**A Horus Heresy short story** As Calth burns, the Titans of the Fire Masters and True Messengers duel over the ruined city of Ithraca. With the Ultramarines scattered, who will defend the terrified population? **READ IT BECAUSE** It’s Titan on Titan action on a dying world, but despite the scale of the armoured behemoths, the heart of the story is a mortal woman and her family. And Aaron Dembski-Bowden has called this his favourite Horus Heresy story ever – worth a try, we think. **THE STORY** As Calth burns, the Battle Titans of the Fire Masters legion take to the streets of the city of Ithraca, ready to massacre the fleeing civilian population in the name of their new, dark masters. But the remaining loyalist engines of the Legio Praesagius – the True Messengers – still stand ready to defend the Imperium, even in the face of almost certain death. With the nearby Ultramarines forces scattered and lost, the people of Ithraca must fend for themselves as gigantic war machines unleash apocalyptic weaponry across the ravaged skyline… This story also appears in Legacies of Betrayal, book XXXI of the Horus Heresy series. The prose version of Gav Thorpe’s Audio Drama released in May 2013.