Fame Cimex Chapter 28

Amongst the dark and grimy alleyways of the slums marched a small party of armoured figures, striding confidently through the detritus and passing the filthy dwellers with total disdain. Cutpads shrank back before them, immediately recognising trouble when they saw it and even the most deranged and drug-fuelled locals made themselves scarce when they saw the size and power of the intruders.

At the head of the group moved the four remaining Smoke Jaguars, moving with weapons raised and totally alert for threats. It was odd to see them walking so openly and loudly, but days of silently stalking ghosts had gained them nothing so now they were changing tactics. They strode with the total confidence of those who know that they were by far the most dangerous people in the area, the most deadly of gangs being mere irritants to them.

However they were not alone, for with them moved a pair of Sisters-of-Battle, only slightly smaller in their ornate Power armour. Their plate was festooned with purity seals and they bore a pair of flamers, sanctified by the holiest of Tech-Priests. The weapons were indiscriminate and brazen, the risks of starting a conflagration in the cluttered alleys were high indeed, but the Sisters were certain of the God-Emperor's divine favour and dismissed such base concerns. The last member of the party was totally different in every way, a lone man, fat, overweight and gasping to breathe as he struggled to keep up. His rich robes were soiled by the filth of the area and he leaned on a thin rod for support as he staggered forwards. He looked ridiculous in these surroundings, fat, weak and helpless, if it were not for the armoured beings with him the local gangs would have taken in him mere minutes.

At the head of the group Shade-Seer Imix was striding confidently forward, his focus total and his determination unwavering. He was scanning not for the mind of the Lictor he knew was out there, but instead for the minds of animals and vermin, looking for hints of terror and surprise. As he did so he could not help but brush over the minds of his companions, feeling the shapes of their psyches and the textures of their souls.

The pair of Sisters were a curious breed, their minds towering pillars of certitude and blind conviction. One could be forgiven for thinking that they resembled the minds of Space Marines, but in truth they were as different as night and day. An Astartes' mind was a fortress, crafted and honed by ancient science and the most ruthless training regime imaginable. Most importantly their gene-crafted bodies were living proof of the Emperor's potency and wisdom, they did not need to believe in an imaginary god, they knew his power from first-hand experience. The Sister's faith however was a brittle and oppressive thing, suppressing any doubts and misgivings behind brutal, rigid walls of denial and anger. Their devotion was rigid and unbending, prone to violent outbursts and liable lead to tactical mistakes in the heat of combat. Imix found it to be a hollow and stifling mindset; lacking the strategic nuance of even the most rabid of Astartes Chapters… still it was better than Giovanni's mind.

The Cardinal's mind was a turmoil of conflicting currents, a mad swirl of doubt, fear and guilt wrapping his soul. The man had spent his life in luxury and indolence, worried about no greater threat than a rival taking his position. It had left him with little to no capacity to cope with the current situation and the reality was straining his mind to the limit. From the moment he had met the Cardinal Imix had felt the man teetering on the brink of insanity. It had taken much cajoling and more than a little psychic prompting to convince him to leave his shelter and come with them. They had taken the Cardinal out of the city spire and brought him here by armoured convoy, then told him that they had to leave their guards behind and proceed on foot. Imix layering the Cardinal's mind with the conviction that secrecy and speed would serve better than the masses of guards who had already failed to protect him.

Suddenly Imix tensed as they party came upon a small square, a junction between several alleyways that left a wide space. It was filled with rubbish and overlooked by the surrounding buildings that cut off almost all the light, creating a drab grey space with nothing to commend it. Imix held up a clenched fist and the group paused as he scanned the area, reaching out with his mind. Imix cautiously probed ahead, but only found animal minds, a flock of small avian creatures roosting in the gutters overhead. He waved his Brothers forward and they spread out, covering the various entrances to the space as Imix assessed the situation. Giovanni stood near him and bent double, heaving for air as his flabby physique struggled to cope. After a minute he was able to stand back up and peered up at the Space Marine saying, "Why have we stopped?"

Imix didn't look at him but kept his eyes sweeping the area as he said, "I am observing our trail, looking to see if we are being followed."

Giovanni nodded over and over as his mind churned, it seemed he needed to talk again for he said, "It was a good idea to send the rest of the guards on ahead, they will draw away the eyes of the enemy."

Imix merely grunted dismissively, "Huh."

Giovanni wasn't done yet though as he said, "Tell me, is it much further to the safehouse?"

Now Imix did look down at him and said, "Safehouse?"

Giovanni nodded and said, "Yes, the City Spire was too obvious and vulnerable, it was essential I that reach a safer place. That's why you came to protect me...isn't it?"

Imix frowned and said in a perplexed tone, "Whatever gave you that idea?"

Giovanni's began to perspire again and a feral mad light edged into his eyes as he said, "I am an important personage, the Imperium needs me, the Emperor needs me. Why else would you have come to me?"

Imix answered honestly, "This monster has eluded our hunt; it is proving a most crafty foe. Yet the cunning hunter does not blunder about wantonly, if he cannot track his prey he lays out an enticing lure and this beast has shown a most particular interest in you."

Giovanni's eyes widened in denial and mad terror and he screamed hysterically, "You're using me as bait?! You're using me as BAIT!"

It was in that moment that the shadows came alive and birthed a monstrosity, all claws and talons and grasping tendrils. There was no warning of its approach; it simply came out of nowhere already in mid-leap and attacking. Before anyone could react the Lictor was among them, slashing with its claws and decapitating Brother Acayt in one blow. The dead Smoke Jaguar fell to the ground in a clatter of plate as everyone gasped in surprise and the birds took flight, circling the area and cawing in alarm.

The Astartes' reaction speed was blinding, Brothers Yoatl and Eztli leaping into combat as they drew their Obsidian blades. They leapt at the Lictor headfirst, knives stabbing and hacking at its hide as they impacted. The next few seconds would have been nothing but a blur to mere mortal eyes, a frenzy of traded kicks and stabs that tore into the combatants with savage fury. The Astartes were strong and skilled, striking with deadly precision, but the Lictor was inhumanely fast and it twisted like a snake to avoid their blows.

Imix was stood between the combatants and the Cardinal, looking for an opening. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the Sisters raising their weapons; the merely mortal movements looking absurdly slow compared to the fight already raging. Imix realised that they were intending to fire into the melee and he yelled, "No!" But it was too late, the flamers were lit and the promethium was already spurting out. Two plumes of fire burst across the square, hitting Brother Yoatl square in the back and engulfing him in a blazing conflagration. Yoatl fell to the ground and dropped his Obsidian Blade as his armour seals failed and his body was burned alive. The Lictor for its part was caught in the edge of the blast but the searing flames only scorched its chitin leaving it unharmed. It twisted in the flames and kicked out at brother Eztli, knocking him backwards out of the fight.

Imix barely had time to raise his staff before the Lictor was moving again, leaping out of the flames like a daemon rising from hell. Imix swung to meet it but was surprised when the Lictor didn't come at him, instead going straight at the pair of Sisters who staggered back in fear. With two lightning-fast blows it stabbed down, penetrating their power amour and tearing out their hearts. Imix roared in denial and charged forth but the Lictor twirled its body about and threw the dying Sisters at him. The Shade-Seer was hit full on by the weight and was knocked backwards, the impact jarring the Force Staff out of his grip. The Lictor wasted not a moment on its fallen foes, leaping straight at the Cardinal. It landed right before him with its claws raised and tendrils quivering as it hissed unintelligibly. Giovanni screamed in terror at the sight, holding his hands up before him as if that could ward off his fate.

The Lictor towered over him, the predator over its prey, an image from mankind's worst nightmares made flesh. Yet before it could claim its prize another force intervened, a flurry of black winged bodies hurling themselves at the Lictor in a whirlwind of stabbing beaks and claws. It was the flock of birds and they descended on the beast with one purpose and one will driving them. The Lictor flailed about in a desperate attempt to evade, lashing out to send small bodies fluttering to the ground in pieces. Yet dozens upon dozens of birds still hounded the creature, following it wherever it went fled and covering it in a thrashing heap of feathers.

The Lictor was beset on all sides and as such it missed the arrival of Imix, charging into combat with a furious roar on his lips. His psychic hood was blazing with the power he had summoned to control the bird's small minds and in his hand he held Brother Yoatl's Obsidian Blade, still thrumming with sonic energies. Imix leapt at the beast even as it fought off the birds and he ducked a sweeping blow from an elongated talon. Imix did not hesitate, but threw himself straight at the Lictor, blade stabbing upwards to where the heart should be. There was a second of resistance as blade met Chitin but then the sonic weapon found the correct resonant frequency and parted the hide to plunge within.

The Lictor threw back its head and roared as it tried to shake the warrior off but Imix held on, driving his fist deeper and deeper into its chest. He summoned all his fury, all his strength and rage and he snarled like a jungle predator as he pushed the blade ever deeper. He refused to relent, even as his arm sank elbow deep within its guts and his armour was sprayed with entrails. Then in a shower of gore, the blade erupted out of the Lictor's back, tearing out its vital organs. The Lictor let out one last howl of denial before it finally went still and limp, held up only by Imix's arm.

The Shade-Seer pulled back and dropped the corpse, letting it fall in a heap at his gore-stained feet. Imix breathed heavily as he looked upon his foe and knew that victory was his, but the cost had been heavy. Of the four Brothers he had brought only one still lived and the Sisters were both dead. As for Cardinal Giovanni, he was crumpled in a heap, soiling himself and rocking back and forth. He was wailing a thin scream, a declaration that his reason and sanity had fled. Imix knew even without having scanned him that the man's mind was shattered, he would scream endlessly from now until the last of his days.

With the dead and the insane all around him, Imix looked up at the sky and could only hope that the battle in orbit would prove less costly than his own had been.