Chapter 258: Four Minutes
Bastion One glowed like a fallen star against the dark southern horizon.
General Hadrian Kest stood in the center of Elder Isolde Renwick's private study. The door was closed. He had walked into the room expecting a classified briefing regarding Senator Vast.
Instead, he stopped dead on the thick carpet.
His eyes glazed over. His expression went terrifyingly blank. The Cult parasite resting at the base of his skull recognized the lethal intent radiating from the shadows of the bookshelves.
Kest's right hand moved smoothly toward the heavy runic alarm dial on his Vanguard belt.
He did not know why he was reaching for it. The parasite was violently piloting the reflex, overriding the General's conscious mind to protect its host.
Before Draven Mordis could issue a command, the shadows behind Kest fractured.
