Chapter 10

"I thought it was from blood loss, but it's a lot worse. I think you've been poisoned."

Triss ferreted nervously through the adjacent rooms unsure of what she was looking for. Anything of use would have been back in the medical wing, now inaccessible by the pairs impromptu demolition job. It was possible that another medical wing existed further along but Triss was unwilling to venture far considering the outcome of her last solo venture.

Meanwhile Leth opened her eyes to find herself lying on a tattered matress on the ground. Her armour arranged, though somewhat haphazardly, lay on the ground next to her along with her sword and bolter, her small flamer was absent. Leth's attention then went to her leg. It was bound tightly with some fabric, but more importantly a noticeable purple pattern had appeared on her skin around the wound spread all the way up to her hip. It didn't look like a typical infection or rash, a hundred medical professionals could look at it and the only real description any would be able to muster is that it was indeed a pattern, a faint purple in colour, perhaps similar to the kind of pattern one would see on expensive fabrics worn by the noble class. Beyond that it's appearance defied any specific description.

"Well that's just fucking great!" Leth declared as sarcastically as she could to the empty room. The bitter remark traveling down the hallway and catching Triss's attention. Giving up on her fruitless search Triss crept back towards the room, quietly listening in case anything else had heard the Sisters remark.

"You're awake?" Triss softly asked as she reentered the room, the borrowed flamer nervously held in front of her in both hands. "Yeah" Leth replied while taking the bandage off to get a better look at her leg. "How many days was I out?". Triss raised an eyebrow at the question, "You've been unconscious for barely over an hour." she replied. Leth stopped looking at her leg but only briefly. "That's odd. I feel rested". Triss opened her mouth but didn't immediately have anything to say, unsure what Leth's condition could mean. "Maybe we should.." The soldier cut herself off as Leth suddenly stood up with an almost elastic energy. "Ha... it doesn't hurt" Leth remarked, walking in circles and moving her weight from her left leg to her right leg and then back again. Leth's movement left and right made the remains of her tattered and blood soaked cloths sway back and forth like a gory necklace. "Pointless scrap" Leth muttered as she took to removing her clothes as if she had fresh clothes to change to. She didn't, but unfazed Leth turned to inspect her armour. The surgical wire used to hold the busted latch on her chest piece was nearing its breaking point. Visibly stretched thin, it clearly wouldn't last long.

"Triss, I need you to rebind this latch while i hold the chest piece in place." "You want to head out now?" Triss asked tentatively. "Yeah, now wind the wire around the latch as many times as you are able." Leth had already begun donning the parts. The solider suspected that there'd be no way of convincing Lethaine to stay put. The unspoken issue of Leth's leg hung in the air like a anxious weight ready to fall from the ceiling. "This year would be advantageous", Leth beckoned clearly refusing to address the issue.

The wire held, primarily on hope and prayer and partially on tensile strength. Even having Leth stand up, the pair fully expected the set to break right then and there. "Well, let's not waste any time", Leth grumbled but Triss wasn't satisfied, "Maybe if we tie one of the rifle slings around as well, it might..". "I said let's not waste time!" Leth barked as she grabbed Triss by the neck and shoved her towards the door. Triss stumbled into the hallway almost crashing into the opposite wall. She looked back at the Sister with wide eyes as the Sister took half a step towards the door before she realised she'd just done something weird. She paused, cocked her head to one side and then suddenly froze. "I'm sorry Triss!, I.." Leth trailed off to look at her hand which had just made the offending act, it was still raised out in front of her making an open grip as if it were still around Triss's neck.

A long pause held the air between the two before Triss decided which carefully chosen words to use. "Something is very wrong. You are not yourself Sister." She said softly but with a tone of formality. "I.. I think you're right." Leth's answer was slow and hesitant. "We.. I need to get to an apothecary. There's an.. infection of some kind on my leg where that.. thing impaled me". "I noticed", Triss interjected, "but I haven't seen anything like it before".

Leth let out a very shaky sigh. "Chaos is unseeable Triss. There is nothing it produces that is already within understanding. To expect something is to be wrong.. ". The two went quiet for a short eternity. "What do we do Leth?" Triss whimpered. For the first time the two looked equally terrified with neither in a position to reassure the other. "Well.." Leth attempted to collect her thoughts, "An apothecary was assigned to the town with my battle sisters, If she's alive then she might be able to help me."

Triss bitt her lip. "And if your apothecary isn't alive?"

"Then the inhabitants of that town, be it Ork, Chaos spawn or Sister of Battle, will have to kill me. Either way we need to get there."

Further down the pitch black corridor the duo crept. Having raided the armoury Triss now sported a lasrifle slung over her back, her weapon in hand still being the flamer used to illuminate the path ahead. Towering behind her marched the Sister of battle, sword and bolter poised at the ready. As cohesive as the pair looked on the surface, all was not well within the Sisters mind. Her gaze kept lowing from the hallway down to Triss in front of her, each time Leth felt feverish and her mind would churn with twisted indecipherable thoughts. Shaking off the sensation of rage and returning her attention to the potential danger ahead, each time Lethaine did this it would buy her less and less time before it happened again.

Strangest to the sister was how her rage wasn't directed at herself. She could not understand her thoughts but it was clear that her egregious temper coincided with each time she would look down at the soldier walking in front of her. She was angry with Triss? but why? Next time she found her eyes lowing to the back of the red head Leth attempted to analyse her own thoughts. She could feel anger, but also something else. It felt like an intoxication or a fascination. Leths cheeks went bright red when she realised it was lust she was feeling. Not born of their friendly or flirtatious engagements, no, this was an alien, overpowering drive to maim, fuck, to hurt and exploit.

Triss could see out of the corner of her eye that Leth was engaged in a mental combat of sorts as the two moved together. But the notion that she was losing the fight was not realised until Leth stopped walking forward, her out stretched bolter started to shake violently. Triss turned around to see Leth bright red in the face with tears hinting at the corners of her eyes.

"Triss..!"

The Sisters eyes looked scared and pleading yet her mouth looked to be growling. The towering armoured sister trembled violently as her bolter started to lower to take aim at the guardsman. Triss stood frozen to the spot, not daring to move by a hairs width. Leth's mind screamed but was powerless against her intense need to overpower the woman standing in front of her.

"Triss. I'm so sorry. Take,T-T-Take your cloths off or.." Leth's voice quivered. "I'm going to pull this trigger and then take your clothes off". Leth wasn't even looking Triss in the eyes, her uninterrupted stare baring down on her chest. Triss started to stand up straight, she hadn't mentally agreed to comply with the demand but it was clear that not moving risked her head being reduced to dust. As her hands went to the top button on her top, Triss realised there was no stopping, Leth's finger was pressed into the trigger on the verge of activating the mechanism. She could very well comply and still be shot for it.

The hallway was painfully silent save for the rattle of Leth's shaking arm as Triss disrobed. Her clothes falling to an unceremonious pile on the ground until all that remained were her chest bandages and the lasrifle still slung over her back. Triss had carefully taken her top off without touching the rifle, she feared that moving it, even to place it on the ground, would mean her end. Satisfied with the initial progress, Leth threw her sword to the ground and lowered her bolter's aim a little so it wasn't dead-on with Triss's head. "Step back" Leth ordered. Though Triss didn't understand why Leth wanted her to back away she complied all the same taking a number of backward steps. With the extra distance between then Triss began to wonder if ducking into a side room would be of any advantage to her. Her train of thought abruptly ended as Leth lowered her bolter to ground where her clothes lay in a pile, and pulled the trigger. The floor exploded in a blaze of fire and shattered rock throwing Triss off her feet all the way to the ground at the next set of doorways. Triss's chest thrummed with pain and she struggled to find her breath. Panting and wheezing she looked down the hallway as the towering Sister strode over the small crater straight towards her. Illuminated by the fire and flame surrounding her, Triss could see Leth's face was soaked in her own tears. There was no way that Leth would be even able to see what was in front of her yet she made no attempt to wipe them away or even blink.

Triss franticly tried to stand up but was unable to right herself in the time it took the Sister to close the distance. With a wild grin Leth threw her arm out and grabbed Triss by her ankle, lifting her high into the air upside down. The sight of Triss's flailing struggle was exactly what Leth wanted to see. This beautiful soul, naked, pathetic and helpless. Her dark desire momentarily sated, Leth could feel an intense shame welling insider her so strong as to feel crippling. She blinked to clear her foggy vision of tears.

"Emperor, please help me" Leth breathed as she found she could control her speech again. The two locked eyes and a brief understanding was made. Leth was fighting it again, but clear to both; she would lose. Triss smiled warmly from her upside-down position.

"Okay" Triss cooed as gravity wormed her lasrifle down to her waiting hands. The barrel aimed perfectly at the busted latch on Leths chest plate.