Secret War: The Annihilation Plague (Part 2)

Chapter 10

Attelus clenched his teeth and finally took out the automated lock pick, then began to push it in...

But he stopped as another idea managed to burst into his hazy mind, and he knelt down.

Faleaseen! Faleaseen, are you there?

There was no answer.

Faleaseen, frig it! I need your damned help, now!

Still silence.

'Damn it, Faleaseen, answer me now,' he hissed.

A groan then echoed inside his skull, it was faint, exhausted, but it was there.

+Attelus Kaltos, I am here,+ she said. +I have been searching the skeins of fate much recently. It is exhausting and...+

She trailed off. +I can sense your mental and physical exhaustion; it is...incredible. What have you been doing?+

Attelus quickly gave her a summation of everything that'd happened since they'd left Scintilla.

+I see,+ said Faleaseen, then she laughed, much to Attelus' surprise. +An elite Throne Agent such as you being stalled by a locked door, now that is funny.+

'No, no, it's not frigging funny,' Attelus whined. 'You know the circumstances are more complicated than that.'

+I beg to differ, Attelus Kaltos, but I do understand the circumstances. I will unlock the scary door for you. Just place your hand against the lock, please.+

Sighing, Attelus did as told.

+Ah, a mon... a human door lock, primitive, but effective, I must confess. I shall use my telekinesis to unlock it and...'

Attelus could hear faint clicking as Faleaseen worked her literal magic. Then came a sudden final familiar click which Attelus felt through his palm.

+There, it is done.+

Smiling, Attelus was about to reply when he was interrupted by the warbling of the auspex in his ear.

'Shit,' he said as he checked the auspex's reader to find two signatures coming his way on the other side of the door. 'Faleaseen, lock the door again, please.'

+Why?+

Because I have two life signs coming at me, fast! And if they find the door unlocked, it'll-

+Yes, I understand, Attelus Kaltos. Hold on. You must keep your hand on the lock, please.+

Attelus clenched his teeth all the harder, trying to ignore the beeping speeding up and the quickly approaching dots on the monitor. He reached for his sword; as much as he didn't want to kill what could be loyal servants of the Golden Throne, he wouldn't hesitate. But hiding the damned bodies, especially when they're in power armour, will be a bastard.

Attelus couldn't hear any clicking over the ringing, but he felt it, along with the sweat streaming down his face. His eyes were plastered on the auspex as the blinking signals came closer.

He now felt the heavy footfalls heading toward the threshold. But then came the final familiar, heavy click, and before Faleaseen could say anything, Attelus had slipped aside the door and into the shadows. A split second before, the door unlocked again and opened.

One Sister of Battle stepped into view; she wore that elaborate power armour but was helmetless, revealing the pale, pinched, scarred face of a woman who might've been in her mid-sixties or anything in between. Her white bob cut reminded Attelus of Elandria, which made him blink and glance his gaze downwards. Her eyes were the hardest-edged Attelus had ever seen, a death stare close to being literal; Attelus would've rather face down Kalakor in an actual sword fight than be on the wrong end of that glare.