"My lord." Fearful respect and obedience colored the voice. "We have obtained the map. The situation here is becoming increasingly... complicated. According to reports from the ground forces, they discovered more than four thousand Space Marines stationed in Saint Codgas's orbit..."
"That is unimportant. What matters is that we have the map. Bring it before me now."
"Yes, my lord."
It was rare to see an Archon of the Kabal so tense. He urged his subordinates to quickly push the coffin into the open rift.
Before the rift closed, it spat out a rune representing the Black Muse. The Drukhari present treated it like a priceless treasure, kneeling before the rune in madness and slitting their own throats with daggers.
The rune absorbed the blood, and the Drukhari swiftly withered. But once the rune had drunk its fill, thick black mist poured from it, surging through the enormous wounds in their necks and filling their shriveled bodies.
Satisfaction rose from the depths of their souls. The sensation was tens of thousands of times more intense than any hallucinogen produced in Commorragh. Even a Kabal Archon would go mad for such stimulation.
The coffin passed through the rift and landed aboard another vessel. The ship's interior was interesting. Every detail fully displayed the extravagant splendor of the ancient Aeldari Empire. Though the Drukhari had inherited some traditions of that ancient empire, the artworks they created seemed pale and feeble before this vessel's decor.
The Incubi stood before the coffin. Their armor was utterly unlike what they wore while working in Commorragh, covered from head to toe in runes glowing purple-black. They resembled clay figures scorched until fine cracks spread across their bodies.
Footsteps sounded. All the Incubi knelt before their true master—the Black Muse's true chosen, Vect, Lord of Intrigue.
Vect