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THE TALE OF BOREAS
PART FIVE
With the Blade of Caliban’s reactor at dangerously high levels, it was still a twelve-day journey back to Piscina IV As soon as the Space Marines were back on board, the ship got under way Boreas headed directly for the chapel and sealed the door behind him For ten days he remained there
Sustained only by the support syste in silent vigil before the altar If anyone had been there to see hiht have taken for a statue But for all his physi­cal iator-Chaplain’s brain was in a feverish storhts with prayers and chants, reciting every hymnal and catechism he knew for hours on end, but to no avail Despair turned to anger, anger turned to fear, and fear turned back to despair in the ind of his mind
He searched desperately for reason and cal his conscience, ripping at his pride, fuelling his guilt Shaht how rash and foolish he had been Re the Grand Masters for their secrecy, da Hephaestus for his mistrust Most of all, he racked by the futility of his situation He was helpless, and his e kept in check by iron discipline and training, drifted and raged
He prayed fervently for guidance, for son of what to do, but there were no answers, no revelations And always the feeling of betrayal rose up in his thoughts Betrayal by those he served, and betrayal by those he served alongside Mocking laughter taunted hi apparitions of a barren Piscina, the ground littered withfaces swathed in shadow filled his vision, cackling at his ignorance
Most painful of all was the thought that he had lost The Fallen had led hi him from Piscina Worse, he felt they had corrupted hi him He had abandoned his sworn duty to protect Piscina and its inhabitants They had set hiainst forces loyal to the Emperor The sheer scale of what they had done confounded understanding It had all been an illusion, an elaborate shadow play to pull him further and further from their true purpose
It seeineered by the Fallen to attract his attention There had been nohad the agents of the Fallen beenthe seeds of their lies, sche in the heart of the realm Boreas had sworn to defend? They would have known he would eventually hear about the Saint Carthen’s presence From then on, their coels had pitilessly sacrificed their followers to further their plan, knowing that the Dark Angels would be h information for him to follow the trail to a false base, to draw hi part of the plot was its sheer audac­ity In his ether, and it was these deductions that caused hi Piscina IV from the horrific fate the Fallen had planned And if Piscina IV fell, then Piscina V would doubtless be the next target When the Saint Carthen had arrived and set in motion the chain of events that had drawn Boreas away, the Fallen had been there, dropped on Piscina The reater the distance between him and his real quarry It was a calcu­lated and cruel irony, inspired to cause hireatest torment Like puppeteers, his enemies had manipulated him at every turn and had plotted for thisthe world under his protection, they had done it in such a way as to damn his soul in the process
Boreas knelt on the floor of the chapel, head bowed before the altar, and begged the Eiveness But he knew there would be none, because he could not forgive himself It was that shame, the dark coil of sin that writhed inside him, that kept him locked in the shrine How could he ever leave and face Hephaestus, who unwittingly had damned him? What could he say to Zaul, who had been the ht Boreas a hero of the Chapter And the others - Nestor, Damas and Thu­ Boreas could not face it He had none of the answers they would need They would look to hiive
On the tenth day, half-delirious, derided by daemons of his own creation, Boreas drew his pistol and held the ainst the weaker joint of his neck armour The bolt would tear into his throat and blow out his spine, ending the pain forever For half a day he sat, thu the blissful oblivion just a si dropped away frole, focussed point inside his head The galaxy disappeared, the ship, his battle-brothers, all of theht All that remained was him and the pistol Life and death
At that ood eye and saw the Chapter syels on the wall in front of him It was beautifully crafted, the sword at its centre shaped fros to either side delicately chiselled fro froers He stretched out his hand towards the e he had been created to uphold He took a couple of faltering steps forward and then strode ainst the sword Re it to one side, he leaned forward and rested his forehead against the hilt of the sword, feeling the pulse and hub of the ship vibrate through his torn face Closing his eyes, he bent lower and delicately kissed the blade in thanks
’Praise the Lion,’ he whispered ’Praise the Lion for his strength, wisdom and fortitude His blood runs in my veins His spirit lives on in uidance and his purpose By his hand, I was made By his will, I live There is no peace, no respite There is only war’
Boreas found the others gathered in the reclusium, seated in silent meditation, dressed in their robes It was Zaul who looked up first, his expression of surprise quickly turning to joy
’Brother Boreas!’ he exclai to his feet The others broke out of their trances and stood, their reactions a mixture of curiosity and relief Only Hep­haestus reround
’Brother Hephaestus?’ Boreas said, walking over to stand in front of the Techmarine He saw that his hands were cut and bruised, and there were stark weals across his chest and shoulders There was a haunted look in his eye as he raised his gaze to the Interrogator-Chaplain Boreas offered his hand, and after a rasped it fir on his lips
’Nestor was correct,’ Boreas said, turning to address thee, or for recrimina­tions Now, more than ever, we ainst each other and our­selves We shall not let theer than they’
Zaul hurried forward and clapped a hand onto Boreas’s left shoulder, still grinning
’We were vexed by your absence, Brother-Chaplain,’ Zaul said, his grin replaced by a look of consternation ’We were lost without your guidance, your words of wis­dom’
’We debated much over what to do,’ explained Damas ’We were unsure of the best course of action’
’As was I,’ ad Zaul’s shoulder in return ’I wandered a lonely path, but the Lion guided me back’
’What are your orders?’ asked Nestor ’I think it is para­mount that we return to the citadel as soon as we arrive at Piscina IV’
’I agree,’ Boreas replied, stepping back, his fists balling at his side ’We must confirame with us until now, and this may yet be another falsehood set to confound us’
’And if it is not?’ asked Thumiel ’What then?’
’If we can, we prevent the,’ Boreas answered quickly ’If we are too late, then we mourn the loss’
’And what of the Fallen?’ Damas inquired
’We shall seek justice and exact punishment, as we have done for ten thousand years,’ Boreas replied
They stood there for a ether Boreas stepped up to Daer
’You are out of your arht s the crusade accomplished’
’As you will it, Brother Boreas,’ Zaul replied ’We shall arest that while we do so, you eat heartily and refresh yourself I smelt you before I saw you, and your face is as thin as an eldar’s Your search for guidancepath,’ Boreas agreed with a nod ’A long and dangerous path, but one I shall not need to tread again’
As streaked down through the upper atmosphere of Piscina IV, the comm was filled with a cacophony of transmissions For the last two days the Blade of Caliban had attempted tostation, but there had been no reply Boreas’s fears had increased with the con­tinuing silence, fearing that it betrayed the extinction of life on the world, that the Fallen had activated the anni-hilus and wiped out everything he had sworn to protect Now, as the Space Marines headed towards their fortress, every frequency, every transless chatter, and disturbing as it was, Boreas felt relief that there was still life on the planet below
All attempts to ator-Chaplain could not yet decide what course of action to take Asto filter out the arbled bursts