'I suppose,' said Uriel, though a gut feeling told him that there was something different about this archway. He could not put his finger on what, but since he had no better idea of which one to take, he set off after Vaanes. The Space Marines followed him, bolters levelled in cautious apprehension.
Vaanes waited for him at the entrance to the archway, and as Uriel passed beneath its Stygian immensity, he sketched the sign of the aquila across his chest, hearing a distant pounding, like the slow heartbeat of a sleeping monster.
'We are in the belly of the beast once more, Uriel,' said Pasanius, the guttering blue tip of his flamer throwing their faces into stark relief and causing the carvings on the inner faces of the archway to leer and dance across the walls.
'I know,' nodded Uriel, praying that the white cloak he had put over his soul would protect it from the vile things they were sure to see in the heart of the Enemy's lair.
Onyx ghosted over the lip of the ruined bastion, his bronze claws sliding slowly from his flesh. His silver eyes scanned the battlements for any sign of the renegades, but they were nowhere to be seen. Moving like a shadow, Onyx tasted the air, the crawling silver veins beneath his skin burning brighter as he channelled the daemonic energy within him into tracking the intruders.
His vision shifted into realms of sight beyond the ken of mortal men, where that which had already come to pass could be seen by listening to the echoes in the air. He watched as shadowy forms climbed over the ramparts, in much the same way as he had just done: many warriors, led by one whose soul burned brightly with purpose and another whose soul was withered and dead.
As though formed from swirling particles of smoke, their forms were ethereal and insubstantial, but Onyx could see them as clearly as though he had been here to watch them arrive. They had passed this way but minutes ago, their phantasmal echoes walking from the battlements and heading in the direction of the monstrous archways carved into the mountainside.
Onyx watched as the ghostly figures were swallowed up by the whispering darkness of the archways and sheathed his claws. He would need to take another route into the fortress to hunt the intruders, for if Khalan-Ghol had lured them into the bedlam portals, there was a good chance they were already dead.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
The journey through the darkened archway was one that Uriel knew he would never forget. The sensation of being spied upon by every square centimetre of wall was intolerable and he was sure he could hear a susurration of whispered voices, just on the threshold of hearing. Their words, if such they were, were unintelligible, but on some primal level, Uriel knew that they whispered of vile, terrible things.
…dishonour, disgrace and failure…
This at least he felt he could bear, having already seen the most terrible things imaginable in the presence of the Nightbringer, but still…
The twilit darkness seemed to go on forever and Uriel soon lost track of how long they had been travelling along the damnable tunnel.
…it doesn't ever stop, it goes on and on…
'Imperator! Does this ever end?' growled Vaanes as they delved further and further into the never-ending darkness.
'I know,' said Uriel. 'I get the feeling that we do not travel normal paths here. We can trust nothing, not even the evidence of our own senses.'
'Then how will we find what we're looking for?'
…you won't…
'We will have to trust that the Emperor will show us the way,' said Uriel, irritated by Vaanes's constant questions.
Vaanes shook his head in exasperation. 'I knew I should have never come on this mission. It was doomed from the start.'
…yes, doomed, only death awaits…
'Then why did you come?' snapped Uriel, rounding on the former Raven Guard, his temper fraying.
…he hates you and will betray you…
'Damned if I can remember,' snarled Vaanes, his face centimetres from Uriel's. 'Perhaps I thought you had more of an idea about how you planned to get in here and find what we came for!'
…he doesn't, he will see you dead soon…
'Damn you, Vaanes. Why must you always undermine me?' said Uriel, hearing soft, malicious laughter and the whispers of the walls growing louder in his ears. 'Every step of this journey you have done nothing but tell us that we are on a fool's errand. That may be so, but we are Space Marines trapped on a daemon world and it is our sacred task to fight the enemies of mankind wherever they may be.'
…not any more. Give in, you are worthless…
'Don't you understand? We are not Space Marines,' shouted Vaanes, the reflected blue light of the tunnel glittering in his eyes. 'Not any more. We are all outcasts, shunned and banished from our Chapters. We owe neither them nor the Emperor anything any more. And I, for one, am getting sick of hearing your sanctimonious voice telling me what I ought to be doing.'
…yes, kill him, what is he to you anyway…?
Uriel shook his head as Vaanes slapped a gauntleted hand on his shoulder guards and said, 'Where is your Chapter badge, Ventris? I don't see it, does anyone else?'
'What happened to you, Vaanes?' asked Uriel, angrily shrugging off the hands on his shoulders and gripping the hilt of his sword. 'How did you become so damaged?'
…because he has no honour, he deserves to die…!
'Because I let myself get put in situations like this once too often,' hissed Vaanes. 'And I swore I would not blindly follow another to my death. Damn me, but I let myself get fooled again.'
Uriel drew his sword, his anger boiling over when he heard the soft susurration of the whispering walls once more and the words and feelings behind them wormed their way into his brain.
…more, say more, give vent to all your secret doubts and fears and frustrations…
The voices insinuated themselves within his head and lodged upon his tongue, just aching to be said for the sake of malice and spite. Uriel clamped his hands to his ears as a measure of understanding forced its way past the fog of bitterness that filled his mind.
The voices clouded his head, louder now that their subterfuge was unmasked. Uriel stumbled and reached out to steady himself, his hand brushing against the wall, its undulating substance wet and fluid. He dropped to his knees and shouted, 'Get out of my head!'
…no, worthless you, meaningless you, insignificant you, unremembered you…
'Uriel? Are you all right? What's going on?' shouted Pasanius, running over to where his captain knelt. Vaanes backed away from Uriel, shaking his head and clutching his temples in pain.
'What the hell is going on?' he yelled as the roar of voices, thousands of them, swelled in volume and filled the tunnel.
…kill, it's such a friendly word… it's the only way…
'Don't listen to them!' shouted Uriel. 'Shut them out!'
The other Space Marines now felt the full power of the lunatic voices, dropping their weapons as the urge to turn them upon themselves grew unbearable. A shot rang out and one of their warrior band, a Doom Eagle, toppled forwards, his skull little more than a charred blood basin, spilling brain and skull fragments as he fell.
Uriel threw away his gun as he felt the muscles of his arm twitch in response to the voices, fighting their urg-ings
…it is hopeless, no point in fighting, nothing can stand against the majesty of Chaos…
He squeezed his eyes shut, repeating the Litanies of Hate as preached by Chaplain Clausel from his umber-sap pulpit: catechisms of loathing and the Rites of Detestation he had been taught when in the service of the Ordo Xenos.