Deathwing Read Online Free PDF Page B

changed.
     The
     walls
     danced,
     and
     my
     spirit
     fled
     to
     the
     edge
     of
     the cold place. While I wandered
     lost
     and
     alone, one
     of the
     Brothers
     stood
     beside
     me reciting The Imperial litanies.
    "In a vision,
     the
     Emperor came to me, riding Deathwing, mightiest of thunderbirds.
     It was different from
     that
     which
     had borne
     the
     Sky Warriors home. It was a beast
     of spirit; the
     other
     had
     been
     a bird of metal, a totem cast
     in its image.
    "The
     Emperor spoke
     to me, telling me of
     the
     great
     struggle
     being
     waged
     on
     a
     thousand
     thousand
     worlds.
     He
     showed me
     the
     races
     other
     than
     man
     and
     the
     secret
     heart of
     the
     universe,
     which
     is
     Chaos.
     He
     showed
     me
     the
     powers
     that lurked
     in
     the
     warp
     and
     exposed
     me
     to
     their
     temptations.
     He
     watched
     as
     I
     resisted.
     I
     knew
     that.
     if
     I
     had
     given in,
     he would have
     struck
     me down.
    "Eventually
    , I awoke, and
     I knew then
     that
     my spirit belonged
     to the
     Emperor. I had
     chosen
     to abandon
     my
     people,
     my world and
     my bride for his service.
     I knew I had
     made the
     correct choice."
    Cloud
     Runner
     glanced
     around
     at
     the
     other
     Terminators.
     He hoped he
     had
     told
     the
     story
     well enough
     to
     catch
     his listeners'
     minds and
     remind them of their duty
     to the
     Emperor. He hoped
     he
     had
     reminded
     them
     that
     they
     had
     all
     made the
     same decision
     as
     he had
     and
     that
     they
     would once
     more make the
     correct choice.
    He
     shook
     his
     head
     and touched
     the
     charm
     of
     braided
     hair
     that
     he
     still
     wore
     round
     his
     throat
     He
     wondered
     if
     he
     had made
     the
     correct
     choice
     all
     those
     years
     ago,
     if
     he
     would
     have
     been
     happier staying
     with
     Running
     Deer.
     The
     bright, bold vision
     he
     had
     possessed
     in
     his youth
     had
     faded
     and
     lost
     its
     glamour
     over
     the
     years
     of endless
     warfare.
     I
     never even
     said
     goodbye
     to her, he thought,
     and
     that
     somehow was the
     saddest
     thought
     of all.
    He
     judged
     that
     he
     had
     swayed many
     of
     the
     Marines,
     but
     when
     Lame
     Bear
     leaned
     forward
     to
     speak;
     he
     knew
     the struggle
     had
     only begun.
    'I
     would
     speak
     of
     Genestealers."
     the
     big
     man
     said
     quietly.
     'I
     would
     speak
     of
     Genestealers,
     their
     terror
     and
     their cruelty…"
     
* * *

Chapter III
     
     
    Two
     Heads
     Talking
     wandered
     the
     nighted streets.
     They
     seemed
     empty
     now
     that
     the
     workers
     had
     returned
     to
     their barracks.
     A slight
     breeze had sprung
     up, blowing flecks of ash through
     the streets,
     clearing
     the
     smog
     slightly.
     A
     bitter ash-taste
     filled his mouth.
    He passed
     by the
     factories
     where
     giant
     steam
     engines stood,
     still
     working.
     Their
     din
     filled
     the
     air.
     Their
     pistons
     went up
     and
     down like the
     nodding heads
     of maddened dinosaurs.
     He knew they
     never
     rested.
    He strode
     down a street
     of rich mansions,
     driven by morbid curiosity.
     He felt as
     though
     he had
     been
     shown
     the
     pieces of a vast
     puzzle, and
     if he could
     only locate the
     last piece, it would all fall into place.
    Each mansion he passed
     had
     wrought-iron gates
     which bore the signs
     of
     the
     Night-owl,
     the
     Puma
     and
     the
     Rat.
     These were the
     totem animals of the
     Hill Clans. Two Heads
     Talking wondered
     whether
     the
     chieftains
     of these
     people
     dwelled within.
     He could
     well believe
     that
     they
     might
     make pacts
     with