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As he drew nearer the pulsating Gehemehnet, he saw the soul fire of one of the slaves flicker and dim as the man gave up his hold on his mortal body. Instantly, the pale light of the spirit was set upon by the daemons huddled around it and its light was hidden amongst the dense ball of daemons that were wild in their ravenous feeding frenzy as they consumed the unfortunate soul.

The soul fire of one slave drew his attention, for it was different from the others. It was bright and fierce, with a grand cluster of over a thousand ethereal denizens of the warp around it, and Marduk could feel their expectation. This one was favoured indeed, he thought.

A sudden tug upon his spirit pulled at Marduk and he allowed himself to be drawn towards the calling. In an instant he had passed through the walls of the shattered palace of Shinar and hovered before the Dark Apostle. He was infused with light, a strong presence in the warp as in reality. He turned his earthly eyes to look at Marduk and smiled.

'Welcome, my First Acolyte. I thought I felt your questing spirit lurking nearby.'

I wished to see the glory of your Gehemehnet with more than the limited faculties of my mortal being, my lord.

'Of course. Its power waxes strong.'

It does, my lord. It is nearing completion?

'It is close, but I need your strength, First Acolyte, to complete the rituals of binding. This is why I recalled you from battle.'

The battle fares poorly. It is shaming.

'I would sacrifice the entire Host in order to fulfill the will of the Dark Council, if such was needed.'

And the warrior-brothers of the Legion will lay their lives down if that is what is required of them.

'Yet you struggle, First Acolyte. Why is that?'

The Coryphaus must be punished for his failures.

'Must? You would make demands of me, First Acolyte?'

No, my lord.

'I have faith in my Coryphaus, First Acolyte. To doubt his abilities is a reflection of your doubt of me, for he is my chosen representative in all matters of war. You would insult me in such a way, dear Marduk?'

No, my lord.

'Do not defy me, young one. You are no Dark Apostle yet, and I hold the key to your future within my hand. I can destroy you at my will.'

It will be as you will it, Dark Apostle, said Marduk, and took his leave. His spirit soared high into the upper atmosphere. Hundreds of daemons were drawn to him, feeding upon the hot emotions of hate and anger flowing from his spirit.

The tent flap was thrown open and Havorn stooped to enter the shelter. The air was heavy and cloying with the stale smell of sweat. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust to the gloom before he could make out the three medicae officers standing over the cot in the corner. One of them approached him, saluting, and he recognised the man as Michelac, the chief surgeon of the 133rd. His black rimmed eyes were tired.

'It's not good, sir,' he said.

'What the hell happened?' asked Havorn.

'Astropath Klistorman collapsed late yesterday afternoon, as you know. He was ranting and was suffering severe convulsions, and he was bleeding from the nose. I suspected an internal haemorrhage within his brain: such a thing could have been building there for months. But he seemed to regain his strength this morning and he seemed to have suffered no ill effects.

'This afternoon, however, he has had a series of episodes. He is sleeping now, but they are getting worse.'

'There are other astropaths with the fleet. This is war, medic, and people die. Why did you call me down here?'

The medicae officer licked his dry, cracked lips.

'His ranting has disturbed me. He has spoken of things that chill my soul.'

'You fear possession?' asked Havorn sharply, his hand falling to his holstered weapon.

'No sir, not that, thankfully,' said the man hurriedly. 'But… I know that astropaths are powerful psykers, sir. I am no expert in such things, but I am of the understanding that they are able to see things that humble men like I cannot. In my opinion, that is not a blessing but a curse.'

'So what has he been speaking of?'

'When his words are decipherable, he has been speaking of some construction of the enemy. It will erupt with power when the "Red orb waxes strongest" I believe were his words. Given that there is a damned big red planet hanging in the sky, I thought that you might wish to know what he said.'