'What have you got to say for yourself, militant-apostolic?'
'Sister Iolanth acted under her own recognisance, my lord. The true servants of the Emperor recognised the girl for what she was, and rushed to aid you.'
Guilliman took a step forward. He loomed over the priest.
'You will not ever lie to me again, militant-apostolic,' he said plainly. 'You are lying to me now. You even convinced Sister Iolanth to lie under oath. By the Throne, man, what deviousness is present in you.'
'My lord, if I may–'
'You may not!' Guilliman's shout was sudden and terrifying. 'This was your doing,' he said calmly again. 'A good man lies dead. My warriors turn upon one another. A champion of the Emperor is grievously wounded, another is executed, and all this for no other reason than your arrogance. You believe yourself to be better informed than I. I want you to understand now that is not the case.'
'I swear, Iolanth did not act upon my orders,' said Mathieu.
Guilliman growled deep in his throat, an inhuman sound that should never have emanated from so perfect a being. It struck fear into Mathieu that he could not hide.
Guilliman snorted in contempt. 'You disobey my orders again. You lie. Confess. You were responsible.'
'My lord regent…' Mathieu began. He looked into Guilliman's eyes and saw the fury that would consume him if he dared deny again. 'You saw what happened,' he said instead.
'Confess, preacher,' said Guilliman. The heat of anger coming off him beat at Mathieu. 'Tell me that you did it. I want to hear you say it.'
Mathieu took a step backwards. 'Did you not see! Your father was on the field with us, working through the child,' said Mathieu. 'She was a vessel for your father's power, chosen by Him. His will worked through her!' He retreated further as Guilliman advanced on him. 'She threw back the daemons. No child could have done that! A golden light issued from her… The Emperor was there, He was with us, all around us. He helped you win! The Emperor is with you!' gabbled Mathieu.
'Was he now?' said Guilliman. 'I saw unbounded psychic ability let loose. It could have come from any source, not least the gods who are rival to my brother's patron.' Guilliman leaned forward. A vein pulsed in his broad forehead. 'You speak, you priests, as if you know my so-called father, as if you are privy to His will and His word, as if He would speak through you!' His fist clenched. Out of his armour he seemed more dangerous. 'You have never spoken with Him. Not one of you damnable fanatics has ever exchanged so much as a word with the Emperor. I lived with Him. I fought at His side for centuries. I studied with Him. I learned of His dreams for mankind from His own lips and I raised my sword and spilled my blood to make them a reality!'
'But there are visions–'
'There are lies!' shouted Guilliman. 'I am the only living being to have spoken with the Emperor for ten thousand years. Ten thousand years, Mathieu, and yet you dare to suppose you know His mind? You priests burn, maim and condemn on the basis of supposition. You practise your barbaric religion in the name of a man who despised and wanted to overthrow all of these things. The Emperor's purpose was to lead us out of the darkness. You, Frater Mathieu, you and your kind are the darkness!' He turned his head aside in disgust. 'These feats of faith can be explained by the workings of the empyrean. No god need be invoked, and if one is, it is rarely the thing that is called upon. There are beings in the warp that hearken to such entreaties. I assure you they are not gods, and the Emperor is not one of them. None of what you believe in can be trusted. None of it!' His voice rose to a condemning shout that echoed off the marble walls. Colquan looked shocked. Mathieu was battered to his knees. He bowed his head and cowered.
Guilliman reined his anger in, his voice fell to a harsh whisper. 'You cannot be trusted.' He swallowed and continued in more measured tones. 'The man that created me did His job well. The battle would have been won without any intervention from the powers of the warp. That girl was a psyker of rare ability, nothing more, whose presence on the field could have done a great deal of harm. By ordering Iolanth–'
'But, my lord, I ordered nothing!' 'Do not interrupt me!' Guilliman said. He held up his hands as if he were going to grab Mathieu by his homespun robes and haul him up into the air and crush his skull, but his fingers stopped short of the priest, where they trembled with rage. 'By ordering Iolanth,' Guilliman repeated, 'to bring her to the battle, you risked the annihilation of all our forces. If she had not mastered her ability, if she had become a conduit into the warp…' Guilliman bared his teeth.
Mathieu had never suspected the primarch might harbour such depths of rage. Guilliman had always been described as such a bland fellow, a competent genius untroubled by the miseries of unbounded humours. In the scriptures it was his brothers, and mostly the traitorous fiends at that, who had exhibited the unsaintly traits of anger. But the primarch was angry, and it was a primordial rage born in the hearts of tortured planets and fast-burning stars. In the brunt of his fury was the anger of the God-Emperor Himself.
Mathieu quailed, and yet he felt the beginnings of religious ecstasy creep into his gut. The thought of being destroyed by Guilliman, of falling to the Emperor's only living son, almost undid him.
Guilliman recoiled from the adoration shining from Mathieu's eyes. 'You disgust me. I will not kill you. I cannot. I miscalculated, choosing you. I should have appointed another parasite to your position, like Geesan and the rest. Instead I thought it best to have an inspiring man by my side, to make a virtue of your religion. And this is the repayment I get for giving weight to your faith? You could have killed us all! Chaos has tried to trick me several times – me! Do you think you are below its attentions? It will use anything to see our species fall. Be sure that your faith does not give it an open gate into your heart.'
'You saw, my lord. You saw your father's light!'
'He is not my father,' Guilliman said. 'He created me, but I assure you, priest, that He was no father. King Konor was my father.'
Mathieu blinked at him. 'My lord, please.'
'Listen to me. You live by my indulgence alone. You may have manipulated Tetrarch Felix. You may even have hoodwinked me. Enjoy your success, it shall never happen again.' Guilliman extended his fist. Again, Mathieu thought the primarch meant to strangle him, but he pointed a single, accusing finger. 'Disobey me again, Mathieu, either the letter of my orders or the spirit of my leadership, or if you so much as varnish a single one of my words, then I shall commit you to the cleansing flames your cult is so fond of, no matter what ramifications such an action might have. You might seek to gather more power to your religion by winning me over. I say it shall never, ever happen. I will never give myself over to worship of the Emperor. I will not put myself in thrall to you and all the other priests. I tolerate the Adeptus Ministorum as a necessary evil. Do not force me to reevaluate my position.'
Mathieu abased himself on the floor. 'I seek only to serve you, my lord.'
'We are done here.' The primarch's rage turned off. The heat left the room. He seemed smaller again.
'Watch your step, priest,' said Colquan. 'The Lord Guilliman might not move against you, but there is nothing stopping me.'
'Colquan,' said Guilliman. 'Enough.'
Colquan pointed at Mathieu. 'I am watching you.'
'Colquan!' Guilliman went to the door. 'Guard, I am finished.' His voice was hoarse with rage. The doors opened. Mathieu got up off the floor and called after him.
'One day,' Mathieu said. 'One day you will see, my lord! You will see the truth! That day will be a glorious day, a thankful day. I shall not relent in my attempts to save you! I cannot! It is your father's purpose for me!'
Captain Sicarius stood to attention and saluted as Guilliman walked out, then he and his Victrix Guard fell into line behind Colquan. The balance of Primaris Marines to Space Marines had shifted in the guard. Those that had fallen in battle had been replaced by the newer breed.
'You will see!' Mathieu called. The doors slid closed, leaving him alone. 'The Emperor watches us all,' he said. He clasped his hands and closed his eyes in prayer. 'Glory, glory,' he whispered. 'Guilliman sees! He begins to see! Glory, glory.'
