'Well, you see, the yellow robes, like the light poles carried by the custodians, symbolises the return of the sun and thus heat and light. It denotes a high-ranking official of the Dormant Custodial Committee/
'I got that much myself/ I muttered.
'Oh, well his name is Nissemay Carpel, and he's High Custodian, so you should address him as such. He was born here, on Vital 235, fifty standard years ago, the son of a-'
'Enough! I knew we'd get there eventually/
I walked to the rail and looked down. 'I am Eisenhorn/
He stared up at me, barely contained wrath bulging the veins in his neck.
'Place him under arrest/ he told his men.
THREE
Nissemay Carpel.
A light in endless darkness.
The Pontius.
Ishot one, meaningful glance at betancore to stay his hand, then calmly walked past him, slid down the ladder frame and approached Carpel. The custodians closed in around me, but at a distance.
'High custodian,' I nodded.
He fixed me with a steady but wary gaze and licked spittle off his thin lips. 'You will be detained until-'
'No/ I replied. 'I am an inquisitor of the God-Emperor of Mankind, Ordo Xenos. I will co-operate in any investigation you bring to bear here, fully and completely, but you will not and cannot detain me. Do you understand?'
'An… inquisitor?'
'Do you understand?' I repeated. I wasn't using my will at all, not yet. 1 would if I had to. But I trusted that he would have the sense to listen to me first. He could make things awkward for me, but I could make things intolerable for him.
He seemed to soften a little. As I had judged, part of his rage came from shock at this incident, shock that so many planetary nobles in his care had suffered. He was looking for somewhere to pin the blame. Now he had to temper that with the idea that he was dealing with a member of the most feared institution in the Imperium.
'Thousands are dead/ he began, a tremor in his voice. This desecration.. . the high born of Hubris, violated by a… by a-'
'A murderer, a follower of darkness, a man who, thanks to me, lies dead now under a plastic sheet on the upper landing platform. I mourn the great loss Hubris has suffered tonight, high custodian, and I wish I had been able to prevent it. But if I had not been here at all to raise the alarm… well imagine the tragedy you would be dealing with then/
I letthat sink in.
'Not just this processional, but all the hibernation tombs… who knows what Eyclone might have wrought? Who knows what his overall ambition was?'
'Eyclone, the recidivist?'
'He did this, high custodian/