战锤40k小说：光明王座！02 （星辰之子出来得瑟了）注：机翻加脑补的凑合看吧。

‘Is that so? I don’t sell information to just anybody. Gotta be careful. Game’s a good way of gauging what kind of man you are, so – play.’

 

'是这样吗？ 我不向任何人出售信息。 所以一定要小心。 对我而言游戏是衡量你是什么样的人的好方法，所以——玩吧。

 

Rostov shrugged. ‘As you wish, but I assure you, we will learn what we came to learn.’ He looked to his companion. ‘Take your turn, Antoniato.’

Unlike Rostov and Tapind, Antoniato had no skill in hiding his thoughts. He jingled his coins in his hand, hesitating before laying his stake. He drew another card from the deck. He frowned and dithered over which to put into play, biting at the stubbled skin beneath his lip. His fingers hovered over one card, then another, before he finally settled on a third, plucking it from the fan clenched in his fingers and laying it on the table with a soft curse.

 

罗斯托夫耸了耸肩 “如你所愿，但我向你保证，我们将得到我们需要得到的信息。”他看着他的同伴。 “轮到你了，安东尼亚托。”

 

与罗斯托夫和塔平德不同安东尼亚托没有隐藏自己想法的技巧。他手中的硬币叮当作响，犹豫了一下才放下了赌注。 他从牌堆中抽出另一张牌。皱着眉头咬着嘴唇下面的胡茬，犹豫着要打什么。手指在一张卡片上盘旋，又在另一张卡片上盘旋，最后终于落到第三张上，并从指间取了出来，轻声咒骂着放在桌子上。

 

‘The blind seer,’ said Tapind, cocking his eyebrow. ‘Interesting choice.’ By that he meant bad, and he made sure Antoniato knew it with another black-toothed grin.

 

“盲人先知。”塔平德扬起眉毛说道 “有趣的选择。”他的意思很明显，显然打这张牌并非是什么明智的选择，他用另一个黑牙咧这嘴，确定安东尼亚托知道这一点。

 

 

‘I’m no good at this, alright?’ said Antoniato.

 

“我不擅长这个，好吗？”安东尼亚托说道。

 

‘I noticed.’ Tapind took his turn quickly, his move already formulated. He put down a large bet. ‘Are you going to match me or not?’ He spoke only to Rostov, Antoniato already discounted.

 

“我注意到了。” 塔平德说到，现在轮到他了，他的出牌顺序已经制定好了。随即塔平德下了一个更大的赌注。 “你要不要跟我比？”他对罗斯托夫说道，因为安东尼亚托已经露怯了。

 

‘How the Throne should I know?’ Antoniato grumbled.

 

“王座在上，我怎么知道？”安东尼亚托抱怨道。

 

Rostov stared at Tapind. ‘I’ll invoke my pass, see what you’ve got.’

 

罗斯托夫盯着塔平德。 “我会看看你有什么。”

 

‘Suit yourself,’ said Tapind. He laid down his card, a golden-armed warrior brandishing a burning sword. Everyone in the faith knew that image. ‘Emperor Among Us. Ain’t no higher spread than that,’ Tapind said, as he completed the layout on the table. ‘I win. Nice to meet you, boys. Now pay up, and get out. I ain’t selling no words today. I don’t like the look of you. Cards don’t lie.’

 

“随你便吧。”塔平德说。 他放下手中的牌，一个金臂武者挥舞着一把燃烧的剑。 在帝国的信仰中中的每个人都知道那个形象。 “我们当中的帝皇。 没有比这更大的牌面了，”塔平德说道，他完成了桌子上的布局。 '我赢了。很高兴认识你，男孩们。 现在掏钱，然后滚出去。 我今天不卖任何消息。 我不喜欢你的样子。纸牌从不会说谎。

 

Tapind reached for the money. Rostov gripped his wrist.

‘Let’s say I raise the stake.’

Tapind scowled. ‘With what?’

‘Prudent agreement.’

 

塔平德伸手去拿钱。 而罗斯托夫则抓住他的手腕。

“假如我提高了赌注。”

塔平德皱着眉头。 '什么？'

“谨慎的选择。”

 

‘Never heard of it, and there is no higher card for this spread than the Emperor Among Us.’ He jerked his head at Antoniato. ‘Don’t think to shake me down. Your muscle doesn’t scare me. I’ve got powerful friends in these parts, so back off. You lost fair and square.’

 

“从来没有听说过，而且没有见过比帝皇更高的牌面了。”他向安东尼亚托猛地摇头。 “别想着糊弄我。你的肌肉吓不倒我。 我在这个地方有强大的后盾，所以滚出去。你在这场游戏中已经失去了公平和信誉。

 

Rostov released Tapind’s wrist, and dropped something from his sleeve into his hand. He held it over the table, hidden by his fingers. Curious, Tapind paused raking in his winnings.

 

罗斯托夫松开塔平德的手腕，将袖子里的东西丢到手里并把它举放到了桌子上，用手指遮住。 出于好奇，塔平德停止了其他动作。

 

‘I’m not talking about cards,’ said Rostov. ‘I’m talking about you making a sensible choice. Prudent agreement.’

 

“我不是在谈论卡片。”罗斯托夫说。 “我说的是你做出了明智且谨慎的选择。

 

He laid a small ivory amulet down on the wood with a click. It bore an Imperial barred ‘I’ overset with a skull, in the forehead of which a small ruby flashed. Tapind blinked at it in shock.

 

他咔哒一声将一个象牙小护身符放在木头上。它有一个禁止出现在帝国其他地方的“I”的字样，护符上面镶有一个头骨，前额上有一颗小红宝石闪烁。而塔平德则满脸震惊的眨了眨眼，试图在确定自己看见的是否是真的。

 

‘You recognise this seal, yes? Now will you talk to me?’ said Rostov calmly.

 

“你认得这个印章，是吗？ “现在你愿意和我谈谈了吗？”罗斯托夫平静地问道。

 

Tapind’s expression turned scared. ‘You’re an inquisitor. Holy Throne of Terra! What the hell do you want with me?’

 

塔平德的表情则开始因为恐惧变得扭曲。 “你是个审判官。 王座在上！你到底想找我做什么？

 

The dreadful word cut through the hubbub of the taverna. Suddenly, a dozen pair of eyes were on the gaming table. Antoniato tensed, flipped aside his furs, one hand going to his holstered laspistol, the other resting on the bulbous nose of the plasma gun.

 

  这个可怕的词打断了小酒馆的喧嚣。 顿时，十几双眼睛齐刷刷的盯着赌桌。安东尼亚托紧张起来，掀开他的皮毛，一只手伸向他的枪套手枪，另一只手则放在等离子枪的握把上。

 

‘What are you doing all the way out here?’ Tapind asked his question, but stood rapidly, ready to leave without an answer. ‘I’m not talking to you. It’s a death sentence on me. I knew there was something off about you.’

 

“你跑到这里来做什么？” 塔平德问他，但很快塔平德站了起来，准备逃离这个地方，不过他也没有得到回答。 '我想和你说话。这是对我的死刑判决么？我就知道你们有些不对劲！

 

‘It’s a death sentence if you don’t,’ said Antoniato, taking his turn to grin.

Tapind shoved away from the table, money forgotten. ‘Stay away from me.’

‘If you speak to me, the rewards will be great,’ said Rostov.

‘Not great enough. All the wealth of Terra is useless to a dead man.’

‘Then you have a dilemma, because leaving will not prevent your death.’

 

“如果你不这样做，那这就是死刑的判决，”安东尼亚托说，转身咧嘴一笑。

塔平德一把，把钱从桌子上推开嚎叫道 '离我远点！'

“如果你给我我想要的信息，你的回报会足够丰厚，”罗斯托夫说。

‘不！哪怕是泰拉的所有财富堆积在一起，对一个死人来说都是无用的。

“那你就进退两难了，因为逃跑并不能阻止你的死亡。”

 

Rostov’s words proved prophetic. There was the wheezing bark of an energy weapon by the door. A yellow flash lit up the saloon. Half of Tapind’s face disintegrated and splashed over the wall. Blood soaked into plaster.

 

事实上罗斯托夫的话被证明是预言性的。门口传来能量武器的嘶嘶声。一道黄色的闪光照亮了客厅。塔平德的半张脸也随之瓦解，飞溅到了墙上。 鲜血浸透了墙面上的石膏。

 

There were two attackers: a squat human in a filthy heatsuit, and a rangy, humanoid xenos with a tall cap and flat face on its thin, cylindrical head. They didn’t have time for a second shot. Antoniato had his pistol in his hand and was firing before Rostov had turned in his seat. The crack of the lasgun beam in the air was loud in the confined space. The xenos assailant was flung against the wall, leaving a stripe of copper-green blood as he slid to the floor. The human loosed off four poorly aimed energy blasts as he fumbled for the door handle. Antoniato threw himself under the table and returned fire. Throughout, Rostov stayed seated, calm with the coherent light of death flicking around him.

 

袭击者有两个：一个是穿着肮脏的防护服的矮胖人类，另一个是身材魁梧的人形异形，其有着高大的帽子和扁平的脸，瘦削的圆柱形头部。但很显然他们没有时间进行第二次射击，安东尼亚托手里拿着手枪，在罗斯托夫转身坐在座位上之前就开枪了。空气中激光枪的爆裂声在密闭的空间里显得异常响亮。异形袭击者被枪击的冲击力甩飞到墙上，又滑落到了地板上，只留下下一道铜绿色的血迹。而哪个矮胖的人类还在摸索门把手的时候释放了四次瞄准不佳的能量射击。 安东尼亚托则扑到桌子底下还击。 整个过程中，罗斯托夫一直坐着，平静的死亡之光在他周围闪烁。

 

The man fired again, got his fingers on the latch, then fled into the night. A blast of freezing air pushed the fire in the taverna hearth flat before the door slammed and the flames jerked up to attention.

 

    紧接着那人又开了一枪随后打开了房门，然后逃到了夜色中。 在门砰地一声关上之前，一阵冰冷的空气将小酒馆壁炉里的火推平了，火焰猛地引起了人们的注意。

 

Antoniato surged up off the floor, sending the table crashing down. Coins bounced everywhere. He fired again. His laspistol left a guttering hole in the taverna door, but the man was away.

 

‘Lacrante!’ Antoniato shouted into a handheld vox-caster. ‘Contact’s down! One assassin, human, xenos-weapon armed, heading your way.’

 

安东尼亚托从地板上一跃而起，并把桌子撞翻。 硬币掉了一地。他又朝着门口开了一枪。 手枪在小酒馆的门上留下了一个弹孔，但那个人不在了。

 

“拉克兰特！”安东尼亚托对着手持通讯器喊道。 ‘交易中断了！ 一名刺客，人类，手持异形武器，正朝着你的方向前进。

 

 

‘In pursuit,’ Lacrante responded.

Antoniato switched his aim from patron to patron. Hands were raised. A man shifted in his seat. ‘Nobody move!’ he shouted.

 

“追击中。”拉克兰特回应道。

安东尼亚托则将他的目标从刺客转变为酒馆中的其他人并命令他们举起手来，一个男人在座位上动了动。 “都不许动！”他喊道。

 

Rostov remained serene. With deliberate movements he collected his seal from the floor and stood from his chair as if he had just finished a meal in a fine restaurant. ‘Cheelche, keep your eyes on the target, but you are not to shoot,’ said Rostov into the vox-thief at his neck. ‘I want this one alive.’

 

罗斯托夫则保持这平静。他小心翼翼地收起地上的印章，从椅子上站了起来，仿佛刚刚在一家高档餐厅吃完晚餐一样。 “切尔切，你的眼睛要时刻盯着目标，但不许开枪，”罗斯托夫对着他脖子上的通讯器说道。 “我想要这个活着。”

 

Rostov stopped by the body of the alien assassin, searched it briefly, lifted up a talisman hung about its neck. An eight-pointed compass wheel etched into a spread-fingered hand: the mark of the thrice-damned Warmaster Abaddon’s chief servant.

 

罗斯托夫在异形刺客的尸体旁停下，简单地搜索了一下，举起挂在它脖子上的护身符。 一个八角的罗盘刻在一只张开的手指上：那是该死的战帅阿巴顿的首席仆从的印记。

 

‘Damn it. Now we’re back to square one,’ said Antoniato.

‘The killer knows something,’ Rostov said, and got to his feet. He pointed to the money lying on the floor. ‘Keep it, for your trouble,’ he told the bartender.

With Antoniato covering him, the inquisitor opened the door and stepped out into the night.

 

'该死的。 现在我们回到了原点。”安东尼亚托说。

“凶手应该知道些什么，”罗斯托夫说着站了起来。 他指了指地上的钱。 “留着吧，麻烦你了，”他对酒保说。

安东尼亚托掩护着他，审判官打开门，走进夜色中。

‘Lacrante! Contact’s down!’

The saloon door burst open and a human male staggered out, nearly lost his footing on the thin snow coating the steps, stumbled into the far wall, then ran into the dark, the charge lights on the weapon in his hand glowing bright in the gloom.

 

拉克兰特！ 联系中断了！

客厅的门突然打开，一个人类男子踉踉跄跄地走了出来，跌跌撞撞撞到远处的墙壁上，台阶上的薄雪上让他差点跌倒。然后跑进了黑暗中，手中武器上的充电灯在黑暗中闪闪发光 .

 

‘One assassin, human, xenos-weapon armed, heading your way.’

‘In pursuit,’ said Lacrante, and set off at a sprint up the alley steps. He keyed his vox back on.

‘What are you mammals up to down there?’ Cheelche voxed.

‘Didn’t you see him go out? Single target!’

‘You try seeing anything when your eye is literally frozen and your scope’s hazy with frost.’

‘Just cover the door,’ Lacrante said. ‘Don’t let anybody follow me.’

 

“一名刺客，人类，装备异形武器，正朝着你的方向前进。”

“追上他”拉克兰特说，然后冲上小巷的台阶，并重新打开了他的通讯器。

“你们到底是什么哺乳动物？” 车切尔问道。

“你没看到他出去吗？ 单一目标！

“当你的眼睛真的被冻结并且你的范围因霜冻而朦胧时，希望你也会尝试看看能不能看到任何玩意。”

“关上门，”拉克兰特说。 “不要让任何人跟着我。”

 

She said something he didn’t hear. Lacrante raced around a corner into the full force of the winter. Freezing air tore the heat from his body. He was a fit man, Lacrante, but a combination of his heavy clothes, the altitude, the steepness of the streets and the cold had him puffing like a lho addict in the last days of life.

 

她说了一些他没听得到的话。 拉克兰特跑过了一个弯，开始了全力奔跑。 冰冷的空气带走了他身体的热量。事实上拉特兰克是个健壮的人，但在厚重衣服、海拔、街道的陡峭和寒冷的影响下，他就宛如一个在生命的最后几天的瘾君子一样喘着粗气。

 

Fortunately for him, the fugitive was no better acclimatised to the environment. The man skidded on the snow compacting on the stone, and Lacrante gained ground unseen. He wasn’t noticed until a couple huddled against the cold stepped out in front of Lacrante from a side alley.

 

不过对他而言幸运的是，逃犯也并没有更好地适应当地该死环境。 那个人类刺客在石头上的薄薄的积雪上打滑，拉克兰特在对方看不见的情况下悄悄摸了上去。直到一对挤在寒冷中的夫妇从一条小巷走到拉克兰特面前时，他才被注意到。

 

‘Get out of the damned way!’ he shouted, almost crashing into them. One of the two fell, and Lacrante was forced to hop over their legs to avoid being entangled. They shouted after him as he slipped and bounced off the wall. He was lucky not to get a bullet between the shoulder blades in that place. He trusted to the Emperor to shield him.

 

“给我滚开!”他喊道，拉克兰特差点儿直接撞到他们身上。但其中一人还是摔倒了，拉克兰特则被迫跳过他们的腿以避免被绊倒栽个狗吃屎。当他滑倒并被从墙上弹开时，他们在他身后疯狂的大声喊叫。事实上他肩胛骨中间没有挨一枪已经很幸运了。不过拉克兰特相信皇帝会保护他。

 

When the shouts cut through the wind, the man looked behind. Spotting Lacrante, he ran faster.

‘Throne,’ Lacrante cursed. He pulled his laspistol and let off a shot, but the slippery cobbles made his aim lousy. Tiles exploded on the low eaves overhanging the street.

His quarry ran like Horus and his devils were on his heels.

 

呼喊声划破天际，刺客灵龙的看向身后。在看到拉克兰特后，他跑得更快了。

“王座在上，”拉克兰特诅咒道。他拔出激光枪，开了一枪，但光滑的鹅卵石让他的瞄准变得非常糟糕。光束在街道上两侧低屋檐上的瓷砖上炸开了。

他的猎物像荷鲁斯一样奔跑，他的恶魔紧随其后。

 

They were getting higher, following the twisting alleys towards the town’s centre. Lacrante kicked over piles of frozen refuse as he caromed off the wall, and he half-fell, half-ran on. The man took another corner. Lacrante followed, and he burst out onto Chozteculpo’s via principia, Merchant’s Row. It was hardly worthy of the name, being only a little wider than the rest and not very long, but it was lit by barrels of burning animal oils, and vendors stood by stalls of wares and food stands where coals roasted skewered examples of the smaller local wildlife. There were more people there, enough to make a crowd, and that slowed his target down.

 

他们沿着弯弯曲曲的小巷，向上狂奔，跑的得越来越高，朝着镇中心冲去。拉克兰特踢翻了一堆堆冰冻的垃圾，从墙上撞了下来，手脚并用的向前猛追。那人跑到另一个拐角。拉克兰特紧随其后，冲进了乔兹特库尔波商业街。事实上这家商业街完全说的上是在污蔑“商业街”这个名字，只比其他的街道宽一点，但也并不太长，它被一桶桶燃烧着的动物油照亮，小贩们站在摆满商品的摊位和食品摊旁，烤着当地较小野生动物制成的肉串。但街上人声鼎沸，这极大的减缓了拉特兰克的追击速度。

 

The man shoved his way through the throng. He glanced back. Lacrante had a glimpse of a pale face behind goggles. Sweat-steam puffed up around his heatsuit seals at his throat.

‘Stop him!’ shouted Lacrante. ‘Stop, in the name of the Emperor!’

 

那人挤过人群后回头看了一眼。拉克兰特瞥见了护目镜背后的哪张苍白的脸。汗水的蒸汽在他的防寒服周围鼓起，堵住了他的喉咙。

 

“阻止他！”拉克兰特喊道“帝皇在上，让他停下！”

 

Heads swung round to look. Lacrante’s call to action had the opposite of the desired effect. Not wishing to get involved, the crowd parted, and the man went free. He let off a shot behind him. Some sort of low-yield plasma weapon. Lacrante ducked. A fizzing yellow ball sliced the air over his head and scattered the crowd. His target man was now racing down a long corridor of people, but clear enough to run meant clear enough for a shot.

 

人们纷纷转过头来观望。事实上拉特兰克的行动号召产生了与预期相反的效果。人群不愿卷入这种烂事之中，分开了，那个人则彻底自由了他朝身后使用某种低当量等离子武器开了一枪。“拉特兰克回避！”一个嘶嘶作响的黄色小球从他头顶掠过，驱散了人群。他的目标现在正沿着一条长长的走廊跑着，但足够清晰的奔跑路线，意味着足够精准的射击。

 

Lacrante dropped to his knee, ripped off his glove, steadied his gun on his forearm and aimed at the receding fugitive, his finger resting on the trigger. Cold metal burned him.

‘Emperor guide my hand,’ he whispered, and squeezed.

 

    情急之下拉克兰特跪倒在地，扯下手套，把枪固定在前臂上，手指按在扳机上，瞄准了正在夺命狂飙的逃犯。冰冷的金属冻伤了他手心。 “帝皇在上，请抓住我的手，”他低声说到，并用力握了握握把。

 

A flash of red chased the man, connected with his leg, and sent him crashing down into a portable grill. Embers and meat skewers skittered across the road. He tried to push himself up and screamed as he put his hand on a hot coal. He was still trying to rise when Lacrante came up behind him and rested his gun against the man’s head.

 

随机一道红光射出，精确的命中了那名人类刺客，打到他的腿上，刺客撞到一个便携式烤架上。余烬和烤肉串在路上上飞掠而过。慌乱中人类刺客试图把自己撑起来，但手放在一块热煤上，烫的他哇哇乱连。而正当他试图再次站起来的时候，拉特兰克走到他身后，用枪抵着他的头。

 

‘Don’t move,’ Lacrante said. The man moaned, his injured leg ramrod straight, his burned hand cradled against his chest. The crowd looked uneasily on. Hostile eyes peered out from behind heated goggles and the gaps between scarves and hats.

 

“别动！”拉特兰克威胁道。那人呻吟着，受伤的腿在痛苦的作用下绷直了，被热炭烧伤的手紧抱在胸前。周围的人所并没有四散反而充满不安地看着这一切，满是敌意的目光从防寒护目镜、围巾和帽子之间的缝隙中去刀般窥视着。

 

Planets like Azazen were hostile in the extreme to all but the lightest touch of Imperial authority. There were a lot of people giving him ugly looks, and several of the local xenos in evidence. They in particular had good reason to hate men like Lacrante. Hands moved towards weapons.

 

像阿扎赞这样的世界对所有外来人都极其敌视，当然除了部分帝国权威。事实上有很多人对拉特兰克投来敌意的目光，而其中有几个是当地的异形，他们双手摸像武器，说实话这些异形有充分的理由憎恨像拉克兰特这样的人。。

 

‘This is an Imperial matter,’ he said as firmly as he could. He was so cold he could barely speak. ‘Get back. Be about your business.’

  The assassin spoke through gritted teeth. ‘That’s not going to work. You’ve made a mistake. There’s no governor here. No law. Not even yours.’

Lacrante switched his gun from face to face, jerking it by way of emphasis. Most of the bystanders moved off, shooting looks varying from fearful to aggressive. Three of them did not.

‘Shit,’ Lacrante said.

 

“这是帝皇的任务”拉克兰特尽量坚定地说。但寒冷让他几乎说不出话来。“回去，管好你自己的事吧。” 刺客咬紧牙关说话。

 

“这是行不通的，你犯了个致命的错误。这里没有行星总督也没有法务部，甚至不是帝国的地盘。”

 

拉克兰特则把枪从一个方向瞄向另一个方向，以强硬的方式猛的开火，对于枪声的恐惧让大多数旁观者走开了，但其中三个没有。 “狗屎”拉特兰克说。

 

The assassin hissed, a reptilian noise of commingled amusement and pain. ‘You could take one for sure, maybe two if you’re good enough, but not three. You’re dead.’

‘Shut up,’ said Lacrante. The snow was coming thicker and stung his eyes. He raised his voice. ‘You three, withdraw. I have no quarrel with you.’

 

刺客发出嘶嘶声，这是一种爬行动物的声音，既有欢乐，也有痛苦。”你当然可以选一个，如果你够好的话，可以选两个，但不能选三个。你死定了。”

 

“闭嘴，”拉克兰特说。雪越来越厚，刺痛了他的眼睛。他提高了声音。”你们三个，撤退。我没有和你争吵。”

 

   ‘Maybe we have one with you,’ said one man. He wore an oiled poncho over a heatsuit, and moved it aside, revealing a long-barrelled slug pistol at his belt. The others showed their own weapons. One drew a laspistol. The other unslung a rifle of non-human make from his back.

 

刺客则发出类似爬行动物的嘶嘶声，这其中既有欢乐，也有痛苦。”你应该可以干点一个，如果你实力足够强的话，可以干掉两个，但绝对无法干掉三个。你死定了！”“闭嘴，”拉克兰特说。雪越来越厚，刺痛了他的眼睛。他提高了声音。”你们三个，离开！这没有你们的事。”

 

‘Let’s see how good you are, outlander,’ said the leader. He spat, an obvious distraction to cover his draw, but his hand barely brushed his gun before Lacrante had drilled a hole through his chest. It was a good shot, and fast, Lacrante swung his gun around to take the second, expecting to die at the hands of the third.

 

“让我们看看你有多厉害，外乡来客。”领队说。他啐了一口，显然是为了掩盖他拔枪的动作，但太慢了！他的手几乎没碰到他的枪，就被克拉朗特在他胸口钻了个洞。第一枪射非常精准，很快拉克兰特把枪转过去接第二枪，仿佛拉克兰特已经做好了死在对方第名枪手的手里。

 

He did not. Lacrante’s shot passed over the second man when he was dropped by a high-angle las-fusil beam. The third was warned of his own demise by the whooping roar of a plasma gun discharging, not that it did him any good. The stream hit him as he turned, and he lit up from within like a lantern, sunfire burning in his mouth and eyes. He opened his mouth to scream but released only his own vaporised lungs. In a second he was reduced to a carbonised mess in the snow.

 

但事实并非如此。当第二个人被拉特兰克一发激光精确命中时。第三个人则被身后传来的离子枪发出的轰鸣声宣告这自己的死亡倒计时，很显然等离子的轰鸣没有加快第三人的反应速度。当他转身想要反击的时候，离子团打在他身上，其就像灯笼一样从身体里面开始发亮，宛如太阳一般的火焰在他的嘴巴和眼睛里燃烧。他张开嘴想要尖叫，但只呼出了自己哪被蒸发掉的肺。刹那间，他在雪地里变成了一堆碳化的东西。

 

The prisoner made to crawl off. Lacrante pinned him to the ice with his boot.

‘Don’t even think about it,’ he said. ‘You’re done. I’m not alone.’

His vox-bead crackled. ‘Miss me?’ said Cheelche.

‘Yes,’ said Lacrante. ‘Nice shot. Thank you.’

‘Maybe you won’t be such a dumb Terran ape and run off on your own in future, eh?’

 

犯人想要爬这逃出去。 拉克兰特则用靴子把他钉在冰上。

“想都别想，”他说。 '完美的射击。 看来我并不孤独。'

他的通讯珠噼啪作响。 “想我了吗？”切尔切说。

“是的，”拉克兰特说。 '好枪法。 谢谢。'

“也许你以后不会像欧格林这么愚蠢，自己独跑了，嗯？”

 

Rostov and Antoniato were coming down the street. Rostov spooked people, and Lacrante thought him being a witch was only the half of it. There was something that hung over him, a presentiment of doom, or the sense the Emperor Himself was watching you through his eyes. His presence cleared the street; even the vendors withdrew, leaving their grills to gutter in the wind. Antoniato was laughing, his sun gun spewing steam into the frigid night.

 

罗斯托夫和安东尼亚托正在街上走来。很显然这位审判官吓坏了人们，拉克兰特则认为这是因为他是个灵能者的原因。某种东西一直笼罩着罗斯托夫，哪是一种厄运的预感，或者是帝皇本人正通过他的眼睛注视着你的感觉。 他的出现扫清了街道上的闲杂人等；就连小贩都逃了出去，把烤架留在了冰冷的寒风之中。安东尼亚托在笑，他的太阳型重等离子则向寒冷的夜晚喷射蒸汽。

 

‘“Stop in the name of the Emperor?” Is that the best you’ve got, Lacrante?’

‘It seemed appropriate,’ said Lacrante, and holstered his gun.

‘You have him,’ Rostov said. His boots crunched to a stop on the snow, and he looked down at their captured prey. ‘I am pleased.’

 

“以帝皇之名停下?”你就这点本事吗拉特兰克?”

“但这样似乎也不错。”拉克兰特说着，收起了他的枪。

“你抓住他了。”罗斯托夫说道。他的靴子嘎吱一声停在雪地上，他低头看着他们捕获的猎物。“我很高兴”。

 

‘This is an inquisitor,’ said Antoniato to the man. ‘You know what one of those is, right?’ He shouldered his plasma rifle and together he and Lacrante hauled the prisoner up. He jabbered in an impenetrable dialect.

‘He was speaking Gothic just fine a moment ago,’ said Lacrante.

‘Remind him how to communicate,’ Rostov said.

Antoniato punched the man in the face. He swore. Rostov fixed the prisoner with his uncompromising gaze.

‘Who are you working for?’

 

“这是一位审判官。”安东尼亚托对躺在地上的那个刺客说道。 “你知道哪个I是什么意思，对吧？” 随后安东尼亚托扛起了他的等离子步枪，和拉克兰特一起把犯人拖了上来。 他用一种难以理解的方言喋喋不休。

“他刚才哥特语说的还不错，”拉克兰特说。

“提醒他如何沟通，”罗斯托夫说。

安东尼亚托回手直接抽了刺客一个耳光。而罗斯托夫则用他哪毫不妥协的目光紧紧的注视着犯人。

“你在为谁工作？”

 

The man spat blood. ‘I don’t know what you are talking about.’

‘Don’t play stupid,’ said Antoniato.

Rostov ran a finger around the man’s neck, until he snagged a cord and hooked it out, pulling up a bronze amulet. Like the xenos in the bar, he too wore the eight-pointed wheel of Chaos stamped into an open hand. Rostov looked at it with intense disdain.

 

那则人吐了口血狡辩道"我不知道你在说什么。"

“别装傻了，”安东尼亚托说。

罗斯托夫伸出手，掐住那人的脖子，扯下一根绳子并从中拽出了一个青铜护身符。就像酒吧里的异形刺客一样，他也戴着一只张开的手上印着的混沌八芒星。罗斯托夫轻蔑地望着它。

 

‘Where is the Hand of Abaddon? You wear his sigil. Tapind knew something, you silenced him. Who gave you the kill order? That will do for a start.’

The prisoner hissed some local curse. Antoniato pressed his knee into the man’s wounded leg. The prisoner grunted.

 

“阿巴顿之手在哪里？ 你戴上他的印记。塔平德知道些什么，所以你让他闭嘴。谁在最初给你下达的杀戮命令？

囚犯嘶嘶地骂了一句当地的本土脏话。 安东尼亚托则将膝盖压在男人受伤的腿上。囚徒强忍着剧痛哼了一声。

 

‘Show my master respect,’ Antoniato said.

The man bared his teeth. ‘Why? I am a servant of the Warmaster, the true lord of mankind. I have no care for your evil god. You will never break me.’

‘The power of the false gods is as nothing compared to the power of the Emperor.’ Rostov yanked the amulet, snapping the cord, and tossed the symbol into the snow. ‘They will not help you. The eye of the Emperor is upon you, and He sees all. You will tell me everything and die painlessly, or you will beg for mercy before I am done, and I will still know every thought you have ever had.’

 

“你最好向我的主人表现德尊敬点，”安东尼亚托说。

男人呲牙咧嘴。 '为什么？ 我是战帅的仆人，他才是人类真正的主宰。我不关心你的恶神。因为你们永远不会击败我。

“与皇帝的力量相比，那些伪神的力量微不足道。” 罗斯托夫猛拉护身符，折断了其绳索，将哪个亵渎的符号扔进雪地重。‘他们不会帮助你。 帝皇之眼在注视着你，他看到了一切。你也会告诉我知道一切，然后无痛的死去，或者在我说完之前你会向我求饶，这样我仍然会知道你曾经有过的每一个想法。

 

The man stared defiantly back. Rostov regarded him a moment, then looked from Antoniato to Lacrante.

‘Take him to the ship. We are finished with Chozteculpo. Cheelche, time to go.’

‘Got you, Leonid. I’m coming down.’

Antoniato and Lacrante dragged the assassin away. Rostov remained a moment, surveying the untidy pile of streets leading up the mountain, like a man who feels another’s stare upon his neck and searches for the watcher.

Seeing nothing, he turned and left.

In moments, the snow had covered their tracks.

刺客挑衅般的用眼神瞪了回去。 罗斯托夫看了他一会儿，然后看了看安东尼亚托和拉克兰特。

‘带他上船。 我们在乔特库尔波的任务完成了。 车切尔，该走了。

“明白了，列昂尼德。 我要下来了。

安东尼亚托和拉克兰特将刺客拖走。 罗斯托夫停留片刻，打量着通往山上的凌乱的街道，仿佛感觉到某种目光聚焦在在他的脖子上，罗斯托夫寻找了一会监视者。

但他什么也没看到，只得转身离去。

片刻间，大雪覆盖了他们的足迹。