'They stopped.’ said Ragnar.
'Pity.’ said Haegr, 'I would have preferred to thrash the lot of them.’
'Now, we just have to survive the reptos.’ said Ragnar, 'and with Berek's company here, we will.’
'Lady Gabriella.’ offered Torin, 'let's get you to the House Belisarius shuttle, assuming it's in one piece, and safely off this planet.’
'Finally, Torin has a good idea.’ said Haegr.
The four of them clambered over the remnants of a wall and entered the city.
The Wolfblade's trek to the city centre revealed the full extent of the devastation. Buildings lay shattered and broken. Craters pockmarked the roads, and the landscape more resembled a volcanic badland than a city. Despite the devastation to the landscape, the real
horror came from the number of bodies lying strewn everywhere.
Bodies lay scattered, rotting in the ruins. Some of the corpses wore the colours of the planetary defence force, but far more were civilians. The stench of death and decay burned Ragnar's nostrils. The dead had looks of pain and horror on their faces. Ragnar had a new respect for the terror that Space Marines could inspire in their foes. Lethe had suffered horribly, there was nothing but ruins and flames in all directions. Torin kept pausing and checking his auspex to make certain that they were heading in the proper direction.
'By the Emperor.’ said Gabriella, as she stared at the limp body of a child at the edge of a crater, 'what evil guided Cadmus?'
'The worst kind of evil, Gabriella,' said Ragnar, 'Chaos… and not only Chaos, but the work of our worst enemies, the Thousand Sons.'
The mere thought of the Thousand Sons made Ragnar's anger rise within him. Throughout his entire career as a Space Wolf, they had proven to be the most relentless of foes. The legends all spoke of the Thousand Sons as the greatest enemies of the Space Wolves, and Ragnar would vouch for every one of those stories. The passionate rivalry between the Space Wolves and the Dark Angels was a mere shadow of the shared hate between the Space Wolves and the Thousand Sons.
For Ragnar, battling the Thousand Sons was personal. He had served with Berek when he had last fought the Thousand Sons and defeated them using
the Spear of Russ. How ironic that he had come face to face with more of that traitor Chapter while Berek's great company fought the Dark Angels both in orbit and on the surface of Hyades.
Still, it was a day of victory. The Dark Angels were leaving, and although they had encountered Chaos Marines, the members of the Wolfblade had defeated them. Cadmus lay dead, his body in possession of the Dark Angels.
The ground shook. Then, it shook again and again… and again. The sound of the explosions kept growing in volume, one after another, after another. A column of white flame burst from the street in front of the Space Wolves. It became a wall of white fire, extending in both directions and rising to nearly thirty metres. The scent of burning promethium was unmistakable.
'Take cover,' yelled Torin.
The next blast threw all of them off their feet, even Haegr. The ground was scalding hot. The explosions weren't like any they had experienced so far in the battle.
Ragnar took cover with the others behind a large still-standing wall with an overhang from what had once been the second floor of a building. Now, it was shelter against a burning rain. He tried to comprehend what was happening. The aerial bombardment had stopped some time ago, what could be causing these explosions?
The smell of promethium was so strong that he wondered if the refineries were blowing up. He could even taste the fuel on his tongue.
The explosions continued in all directions and smoke billowed upwards from cracks in the streets. The blasts were coming from below.
'What is happening?' asked Haegr.
'I'm not sure,' said Gabriella.
"With the smell of promethium everywhere…' started Ragnar.
'The only thing that I can think of is that something in the refineries, the tunnels or the mines has gone terribly wrong,' finished Torin.
Gabriella looked at the members of her Wolfblade, and then settled her gaze on Ragnar. 'We've got to get to the shuttle now,' she said.
'I know. If the promethium has ignited,' said Ragnar, 'we'll cook if we stay here.'
'I see something ahead,' said Haegr. 'Follow me.'
'Be careful.’ said Torin.
Ragnar saw Haegr's target. A Chimera sat quietly in the street with its ramp down. The bodies of the men who had once occupied the vehicle lay scattered around the ramp. Bolter holes in the bodies and the distinctive cuts of chainswords indicated that these men had encountered the Dark Angels and things had not gone well.
Torin went to the main hatch, which appeared to have been forced open. He reached down into the driver's compartment and pulled out a charred corpse. 'They killed the drivers too.’ he said, scooping out another blackened body and throwing it down to the pavement with a wet thunk. The stench was awful. 'I'll make this thing work. I'm driving. With your permission, m'lady, I believe that this vehicle
will allow us to reach the shuttle much more safely.’ he said.
'Take us there, Torin. Let's go inside, away from this burning debris.’ said Gabriella. Wisps of ash and promethium gently fell from the sky, contrasting with the continuing eruptions.
'You want me to get in one of these, again?' asked Haegr.
'Yes.’ said Ragnar. He wanted no delays.
Torin shook his head and climbed into the front of the vehicle. Haegr swore upon the private parts of Fenrisian wolves, but he crouched and angled his way inside.
Static crackled over Ragnar's comm, and he cursed under his breath. He banged his fist against the driver's compartment. 'Torin, I can't get a signal again.’
'I suspect we have interference.’ replied Torin.
Ragnar wasn't in the mood for Torin's ability to state the obvious, although he knew his battle-brother faced the task of driving the Chimera through the exploding hell that Lethe had become. He had to think for a moment.
'Torin, what about the Chimera's comm system? Could I access that? Shouldn't it have more signal?' asked Ragnar.
'Try it yourself. There's a comm station right next to – your seat.’ said Torin.
Ragnar activated the comms on the tank as it rumbled through the debris towards the palace. Gabriella had strapped herself in, but Haegr was fighting with his seat. 'Just how do ogryns ever fit in these things?' he asked.
'Ogryns are smaller than mighty Haegr, I suspect.’ said Ragnar, finding the heart to joke. Inside, he prayed to the Emperor to let the comm work. All he received was static.
'By Morkai's Axe.’ said Ragnar, 'I can't contact Berek.’ He shook the comm, frustrated with the constant signal interference adding to everything else falling apart around them.
A crackle came over the system. Ragnar had a signal. It was weak, but it was a signal nonetheless.
'This is Ragnar to Wolf Lord Berek. Can you hear me?' asked Ragnar.
'This is the Fist of Russ, Ragnar, ship's herald here. The Wolf Lord is busy.’ came the reply.
The Chimera struck something in one of the roads, bounced, and then got very hot. Haegr cursed again as his head hit the roof of the cramped transport chamber. 'We had better get there soon.’ he growled.
'I need to talk to the Wolf Lord. All this isn't just the work of the traitor Cadmus.’ said Ragnar.