The Peregrine Omnibus Volume One (6 page)

“The costuming bit was your own creation, Max. A bit too theatrical for my tastes. I was killed because I was in the wrong place at the wrong time… a victim of senseless violence. There are too many people in this world who escape the clutches of man’s law… my anger, my sense of vengeance, kept me on this plane… and I knew you could become my weapon against the kinds of men who killed me!”

“You used me… just like this demon is using Trench.”

Warren shook his head. “I gave you a purpose. Do you know how many men would give anything to have a real
purpose
? But you’re growing careless… and soft. Don’t wait for the visions to force you into action. You know what needs doing.”

“I’m not a murderer.”

“You’ve killed dozens of men, Max.”

The Peregrine turned away from his father, confusion making his thoughts difficult. He honestly wasn’t sure how he should feel at this moment. “You brought me here for what? To tell me that Trench is dangerous? I know that.”

“You need someone you can trust. With Leopold and your friends so far away, you’ll need an aide. Someone who knows your secrets… and to whom you can confide all your troubles.”

“I don’t need a sidekick.”

Warren Davies smiled sadly. “I knew you would say that… so I took the liberty of taking a few precautions.”

Max whirled on his father, anger making his face splotchy and red. Despite the cold air all around him, he felt like he was burning up. “Damn you! I
loved
you. I’ve tried to
honor
you. And this is what you do to me? Treat me a damned puppet?! Go back to Hell!”

The snow began to blow harder than ever, blotting out all visions of his father. Max felt himself falling backwards, tumbling head over foot… and he wondered again: was this real? Or just some awful nightmare?

He hoped for the latter.

CHAPTER XII

The Peregrine’s Nest

Max sat up with a start, recognizing his surroundings at once. He was in the storm cellar of his home, which he always kept locked up tight. It contained his equipment and papers, everything that would link him to the Peregrine…

“You startled me,” someone said from the shadows and it only took a second for Max to place the pleasing feminine voice.

“Evelyn?” he asked, all too aware that his mask was still in place and that his pistol remained tightly clutched in one hand. He looked down at it as Evelyn, lovely in a black dress and coat, moved into view.

She followed his gaze, shrugging. “You wouldn’t let it go,” she said by way of explanation. “And I learned a long time ago not to argue with an armed man.” Evelyn followed with a small laugh that was a bit too shrill. She was nervous… and so was Max.

He rose from the cot upon which he lay, reaching up to remove his mask. There was no point in hiding the truth now… and Max felt certain that his father, if he truly existed, was responsible for this. “How did we end up here? The last thing I remember was being downtown.”

“I was out with friends—a producer and his wife—when I thought I heard you calling my name. It was strange, really… we were all alone on the street and they said they heard nothing but…” Evelyn chewed her lower lip, her gaze locked on some faraway place. Max thought she looked beautiful. “I excused myself from them and went looking for you. A couple of blocks away, I found you. You were lying in an alleyway, bleeding from your shoulder.”

Max glanced over at his wound, which had been patched up rather clumsily. He peeled away the bandage and saw that there was a small bloody furrow where the bullet had grazed him.

Evelyn moved to stand beside him, still looking uncertain. “You told me to bring you here… even walked me through how to fix your arm. But you never woke up. It was like you were… sleepwalking.” Evelyn reached out and took the Peregrine mask from Max. “Is this what you do at night?”

“You must have heard the rumors about me…”

“Of course. But who would really believe them? How many men dress up like a bird and shoot people?” Evelyn gazed into his face, seeking some sign of the cultured, funny man she’d been so attracted to. “Why do you do this?”

Max contemplated coming up with a lie… but in the end, he decided to tell her the truth. Perhaps his father had been right, because relieving himself of the whole story seemed very cathartic. He told her everything, beginning with the death of his father, all the way up to his odd vision that preceded his awakening. During the whole affair, Evelyn remained at his side, even taking his hands in her own.

When all was said and done, she whistled softly and said, “And I thought I had daddy issues…”

Max laughed a bit too loudly but Evelyn joined in easily enough. “You must think I’m a candidate for a sanitarium.”

“Not really. We all have our vices and oddities.”

Max raised her hands to his lips and kissed them softly. The move surprised them both, but it felt natural, as well. “What are your vices, Evelyn?”

A wicked smile touched her full lips. “Perhaps I’ll tell you about them, Mr. Davies. But now is not the time.”

“Why not?”

“Because, in your little fever dream, you told me to call the airport and have them clear us for flying.”

That brought Max clear of any fantasies he might have been developing. “I did?”

“Yep. We’re supposed to be flying to Kassel, Germany. Wherever that is.” Evelyn shook her head, sending her lovely curls flying. “Do you really have a plane that can fly that far?”

“Yes. A special one. It’s the fastest plane in the world and capable of making several round-the-globe trips without refueling.”

“That’s amazing! Did you invent it?”

“Well, parts of it. A friend of mine named Clark aided with other aspects.” Max smiled at the look of amazement she wore, reaching out to touch her cheek. “But you’re not coming with me. Remember the visions I had about you being in danger? The only way I can see to avoid that is for you to stay here.”

“Absolutely not.” Evelyn’s eyes flashed. “This is the most exciting thing that’s ever happened to me, Max. And I’m not about to let you cut me out of it.”

“But what if those visions were real?”

“Then I’ll take the experience of being mauled by a mummy and put it into my next performance.”

“You’re the crazy one,” Max laughed.

Evelyn jumped as the phone rang upstairs. Max held a finger to his lips and then moved over to another phone, gently lifting the receiver from its cradle. He heard Nettie’s voice immediately.

“Mr. Davies isn’t in, Sheriff. But I’ll sure enough tell him you called.”

“Make sure you do. Mr. Beauregard Ellis was found shot to death this evening… and next to his body was a small note pad with your employer’s name on it. That makes him a suspect, Nettie… so if you see him, you best let me know… or you’re an accessory.”

Max set the phone back down, not bothering to hear Nettie’s answer. “We have to go. Trench has set me up.” He looked around the storm cellar—his “nest.” Should he burn its contents? Once they found out he was missing, the police would surely search the house.

A spiteful thought came to him.
If you’re listening, dad… I’ll leave it to you that no one disturbs this place. If they do, my usefulness to you is over…

Evelyn was brushing back her hair, looking flushed and excited. “So now we’re fugitives, are we?”

“You seem to like that.”

Evelyn shrugged, but the smile never left her face. “I need a fancy name like yours. Maybe Swan? Goes well with Peregrine, I think.”

Max put his mask back into place, wondering just where all this would go in the end. Evelyn seemed to enjoy the danger just a tad too much… but she would certainly keep things interesting, he suspected.

CHAPTER XIII

Winged Devils

“This plane is amazing.”

The Peregrine sat at the controls of his proudest creation, allowing himself the briefest of smiles. During his solitary crusade against evil, Max had missed out on the pleasures of sharing his creations with others. “I call her Nite-Wing. She’s the fastest plane in the world… if I open up the engines all the way we can reach speeds of 340 mph.”

Evelyn’s eyes flew open. She sat at Max’s side, dressed in a pair of khaki slacks and a safari-style button-up shirt. A leather flight jacket completed the outfit and gave her the look of an adventuress.

Max, meanwhile, was dressed in full Peregrine regalia, including mask.

“You get more interesting all the time, Max” she purred, watching in admiration as his fingers danced along the controls. Out the main window, she could see ocean waters through the fog.

The Peregrine found himself telling her more than she probably wanted to know, in an effort to impress her.
I’m acting like a school boy
, he thought wryly. “The Nite-Wing has an 18-cylinder engine and 15-foot propellers. It’s also got a triple-fin tail to aid in flying.”

“How did you pay for it? It must have cost you a mint.”

“My parents left me a large nest egg… and some of my inventions have been put to private use by the government, providing me with even more income.”

“Does anyone in the government know you’re the Peregrine?”

“One or two friends, yes. They help keep a few of the prying eyes out of my business. But there’s only so much they can do without arousing suspicion on their end. And I’ve gotten sloppy lately. Attracted too much attention on the local level. That’s why I left my home and came to Atlanta.” He paused, swallowing hard. “I wonder sometimes if I’m not trying to get caught.”

“Your father’s the reason you can’t give it up, though. It’s not like you’re crazy.” One corner of Evelyn’s lips turned upwards in a smile. “Is it?”

“You believe me about my father being a ghost?”

“Why not? You dress like a bird and shoot people. We’re flying in your super-secret airplane. I can certainly believe in ghosts when all that other stuff is around.”

Max nodded, understanding her point. His life was full of oddities and once you began to accept them, everything else fell into place. He glanced over at Evelyn and grinned. “When all this is said and done, how about you and I go someplace? Away from Atlanta, I mean.”

“What exactly are you proposing?” she asked, arching an eyebrow.

“A vacation. That is, if you’re not busy with a new play.”

“Nothing that starts in the next few weeks.” She reached out and squeezed his hand. “I’d like that.”

Before Max could respond, the entire plane began to rattle loudly. Checking his instruments, the Peregrine noticed that the fog had increased tenfold, leaving him flying blind. “We can’t be far from Germany,” he said, shouting over the rising din. “We’re in the North Sea now.”

“Turbulence?” Evelyn asked, checking to make sure her seatbelt was buckled.

Just then, the fog parted a bit in front of them and Max saw something through the haze… a figure of pure impossibility. “I don’t think we’re that lucky,” he whispered.

“What do you—oh my God!” Evelyn’s voice became strained as she, too, saw the thing ahead of them. It bore the body of a woman, bare-breasted, but the lower extremities transformed into feathery bird legs complete with claws. The thing’s face was a mockery of humanity, its mouth parting to reveal razor-sharp teeth. Gigantic wings spread out from its back, flapping as it remained airborne. “What is that thing?”

“A harpy,” Max answered, banking the plane away from the creature. From the back of the vessel came a terrible ripping of metal, following by a steep decline in altitude. “And she’s not alone from the sounds of things.”

“What should we do?” Evelyn asked, her hair beginning to whip about wildly. The cabin was beginning to depressurize and Max knew that there was no saving his plane.

“Unbuckle,” he shouted, doing the same. Grabbing Evelyn’s wrist, he pulled her towards the back of the plane. “We haven’t got long. Have you ever parachuted before?”

“What?” she asked with alarm. “Of course not!”

“What about that movie you made?
Perils of Gwendolyn
?”

“That was three years ago!”

“Evelyn…”

“That was a movie, Max! I didn’t actually jump from a plane!”

The Peregrine plucked up a parachute in one hand and began slipping the straps over Evelyn’s shoulders. “Count to three and pull this cord.”

“You’re not serious!”

Another sudden impact knocked both of them off their feet. Max was up first, drawing his pistol. “Something just entered the rear of the plane,” he said.

“A harpy?” Evelyn asked, pulling herself up by holding on to the side of the plane.

Max didn’t respond—the answer was clear enough when one of the horrible creatures, hissing and snapping at the air, moved into the cabin. The harpy looked from Evelyn to Max, obviously trying to decide which would make the better meal. The Peregrine decided to make the choice a simple one by unloading his pistol in the thing’s direction. The bullets struck home, driving through the harpy’s body and sending a stream of bluish-tinged blood to the floor.

The plane’s nose took another steep turn downwards and Max felt the wind buffeting him. “You have to jump, Evelyn!”

“What about you?”

The Peregrine pulled her towards the door, which he opened with a grunt. He peered out enough to see that they were no more than a few hundred feet up… and dropping rapidly. Two more of the harpies were outside, circling the falling plane. “I’m coming… but I’ll be distracting them away from you.”

“Max,” she screamed as he pushed her towards the door. “I love you.”

The Peregrine paused for a second. She couldn’t actually mean those words, for they barely knew each other… at least in the intimate way that led to such things. The power of the moment was at work, he mused… but the look in her eyes…

Throwing caution to the wind, he kissed her hard on the mouth before whispering “I love you, too.” Before she could reply, Max hurled her out of the plane. She fell, screaming, to the rapidly approaching ground.

The Peregrine grabbed hold of a spare parachute and leaped from the plane, targeting one of the harpies with his pistol. His first shot went wide left, but the second shot caught the thing in its wing. While Evelyn opened her parachute, Max drew a bead on the remaining creature. It saw him and lunged, clawed hands outstretched.