the need

that he stood a good chance of breaching the heavy armor of the colossal vessel, provided that he used his most powerful Memories and had enough time. However, there was a big difference between creating an opening that a person could squeeze through

could have ripped through the thick

wasn't here. There was also the mass of

sighed and shook his

comfortable. This will probably take

crates or leaning against the side of the Rhino. However,

and then asked in a

what exactly is going

Sunny shrugged.

Don't worry too much… House of Night