Death Mask Read online

  Vinter wheezed a weak approximation of a laugh. ‘So, you weren’t sent for Big Bruvva at all. Of course not. What would the Imperium care about a heretic and his motley band of followers, eh? Not when you could have me.’

  The Assassin didn’t answer. That wasn’t a surprise. Nor was the fact that the Imperium had known all along. About the illegal arms. About the army.

  About the plans to attack the other hives.

  He could have ruled Ghul Jensen – no longer the poor relation among the founding families. Vinter, a name they had always ridiculed. A name they would have learnt to fear.

  Until that dolt had dragged himself from the Pit – and the moment Obstiria fell. It had only been a matter of time.

  Not that such a triviality would stop the Assassinorum. Why leave things to chance when you could send an Eversor to tie up any loose ends? To finish the job.

  Typical Imperium efficiency, praise be to the Throne.

  Behind the bleeding Assassin, far in the distance, a fireball erupted from the walls of Hive Jensen. The first casualty of the incursion.

  Hive Vinter would be next. The governor wondered how long it would be until all the towers were burning.

  The knife slipped easily into his parched throat. He locked eyes with the Assassin as he was released from his torment, his chambers bathed in the red glare of the battles already raging outside.

  Was the Assassin’s death mask grinning a little wider as he slipped away? And what was that sound Vinter heard as he slipped away? The sound of the Eversor’s body crumpling into a heap at his feet, its wounds finally taking their toll?

  The governor would never know.

  Perhaps the Day of Reckoning had come for them both.

  About The Author

  Cavan Scott’s writing for Black Library includes the short stories ‘Doom Flight’ and ‘Trophies’, with lots more on the way. He has written novels, audio dramas, short stories and comics based on many popular series. He lives and works in Bristol.

  The Red Waaagh! descends on the world of Alaric Prime, intent on plunging the sector into war. Only the forces of the planet's Knight houses and their Cadian allies stand against the alien tide.

  More titles in the Sanctus Reach series coming soon.

  A BLACK LIBRARY PUBLICATION

  Published in 2014 by Black Library, Games Workshop Ltd., Willow Road, Nottingham, NG7 2WS, UK.

  Cover illustration by Alex Boyd.

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  ISBN: 978-1-78251-713-9

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