The War of Shadows

[MarcoSkoll]

   "I believe Molovich had it."

Pretty much immediately after Grant had spoken, one of the smaller servitors in the room stepped forwards, presenting it out to Jeremiah. Lyra watched from the corner as he turned it over in his hands.

  "What more do you think it can tell us than what a Tech-Adept can offer? Unless you're planning on turning it on or something..." , her sarcasm petered out,  "Please tell me you're not going to turn it on."

The younger Inquisitor didn't answer her, remaining focused on the machinery. She surged to her feet, slamming her hat down on one of the tables as she passed.

  "You've got to be shafting me! We don't know what it does! It could be used to deliver any number of nasty objects to us - a bomb! A traitor Marine! Anything! All we know is that we took it from a man who was lied to by his fellow conspirators, and who killed himself. How do we know this isn't a system to ensure that he died, taking any and all secrets to his grave?"

The room fell silent, Jeremiah finally looking up from the transmitter and into the eyes of Lyra, now standing a few feet away from him.

[Caralinus]

Arisha was grateful to the Inquisitor for her comfort. She looked at Inquisitor Rhodes and saw a woman that perhaps one day, she might become. Inquisitor Rhodes was a human being who had suffered through adversity and come out stronger on the other side, she was someone Arisha could relate to, be inspired by. Her own mentor... Her own mentor terrified her.

Inquisitor Czernarvok was everything Arisha was not, she was small and frail, he was tall and strong, she was frightened and he was incapable of fear, she was flesh and he was steel, she was a woman and he was a man, after a fasion. Perhaps that was the biggest barrier, she knew that gender she be irrelevant to an agent of the Inquisition but always at the back of her mind it was there, a block between herself and her mentor where she could never be truly comfortable in his presence. She knew that was her own weakness and it was just another thing that made them so different.

To see someone like Inquisitor Rhodes made Arisha feel her place in the grand scheme of things, someone who had the same vulnerabilites as herself but who had overcome them through will and faith in the God Emperor. Inquisitor Czernarvok could not claim such a trial, he was the product of ancient knowledge and arcane technology, a meat machine built and designed to do naturally what she could only hope to achieve through pain and strife even the mighty Adeptus Astartes, risen so high above ordinary men were still more human than Czernarvok could ever be. Arisha knew she had much to learn from Czernarvok about how to function as an Inquisitor but she did not believe he had anything to teach her about being a human in service to the Emperor.

[Necris]

He looked at the woman eyes unblinking as he spoke his voice even and level.

"We do not know he was lied to, his fellow conspirators could still be on this world."

His hand reached out touching the device, Lyra visibly tensed as he spoke again.

"If they are still alive they'll be seeking this, to activate it."

He stood and moved away from the device noting Lyra relaxing.

"Lets get things on the table shall we? We in deep viss here, we are blind to the situation beyond this city unaware of this incursion is contained to the locality or if it's spread across the world, my guess is the latter,
now Brant knew what was coming, if this is the case why was he still here unless he knew that his sacrifice was for a greater purpose. It's my guess that something did not go to plan, an astropathic choir could have opened a rift large enough to swallow this entire world, the fact we are still here means something interrupted the end result."

[Caralinus]

   "Postulation: Perhaps the mere destruction of this world is not the desired result." Molovich's mouthpiece smoke sweetly, tiny brow furrowed in concentration.

   "Then what result were they hoping for then?" Inquisitor Rhodes, flicking another quick glance at Jeremiah, asked.

   "The fact that this attack happened during a meeting of Inquisitors cannot be a coincidence therefore it follows that the fact that this world was not engulfed by the attack also negates a coincidence. It seems likely that it is some action taken by ourselves that is the desired outcome of the attack. The beacon for example is unlikely to bring ruin down upon us, the orchestrators of this atrocity could well have destroyed us either during the attack on the choir or subsequently due to daemonic invasion, I would say that for the time being our survival is necessary."

   "The daemons didn't test us too much. They focused on civilians when the destruction of Inquisitors would be a much greater victory." Grant joined the discussion, his armour whirring as he moved. "Perhaps their disinterest was not luck but part of the plan."

[Necris]

"Daemons are predators, they'd hunt the weakest first."

He was overly simplifying thing of course, but in essence it was true.

He took the dataslate from his pocket laying it down.

"According to this, Brant was a well established and able Inquisitor, the personal aide to Lord Hess, that does not make a blind pawn, not in my mind, he knew full well what he was doing. But why come to the palace at all knowing that the world was to end unless he had an escape plan should something go wrong."

He left the tactical unit and took a seat in one of the many chairs in the room.

"Being a psyker, I alone could destroy this city if I lost control, Me and Maya could flatten this entire continent, an entire choir of astropaths opened to the warp could have torn this world apart, the resultant death scream would blind astropaths for light years it would disrupt the astornomican and as you can in the sky create a warp storm that would hinder any warp travel in the area. We sit on the most stable route to the Nexus Belt, this world serves as two fold. One to remove the greatest opposition to any action that is befalling the Nexus Belt and two to serve as a hindrance to those who might still be able to bring aid. This is simply the opening gambit of a much bigger endeavour. One in which we survivors are the only hope of preventing"

He let the words sink in. 

[Swarbie]

Fabio looked up, tossing a hypodermic away into a corner. He sighed with frustration and weariness.

"Wonderful," he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

[MarcoSkoll]

Lyra moved back across the room, pushing her ponytail back over her shoulder as she walked.

   "A little less pessimism would be welcomed, Inquisitor Glosche. We remain alive. And while these events are regrettable, it is our duty to deal with them. You cannot stand around waiting for someone or something to show you the way."

She stopped for a moment, picking up her hat. Reshaping it slightly, she turned it around, replacing it before she continued.

   "Presumably, Brant came to the palace because his presence was still needed. For what I cannot guess, but I doubt survival was high on his agenda. He was within the probable blast radius at the moment the eclipse started. Astronomical events are known down to the minute years in advance - he knew exactly when it would happen, yet he was still here when it happened. Ruling out utter incompetence on his part, that means he intended to be."
   "He was prepared to die for this cause. If you'll accept my interpretation, that might not make him a pawn, but there's likely someone else out there looking to benefit from it instead.", Maya finished.

Standing up and gesturing across one of the maps laid out, Gideon raised his voice.
   "Accepting that as true for the moment, that raises the question of why this beacon exists at all. It too was within the area."

His finger drew lines out from the astropathic sector, firstly to where they had found Inquisitor Brant, and then another to where the beacon had been.

   "I cannot fathom. A back-up plan for if things didn't work out? But it remains a dangerous unknown."
   "Or maybe we're looking at it the wrong way. Perhaps events overstepped their plans. Psychic phenomena are fickle things."

[Zephon]

"In the defence of the city, that device is irrelevant."

Bernard stood back from the vox-array, as the operators continued fiddling with it.

"We cannot raise the Conclave, orbit or anything beyond the city. We have only intermittent contact with our forces. Observe."

With a static hum, a hololithic map of the city flickered into life above a projector table.

"The aquilas show the approximate locations of any unit we have heard from."

Bernard pointed to one of the hovering symbols.

"This is us. I have heard nothing from the south-east quarter or the Adeptus Arbites. Currently, everyone is converging on this position at best possible speed."

[Necris]

Jeremiah looked at the dataslate and then at map of the city.

"I want two squads of guardsmen now."

He pushed the dataslate aside as he made to leave the command chamber.

"What are you up too?"

He paused in his step half looking over his shoulder at Lyra.

"My Job."

He moved again pacing to a vox unit and insisting the operator stepped aside before manipulating the unit for a few seconds before letting the operator to return to his duty.

"Keep monitoring that beacon as soon as it gets a repeat inform someone immediately,"

While he'd been working Lyra had picked up the data slate reading over the information contained within it, a list of all the Inquisitors present at the Conclave scrolled down the page most were highlighted red some were yellow so very few of them were green, beside each name was an indication of their visit arrangements were they allocated to the fortress or hold private suites within the city, Jeremiah had been looking at Brant's details the history of the data slate told her that she pulled up the details seeing what Jeremiah had seen, Brant had a residence in the city as well as a suite at the Fortress.

The officers of the two squads he'd requested arrived and Jeremiah turned on them one a Captain the other a Sergeant.

"Sergeant gather your squad and protect that device, remove it a secure location. No-one is permitted near it save all of us together. Captain you're with me swap your lasguns for something heavier we're going into the city."

He swept past them heading for the facilities armoury

[MarcoSkoll]

   "What secure location? It is in a bunker - a bunker that is as well defended as we can muster right now."

Jeremiah didn't answer, paying her question little heed as he left the room. Lyra's face twisted into a snarl, and she muttered under her breath as she turned away.

   "A***hole."

She looked around the room, eventually spotting what she was looking for. Next to one of the tables, Maya appeared to be discussing something with Fabio. Moving over, it became clear that they were talking about the possible counters to extreme psychic phenomena.
Leaning forwards over their table, she cut into the conversation.

   "I have to apologise Inquisitor Glosche, but I'm going to need to take my psyker back."

Maya glanced up from the data charts they were working on, which appeared to have been turned into a web of pencil marks with brief notes trapped in amongst the lines like unfortunate insects.

   "Just one moment..."
   "Now, Maya.", the Inquisitor's tone hardened.
   "I see.", she said, turning to the Malleus Inquisitor, "Sorry sir. My foremost duty is to Inquisitor Rhodes."
   "Then I will have to manage alone.", Fabio replied pessimistically.

Getting up, Maya looked back to Lyra.

   "What's the..."
   "Not in here. That side room."

She pointed past Maya's shoulder at a door that led to one of the technical rooms before moving towards it, leaving the psyker to pick up her staff and follow.

The room shared the slightly flickering lighting of the rest of the bunker, under which two technicians were frantically working on a knotted mess of wiring that had evidently been left in disarray for years.

   "You two - out. You can come back in when I'm done".

The pair gathered what tools they had, scurrying away. Watching them leave, Lyra then turned upon Maya, speaking in a hushed tone.

   "Inquisitor Glosche - were you discussing the Exterminatus?"
   "No. I was trying to see if he might offer any clues, but I asked nothing directly. And no, no telepathic trickery."
   "Wise move - his mind is probably too strong, you'd arouse suspicions. But that's not what I'm here to talk about. Jeremiah... whatever his last name is, I can't remember. How old would you say he is?"
    "He doesn't look like he's had any rejuve."
   "Agreed. So he can't have been an Inquisitor long. He should be deferring to the more experienced people around him, yet he takes command."
   "...you think he's a mole?"
   "He could be. Either way, he's working independently of anyone else - even if he's not deliberately trying to undermine things, he may simply shaft the rest of us anyway."
   "So we need to stop him."
   "No - not yet. He will leave shortly -  you need to follow him, and find out what he's doing."

Lyra stepped around to stand next to Maya, holding out the dataslate with the list of names on it. Allowing the psyker to get a view on the screen, she drew her finger under Brant's name.

   "I suspect he will investigating Brant's residence in the city, but I cannot be certain."
   "So you want me to follow an Inquisitor and a squad of Guardsmen into a daemon infested city."
   "Yes. Sorry. I wouldn't ask you to do anything this dangerous if there was no other option."
   "And what if he needs to be stopped?"
   "Then it'll be down to you. You've dealt with worse than a squad of Guardsmen before, you'll be fine."
   "I never said I was frightened of dying. "
   "Excellent. Don't be seen, and report back to me via vox if you find anything."
   "Well then."

The psyker stepped backwards, holding her stave in two hands.

   "You know I hate this bit. Just get on with it."
   "Be seeing you."

Maya's eyes glowed for a brief instant, and in the next, Lyra had to work to even recognise the psyker was in the room, the mind simply refusing to admit she was there.
In that same moment, the psyker's micro-telekinesis altered the air - at first the effect was reminiscent of a heat haze, but it further rippled, carefully twisting and distorting the light that passed through it.

Lyra blinked, and in that split second, any evidence that the psyker was even still in the room vanished.
The Inquisitor shook her head, trying to clear it. Maya more extreme powers could really screw with your mind. Looking up, she spoke at where the woman had last stood.

   "Best of luck, wherever you are."

The Inquisitor walked back out into the main room, which remained a flurry of activity. Seeing the two technicians, she waved to get their attention.

   "You can go back in there now, I'm done."
   "Thank you, ma'am."

Walking away, Lyra began mentally counting.

   "Hang on. Weren't there two of you in there?", came the voice of one of the pair.

The Inquisitor smiled, unseen. Six seconds - better than average. Adopting a more serious expression, she glanced back over her shoulder.
   "Two of me? Are you feeling unwell?"
   "... no ma'am."
   "Well, perhaps you should see a medic anyway. You might be feeling some side-effects of that psychic blast."

She turned back away from the bewildered man, walking back across the room. Even if Jeremiah wasn't going to work on a collaborative solution, she was going to play her part properly.

[Necris]

He swept into the room, looking round quickly he selected a bolt pistol and slid it onto his belt beside the power sword he looked at the men behind him.

"Get what you need solid slug only, the energy of other weapons will be swallowed out there."

They looked at him worried before collecting their weapons most picked up shotguns taking as much solid slug rounds as they could a few chose bolters, one picked up a heavy calibre autogun he racked the weapon and looked at Jeremiah.

"You said solid slug right."

He nodded leading them out and through the bunker into the courtyard, he pointed at a chimera waiting in the courtyard it's weapons aimed at the main gates. Moving to the tank he ordered the men inside before looking around the courtyard.

"You where were the injured taken?"

"Over there my lord."

The man pointed at a squat building which he stalked over too entering the building he was greeted by the noise of pain and suffering, his eyes moved across the room taking in the injured the majority were refugees injured by the explosion, or by daemons those rived in agony as the corrupting touch tried to twist them, his eyes fell upon Silv standing over Gar he'd lost his arm the limb having been surgically removed he lay in a chemically induce coma Silv looking into his face worried.

"Silv I need you."

"I can't leave him."

"It was not a request."

"Viss you Jere I said I wasn't..."

His slap almost tore her from feet and she crashed against the cot Gar occupied.

"You are a servant of the Inquisition Silv, you serve me as you serve  Belhast's now I have need of you, Gar is not going anywhere."

"I hate you."

"We'll deal with that later now come on."

He hated being so tough on her it was just as Belhast had been with all of them but he needed her now, more than she knew, he watched as she gathered her things and turned defiantly to him her face hard as they walked from the make shift medical centre.

"I need weapon."

He passed her the bolt pistol as they walked and she deftly hooked into onto herself before looking at him and the las pistol he carried.

"What about you? You know that won't do squat."

He stopped looking at her.

"Do really think I need a gun?"

She nodded slowly as the two of them approach the tank the driver was arguing with the Captain.

"I'm not going anywhere my order say to cover the gate that's what I'm doing."

Jeremiah walked up to him.

"My orders are to take me to this address."

He looked at the inquisitor and turned pale before going back into the tank, a few minutes later and they were moving.

"The side gate do not disturb the markings."

"Understood."

As the driver guided his tank Jeremiah turned to the Captain.

"Whats your name?"

"Laxx. Rydurn Laxx."

"I'm Jeremiah Crowe, this is Silvina."

The three of them nodded at one another as the tank turned into the hell of the city.

[Koval]

"Sergeant," I called over, "belay that order."

"But, sir--"

"I don't want to have to repeat myself, sergeant."

I'm not entirely sure how this guy felt, taking orders from someone that didn't quite come up to his shoulder, but he obeyed almost instantly. Thankfully, Jeremiah was out of earshot at the time, otherwise I might've caught absolute hell from him.

"Otto, what the hell's going on?" Gideon asked me, contriving to sound hacked off in spite of his terror, still not entirely suppressed.

"A little thing called trust, Gideon, or rather, a lack thereof," I sighed, before turning back to the luckless Guardie. "Sergeant, what's your name?"

The sergeant looked at me like I was absolutely bonkers, but had the presence of mind to reply fairly swiftly.

"Manning, sir. Bryon Manning, Carthaxian 23rd Fusiliers."

"Sergeant Manning. Well met. Call me Ottakar."

I don't think the sergeant knew where to put himself, so I wasted little time and made the most of the opportunity while it was there in front of me.

"I'm not going to lie to you, Sergeant. We don't know what the hell that thing you're holding is, or what it can do. This leads me to two conclusions. The first, Inquisitor Jeremiah Crowe is not of sound mind."

"Ottakar!" protested Gideon. "I've known Jeremiah for years."

"Mmm, yes, and how often was that simply on a social level rather than in answering the call of duty?" I retorted. "On top of that, the man's a psyker, he admitted as much. If nothing else, the explosion would have addled his mind."

"Says the man who nearly had his head crushed."

"Compared with being attacked by Asgeir, I think a minor detail like a chunk of masonry falling on me is better off remaining a minor detail, Gideon."

Gideon sighed, throwing his hands up in frustration, and wandered off, presumably to converse with Wyebold, although I didn't much care for the details with more pressing matters on my mind.

"I'm sorry you had to witness that, Sergeant," I told Manning. "But I said I had two conclusions, and you're not going to like the second one."

"What might that be, Inquisitor?" the man asked slowly, trying very hard to avoid any potential political landmines. I can't fault him after seeing some of the less tolerant members of the Inquisition, but nonetheless it wasn't entirely necessary around me.

"Do you remember when I said that we don't know what that thing can do?"

"Yes, Inquisitor."

I took a deep breath, trying very hard to calm myself down and not simply fly into an entirely unwarranted rage at Jeremiah's stupidity. "Manning, promise me you won't take offense at what I'm about to say next."

"Promise, sir."

"I don't trust anyone around that thing. Not Inquisitor Crowe, not Inquisitor Antal, certainly not the Guard. Especially not the Guard."

Manning seemed a bit put-out by this revelation but still had the presence of mind to question me. "If you don't mind me asking, sir, why not the Guard?"

"Do you know what we're up against, Manning?"

"Heretics and traitors, sir," Manning answered, slightly confused.

"Worse than that. This is a full-scale Chaos incursion, Manning, and right now, everyone on this planet is potentially a pawn in their cosmic game of regicide. Removing the artifact from the key players is really not a helpful move."

"Sir?"

"Every single Inquisitor in this gathering is potentially a Chaos mole. Every single human being on this planet! Nobody here can trust anybody, and yet nobody here can afford to break the tension, the almost tangible tension stretching us to our limits. So fine that a single gunshot could tear the thinly stretched camaraderie between all of us."

I paused briefly, well aware that my blood was up.

"With that as the case, I can understand that you want to treat me with caution. However, that's all about to change."

I produced my rosette and held it in the centre of Manning's field of vision. His eyes bugged and he went pale; even knowing that I was an Inquisitor, actually seeing the symbol of my authority was a shock to which I didn't want to have to subject him, but this was a matter of necessity, and as such, I had very little choice in the matter.

"As the Emperor is my witness, Sergeant Manning, I trust you to safeguard the artifact with your life. Do not let it out of your sight, and do not let yourself out of our sight. You and your squad are now in the care of the Inquisition, and I trust you to follow my orders unless simultaneously contravened by at least three of my peers."

Something caught my eye and I noticed Inquisitor Rhodes walking towards me, but she was still some way distant so I doubted she could hear me.

"Failing that, Inquisitor Rhodes has the power of veto over anything I tell you," I concluded. "Is that all understood, sergeant?"

[Swarbie]

Fabio sighed. He had been rather enjoying discussing psychic countering with Inquisitor Rhodes' psyker. The girl had a keen mind and prodigious talent, that much was obvious. Especially impressive was her ability to remove herself from sight. Fabio had been amazed when he saw Lyra leave the side room unaccompanied. He checked inside when the technicians had opened the door to re-enter it, and found no sign of the girl. It was as if she had vanished entirely.

Having seen Maya's control over pyrotechnics, he suspected that she had mind-talents that influenced heat and light, and perhaps a small talent telepathically, as that tended to be a common skill. Even his mentor, Jorken, whose powers rarely extended beyond his own body could touch the mind's of others. With this information, Fabio suspected the psyker was either influencing the perception of those around her, or actually bending light so that she was truly invisible.

Fabio paused, pondering. If Lyra had ordered the girl to become invisible, it would have been for a purpose. The female inquisitor obviously did not trust her peers, so it was almost certain she had set Maya to trail one of them.

Probably Jeremiah, he thought. He is not quite what he appears, but I trust him. However, his skill and comparative youth make the others wary of him.

A thought struck him. Jeremiah had decided to investigate what was happening out in the city, taking a squad of guardsmen and a tank for transport. If Maya had been set to follow Jeremiah, she would be walking straight into the middle of a daemonic invasion. No matter how she could disguise herself, Fabio had no doubt that the unnatural creatures now ransacking the city would sense the shining beacon of her soul. They would see her, catch her, kill her and devour her innermost being.

Fabio was not stone-hearted. Although it would give him a small amount of satisfaction to see the look on Inquisitor Rhodes' face when she found out the consequences of her actions, the guilt he would feel would be almost overwhelming. And, he reasoned, the girl is a valuable asset. She may play a key part in our continued survival.

Fabio quickly ran outside. He spotted Lyra and walked calmly over to her, matching her pace. He spoke in a low voice.

"Inquisitor Rhodes, I do not wish to alarm you or earn your distrust, but I am afraid you may have just sent Maya into a situation she may not survive."

[MarcoSkoll]

Lyra grinned at Fabio, lopsidedly as always.

   "Oh, you're a smart one. Glad to know there's actually someone here who's observant."
   "That city - it's a death trap. The eyes of daemons do not see the mundane world."
   "It took nearly ten months for me to track Maya down, and that took nearly every form of auspex the Imperium has. Burnt out two psi-trackers in the process. She's good Glosche - capable of hiding herself from more than just mortal eyes."

Bringing her hand up to her chin, she thought for a moment.

   "Still, I will defer to the judgement of the Malleus - for now. If nothing else, her concentration and powers may have been disrupted by the psychic phenomenon."

Pressing the talk stud on the micro-vox in her ear, she spoke.

   "Take the nocturnal hunter's dawn path."
   "Nocturnal hunter?"
   "Code, Inquisitor Glosche. Not a particularly in-depth one - mostly to ensure that she can be sure that it is me speaking."
   "Of course."
   "It's simple enough. She is tracking someone unseen - which makes her the nocturnal hunter. And a nocturnal hunter returns home at dawn. I'm telling her to come back."

A moment passed before the vox responded:

   "Sorry for the delay, I'm on my way back now. Around Inquisitors and heavily armed guardsmen, disembodied voices are a poor choice."
   "Yes... I do remember what happened on Atlen IV, Maya. But that's beside the point - I believe we have less risky options. Get back here."

She shut off the vox.

   "You have your way, Glosche."
   "How long is it going to take her to get back?"
   "Not long", she pointed over to their left.

A sphere of the air in the courtyard appeared to be unfolding, coming apart. There was a shout of panic and several of the troops in the courtyard were raising their weapons upon this unknown target.

   "Stop! Wait!", Lyra shouted, "It's not a threat."

The torn air slowly reshaped itself, crystallising into the shape of a young woman, taking on colour and form as it walked towards them. By the time it stood in front of them, the shape had fully resolved itself into Maya once again.

   "You always have to put on a show, don't you?"
   "That's my job."

Lyra turned to Fabio, who seemed uncertain what to make of the visual display.
   "I told you she was good."

Walking back inside the bunker, she could see Inquisitor Grant talking to the sergeant Jeremiah had earlier ordered to secure the beacon. Moving over, she had some things of her own to say.

[Zephon]

Distracted by incoming reports, it had taken Bernard several minutes to pick up Jeremiah's dataslate and a few more to realise where the man was heading. By the time that was done, the command centre seemed to have considerably fewer people inside. Grant and Antal had accosted a guardsman and Czernarvok had just stood back from something technological, Bernard had no idea what.

He addressed the armoured giant, rather than the disturbing mouthpiece.

"Inquisitor Chenervork"

The metal wedge expressed no irritation at his mangling of the name.

"Could you apply your talents to our long-range vox? We need information on the wider situation."

Daath touched his elbow, bringing his attention to the holo-display. Red blobs marked the reported locations of the Enemy. Somehow, the scarlet display of the cancer attacking the city was worse than the prior uncertainty. Though, Bernard thought, the rash on the map only showed the reported presence. Watching, three more red spots appeared. Referring to the dataslate, he swiftly marked the position of the dead man's house with a floating yellow square.

He heard a raised voice from the other side of the room and noticed Gideon was approaching. He turned away from the cogitator while pocketing the dataslate, and spoke.

"Has Crowe left for Brant's residence yet? Did he take anyone else with him?"

"Jeremiah? Only a squad of guardsmen, a tank. Do you think he'll make it?"

"He seems capable. And in control of his abilities." The emphasis on the last word left Gideon in no doubt of Wyebold's opinion on such matters.

"But I was thinking," Bernard continued, "of diverting the mechanised section of this company to assist."

He pointed at one of the eagles, tracking back towards the command centre and traced the route with his finger.

"Only a short detour for them," Gideon replied, "but would they arrive in time?"

"They might only catch them up on their return trip, but at least they can provide an escort for that. You know Jeremiah, would you tell him?"

Gideon nodded, and moved towards the vox-unit. Bernard was about to check on the progress of Oliver's unit, when belated realisation struck him. Brant had been an Inquisitor. Not a functionary or an imposter, but an actual Inquisitor, fallen to some cult. And he had been an aide to a Lord Inquisitor. If such a high placed man had been disposable in this plan... Possibly, no probably, Brandt would have had a network, allies. If one Inquisitor had been involved in this plot, others might be.

Sitting down, he ran through a list of suspects: Grant, talking to Rhodes, an outsider. Or maybe a recent plant, without much of a legend to support him. Probably not, he had tried to interrogate Brandt, and his story was backed by Gideon. Antal, the man who knew everyone, perhaps. Glosche, where was he? He had correctly predicted the daemonic incursion. While Crowe, a witch, had disagreed, and was adamant they should activate the beacon he had conveniently found, perhaps to call down a bombardment. Rhodes, equally adamant they should not, maybe she knew it really would provide an escape. Czernarvok, had he been late, or come to ensure the job was finished? No, in that case, he would have arrived with his augmented bodyguards and gunned them down. But traitors need not be Inquisitors. Lord Gerhan had sent a Chimera, not an artillery shell. Well, it would be hard for anyone to take action now, surrounded by watchful eyes. Any kill squad should have attacked immediately after the explosion.