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THE TALE OF ASTELAN

PART FOUR

Voices called to Astelan from the dark shadows of the cell He thrashed feverishly within his chains, his once ard Not a scrap of flesh had been left unator-Chaplain’s cruel ed by the psychic intrusions of Saled to rip on reality

Unable to move his head very far, his world had con­stricted to a space only a few metres across He knew every crack and crevice above him, he could picture them in his head as clearly as a map He knew there were thir­teen blades, three drills, five augurs, eight clamps, nine brands and two barbed hooks on the shelf He could remember the feel of every one on his flesh, each a little different Even when Boreas was not there wielding his vicious implements, so confused was Astelan’s e touch upon hiers, he had counted the links on his chains hundreds of tihts occupied Every , the voices returned

He had long given up his refusal to sleep It htmares assailed him Awake, he was barely more lucid, the barriers betas a dream and as real had blurred for some time

All this he knew, froht through to take control He knew the voices were si and the psychic probing of Samiel He knew that it was rew hands that reached out towards him But those ti rarer and shorter

Astelan had lost count of the number of visits he’d had from his captors Perhaps it had been fifty, perhaps five hundred Sonoring the slice of the scalpel in his flesh, the boring of the drill through his bones, the searing of his skin on the tip of a brand Boreas came and went, Samiel came and went, and there was no pattern that Astelan could fatho there watching hihtmare-induced screams Other ti every aspect of his answers, but did not inflict any more pain on him Some­times there was only pain and no questions, or the insidious whispering of the psyker inside his head, call­ing him a liar and an oath-breaker

As he lay there, tore brass key in the lock And then there were the tied for Boreas to return, when his strained er be contained and he had to coled to ree back, washing away the pain Though it was a constant struggle, soed to retain a small piece of what he had been

In hisstar hidden away in the centre of his brain Shadows snatched at it, the burning red eyes of the warlock studied it, but it was safe and secure It was his drealory of the Great Crusade, the casting aside of the htstar would grow, fuelled by his reater life by his desire

Astelan knew that he would never see the Greater Iain lead the armies of the Emperor across war zones a of flames That was beyond hiiven himself up on Tharsis If he had known, if he had truly realised what they had intended, he would have fought harder than he had ever fought before

Regret turned to grief as he saw his plan lying in shat­tered pieces, the golden star just a hazy glow that bobbed and weaved, eluding him For centuries he had been a protector, a leader, a warrior bred for conquest He looked at the wreck he had becoels, and cursed Lion El’Jonson who had set theed feebly at the chains that bound him to the stone table, barely able to lift himself

Astelan felt a familiar breeze on his check and looked at the open door, his head lolling weakly onto the slab Through bruised and bloodshot eyes he saw Boreas enter Inwardly, Astelan was grateful that Boreas had coator-Chaplain walked quickly to the slab, and Astelan heard the clanking of chains and theof a key in a lock One by one, the chains fell away, their great weight lifting off his limbs and chest Unencumbered by the heavy iron, Astelan tried to sit up, but found he had not the strength to do so

’Try harder,’ Boreas said softly in his ear ’Your ain and they will start to re every fibre of his being, suth he had His spine felt like it was on fire, every joint in his body ached and his muscles screamed with the exertion, but after what seeht

’Very good,’ the Interrogator-Chaplain said, pacing back and forth in front of him Boreas pointed towards the door ’You can leave now’

Astelan turned his head slowly between the door and Boreas, not really understanding what the Chaplain was saying He frowned, unable for the hts

’Do you have a question?’

Astelan closed his eyes and concentrated With a supre He pointed feebly at his throat

’You require so uselessly froreed, walking out of the door Astelan sat there, staring at the light fro torches beyond It burnt his eyes after so long in the dull shadows All he had to do was stand and walk five paces and he would be out of the cell, but he was exhausted He would gather his strength, and then he would walk free

The Chaplain returned holding a jug of water and goblet

’You wish to leave, yes?’ he said, and Astelan noticed for the first time that his hands were stretched out towards the door He dropped them back to his side

Boreas stepped forward and poured water into the gob­let before placing the jug on the ground He took one of Astelan’s hands and wrapped the fingers around the gob­let, and then did the same with the other hand As the Chaplain took his hands away, the cup slipped fro him ater as it fell The cold sharpened his senses i the goblet and holding it out towards hied to sit up, now you can ers clawed at the cup, but Boreas’s grip was firoblet shaking to his lips and dribbled a few drops onto his tongue Savouring the sensation, he let a few e no longer and gulped down the contents The water refreshed hi away some of the confusion and pain

’I can leave?’ he asked, his voice wavering

’The door is there, all you have to do is stand up and walk out’

’No trickery?’

’I a’

’You will not close the door before I reach it?’

’No, you have my oath as a Space Marine that I will not close the door before you reach it In fact, that door is never going to be closed again while you are in this cell You are free to leave at any time you wish’

Astelan sat there and pondered Boreas’s words for a while, his thoughts slow at first but gathering pace and clar­ity Nodding to himself as he reached his decision, Astelan pushed hi, but he held hiainst the slab Boreas stepped back out of his way and waved hiood, commander,’ Boreas said with a nod ’Just a few steps and you will be out of this cell’

Astelan looked at him, but the Chaplain’s expression was noncoth, he took a step forward, still leaning against the stone table His legs barely held his weight and he cautiously pulled back his hand until he was standing free, swaying fro his foot along the ground, feeling hisas he did so Pain lanced through his knees, hips and spine, and he gritted his teeth against the agony In front, the rectangle of light beyond the door swa nored his taunts and took another fal­tering step forward ’If you leave this cell, it is because you are afraid It is because you know your convictions to be false’

Astelan turned to look at the Chaplain ’I do not understand,’ he said

’Your great vision, the hty plan,’ Boreas explained ’I do not believe you I think you are a liar and a tyrant who has never acted out of anything other than selfish desires’

’That is not true,’ Astelan argued ’I did it for the Emperor, it was for , are you not? It is immaterial whether I believe you or not Of course, you are dying, even a Space Marine cannot endure what I have subjected you to For all your superhuth, they have failed you now and without , your gene-seed is very strong Perhaps the Apothecaries will study it after you have passed on But you will die peacefully’

’I do not live for a peaceful death!’ Astelan’s voice was little more than a rasp