‘It was not my intention to do so, lord.’
‘I know, Ragnar, I know.’ Berek sounded almost kindly now. ‘You must understand though that the Spear of Russ was a most precious and sacred thing. It was created for Russ, Lord of Lords, Wolf of Wolves. It contained part of his power. It is said that on the day of his return he would claim it and use it to smite the Great Evil One in the last days. I think he will find that a bit difficult now.’
Ragnar felt a deep-rooted sense of shame take him. He thought he had been a hero. He thought he had been saving the world. He thought he had made the right decision. Instead he had committed an act of blasphemy and sacrilege. A sudden flash of anger passed through his mind. No – he had made the right decision, the only decision under the circumstances. He had stopped the Chaos gate running out of control. He had stopped this world being overrun by the raw stuff of Chaos. If called upon to do so again, he would. He said as much to Berek.
‘And I agree with you,’ said the Wolf Lord. ‘And I was there. Unfortunately not all of our brethren were. Some of the priests are not so sure that the gate would have run out of control. Some of them feel that it would have collapsed harmlessly in on itself once the summoners were slain. And who is to say that is not true? I am not an expert on such things. Are you? The only man who might have said so for sure was Skalagrim and he was so badly wounded he is not expected to recover.’
Ragnar shook his head. Perhaps he had been presumptuous after all. Perhaps things would have turned out well without him.
Was it possible he was really going to go down in the annals of the Chapter as the man who had destroyed the Spear of Russ? He would most likely become the most reviled brother in the history of the Chapter. It was not a pleasant thought.
‘Regrettably there are other influences at work here too,’ Berek added.
‘What do you mean, lord?’
‘In any mighty organisation there will always be politics, Brother Ragnar, even among the Russ’s Wolves. There are those who see discrediting you as a means of discrediting me. After all, it means my company goes from being the one which saved the world of Garm well-nigh single-handed to being the one which lost our Chapter’s most precious relic.’
‘You mean Sigrid is behind this.’
‘In part, he and his allies are behind this. I am sure of it. They are pushing for punishment and exile. Some of our more… devout… brethren wish to see the blood eagle carved on your back.’
‘If such punishment is deemed fair by the Great Wolf, I will face my destiny like a Space Wolf.’
‘Spoken like a true Son of Russ,’ said Berek. ‘We go to face Logan Grimnar now.’
EPILOGUE
‘What happened then?’ blurted Mikko from the crowd of rapt faces, forgetting his status in his eagerness for the tale to continue. The Blood Claw had an expression on his youthful face that made it plain he wanted to hear so much more. As the tale had continued, the young Blood Claws had joined the circle of veterans, barely daring to make a sound. ‘I mean, lord, would–’
Ragnar shook his head and looked around, almost as if seeing his battle-brothers arrayed before him for the first time. The sounds of the encampment rose up around him once again. The day had passed and his throat was dry as dust. The old memories of comrades long dead had come flooding back and filled him with memory and sadness and a sense of loss. Just as the day had ended, so his desire to revisit those dark memories had faded.
‘That is a tale for another day,’ Ragnar said, rising from beside the fire. ‘Besides, if we do nothing but tell tales of what has already been, how will we create the heroes to be talked of tomorrow? Brother Mikko, you are anxious to learn what it is like to be made a Grey Hunter, but I do not think you need hear of such an occasion from another’s lips. Form up your squad. We must see if the brotherhood will accept you and your comrades into their pack.’
He could tell by the young warrior’s face how delighted he was, and Ragnar envied him that, never having experienced it himself. The Space Wolf was silent for just a moment longer, then he gestured for the men to follow him to the place the priests would have purified for the ritual.
As he walked, Ragnar thought of all the men he had known who had been worthy to be Grey Hunters and had never undergone the ritual because they had died too soon. Brave warriors all, now lost, fallen upon one gore-strewn battlefield or another. And he thought about himself, and wondered at what he had lost by never undergoing it, and all the strange adventures he might have missed if he had done so.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
William King is the author of the Tyrion and Teclis saga and the Macharian Crusade trilogy, as well as the much-loved Gotrek & Felix series and the Space Wolf novels. His short stories have appeared in many magazines and compilations, including White Dwarf and Inferno!. Bill was born in Stranraer, Scotland, in 1959 and currently lives in Prague.
A BLACK LIBRARY PUBLICATION
Space Wolf first published in 1999.
Ragnar’s Claw first published in 2000.
Grey Hunter first published in 2002.
This eBook edition published in 2015 by Black Library, Games Workshop Ltd, Willow Road, Nottingham, NG7 2WS, UK.
Produced by Games Workshop in Nottingham.
Space Wolf Omnibus © Copyright Games Workshop Limited 2015. Space Wolf Omnibus, 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: 978-1-78572-316-2
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.
Table of Contents
Cover
Warhammer 40,000
The Space Wolf Omnibus
Space Wolf
Prologue – Assault on Hesperida
One – The Sea of Dragons
Two – The Temple of Iron
Three – The Festival of Passage
Four – The Last Stand
Five – The Chooser of the Fallen
Six – The Chosen
Seven – Hunting
Eight – Trials
Nine – The Gate of Morkai
Ten – The Cup of Wulfen
Eleven – The Spirit of the Beast
Twelve – The Ultimate Test
Thirteen – Acceptance
Fourteen – In the Field
Fifteen – In the Dark
Sixteen – The Temple of Chaos
Seventeen – Fighting Retreat
Epilogue
Ragnar's Claw
Prologue
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
Seven
Eight
Nine
Ten
Eleven
Twelve
Thirteen
Fourteen
Epilogue
Grey Hunter
Prologue
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
Seven
Eight
Nine
Ten
Eleven
Twelve
Thirteen
Fourteen
Fifteen
Sixteen
Seventeen
Eighteen
Nineteen
Twenty
Twenty-One
Twenty-Two
Twenty-Three
Twenty-Four
Twenty-Five
Twenty
-Six
Epilogue
About the Author
Legal
Table of Contents
Cover
Warhammer 40,000
The Space Wolf Omnibus
Space Wolf
Prologue – Assault on Hesperida
One – The Sea of Dragons
Two – The Temple of Iron
Three – The Festival of Passage
Four – The Last Stand
Five – The Chooser of the Fallen
Six – The Chosen
Seven – Hunting
Eight – Trials
Nine – The Gate of Morkai
Ten – The Cup of Wulfen
Eleven – The Spirit of the Beast
Twelve – The Ultimate Test
Thirteen – Acceptance
Fourteen – In the Field
Fifteen – In the Dark
Sixteen – The Temple of Chaos
Seventeen – Fighting Retreat
Epilogue
Ragnar's Claw
Prologue
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
Seven
Eight
Nine
Ten
Eleven
Twelve
Thirteen
Fourteen
Epilogue
Grey Hunter
Prologue
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
Seven
Eight
Nine
Ten
Eleven
Twelve
Thirteen
Fourteen
Fifteen
Sixteen
Seventeen
Eighteen
Nineteen
Twenty
Twenty-One
Twenty-Two
Twenty-Three
Twenty-Four
Twenty-Five
Twenty-Six
Epilogue
About the Author
Legal
Table of Contents
Cover
Warhammer 40,000
The Space Wolf Omnibus
Space Wolf
Prologue – Assault on Hesperida
One – The Sea of Dragons
Two – The Temple of Iron
Three – The Festival of Passage
Four – The Last Stand
Five – The Chooser of the Fallen
Six – The Chosen
Seven – Hunting
Eight – Trials
Nine – The Gate of Morkai
Ten – The Cup of Wulfen
Eleven – The Spirit of the Beast
Twelve – The Ultimate Test
Thirteen – Acceptance
Fourteen – In the Field
Fifteen – In the Dark
Sixteen – The Temple of Chaos
Seventeen – Fighting Retreat
Epilogue
Ragnar's Claw
Prologue
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
Seven
Eight
Nine
Ten
Eleven
Twelve
Thirteen
Fourteen
Epilogue
Grey Hunter
Prologue
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
Seven
Eight
Nine
Ten
Eleven
Twelve
Thirteen
Fourteen
Fifteen
Sixteen
Seventeen
Eighteen
Nineteen
Twenty
Twenty-One
Twenty-Two
Twenty-Three
Twenty-Four
Twenty-Five
Twenty-Six
Epilogue
About the Author
Legal
The Space Wolf Omnibus - William King Page 84
