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

out of sight. Darrance followed hot on her heels.

I clenched my teeth and shook my head; I really should get me one of those.

 

 

My kick sent the merc spiralling, head over heels, into the wall, which he hit with a crunch; on my left flank, Castella bisected another, from groin to skull with a single slash of her sword as Darrance on my right cut one's torso in two and decapitated a second.

I dashed at another, making ten metres in a blink as he brought his lasgun to bear and impaled his neck to the hilt. I tore out the crackling blade in a horizontal arc which sheared through the skull of another and sidestepped the thrusting bayonet of a third. My low roundhouse kick caught him in the side of the knee, and he screamed in agony as he collapsed; I finished him with a front snap kick which stuck fast into his throat, and he fell, gurgling—attempting to stem the blood bursting out.

Darrance was suddenly at my side, slicing a merc in two as he attempted to shoot me. I didn't have time to thank him before I was forced to weave out the way of a burst of automatic fire from a merc, hiding behind a turned over table further into the dining room.

I spun and threw a knife, which stuck fast into the gun's barrel. I threw a second that finished point first in his throat.

A burst of plasma tore through the place, vaporising two mercs as they burst through the double doors at the other end, and I could hear the cries of dismay as those that followed leapt into cover.

Wesley and the six Hammers ran past us, turning over tables for cover and firing to keep the enemy at bay.

"Which way next?" Wesley yelled.

I didn't need to reference the data slate to know.

"Next left! At the T junction just outside this room!" I announced as I threw myself flat from their counter fire and activated my vox link. "Hayden! How far behind are you?"

"We're almost on you! Enemy resistance is strong, but we haven't lost anyone yet!"

The skinny Hammer fired two shots from his stub revolver, both blowing out the skull of a merc as they leaned out to shoot. They were a good thirty metres away; I couldn't help but be impressed.

"Nice shooting!" I yelled.

The Hammer just sneered at me and shook his head.

I shrugged and said, "fair enough!"

The Hammer's attention snapped back to me, his brow furrowed in bemusement.

Wesley frowned. "Verenth..." he said warningly.

"You killed my brother," Verenth stated flatly. "Two months ago, you stabbed him through the heart. So yes, it's more than fair enough.

My heart sank. "I...I'm sorry. How do you know it was me?"

Verenth clenched his teeth. "I saw you do it!" he snarled. "That girl you fought she stabbed me when I tried to fight her, she missed my heart, only just. I stayed conscious just long enough to see it, all of it. You impaled him through the chest then kicked him off your sword."

"I.."

"You don't even remember, do you?"

"I'm sorry, I don't," I said. "I've killed a lot of people over the past few months, and I've killed a lot that way, almost every day. I didn't think..."

"No!" snarled Verenth. "No! I bet you didn't think! I bet you never even considered he may've had a kid, or a wife or family! I bet to you he was just some random nothing which deserved to die because he was just some nobody, just some criminal! Just some mindless mook you kill by the dozen!"

"Verenth!" shouted Wesley. "Now isn't the time!"

Verenth tore his attention away from me and emptied his stub revolver at the enemies in the corridor.

"By the Emperor! I wish I could've put one of those through your skull!" he roared as he deftly reloaded.

I'd like to have seen you try, I thought but wisely didn't say.

"Fair enough," I said instead.

"Wesley!" Darrance snapped. "You and your men need to provide us covering fire again!"

Wesley nodded.

"Apprentice!" Darrance yelled. "Get ready to move! We cannot waste any more time!"

I nodded, wide-eyed and glad that I had a distraction.

Wesley held up his hand, all five fingers raised and dropped them one by one.

Once done, the Hammers instantly opened up. Only a second after they'd done me, Darrance and Castella were through the door, in that order. About thirty total were there, backs lodged against the walls.

Castella's plasma pistol killed the ones at the back; about twelve vaporised instantly.

My powersword sliced through the head of the first, I impaled the second, and my throwing knife stuck fast into the visor of a third.

I lunged forward, and my sidekick smashed one against the wall so hard I swore it caused the surface to crack. I ducked the rifle butt of another, then punched him in the face, finishing him with a horizontal slash across his chest. Two came at me as one, charging with their bayonets aimed at my belly. I slid out the way and sliced through the lasrifle of right, then decapitated him with a horizontal cut. Reacting impressively quick, Left attempted to smash in my face with his rifle butt, but like water, I weaved away and cut through his torso.

Beside me, Darrance's power scimitar cut cleanly through two; then he spun into a hook kick that hit a merc so hard I swore it broke his neck.

Castella pirouetted in between us, making flying over a good three metres to decapitate two mercs as they brought their guns to bear.

Darrance and I dashed past her. I kicked the raised autogun of one just as he was about to pull the trigger, causing him to fire uselessly into the ceiling instead of into Castella; I stabbed him through the chest and kicked his limp form into his colleague at his back.

Darrance's overhead vertical cut sliced a merc straight down the middle; then, he opened another's chest.

Castella's plasma pistol shot between us and vaporised two more mercs as they emerged around the next corner.

I clenched my teeth. "Castella! Please try to conserve your ammo!" I yelled.

Castella swaggered past us, her smoking plasma pistol held at her side, and I couldn't help appreciate her arse, and in my peripheral vision, I saw Darrance doing just the same.

She shrugged. "Sure," she said. "Sorry."

I smiled, shook my head, then activated my vox link and announced, "clear!"

Only a few seconds later, Wesley's men rushed past us and stood to watch the corners of the T junction; two left, two right, the rest hugging the walls behind them. Almost like professionals.

Hayden walked in afterwards; his rifle slung over his shoulder, silenced autopistol in hand, and Wesley at his side.

"I do not understand why you three aren't Throne agents yet," said Wesley as he mercy killed a merc with a shot in the head. "I'm just bloody glad you're on my side."

"For now," said Darrance with an evil smile that caused Castella to laugh.

Wesley just smiled back and shook his head. "Actually, I think you're lucky you are on my side, as I'd have very little doubt you would kill me, the consequences if you did, would be...Not pretty, not pretty at all."

I swallowed, and how bloody close did I come to killing you? I thought.

Wesley walked through us. "Alright! Let's move!"

 

Chapter 23

 The last merc guarding the elevator controls was cut in two by Castella; she'd already sliced her way through three others, and killing him just seemed an afterthought to her, like batting a fly.

There were thirty-five guarding the area, but thanks to the aide of Wesley and his Hammers, we'd slaughtered them. That's what power weapons seemed to be, slaughter tools. There was no need to aim for a gap in the armour or even slash it like a sword. You could swing it like a club, and you'd get the same effect. It cut through steel as easily as flesh and bone.

Despite this, I was determined to continue wielding it like I did my monomolecular blade, just in case if I ever lost my power sword and had to go back to using my old weapon; I didn't want to go back being rusty.

Castella and even Darrance weren't the same; both had wielded power weapons for years or even decades; they'd gotten a bit too used to it for my liking. Perhaps after this, I should point it out to them...if any of us survived, of course.

"Selg! Verenth! You and your men secure the perimeter!" ordered Wesley as he and Hayden approached the controls. "Mr Tresch! Work your magic!"

Hayden nodded, slipped off his belt and began to rustle through his bags. "Give me ten minutes!" he announced.

"We will!" said Wesley, who activated his vox link. "Boss! It's me!"

Quickly Wesley went over the plan with Brutis Bones; I meanwhile took out the data slate, sat on the floor and began studying over it. Now we were on the ninth floor; there'd surely be some access to the tenth.

"What are you doing?" said Darrance as he and Castella approached me.

"Finding a route to the tenth," I said. "And I just have. Not far from here, in fact."

Darrance's eyes narrowed. "What do you propose?"

I looked him in the eye. "Us three, get up there and finish this. Once and for frigging all."

Castella scoffed. "Surely they'd expect that."

I shrugged. "Yeah, sure, I know, but I really don't care anymore. I'm tired of this shit."

Darrance's brow furrowed, and he shook his head. "See? This is the kind of attitude that'll get us all killed. I know you must be wary of this all; after everything you've been through, I understand. But we have to keep being careful, methodical, logical, okay?"

I nodded and rubbed my eyes. "Yeah, you're right. I'm sorry, I'm just tired, so damned tired."

"Here, give me the data slate; let me have a look," said Darrance.

I did, and he quickly looked over it. "Alright," he said. "Let me scout on ahead and check this staircase out first hand. You just get your energy back, and I'll be back soon."

He didn't wait for a response before turning and starting away.

"Okay, young mamzel Lethe. What happened to the real Darrance, and where did you put him?" I said.

Castella laughed. "I think after years of time and effort, you've finally earned his respect. Shit, it took me a good seven before I did."

I sniggered and shook my head. "I think you've misunderstood, Castella."

"Misunderstood what?"

I was in the midst of replying when I heard the crack of las-fire down the corridor.

"Shit!" snarled Verenth's voice over the vox. "They're here! And there's tons of 'em!"

"Tons meaning?" said Wesley.

"Meaning way too many for us to handle!" said Verenth.

"Hold them off for as long as you can!" snapped Wesley. "We'll be there in a few seconds!"

Castella helped me to my feet. She was mistaken that I'd even put any time and effort into earning his respect in the first place.

 

 

It didn't take long for Darrance to come back. Just after they killed the third wave of attackers, he walked through the smoke and was almost shot in the process.

"I have scouted out the stairs," he said as his brow furrowed. "It is strange; it is not guarded."

"Any sign of booby traps?" said Castella, looking equally grim.

"None," said Darrance with