Sanctus

Chapter 142

Gabriel had just reached the top of the stone steps when the terrible shriek split the darkness. He was up and running as soon as he heard it, using the awful sound to cover his rapid movement. He ducked into the faintly illuminated tunnel it had come from, leading with his gun, scanning for movement, edging forward as fast as he dared. The pain in his arm was now almost unbearable and he was starting to feel sick with shock.

He reached the end of the tunnel just as the scream abruptly stopped. He pressed himself against the wall. Ducked his head round the edge. Saw the glowing furnace on the far side, the sharpening wheels in front of it and the large circular stone on the back wall with a Tau carved into it. A monk stood by, looking into the blackness beyond the partly opened door where Gabriel guessed the sound had come from. Liv was in there, and so was the Sacrament. He stepped into the room.

The monk turned, saw Gabriel, pulled his arm free from his cassock to raise his gun but never made it. Two bullets hit him in the chest, jerking him backwards against the large stone door. His finger tightened reflexively, loosing off a round that hit nothing but rock.

He was dead before he hit the ground.

The Abbot and Cornelius spun round at the sudden sound of the gunshot. It had been close. Right outside the door.

‘Go. See what it is,’ the Abbot said, then turned back to the figure of Eve, so pale now she almost glowed as her eternal life force deserted her. The weaker she got, the stronger he felt. The prophecy had been fulfilled after all. Now he would be immortal. By killing a god he had become one. But even as his soul swelled with the ecstasy of this thought he became aware of a prickling sensation on various parts of his body. He looked down at the deep ceremonial wound circling his left shoulder and watched the recently knitted scar tissue slowly start to open. He raised his hand and pressed it against the cut, feeling the sudden wet warmth of blood rising beneath it, forcing its way between his fingers. He glanced at his other scars, each one now opening up in the same way, and watched for a few moments like a detached observer witnessing something macabre that was happening to someone else. Then he felt weakness settling on to him, as if the energy and rapture of his recent triumph was draining steadily away with the blood that now dripped to the floor. He reached out to steady himself, his hand resting on the edge of the Tau, and for the first time in all his years of being in the presence of the Sacrament he felt fear.

Gabriel reached the entrance, blinking to restore the night vision the guard’s muzzle flash had stolen. He pressed his back against the round stone and slid along it until he reached the edge. Whoever was inside the chamber would have been alerted by the gunshot so he had to do this fast, and he had to do it right. He took a deep breath to steady himself and felt a strange itching sensation beneath the skin of his broken arm. He flexed his fingers tentatively, bracing himself for more blinding pain. Instead he felt an ache deep in his bones and his formerly useless fingers now closed neatly together. It still hurt and the grip was too weak to be useful, but incredibly it no longer felt broken. He was so distracted by this discovery that he didn’t see the blade flash through the darkness until it struck him high in the chest, scraping agonizingly along a rib. Instinctively he twisted away, paring skin from bone, and brought his left arm up to knock the blade aside, jarring fresh pain into the injured limb and a cry of pain from his throat. Then he saw his attacker, naked from the waist up and covered in blood. A waxy patch of skin on his face glowed in the firelight. Gabriel recognized the evil in front of him. He remembered the scream that had brought him here, and his grandfather’s shattered body on the warehouse floor. He caught a glint of realization in the demon’s eyes as he saw how Gabriel cradled his arm — the look of a predator assessing the weakness of its prey.

The knife flashed again as Cornelius pressed closer, aiming for Gabriel’s good arm. Gabriel stumbled backwards, raising his gun, but the nightmare vision pressed on, slashing again, this time catching more than just darkness. Gabriel felt the impact of the blade like a punch to his wrist but felt no pain. He levelled the gun at Cornelius. Saw the demon’s eyes over the sights of his gun and pulled the trigger.

Nothing happened. Then he noticed the blood dripping thickly from his wrist and in a slow-motion moment of battle clarity he realized exactly what had happened. He dropped down and twisted away as the demon flew towards him again. He hit the stone floor and rolled, cradling the gun against his body as it flopped uselessly in his limp hand. The blade must have cut through the flexor tendons in his hand. It was now as useless as his other. He was defenceless.

He rolled again, keeping low and gaining distance, coming to rest just short of the furnace. He looked up and saw Cornelius, already standing above him. In his hand he held a thick metal pole, like a branding iron. He looked down at Gabriel and smiled as he saw the gun cradled now in his two useless hands. Then something distracted him, just for a moment, and he glanced down at his body as blood seemed to well up inside him and spill through the neat cuts in his flesh. Gabriel pushed away with his feet, sliding backwards across the gritty floor, gaining himself a precious few yards as he slipped the finger of his broken arm through the trigger guard.

Cornelius came to attention, alerted by the movement, and raised the bar high above his head, grinning maniacally as he stepped forward, towering above his defenceless victim. Gabriel clenched his hand into a tight grip around the gun, all the pain suddenly gone, all the strength returned. He angled it up at Cornelius and fired three quick shots.

Cornelius stood motionless for a shocked moment then looked down at the holes that appeared in his body. He watched the blood begin to ooze from them, joining the torrent of red already cascading down him. Then he looked up at Gabriel, took one step forward and fell dead to the floor.