Hammer and Bolter 19 by Christian Dunn

Author:Christian Dunn
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Black Library
Published: 2012-04-21T04:00:00+00:00

Hail mine liege lord the night

Hail mine liege lady the moon

Hail mine steed of might

Hail mine blades of doom

Hail mine eternity of life

Hail mine eternity of death

Hail mine duty of strife

Hail mine sacrifice of faith

He knew what he must do. He must fight to the death for the right, for the privilege of being expunged, of being removed wholly and completely from existence. He could not sacrifice himself, so he must find a worthy opponent and die at his hand. He must find the elf. He must challenge him, and he must trust that the magical being would finally best him in combat.

The knowledge freed the Vampire Count from the pall of ages, liberated him from the threat of eternal life, and lifted him. He did not know what it was to feel happiness or even contentment, and he did not feel them now. He did feel a little less dread, a little less resignation. He wondered if what he felt was hope, but he dismissed the thought almost before it had a chance to come to life in his mind. The rhythm of his mantra was broken for a moment, and his voice faltered. The feeling did not last, and the undead creature began his prayer again, from the beginning, as he kicked over the remains of his fire, folded away his tin of lapping powder and his polishing cloth, and took up the first piece of armour to strap to his body.

The elf had sought to destroy the skaven. The Vampire Count resolved to descend below ground, and, perhaps, the skaven would find they had an ally, after all.

Despite there being little to party with, there was great reason to party, and party they must.

Dozens of their men had been returned to the community, both to the town and to the surrounding tracts of farmland. The men had returned and borne with them tales of the rout of the skaven.

They did not know who had slaughtered the ratmen in such numbers, or how he had done it. Only one or two of them had seen the warrior, so tall and lean, so ethereally handsome. A very few had seen him wield his weapons, killing and maiming with every thrust and strike. Those few told their stories long and loud to whomever would listen. Their audiences of women and children were large and growing, and, within a day or two, all the men were claiming to have seen the wondrous creature. Some even dared to call him an elf; although so rare and extraordinary a creature had never been seen by any of them before.

Most claimed to have seen him, some claimed to have been standing within feet of him when the tide of skaven was broken on his blade, and a few even claimed to have fought alongside him. One told of how he had been back-to-back with the elf, of how he had been urged on by the creature and then praised in dulcet tones for his bravery.

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