by Gav Thorpe
Of Cassiel there was no sign.
It was only as the Apothecary shifted one of the bodies that he spied black armour. Dragging aside the dead pirates, he unearthed Sergeant Cassiel from the mound. He still held his power blade in one hand and the cogitator console of a bike in the other.
‘Brother? Brother Cassiel?’
The sergeant’s armour was a bloody mess, but how much was his and how much had belonged to his foes was impossible to tell. His helm was scratched and battered, but otherwise seemed intact. Lowering to one knee, Gideon rapped on the sergeant’s breastplate.
‘Sergeant! Sergeant Cassiel!’
The Space Marine’s arm twitched and Gideon had to react quickly, grabbing Cassiel’s wrist as he swung his power sword towards the Apothecary.
‘It is Gideon, brother!’
Cassiel’s arm relaxed and he slowly turned his head to look at the Apothecary.
‘A welcome sight, Brother Gideon,’ croaked the sergeant.
‘For me, also. I am glad my efforts have not proved fruitless.’
Gideon helped up Cassiel, supporting the sergeant with his free arm.
‘An effort that is appreciated, brother, but I do not understand something. There must be others requiring your assistance, why expend so much energy for me when my brothers still fight?’
‘I will attend to them soon enough, brother-sergeant,’ Gideon said, guiding Cassiel to the steps. ‘None have been fighting harder than you. They know, as you did, that no matter where they fall, the Chapter shall not forget them, and nor shall I.’
Cassiel looked down at the blood-slicked, battered casing of his bike’s cogitation engine.
‘Aye, I understand, Gideon. We stand together and fall together.’ He clasped the cogitator to his chest. ‘The Master of the Forge will find a new body for my steed, even as mine is repaired. We fight for the Emperor, for the Lion and, perhaps above all, for each other. That is what it is to be battle-brothers.’
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Gav Thorpe is the New York Times bestselling author of ‘The Lion’, a novella in the collection The Primarchs. He has written many other Black Library books, including the Horus Heresy novel Deliverance Lost and audio drama Raven’s Flight as well as fan-favourite Warhammer 40,000 novel Angels of Darkness and the epic Time of Legends trilogy, The Sundering. He is currently working on a new Dark Angels series, The Legacy of Caliban. Gav hails from Nottingham, where he shares his hideout with the evil genius that is Dennis, the mechanical hamster.
A BLACK LIBRARY PUBLICATION
Published in 2013 by Black Library, Games Workshop Ltd., Willow Road, Nottingham, NG7 2WS, UK
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ISBN 978-0-85787-963-9
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