Yesugei looked at her quizzically.
‘Your master is the fifteenth primarch to be located,’ Niasta said. ‘His brothers were all brought here, just as he has been, and inducted into the ways of the Crusade. I saw them all come, one by one, ushered into the Palace and cloistered with the Emperor. Then I saw them go again, out into the void, where they now forge the Imperium at the head of the mightiest armies ever created. Each one of them would be a monarch on his own if allowed to be, an emperor greater than any that’s gone before, and yet they fight not for themselves, but for a greater vision. His vision.’
Yesugei nodded. ‘Is understood.’
‘Then you understand the danger. It is Unity. It is conformity. It has inherent vice. They must learn, all of them, and they must trust. So many of them find that difficult. How could they not? Even I struggle with it, and I’m not tempted by your outrageous martial prowess.’
‘This, also, is understood.’
Niasta laughed. ‘So you know what’s coming. The Khan has spoken with his Father often since we brought you to Terra, and we know it’s not gone well. This is not uncommon, but we need it to go better.’
Yesugei sighed, and looked out of the window again. ‘Tell him, then. I am not master – he is.’
‘This is our message – there are no gods, there is no magic, there is only reason. This is our only weapon, the one sanctioned by Him, beloved of all, who set this thing in motion.’
‘Is nonsense.’
Niasta smiled tolerantly. ‘Which is, I gather, exactly what the Khan told the Emperor. And that’s what’s giving my master considerable trouble, and when our respective masters are at loggerheads, it falls to us to smooth things over.’
‘Logger heads?’
‘You know precisely what I mean.’
Yesugei smiled sadly, knowingly. ‘You wish us to lie.’
‘We wish you to be sensible.’
‘He will never lie.’ Yesugei lost his smile. ‘He has fault. All men have fault. But not this. He make an oath, the oath is kept. You understand?’
‘This is not about truth,’ Niasta said, just a trace of exasperation creeping into her polished voice. ‘It doesn’t need to be.’
Yesugei pursed his cracked lips. The ritual tattoos flexed as his skin moved, forming new and esoteric shapes across sun-toughened flesh. ‘We are warriors. We have weapon, we use it. Does not master us, we master it. That is balance.’
‘He needs to meet the Sigillite,’ Niasta said. ‘He needs to meet Malcador.’
Yesugei shrugged. ‘May not be possible.’
‘Make it possible.’
He turned to face her, looking at her carefully for the first time. ‘Your eyes,’ he said. ‘What happened?’
Niasta looked away. ‘Soul-binding,’ she said. ‘Most lose them.’
‘Soul-binding,’ Yesugei mused, softly. ‘So there are souls, then.’
‘Do not be obtuse.’
‘Be honest, with me. You have sight, both kinds. What is inner sense used for?’
‘I am not used. I serve.’
‘Now, yes. The future – who knows?’ He drew closer, and his golden eyes reflected the light from the window. ‘What you sense in me, Niasta, I sense in you. But be careful. We do not lie, even to ourselves. Perhaps you do.’
‘Get him to meet Malcador. That’s all I need.’
Yesugei hesitated, as if he wanted to say more. Then he thought better of it and turned away, back to the window.
‘I do what I can,’ he said.
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