Wolf's Honour Part 21

EPILOGUE.

War Within, War Without Ragnar stalked down the ruined pa.s.sageways of the Dominus Bellum, feeling the ghosts of old friends loping silently in his wake.

It had taken four more months to pacify Charys, as bands of cultists and rebel Guardsmen fled the capital and took to the hills. The Chaos uprising across the subsector had virtually ended with Madox's death. When the ritual collapsed, the agents of the Thousand Sons abandoned their campaign and vanished back into the shadows. The s.p.a.ce Wolves and the battered Imperial Guard regiments across the region restored order swiftly and brutally, but rebuilding the damage wrought by the Chaos forces would take decades.

Victory had come at a terrible price for the Chapter. Many battle-brothers had been lost in the fighting, and many more had sunk into the Red Dream until they could recover from their injuries. Some warriors who survived the campaign bore scars on their souls that would never fully heal. Mikal Sternmark was given over to the Wolf Priests after the events on Charys, and spent many years in seclusion as he struggled with the things he'd done during the battle at the starport. He returned to serve with Berek Thunderfist during the Wolf Lord's last campaign, fighting with honour and dying beside his lord as a champion ought during the awful battle on Hadsmbal.

The Imperial authorities never learned the truth of Lady Commander Athelstane's fate. As far as anyone knew, she died as a hero of the Imperium, which wasn't very far from the truth. It was a.s.sumed that she'd been slain fighting the daemons that had penetrated the perimeter wards, and none of Berek's warriors contradicted the official account. The Chapter looked out for its own.

Ragnar and the Spear of Russ were placed aboard a strike cruiser and despatched to Fenris as soon as the warp was safe to travel. Much of the time he spent in the Red Dream while his body recovered from the terrible wounds he'd received, but back at the Fang he was questioned at length by Ranek and the Old Wolf himself. Ragnar spoke of the Thirteenth Company to Logan Grimnar alone. After he'd told his tale, the Old Wolf had the Spear of Russ brought up from the vaults, and made Ragnar swear upon the relic never to tell another soul of what he'd seen.

For many years afterwards Ragnar tried to learn what Grimnar knew of Bulveye and his secret mission, but the wily Old Wolf claimed that such things had been lost in the mists of time. Eventually, Ragnar had stopped asking, but he remembered the last words that Torvald had said to him. Sooner or later, he'd see the Rune Priest again, and then he'd have his answers.

Six months after Ragnar placed the spear in Berek's hands on Charys, the Thunderfist's company made a solemn pilgrimage to the ancient shrine on Garm. The world still lay in ruins in the wake of the great uprising years past, but the Chapter had spared no expense to restore the resting place of the legendary Wolf Lord to its former glory. Ragnar walked behind Berek, carrying the spear that he and his companions had won in battle. With most of the great company bearing witness, he returned the relic to its rightful place and fulfilled the oath he'd sworn. Then Berek declared to his men that by winning back the Chapter's honour, Ragnar had redeemed his own as well. The Wolf Lord declared that, by Logan Grimnar's decree, Ragnar's time among the Wolfblade was at an end.

Hours later, Gabriella and Torin found him in the shrine, standing before Garm's ivory sarcophagus. The Navigator had never fully recovered from the terrible ordeal she had suffered at Charys. She seemed weak and frail as Torin led her into the shrine, and there was a thick streak of white in her long black hair. They said farewell to one another beside the tomb. Torin and Ragnar spoke of Haegr, and laughed once again at the memory of the burly warrior with an ale bucket on his foot. Gabriella listened, and smiled, but her eyes were haunted and her expression distant. She told Ragnar that he would always be welcome in her house on Terra, and invited him to return one day, if the Fates permitted. By then she was growing tired, and so took her leave. Torin led her gently away, her hand resting upon his arm. The next day her s.h.i.+p departed on the long journey to Terra. Ragnar hadn't seen either of them since.

That night, Ragnar stood vigil before the silent tomb. He left Haegr's ale horn upon the sarcophagus when he left at dawn the next day. As far as he knew, it remained there still.

A howl echoed from the darkness. Ragnar stopped in his tracks, still so deep in his reverie that he thought he was back on Charys once more. Then he heard the vile screech of a xenos beast and he was back aboard a derelict Imperial battles.h.i.+p, hurtling towards Corta Hydalis, and the warrior he sought was somewhere up ahead.

The Wolf Lord crouched, peering down the long, debris-strewn pa.s.sageway. The sounds of battle were unmistakeable, steel ringing against bone and claws hissing across ceramite. From the sound of it, Hogun was facing off against a horde of alien horrors.

Readying his bolt pistol, Ragnar raced towards the fight.

A hundred metres ahead the pa.s.sageway opened into a small, debris filled room some thirty metres across. Shafts of weak light shone down into the s.p.a.ce through access shafts overhead, providing just enough illumina-don for Ragnar to see by. There, in the centre of the room stood Hogun, surrounded by a pack of genestealers.

Two of the beasts lay dead at Hogun's feet, split open by the Wolf Guard's power axe. Blood streamed from a number of minor wounds along Hogun's chest, arms and back. Four more genestealers circled Hogun warily, waiting for their prey to weaken and make a fatal mistake.

The genestealers were so intent on their prey that they didn't realise Ragnar was stealing upon them until it was too late. The Wolf Lord raised his bolt pistol and fired two quick shots. One of the creatures let out a hideous screech and collapsed, ichor streaming from wounds in its side, but Ragnar was already on the move, charging another of the genestealers before the first body hit the ground.

'For Russ and the Allfather!' he roared, hacking at the genestealer with his frost blade. The blow was swift, but the genestealer was swifter, ducking beneath the blow and lunging forward. Talons pierced the Wolf Lord's armour, digging deep into his chest. Clas.h.i.+ng jaws snapped at Ragnar's face. He bellowed a curse, shoved his pistol under the creature's chin and pulled the trigger. Ichor and bits of chitin splashed against the far wall as the body slumped to the floor.

A heavy weight crashed against Ragnar's back, driving him to his knees. Clawed hands reached around his suit's backpack, grabbing for his neck. The Wolf Lord spun, trying to dislodge the genestealer, but the alien monster clung like a swamp tick. Talons raked across Ragnar's cheeks. Any moment those same talons would find his neck, and then he was done for.

Ragnar hurled himself backwards, smas.h.i.+ng the genestealer against one of the walls. He heard chitin crack, but the creature refused to let go.

There was another hissing screech across the chamber as the last of the monsters fell before Hogun's axe. Then the Wolf Guard loomed in front of Ragnar, his dripping axe ready to strike. His yellow-gold eyes shone in the faint light.

Ragnar felt the genestealer's razor-sharp claws dig into his neck. Trusting to the Fates, he turned his back to Hogun.

Hogun's power axe hissed through the air, and steel rang against chitin. The genestealer let out a shriek and fell heavily to the deck.

By the time Ragnar had turned around again, Hogun was racing down a pa.s.sageway on the far side of the room. 'Wait!' he called after the Wolf Guard. 'Remember your oaths to me, Hogun, and stand fast!'

Years of training took over, stopping the fleeing warrior in his tracks. Hogun turned like a wolf at bay, his teeth bared and his shoulders heaving. 'No oaths bind me now, my lord,' he said in a ragged voice. 'I've slain my packmates in a fit of madness. I'm wolf bitten, and d.a.m.ned for all time.'

'Not true,' Ragnar said, edging slowly towards Hogun. 'Did you not just save me from certain death? What is that, if not fealty to one's lord?'

'All I wanted was to kill something' Hogun snarled. 'If I had not run I would have tried to kill you next.'

'Is that what you think?' Ragnar said. 'Do you hold yourself in so little regard that you think you could raise your hand to your sworn lord?' He bolstered his pistol and sheathed his sword. 'Very well,' the Wolf Lord said, taking another step forward. 'Strike me down, if you can.'

Hogun's eyes widened. 'What madness is this?' he said, taking a step back.

'Stand your ground!' Ragnar roared. He took another step closer. 'I said strike me, Hogun. Slay me with your axe if you can.'

The Wolf Guard snarled in fury. His hands tightened on the haft of his axe, but he made no move to attack. 'I cannot,' he said through clenched teeth. 'I cannot!'

'That's right,' the Wolf Lord said. 'The wolf does not rule you, Hogun. Fight it! Master the beast and make its strength your own! That is what we do. That is who we are.'

Hogun wavered, torn by shame and rage. 'Slay me then, lord,' he cried. 'I spilled the blood of my pack-mates. My life is forfeit.'

'So it is,' the Wolf Lord said. 'You have killed my liegemen, and so your life belongs to me, as tradition demands. Do you agree?'

The Wolf Guard straightened, accepting his fate. 'That is so, lord. Do as you will.'

'Then hear me: you are a part of my company until the Fates deem otherwise, and you will fight alongside me until there is no life left in you. You are wolf bitten, and you have lost your honour by spilling the blood of your packmates, so from this moment forward you will fight to win it back. Do you understand?'

Hogun stared at Ragnar. 'Is such a thing possible?'

'That, and more besides,' the Wolf Lord said. 'Follow me, and serve the Allfather, Hogun. That is all I ask. Will you do this?'

The Wolf Guard fell to his knees. 'I will, my lord,' he said. 'I will follow you into Morkai's jaws if I must.'

Ragnar clapped Hogun on the shoulder. 'Let's not get ahead of ourselves,' he said with a faint smile. 'Right now, we've got to get the company back together and fight our way to the s.h.i.+p's reactors. Now get on your feet.'

The Wolf Lord headed back the way he'd come with Hogun following close on his heels. As they emerged into the chamber where they'd fought the genestealers, they found the Wolf Priest waiting for them.

'Petur's found Einar's pack off Jotun Three and is leading them to us,' the priest said. 'The rest of the packs are a.s.sembled back at the junction and are awaiting orders. Jurgen has checked his data-slates and believes he's found an accessway nearby that should take us right to the reactor deck.'

Ragnar took in the news with a curt nod. 'Well done,' he said, and then indicated Hogun. 'I commend this warrior into your keeping, priest. Whatever else he may be, he is still a member of my warband, and he will fight alongside us as any other warrior.'

The Wolf Priest studied Hogun for a moment, and then reached up with one hand and disengaged the clasps on his wolf skull helm. Sigurd lifted the helmet away and smiled grimly at the Wolf Guard. They fell into step behind Ragnar as the Wolf Lord rushed back to the junction, his mind already working on the tactics he would need to defeat the genestealer threat.

Behind him, the jarl's son spoke to Hogun in quiet tones. 'Listen closely, Hogun, and mark me well. I've a story to tell you of the Wulfen, and of the heroes they can become.'

ABOUT THE AUTHOR.

Lee Lightner is the penname for two authors who live in Baltimore, USA. Lifelong friends, they are both avid s.p.a.ce Wolf fans.

A BLACK LIBRARY PUBLICATION.

end.