FicWad

The planet of Darkrim was one of the least habitable planets in Sub-Sector Culexa. it was locked in a permanent axis, one side of the planet was bathed in eternal sunlight, whilst the other was locked in perpetual darkness. the few settlements that did dwell on the planet were situated on the twighlight zone between the two. it was practically impossible to get a broadcast through to the dark side of the planet. in Lord Syrax's view, that made it the perfect place for their warband to hide.
"my warband, soon." he muttered.
even to him, his voice bridled with hate, both at everything around him and at himself.
he walked along a broad corridor, the sides curved up to a tapered point above him. as he walked, his heavy footfalls echoed throughout the bowels of the Bastion Daemonicum. the mighty fortress had once been used during the Horus Heresy, as a base of operations for the Black Legion when they had controlled the sub-sector. alas, after the Heresy, it had fallen into disuse. one fact about the Bastions position was that it made detection virtually impossible, because any signals transmitted to the dark side of the planet were scrambled by interference.
at the end of the corridor, Syrax came to a door. behind the door he could hear screams of agony. cautiously, he punched in the code on the ancient panel beside the door and walked in.
there, bound to a surgeons table by adamantium chains, was Kavan, the marine he had tainted upon Zerathai.

the armour covering his chest and arms had been removed, and his naked torso was covered in various weeping scars and cuts, trailing blood along his heavily muscled chest.
Syrax laughed cruelly. he had brought out the monster within Kavan upon Zerathai. now, whatever it took, he would make it rise again.
Leaning over Kavan, her lips soaked with blood, was a woman with pale skin. her naked torso was also washed in the blood of her patient. crimson hair was tied in a tight ponytail that stretched down to her thighs. her pale body was both muscular and curvy, and her fingernails were filed to a point and covered in a greenish liquid. any normal man would have been entranced by her beauty, but Syrax only felt repulsed by it. he despised her as he despised everything. she was not human, for no human could move with the grace that she moved with. she was descendant of the eldar race, but she was a twisted and defiled opposite to the mighty beings of her heritage.
"Lylandrea!" Syrax snapped, "you're not trying hard enough, i need every one of his emotions heightened for the ritual!"
"my Lord, i am using seven of the twenty great pains, yet he resists the beast inside him. he is broken, and he is at my mercy, yet still he denies his inner daemon." she spoke in a sickly sweet voice, enchanting, yet laced with hidden promises of torture.
"well, break him in time for the ritual!" ordered Syrax, turning on his heel and walking out. he was starting to regret taking the witch and her band of renegades under his wing.
as he walked out of the door he muttered one word under his breath.
"slut."

*

Succubus Lylandrea watched the chaos lord go, then resumed her task. to the human, it was just a method of releasing that which hid within, but to her, it was more. to her, it was a method of feeding. she gorged herself on the feelings of extreme pain and pleasure, letting it wash over her in waves of lust.
she continued her work, running her tongue along his chest, licking the blood and cold sweat off his torso. she ran her venom coated lips up his neck, sighing as her patient groaned with pain. the venom had been made to exactly the right concentration, so it would not harm her, but would cause him the most extreme pain. she pulled away from his chest, bringing one hand up and dragging her fingernails down his chest, the skin making a ripping sound as it peeled in two.
the human screamed, and her lip curled into a cruel smile.
"we are only just beginnig, human." she whispered sweetly.

*

Syrax marched into the broad chambers, the walls rose to a tapered point high above, and a skull with bronzed skulls carved into it. all that would soon be his. the chambers of Corrodas the bloodreaver were dimly lit by burning candles.
he knelt, scowling as he did so. this incompetent fool did not deserve to be bowed to.
"my lord." he muttered.
Corrodas rose from his throne, his hulking terminator armour clanking loudly.
"rise, Lord Syrax." he said in his deep, threatening voice. his face was hidden behind a horned helmet, a faint red glow came from behind the eye slits.
"now tell me, Lord, why am i not being escorted to the ritual chambers by a squad of my brother slaughterers?"
"the...subject...is proving more resilient than we first thought, my lord, given time, the succubus will break him."
Corrodas charged, shooting out one hand and grabbing Syrax by the throat. the massive hulking terminator lord swung Syrax over his head and smashed him into the cold hard steel ground. Syrax lay where he landed, his weight had punched a crater in the metal of the floor.
"i do not have time for foolish games!" shouted Corrodas, regaining a measure of his control and straightening to his full height. "either you get him to break within the day, or i'll see to it that both you and that slut end up impaled on spikes with your entrails dragged over half the Bastion!"
Syrax barely managed to restrain his anger. he climbed to his feet, bowing and constantly offering apologies as he backed out of the door.

*

Succubus Lylandrea walked gracefully down the corridor to the surgeon's chambers, where her hand maidens were tending to the patient. her high heels clicked on the cold steel floor. she wore a simple tight fitting suit of black leather which revealed only a little to much of her upper torso, with spiked silver plating down one arm. in her hand she carried a double bladed sword, it's two curved blades reflecting the grace and beauty in her pale features. in her other hand she carried a small crystal. the tenth of the twenty great pains. the crystal was pure black in colour, with a slight glint of silver in the center.
she punched in the key and the ancient door grinded open. the Bastion reflected the soullessness of it's masters, she thought as she swanned in.
she ordered her hand maidens to stand away from the tortured human, and handed her double bladed sword to one of them. she walked forward, peeling the leather away from her torso. she pressed herself up against the space marine, his sticky blood staining her pale chest. she forced her tongue into his ear, and held the crystal over his mouth.
almost immediately his body started shaking violently and a black mist rose from his mouth and dissipated into the crystal. after a while she took it away, pulling away from his body at the same time. she licked the crystal, tasting his soul trapped within.

*

Kavan, through the veil of pain and suffering, felt the vile alien sucking out his soul. he felt his conciousness nearing the abyss of her mouth. he screamed, and suddenly realised he couldn't let it happen. his screaming rose to an inhuman roar. flashes of purple lightning laced his body, and the adamantium restraints holding his legs and his remaining arm snapped. purple mist swirled around the stump of his left arm, and it swelled and fleshed out, then a hard shell erupted from it, forming a sickle-like, blood red claw. the roaring turned to a gurgling blood thirsty laugh as his blood red pupils expanded until his eyes were pure red.
he lurched upright, grabbing the crystal from the woman's hand and tightening his grip on it until it shattered. he saw her smile as she turned to her hand maidens.
"contact Lord Syrax, tell him we have broken the subject, he is ready for the ritual."

*

Lord Corrodas marched into the ritual chamber, far from happy. he had been accompanied not by a bodyguard of his brother slaughterers, but by four of the damn dark eldar witches. he snarled underneath his helmet, he would throw Syrax off the side of the highest tower in the Bastion for this! the four dark eldar took up position in four of the eight corners of the ritual chamber, the other four being taken up by the other witches. Corrodas marched over to where Syrax stood on a plinth in the center of the room, along with Succubus Lylandrea. eight cultists were stood on similar plinths in a circle around the larger plinth. kneeling before the plinth was the wretch that Syrax had brought from Zerathai. the door that Corrodas had just marched through was flanked by four guards in black armour with a gold trim, two on either side. all four were armed with chain axes and bolt pistols, and stood quietly, watching the proceedings.
"well, Lord Syrax, is all prepared?" he asked with a promise of later violence.
"indeed, my lord." replied Syrax, if you would step onto the plinth, then we can begin."

*

Syrax watched as Corrodas stepped up onto the summoning plinth.
the cultists on the other plinths raised their hands in unison, waving slightly from side to side and chanting in high pitched, fanatic voices. Corrodas joined in the chanting, his deep, threatening voice adding to the high pitched voices of the cultists. Syrax chuckled to himself, then leaned over to the succubus.
"all is in place," he whispered, "the incompetent fool will be weak after the binding, then you may...deal...with him."
"of course, lord Syrax." came her sickly sweet reply.
"let me batter the fool a bit first." Syrax said, his voice bordering on emotional.
as he watched, Syrax saw purple mist rising from the procession. he saw Kavan rise into the air, the purple mist swirling around him and then feeding into his mouth.
blood erupted as the cultists bodies ruptured. internal organs spewed out onto the floor whilst the blood rose as a red mist and soaked in through the cracks in Kavan's ruined deathwatch armour.
the cultists collapsed and slumped off their plinths. red mist rose from Corrodas's armour, and he sank to one knee, weakened by the bloodloss. Kavan dropped to the floor as he finished drinking the last of the corrupted blood.
Corrodas rose to his feet.
"it is done!" he said, his voice wavering slightly.
"good, lord Corrodas." he said, his voice regaining it's mocking edge, "now, you have outlived your usefulness."
"Syrax!" Corrodas shouted as the dark eldar witches advanced, each dressed in tight fitting leather suits, with one arm clad in silver. "Syrax, what is the meaning of this!"
"forgive me, my lord." Syrax replied, openly mocking the chaos lord, "but i think the warband requires some...new management."
"traitorous dog!" Corrodas shouted, as the witches gripped his arms and hauled him towards the snarling lord Syrax. Syrax drew his demon sword, the blade crackling with energy.
Syrax removed the chaos lord's helmet, exposing the ruined face beneath.
Syrax ran the blade of his sword twice vertically across Corrodas's face, his master screaming as the demon within the sword leeched off his soul.
Syrax stepped back, nodding to the Succubus.
"strip him of his Terminator armour, the fool dosen't deserve it anymore. then bind him and give him your...highest honour."
the Succubus nodded, and her handmaidens started dragging the hulking chaos lord away to the surgeons chambers.
as the room emptied, Syrax turned to the four chaos space marines guarding the door.
"go now, tell the warband that i am taking charge now." he said, chuckling, "oh, and tell them to prepare for battle. we will be carrying out a series of raids in the near future."
Syrax grinned, stretching the scars at the corner of his mouth. the tortured figure of Kavan came to stand beside him.
if Syrax played this game right, nothing would stand in his way. soon the entire Sub-sector would be one massive sacrifice to the dark gods, and he would make Inquisitor Grey crawl at his feet before the end.