‘It’s possible,’ said Davinch.

‘Didn’t you check the cellar?’

Davinch hesitated.

‘I was going to,’ he replied. ‘I was on my way down. Then I heard you call my name, so–’

‘I didn’t call your name, you idiot,’ snapped Gobleka. ‘I’ve been up here all the time. You wouldn’t have heard me.’

‘But–’ Davinch began.

‘He was playing with you,’ sneered Gobleka. ‘Psykana tricks, you idiot. He’s trying to game us.’

He turned slowly, surveying the expanse of the Loom visible from the main gantry. In the cage behind him, Sark shivered and whimpered.

‘He’s a monster,’ mumbled Blayg. ‘You should have seen it, Gobleka. What he did to Jaff.’

‘She deserved anything she got,’ replied Gobleka. ‘She let them get in here. She let them walk right in.’

‘Wasn’t that the point?’ asked Davinch. ‘To bring them here? To silence them?’

‘Not inside the hall, you idiot,’ said Gobleka.

‘Well, maybe not that,’ replied Davinch. ‘But it makes it easier. They’re trapped. They’re confused. This place messes with your head, especially when you’re not used to it.’

‘Davinch, if I’d wanted to bring them inside to kill them,’ said Gobleka, ‘I’d have called in reinforcements. Proactive specialists. A kill-team from the scholam on Gudrun. Maybe negotiate some cooperation from the Traitor Hosts. Or even petition the King to lend us a grael. This is a mess. There’s no time for any of that now. An outside assist would take days or weeks to arrive.’

‘Yeah, but–’ Davinch began.

‘Weeks, Davinch,’ said Gobleka firmly. ‘We don’t have weeks.’

‘But we’ve killed four of them,’ said Blayg. ‘And two more caged up. Maybe three, if Jaff got that magos shut away before she died. That just leaves the old bastard himself…’

‘The others don’t matter, you arsehole,’ said Gobleka. ‘They’re just foot-soldiers, ten-a-penny. The old bastard is the old bastard for a reason. We’ve got an alpha-class psyker with a grudge loose in here. Either of you combat psykers? Didn’t frigging think so. I’ve got to blank him. I’ve got to use Sark.’

He turned and looked at the cage.

‘I’ve got to use you now, haven’t I, magos?’ he called.

‘Magos! M-magos!’ the naked wretch in the cage gurgled back.

‘Blayg, get the kit,’ said Gobleka.

‘Wait, Goran,’ said Davinch, stepping forwards. ‘That’s not a good idea. Chase will have your guts. The instructions were clear. Sark is a creative asset. We use what strength he has to manufacture. He’s not a proactive weapon, and we don’t waste his power using him that way.’

‘The frigging rules were changed when Jaff ballsed it up, Davinch,’ said Gobleka. ‘Chase might not like it. The King might not like it. But they’ll see it was necessary.’

‘But if you damage him–’

‘We’ll keep him sound,’ said Gobleka.