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Old Wounds, New Scars – Extract

A Black Library Publication

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Old Wounds, New Scars

Graham McNeill

“A voice from old heroic days,
When life was counted dust,
Weighed in the scale with nobler things,
Honour, and faith, and trust.”

I

The skies of Terra were what Alivia missed the most.

She remembered how blue they’d been. How wide.

The view from the summit of the Black Cuillin on her island home was breathtaking: misted glens, sprawling forests and deep oceans stretching in an endless blue expanse.

But most of all, she remembered a sky so wide it seemed it would never end.

Alivia had climbed all the mountains of Old Earth, even the towering white peaks now mantled in stone and steel.

But nothing could compare to this view over the cold ocean to the New World.

Alivia tasted the air: the cool aroma of pine, the wet warmth of wild animals and the thorny tangles of gorse.

She’d seen other worlds, other wonders, since then.

She’d scaled the colossal slopes of Olympus Mons, swum the world oceans of Talassar, even explored the ruins of Fringe Space.

Miracles and marvels all, but the glory of the Throneworld was too powerful, too connected to Alivia’s soul for anything to eclipse it.

Maybe that’s why Horus wants it so badly.

The sentiment was an intrusion. It wasn’t hers.

Her memory’s gaze shifted, down from the endless skies to the forests of highland fir. The trees grew close, only whispering shadows of sunset visible between their pollarded trunks.

Grazing at the edge of the treeline was a powerful stag.

The sheer magnificence of the animal took her breath away.

Its russet hide shone gold in the dying sun, and its antlers forked upwards like bone lightning. This was the master of the glen, and when the wild hunt thundered over the hills, he would lead it.

Alivia held her breath, lest even a whisper of movement break the spell.

The stag’s head came up, its nostrils twitching.

The animal met her gaze, and in its eyes, she saw an ageless soul. Tears pricked her eyes to see a kernel of doubt in its noble strength.

A chilling howl echoed from deep within the forest, the cry of a wolf. Others joined it – dozens, then hundreds. Maybe more.

The stag turned and bolted, its powerful legs carrying it farther up the mountain, leaping over rocks and scrambling along treacherous pathways.

A black-furred wolf raced from the trees, its eyes red and rabid. The pack followed it, red wolves, grey wolves and wolves with moulting fur. They raced after the stag, driving it towards the cliffs where others would be waiting.

She wanted to shout after the fleeing animal.

To warn it that it was heading into a trap.

I always loved that about you, Alivia; your metaphors were always so damn pretty.

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A Black Library Publication

First published in Great Britain in 2018.
This eBook edition published in 2018 by Black Library, Games Workshop Ltd, Willow Road, Nottingham, NG7 2WS, UK.

Produced by Games Workshop in Nottingham.

Old Wounds, New Scars © Copyright Games Workshop Limited 2018. Old Wounds, New Scars, GW, Games Workshop, Black Library, The Horus Heresy, The Horus Heresy Eye logo, Space Marine, 40K, Warhammer, Warhammer 40,000, the ‘Aquila’ Double-headed Eagle logo, and all associated logos, illustrations, images, names, creatures, races, vehicles, locations, weapons, characters, and the distinctive likenesses thereof, are either ® or TM, and/or © Games Workshop Limited, variably registered around the world.
All Rights Reserved.

A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN: 978-1-78030-788-6

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