Secret War: Warhammer 40,000 by Ben Agar (reading eggs books TXT) 📖

it as Glaitis activated both hers. Brutis barely managed to smash her slashes aside; he would've been unable to parry her following thrust if Wesley's shots hadn't forced her to dart back.

It all happened so fast that Verenth only now had slipped me off and drawn his autopistol. My limbs were like lead, so without complaint, I collapsed onto the stairs, as did Darrance as Verenth's colleague unslung his Lasgun and desperately, they tried to get a clear shot at Glaitis.

"Don't," I said with finality.

"What?" snarled the other Hammer.

"Don't even try," I said. "If you shoot, you'll only draw her attention, and she will kill you. You're way over your heads here; I'm sorry to say."

The Hammer gritted his teeth but nodded and hesitantly lowered his weapon, but Verenth didn't.

"I can't just stand here and watch!" bellowed Verenth.

"You can, and you will!" I snapped. "You'll only get in the way! That I assure you. Right now, those two are the only ones in any condition to stop her. As much as you want to help, helping them will only do more harm than good."

"Yeah! And what about you? Would you make a difference?" snapped Verenth.

"Of course I would," I stated. "But I can barely move; I'm no help to man nor beast."

"How can you be so frigging calm!" he roared. "I heard you panicking like a little girl in the elevator shaft! Don't you wish you can help!"

I grinned, and it must've been more than a little unnerving as it made both Verenth and the other Hammer flinch and exchange fearful glances.

"Of course I do," I said. "This is the first time in a long time I've seen her fight, and I'm pretty sure..."

"Sure of what?" Verenth stammered.

"If I were to fight her, even one on one, I'd kill her," I said. "It'd be hard-fought, the fight of my life, I'm sure. But Feuilt was better than her; Elandria was better than her, not by much, mind you but even still. She's spent too long sitting idle at her desk scheming and planning, I'm afraid. She's lost her edge. Oh, how I wish beyond wish that I could help. I really, truly do. To be the one to end the infamous Glaitis, to be the one to kill her finally, oh what a privilege that'd be. To truly prove I've finally surpassed her in skill."

"You're messed in the head," Verenth said. "And more than a little bit frigging terrifying."

"I am," I said. "I really, really am."

Verenth furrowed his brow yet still, very hesitantly, lowered his weapon.

Glaitis flipped and wheeled through Wesley's shots, then lunged at him, slashing horizontally for his head. Wesley, with surprising speed, leaned back, just out the way, then sidestepped her thrust while attempting to smash the butt of his stubb revolver into her insane, grinning face. But she cartwheeled back and pirouetted just in time to parry Brutis' vertical cut.

He rallied and cut horizontally; she ducked it and countered with an awe-inspiring cavalcade of feints, slashes and stabs. I could tell Brutis Bones was quite skilled; he'd practised for years, perhaps decades, but compared to a dedicated sword wielder like Glaitis or me, he was an amateur. So it was all the more impressive he wasn't sliced to ribbons; he managed to parry a few but was forced to back step most of it; some attacks were just too fast, slicing gashes in his armour which drew blood. All the while, Wesley reloaded his stub revolver.

Both Verenth and the other Hammer watched on, their jaws twitching and fidgeting in impatience, although they weren't quite able to follow it.

Brutis, reeling and bleeding from the onslaught, with a bellow desperately slashed diagonally after parrying Glaitis' thrust. She weaved away, then sidestepped his viciously powerful front kick. Finally, Wesley finished reloading, and his shots sent Glaitis darting and winding. She snarled and threw a knife that flew straight and true, smashing Wesley's gun from his grasp.

Roaring, Brutis was on her, slashing down; Glaitis sidestepped it and spun into a horizontal cut that Brutis barely backstepped. Wesley had retrieved his pistol, and his desperate shots were what kept Glaitis' thrust from impaling Brutis' skull.

Glaitis snarled again; I could see she was mad, frustrated she wasn't able to take them out yet. If Wesley and Brutis could hold out for long enough, perhaps she'd make a mistake, create an opening.

Or at least I hoped she would.

Glaitis darted and flipped through Wesley's fire as she blocked and parried Brutis' slashes and stabs.

She should've been kept on the defensive, but somehow she was still able to counter. I could see her tactic; she focused on Wesley mostly, preventing him from firing at her and wearing him down. She knew she could kill Brutis once Wesley was out of the picture; his stubb revolver was the more significant threat to her now.

I watched Brutis as he barely blocked her latest horizontal slash; the Inquisitor must've known he was outclassed, that if it weren't for Wesley, he'd have been dead five times over. Yet, still, here he was, fighting, not giving up. I could sympathise with that; stubbornness seemed to be something we had in common.

"Shit!" snapped Wesley as his pistol clicked dry yet again. "I'm out! Verenth!"

Verenth's eyes widened and, after a moment's hesitation, threw his autopistol to Wesley.

Glaitis ducked Brutis' counter, cartwheeled his next thrust and darted toward Wesley, immediately seeing her opportunity.

But as she did, I saw Wesley smile, and he flicked open his revolver, slid in one bullet and spun to face Glaitis as she came on him. Pistol raised right in her face.

"What the hell is going on here?" roared a voice.

It caused Wesley to hesitate, and he lost his arm from the elbow down because of it.

His scream was cut short as Glaitis' sliced his torso in two.

My jaw dropped, and my eyes widened in shock, as did everyone else while Verenth's pistol clattered on the floor.

"Wesley!" roared Brutis.

From the left side corridor, 'Olinthre' walked into view, looking bloodied and beaten and grinning from ear to ear, with a lasgun raised.

"It looks as though I arrived just in time," It said.

Glaitis smiled but said nothing.

"Major! What the hell are you doing?" demanded Brutis.

"Brutis!" I yelled. "That's not major, Olinthre! It's...!"

"My servant!" Glaitis interrupted with an insane laugh. "The only one with the sense to stay loyal to me!"

"Frig!" I snapped, regretting failing to inform Brutis of 'Olinthre's' real identity now.

Brutis' clenched his teeth as he realised the situation he was in, glancing back and forth between Glaitis and "Olinthre" a few times uncertainty.

"I can't stand by any longer, sorry, kid!" snarled Verenth as he raised his stubb revolver and the other Hammer, his lasgun.

I sighed and said nothing, knowing it was pointless to argue; we were dead either way now.

"Aim for the major!" I yelled as an idea hit me. It wasn't as fast as Glaitis, so perhaps they could actually kill it.

"Really?" It said, grinning insanely at us and in a flash of light. It transformed into Wesley. "Are you sure?"

Verenth and the Hammer gasped, hesitating.

Glaitis laughed and threw two knives, one stuck fast into Verenth's arm as the other embedded in the Hammer's shoulder, and with yells of pain, they fell on their arses.

She would've thrown more, but with a roar, Brutis was slashing at her, forcing her to cartwheel back.

"I will not stand by and watch you anymore kill any more of my men!" he bellowed. "You bitch!"

He tried to slash again, but the Olinthre-thing's Las-fire smashed into him; the burst caused him to reel. In the next second, Glaitis smashed into him, knocking him off his feet and to the floor, then he screamed as she impaled his sword arm to the hilt.

Glaitis laughed and flipped back out of his reach, leaving one of her swords to pin him on his back.

"Well! Be careful what you wish for, Inquisitor!" she grinned. "If you cannot stand back! Then you can just lie back and watch instead! While I slaughter all your pathetic subordinates!"

Brutis roared and reeled and tried to reach for Glaitis' sword, but Glaitis drew another knife and stabbed it into the soft gap in the elbow of his free arm, eliciting another agonised scream from him.

She laughed again and twisted the knife. "There! There!" she snarled. "Don't even think about trying to be one of those willful fools who pulls the blade out and continues to fight! Trying to be a hero! You should know that it's overrated!"

"You! Fething! Bitch!" he screamed through clenched teeth.

She laughed even harder, stepped back and said, "oh, how imaginative! But I guess you are not in good condition to think of anything better. Oh well! I'll end your suffering, eventually, Inquisitor. Once I'm done with your friends!"

Glaitis turned and grinned insanely at us, causing both Verenth and the Hammer to cower in fear.

And I couldn't blame them.

"Mamzel!" said the Mimic as It approached her, still in Wesley's form. "Great job. I am glad you managed to get me over the vox so I could help."

"Oh, shut up!" she snapped. "I am not in the mood for your arse kissing!"

"Sorry, mamzel!" It stammered. "But may I ask a favour?"

"Yes, what?" she said.

It grinned, a disturbing grin that didn't fit Wesley's face. "Can you allow me to kill the foolish apprentice? I'll make sure to make it long and painful; he humiliated me! It made me look a fool! Please? Would you, please?"

"No," she said without hesitation. "He humiliated you, but he betrayed me, turned the others against me. He's dodged the consequences of his actions thus far, but no longer. No longer, besides..."

"Besides?"

She grinned. "Besides, how can you do it if you're dead?"

"Wha...?"

Before it could finish, she stabbed It through the chest.

Wesley's eyes widened with shock and surprise, as did mine.

"Why?" It gasped. "I have served you all, my life. I stayed loyal..."

"You co-operated with the apprentice, even after knowing he'd betrayed me!" Glaitis snarled as she twisted the blade. "As far as I'm concerned, you are just as responsible as he is. Just be glad that I'm sparing you the same fate I have in store for him!"

She abruptly pulled out her sword, and it fell to its knees.

"Oh!" she said. "I almost forgot, 'Wesley,' I have been lying to you, all your life, in fact. You were never a Xenos, an alien. No, you're something even worse, something even more lowly and pathetic, yes. You are a mutant, a twist, a scourge on society, the lowest of the low. Nothing special at all! So die, die like the piece of gutter trash you are."

She laughed and walked toward us, turning her back on the dying Mimic as it fell on its face and the pool of blood began expanding beneath it, red blood, human blood. Yet, it still kept Wesley Jeksen's form.

I kept gaping, unable to say anything, to comprehend anything, and that was when Darrance walked past me, power scimitar limply held at his side as he gasped for breath.

"Oh?" she said, stopping, tilting her head in insane curiosity. "Darrance? What are you doing? You are in no condition to fight me."

"I finally see you for what you truly are," he managed. "A monster."

"A monster? Really? That's a little harsh, especially coming from you," she said. "Sure, I must admit I'm a little manipulative and cruel, but I was never quite a monster."

She grinned even wider. "That's until now, of course. It's all the apprentice's fault; it was his betrayal that pushed me over the edge, drove me past the brink and into insanity. It's because..."

"Shut up!" interrupted Darrance. "Stop blaming him! You always blame others for your own actions and mistakes, always! It was your own pride that pushed you this far; you were the one who allowed the apprentice to get kidnapped in the first place! You were the one who took him from Elbyra and to here! It's just as much your fault as his, if not more so!"

Glaitis' face turned murderous. "You