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Chapters (41)
  1. Cover
  2. Backlist
  3. Warhammer 40,000
  4. Preface
  5. Chapter one
  6. Chapter two
  7. Chapter three
  8. Chapter four
  9. Chapter five
  10. Chapter six
  11. Chapter seven
  12. Chapter eight
  13. Chapter nine
  14. Chapter ten
  15. Chapter eleven
  16. Chapter twelve
  17. Chapter thirteen
  18. Chapter fourteen
  19. Chapter fifteen
  20. Chapter sixteen
  21. Chapter seventeen
  22. Chapter eighteen
  23. Chapter nineteen
  24. Chapter twenty
  25. Chapter twenty-one
  26. Chapter twenty-two
  27. Chapter twenty-three
  28. Chapter twenty-four
  29. Chapter twenty-five
  30. Chapter twenty-six
  31. Chapter twenty-seven
  32. Chapter twenty-eight
  33. Chapter twenty-nine
  34. Chapter thirty
  35. Chapter thirty-one
  36. Chapter thirty-two
  37. Chapter thirty-three
  38. Postface
  39. About the Author
  40. An Extract from ‘Dawn of Fire: Avenging Son’
  41. A Black Library Publication

Then the sky was gone. The world, too, as we tumbled through a void. Except this was not the darkness of space. Instead, it was a shadow forged from screams and blood. There was no sense of time, nor direction, only the terrible certainty that my fears were now manifest, and would soon crawl from my ears and devour my soul. I tried to scream, but the sound sought to strangle me.

I cannot say how long the madness lasted. Something between a microsecond and a lifetime. But suddenly we were falling again, and the swamp loomed rapidly into view, less than a hundred feet away from us.

I could not even move, consumed by the nightmare, but Shard tried to break our fall, wrenching the nose up. She levelled us, but we were moving too fast to escape that dive.

True darkness claimed me. I welcomed it.

Chapter twenty-three

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

I do not know how long I lay trapped in the wreck, only that I stirred at the rising of Bacchus’ sun. Its light pierced the blessed oblivion, and brought manifold agonies. The worst was the wet throbbing from my shattered lower leg, and stabbing chest pain every time I took a breath. Perhaps my ribs were broken. My leg certainly was. Worse, the flight harness cut into my chest, constricting my ribs further. I could not scream, managing nothing more than a choked cry.

It was too much. I succumbed to darkness, seeking the comfort of nothing­ness. But it was no longer a sweet oblivion, for I now endured the pain from a body I was bound to. I did not crave death, though I was sure it would soon claim me. But I could not face the bleak impossibility of the situation. Even if I could overcome crippling pain and debilitating injuries, escape was impossible. Better to surrender to the nothing, await my end and perhaps the God-Emperor’s salvation. I had served long. It was my time.

But all I could picture now was that terrible storm sundering our fuselage, the impregnable ork sky-fortress unleashing its vile lightning. The terrible fall that lasted forever, where the world went missing and a hellscape stole the sky. I knew then that, however brief or long I might live, I would never forget that nightmare. A part of me would always be trapped there, being stalked by my own inner daemons. Death was preferable to returning to that terrible place.

The light shifted above, a shape blocking the sun. The pressure of my harness eased, though this relief brought a renewed stab of pain as blood rushed to the constricted flesh. I gave a shuddering sob and thought I heard a reply, though the words were lost.