False Gods

Horas paused in his attack, suddenly terrified for the fate of those inside the tanks. He turned and saw one tank spewing gasses and screams as it was ripped from the ground, following others as they were torn from their moorings and swept upwards.

Then time stopped and a blinding light filled the chamber.

Horus felt warm honey flow through him, and he turned towards the source of the light: a shimmering golden giant of unimaginable majesty and beauty.

Horus dropped to his knees in rapture at the sight. Who would not strive to worship so perfect a being? Power and certainty flowed from the figure, the secret mystery of creation at his fingertips, the answers to any question that could be asked there for the knowing, and the wisdom to know how to use them.

He wore armour that gleamed a perfect gold, his fea­tures impossible to know, and his glory and power unmatched by any being in creation.

The golden warrior moved as though in slow motion, raising his hand to halt the madness of the vortex with a gesture. The maelstrom was silenced, the tumbling incubation tanks suspended in mid air.

The golden figure turned a puzzled gaze upon Horas.

'I know you?' he said, and Horas wept to hear such a perfect symphony of sound.

'Yes,’ said Horas, unable to raise his voice above a whisper.

The giant cocked his head to one side and said, 'You would destroy my great works, but you will not suc­ceed. I beg you, turn from this path or all will be lost.'

Horus reached out towards the golden warrior as he turned his sad gaze to the incubation tanks held motionless above him, weighing the consequences of future events in the blink of an eye.

Horus could see the decision in the figure's wondrous eyes and shouted, 'No!'

The figure turned from him and time snapped back into its prescribed stream.

The deafening howl of the warp-spawned wind returned with the force of a hurricane and Horus heard the screams of his brothers amid the metallic clanging of their incubation tanks.

'Father, no!' he yelled. You can't let this happen!'

The golden giant was walking away, leaving the car­nage in his wake, uncaring of the lives he had wrought. Horus felt his hate swell bright and strong within his breast.

The power of the wind seized him in its grip and he let it take him, spinning him up into the air and Horus opened his arms as he was reunited once again with his brothers.

The abyss of the warp vortex yawned above him like a great eye of terror and madness.

He surrendered to its power and let it take him into its embrace.

SIXTEEN

The truth is all we have

Arch prophet

Home

For once Loken was inclined to agree with Iacton Qruze when he said, 'Not like it used to be, boy. Not like it used to be.'

They stood on the strategium deck, looking out over the ghostly glow of Davin as it hung in space like a faded jewel. 'I remember the first time we came here, seems like yesterday.'

'More like a lifetime,' said Loken.

'Nonsense, young man,’ said Qruze. 'When you've been around as long as I have you learn a thing or two. Live to my age and we'll see how you perceive the pas­sage of years,’ y

Loken sighed, not in the mood for another of Qraze's rambling, faintly patronising stories of 'the good old days'.

'Yes, Iacton, we'll see,’

'Don't dismiss me, boy,’ said Qruze. 'I may be old, but I'm not stupid,’

'I never meant to say you were,’ said Loken.

Then take heed of me now, Garviel,’ said Qruze, lean­ing in close. 'You think I don't know, but I do.'

'Don't know about what?'

'About the 'half-heard' thing,' hissed Qruze, quietly so that none of the deck crew could hear. 'I know fine well why you call me that, and it's not because I speak softly, it's because no one pays a blind bit of notice to what I say.'

Loken looked into Qruze's long, tanned face, his skin deeply lined with creases and folds. His eyes, normally hooded and half-closed were now intense and penetrat­ing.

'Iacton-' began Loken, but Qruze cut him off.

'Don't apologise, it doesn't become you.'

'I don't know what to say,' said Loken.

'Ach… don't say anything. What do I have to say that anyone would want to listen to anyway?' sighed Qruze. 'I know what I am, boy, a relic of a time long passed for our beloved Legion. You know that I remember when we fought without the Warmaster, can you imagine such a thing?'

'We may not have to soon, Iacton. It's nearly time for the Delphos to open and there's been no word. Apothe­cary Vaddon is no nearer to finding out what happened to the Warmaster, even with the anathame.'

'The what?'

'The weapon that wounded the Warmaster,’ said Loken, wishing he hadn't mentioned the kinebrach weapon in front of Qruze.

'Oh, must be a powerful weapon that,’ said Qruze sagely.

'I wanted to go back down to Davin with Torgaddon,’ said Loken, changing the subject, 'but I was afraid of what I might do if I saw Little Horus or Ezekyle,’

'They are your brothers, boy,’ said Qruze. Whatever happens, never forget that. We break such bonds at our

peril. When we turn from one brother, we turn from them all,’

'Even when they have made a terrible mistake?'

'Even then,’ agreed Qruze. We all make mistakes, lad. We need to appreciate them for what they are – lessons that can only be learned the hard way. Unless it's a fatal mistake, of course, but at least someone else can learn from that.'

'I don't know what to do,’ said Loken, leaning on the strategium rail. 'I don't know what's happening with the Warmaster and there's nothing I can do about it,’

Aye, it's a thorny one, my boy,’ agreed Qruze. 'Still, as we used to say back in my day, 'When there's nothing you can do about it, don't worry about it',’

Things must have been simpler back in your day, Iac­ton,’ said Loken.

They were, boy, that's for sure,’ replied Qruze, missing Loken's sarcasm. There was none of this quiet order nonsense, and do you think we'd have that upstart Var-varas baying for blood back in the day? Or that we'd have had remembrancers on our own bloody ship, writ­ing treasonous poetry about us and claiming that it's the unvarnished truth? I ask you, where's the damn respect the Astartes used to be held in? Changed days, young man, changed days,’

Loken's eyes narrowed as Qruze spoke. 'What are you talking about?'