by Andy Smillie
The upper deck was cast in shadow, as though lit by the twisting blades of firelight. Gylon swallowed the familiar dread that rose in his gut, and stuffed the lumo-stick into the pocket of his trousers. There was no sign of brazier or open flame, yet the crackle-snap of burning wood persisted as he walked the length of the deck and entered the antechamber beyond.
‘Why have you come?’ Da’ka Jumoke’s voice shifted and changed as he spoke. It was an elusive rumble, a storm circling the horizon.
Gylon fell to his knees, prostrating himself before Da’ka. The black-armoured god sat on a throne of polished metal. Da’ka was alone in the room, though he carried more threat than a legion of Gylon’s men. ‘It is as you said, lord,’ Gylon kept his eyes low as he spoke. ‘The Space Marines, the Flesh Tearers, they are leaving.’
‘Are you certain?’ The sharpness of Da’ka’s words cut at Gylon’s ears.
‘Yes, lord,’ the zealot stammered, shaken by the feel of his blood as it ran from his ears to streak his neck. ‘There is no doubt. We have–’ Gylon flinched as the soft-crackle of an open comm-link sounded from Da’ka’s throne.
‘Recall the brotherhood. We are done here.’ Ignorant of Gylon, Da’ka cut the comm-feed, and made for the chamber’s exit.
‘Lord…’ Gylon’s mouth hung open in question. He turned, tracking Da’ka as the Space Marine strode past him. ‘With the Flesh Tearers gone we can overrun the capital. I had thought now to be our hour of victory. We should press our atta–’
With a speed that belied his bulk, Da’ka snatched Gylon from the floor, hoisting the zealot’s face level with his helm.
‘Lord… I meant no offence…’ Gylon whimpered, babbling in terror, as he saw his own frail form reflected in the fathomless dark of Da’ka’s helm.
‘Shhh, quiet,’ Da’ka lowered his voice. ‘The universe has no wish to hear of your weakness.’
‘Why, lord? Why would you abandon us?’ Gylon’s lips trembled, his cheeks wet with fear.
‘I do not care about you or your world. My patron would see the Flesh Tearers fall. Seth has left his own to die here. No soul can make such sacrifices without cost. It is with such small cuts that giants are slain.’ Da’ka placed a hand on Gylon’s face, relishing the crunch of bone as he tightened his grip. ‘Lowly though you are, I will take your life. You are the final blade that will leave nothing of my soul left to cut.’
His jaw now broken, Gylon was unable to scream as tendrils of blue flame slithered from Da’ka’s gauntlet to engulf him. His final moments were ones of terrible, impossible agony, as his bones burned and he heard again the crackle-snap of tinder.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Andy Smillie is best known for his visceral Flesh Tearers novellas, Sons of Wrath and Flesh of Cretacia, and the novel Trial by Blood. He has also written a host of short stories starring this brutal Chapter of Space Marines and a number of audio dramas including The Kauyon, Blood in the Machine, Deathwolf and From the Blood.
The Blood Angels eBook Collection – six short stories that feature the cursed sons of Sanguinius.
A BLACK LIBRARY PUBLICATION
Published in 2014 by Black Library, Games Workshop Ltd., Willow Road, Nottingham, NG7 2WS, UK.
Cover illustration by Diana Martinez.
© Games Workshop Limited 2014. All rights reserved.
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ISBN: 978-1-78251-571-5
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Table of Contents
Cover
A Son’s Burden – Andy Smillie
About the Author
Legal
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