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Astelan took a step towards Boreas, fists raised to attack

’Arcanatu leapt froertips and struck Astelan full in the chest, hurling him across the room to slam into the wall Ancient stone cracked and splintered under the irimaced with pain from the blow Flickers of blue sparks danced over his armour for a few more heartbeats as he pushed himself to his feet

’You call ht a witch into your own ranks!’ Astelan growled between gritted teeth, staring with loathing at Boreas

’Be still!’ Sa into Astelan’sat his senses as much as the psychic bolt had hammered into his body He resisted for only the briefest of th sapped from his li to keep hiain, and this tiht off the urge to close his eyes for several seconds His gaze caught that of the Librarian, and in that moment, the full force of the psyker’stwisted into a whirl, his vision spun and a roaring filled his ears He tried desperately to shake hiaze, but could not move His attention was locked and he felt his will drain­ing away, leeching into the witchfires that burned in the psyker’s eyes

’Sleep’ Samiel repeated and Astelan fell into uncon­sciousness

When he awoke, Astelan was not surprised to find hi at the thick links of iron binding his legs and ariously enhanced strength he would have little chance of breaking his bonds He had been stripped of his arht across his corded one his transformation into a Space Marine Across his chest and abdolis­tened a dull black, broken in places by steel fittings for wires and cables, which allowed him to interact with his power armour when armed for battle Now the metal sockets and circuits lay dormant, and his body felt cold where they pierced his flesh

Glancing around the roo it would be before his tor­turers arrived It mattered not, he kneell that he could block out whatever pain they dared visit upon hiels, he had no weaknesses He re, that he had suffered ht on Even now, fettered in the prison of those who had forsaken the heritage he had left theht

Others had warned hiels were not as they had always been, that they were now ruled by sus­picion and secrecy, but he had not truly believed them

Had he realised what they intended, he would never have surrendered himself to them on Tharsis He had spent the last feeeks in a state of constant turels had attacked the world he had coht back It was only after considerable bloodshed that, against the advice of his subordinates, Astelan had relented in his defiance and allowed his attackers entry to his bunker

The first Space Marines he had seen had seemed very wary, and were confused Soon they were recalled and the Chaplain, Boreas, had arrived, flanked by Space Marines in white heavy Terminator armour The uncon­ventional form of their livery and the barbaric decorations of bones and feathers had only added to Astelan’s confusion, as had the ter He had not resisted, in his ignorance, when they had manacled his hands with thick chains of titanium, so that even in his arunship, also in the colours of the Deathwing, had landed directly outside his con of any other Space Marines

From then on, he had been kept in total isolation When he had been transferred froels’ vessel he had been hooded with a black sack, his ed with thick cord He had received no contact other than when Boreas had intro­duced hiht hi the journey had taken, several weeks at least, before Boreas had returned with the gag and the hood, and the shuttle had brought hi pad

Noas due to be tortured by those who falsely iht him a traitor, and in their own superstitious way they believed they were saving his soul It was a els once represented to the galaxy As his anger grew, Astelan resolved to show them the error of their ways, to derace in the eyes of the Emperor

While he waited, Astelan let hi his mind As he had been trained to do, he detached hi the catalepsean node implanted into the base of his brain to control his mental functions In a partial slus and alert to any threat, but his brain also rested itself, redirecting neural signals from dormant areas to those still awake

In his dreamlike state, his perceptions shifted focus, so that the rooht and full of colour for a few rey as his con­sciousness transferred through the different lobes of his brain Sound came and went, memories flooded his mind and then were lost, and he felt as if he were float­ing in the air, swiftly followed by the crushing weight of the air pressure around hih all this, the inner eye of histhe return of his jailers

Astelan are that a considerable time had passed, perhaps several hours, and he eased hi picked up the sound of approaching footfalls from outside the room It had been this that had pricked his subconscioushim to return from his mesmerised state With a rattle of heavy keys, the lock was turned with a loud clanking, and the door swung open Boreas entered, fol­lowed by Sa the door shut behind him He had divested himself of his armour and noore a plain white robe, its front opened to reveal the Space Marine’sthe keys on a hook by the door

’I hope you used your tihts carefully,’ Boreas began, standing to Aste­lan’s right Astelan watched Samiel circle the room to stand on the other side of hiless to me, surely even you can understand that,’ Astelan replied, turning his head to aze

’If you will not recant your evil deeds, weto the ancient traditions ofthe ritual of interrogation ’Tell me your name’

’I am Chapter Conity in his voice ’Your treatment of me has taken no account of my esteemed rank’

’And who do you serve?’ Boreas asked

’I once served the Eion,’ Astelan told the Chaplain, dropping his gaze to the floor

’Once served? Who do you serve now?’ Boreas de forward

’I was betrayed by my own lords,’ Astelan replied after aBoreas’s stare ’They turned their backs on reat task that the Ereat task?’ Boreas leaned close, his eyes narrowing as he glared at Astelan

’That alaxy, without fear of threat fro the Interrogator-Chaplain’s stare ’To fight proudly at the forefront of battle against the alien and the ignorant’

’And so how is it that you fought against the Space Marines of the Dark Angels on the world of Tharsis?’ Boreas asked

’Once ht to defend ly destroy’ Astelan raised his head to look straight at the Interrogator-Chaplain, and the Chaplain recognised the hatred in his eyes

’You enslaved a world to your own selfish whi a hand around Astelan’s throat The ainst the pressure of the Dark Angel’s powerful fingers There was loathing in Boreas’s voice when he spoke next ’You betrayed every­thing you were sworn to uphold! Adazed venomously at each other For several ust, until Boreas eventually eased his grip and stood back

’Tell me how you ca his ar to squeeze the life out of the man chained in front of him Astelan took a few deep breaths to steady hilancing first at Boreas and then at Samiel ’Tell me where I am, how this place can be so fa to your accusations’

’Has he not yet worked it out?’ Sa in amazement at Astelan There was a flicker of a frown on the Chaplain’s face before he looked down at his pris­oner

’You are in the Tower of Angels, renegade,’ Boreas said