The End And The Death, Volume III by Dan Abnett
Author:Dan Abnett
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Science fiction: military
Publisher: Black Library
Published: 2023-11-15T00:00:00+00:00
10:iii
The voice of stone
The woman steps in from the dingy grey courtyard through the cell door, looks around the gloomy cell block, and then steps back into the yard. She does this several times, fascinated.
Marshal Agathe watches her. The woman seems young to her, not much more than a girl, really. Sheâs dirty. Her black clothes are torn and caked in dust, and her dark hair is tangled and unkempt. She looks like some hapless urchin whoâs been living in the bomb-wastes of Anterior for the past few weeks.
But despite her presentation, and her youth, thereâs something about her manner. She has the bearing of command, and itâs more than just the heavy auramite seal she carries.
The woman turns around in the shadows of the cell block again, and then returns to the dismal grey air of the yard.
âAs you can seeââ Agathe begins.
âA tear between material and immaterial,â the woman says. âA splice. This courtyard lies within one realm, and thatââ She gestures at the cell door. âAnd that lies in another, adjacent.â
âYou donât seem disturbed by this,â Agathe remarks.
The woman looks at her.
âIâve encountered one before, marshal,â she says. âMore than one, in all likelihood. Iâve just never seen one so precisely delineated before. They are usually blurred and gradual. This is quite dramatically clean and sharp.â
âWho did you say you were?â Agathe asks.
âKaterina Moriana,â the woman replies. âI bear the authority of the Praetorian.â Thereâs something odd about the way she says her name. Over-enunciated. It doesnât feel like she is making an effort to ensure Agathe understands it. It feels more like sheâs, whatâ¦? Getting used to it? Testing it out? Reminding herself?
Agatheâs had enough truck with names in the past few days. Mikhail and his men. People donât seem to have enough names, or real ones. Itâs a defence mechanism, and one she can appreciate.
Agathe glances aside as Mikhail walks into the yard from the lane beyond. Agathe can hear a sporadic chatter of small-arms fire from the drab, ramshackle streets of the alien city behind him.
âTraitor Excertus,â he reports. âIâve got the approach streets and alleys covered, but their numbers are increasing. Iâll need more men.â
âIâve sent for them,â Agathe replies.
âMerudin,â the woman says to Mikhail. âMerudin Twentieth Tactical. From the Lupercalâs own support companies.â
âTheyâre what?â Agathe asks.
The woman ignores her.
âThe Merudin are vicious and well trained, captain,â she says to Mikhail. âBut they are currently in disarray. Distressed and close to panic.â
âArenât we all?â Mikhail replies calmly.
âAccurate marksmanship and thorough suppressive fire will keep them at bay.â
âGood to know,â Mikhail says.
âFor now, at least,â the woman says. âMarshal?â
She turns and walks back into the cell block. Agathe glances at Mikhail.
âGet to it,â she says. He nods.
âGrace of the Throne go with you,â Agathe calls after him. She follows the woman inside.
The cell block is dark and quiet. The smell of the air, the temperature, even the air pressure, seem different. Agathe still canât get used to the state-change of stepping through that doorway. The woman is already striding away down the dark stone hall.
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