Secret War: Upon Blood Sands

Chapter 12: Questions More Questions

The barking of Adelana's cover fire above was hard to hear over the deafening roaring and creaking and yawning of the cracking, breaking walls. The blood sands were spurting in with horrifying speed, eager to claim what had eluded it for so long.

Fighting to keep his feet, Attelus moved for the stairs, his sword held loosely at his side. Delathasi just behind. Pain echoed through him, from dozens of cuts and las burns that managed to penetrate his flak jacket.

Despite Adelana's cover fire, las and solid rounds still rained around them. Attelus wanted to scream at them to stop, not out of fear of being hit but because their shots surely made the place cave in quicker.

Typical idiot mooks! Too busy trying to kill them instead of escaping!

Finally, he turned into the stairwell and came face to face with a snarling cultist. He cried in fright, reeling, and on instinct, decapitated him.

The corpse collapsed, revealing more were ascending after.

Attelus fired his autopistol, point-blank into the face of the next.

"Delathasi!" Attelus yelled. "Keep going!"

"But-!"

"Go! Frig you!"

The young apprentice sprinted up the stairs without further complaint.

The next cultist bounded up with incredible speed.

Attelus pulled the pistol's trigger. It clicked dry.

The cultist was on him, swinging down his chainsword. In the blink of an eye, Attelus' powersword swung out, knocking the cut off course and sliced through it.

But the cultist didn't break his stride and lunged forward; it took Attelus off guard.

Then the cultist sank his teeth into Attelus' thigh.

His shriek echoed; it was so loud it managed to eclipse all other sounds.

He stumbled, mind whirling but even still, he managed to flick his wrist for a throwing knife and plunge it into the side of the cultist's neck. The cultist let go, and Attelus stumbled, cursing and screaming before he fell onto his arse.

"Emperor damn it, Faleaseen!" he screamed. "I could really use your healing right now!"

Attelus writhed, he knew that due to his heightened metabolism, the bleeding would soon stop, but by frig, it hurt like hell!

The next cultist emerged from the stairs, smiling and aiming a lasgun at him.

Gasping, with shaking hands, he reached for another clip to reload his pistol he still somehow kept hold of, but he wasn't going to be quick enough.

The autopistol round punched through the top of the cultist's skull, and he dropped. Delathasi ran down the stairs to Attelus' side.

To her credit, she said nothing detrimental, although he deserved it and fired down the stairwell.

Adelana emerged into view, and for a second, Attelus forgot his pain as his heart fluttered.

"Attelus!" she cried, ran down to him, and picked up by his arm, then slipped it across her shoulders. Hauling him to his feet.

"I frigged up again, Adelana," he slurred.

"Yeah, we all do from time to time, Attelus," she said. "Just don't get too...bitten up about."

She laughed as they started up the stairs; Attelus didn't.

Meanwhile, the building continued to crumble.