Part 8 (2/2)

The Hospitaller gulped air. Where were Miriya and the others?

'I know what you are thinking-' he began.

'Stay out of my mind. shouted the woman. More used to handling a boltpistol, she brought up the lasgun in a clumsy stance.Vaun gave a hollow chuckle and winced in slight pain. There's no need for me to exercise my attrib-utes to know your thoughts, Sister. You know what fate befell poor Sister Iona on the Mercutio, yes? You are wondering, if he could do that so easily to a hardened warrior like her, what chance does my fragile little mind have?'

'I will kill you.

He raised an eyebrow, amused. You don't have that in you. I think perhaps you wish that you did, but you don't.

'I killed your man. she retorted, jerking her head at Rink's remains. 'I can end you too.

'Oh. Vaun eyed the dead body. 'Impressive. Per-haps I was wrong about you. He coughed a little. 'Go on then, shoot me if you dare, little nursemaid.

Verity took careful aim at the psyker, and she was rewarded by the very slightest twitch of dismay on Vaun's smug face. 'Do not profess to know me when you do not. Your arrogance is sickening. How dare you dismiss me, you heartless fiend!' The safety catch flicked off beneath her thumb. 'Any other soul, and perhaps I might have felt distress at taking their life, but you? One look at your face and I am willing to throw away every oath to ethics I have ever sworn!'

The criminal was very still now, watching her care-fully. Then before you do, I would ask you grant me one thing. Tell me what I have done that has earned such enmity.

She gasped. You... You don't even know? Does killing mean so little to you that you dismiss it from your mind with every murder?'

.For the most part, yes. Vaun noted. 'Let me see if I can guess. A father? Or a brother, perhaps?'

'My sister. she snarled. 'Lethe Catena, of the Order of our Martyred Lady, dead by your blade. A sob caught in her chest. You ended her like some com-mon animal!'

'Ah. He nodded. 'Of course. There's a bit of a fam-ily resemblance between you, isn't there?'

His words were enough. 'Die In Terra's name, die. she bellowed, and jerked the trigger of the gun.

'No. said Vaun, and snapped his fingers at her. Before the lasing crystal in the slender pistol could even energise, the psyker caused the molecules of the emitter matrix to superheat and fracture. Verity knew nothing of this until the gun became red-hot and sizzled against the flesh of her hand. By reflex, the Hospitaller threw the weapon away and cried out. Her shriek was drowned by the thrum of coleopter blades as the flyer banked around and dropped towards the terrace. The Hospitaller fell to her knees, clutching her scarred hand to her chest.

'Keep that as a reminder not to test your betters. Vaun's voice was an icy whisper in her ears, pus.h.i.+ng into her thoughts. 'You are a foolish, maudlin child. I killed your sister because I had to, not because I took pleasure in it. She was an obstacle to me, noth-ing more than that. Don't complicate matters by making it personal.'

'Emperor curse you...' sobbed the woman.

The psyker reached up to grab a dangling tether as the coleopter dipped low. The noise of it was deafening, but still she heard his words as clear as day. 'This is not about you, Verity. You have no comprehension of what is hidden on this planet, you or that other wench. Your simple minds, sti-fled by dogma, cannot grasp the notion of anything beyond your experience.

Verity screamed. 'Get out of my headV 'Let me leave you with this. My crimes are legion, of that you may have no doubt, but even in my worst excesses, nothing I have ever done can hold a candle to the sins of Viktor LaHayn. Hate oozed from the mindspeech. 'You have impeded me tonight, but in the end nothing will stop me from paying back tenfold what that wh.o.r.eson owes me. . swear it.'

Vaun's last words struck her like a physical blow, and she doubled over and vomited.

The coleopter fled into the night, leaving the Sister Hospitaller and the comatose governor for the medicae to find when the aeronefs finally arrived.

Dawn brought rain with it from the sea, a cold and lonely downpour that was grey with spent smoke and powdered stone. The smell of black-ened wood was dense in the air.

The eventual arrival of units of Guard and enforcers came too late to save the lives of many a n.o.ble, although by the grace of the Golden Throne there were barely a quarter of the city's highly ranked pastors lying dead as the sun rose. Those who had pa.s.sed away were laid out in the viewing galleries of the central hospice, where their parish-ioners could file in and out and pay respects to the men and women who had led them to the light of the Emperor.

Miriya found visitors clogging entranceways to the upper floors of the building. She was given to understand that many of the sobbing mourners had also lost family members, but in accordance with Nevan church mandates the funeral rites of priests took precedence over those of all other citizens.Noroc was as wounded as her people. The stark light of day showed the places where rockets from the air attack had burnt out apartment warrens and gutted hundreds of chapels. In some places, where broken street cables meant the fire engines could not reach, pits of ruined ferrocrete still smouldered. Miriya had seen the same scene repeated on every street corner as she rode to the hospice. Anguish, blank fear, terror on every face.

The Battle Sister's countenance was set in a frown. Twice now, she had laid Torris Vaun beneath her gunsight and twice he had escaped her. The thought of it made her stomach churn, and in darker moments she caught herself feeling the weight of all the turmoil around her. Had she stopped him back there on the Mercutio, none of this horror would have come to pa.s.s. Her mood dark as the storm sky, Miriya pressed on to find her way to the cubicl where Sister Verity was being attended.

'Of course you understand the deacon's concerns, said Dean Venik, looming over the serf boy minis-tering to the bandage on Verity's forearm. 'I do not mean to imply that is not so, Sister Hospitaller, but nevertheless it is important to ensure a full and cor-rect picture of the witch's intentions.'

'How can I know that?' Verity replied. She found the man to be intimidating, in his arch, unctuous way.

'What did the criminal say to you?' Venik looked her in the eye. 'Did he speak of anything... unto-ward?

Did he take the names of Lord LaHayn or the G.o.d-Emperor in vain?'

'It happened very quickly. He... He used his power...' She held up the livid, inflamed hand, flesh scabbed with new scarring peeking through the white gauze. 'I was unable to prevent his escape.

'A pity.' Venik nodded to himself. 'I imagine you would have liked to take a part in Vaun's downfall, after what transpired with your sibling.

Sister Miriya entered behind the cleric, startling the man. There's still time. She made the sign of the aquila.

'Lord dean. If it pleases you, I would speak to my fellow Sororitas.

'Sister Superior. Venik returned the gesture. 'Of course. I have completed my interview and there are others with whom I must speak, to gather informa-tion for the lord deacon.

'Sir, a moment. said Verity. 'What of Governor Emmel? Does he still live?'

The dean flashed a brief, shallow smile. 'By the G.o.d-Emperor's grace, he does. It is my understand-ing that the governor is being attended by ten of the finest medicae in Noroc.

Ten?' Miriya eyed him. 'Does one man need so many healers, especially on a day such as this?'

'I am not an apothecary, Sister, I cannot answer to that. I know only that he may never fully regain his faculties after such a brutalisation. sniffed Venik.

'Who governs Neva now, then?' asked the Hospi-taller. '( Venik arched an eyebrow. 'His lords.h.i.+p the eccle-siarch, of course. It is only right that in this time of moral outrage the church take the whip hand. He turned to leave. 'Lord LaHayn's first edict in his new capacity was to reinforce the order for Vaun's cap-ture. The witch is to be taken alive.

'Dean, perhaps you might furnish us with solu-tions to another matter. Verity's nervous voice wavered.

There are records within the halls of Noroc's Administratum librarium that might a.s.sist in tracking the fugitive Vaun. With your permission, I should like to examine them...'

Venik gave a cold smile. The enforcers have already performed a thorough check of those docu-ments. All information gleaned will be acted upon.

'Nevertheless...'

'Attend to your recovery, Sister Verity. snapped the dean. 'Don't expend energy on pointless endeav-ours.

He glanced at Miriya. 'I'm sure there are many avenues of investigation to follow in this affair.' With a sniff of finality, he manoeuvred past the other woman and out into the corridor.

The Hospitaller waved away the boy and patted the bandage on her forearm. The youth bowed as low as he could without touching his forehead to the floor and averted his eyes. The Battle Sister in turn dismissed him with a curt gesture and the two women were alone.

'You are unhurt. said Verity. 'And the other Celestians?'

'As well as can be expected. Miriya frowned. 'Canoness Galatea was burned, but she bears the pain with a fort.i.tude typical of her. She paused. 'I come to you to apologise for an error, Sister Verity. I pressed the Canoness to have you remain here on Neva and in doing so exposed you to a threat you should never have faced.

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