Secret War: Warhammer 40,000, Ben Agar [list of ebook readers .txt] 📗

or let me reiterate, don't let yourself die."

I looked over my shoulder. "I won't Feuilt, I swear it," I said and meant every word; I was a coward but not that much so.

Then I went to collect my weapons.

 

 

Cautiously with autopistol raised, I approached the curtains leading into Taryst's den.

I was angry; I was more than angry, as white-hot rage welled at the pit of my guts rage that I could barely hold it at bay.

But I held back the urge to rush in blind; in all likelihood, Taryst had heard my conversation with Feuilt, so he must know very well that I was coming.

I had learnt my lesson on the potential consequences of letting anger rule you after what happened with Vex.

Near the curtains, I stopped, clenched my teeth, then in the blink of an eye, my sword was drawn while holding up my pistol, and with one clean arc, the monomolecular enhanced edge sliced cleanly through the think fabric.

Quickly I covered the room with my pistol sweeping the gun professionally from left to right.

From what I could see, the room was empty; nothing had changed since my last time here, still with that marble fountain, the couches set around it, the small tables at each couches end and that massive adamantium steel door on the opposite wall.

Sheathing my sword, I stepped inside; in a double-handed grip, my pistol still swayed back and forth, my gaze still searching for some semblance of life somewhere anywhere; there were a few places to hide I could see behind one of the couches or the fountain.

My heart leapt in my chest as my anger overtaken by fear; I didn't like this at all; something was wrong.

The sudden crash behind me almost made me almost jump out of my skin, and I spun to see.

A shield was on a void shield that Taryst had installed in case of a firefight in the corridor, as, obviously, the fancy red curtains wouldn't provide much cover for the rogue trader. I couldn't get through unless I destroy the power source, which I couldn't help believe to be at the bottom of that elevator behind that adamantium door.

There would be no going back now.

I turned back around.

"Taryst, I know you're there!" I yelled at the top of my lungs; my patience already worn away. "Come out and show yourself!"

No answer.

"Get out here now, or I'll-!"

"Or you will what Attelus?"

Without hesitation, my aim snapped straight to the voice's source, on my right side, an area I could have sworn to be empty the last time I looked a mere second ago.

My eyes widened as I saw who it was. "Olinthre!"

The major stood his hands up and empty and looking nervously at my raised pistol. "Uhh yes, it's me, kid. Now could you lower that gun of yours?"

I didn't; I kept it firmly trained on him. "What the hell happened, Tolon? Where the hell's Taryst?"

Olinthre shrugged. "When I came in, the place was empty; my guess is that he already went down the elevator to safety."

"Did you turn on the shield?"

"No, Taryst must have; I wouldn't have a clue how to do it now. Could you please put down the gun, Attelus?"

"No, and how the hell did you just suddenly appear there? I could have sworn that no one was there a second ago."

Olinthre smiled. "Maybe it's your mind playing tricks on you Attelus, you've been through so much today; why don't you just go home and rest."

"I can't exactly do that as I am trapped in here," I smiled back. "Now, who the hell are you?"

Olinthre's smile abruptly disappeared. "It's me, Olinthre; who else could I be?"

I shook my head, feeling pride well within my chest as it all just suddenly came together, as all the evidence just seemed to fall into place unexpectedly. "Now it all makes sense, yess. This explains why Taryst changed his ideals, why it was Barhurst's retinal scan in the records instead of Taryst's. Why Taryst ordered his prized psyker to be in a drug-induced coma, the answer is obvious. I'm just ashamed that I didn't think of it sooner; it's because Taryst isn't really Taryst, just like you aren't really Olinthre."

The smile was just suddenly back on Olinthre's face. "Oh, you think you have it all figured out now, do you?"

Ignoring the sarcasm, I grinned. "Indeed, so what are you exactly? Who are you working for?"

I swallowed back the lump in my throat before I asked the last question. "And most importantly, why the hell did you kill Elandria?"

Olinthre grinned evilly and shook his head. "Foolish child, you think that you are so smart, don't you?"

Suddenly the major was no longer the major seemingly fading from existence, and Olinthre was replaced by...Me a perfect mirror image of me, everything copied down from my flak jacket and thin build, my pale skin and long brown hair.

"Is this appearance more pleasing for you?" the new Attelus Kaltos asked me.

I barely kept my composure, barely kept my pistol aimed. "W-what the hell are you?"

Attelus grinned back at me and said in a voice also my own. "Why anyone you want me to be, so who do you want me to be? Oh, I know!"

My image fazed away and was replaced by the tall long-limbed form of Glaitis. "Hmmm, young one now is this more pleasing now?"

"I assume that you can turn invisible as well? That is how you appeared so suddenly; how long have you been masquerading as Taryst?"

Glaitis shrugged. "I do not see any harm in telling you, child; it was since the night of the Twilight bar incident."

"And before that you were Barhurst, were you always Barhurst?"

The Glaitis thing smiled. "I was indeed Barhurst but only for the past half of a year."

My heart thumped in my throat. "You could have killed me," I managed.

"Excuse me, young one, you mutter. I cannot quite understand what you said."

"I-I said that you could've easily killed me before, why didn't you?"

"Orders," answered not-Glaitis simply.

"From who?"

"Why she is standing right in front of you, young Attelus Kaltos."

"Glaitis? Glaitis is your boss?"

"Got it in one!" said not-Glaitis. "Did you not ever wonder why Glaitis had engineered the Twilight bar incident? And no, it was not to plant listening devices, it was not even to capture that throne agent-"

Then it hit me. "It was so we would draw out Taryst's psyker!"

"Yes, so I could get a clear opening to Taryst without the psyker filth being there to get in my way, my mind may be unreadable for her, but she still could have stopped me."

"And Taryst?"

Not-Glaitis grinned. "Dead; his corpse is rotting down in the bunker as we speak; he never saw me coming."

I blinked my mouth agape, all this information; this revelation was almost too much. I never imagined that all of this had happened behind the scenes, that Glaitis could outplay Taryst so easily.

"So you now understand, young one, we are indeed on the same side?"

With those arrogant words, my confusion was suddenly back into anger. "So if we are on the same side, why, why the hell then did you kill Elandria!" I roared.

"Again orders," answered not-Glaitis simply. "She was losing her edge; she was no longer worthy of working for Glaitis, so her life was forfeit."

"What? So her finding her humanity made her expendable?" I yelled. "Is that why?"

"Essentially, yes."

The rage was almost all-consuming; my breaths were ragged gasps that hissed as air inhaled and exhaled through clenched teeth.

"Tell me one reason why I shouldn't kill you right now," I snarled.

The not-Glaitis shrugged still with that snide smile. "Why young Attelus, it would take a lot less time to tell you the reasons why you should kill me."

My gun still on the not-Glaitis, I glanced at the adamantium door.

"I presume you have access to that door?"

For a second, a bemused expression crossed not-Glaitis' face. "Of course I do; why do you care?"

"Because I need you to take me down there."

"Why?"

"Because...Just because! Damn it!" I snarled as a plan was already forming in my mind. "Now you should really be asking yourself, do you or don't you want a bullet in your brain!"

The Glaitis thing shook Its head. "You really do believe that you have the upper hand, don't you?"

I grimaced about to reply when suddenly my pistol was gone from my grasp and flying across the room; then the not-Glaitis punched me in the chest, or what I believed to be a punch it was so fast I couldn't tell.

Raw pain erupted through my torso as the blow sent me head over heels, face-first into the red carpet. Running on instinct, I suddenly rolled into a crouch, my sword suddenly drawn and searching the room for my enemy.

It was gone; the living quarters was once more empty.

I sighed; now, this was going to be one hard fight.

After I climbed to full height, my ragged gasps echoed through the room, my chest hurt like all hell, and I could not help but suspect one of my ribs may be broken.

It could have been a killing punch if the Thing had aimed at my centre, at my solar-plexus, so perhaps this proved that It was under orders not to kill me, but I didn't want to kill It either It being the only one with access to the bunker where my objective still lay.

Again I glanced around, this time in search of my lost pistol and found it! Lain on the floor next to the door, but I had to immediately restrain myself from lunging for it knowing the Thing would be lying in wait, using it as bait.

"So!" I said, thinking that if I could make It talk, that It would give away Its position. "What did you do with Olinthre, kill him too?"

"You will see," came Its reply immediately, but the Things words seemed to echo from every corner, which made me curse aloud, of course, it'd know how to throw its voice, frig it!

The Thing laughed an unsettling halting sound that sent shivers up my spine.

My brow furrowed, my teeth clenched, and I spun, slashing out my sword in a sudden 180-degree arc.

Nothing, and I heard it laugh just a millisecond before the blow smashed into my back, sending waves of pain through me and crashing me back to the floor.

"Sure, keep that up," It said as I blindly attempted to attack in the general direction of the blow. "Keep slashing into the air, wear yourself out, allowing me an easier target, and I thought you were meant to be smart."

In all honesty, I was worn out, my general lack of any apparent fitness and my brief but brutal fight with Elandria making sure of that.

The thought of Elandria made the rage all of a sudden rush back, and with the pain temporarily forgotten, I began to get up slowly. But then the vicious kick connected with my side sending more waves of agony through me and forcing me onto my knees as I gasped for breath and coughed.

"I may be under orders not to kill you, Attelus," it said. "But I am quite fond of loopholes-"

It paused to kick me again, this time in the guts making me bend forwards.

"-But mistress Glaitis never said that you could not be 'half alive,' did she?" another kick came this right in my crotch, complete agony tore through me, tears abruptly blurred my vision, and I saw stars I would have screamed out if not so winded.

I rolled over, clutching myself and weeping openly. "I don't know," I whimpered. "But, there's, one, thing, I, do, know."

"And what is that, you pathetic little wretch?"

I managed a shaky grin. "You...will see."

Again the things laughter echoed. "I truly doubt it, child, but before I knock you unconscious, there is one thing I would like to know."

I didn't reply; I couldn't; the agony was too horrid, sickness welled in my guts so much I was afraid that I would puke in any second, and I could barely keep my eyes