Angels of Death Anthology Read online

  The Emperor's Angels of Death, the Space Marines are mankind's bulwark against the darkness. Tireless defenders of the Imperium, they bring death to all of humanity's enemies with bolter and blade. The Space Marines are organised into nearly a thousand Chapters, autonomous organisations each with their own history, rituals and battle honours. Each of these Chapters is descended from one of the nine First Founding Legions who remained loyal to the Emperor during the Horus Heresy.

  In this volume, you will find thirty-one stories of the Space Marines, each about a different Chapter. They are grouped according to the Legion from which they descend, so all the tales of the Ultramarines and their Successor Chapters, for example, can be found together. Of course, the Imperium is full of mysteries, and at the end are some additional tales about Space Marine Chapters whose lines of descent are not so easily defined...

  I – DARK ANGELS

  Honour to the Third – Gav Thorpe

  V – WHITE SCARS

  The Thrill of the Hunt – Anthony Reynolds

  VI – SPACE WOLVES

  Iron Priest – Chris Wraight

  VII – IMPERIAL FISTS

  The Tithe – Ben Counter

  Visage of Zeal – C.Z. Dunn

  Bastions – Rob Sanders

  Death Speakers – Andy Smillie

  Setting the Stage – C.L. Werner

  IX – BLOOD ANGELS

  The Fury – James Swallow

  Blood Calm – Guy Haley

  The Crown of Thorns – Peter Fehervari

  X – IRON HANDS

  Iron Soul – Phil Kelly

  No Worse Sin – Joe Parrino

  XIII – ULTRAMARINES

  Codex – Graham McNeill

  Duty’s End – Robin Cruddace

  The Third War – Ray Harrison

  Judgement – Mark Latham

  Final Journey – Guy Haley

  Reclamation – L.J. Goulding

  Skin Deep – S.P. Calkwell

  Vigil – James Swallow

  XVIII – SALAMANDERS

  Rite of Pain – Nick Kyme

  XIX – RAVEN GUARD

  By Artifice Alone – George Mann

  Trophies – Cavan Scott

  OTHER CHAPTERS

  The Ghost Halls – L.J. Goulding

  Bitter Salvage – Nick Kyme

  Cadre – Josh Reynolds

  Final Duty – David Guymer

  The Judges In Their Hunger – David Annandale

  Mission Annihilate – Gav Thorpe

  Obsidian – Graham McNeill

  About the Authors

  It is the 41st millennium. For more than a hundred

  centuries the Emperor has sat immobile on the Golden Throne of

  Earth. He is the master of mankind by the will of the gods, and master

  of a million worlds by the might of his inexhaustible armies. He is a

  rotting carcass writhing invisibly with power from the Dark Age of

  Technology. He is the Carrion Lord of the Imperium for whom a

  thousand souls are sacrificed every day. so that he may never truly die.

  Yet even in his deathless state, the Emperor continues his eternal

  vigilance. Mighty battlefleets cross the daemon-infested miasma of

  the warp, the only route between distant stars, their way lit by the

  Astronomican. the psychic manifestation of the Emperor's will.

  Vast armies give battle in his name on uncounted worlds. Greatest

  amongst his soldiers are the Adeptus Astartes. the Space Marines,

  bio-engineered super-warriors. Their comrades in arms are legion:

  the Imperial Guard and countless planetary defence forces, the ever-

  vigilant Inquisition and the tech-priests of the Adeptus Mechanicus

  to name only a few. But for all their multitudes, they are barely

  enough to hold off the ever-present threat from aliens, heretics,

  mutants — and worse.

  To be a man in such times is to be one amongst untold billions. It is

  to live in the cruellest and most bloody regime imaginable. These are

  the tales of those times. Forget the power of technology and science,

  for so much has been forgotten, never to be re-learned. Forget the

  promise of progress and understanding, for in the grim dark future

  there is only war. There is no peace amongst the stars, only an eternity

  of carnage and slaughter, and the laughter

  of thirsting gods.

  ‘Seventeen worlds have drowned in blood. Seventeen worlds and countless millions hewn down by the battle-lust of a single man. Now that rage incarnate has beset Durga Principe. Here we will halt the tide.’

  So had been the last command of Master Nadael of the Dark Angels Third Company before he too had fallen to the horde of the arch-traitor Furion. In the darkness they had come, cleaving through the outer perimeter like a blade.

  Now the warriors from the Tower of Angels looked to Sergeant Belial for leadership even as the night was torn apart by distant battle cries and the baying of Furion’s manic Skull-scythes. In the ruins of the Temple Saturnis, a complex of sandstone and marble that covered several square kilometres, looked down upon by cracked statues of the Emperor and his saints, Belial held swift council with the veterans of the company.

  ‘We cannot hold the temple. Master Nadael had hoped to fortify before Furion’s arrival, but it is too late. The naves and galleries provide too much cover for the foe and our superiority of firepower is for nought.’ Belial gestured westward to the palace-topped hill that overlooked the Temple Saturnis. ‘We must withdraw to the flanks of Mount Dawon and await the dawn.’

  ‘Fine strategy, but flawed,’ countered Sergeant Meneus, chosen representative of the company’s Devastator squads. ‘The enemy will fall upon our turned backs before we can quit this place. It will become our mausoleum.’

  ‘True, brother, but only if we turn tail and flee like rats. This will be a withdrawal, not a rout. A rearguard will entertain the Skull-scythes while the remainder of the company relocates. I shall lead the defence.’

  There was no further argument from the others. They well understood the need for rapid action and the sacrifice Belial was willing to make. Returning to his squad, Belial ordered his warriors to break out from the Dark Angels line, heading towards the foe. Augur readings showed the traitors were less than a kilometre away and closing swiftly.

  ‘I am resolved to my death tonight,’ remarked Lederon, second to only Belial in seniority amongst the squad, ‘but is it wise to hasten that moment with our own advance?’

  ‘If we cannot hold, we must attack, it is that simple,’ explained Belial as the ten Space Marines marched through the tumble of toppled pillars, collapsed shrines and broken chapels. The skies were clear, allowing the three moons to bathe the ruins in pale blue light. ‘Every second and every metre are vital.’

  They met the first traitors in a crumbling, plant-choked cloister. Clad in white armour marked with handprints and smears of dried blood the Skull-scythes spilled through an archway. They were met by the fire of the squad’s bolters, missile launcher and meltagun.

  ‘No forgiveness! No retreat!’ Belial roared as the enemy tumbled to the ground amidst the torrent of bolts and blasts.

  The firefight was brutally short, but the peace that followed was only momentary as more of the slaughter-hungry foe converged on the Dark Angels. To tarry was to invite encirclement. Belial led the squad through the archway into the courtyard beyond, laying down fire with his bolt pistol. Like moths to a flame the Skull-scythes were drawn to the fighting, howling for blood and death.

  The Dark Angels took a heavy to
ll, manoeuvring through the ruins for ambuscades and crossfires that cut down the traitors as they plunged headlong into the attack. Through streaks of pale light and shadows in roofless cathedrals and across devastated quadrangles Belial steered the squad, always seeking open ground, knowing that at close quarters his warriors would be overwhelmed. Building by building, street by street, they gave ground to the enemy advance, stopping to give fire when possible, moving back towards their battle-brethren when they could not.

  ‘We have drawn their sting, brother-sergeant. It would be unwise to remain any longer,’ said Lederon. The veteran’s observation was correct: the rest of the Third were clear of the ancient Ecclesiarchy buildings and the squad was almost at the edge of the ruins.

  ‘Agreed, brother,’ replied Belial. ‘We fall back to the company.’

  As soon as he uttered these words, another force of Skull-scythes appeared in the darkness. At their fore strode a beast of a warrior. His plate was adorned with spiked chains, and from the chains hung trophy-skulls that clattered as they swung. In both hands he bore a massive chain-axe, its teeth glinting in the wan light.

  Furion, arch-traitor, thrice-cursed slaughterer.

  ‘Your little game of hide and seek is over, son of the Lion!’ Furion bellowed as he broke into a run. Behind him, the Skull-scythes screamed dedications to their dark god and followed their champion’s charge.

  The Dark Angels opened fire, standing their ground to blaze away at the approaching enemy. Furion ignored the detonations of bolt-rounds on his armour, sprinting through the storm without pause. His axe took Brother Mendeleth’s head clean off in one sweep; the traitor’s return swing eviscerated Lederon in a welter of blood and shattered armour.

  ‘Keep firing!’ Belial snarled as he bounded forward to meet the attack; too late to save Brother Sabellion, whose torso was cleaved from waist to shoulder. Belial would atone for his slowness if he survived.

  As shots from Belial’s pistol exploded across his armour, Furion turned to meet the sergeant’s counterattack. Raising his chainsword for the strike, Belial ducked beneath Furion’s blade as the traitor swept it towards the Dark Angel’s throat. The teeth of the chainsword bit into armour, screeching as they chewed into Furion’s left arm.

  Furion lashed out as blood spurted from his wounded limb, smashing the haft of his weapon into the side of Belial’s head. Out of instinct, the sergeant raised his blade to ward away the next blow. Razor-sharp shards of metal showered around him as chain-blade met chain-blade. Furion’s next strike shattered Belial’s weapon and sent him stumbling to his right.

  Lifting his axe in victory, the Skull-scythes lord loomed over the sprawling sergeant.

  ‘Blood for the Bl–’

  Furion’s triumphant roar was cut short by the bark of Belial’s bolt pistol. The explosive round pierced the collar of the traitor’s armour and detonated inside his throat to send his head arcing away into the darkness. For a moment Belial was taken aback by his deadly reflex shot.

  The headless corpse crashed to the ground and Belial recovered, realising that only he and Brother Ramiel remained standing amongst friend and foe. Thermal registers betrayed the presence of other enemies close at hand.

  ‘The death of the Skull-scythes’ leader will cause our foe some strife, and let us hope the search for his successor delays them further,’ said Belial. ‘Our duty here is done to my satisfaction, brother. To Mount Dawon, where the guns of the Third wait to greet these traitors.’

  He lowers the magnoculars. He has seen enough. The enemy are here; the Hunt will ride before the twin suns set.

  His name is Ajai Khan. He was born in the saddle, on a world of wide skies and open plains. He has not truly been human for seventy-three years, but he still remembers.

  He squints against the glare of the lower, yellow sun reflecting off the snow. He is not wearing his helmet – he never does when outriding. His face is the colour of tanned leather. His scalp is shaved on the sides, but he wears his hair long on top. It is charcoal-black and bound in a long tail that hangs down his back. Ritual scars mar his high cheeks. They are jagged, and resemble thunder bolts, mirroring the markings acid-etched upon the heavy white plates of his armour.

  Ajai Khan stands astride a heavy bike, a big muscular, brutish thing, as he looks down upon the enemy from the edge of a forested bluff. The wind rippling the razor-leafed pines is bone-numbingly cold. It feels good against his skin.

  The wind changes abruptly. It is what saves him.

  A new scent reaches his nostrils, something exotic that he cannot instantly place, like an unknown, but not unpleasant, mix of spices. It is close. It is… alien.

  The enemy are upon him.

  His head snaps around and he sees one of them, close. It is coming at him up the lee of the bluff. It is slender, almost spindly, climbing on all fours like an insect, arms and legs splayed. Its armour is a dull grey-green and segmented, and its helm is strangely elongated, ending in jutting mandibles. Its lenses glitter, black and soulless.

  He aims and fires. His bolt pistol bucks. There is a distinct double-cough as the bolt is launched from the barrel then ignites, propelling itself towards the target. In the same instant, the bike roars into life beneath him, like a beast angry at having been disturbed from slumber.

  The xenos are quick, inhumanly so. The enemy scuttles to the side, avoiding his first shot. It detonates within the rock hidden beneath the snow. He sees more of them now, creeping and arachnid. The time for stealth is past – the xenos rise as one and sprint towards him, running lightly atop the thin crust of snow.

  Ajai Khan brings his bike slewing around, kicking up a spray of white, and snaps off two more shots. Both miss their mark, but they at least slow the enemy. Marginally.

  Holstering his pistol, he guns the bike. It launches forward with a throaty roar, like a steed given its head. He thumbs firing runes and twin bolters bark. He catches one of the xenos, the closest, with a glancing blow that tears off an arm. Blood sprays across the snow. Even their blood smells wrong. Stray bolts fell a pine, which crashes earthwards with a torturous groan, and kick up snow and ice.

  They try to intercept him, slender chain-blades whirring and delicate pistols flashing. Flickers of light spear from their mandibles and biting pain cuts along his left side. He doesn’t have the time or space to draw his long-hafted glaive. He slews his bike into one of them, slamming into it with bone-shattering force. It is hurled away and smashes into a tree. When it falls, its limbs are bent unnaturally beneath it. Then Ajai Khan hunkers down low in the saddle and lays on more power. The bike accelerates willingly.

  A chain-blade swings at him and he ducks to the side. It rips out a chunk of his fairing. More dart-like flashes strike at him, biting and stinging, but then he is away, hurtling through the forest at speed. The trees flash by him. He knows that he is hurt – he feels blood trickling inside his plate – but he doesn’t feel any pain. All he feels is the rush of wind against his face, and he smiles.

  There are others in the trees, running on paths parallel to his own. It defies logic, but they are keeping pace with him, sprinting through the shadow of the bladed firs, ghosting him like pack-predators.

  This is not how it is meant to be. The White Scars are the hunters. They are not meant to be the hunted.

  He leads them on, never slowing, ducking under low-hanging branches and skidding around ice-encased boulders the size of Warhound Titans.

  More of them have joined the hunt now. Dart-like jetbikes are accelerating through the trees behind him, closing fast. For a moment, he feels a pang of what might be jealousy, or longing. Once, the Chapter had ridden above the ground. Now, only a handful of jetbikes remain in the Imperium, and Ajai Khan will be unlikely to ever see one, let alone ride to war in the saddle of one of those revered steeds.

  He pushes the errant thought aside and veers hard to the right. He hits a snow-covered ridge at speed, launching into the air. He stands in the saddle, keeping balance as the engin
es scream. He hits the ground hard and accelerates, pushing the bike to its limits. He is in open terrain now, relishing the speed. Ahead is a line of trees, but the enemy are fast; he is not going to make it. He slams on the brakes and brings the back wheel around sharply, spinning to face his pursuers. The time for running is done.

  It is almost dark now, and the shadows are long. He unhooks his long-hafted glaive, taking the comforting weight in his hand.

  The eldar descend on him, coming over the ridge in a wave. They spread wide to encircle him, thinking that this is the last desperate stand of a prey finally realising it can run no further.

  They are wrong.

  They are out in the open, halfway between him and the ridge, when they realise their folly. By then it is too late – they have come too far to turn back.

  With a deafening roar, his brethren emerge from the tree-line behind him. It is a sight to behold – a full arrowhead of charging White Scars, leaning forward in the saddles of their bikes, glaive-points lowering as they come in for the kill.

  The engine of Ajai Khan’s bike bellows in greeting and he accelerates sharply, lowering his own glaive. His brethren fall in around him, letting him take the point of the arrowhead.

  This is the way that war was meant to be waged – at speed.

  Ajai Khan laughs aloud, and his brothers laugh with him as they sweep in for the kill.

  Olvar goes watchfully, swallowing down fear, remembering what Aeolf told him about the place and how to stay alive in it. The sea smokes and belches, fire dances on the water. The earth moves like a floe cracking. He crouches, trying to see the way ahead through twisting sheets of smog. His skin runs with sweat. He is shivering, ankle-deep in slush and gravel. Ahead of him a mountain rises, vaster even that his imagination had made it, scowl-dark and crowned with fulguration.