The Peregrine Omnibus, Volume Two (51 page)

She also had oversized eyes, scales that ran over most of her visible skin, and gills.

Vincent stared at her for a moment before finding his voice. “My name is Vincent. Have you seen or noticed anything unusual in this town?”

The girl didn’t laugh.

“What’s
your
name?” he prodded, taking one step closer.

“Lorelei,” the girl said, her voice so quiet that Vincent almost couldn’t hear it.

Vincent knelt in front of her, smiling from beneath his hood. Given the girl’s own appearance, she probably wouldn’t scream in terror at the sight of him, but he still chose to keep his face hidden. “I’m here to keep some bad men from getting something that they need. I don’t know what it is, but it’s probably really scary and dangerous. Do you know what that might be?”

For a moment, the girl just stared at him with her wet fish-like eyes. Vincent wondered if she’d suffered untold amounts of cruelty from the other children. To be afflicted with birth defects so profound as to make you look inhuman… it was even worse than the fate his own creator had given him.

“They’ve already been here,” the girl said at last, and Vincent felt like he’d been punched in the gut.

“How long ago?”

“Long enough for us to be waiting for you,” a man said. Vincent saw him stepping through the shadows, a shotgun held in one hand. Other shapes soon joined him, some showing signs of fishy qualities like Lorelei. It was in varying degrees, however. Some looked far more inhuman than others. The smell of a fish market clung to the air.

Vincent saw that he was quickly being surrounded by nearly three dozen of the townspeople, all of them armed in some fashion, be it with gun, pitchfork, knife, or flaming torch. The last caused Vincent some pause—though he was nearly immune to most forms of weaponry, he couldn’t abide fire.

“They told you I was coming?” Vincent asked the man who had spoken. Lorelei ran quickly into the crowd, disappearing behind the skirts of an old woman who looked like a hybrid of frog and human. “Who are they?”

“No one you need to worry about,” a woman brandishing a sharp knife stated. She looked human enough, but her chin was a bit scaly and wrinkled, like it was in the early stages of becoming fish-like.

Vincent clenched his hands into fists and took a deep breath. A part of him wanted nothing more than to be accepted by humanity, to find love, to write and read poetry. But there was a darker side to him, one that hungered for the visceral thrill of violence.

“Let’s not play any more games,” the spawn of Frankenstein stated tersely. “You guys want to kill me, and I’m not going to let that happen. So let’s just get started, shall we?”

Almost as one, the mob surged against him, attacking from all sides. Vincent grunted as a pitchfork was jammed into his back, its sharp points digging into the skin. A hammer came down upon his left shoulder and a shotgun placed went off near his head, the buckshot just missing hitting its mark.

Vincent allowed his mind to go blank, letting all rationality go by the wayside. In this moment, he became exactly what so many people thought him to be. He became a monster.

Roaring like a cornered lion, Vincent began lashing out against his attackers. He didn’t care what had wrought these changes on the townspeople—even had he known about their decades of interbreeding with the aquatic race known as the Deep Ones, he would have reacted no differently. He had offered them the hand of peace and they had rejected it. Now only death awaited them.

Vincent’s fists slammed into his enemies, breaking bones and rending limbs. He picked up one old man and lifted him into the air, bringing him down hard against his raised knee. The man’s spine snapped like a twig and his cries of agony were quickly lost in the sounds of continuing battle.

How long Vincent warred in the middle of the city streets, he had no idea. When he suddenly found himself alone, panting while standing amongst the tangled bodies of his slain enemies, he was covered in blood and his dense flesh was torn in dozens of places.

The massive figure reached up and wiped his face with the back of hand, inadvertently smearing it with gore. He tried to push down the bloodlust that still raged within him, and when he heard movement to his right, he whirled about, ready to rip the head off any opponent he had missed.

What he saw was Lorelei, watching him with wide eyes. “You killed them.”

“Yes. They were going to kill me.”

“Are you going to hurt me?” she asked.

“No… not unless you make me. Lorelei, what did the men who came here take?”

“Just a statue. It showed Father Dagon and Mother Hydra.”

“And who are they?”

“They’re our sweet lord and lady, from beneath the sea.”

The innocence with which she said those words unnerved Vincent, but he slowly turned away, his mind already moving on to what would come next. He needed to contact Sally and let her know that he’d failed.

“Mister?”

Vincent glanced back at the little girl and realized that he was about to leave her all alone, and she was most likely an orphan now. “Do you need to come with me? I can find a place for you.”

Lorelei dropped her teddy bear to the ground and shook her head. She looked sad about something, and for a moment Vincent wasn’t sure if she was upset over the deaths of her fellow townspeople or something else entirely. He never did know for sure.

Lorelei ran towards him, her lips peeling back to reveal rows of tiny razor-sharp teeth. She snapped at the air as if tasting it, and she emitted a high-pitched squeal of pure hatred.

Vincent didn’t bother holding back. He backhanded her with all his might and her tiny body flew through the air, landing on the road with a sickening sound.

He stared at her limp form for a long moment, feeling a sense of self-loathing growing within him. He had done what he had to do, and surely the world was better off without such things as this living in it.

Of course, some would say the same thing about him.

With a heavy tread to his steps, Vincent left behind the fishing village of Innsmouth.

CHAPTER VIII

Meetings and Revelations

The men and women who were assembled around the Aerie’s meeting room table were a somber and tired lot. They had each shared the stories of their adventures and whatever discoveries they had made. The only one of their group who had succeeded in thwarting the plans of their enemies had been Catalyst, though Esper seemed to not share in his happiness over this fact.

The Peregrine leaned back in his chair, creating a steeple with his fingers in front of his chin. His teammates on the Claws team recognized the physical gesture as a sign that he was thinking through the clues before them. “So we’re dealing with Doctor Satan, the Warlike Manchu, and the famed Napoleon of Crime—Moriarty himself.”

“I’m sorry,” Vincent said, leaning closer. “But wouldn’t he be far too old than to engage in acts of crime these days?”

Professor Stone crossed his arms over his chest and gave a contemplative shrug of his shoulders. “From all that I’ve read of him, he’s more than capable of finding the proverbial Fountain of Youth. Besides, you have to consider who his allies are: both the Warlike Manchu and Doctor Satan are capable of fighting off the effects of aging.”

The Peregrine nodded in agreement. “Okay. Let’s summarize what we know, based on Keane’s findings and what the rest of us have gathered on our own. Our enemies are trying to use a series of occult artifacts to raise the sunken city of R’leyh from its grave beneath the sea. This will re-awaken the Great Old Ones who are sleeping in the city. Either through the gratitude of the Great Old Ones or through something we haven’t figured out yet, our foes are going to gain great power because of this.”

The Revenant drummed her fingers on the tabletop. She stood up quickly, pacing like a jungle cat. “Just because Nathaniel and Rachel managed to keep them from getting one of those demon eggs, we can’t assume their plans are foiled. They might simply substitute another object for one of the eggs. We have to find them. Even if we have ended their plans for raising R’leyh, those three working together can’t possibly end well.”

There were various murmurs of assent about this, but no one seemed to have a clear vision as to how they were going to find the villains. Catalyst’s spells had proven ineffective, most likely due to Doctor Satan’s efforts at concealing himself.

It was at this moment that Professor Stone’s ally Hok Fu entered the room, bowing low as he did so. Few knew the depths of the feelings that Hok Fu and Stone shared. Hok Fu was an elderly Chinese gentleman who had adventured for years alongside Major Clark Stone, the professor’s father. At the present time, he kept up both Stone Manor and served as the professor’s occasional partner in the field. With a shaved head and simple Oriental clothing, he did not look nearly as dangerous as he truly was. “Young master, please forgive me for this interruption.”

Stone motioned that it was fine. “What did you need to tell me?”

“A letter arrived under the door downstairs. When I looked outside, I saw no one.” Hok Fu pulled forth a small envelope from inside the folds of his robe, handing it to Stone.

The heroic figure scanned the letter’s contents before sharing them with his companions. “It reads:
The rising of the lost city continues apace. At eight p.m. this evening, the city shall be raised at the following coordinates.
The letter then goes on to list the longitude and latitude of the site. If my guess is correct, we’re looking at something in the middle of the Pacific.”

Revenant leaned over and took a look. “Yeah… pretty far out, in fact. There’s nothing for miles around.”

“Who would have given us this?” the Peregrine wondered aloud. “And what are the odds it’s a trap?”

“We have to check it out,” Esper said. “Even if there’s a chance it’s a trap, we can’t risk ignoring it.”

Nathaniel glanced at his wife, who seemed very strong in her desire to see the matter investigated. She’d been acting a bit strangely ever since their trip to Unknown Island, but she’d avoided his clumsy attempts at uncovering the cause. “I agree with Rachel. We have to look into it, but we just need to take precautions.”

“But should we all go?” Vincent’s shaggy hair was falling across his eyes as he leaned in to speak. “If this is a distraction, the real threat could be taking place somewhere else. We might need to leave someone here to stand watch over anything else that might come up.”

“Not necessary,” Catalyst said with a wry smile. “We can have Hok Fu monitor all the emergency radios, and if he hears of something, he can call us. I’ll have enough teleport spells ready to go to take us wherever we need to be.”

The Peregrine rose from his seat. “Then let’s take the next few hours to get prepared. I’m going to bring along extra ammunition and a few surprises. We can reconvene here right before we leave. To not put too much of a strain on Nathaniel, I vote we take one of the planes that belong to the Claws team. We have one that’s been modified for sea landings.”

Stone locked eyes with the Peregrine. “If you’d prefer, the Mermaid is available…”

“I appreciate the offer, and was very impressed by the plane on the way to New Orleans, but I’ve been looking for an excuse to test our seaplane, and this looks like the perfect opportunity.” Max looked contemplative as he spoke his final words. “And if the Warlike Manchu is definitely involved, I might have an ace in the hole that could help us later on. I’d prefer not to discuss it right now, but there may be something later on that could help win the day for us.”

Stone nodded in agreement, trusting that the Peregrine’s reticence was worthwhile.

Nathaniel touched Rachel on the arm. “Is there anything you need to tell me?”

“What do you mean?” she asked, not looking at him directly.

“I just get the feeling that… there’s something going on.”

Rachel looked at him then and her eyes had a pleading quality to them. “Trust me, Nathaniel. That note is from a friend. It’s not a trap. I’ll tell you more when I can.”

Nathaniel didn’t need to think about it for long. He nodded and moved away. “Okay. But when this is over, I’d love to know why you didn’t share all the details with me.”

Rachel knew she’d hurt his feelings, but hopefully that could be smoothed over later. In the meantime, the world had to be saved and that was more important… at least, that’s what she told herself to avoid the guilt that threatened to overwhelm her.

* * *

At the same time as the heroes’ meeting, a consortium of evil was assembling on the other side of the United States, aboard a luxury yacht fit for a king.

Doctor Satan sat on the deck of the ship, looking up at the brightly shining sun. Despite the fact that he wore a gaudy red cloak and his hood bore a devil’s horns, he didn’t look the least bit silly in the broad daylight. There was such an aura of menace around the man that no one would have dared ever laugh at him. A lovely teenaged girl was on her knees beside his chair, nude save for a ball gag in her mouth and a complicated series of chains that bound her hands tightly bound behind her back and shackled her ankles together. Her long blonde hair hung loose down her back and her lithe body seemed flushed with the life-affirming sexuality of the young and nubile.

The girl whimpered from the pain that was growing in her knees. She’d been kneeling on the deck for well over an hour now, and the slowly increasing warmth in her knees had begun to give way to spirit-wracking agony.

Moriarty sat nearby, an umbrella being held over his head by one of the Manchu’s many slaves. The girl who held the umbrella was dressed in a very beautiful kimono, and her icy demeanor stood out in stark contrast to the moaning and whimpering form of Satan’s pet. “Why do you have her with us?” the aged criminal mastermind asked, gesturing towards the bound girl. “Is this some sort of odd sexual fetish?”

Doctor Satan peered at Moriarty from beneath his hood, and a brief smile danced upon his lips. He had a peculiar voice, one that had baffled Moriarty for some time, as it reminded him of someone. Finally, he had decided that it was similar to that of the famous actor Clark Gable, only with a more sinister edge to it. “The only thing odd about it is that you wouldn’t normally consider a naked teenaged girl in bondage to be a normal sexual fetish.” Satan laughed then and shook his head. “Actually, her parents turned state’s evidence against me during that farcical trial the government put me through some time ago. As punishment for their actions, I’ve kidnapped their daughter and put her through sheer hell. If she’s lucky, I’ll tire of her soon and kill her.”