Killing Ground w4u-4

by Graham McNeill

  'I suppose I have a card?' asked Barbaden, affecting an air of studied boredom, but Uriel could see that he was intrigued to see which card would represent him.

  'Indeed you do, governor,' said Leodegarius, slapping another card on the table.

  The man on the card wore a long robe and stood before a table, upon which lay a cup, a wand, a sword and a pentacle. Flowers surrounded him, and above his head was a symbol that Uriel recognised as that representing Infinity.

  'The Sorcerer,' said Leodegarius.

  'A sorcerer?' snorted Barbaden, although there was a hint of unease in his tone. 'I may be many things, Brother Leodegarius, but I am no sorcerer. I can assure you of that.'

  Leodegarius shook his head. 'You misread the card, Governor Barbaden. The Sorcerer is not literally a wielder of magic. He represents a man always in control of the choices that surround him. He holds his wand up to the heavens, and yet the opposite hand points to the earth. The Sorcerer is a warning of opportunity and, reversed like this, it indicates a person who is a perfectionist, a man who handles every situation calmly and coolly, but who uses power for destructive and negative purposes.'

  'That is absurd,' said Barbaden, although from the look of those around him it was clear that they agreed with the Grey Knight's reading of the card.

  'There is one final card to be dealt,' said Leodegarius, 'and that it yours, Captain Ventris.'

  Uriel nodded. He had expected this, but he didn't know whether to anticipate or dread the card that Leodegarius would draw.

  The card placed before Uriel displayed a tower standing high on a mountain, its structure blown apart by a lightning bolt from the heavens. A pair of figures fell from the tower.

  'What does it mean?' asked Uriel.

  'The fall of the tower reminds us that if we use our knowledge and strength for evil purposes, then destruction will be wrought upon us,' explained Leodegarius. 'When the Tower appears, it indicates changes, conflict and catastrophe. Not only that, but there will be an overthrow of existing ways of life.'

  'Sounds just like you,' observed Pasanius dryly.

  Uriel scowled as Leodegarius continued his reading. 'However, with destruction comes enlightenment. The Tower shows us that selfish ambition and greed will ultimately bring us nothing of value.'

  Uriel released the breath he was holding and looked at the faces around the table. He knew them all, with the exception of Serj Casuaban, and he could see that the cartomancy had unsettled them all, even Governor Barbaden.

  'So you see that you are all necessary to the coming conflict,' said Leodegarius. 'How, I do not yet know, but your destinies are linked to the fate of this world.'

  'What did you mean that there was a greater threat to Salinas?' asked Uriel. 'It sounds like you are saying that what's happening now is a symptom of something more serious.'

  'It is indeed, Captain Ventris, but to answer that I will need to instruct you in the history of Salinas.'

  'We already know the history of Salinas,' said Leto Barbaden. 'We have a Gallery of Antiquities devoted to it should anyone feel the need to be bored rigid.'

  'I meant the history of Salinas as it is known by my order,' said Leodegarius.

  Before Leodegarius began his tale, he spoke into a wrist-mounted vox-unit and would say nothing until the seven Null-Servitors entered and took up positions around the edges of the room. They began their droning chant and Uriel saw that their dreadful appearance was a shock to everyone in the room. Even Barbaden recoiled in loathing at the sight of them.

  'There are truths that must be spoken here,' said Leodegarius. 'And truth is powerful, it can reach beyond the realms of Men. I must speak words that should not escape into the world beyond this chamber.'

  Uriel felt his skin crawl at the sight of the blank, empty-faced servitors, feeling the familiar dullness blunt his senses as their chant continued and Leodegarius began to speak.

  'To understand what is happening on Salinas, you must understand a measure of the foe ranged against us. In this region of space, the walls between the material realm and the heaving madness of the Warp are thin. The currents within the Sea of Souls are felt in this world and stir the dreams and nightmares of mortals, goading their fractious hearts to discord. Voracious predator creatures lurk in the depths of the warp, and in most places, such creatures cannot force themselves from their abode of the damned to our world without willing conduits or debased followers to ease their passage. But here… here daemonic beings of great power can force themselves through on their own.'

  Leodegarius paused and Uriel felt the skin beneath his armour crawl at the thought of the denizens of the warp. He had faced such creatures and knew well the havoc they could wreak. One such being was able to manifest on Salinas just over four thousand years ago, a fell Daemon Prince of Chaos named Ustaroth; a thousand curses upon its damned name. This prince of mayhem was a creature of almost limitless power and incalculable malice, and the stress of its passage from the warp allowed others of its kind to follow in the froth of its immaterial wake. Great was the slaughter unleashed, and hundreds died in the first hours of their arrival, thousands in the days following. In desperation, the Imperial Commander called for aid and a detachment of warriors from the Sons of Guilliman heard his plea. Though they knew there was little hope of victory, they diverted to provide what aid they could, for what warrior of honour could stand idly by while the forces of the Archenemy made sport with loyal servants of the Emperor?'

  Uriel's heart filled with pride at the heroism of his brothers of the blood and he made a solemn vow that he would do honour to this armour, which had belonged to one of those heroes of long ago.

  'The Sons of Guilliman fought alongside the planetary armies, but they were no match for the host of the Daemon Prince, who swept them aside and slew them in a great battle fought within a city in the shadow of the mountains.'

  Uriel and Pasanius shared a glance with one another, and they could see that everyone in the room knew, without knowing how they knew, that the Sons of Guilliman had died in Khaturian.

  The Killing Ground was, it seemed, a magnet for death.

  'Death, unimaginable bloodshed and slavery followed for a decade before warriors from the Grey Knights arrived at the head of a crusade force. My order met the Prince of Chaos in battle and the great Ignatius defeated it, hurling its unclean flesh back to the hell from whence it had come. Salinas was cleansed of taint and displaced peoples from across the sector were brought in to repopulate the planet. Within three generations, what little evidence remained of the invasion had been eradicated and the planet was on its way to becoming a world of the Emperor once more.'

  Leodegarius paused, his eyes closed as though remembering and doing honour to the brave hero who had defeated the mighty daemon prince. The Grey Knight opened his eyes and took up the tale once more.

  'Salinas was freed from the grip of the daemonic, but great was the damage done beyond the merely physical. Though no trace of the warp remained, the very presence of so powerful a creature is anathema to the fabric of reality, and the invisible walls that separate our realm of existence from that of the immaterium were worn dangerously thin. And the daemonic will always seek to return to the places they once trod.'

  'So you've been watching Salinas ever since?' asked Pasanius suddenly. 'That's why you're here now, isn't it?'

  'Indeed,' said Leodegarius. 'Since that great victory, we have maintained a secret outpost, hidden from all, that we might stand vigil on Salinas and watch for the return of the daemon prince banished by the great Ignatius.'

  'You intercepted our astropathic message,' said Uriel, understanding how the Grey Knights could have known of their whereabouts. 'You heard the call of the Janiceps.'

  Leodegarius nodded. 'We did and our warp-seers felt the surge in the warp caused by your arrival. Vast quantities of dangerous energies were released by the machine that brought you here and they have been seized upon by a dark presence lurking on this world.'

&nb
sp; 'Dark presence?' asked Cardinal Togandis, his voice trembling. 'The daemon prince?'

  'Thankfully not,' said Leodegarius, and Togandis visibly sagged against the table, 'but there are powers at work on Salinas that are drawing on that energy and that is further weakening the barriers between us and the warp.'

  'What are these powers?' asked Daron Nisato. 'And how do we stop them?'

  'We all know what it is,' blurted Togandis, his eyes filling with tears. 'Don't we? Come on, admit it, we've all seen them, haven't we? Daron? Leto? Serj… I know you have!'

  'What are you babbling about, Shavo?' snapped Barbaden.

  'The dead!' shrieked Togandis. 'The dead of Khaturian! They won't let go of their anger! They want to punish us for what we did… for what we allowed to happen.'

  Togandis fell to his knees, and Uriel reached out to grab him. The cardinal held onto Uriel's arm for support, fat tears streaming down his glossy cheeks.

  'We were there,' whispered the cardinal. 'We were there.'

  'Shavo, shut up,' said Barbaden.

  Shavo Togandis looked up at the governor, and Uriel was surprised at the steel he saw in the cardinal's eyes. 'No, Leto,' said Togandis, 'not any more. You did it. You doomed us all that day. I must confess. I have to speak!'

  Before Togandis could say more, Eversham moved from behind Barbaden with his pistol drawn. Uriel was too far away to react, but there was a flash of silver mail followed by a heavy crunch and Eversham dropped to the floor.

  'Emperor's blood!' swore Uriel as he saw Barbaden's equerry lying crumpled on the carpet, blood leaking from the enormous crater that Leodegarius had punched in the side of his head. The man's legs twitched and his eyes fluttered as though he couldn't quite comprehend that he had been killed.

  Everyone backed away from the corpse and Leodegarius loomed over Leto Barbaden.

  'What has to be said here will be said,' commanded the Grey Knight.

  'Of course,' replied Barbaden, looking down at the corpse and for once appearing to be cowed by the warrior.

  Leodegarius turned back to the shaking cardinal and took hold of his shoulder, lifting him to his feet as though he weighed no more than a child. He marched the unresisting Togandis towards the room's only chair, and the sweating cardinal gratefully sank into the plush leather.

  'Was… Was he going to kill me?' asked Togandis, his gaze switching between the corpse and the warrior who had spilled its blood and brains over the floor.

  'He was,' nodded Leodegarius, 'to protect his master.'

  All eyes turned on Leto Barbaden and the governor drew himself up to his full height, pulling his coat tightly around him and folding his arms.

  'I apologise for nothing,' he stated. 'I did what I had to do. Any commander would have done likewise.'

  'No,' said Uriel, rounding on the governor, 'they would not. You murdered the population of Khaturian just because it was the quickest and easier solution. A whole city, tens of thousands dead just to get to one man.'

  'Khaturian was a legitimate military target,' said Barbaden.

  'Military target?' exclaimed Pascal Blaise, his face purpling with rage and only prevented from launching himself at Barbaden by Daron Nisato's restraining hand. 'There were never any weapons or supplies in Khaturian! We deliberately kept it out of the troubles so there would be somewhere safe for our families to live. You murdered them all!'

  'The city was harbouring wanted terrorists and its people shot at my soldiers, so I don't know why you're throwing words like murder around.'

  'No!' cried Togandis, rising to his feet. 'You knew, Leto. You knew that many of the Sons of Salinas had families in Khaturian. That was why you picked it. You knew before the first tank rolled that you were going to raze the city to the ground. You sent in Verena Kain and she killed them all. Just to drive Sylvanus Thayer mad with grief and rage and draw him into battle.'

  'It worked, didn't it?' snarled Barbaden. 'Why don't any of you see that? We destroyed him and the Sons of Salinas. We brought peace!'

  'Brought peace?' laughed Serj Casuaban bitterly. 'You are a fool if you think that, Leto. Spend a day in the House of Providence and you will see what your ''peace'' has brought to Salinas.'

  'So that's it,' laughed Barbaden. 'This is all some grand charade to condemn me, is that it? Gather up all the weaklings who didn't have the spine or will to do what needed to be done and have them all point their grubby little fingers at me?'

  Leto Barbaden moved to his drinks cabinet and poured a fresh glass of port. 'We were at war with these people,' he said, carefully enunciating every word, as though speaking to a roomful of simpletons, 'and people die in wars.'

  'That's your excuse for mass murder?' asked Uriel.

  'Mass murder, military necessity, genocide,' said Barbaden, shrugging, 'it's all the same thing, isn't it? The great Solar Macharius did not shy away from tough decisions that needed to be made, Captain Ventris. He left worlds burning in his wake and entire planets were destroyed in his campaigns, and he is a hero. His name is lauded throughout the Imperium and his generals are revered as saints. Would you have levelled the same accusations at him? Wars are won by the side that is willing to go the furthest, to take the decisions their foes are too squeamish to take. Or have you been so long away from your Chapter that you have forgotten that elementary fact?'

  'You are wrong, governor,' said Uriel. 'I have seen my share of death, both honourable and despicable, and yes, I know that war is a brutal, bloody business capable of bringing out the best and worst in men. This is a harsh, dangerous galaxy, with untold terrors lurking in the dark to devour us, but the minute we turn on our own kind and murder them, we might as well take a blade to our throats.'

  'I never thought to hear one of the Adeptus Astartes say something so naive,' spat Barbaden. 'We were at war with an enemy that fought in the shadows with the tactics of terror. How were we to win the war if not by using their own methods against them?'

  'You were once a man, Leto, but you are a monster now,' said Shavo Togandis. 'I was once proud to serve you, but what we did that day was wrong, and we have to pay for it.'

  'Pay for it?' said Barbaden. 'And who is there to make me?'

  'I told you, the dead seek their vengeance.'

  Barbaden laughed. 'The dead? Frankly I don't think I need fear them. I think I'm somewhat beyond their jurisdiction.'

  'You're wrong,' said Togandis. 'I've seen them. I've felt their cold breath and the touch of their dead hands. They want us all to pay for what we did. Hanno Merbal couldn't take it any more and took his own life right in front of Daron, and I wish I had his courage. For the love of the Emperor, the dead have already killed Mesira and Verena and the Screaming Eagles! And we're next, you, me and Serj. We're all that's left.'

  Leodegarius lifted a hand, stopping Barbaden's reply. 'The cardinal is correct, the dead are here. I have felt them and one does not need to be a psychic to feel the dread presence of their spirits. This planet is rank with them.'

  'How is that possible?' asked Uriel. 'How can the dead remain after they are gone?'

  'Each of us has a spark inside us, a spirit or soul, call it what you will, and when we die it is released from our bodies to dissipate into the warp,' said Leodegarius, 'but when so large a number of people die, gripped by such rage and terror as must have been felt by the people of Khaturian, their spirits can remain coherent.'

  'What happens to them?' asked Pascal Blaise.

  'Normally nothing, for such spirits are as swirling embers in a hurricane, but when there is a focus for them, something to direct their energies, they can influence the realm of the living. Even then, it is usually no more than phantasms and does not last for long, but something or someone is directing the power of these spirits and they are growing stronger with every passing moment.'

  'Is that what those monsters were that killed Mesira?' asked Daron Nisato. 'The dead?'

  'No, they are creatures of flesh and blood,' said Uriel. 'We encountered them in our travels
and were bringing them home. Once they were human children, but they were twisted by the Ruinous Powers into…' Uriel struggled for the right word.

  'Into monsters,' said Nisato.

  'No, not monsters,' said Uriel. 'They are innocents. The spirits of the dead have taken their bodies for their own. What is happening is not their doing.'

  Leto Barbaden laughed. 'So am I to understand that these creatures came to Salinas with you, Captain Ventris? Oh, this is too rich. Then the deaths of the Screaming Eagles, Colonel Kain and Mesira Bardhyl are your fault.'

  'No, governor,' said Uriel icily. 'Their deaths are on your head. The Unfleshed could have lived their lives out in peace somewhere safe, if it hadn't been for the horror you unleashed on Khaturian. Now they are pawns in the bloody revenge of your victims.'

  'Worse, they may see this world destroyed,' said Leodegarius.

  All recriminations stopped.

  'Destroyed?' asked Casuaban. 'In the name of all that's holy, why?'

  The stronger the dead become, the more they draw the power of the warp to themselves, further weakening the walls that keep the immaterium from engulfing this world. If we do not stop this soon, the walls will collapse and the entire sector will become a gateway to the realm of Chaos. I will destroy this world before I allow that to happen.'

  A heavy silence descended as all gathered suddenly realised the scale of the danger.

  'So how do we stop it?' asked Uriel.

  'We find what is holding the ghosts here and destroy it,' said Leodegarius.

  'What is holding them here?' asked Togandis.

  When Leodegarius didn't answer immediately, Barbaden said, 'You don't know, do you?'

  'No, I do not, but one of you does.'

  'One of us?' asked Uriel. 'Who?'

  'Again, I do not know, but the cards have gathered you here for a reason,' said Leodegarius. 'The energy of these spirits must have a focus that binds them here, someone with psychic ability, who is so consumed by rage that he has the power to wield such monstrous energies.'

  Again, silence fell, until Pascal Blaise said, 'I know who it is.'