The Peregrine Omnibus Volume One (8 page)

“Don’t worry… whatever strange vision you had about me isn’t necessarily going to come true. You said that yourself.”

“It’s a lot less likely to come true if you’re not in the tomb with me,” Max countered. “Please.”

Evelyn avoided his gaze, instead reaching into her ample cleavage and retrieving a small strip of black cloth. To Max’s astonishment, she tied it about her head, fitting two small eyeholes over the appropriate areas. “There. To protect my identity.”

“You’re being quite silly,” Max whispered, though he couldn’t help but be amused. He realized that this was the first time he could ever recall being on a mission and feeling so jovial at the same time.
Maybe you were right, father
, he mused.
Maybe I let my crusade be a solitary one for far too long.

“Shouldn’t you don your own mask?” Evelyn asked. She had produced a small pistol from somewhere and was checking to make sure the gun was fully loaded.

Max stepped off the road, into the growing shadow. He changed quickly, old habits stepping to the fore. If Evelyn were serious about this, he would stop trying to dissuade her. “That gun won’t do much damage to a full grown man… and even less to a monster from beyond.”

“You have a spare I could borrow, then?”

Max considered it, but finally shook his head no. He had two pistols on him but he would most likely need both. “Just be aware of its limitations. Use it to threaten an attacker, but don’t have faith it’ll save your skin in a pinch.”

“You fill me with confidence,” she responded dryly.

The Peregrine didn’t bother responding. Instead, he began moving through the shadows at a steady clip. He heard Evelyn keeping pace behind him but he didn’t allow his own speed to slacken. If they were going to make it out of this alive, he would have to—

Max stumbled to the ground, pain suddenly rendering him unable to move. In his mind’s eye he could see Trench, standing alongside another man… one dressed like an Egyptian priest. They were moving through the oddly shaped tomb of Christian Rosenkreuz, a tomb that was filled with objects of dark power. “He’s alive,” Max said aloud, realization flooding through him. “Rosenkreuz is alive…”

“Max?” Evelyn asked, reaching out a shaking hand to grasp at his shoulder.

The Peregrine shook his head to clear it of the dark images, but one lingered beyond the rest. Rosenkreuz had been showing something to Jacob… a golden key. Turning his attention back to Evelyn, the Peregrine answered, “I saw him. Trench has opened the tomb. Rosenkreuz is with him. He’s going to give him the key!”

“But… how could he still be alive? Is he one of those zombie things?”

“No. He seemed different from those that we saw in Atlanta.” The Peregrine rose to his feet again, his jaw firmly set. “I think he’s something else entirely.”

Evelyn started to ask something further, but her words were lost in the sudden roar of flames. A wall of fire rose up between her and Max, one that would have swallowed her whole had the Peregrine not shoved her back at the last moment. Beyond the flames, which extended now in a full square around the Peregrine, Evelyn could see nothing… but she heard voices.

Alongside Max’s, there was another.

CHAPTER XVII

K’ntu

The Peregrine coughed as the smoke filled his lungs, but he been in many fires during his adventuring career. Flame did not frighten him… nor did the Asian man who had materialized before him.

It was K’ntu, the aged advisor to Jacob Trench.

“Is your boy Jacob with you?” the Peregrine asked, drawing both his pistols and brandishing them before him.

K’ntu stood with the flames dancing behind him. A self-satisfied smile lay upon his face and his eyes, which seemed so ancient and wise, were full of mirth. His robes whipped about in the wind, which had appeared to fan the flames. “He is busy at work. Our master will soon be unleashed from his prison.”

“Shouldn’t you be there with him? Celebrate the occasion?”

“I thought it best that I come to you, Mr. Davies. Jacob does not realize the threat you pose.”

“But you do, I take it.”

“Most certainly. You have a gift, one both potent and terrible. Your mind is attuned to the Other Side. That is what allows your father to keep his tether to this world. You are the portal through which he exists.”

Max frowned. How did K’ntu know…?

“I know many things,” the old man answered, as if reading the Peregrine’s thoughts. “For I have lived a very long time… and my eyes can see past the veils of reality.”

“Then I guess you knew these were coming, didn’t you?” Max raised both pistols and fired, unleashing a torrent of bullets. To his amazement, however, K’ntu dodged them all. He was a blur of movement, his actions too fast for the human eye to follow.

“You think I am human, do you?” K’ntu taunted. “You think that I have stayed alive all these centuries because of some spell or potion? I still live because my kind are far older than you and yours!”

Beyond the flames, the Peregrine heard Evelyn calling his name. He didn’t respond, hoping to keep K’tnu’s attention fully on him. “Then what are you? A demon?”

“There was life on this sphere before mankind’s ascendance, Mr. Davies. My kind once ruled over land and sea… until the false God of the Christians chose to hand over power to the short-lived hairless apes that he loved so much!”

The Peregrine jumped back as K’ntu rushed at him, the man’s aged fingers elongating into claws. They raked at the air, just missing Max’s face and neck. The Peregrine answered with another flurry of bullets, emptying his chambers. He began to reload, noticing that this time there were bloody smears appearing beneath the Asian’s clothing. He had hit his foe, but it was not enough. He hurriedly reloaded, this time using the special rounds he himself had invented. These could take down an elephant…

K’ntu whirled about, his face changing in color. Beneath his skin, scales began to appear, gradually becoming larger until they swelled out and over the human mask he wore. These scales spread out over his entire body and Max watched in mounting horror as something began to press against the backside of the old man’s pants. It burst through a moment later, swinging from side to side. A reptilian tale.

“Do you see me now?” K’tnu hissed. “Mankind’s primal fear of reptiles dates back to the wars our kind waged, long ago. But once the master is free, he will reward his faithful followers… and humanity will serve as our cattle!”

K’ntu jumped into the air and the Peregrine fired again, this time using his more powerful rounds. They tore into the lizard man’s belly, spilling blood that sizzled upon the ground. But they did not prevent K’ntu from landing hard atop the Peregrine, sending him tumbling down. Claws and teeth raked across Max’s torso, drawing bloody lines across his flesh.

Max twisted beneath his powerful flow, disgusted by the way K’ntu’s skin felt against his own. It was like rolling about with a python, one whose stamina was far greater than any human’s.

The Peregrine managed to swing his feet up, latching them around K’ntu’s head. He rolled then, knocking his foe from atop him. K’ntu landed close enough to the flames that his tail brushed against them and made him jerk away.

Ignoring the pain he felt, the Peregrine struggled to his knees and reached into his cloak. He drew out a dagger, the one that he’d found in Darkholme’s lair. The blade was inscribed with mystic runes of a sort that Max did not recognize… but given the fact that his bullets were having too little effect, Max hoped they might carry some power he could use against K’ntu.

The lizard man was stalking his prey once more, blood dripping from a dozen or more bullet holes. “You are brave for a human, Mr. Davies. But surely you realize that there are cycles to all things… mankind and its God have ruled in ascendancy for far too long. It is only natural for things to reverse upon occasion. Put down your weapons and beg for mercy… perhaps I shall grant it to you. Perhaps you will be allowed to serve in our master’s army!”

“Go back to Hell,” Max answered. He dove forward, pushing the blade in front of him. It met with resistance when it struck the lizard man’s stomach and for a moment Max feared he lacked the strength to pierce his opponent’s scaly hide. But then the runes began to glow and an awful ear-splitting wail filled the air. Then the blade was on the move, slicing through the lizard man’s skin like it was a warm knife passing through butter.

K’ntu howled in pain, a scream of torment that only worsened as Max began digging the blade in deeper, twisting it from side to side until a deep rift had appeared in the scaly flesh. Intestines, warm and slimy, gushed out upon Max’s hands and the repugnant smell made him retch. He finally shoved K’ntu away from him, holding firmly onto the still-glowing blade.

The lizard man landed hard on the ground, gasping for air. He wheezed like an old man who had run too far, too fast.

The walls of flame began to burn down to nothingness, revealing the worried visage of Evelyn. She started to run to Max, but the Peregrine held her back with a shake of his head.

Stumbling over to the prone form of K’ntu, the Peregrine knelt down and nudged the lizard man’s arm. The elder being turned to stare at him with glassy eyes. “The Master will remember my sacrifice, Mr. Davies.” K’ntu coughed, sending a spray of bloody droplets into the air. “And he will remember you and yours forever. I curse you and your bloodline. I curse you to…”

The Peregrine raised the dagger and brought it down into his foe’s chest. He repeated this action twice more, stopping only when he was sure that K’ntu was dead.

“Max…”

The Peregrine turned to face his beloved, reaching up to wipe blood from his chin. The action only spread more of the gore across his face. “I’m fine. My wounds are superficial ones. Were you hurt?”

“Of course not,” Evelyn laughed nervously. “You were the one fighting… whatever the hell that was.”

The Peregrine sighed, feeling tired. “That… was what awaits the world if we don’t stop Trench.”

CHAPTER XVIII

A Match Made in Hell

“A bride?” Trench found himself unable to quite grasp what he’d been told. His eyes kept drifting back to the golden key that rested under a glass seal. Rosenkreuz had taken Trench to the key, but had warned that he would not be allowed to take it until their awful bargain had been completed.

“Yes,” the ancient being replied. Rosenkreuz was pacing about the chamber, oblivious to the dust and cobwebs that surrounded him. In his eyes, this was still a palace of wonders, a place where he and his followers could live out their days in splendor. “I once intended to take a mate, a woman who would bear me holy children. I have conducted many experiments upon myself, Mr. Trench. That is why I am so long lived… and so powerful. But my bloodline cannot continue unless I have a woman who can bear such unholy seed.”

“Bear it?”

“Most die at its touch. It burns them up alive, from the inside out.”

Trench swallowed hard, trying to ignore the images that came to mind. “I don’t understand why you think that I could…”

“Have you ever seen a woman like this?” Rosenkreuz held out an open palm. An image began to form in the air above his hand, slowly shaping a familiar visage. “Long ago, I coveted this girl… but she was denied me, through her own willful arrogance. But my second sight has told me that in this time, in this place, she lives again. Give her to me.”

Trench licked his lips before speaking. “I do know her. Her name is Evelyn Gould. She’s a rather poor excuse for an actress.”

“She is beautiful,” Rosenkreuz responded, his eyes flashing hotly.

“My apologies. I didn’t mean to insult her.” Trench ran a hand through his hair, unsure how to continue. The girl was in America… and Trench didn’t have time or patience to journey back there just to retrieve her. Could he somehow steal the key?

And then he felt it… a subtle shift in his reality. He felt bile rise up in his throat and he turned away from Rosenkreuz, vomiting up the contents of his stomach. He smelled burning reptilian flesh… and heard the dying screams of his mentor.

“What is wrong?” Rosenkreuz asked. The ancient being had approached Trench but avoided touching him. Instead, he gazed at the sick features of the other man with distaste.

“K’ntu is dead. The man who tutored me in the dark arts… who prepared me for the opening of the Cage. He’s dead.”

“How do you know this?”

“I think he sent me a message… right as he was dying.” Trench straightened, wiping at his mouth with the back of a sleeve. “You have weapons?” he asked.

“Of course.”

“Good. Because my mentor’s killer is on the way here… and best of all, he’s not alone.”

Rosenkreuz narrowed his eyes. “And this is a good thing?”

“You bet it is. You ready to meet your bride-to-be? Because she’s with him.”

CHAPTER XIX

Into the Tomb

“This place stinks.”

The Peregrine grunted in agreement. He and Evelyn had crept down the stairs of the Druselturm, able to see very little in the pitch black darkness. Here and there they saw shattered lamps and snuffed-out candles, alongside digging equipment. But all was silent down in the basement area, which only put Max further on edge. The scent of the place was one of earth and age, but there was something else, as well.

Death.

Max stepped into the basement and immediately felt his foot come into contact with something. He knelt and examined it with one hand, identifying it. “Evelyn. Stop where you are.”

The girl did so, gripping her pistol and remaining poised for a fight. She was truthfully scared to death but she didn’t plan on letting Max know that.

The Peregrine reached into his pocket and retrieved a flare. He lit it, illuminating the entire basement area. Evelyn gasped behind him as the bodies and gore came into view: a small army of Germans, slaughtered and torn apart. It looked like a pack of wolves had been set upon them.

But far more intriguing was the shattered hole in one of the walls. Max could see a passageway on the other side, one that led directly into the tomb from his visions.

“Do you think there are more harpies here?” Evelyn asked. She had tended to his wounds as best she could on the way here, but Max had been a bit cold to her. He felt like he’d reached the end of this particular adventure—or at least close enough that there could be no more hesitation.