Before Leodegarius began his tale, he spoke into a wrist-mounted vox-unit and would say nothing until the seven Null-Servitors entered and took up positions around the edges of the room. They began their droning chant and Uriel saw that their dreadful appearance was a shock to everyone in the room. Even Barbaden recoiled in loathing at the sight of them.
'There are truths that must be spoken here,' said Leodegarius. 'And truth is powerful, it can reach beyond the realms of Men. I must speak words that should not escape into the world beyond this chamber.'
Uriel felt his skin crawl at the sight of the blank, empty-faced servitors, feeling the familiar dullness blunt his senses as their chant continued and Leodegarius began to speak.
'To understand what is happening on Salinas, you must understand a measure of the foe ranged against us. In this region of space, the walls between the material realm and the heaving madness of the Warp are thin. The currents within the Sea of Souls are felt in this world and stir the dreams and nightmares of mortals, goading their fractious hearts to discord. Voracious predator creatures lurk in the depths of the warp, and in most places, such creatures cannot force themselves from their abode of the damned to our world without willing conduits or debased followers to ease their passage. But here… here daemonic beings of great power can force themselves through on their own.'
Leodegarius paused and Uriel felt the skin beneath his armour crawl at the thought of the denizens of the warp. He had faced such creatures and knew well the havoc they could wreak. One such being was able to manifest on Salinas just over four thousand years ago, a fell Daemon Prince of Chaos named Ustaroth; a thousand curses upon its damned name. This prince of mayhem was a creature of almost limitless power and incalculable malice, and the stress of its passage from the warp allowed others of its kind to follow in the froth of its immaterial wake. Great was the slaughter unleashed, and hundreds died in the first hours of their arrival, thousands in the days following. In desperation, the Imperial Commander called for aid and a detachment of warriors from the Sons of Guilliman heard his plea. Though they knew there was little hope of victory, they diverted to provide what aid they could, for what warrior of honour could stand idly by while the forces of the Archenemy made sport with loyal servants of the Emperor?'
Uriel's heart filled with pride at the heroism of his brothers of the blood and he made a solemn vow that he would do honour to this armour, which had belonged to one of those heroes of long ago.
'The Sons of Guilliman fought alongside the planetary armies, but they were no match for the host of the Daemon Prince, who swept them aside and slew them in a great battle fought within a city in the shadow of the mountains.'
Uriel and Pasanius shared a glance with one another, and they could see that everyone in the room knew, without knowing how they knew, that the Sons of Guilliman had died in Khaturian.
The Killing Ground was, it seemed, a magnet for death.
'Death, unimaginable bloodshed and slavery followed for a decade before warriors from the Grey Knights arrived at the head of a crusade force. My order met the Prince of Chaos in battle and the great Ignatius defeated it, hurling its unclean flesh back to the hell from whence it had come. Salinas was cleansed of taint and displaced peoples from across the sector were brought in to repopulate the planet. Within three generations, what little evidence remained of the invasion had been eradicated and the planet was on its way to becoming a world of the Emperor once more.'
Leodegarius paused, his eyes closed as though remembering and doing honour to the brave hero who had defeated the mighty daemon prince. The Grey Knight opened his eyes and took up the tale once more.
'Salinas was freed from the grip of the daemonic, but great was the damage done beyond the merely physical. Though no trace of the warp remained, the very presence of so powerful a creature is anathema to the fabric of reality, and the invisible walls that separate our realm of existence from that of the immaterium were worn dangerously thin. And the daemonic will always seek to return to the places they once trod.'
'So you've been watching Salinas ever since?' asked Pasanius suddenly. 'That's why you're here now, isn't it?'
'Indeed,' said Leodegarius. 'Since that great victory, we have maintained a secret outpost, hidden from all, that we might stand vigil on Salinas and watch for the return of the daemon prince banished by the great Ignatius.'
'You intercepted our astropathic message,' said Uriel, understanding how the Grey Knights could have known of their whereabouts. 'You heard the call of the Janiceps.'
Leodegarius nodded. 'We did and our warp-seers felt the surge in the warp caused by your arrival. Vast quantities of dangerous energies were released by the machine that brought you here and they have been seized upon by a dark presence lurking on this world.'
'Dark presence?' asked Cardinal Togandis, his voice trembling. 'The daemon prince?'
'Thankfully not,' said Leodegarius, and Togandis visibly sagged against the table, 'but there are powers at work on Salinas that are drawing on that energy and that is further weakening the barriers between us and the warp.'
'What are these powers?' asked Daron Nisato. 'And how do we stop them?'
'We all know what it is,' blurted Togandis, his eyes filling with tears. 'Don't we? Come on, admit it, we've all seen them, haven't we? Daron? Leto? Serj… I know you have!'
'What are you babbling about, Shavo?' snapped Barbaden.
'The dead!' shrieked Togandis. 'The dead of Khaturian! They won't let go of their anger! They want to punish us for what we did… for what we allowed to happen.'
Togandis fell to his knees, and Uriel reached out to grab him. The cardinal held onto Uriel's arm for support, fat tears streaming down his glossy cheeks.
'We were there,' whispered the cardinal. 'We were there.'
'Shavo, shut up,' said Barbaden.
Shavo Togandis looked up at the governor, and Uriel was surprised at the steel he saw in the cardinal's eyes. 'No, Leto,' said Togandis, 'not any more. You did it. You doomed us all that day. I must confess. I have to speak!'
Before Togandis could say more, Eversham moved from behind Barbaden with his pistol drawn. Uriel was too far away to react, but there was a flash of silver mail followed by a heavy crunch and Eversham dropped to the floor.
'Emperor's blood!' swore Uriel as he saw Barbaden's equerry lying crumpled on the carpet, blood leaking from the enormous crater that Leodegarius had punched in the side of his head. The man's legs twitched and his eyes fluttered as though he couldn't quite comprehend that he had been killed.
Everyone backed away from the corpse and Leodegarius loomed over Leto Barbaden.
'What has to be said here will be said,' commanded the Grey Knight.
'Of course,' replied Barbaden, looking down at the corpse and for once appearing to be cowed by the warrior.
Leodegarius turned back to the shaking cardinal and took hold of his shoulder, lifting him to his feet as though he weighed no more than a child. He marched the unresisting Togandis towards the room's only chair, and the sweating cardinal gratefully sank into the plush leather.
'Was… Was he going to kill me?' asked Togandis, his gaze switching between the corpse and the warrior who had spilled its blood and brains over the floor.
'He was,' nodded Leodegarius, 'to protect his master.'
All eyes turned on Leto Barbaden and the governor drew himself up to his full height, pulling his coat tightly around him and folding his arms.
'I apologise for nothing,' he stated. 'I did what I had to do. Any commander would have done likewise.'