POV Alexandra
"Well, what scumbags..."
Amon remained silent.
"Do you really want to look at this filth?" Alexandra spat onto the hot sand.
"Disgusting. Let's go quickly, before they..." The mercenary tugged on Amon's sleeve, but he stayed still. The man stared at the buried girl, mumbling incoherently under his breath.
Alarmed, Alexandra looked into her companion's face and nearly screamed in shock. Amon's mouth was open, twisted into a sinister grimace. Thin threads of saliva hung from his teeth. White foam dripped from his chin, falling onto the ground. The warrior's gaze, empty and unmoving, was fixed on the girl.
His pupils had dilated so much that Amon's eyes appeared almost completely black. His whole body trembled. He was clenching and unclenching the index finger of his right hand, which rested on the hilt of his sword. In the murmur of Amon's voice, the mercenary could make out a few words, absurd and terrifying at the same time.
"Cover... wolves... won't make it..."
"Amon!" Alexandra exclaimed. "What's wrong with you?!"
The warrior didn't respond. The girl swung her arm and slapped him across the cheek, hoping to snap him out of it.
"Snap out of it! Get a hold of yourself!"
Her hand never reached its target. Amon suddenly turned his head toward Alexandra and grabbed her wrist. His pupils narrowed, focusing on her.
"I won't leave her, brother!" the warrior growled fiercely. He shook Alexandra's hand with force, nearly dislocating it. The pain and shock made the girl squeal. Amon gently pushed her away, striking her shoulder, and Alexandra tumbled to the ground.
The warrior slapped his thigh.
"Bring the books," Amon commanded in a metallic voice and swiftly began walking toward the mamono. "I'll pull the keeper out!"
***
Flashback
The explosion made the pyramid-library shake. Heavy debris rained down from the ceiling, almost burying a level under a mixture of beams and rebar. Shelves that housed precious treatises and grimoires written by the wisest men collapsed.
Fine dust and stone fragments filled the air, concealing the books behind an impenetrable veil. A lone leaf flew out of the cloud, fluttering like a giant butterfly before settling on the floor. The edges of the page twitched, as though it wanted to rise back into the air. But in the very next second, an armored boot pressed it into the ground.
A group of warriors in red armor stormed into the hall. In an instant, they dispersed, taking defensive positions.
"Clear!"
Amon's visor activated an additional filter, compensating for the low visibility.
Before the younger sorcerer lay the wrecked library. At the sight of books piled in heaps and broken shelves, Amon's heart tightened with sorrow and anger. The younger sorcerer gasped in the surge of emotions.
"They desecrated the temple of knowledge," Amon bitterly muttered. "Do these barbarians have anything sacred?!"
"No, brother," Amon heard Ulthazar's voice in the Vox. "They are animals, akin to those whose skins they wear on their shoulders. Wolves spare neither us nor our heritage. Let them not have it. Take the books—and let's go!"
Amon's squad had been assigned to evacuate the most valuable writings in the territory controlled by the Space Wolves. Using illusions to cover their approach or engaging in brief, fierce skirmishes, the legionaries managed to break through to their goal.
The squad suffered heavy losses—almost a third of the warriors perished along the way. The commander fell near the pyramid, struck by the blade of a Silent Sister. Now the group was led by Amon and Ulthazar—the only surviving junior sorcerers.
"Donkor, Keb, Sefi! Gather them!" Amon commanded. "The rest—watch your backs. The Wolves know we're here."
The Space Marines pulled out their prepared sacks and began stuffing the books into them. Amon and Ulthazar helped, carefully lifting the volumes and passing them to their battle brothers.
While sorting through the fallen books, Amon moved a little away from the other fighters. Suddenly, he heard a quiet moan. A dull female cry came from under a pile of rubble about ten paces from him. Amon raised his bolter and cautiously circled the debris, keeping a safe distance.
After a few meters, he saw the girl—evidently the library's keeper—who had not abandoned her post until the very end. Trapped by a heavy beam up to her waist, the keeper groaned in pain and coughed weakly.
"Help..." the girl whispered faintly, reaching her hand toward Amon. "Son of the Cyclops... help me..."
The sorcerer froze, unsure whether to help her or continue with the primary mission. He hesitated for several seconds, staring at the unfortunate keeper, bleeding from numerous cuts and wounds.
"Snap out of it! Come to your senses!"
Amon intercepted Ulthazar's armored glove just a centimeter from his helmet. The other sorcerer's intervention snapped Amon out of his confusion. He made a decision.
"I won't leave her, brother!" the Space Marine growled fiercely. He shook his comrade's hand with force and pushed him away.
"What are you doing, idiot?! She's just a human!" Ulthazar snarled. "Don't waste time on her! The Wolves are close!"
As if to confirm his words, a piercing, beastly howl echoed from the lower levels.
"She doesn't matter. We must take the most valuable books! Save what can still be saved!"
"I'm doing just that," Amon said firmly. "Saving what I can. Knowledge is sacred. But the life of the one who creates or protects it is doubly sacred!"
The sorcerer grabbed his shoulder.
"This isn't what Magnus, the Red King, taught us," Ulthazar exclaimed reproachfully. The other warriors, who hadn't taken up defensive positions and were gathering books, remained silent. Ulthazar was undoubtedly right, but Amon was respected far more.
With his nobility, wisdom, and honor, Amon had long earned unchallenged authority. Only his excessive compassion and softness had prevented him from advancing to the next rank.
"Then you didn't understand a word of the Primarch's speeches," Amon replied sternly, shaking off Ulthazar's hand. He lowered his bolter and snapped it to his thigh. "Take the books," he commanded in a metallic voice to the Space Marines, frozen in indecision. "I'll pull the keeper out!"