‘One way or another, for most of my life, I have worked to eradicate their evil,’ said Eisenhorn. ‘In the last two decades, I have begun to unravel what I believe is a significant initiative on behalf of the Cognitae. An endeavour to achieve something of great magnitude.’

‘What?’

‘I don’t know, magos. They hide well. They work in secret. They recruit very effectively. They establish secret scholams on many worlds, institutions where they raise and train prospective members, radicalising them in the process. I have uncovered several, and learned scraps. I piece those scraps together. Whatever they are working towards, it is momentous. Lilean Chase–’

‘Who’s she?’

‘A key member of the Cognitae. One of their adepts, brilliant and misguided. Perhaps their leader in this quadrant. My hunt is for her in particular. A heretic of the most toxic kind. My intelligence suggests she works towards, or perhaps for, something called the Yellow King. This may be a person, or an entity, or simply a condition… A state of power and enlightenment. She must be found and stopped.’

‘And this Goran man?’

‘One of the scraps, magos,’ said Eisenhorn. ‘Part of the Cognitae network. He seemed lower priority, which is why I assigned Thea Inshabel to follow his trail. I fear she found something more. I fear Goran Gobleka was not low priority at all.’

‘This magic stuff…’ Drusher began.

‘Don’t dwell on it, Drusher.’

‘It is beyond my remit anyway, sir,’ replied Drusher, ‘but your man Nayl, he spoke of… uh… words of power. Words that can somehow break it.’

‘Words may break it, but they also form it,’ said Eisenhorn. ‘One of the Cognitae’s most cherished goals is to unlock and rediscover Enuncia. This is a language of power, a pre-human language, that can literally manipulate reality. Apart from a few words and letters, no one knows it entirely. Lilean Chase has spent most of her life trying to decode it and build a working lexicon.’

‘But you use it?’

‘We use our enemies’ weapons against them,’ said Eisenhorn.

‘So you’re not above heretical knowledge yourself?’

‘It is the curse of the ordos, magos. We need to know the Archenemy so we can prevail against him. That is why we stand in the shadows, why we walk alongside mankind and not as part of it. We are tainted by the knowledge we must use. It drives most of us to our dooms, eventually.’

‘To your graves?’

‘Or worse,’ said Eisenhorn.

‘Why do you do it?’ asked Drusher. ‘And don’t say “because someone must” or anything like that.’

‘Why are you a magos biologis, Drusher, when that calling has apparently given you a life you resent?’

‘Because I’m good at it,’ said Drusher.

‘Yes,’ said Eisenhorn. ‘It’s sad, isn’t it?’