James Swallow - Nemesis

that before he opened his mouth. Suddenly, he was thinking of Luc Sedirae.

Outspoken Sedirae, whose challenges to the Warmaster’s orders, while trivial, had

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grown to become constant after the progression from Isstvan. Some had said he was

in line to fill the vacant place in the Mournival, that his contentious manner was of

need to one as powerful as Horus. After all, what other reason could there have been

for the Warmaster to grant Sedirae the honour of wearing his mantle?

A rare chill ran through him, and Erebus nodded. “As you command, my lord.”

Was it possible? The Word Bearer’s thoughts were racing. Perhaps Horus

Lupercal had known from the beginning that the Emperor’s secret killers were

drawing close to murder him. But for that he would need eyes and ears on Terra…

Erebus had no doubt the Warmaster’s allies reached to the heart of his father’s

domain, but into the Imperial Palace itself? That was a question he dearly wished to

answer.

Horus turned and began to walk back down the ridge. Erebus took a breath and

spoke again. “May I ask the reasoning behind that order?”

The Warmaster paused, and then glanced over his shoulder. His reply was firm

and assured, and brooked no argument. “Assassins are a tool of the weak, Erebus.

The fearful. They are not a means to end conflicts, only to prolong them.” He paused,

his gaze briefly turning inward. “This war will end only when I look my father in the

eyes. When he sees the truth I will make clear to him, he will know I am right. He

will join me in that understanding.”

Erebus felt a thrill of dark power. “And if the Emperor does not?”

Horus’ gaze became cold. “Then I— and I alone— will kill him.”

The primarch walked on, throwing a nod to his officers. On his command, the

lines of melta-bombs buried beneath the hundreds of thousands of survivors

detonated at once, and Erebus listened to the chorus of screams as they perished in a

marker of sacrifice and offering.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Once more, tips of the helm to Dan Abnett and Graham McNeill for that moment

when the core concept for Nemesis emerged from our shared creative flux; to Nick

Kyme and Lindsey Priestley for sterling editorial guidance, and once again, to the

great Neil Roberts for crafting another stunning cover.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

James Swallow’s stories from the dark worlds of Warhammer 40,000 include the

Horus Heresy novel The Flight of the Eisenstein, the Blood Angels books Deus

Encarmine, Deus Sanguinius and Red Fury, the Sisters of Battle novel Faith & Fire,

as well as a multiplicity of short fiction. Among his other works are Jade Dragon, The

Butterfly Effect, the Sundowners series of “steampunk” Westerns and fiction in the

worlds of Star Trek, Doctor Who, Stargate and 2000AD, as well as a number of

anthologies.

His non-fiction features Dark Eye: The Films of David Fincher and books on

scriptwriting and genre television. Swallow’s other credits include writing for Star

Trek Voyager, scripts for videogames and audio dramas. He lives in London.

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