The Marshal glowered at me from under his Aquila-marked massive helmet. He was as likely to put a slug in my head as the mad Khorhates if he suspected me of heresy. I shrugged my shoulders and turned my back to him.

'Connect me, brother. Let's listen to them. They'll surely drop a few useful hints.'

'Don't you mean, m'lady...' the Marshal bellowed behind but Uncle stepped closer and put his finger on the trigger.

Sound of statics. Beeps. Then a human voice spoke. A youth no older than sixteen.

'By the Emperor's grace, I'm in charge now while my father is missing. You're Imperial fighters.'

'The Governor's eldest son,' said the Marshal. 'Suspicious how he managed to survive. I bet the cultists have taken him hostage to set a trap.'

'Sir, I'm here with the still loyal security soldiers of my father. If you don't believe me, send the space marine to the mansion. We're in the underground storage in the southern part.'

A female voice joined in.

'Sir, this is Sister Arianta of the Order of the Grapevine. I will go out to meet you. You're familiar with the customs of the Sisterhood. A Sororita would rather die a martyr's death than agree to participate in an unholy ambush.'

'M'lady, it's up to you to head there.' The Marshal didn't move. 'Starting the talk was your initiative.'

'Nevermind, sir. Brother, Sister, follow me.' I made a step forward before Uncle could say a warning as usual.

The mansion, surrounded by a lush artificial forest and enclosed with an ivy-clad wall, was relatively modest if compared to opulent palaces of planetary nobility shown on glamorous picts. Walls and columns that had been white were charred and defiled with Khorhate graffiti and Chaos Stars drawn with blood. The passage to the gate was blocked by another gruesome pile of heads but collapsed wall sections were large enough to enter the yard.

A tall woman in black shield-robes over a Sororitas carapace suit was standing before an annex building with a row of turrets over the door. Athletic and straight in her elderly age, she kept her head up under the weight of the ceremonial headwear. She bowed with a polite smile and folded her hands in the sign of the Aquila.

'May the Emperor guard you and your men, Lady Inquisitor. I speak on behalf of Master Aethalops who acts as the head of the household until we get news about the Governor's whereabouts.'

'I've arrived with the Arbites Marshal and his personal Enforcers, Sister. I hope you will persuade Master Aethalops to leave his father's mansion. There's no warranty cultists won't return to this place.'

'His blessings upon you, Sister.' The Repentia made a low bow to the fellow Sororita.

'He sees your humility and devotion.' Arianta kissed her on both cheeks. 'I will pray for the soonest absolution of your transgression.'

The Arbitrators appeared from behind the rows of trees, flanked by Uncle and Fluffster with their guns aimed at the bushes around. Arianta greeted them as warmly as us.

'The Emperor has led you to our collapsing shelter. We're short of energy and ammo after the traitors pillaged the storages and destroyed the primary systems.'

The Marshal didn't lower his gun. 'How have you survived the outbreak, Sister?'

'Everything started here while I was away with the children in the lakeside cottage. We got signals of distress, and network connection with the city was lost. Gangs appeared in the cottage area, and Master Aethalops decided to return by the underground tunnel. By the Emperor's mercy, our bodyguards were all loyal, unlike those who remained in the mansion. The heretics slaughtered those who didn't worship the Ruinous Powers. When we came back, the mansion had been robbed and burned.'

'What about the Governor himself?'

'No traces could be found. We vanquished a cultist band of former guards and took one of our armoured vehicles from them. Unfortunately, we failed to repair it as well as the vox transmitters. We could only contact you when you came up to the fence.'

'You have a Magos for your help,' said Fluffster. 'We need to embark in about an hour. When we're in, I'll show you the data from my drones.'

Arianta led us down to the storage by a long, unlit stairway past the passages to garages and sewage reservoirs. Smell of smoke and rot wafted out of ventilation grates, water from damaged greenery systems was dripping from the ceiling. Metal doors below bore marks of blade strikes and bullets that couldn't pierce the fortified leaves.

Inner chambers had been used for repair supplies and control over the secondary generators but now boxes of machine parts had been moved to the doors to block the entrance at an assault. Guards in battered armour were cleaning their firearms, a few were resting on inflated mattresses at back walls.

'Master Aethalops, allies have come.' Arianta pushed the door to the furthest chamber.

He was taller than me and broad in the shoulders, almost a man grown but for his youthly, slightly rounded face. A fresh cut crossed his face from chin to the cheekbone, he was clad in a full carapace suit spattered with blood. On a small couch at the wall a girl of about six and a toddler boy lay curled up under a plaid. The girl opened her eyes at the sound of our voices.

'Mom and Dad have come back, brother?'

Aethalops leaned over the couch and patted her head. 'Hush, dear, the little one will wake up. The Emperor has sent good people to help us find Mom and Dad. Keep quiet and say a prayer for them.'

'I'm afraid of the bad bandits. I've seen them in a dream again.'

'I'll chop their heads off if they dare to touch my little sister and brother.' He clasped the short chainsword he held in his trembling hand.

'You're welcome,' he addressed us. 'Let me show you to the arsenal while my siblings are having a rest. My enginseer is working over the only Chimera we have.'

'How many men do you have?' I asked him.

'Ten. Fifteen arrived with me but we were ambushed as soon as we opened the tunnel door. Sister Arianta stayed in the tunnel protecting the children but I led the charge against the enemies. All of them guards and servants of the household I knew since my childhood.'

His voice wavered. I smiled at him. 'Your bravery is admirable, sir.' He gritted his teeth as if in pain.

'They killed three of us. Two more died of wounds later. Our old gardener jumped on me with a machete. I had to smash his head with the buttstock.' He rubbed the cut on his cheek and looked aside.

'A question hard to ask, but what about your family?'

'The enginseer turned on back the auspexes and scanned the living rooms. We didn't see even their corpses. He tried to restore the archives but recordings of the day of the riot had been removed. We all hope they're still alive.'

'The guards captured one of the assaulters,' said Arianta. 'But interrogation was useless. His mind was ravaged by drugs to the point he was unable to speak.'

Fluffster was tinkering with the engine of the Chimera uttering brief orders to the enginseer. The heavy bolter on the roof had been blown off, the hull was charred but Fluffster was sure it will run well enough.

Aethalops watched me with admiration as I checked my laspistol and sword. One of the few who didn't treat me as a girl next door or an annoying cop. Just three years younger than the rogue Radical's Interrogator who departed to the Casbah with the Magnificent.

'Is it hard to be an Agent of the Throne, my lady?'

'Not quite so when you get used. I was your age when I was serving my mentor in his ventures.'

'I thought Inquisitors are hulking stern giants surrounded by great crowds of acolytes.' He blushed and frowned.

'One day I'll become like that if I save up enough cash.'

'You have overcome many enemies of Mankind with just a chainsword and carapace like mine.'

'Because faith, not sword makes a real warrior,' Arianta said with a kind smile.

He turned his face towards Angel with the same fascination.

'A real Angel of Death. Many even don't believe they exist. I saw a few on picts and in movies. I even wanted to become one when I was a child.'

'You will become a noble generous ruler like your father.' Arianta shook her head.

'You may speak to Brother Pterophyllo if you wish.' I smiled.

'I thought you're all severe and aloof.' The boy shook Angel's gauntlet, and his strained face lit up. 'I'll try to be as brave as you in the coming battle.'

'You are more than able to serve Him in many ways,' said Angel. 'You're a devoted defender of your family and people.'

When Fluffster finished the repairs, I reminded him about the drones. He took out his dataslate and opened the city map. Emblems of Khorne showed the disposition of cultist forces. Most of the bands were heading out of the city but some were scattered in the habitation blocks. Another large group of Arbitrators was stuck in the downtown prison facility holding their ground against a few large gangs.

'The drones detected activity in the underground levels.' Fluffster pointed at a junkyard area in the outskirts where the entrance to the underhive was located.

The Marshal screwed up his face. 'Let cultists and gangsters slay one another. I bet the gangsters will have their heads cut in minutes.'

Fluffster looked him in the eyes. 'Active resistance continues for a day at least. What if the Governor had to retreat to the fortified underground area to protect the city reactor?'

'Mobsters will kill us without asking who we are.'

'Sir, are there any ringleaders in your custody in the downtown prison?' I asked. 'A bargain for release is what should be done.'

'Utterly dishonorable, ma'am! Do you really suggest my men will fight shoulder to shoulder with a filthy scoundrel accused of heretical trade? You, the bane of heretics?' He stared at me as if he was the Inquisitor among us.

'Take it easier, man. You're supposed to stick to the laws but the laws guarantee us Inquisitors more freedom of action if the matter demands for it.'

'Sir, you're here to judge criminals but only the Emperor has the ultimate right to judge.' Arianta stepped between us, her voice calm as before. 'Even those accused of most horrible crimes are allowed to atone for their sins in battle defending the Imperium. No one is without sin, as all of us should remember.'

Sister was checking and binding wounds of the injured guards while we were getting ready to embark. The Marshal's resistance had been softened by the promise to rescue his besieged men, and he walked to and fro giving out orders by vox. The old Chimera shivered when the enginseer probed the repaired engine but the vehicle was solid enough to carry the guards to the underhive. I tried to persuade Aethalops to take a place in the owl or a Rhino but he refused downright.

'I'm a crappy leader if I hide and abandon my men to die, my lady. But, if you're so kind, can you take my little ones and Sister Arianta with you? The kids won't be a nuisance. Sister will watch over them.'

'That's what I planned to offer you, sir.'

The door opened, and Sister Arianta led out the children who were rubbing their eyes.

'You'll go with Lady Inquisitor,' said Aethalops.

'We want to go with you.' The girl pulled him by the hand.

'Look, there's the Emperor's Angel who's come to fight for us.' Arianta pointed at Angel, and the girl clapped her hands in awe. 'We'll fly with him to find your parents.'

Fluffster and the enginseer unlocked the exit in the back side. The Chimera rolled out to the darkness of the garden. We followed the vehicle preparing for another skirmish. Aethalops turned to the girl.

'On my signal, close your eyes and keep them shut till Sister allows.' He climbed the Chimera armour and crawled into the hatch.

With the toddler boy wrapped in her outer robe and the girl holding her by the hand, Arianta walked beside me. Her only weapon was a stub revolver on her hip most non-militant Sororitas carry when out of their convents. Yet she showed less anxiety or fear than most of much better armed fighters. When we passed by the pile of heads, she whispered a quiet litany.

Our transports stood where we had parked them. No signs of battle. Two Arbiters were smoking before their Rhino. On seeing the Marshal, they threw the cigarette butts to the road and hurried back to their places. Sister leapt into the owl and looked out out in a few moments with her medicine package in her hand.

'Marshal, are any of your men wounded?'

'No time to bother you with long treatment, Sister.' He bowed his head with a shadow of a smile. 'If you're so kind, give a small package to each Rhino crew so they bind the wounds on the run.'

Fluffster started the engine and took his place at a loophole with his volkite gun. I opened the notification screen to check auspex data. An incoming message, received twenty minutes ago. 'Sender: Lignus Soliman. Disturbance around the mine growing. Psychic outlashes have reached my place. I advise you to return before they open a rift, my lady. By the way, two more vessels appeared in orbit. They didn't answer our signals.' I closed the window and startled as I noticed Arianta reading from behind my back.

'That's what's now happening just everywhere on the borders of the Segmentum, Sister.'

'The Emperor tries His faithful sons and daughters, my lady. One day He returns in His full glory to judge us.'

I sat down and reached for the half-emptied bottle of amasec left in the drawer under the screen.

'You've been drinking hard during the last month, my lady. May I ask what happened?' Arianta pushed the glass away from me.

'Why do you know, Sister?' I gripped the bottle reflectively.

'Sisters Famulous are taught to see subtle signs to tell the condition of any person. Something has ridden you of peace and good sleep.'

'I doubt that we should discuss matters like sleeping and eating.'

'Drinking and taking drugs almost always lead to disruption of mind and faith. To fall to Chaos.'

'I've been to a place of nightmares when a nemesis of mine abducted my crew. Where the powers of the Four are fully manifested. Out of His reach if He allows such places to exist.'

'He let you escape it.'

'One of my friends told me He is dead. My enemy told me the same. Something I cannot check up and prove.'

'You were a deep believer in your childhood and youth.' Arianta shook her head looking at me with sadness.

'I guess you know too much about my business.'

'Our Order of the Grapevine gathers information about all people of importance that appear within the Sector. And you're not a stranger to the Orders Famulous. You grew up in an orphanage maintained by the now extinct Order of the Safe Harbour. And you still use the first name given by the sisters as your militare nomen.'

I grabbed the glass while he was talking, filled it and emptied it with a gulp. Arianta stopped and sighed.

'I'm sorry to disappoint you, Sister. But these memories aren't a thing to inspire in this time of sorrow and unrest. True, I still don't feel like presenting myself with the surname I received from my foster parents. '

'I mourn your losses with you, my lady, and will pray for the peaceful rest of their souls. They tried to counter the conspiracy that had wiped out our sister-order.'

'They were of Ordo Xenos. I remember that they excavated strange relics on the planet where...' I couldn't finish the phrase. My bottle was now out of reach thanks to Arianta's efforts, so I turned to the screen rubbing my head.

'It all started when a number of strange epidemics terrorized the sector. The first one killed most of the population of an entire system a decade before your birth. The Order of the Safe Harbour devoted themselves to caring about victims of wars and calamities. But every shelter where they brought survivor children got assaulted and destroyed, sooner or later. An Inquisitorial team took up the investigation after they found constructs of probably alien origin on a few worlds struck by the epidemics. That's how they found and adopted you so you could continue their job. But you cannot vanquish threats to the Imperium if you become a heavy drunkard. Alcohol and drugs were instrumental in the corruption of your own mentor. But the Emperor's protection let you avoid the taint.'

That shrewd woman could have found out about the attempted sacrifice as well. But she would know nothing about the dreadful pact. A sin I cannot even confess. The mystery of my childhood revealed more family enemies that had left me alone only because I hadn't tried to dig into the matter. I decided I'd find it out once I was done with Imudon. If I'm alive by that time.

'Something terrible is pestering you. But the wound can be treated only when it's exposed. I hope that's not a Radical transgression done for the sake of your research.'

My heart leapt. Not the matter strangers should be interested in. Distant blasts gave me an excuse to return to the screen. I sent out a couple of drones and found our current location on the map. A bit ahead of the main column, over the upper hab-blocks. Gunfire had almost died out in the prison complex but cannons around the tunnel to the underhive fired salvo after salvo at the crowd of Khorne worshippers. They couldn't even come closer despite all efforts to break through the living blocks to the mine area.

Dull buzz in my mind grew stronger. Borders between warp and reality thinning with every hour. Soon we'll charge against the foes with merciless ferocity. I put my hand on the chainsword hilt, blood pounding in my head.

Arianta was talking to Uncle who watched the playing kids with a smile on his lips. Despite the approaching outburst of Khorhate wrath, his face and his mind had calmed down a bit. Soon the girl climbed up on the couch with a dataslate. Uncle and Arianta pointed at colourful animals on the screen, and the girl named them with happy laughter. The toddler curled up on the carpet, cuddling with a stuffed cat. The owl felt like home even in the heat of a civil war. Something I should value more while I have a family around. An only family Inquisitors can allow.

Another loud beep. The little boy woke up and sobbed. New message in the inbox. 'Orite, gurl. Meet you in the skirmish with me crew. Raaf.'