The Peregrine Omnibus, Volume Two Read online

  “You really think he’s that dangerous?” the Peregrine asked, keeping his eyes on Kirsten.

  “I can’t begin to describe to you how dangerous he really is. A few years ago, when the super-agent program was starting up in Berlin, Krupp volunteered for several of the surgeries that were required. He ended up with several bionic body parts: one eye is now capable of zeroing in on targets nearly a mile away, both of his arms are now capable of lifting four times as much weight as normal, and his torso is resistant to small arms fire.”

  “Why didn’t he adopt a new identity?” the Peregrine asked, remembering the Nazi penchant for costumed theatrics. That tendency had led not only to the Iron Maiden but the Black Zeppelin and the Grim Reaper, amongst others.

  “Because he’s too arrogant for that. He wants everyone to know who he is.” Kirsten’s tone was full of a bit too much vitriol for normal, and her husband glanced her way. Kirsten shrugged in response. “He tried to seduce me. He doesn’t take no for an answer.”

  “And what about the Golden Goblin? Are you familiar with the creature?” Max asked, not wanting the conversation sidetracked by Krupp’s sexual advances.

  “I heard rumors but I never saw it. Some sort of monster that they were raising.”

  “Whatever it is, it’s grown now and it killed one of my men.” McKenzie stood up and hitched his thumbs in the holster that was slung across his hips. “You know if you need any help, you’ve got it from us.”

  “I wouldn’t be averse to any excuse to put back on the armor,” Kirsten admitted.

  “Thanks, both of you. I’ll call you if I think I’ll end up needing your help.” The Peregrine started to leave when the small transmitting device in his pocket began to chime. Based on experimental technology that essentially turned a small radio device into a mobile phone, Max had shared it with some of his closest aides for emergencies. “Yes?” he asked, holding it up to his ear.

  The voice of Richard Nova came through loud and clear, as if he were standing in the same room. Nova was a master of information, a sleuth who specialized in crime that went beyond the norm. “I hope that I haven’t called at an inconvenient time.”

  “Not at all. What do you have for me?” The Peregrine left the police station through a rear entrance, one set aside by McKenzie for just such purposes. Though the Peregrine’s problems with law enforcement had been cleared up years ago, he still didn’t want to attract too much attention.

  Outside, the Peregrine’s modified roadster was waiting for him. The vehicle was painted black so that it could blend into the long shadows of the night and its motor had been modified so that it was now a completely silent ride.

  Nova continued speaking as the Peregrine slid behind the wheel and started up the car. “You asked me to keep an eye out for Krupp and his allies. I think I might have a lead for you.”

  “Let’s hear it.”

  “A hotel room was rented in the name of Johann Schultz. I traced his background and found that he’s a German soldier. According to his files, he left the army just a few months ago, but I think that’s just a cover to smooth his entry into our country. Witnesses at the hotel say that he was accompanied at check-in by a handsome man with an unusual eye… and a hulking brute who hid his face from those who saw him. They did mention that the big fellow had a peculiar odor, as well.”

  “Give me the hotel address,” the Peregrine said, cruising through the side streets of Atlanta.

  “I don’t think it’s needed, to be honest. They checked out earlier today. I went ahead and had some feelers put out to try and find out if they are leaving Atlanta, but haven’t found anything to suggest they have. In fact, I think they have some plan they’re putting into motion. Johann Schultz was spotted twice around town this morning but no one knows what he was up to.”

  “Damn it,” the Peregrine hissed. “So all we know is that they’re still in the city, but nothing else?”

  “Actually, I might have one more piece of information that you will find useful. I happen to believe that you’ll be able to find at least one of them at Oakland Cemetery sometime this afternoon or evening.”

  “What makes you think that?”

  “I delved into research about this Golden Goblin and I believe that they might be trying to summon more of his kind. I have every reason to believe they may some sort of extra-planetary demon, and I’ve discovered that the barriers between worlds seems especially weakened here in Atlanta. If I were a gambling man, I would suspect that Krupp and his friends are staking out areas where the barriers are particularly weak. Oakland Cemetery is the premiere spot for that.”

  “What makes you think they haven’t already been there?”

  “Because I’m there now… and there’s no trace of them.”

  “Thanks, Richard,” Max said with a gentle laugh. “I’m on my way.” The Peregrine hung up and quickly dialed his house. When Evelyn answered, he explained where he was going and then asked to speak to Sally. He told her of what he’d learned and invited her along, an offer that she quickly accepted.

  As Oakland Cemetery came into view, Max wondered if he’d done the right thing. Sally was capable enough but she might get in the way… No, he reminded himself. She has the right to be a part of this. Her father died because of this Golden Goblin affair and I’ll be damned if I’ll stand in the way of her silencing her ghosts.

  * * *

  Sally Pence crept around the side of the Davies home until she came to the storm cellar door. She knew that down below was the Peregrine’s Nest, his private lair. Though the door was usually kept locked, Sally was aware that the Nest was open today, as the family’s handyman was busy installing a sturdier door. Some months before, the entrance had been torn to pieces by an undead attacker and the Peregrine wanted increased security.

  Sally glanced about to make sure that no one was watching her before descending down into the Lair. She couldn’t help but smile when she saw the hero’s laboratory. Housing books, weapons and more, the place reminded her of nothing less than her own father’s base in the Revenant’s Lair.

  Sally spent a few moments looking around until she thought she had a good idea of what she would need to put her plan into motion. Perhaps her father had been right that a woman couldn’t truly take on the mantle of the Revenant, but that didn’t mean that she couldn’t contribute somehow in a masked capacity.

  Sally found a spare Peregrine mask and carefully altered it, applying it to her own face. She then took a dark bodysuit that Max had been working on, something lightweight enough to not restrain any acrobatics that might be required but strong enough to provide a bit of protection from hand-to-hand or small arms attacks. The suit fit her like a glove and for a moment Sally was a bit embarrassed by how she looked in the mirror. She quickly found a jacket that had belonged to Evelyn—it was waist-length and dark in color, providing enough coverage that she didn’t feel like she was naked.

  Sally completed her attire by strapping on a belt with a holster on each hip. Into these she slipped a pair of the Peregrine’s modified pistols.

  Confident that she was finally ready, Sally Pence flew from the Peregrine’s Nest, eager to put an ending to the one unsolved case of the Revenant.

  CHAPTER VI

  In the Cemetery

  Oakland Cemetery

  Johann Schmidt trudged up the muddy path, his legs aching and his lungs burning. He’d spent all day moving through the humid streets of Atlanta, trying hard not pass out from heat exhaustion. He knew that he was taking part in something truly special, but he also felt like a pack mule that was being overworked.

  This particular cemetery was the oldest in Atlanta and had been the site of an attempt by the mad monk Rasputin to unleash a horde of demons just several years prior. That event had greatly weakened the fabric of reality in the area and made it the perfect place to unleash the final Ectotheric Generator.

  Johann could hear the voices of Krupp and the Goblin up ahead and he wrinkled his nose in disgust
. The Goblin stank to high heaven, and he was so very crude… it bothered Johann to think that the Reich would actually need such creatures in order to defeat the Allies.

  The Nazi soldier was lost in his thoughts when the Peregrine sprang from behind a headstone and tackled him. The Peregrine landed atop the man, his gloved hand resting firmly over Johann’s mouth. The Peregrine raised the Knife of Elohim, which glowed a golden yellow. He held the blade close the man’s cheek. The mystic blade did a lot more damage to occult foes than it did to normal men, but it was sharp enough to put fear into someone like Johann. “If you make a sound, I’ll kill you. Do you understand?” the Peregrine hissed.

  Johann nodded, his eyes wide with fear. Everyone had heard of the Peregrine—the American vigilante had almost single-handedly brought down the German super-agent program.

  The Peregrine pulled his hand away slowly, keeping the blade pressed against Johann’s cheek. “I spotted Krupp and the Goblin. Anyone else supposed to be here?”

  “Nein. It’s just the three of us.”

  “And that device they set up at the top of the hill, overlooking the city? What is it?”

  Johann hesitated but then relented. There was no reason to hide anything from the Peregrine—he was doomed to fail this time. “It is an Ectotheric Generator. It will open a rift over the entire city. A pulse will go up into space and free the rest of the Goblins. They were imprisoned long ago and have been hungering for their freedom.”

  “Thanks for the information.” The Peregrine backhanded Johann suddenly, knocking the man into unconsciousness. Max had hoped to learn something more useful, but it seemed that wasn’t going to be possible.

  The Peregrine crept away from the fallen man and moved up closer to his waiting opponents. They still didn’t seem to have noticed him, but he had no idea how keen the Goblin’s senses might be, so he wanted to strike quickly. Obviously, he preferred to stop them before the Generators could be activated… the last thing he needed to deal with was more than one Goblin.

  The Peregrine slipped his knife back into its sheath and drew one of his pistols instead. A couple of well-placed shots and perhaps this entire affair might be over…

  Just before he took careful aim, another figure flew from the darkness, striking Krupp in the back and knocking him to the ground. The Peregrine stared in shock as the masked woman squared off with the Golden Goblin. Despite her attempts at hiding her identity, it was clear to Max whom he was seeing: Sally Pence!

  * * *

  The Golden Goblin looked down at the masked girl and laughed cruelly. “Who are you supposed to be?” he asked, baring the sharp fangs he possessed.

  Sally, for her part, was already wondering if she’d made a dreadful mistake. She felt the same terror welling up inside her that had made her so ineffectual the first time she’d faced the Goblin. True to the heroic legacy she’d inherited, however, she refused to back down. “I’m the daughter of a man who died investigating your theft. I’m the daughter of the Revenant!”

  The Golden Goblin shrugged. “You mean that legend from the jungle? I thought he didn’t really exist.”

  “He did… and I’m going to avenge him.”

  Sally added power to her words by spinning around and slamming her foot hard into the Goblin’s chest. The blow knocked him back on his heels but did no other damage.

  The monster’s hand shot out with shocking speed, grabbing hold of Sally’s neck as she landed on her feet. He lifted her up into the air, squeezing painfully hard. “Is that the best you have?”

  “Don’t kill her,” Krupp commanded, moving up to stand beside the Goblin. The Nazi was rubbing his right elbow, where he’d struck it on the ground. “We need to find out how she knew we would be here.”

  “It doesn’t matter,” the Goblin said, leaning close to the girl. His breath came out in warm clouds of smoke. “Let me burn her.”

  “No!”

  “She calls herself a ghost, like her daddy. Let me make her one.”

  Krupp placed a hand on the Goblin’s arm. His eye whirred as it locked onto the Goblin’s gaze. “Let her down so I may question her.”

  The Golden Goblin let the girl drop and she landed with a thud. She rolled onto her left hip, clutching at her leg.

  Krupp stood over her with a sneer on his face. “You are the Revenant’s daughter? Truly?”

  “Yes.”

  “Fascinating. There are legends of him going back for centuries. I’d love to know more.” Krupp knelt beside her, lifting her chin. “Does anyone else know you’re here?”

  Sally surprised everyone by slamming her forehead into Krupp’s nose, shattering it. Blood sprayed from the wound as she suddenly sprang to her feet, having been faking her injury. She backhanded the German, who went reeling to the ground.

  The Golden Goblin was momentarily frozen in place. He hadn’t expected the girl to recover so quickly. In that brief time, Sally whirled around and whipped out one of her pistols. She discharged the weapon directly into the Goblin’s face, causing him to scream in shock and pain. Though he was blinded by the flash of the gun, he opened his mouth and exhaled a torrent of yellow-tinged flame. The fire would have enveloped Sally, but at the last possible second the Peregrine tackled her, knocking out of the path of the flames.

  “Max!” Sally whispered, her eyes wide. The two of them were on the ground, with the Peregrine on top. He nodded briskly and turned, his own pistol in hand. The Golden Goblin was still blind but he had turned towards the sound of their voices and was shaking his head in hopes of clearing his vision.

  “Brought a friend to play?” the Goblin wanted to know. “Good! Two people I get to kill!”

  The Peregrine pointed his gun at the monster and fired, but the bullets bounced harmlessly off, and Max realized that the only thing slowing the beast down had been the flash of the gun’s muzzle… he hadn’t been hurt by the bullets at all.

  The Goblin roared again, another flood of flame pouring forth. This time it caught Max’s jacket and set it on fire. The vigilante had to quickly discard it while he and Sally got to their feet.

  The Goblin was now able to discern the fuzzy outlines of his opponents and he jumped for Sally, snagging her by the coat she wore. He picked her up and hurled her away, and Max could only watch helplessly as she flew through the air, disappearing out of sight.

  The Peregrine tossed aside his pistol and drew the Knife of Elohim, knowing that the time for close-quarters combat was at hand. He leaped on the creature’s back and gripped him about the neck with his free hand. The other raised high into the air and came crashing down, driving the Knife deep into the Goblin’s skull. The thick hide that the beast possessed stopped the blade from penetrating to his brain, but the pain was incredibly intense. The Goblin began thrashing around, trying to dislodge the Peregrine, but Max held on for dear life. He twisted the blade again and again, sawing it back and forth as well. Slowly but surely the knife began to rip through the Goblin’s flesh, causing thick jelly-like blood to flow from the wound.

  The Goblin began to sway and the Peregrine held firm. The creature’s head fell back and for a moment the monster stared up at the twinkling stars. He felt the weight of failure fall upon him like a shroud… he would not succeed where so many others had come up short. His people would not be freed this night and they would not be singing his name to the heavens.

  The monster fell backwards and Max barely had time to jump free before the Goblin crashed to the ground. In a final twist of irony, he landed atop the Ectotheric Generator, crushing it completely.

  Max stood there panting for a moment before remembering that Krupp was supposed to be there. He looked around for the S.S. officer but saw no sign of him. He must have taken off as soon as he saw his monster was going down, Max mused. With grim determination, the Peregrine began to look for Sally, having already decided that Krupp would have to wait.

  * * *

  Sally landed hard, a horrible snapping sound filling the air. Her left arm had
ended up beneath her body as it hit the ground, and Sally could feel that something was very wrong inside it. She tried to sit up, but her head was suddenly pounding too hard for her to summon the required strength.

  It was several seconds before she realized that she wasn’t alone. Looming over her was Hermann Krupp, who had snuck away during the battle… only to find one of the combatants landing literally at his feet.

  “You ruined my plans, fraulein.” Krupp kicked her savagely in the ribs. “For that, I will give you a painful death.”

  The German drew a small caliber pistol and knelt to place the barrel against her temple.

  Sally was surprised to find that her fear was no longer as overpowering as it had been during her confrontation with the Golden Goblin. Perhaps it the pain that dampened the terror, or perhaps it was simply the sense that she had nothing left to lose. She had honored her father by risking her life and she knew that he would have been proud of her.

  Furthermore, she knew that he was with her, even now, in spirit.

  Sally found the strength to slam her body against Krupp’s legs, knocking him off-balance. The gun discharged but missed her head by inches. The female Revenant then rolled away from him and made it to her feet, though she swayed unsteadily.

  Krupp faced her, his face livid with rage. His broken nose had begun bleeding again and the flow streamed down his chin and over his lips. The German lunged for her, striking her with one of his cybernetically augmented limbs. The blow nearly took her head off and sent her back to the ground. She lay facedown, moaning.

  “It seems we keep underestimating you, don’t we?” Krupp pointed his gun at her back. “No more games. Now you die.”

  Sally forced herself to roll over. Every movement hurt but she wanted to face her killer when she died. “The Nazis aren’t going to win, you know,” she whispered. Somehow it was important for her to say that, for him to know that in the end, his side wouldn’t be victorious.