Aurelian by Aaron Dembski_Bowden
Author:Aaron Dembski_Bowden [Dembski_Bowden, Aaron]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Science Fiction
ISBN: 9781849701068
Publisher: The Black Library
Published: 2011-11-01T05:00:00+00:00
PART FOUR
CHOSEN OF THE PANTHEON
EIGHT
QUESTIONS
HE OPENED HIS eyes to see a familiar horizon, boiling in rebellion against the laws of nature. Dusk claimed this world, which was surely Shanriatha. Yet he could breathe now. And the temperature, while cold, was far from lethal.
Slowly, Lorgar picked himself up from the sand. The parchment scrolls were gone from his armour, burned away in the face of Magnusâs sorcerous dismissal. A tightness in his lungs didnât bode well. He felt the muscles in his throat and chest clenching in uncertain spasm.
Not enough oxygen in the air. That was all. He reached for the helm mag-locked to his belt, and resealed his armour. The first breath of his internal air supply was surprisingly soothing. He breathed in the incense of his armourâs sacred oils.
Only then did he see Ingethel. The daemon lay curled upon itself on the ground, a foetal nightmare slick with the slime of gestation. Red sand clotted its moist skin.
He kicked it gently, with the edge of his boot. Ingethel rolled, baring its bestial features to the evening sky. Neither of its eyes could close, but both had made the attempt. They snicked open, and its jaw cracked as it heaved itself from the sand. The moment the daemon righted itself, blood gouted from its maw in a hissing flood. Things writhed in the pool of stinking liquid, squirming into the sand as soon as they came into contact with the air. Lorgar had no desire to examine them any closer.
âDaemon,â he said.
Not long now. Soon. This flesh will rot away. I will need to incarnate again. Its bones clicked and cracked as it rose to its slouched height. It cost me much, to pull you from Magnusâs tower.
âMy brother would not speak with me.â
Your brother is a tool of the Changer of the Ways. Are you still so blind, Lorgar? Magnus is a creature unaware of his own ignorance. He is manipulated at every turn, yet believes himself the manipulator. The gods work in many ways. Some of humanityâs leaders must be lured by offers of ambition and dominance, while others must be manipulated until they are ready to witness the truth.
The primarch spoke through clenched teeth. âAnd I?â
You are the chosen of the pantheon. You alone come to Chaos from idealism, for the betterment of the species. In this, as in all things, you are selfless.
Lorgar turned and began walking. The direction was irrelevant, for the desert was a featureless sprawl as far as the eye could see.
Selfless. Magnus had once accused him of the same thing, making it sound more like a critical flaw. Now the daemon used it with a honeyed tongue, as his greatest virtue.
It didnât matter. Immune to vanity, he would not be lured by silken words. The truth was enough, despite the horror of it all.
âDo I survive this crusade?â he asked aloud.
Ingethel dragged itself alongside his bootprints, slower now, its breath sawing in and out of heaving lungs.
The Imperial Great Crusade is already over for you.
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