by Gav Thorpe
The eldar stepped closer, voice dropping to a harsh whisper.
‘I have looked upon your thread, Azrael of the Dark Angels. Shadows follow you, darkness seeks you. You stand poised upon the blade of extinction and glory. Perhaps both in time will claim you. By your word planets will burn and billions of your own kind will perish. I see a wolf, wounded in its lair, your sword held ready for the blow. Execution or mercy killing? Whether your blade falls or not will decide the fates of countless worlds. Choose poorly and you will doom that which you have vowed to protect.’
At some unspoken word from the seer, the eldar started to move away. The warlock contingent strode past the Dark Angels, giving the newly emerged Terminators a wide berth as they headed towards the glimmering portalway. Everywhere across the battlefield new gateways of gold opened and the tanks and bikes of the eldar glided away.
‘You told me that without the stone you would be eternally damned. Was that a lie?’
‘You asked what I was willing to sacrifice for my people, Azrael of the Dark Angels.’ Walker on Grey Paths withdrew until almost swallowed by the golden light of the gateway. ‘You have your answer.’
‘Wait!’ Azrael took a step and held out his hand. ‘There must be another way. There is always a chance at redemption!’
But the farseer had gone.
‘How can that be?’ he asked quietly, of nobody in particular, though Ezekiel chose to answer.
‘They are a strange kin, enigmatic and capricious. Do not mistake self-interest for honour. We have nothing to learn from the eldar in that regard.’
But Azrael was not so sure.
Date Ident: 119940.M41
The cold, dry air of the Rock was a comfort, a familiarity that told Azrael he was back where he was meant to be. He had fought many campaigns over his long years, but Rhamiel was the first that had left him with such unease. The Dark Angels had been victorious, for certain. Winning left him feeling worse than the defeats of the past. At what cost had the foe been vanquished? A favour from an alien? By what means had they been delivered from disaster? The whims of fate?
And the words of the farseer haunted him too. He could not wholly trust anything the eldar had told him. All of it could be lies to manipulate and deceive, for some agenda he might never unravel. Was it simply that he was now Supreme Grand Master? His new position and perspective brought fresh burdens and labours. He had claimed during his trials he would burn star systems, really no different from the assertions of Walker on Grey Paths.
Yet there was more to it. The psyker had known what would happen to the spirit stone, had seen the future so specifically that a chain of events was set in motion as predicted. And the farseer had spoken prophecy to Azrael, unheard by any of the others. The Dark Angel could not unravel the import of it yet, and perhaps might never understand.
But there was something else he needed to know.
He turned his head to the diminutive, shadowy figure that stood close to his desk. It looked at him with coal red eyes.
‘I have to know. Show me. What manner of man am I? What is in my soul?’
The girl stood over him. He wiped a hand over his mouth, smearing blood across his cheek and arm, still dazed. She pulled back the club.
A stone hit her in the temple and she toppled, falling across his legs with eyes glazed. Another boy shouted, pointing at the unconscious girl, insistent, his meaning clear. Azrael picked himself up, still groggy, and retrieved his bone-axe.
He drew back the weapon, ready to strike.
About the Author
Gav Thorpe is the author of the Horus Heresy novels Deliverance Lost, Angels of Caliban and Corax, as well as the novella The Lion, which formed part of the New York Times bestselling collection The Primarchs. He is particularly well-known for his Dark Angels stories, including the Legacy of Caliban series. His Warhammer 40,000 repertoire further includes the Path of the Eldar series, the The Beast Arises novels The Emperor Expects and The Beast Must Die, Horus Heresy audio dramas Raven’s Flight, Honour to the Dead and Raptor, and a multiplicity of short stories. For Warhammer, Gav has penned the End Times novel The Curse of Khaine, the Time of Legends trilogy, The Sundering, and much more besides. He lives and works in Nottingham.
This one’s for Rob, the Dark Angels’ original vid-capture Remembrancer.
A Black Library Publication
First published in Great Britain in 2016
This eBook edition published in 2016 by Black Library, Games Workshop Ltd,
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Produced by Games Workshop in Nottingham.
Cover illustration by Akim Kaliberda.
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ISBN: 978-1-78572-596-8
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