The Shadow of the Beast
Page 4
The far reaches of the corridor buckled with a deafening groan of tortured metal – the Xenophon’s back was broken. It would not be long now. Deck plates popped free in an undulating wave away from the dorsal ridge, firing rivets and corroded debris into the darkness.
The whole ship lurched as something broke away from the outer hull, and roaring flames swept the length of the corridor; they were ablaze with the heat of atmospheric re-entry.
Hornindal clutched Goss tightly against his broad, armoured chest. The bloodied young officer screamed into the white noise of the inferno, his epaulettes and wrinkled collar smouldering in the heat, his bare face blistering.
Hornindal closed his eyes. He imagined the planet’s surface racing up to meet them as they burned. Something in the ship’s superstructure cracked beneath him.
Holy Emperor, I have failed you. I have failed them all.
He braced both feet against the bulkhead.
Four. Three. Two.
About the Author
L J Goulding has written many stories for Black Library, including ‘The Lords of Borsis’, ‘Kaldor Draigo: Knight of Titan’, ‘Shield of Baal: The Word of the Silent King’ and the Space Marine Battles audio drama Mortarion’s Heart for Warhammer 40,000, and ‘The Oberwald Ripper’ and ‘The Great Maw’ for Warhammer. He lives and works in Nottingham, UK.
The Great Devourer is descending on the world of Tarsis Ultra, but to defeat the xenos horrors, Captain Uriel Ventris may have to embark upon a dangerous and unorthodox mission.
A BLACK LIBRARY PUBLICATION
First published in Hammer and Bolter Issue 21 (2012).
This eBook edition published in 2015 by Black Library, Games Workshop Ltd, Willow Road, Nottingham, NG7 2WS, UK.
Produced by Games Workshop in Nottingham.
The Shadow of the Beast © Copyright Games Workshop Limited 2015. The Shadow of the Beast, GW, Games Workshop, Black Library, The Horus Heresy, The Horus Heresy Eye logo, Space Marine, 40K, Warhammer, Warhammer 40,000, the ‘Aquila’ Double-headed Eagle logo, and all associated logos, illustrations, images, names, creatures, races, vehicles, locations, weapons, characters, and the distinctive likenesses thereof, are either ® or TM, and/or © Games Workshop Limited, variably registered around the world.
All Rights Reserved.
A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN: 978-1-78572-297-4
This is a work of fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this book are fictional, and any resemblance to real people or incidents is purely coincidental.
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