Warhammer 40,000 - Anthology 13 by The Book of Blood (Christian Dunn)

Author:The Book of Blood (Christian Dunn) [Blood, The Book of]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Addiss allowed his hood to hide the horror on his face. On the steps of the Temple of the high priest, he could see the chaplain kneeling before the hideously violated figure of Ansatsu. A torrent of blood had gushed down the stairway, flooding out of the hole punched through his body, leaving the high priest in a pool of his own essence. The chaplain was soaked in blood and his eyes shone with red. His power fist lay in the liquid that puddle at his feet and his naked hand held the Chapter’s grail, wrenched from the death-grip of his lord. In his right hand he held the Exsanguinator, rammed unceremoniously into the cavity in the high priest’s abdomen. The device was working energetically, sucking out the sacred blood of Sanguinius’ Chosen. But the chaplain was not collecting the precious fluid into the Exsanguinator’s reservoir, rather he let it spurt and gush out of the machine into the thick pool around the body. It congealed and coagulated as it trickled and oozed across the chaplain’s armour, coating him in a new layer of ichor.

The inquisitor had seen more than enough. He made a swift signal, sending a knot of his retinue scattering into an offensive arc, encircling the foot of the staircase that acted as a podium for the gruesome chaplain’s performance. With another signal from Addiss, the Marines lifted their hellfire bolters and focussed their implacable attention on the Angel Sanguine at the apex of the steps. He ignored them, intent on his task.

‘Chaplain! It is finished. Cease!’

Tenjin turned his head slowly, his burning eyes dancing from the shrouded inquisitor to the Deathwatch Marine at his left shoulder. There was a flicker of recognition. The chaplain squinted slightly, as though in disbelief that the killing had not yet ended. Was it disbelief or relief? He couldn’t tell.

‘Chaplain. If you cannot hear me, you will die.’ Addiss knew that there was a point of no return. A place somewhere beyond humanity from whence even a Space Marine of the Angels Sanguine could not return. He watched the chaplain slowly rise to his feet, thick tendrils of blood running down his slick armoured form, adding to the pool at his feet. He could see the fiery red in the Angel’s eyes and, for a moment, he feared the phantom of righteousness that burned deeply in his glare.

‘There are things far worse than death…’ Tenjin’s voice was tremulous, yet it thundered. The blood was pounding in his head, disrupting his thoughts and dragging his voice from unknown depths within him. ‘I do not fear you.’

There was a click and then a roar of energy as Tenjin’s jump pack ignited once again. He rose slowly into the air, arms spread wide, with the grail held aloft in his left hand. Droplets of blood fell from his feet, sending miniature tidal waves rippling through the pool around Ansatsu.

‘I name you Traitor! Face me! For the Emperor! FOR THE EMPEROR!’ Tenjin’s voice was incensed.

‘You go too far,’ muttered Addiss under his breath as he clenched his fist into the firing signal.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.