Dan Abnett - Eisenhorn Omnibus

'Don't lie to me!'

'Leave him alone!' Fischig boomed. 'He's just the captain. The ship-master, like you said. He's not part of this/

Heldane looked round at Fischig with a withering stare. You made this happen, chastener. You came to the ordos and begged us to save your dear, heretical master from damnation. Well, that's what I'm doing. So shut your mouth and let me get on with it. Or would you rather I probed the minds of these delicious young ladies?'

'No.'

'Good. Because the ship-master is rather interesting. He's not altogether human, is he? Are you, Tobias Maxilla? Your defences are admirable, but only because your brain isn't entirely organic. You're so much a machine, sir, you hardly deserve the title "man", do you?' 'Look who's talking/ Maxilla said bravely.

I felt the psi-surge from across the room and it made me wince. Hel-dane's inhuman features folded into an angry, animal roar and Maxilla stumbled, cried out and fell to his knees, showers of sparks exploding from burned-out servos in his neck, right shoulder and right wrist.

'Now will you answer, metal man/ Heldane leered at Maxilla, 'or shall I burn out another part of your blasphemous body?' 'There are five/1 said loudly. 'Five of us/

'Aha… the heretic speaks/ Heldane switched round to face me, his attention drawn from Maxilla, at least for a moment.

'The other member of my party is my savant, Aemos. I'm sure you remember him. He's in the infirmary/

'How very obliging of you, Gregor/ Heldane said. I prayed that I had outwitted him. Heldane could undoubtedly feel from our minds that someone was missing. If I showed him Aemos, I hoped he would be satisfied and miss Kara entirely. 'I would advise you to leave him there/ 'Why?'

'He… there was an accident/1 said. 'He is damaged/ ЛУагр damaged?' 'No. He will recover/

'But he is infirm because of contact with the warp?' 'No!'

Heldane turned to a couple of his men. 'Go to the infirmary. Locate this man. Kill him and incinerate his remains/ 'God-Emperor, no!' I cried.

I tried to get up, tried to reach out with my mind to wrest Barbarisater from Heldane's hands. I was too weak and he was too strong. Another psychic assault smashed me to the floor.

'Is everything all right?' a new voice asked. 'There was a lot of unseemly shouting just then/ 'Everything's fine, my lord. Welcome aboard/1 heard Heldane say. I rolled over and saw the newcomer enter the Essene's stateroom. He was resplendant in his brass power-armour, his augmetic jaw as stubbornly set as the last time I had seen him. 'Osma…' I whispered. 'Grand Master Osma of the Ordos Helican, if you don't mind/ he said

sourly.

He had been elevated. Orsini was dead and Leonid Osma had finally achieved the rank he had spent his life chasing. So much had happened in the Helican sub-sector since I had become preoccupied with mnning and staying alive. Osma, my nemesis, the man who had once tried to have me declared

extremis diabolus and who had imprisoned me, tortured and hunted me, had now become the master of the Ordos Helican and my supreme overlord.

The guards dragged me up onto the mezzanine area of the Essene's stateroom and sat me in one of the chairs facing the long banquet table. They stood back, and Osma and Heldane approached. Osma was holding Barbarisater and studying the intricate workings of the blade. His own huge power hammer was anchored to his belt.

Heldane sat down facing me.

There's no love lost between us, Eisenhorn. I won't insult you by pretending there is. Make things easy for all of us. Confess/

'Confess what?'

'Your heresy/ said Osma.

'I am not a heretic. And this is not a tribunal of my peers. I cannot be judged so/

I knew damn well I could. Grand master or no grand master, Osma could deal with me however the hell he wanted.

'Confess/ he said again, sitting down in the seat next to Heldane with a whine of armour servos. He really was fascinated by Barbarisater, turning it over in his gauntleted hands.

'Confess what?'

'We have a list of charges/ Heldane said, producing a data-slate from his cloak. 'Your man Fischig was very specific about his concerns. You have consorted with daemons and conjured one of them as a daemonhost on more than one occasion. You have hidden proscribed texts from the Inquisition. You have shielded a known heretic from the Inquisition and allowed him to roam free/

I fixed Heldane with a hard stare. 'You mean Pontius Glaw? I'll admit nothing, but I'll tell you this much. If you detain me here, you'll pay a much greater price than you can ever imagine. I am sworn to stop Pontius Glaw and you are preventing me from performing my holy duties/

Your days of performing holy duties are long gone/ said Osma.

Where is the Malus CodiciumV Heldane asked.

I toughened my mind shield, hoping against hope that the simple surface truth would not get out. In my pocket. In my damn pocket. Your men searched me for weapons but they didn't bother about a battered old book in my coat.

Heldane didn't read it/ 'He's still wonderfully resilient/ he told Osma.

They were assuming the Codicium would be in a secure place. A void safe, a strong box, under my damn mattress! They had no idea it would be right there in front of them, covered only by a layer of leather coat. I had to keep that simple, stupid fact from them.

'Millions will die. Tens of millions perhaps. If you don't let me finish my work/

'That's what they all say/ said Osma. He rose and leaned over at me, his blunt, grizzled face looming close. 'You're going to burn, Eisenhorn. Burn

and suffer. I am only grand master today because I have never suffered heretics like you. You are the worst kind of fool/

'Tell us about the daemonhost/ said Heldane. Where is it secured? How can we find it? What are its command words?'

'Command words?' I replied. 'Why would you need those? Do you intend to control the daemonhost yourself?'

Heldane sat back and glanced at Osma.

'Of course they don't!' said Fischig, who had been lurking on the mezzanine steps. 'They're not heretics like you… they wouldn't-'

He looked round at Osma and Heldane.

You don't want the daemonhost, do you, masters?'

'It must be contained and dealt with,' said Osma. 'Leave this business to your superiors, please. You interrupt too much.'

'But the daemonhost? You talk like you want it for yourselves.'

Osma glanced at the long-snouted inquisitor. 'Heldane? Tell this man to go away. He's served his purpose.'

'Go, Fischig!' Heldane snapped, and my former friend descended the stairs and sat down on one of the couches, gazing at Eleena and Medea, who were trying to make Maxilla comfortable.

'The daemonhost!' Heldane rasped. 'Give it to us!'

'And you call me a heretic.

Heldane's psychic slap rocked me back in my seat.

A guard approached Osma. We have searched the infirmary, lord. There is no one there.'

Thank the Emperor, I thought. Kara has freed Aemos.

'Kara?' said Heldane suddenly. 'Who is Kara?'

No one, I willed.

There is a sixth person aboard/ Heldane told Osma. 'Probably now working with the savant/

'Find them!' Osma snapped, and half of his guard unit hurried from the stateroom. 'Bring more squads across from our ship if you have to/

There was jolt, followed by a terrible raking squeal of metal on metal from somewhere outside.

'What was that?' Heldane demanded.

He got up and hurried down the steps towards the entrance to the main bridge. The Essene jolted again.

Osma rose and pointed the tip of Barbarisater at me. 'Move!' he ordered. 'Watch the rest of them/ he told the guard captain.

We followed Heldane onto the bridge. Fischig joined us, along with Maxilla, who was being held upright by a guard.