The Peregrine Omnibus, Volume Two (26 page)

“Your bravado nearly cost you your life,” the Manchu said with distaste.

“Thank God you’re too much of a gentleman to say ‘I told you so,’” Max said under his breath. He staggered to his feet, testing the range of motion in all his limbs. Nothing appeared to be broken, though his entire body ached.

“Now perhaps you will allow me to aid in the planning of our next move.” The Warlike Manchu folded his arms in front of him, his hands disappeared into the oversized sleeves of his robes.

“You sound like you have something in mind,” Max muttered.

“I do.” The Manchu studied him for a moment before speaking again. “You saw your woman?”

“I… did. But it wasn’t what I was expecting. She talked with an accent and claimed that she wasn’t Evelyn anymore, that she was a woman named Justine. And… she seemed to be just as much in love with Gustav as he was with her.”

The Manchu turned away, arms still crossed before him. “I have no answers for questions of the heart, my pupil. But I know this: we must make haste.”

Max nodded, not even noticing at first that the Manchu had called him “pupil,” just as he had years before.
Don’t fool yourself, Manchu, things aren’t back the way they used to be. When we don’t need each other anymore, I’m taking you down—for the final time.

CHAPTER XII

The Vampire and the Fuehrer

Twenty-four hours later, Randolph Gustav and his beloved Justine stood in Hitler’s private study in Berlin. The two of them had slept together in Gustav’s coffin during the day and had made love upon waking. Gustav had yet to drink from her, however—he wanted to savor that moment when they would renew that sort of union. She had said little since watching Max Davies go hurtling out of the zeppelin to his death, and this pleased Gustav immensely. Somewhere inside of the girl’s head still lurked Evelyn Davies, but she was obviously buried deep, being quieted by the strength of Justine’s will. They were one soul but two minds, and Gustav hoped that Justine’s would prove to be the stronger over time.

“Why is he making us wait like this?” Justine asked, fidgeting a bit as she looked at the powerful portrait of Hitler hanging above the room’s fireplace.

“It’s his way of showing power over me,” Gustav explained. “When I left, I did so after stealing the Manchu’s body from storage. I have refused to make contact with him since… in effect, I became rogue. He has done a good job keeping it quiet but those closest to him know it. Now he must decide: does he accept me back, does he try to punish me, or does he try to kill me?”

“And what do you think I have chosen to do, my old friend?”

Both Gustav and Justine turned to see Hitler entering the room. He looked bright-eyed despite the hour, but this didn’t surprise Gustav at all. The man was notorious for keeping late hours, sometimes not having his dinner until two or three o’clock in the morning.

The baron offered the infamous stiff-armed salute. “My Fuehrer! I apologize for my unexpected absence.”

“I do hope you have a good excuse for it,” Hitler said, gripping his belt as he approached. He studied Justine with glittering eyes. “Or was it all for this
fraulein
? Men have done stupid things in the name of love before.”

“This is Justine… years ago, she was my lover and partner. Then she died, but she has been reborn.”

Hitler accepted this with a smile. The man’s obsession with the occult was not the only thing that was driving the Reich into the ground—simple poor decision-making was doing that just fine—but it certainly wasn’t helping. “Astonishing! Another sign that we live in wondrous times.” Hitler’s smile faded as he moved around his desk and sat down. He did not offer Gustav or Justine a chair. “Now… why did you steal from me? And why did you not answer my attempts at contact?”

Gustav lifted the Rod of Aaron from its position on his belt. “I needed the Manchu so that he might help me find an artifact of great power. He led me to this: the Rod of Aaron. As depicted in the Bible, it contains tremendous eldritch energies.”

“And a vampire can wield it?” Hitler asked, licking his lips in anticipation of holding such a weapon.

“Yes. I was a bit surprised myself. But I have mastered it.”

Hitler’s eyes narrowed again. “And you have brought it to me?”

“In a sense, I have.”

“What do you mean?”

Gustav pointed the Rod at the leader of the German people. “The peoples of the new German empire have lost a brave and courageous leader. Adolf Hitler, who rose from obscurity to dominate Europe, suffered a powerful heart attack that killed him within minutes. Thankfully, even in his last seconds of life, he was thinking of the German people. He signed an order turning over all power in the Reich to Baron Randolph Gustav.”

Hitler glanced down to see a sheet of paper and a pen, waiting for him. “You are mad!” he snapped, starting to rise. To his chagrin, he found an invisible force holding him in place—and soon, despite his physical protests, his hand began to rise, moving to grasp the pen. He began to write, though he strained not to. “Stop this!” he tried to shout, but the words died in his throat.

“I can’t have you calling for help,” Gustav explained, using the Rod’s power to ensure his victory. “Adolf, I must tell you… you were very kind to me at times. I had high hopes for you. It’s just a pity that your reach exceeds your grasp in the end. Still, you put the pieces in place for a German victory… it just requires a steadier hand—one like mine—to seal the deal.”

Hitler’s hand continued writing but his eyes never left those of his vampire advisor. “You will not get away with this. The German people will never follow you! They will realize that this was a fraud!”

Gustav’s face shifted, revealing his true features. “Prepare to die,
Mein Fuehrer
. You had a good life.”

The sounds of gunfire in the hallway caused Gustav to hold off. He turned towards the door, confusion in his eyes.

Justine moved closer to the fireplace, suddenly feeling very cold inside. “It’s him,” she said quietly.

Her vampire lover glanced at her. “Who?” he demanded.

“You know…
Him
. The Peregrine. He didn’t die.”

“Impossible! I threw him out of a moving zeppelin! He had no parachute!”

Justine’s face seemed to shift every slightly and she threw her hands up to the side of her head. Her entire body seemed to shake as an unseen war was suddenly being waged. In Evelyn’s voice, she said triumphantly. “Better men than you have tried to kill my Max.” She looked up at Gustav and laughed, her eyes shining. “Get ready to go back in your box, baron. He’s going to kill you.”

* * *

The Peregrine ran down the hall, shooting and killing as he went. He’d already downed nearly a dozen men and more were soon to fall. Once he’d finally allowed the Warlike Manchu to handle the planning of this operation, things had gone surprisingly smoothly. The Manchu had contacts in Berlin, whose sole purpose seemed to be to watch the movements of the Fuehrer. When they informed Max and the Manchu that a man and woman were to meet with Hitler in his private office, the course had seemed clear.

Max had urged for the current action, however: a fast, lightning fast strike that the Nazis would not be expecting. The Manchu, to his credit, was more than holding up his side of the bargain. The villain was at Max’s heels, dealing with whatever guards managed to avoid the Peregrine’s bullets.

Thanks to the Manchu’s spies, the Peregrine knew exactly where he was going, the location of Hitler’s study having been seared into his mind. He found the room he needed, lowered his shoulder, and barreled inside.

He found Hitler seated behind his desk, his hand slowing as he finished composing some sort of letter. The villain’s mouth was shut but it seemed as if he was straining to say something.

Standing in front of Hitler was Gustav, the Rod of Aaron held in his grasp. And near the fireplace was Evelyn, who smiled at him as he entered. Seeing that expression of joy lifted much of the darkness that had clouded Max’s mood over the last day.

The vampire smiled coldly. “Mr. Davies. You are a wonder, aren’t you? Originally, I had planned to dine on your blood… but once I found Justine, I discarded that. Why worry about you when I could have her? But you seem set on offering me your life, so why not enjoy both?” Gustav started to channel energy through the Rod but a series of shuriken ripped into his arm, causing him to drop the legendary piece of wood.

The Warlike Manchu stepped up behind the Peregrine, more of the deadly throwing stars in his hand. “The VSS is on their way,” he warned Max. “I shall slow them down but not even I can hold them all off.”

“Understood.” The Peregrine looked at Evelyn. “Are you back in your right mind?”

She ran to him, laughing. “As sane as I’ll ever be. That cow who was in possession of my body is back locked up—hearing that you were here gave me the strength to take control.”

“That cow,” the Warlike Manchu reminded her, “is most likely a manifestation of your past memories. But she is not a separate entity—rather she is simply your memories given new form. You should be able to master them with the appropriate training.”

“Can we talk about this some other time?” the Peregrine asked. “Evelyn, go with the Manchu—get out of the building.” He handed her a pistol. “Use this if he tries anything.”

“Justine!” Gustav said, moving closer to them. He made no move to grab the fallen Rod and he didn’t notice that Hitler was now freed of its control. The Fuehrer was slowing rising from his seat, watching the strange scene play out before him. “You can’t leave me—not after we found each other again.

Evelyn’s expression softened and for a moment Gustav thought he saw his Justine come to the fore. “I’m sorry, Rudolph. I loved you… a part of me always will. But this is a new day. And I’m not Justine anymore. My name is Evelyn. And I’m very happily married.”

Without another word, she turned and gripped the Manchu by the sleeve, pulling him out into the hallway.

The Nazi vampire hissed like an injured cat when his beloved disappeared from sight. “You stole her from me! I finally got her back and you stole her!” he roared, his words coming out in gasps of anger.

“Looked to me like she chose where she wanted to be,” Max responded. He holstered his pistol and drew the Knife of Elohim. Without the Rod in hand, the Knife was quite capable of reducing Gustav to dust… but Max knew he would have to strike quickly and accurately.

Gustav moved with incredible speed, slamming into the Peregrine and lifting him off the floor. He threw the Peregrine across the room, letting him bounce off the wall. Max winced in pain but had no time to try and recover, for the vampire was upon him again, lifting him up and yanking his head to the side, baring his neck. Gustav leaned in to rip open his foe’s throat but Max struck out blindly with the Knife of Elohim, catching Gustav in the side. The blow didn’t go very deep but it was enough to make Gustav cry out and drop his opponent.

The Peregrine slashed out again, catching Gustav in the leg, but this time the leader of the VSS was ready to respond. He slammed his fist down on the top of Max’s head, causing his ears to ring. He followed this with two more blows that were almost strong enough to break the vigilante’s neck.

Max sagged to the floor, blood dripping from mouth and nose. He felt confused, and he wasn’t sure how long he could stay conscious. He was just thankful that Evelyn had gotten away… the Manchu was a monster, but he would take her out of this place. Of that, Max felt certain.

The baron lifted the Peregrine to his feet. He stared into Max’s glassy eyes and smiled, his fangs shining wetly. “You are a fascinating man… you accomplish so much with your fragile little body. When I drink from you, I’ll savor every drop and you’ll make me stronger.” He leaned closer, whispering to his foe, “And then I’ll go and find your Evelyn, and I’ll wake Justine again. And she’ll make love to me just as passionately as she did just a few hours ago.”

Max felt his heart skip a beat but he tried to tell himself that his wife had been under a spell, she hadn’t been herself. But the pain was still powerful—because he knew that Gustav wasn’t making this up. The look of triumph in the vampire’s eyes made that quite clear.

Gustav’s fangs brushed against Max’s throat, his tongue darting out to first taste the flesh. Max girded himself for the piercing of his skin, and suddenly Gustav had flung him away and was screaming.

The Peregrine landed on his rear, barely keeping himself from toppling over. He rose unsteadily to his feet as he tried to figure out what had saved him. And then he saw it: Hitler had retrieved the Rod of Aaron and was now facing the vampire, brandishing the mystic weapon like a sword. Energy flashed from the Rod, striking the vampire again and again. The powerful force was stripping away Gustav’s skin with every strike, exposing red meat and bone.

Gustav fell to his knees, reaching out beseech his former ally for mercy.

Hitler laughed hoarsely. “Disgusting beast! Germany will never bow down before the likes of you!” He pointed the Rod again and a final burst of energy exploded from its tip, enveloping the vampire. Gustav’s final scream echoed throughout the room as he was completely disintegrated, no trace of him left behind.

The Fuehrer stood for a moment, as if fully digesting the power he now possessed. Gunshots, sirens, and loud shouts were beginning to filter in now, as word of a possible assassination attempt on Hitler had begun to reach the proper authorities.

Hitler looked at the Peregrine, who stood bleeding nearby. Max had followed the entire conversation, even though the various participants had slipped back and forth from English to German and back again. With Hitler, though, all words spoken were in German. “I know who you are. Max Davies, they said.”

The Peregrine exhaled slowly. Even if he managed to somehow escape with his life, the Nazis now knew his secret identity… he’d never be safe.

Hitler, meanwhile, was continuing his rant. “You have cost me many of my finest agents. You have foiled plan after plan after plan!” The Fuehrer stamped his booted foot. “But now you are mine. And you will tell me everything you can that might help me win this war!”