The Peregrine Omnibus, Volume Two (64 page)

And before long, the deed was done.

CHAPTER IX

Jenny Everywhere

Josh was never one of those fools who thought that real men didn’t cry. He’d seen his own father break down on more than one occasion, and it had never made him think less of the man; in fact, it was the exact opposite.

So as he walked the moonlit property owned by Mr. Davies, Josh didn’t try to hide the thick tears that rolled down his cheeks. His overalls were soaked with mud and sweat, but he didn’t even notice. His mind was on Nettie and his cousin, who had somehow been turned into some sort of monster before he’d died, at least according to Mr. Kaslov.

“Josh?”

He stopped where he was, waiting. Evelyn’s voice rang out once more, closer this time. Josh finally yelled back, “Over here, Mrs. Davies.”

Evelyn came around the side of a tree, her eyes filled with concern. She was in a robe that hid her nightgown, and looked like she’d recently woken up. “I went to check on you and didn’t see you in your room,” she explained. “Are you okay?”

“Not really, Mrs. Davies.” Josh put his hands on his hips and blinked away his tears. “I just feel like I’ve let everybody down. Like I should have done something more to help out Hayward…”

“He was a grown man,” Evelyn said, moving closer. “Sometimes you can’t save someone who doesn’t want to be saved.”

“I know you’re right, but it doesn’t change how I feel.” Josh looked directly at her. “When I saw Hayward, he’d already changed back to how he normally looked. Did you see him when he was that creature?”

“Yes. I… I was the one who shot him. I wasn’t sure how to tell you before. He was going to kill Max, and I… I didn’t know he was your cousin.”

“It’s okay. You did what you had to do. I just wish I could have talked him into staying when he came to see me. He was okay then. Whoever did that to him hadn’t gotten to him yet. You think it was that Abraham Klee fella? Or some demon from hell?”

Evelyn shrugged. “I don’t know. Max is going after Klee, though. He’s probably already caught him. As for it being a demon—before I met Max, I would have laughed in your face for even saying that. But I’ve been face-to-face with vampires, werewolves, demons… yeah, it could have been the devil or a demon.”

“Strange world we live in,” Josh said, laughing ruefully. “Can I ask you something?”

“Of course you can.”

“How come you aren’t in church every day of the week? I mean, you’ve seen these things… you know they’re real. The devil, ghosts, all of that. So why don’t you pray to Jesus?”

Evelyn wasn’t sure how to respond. She started walking towards the house, Josh at her side. “I’ve never been very religious. I mean, my parents went to church, so I did, but it was mainly a social responsibility. When I got old enough to decide for myself, I always decided to sleep in on Sundays.” Josh grinned at that, knowing her penchant for late mornings on the weekends. “I know what you’re getting at, though. If the devil’s real, then God must be, too. And we know that Max’s father still exists, so there is definitely life after death.” Evelyn shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know. I guess I think the most important thing is how you live your life, being a good person to those around you. I think whatever God there is would put more emphasis on that than how many times I go to church.”

Josh considered her words for a moment. “You make it sound like you’re not sure that the Christian God is the real God.”

“I just mean that… yeah, I guess that is what I mean. Just because there’s a devil doesn’t mean that the Bible is right about everything. Many religions have a demonic entity that tries to trick humanity. Maybe all religions are just telling the same stories, in different ways. Some get more things right than others, but none are perfect.”

“I don’t really agree with that. From what Hayward told me, he was in hell. You know, the Bible’s version of hell. That makes me think Jesus and the other stuff is true, too.”

Evelyn glanced at him. “So what are you going to do about it?”

“I think…” Josh grinned at her as they stepped onto the back porch. “I think I’m going to find me a nice Baptist church with a lot of singing and dancing.”

* * *

She fell from the sky at approximately seven a.m. local time. She landed with a small “Eep!” escaping from her lips, tumbling down in the middle of a large bale of hay. She rolled off the hay bale and ended up on her knees. Adjusting the aviation goggles that sat atop her head and the scarf that hung colorfully around her neck, Jenny Everywhere quickly took a look around and grinned to herself.

The Davies plantation was a lovely place, especially covered with morning dew. For a moment, she thought she’d ended up in the Antebellum Aouth, but after noticing a pickup truck parked in front of the house, she realized that this was a later era than that.

Reaching into the front right pocket of her khaki pants, she pulled out a small pocket watch and held it up above her head. She whistled as she counted out the seconds. After thirty had passed, she pulled the watch back down and looked at its face. The time was clearly marked, and in the lower right corner she saw the date, including the year.

“Neat,” she said, putting the watch back into her pocket. She spotted the plantation house and took off towards it, noting that there were lights on inside. She could hear the sounds of children laughing and this made her already-sunny disposition even brighter.

Jenny made it to the front door and knocked lightly. After a moment, Evelyn appeared in the doorway, staring at Jenny with undisguised surprise.

Jenny knew she was an interesting site, especially in 1946. Jenny had short, dark hair, though much of it was hidden beneath her aviation goggles. A multi-colored scarf was wrapped around her neck, keeping her warm in the cool morning air. Her clothes were comfortable and obviously designed for travel: a gray tank top covered by a light jacket. Her khaki slacks were damp in the knees from her tumble in the grass, and her sneakers were covered with lawn clippings. A duffel bag was slung over one shoulder and a few spare pieces of clothing hung from the half-opened zipper. She was shorter than Evelyn, standing at five foot six inches, and was of medium build, though Evelyn immediately sensed that this young girl was remarkably comfortable within her own skin. Her face showed a mixed ancestry, though Evelyn couldn’t decide if she was seeing traces of Asian or Native American blood in her features.

“Can I help you?” Evelyn asked, trying to wrap her head around who in the world would be visiting at this time of morning.

Jenny put out a hand and vigorously greeted Evelyn. “Hi! My name’s Jenny. Some people call me the Shifter, but if we’re going to be friends, then I think Jenny will do—or Jen, if you’d prefer. You must be…” Jenny pursed her lips thoughtfully. “Don’t tell me! I know this… Evelyn Gould Davies!” Jenny snapped her fingers in the air, looking very pleased. “Married Max in the 1930s, died in the late 1960s…” Jenny’s eyes widened considerably. “Oops. Scratch that. Never came out of my mouth.” Jenny turned for a moment and slammed the palm of her left hand against her forehead. She began whispering under her breath. “Never tell people when they’re going to die. First rule of time-space travel. Idiot.”

Evelyn felt her confusion mounting. Had this girl just told her she was going to die in twenty years? “You said your name was Jenny?” she asked, hoping to get the conversation on level footing again.

Jenny turned around and smiled wanly. “Yeah. Listen, is your husband up yet? I’d kinda like to talk to him.”

“He’s not here right now.”

“Darn.” Jenny’s nostrils flared and her face lit up like it was Christmas morning. “Did you make pancakes? I love pancakes!”

Evelyn couldn’t avoid liking this girl. “Yes. Would you like to come in? I have no idea when Max will be back…”

Jenny stepped inside and shrugged. “I’m in no hurry. I deliberately got here before the Big Bads got too far into their plans so I could help.”

Evelyn led Jenny to the kitchen, where the kids were having their breakfast. William and Emma looked up at the newcomer curiously, and laughed as Jenny immediately began making faces at them.

Evelyn watched them as she made a plate for Jenny. “Care to tell me where you’re from, Jenny? And why do people call you the Shifter?”

Jenny gratefully accepted the pancakes and took a bite before answering. She closed her eyes and looked like she’d had a taste of pure ecstasy. “Wow. That’s good.” Jenny began talking in between bites, occasionally winking at little William, who seemed fond of her already. “Well, I’m able to exist in all times simultaneously. It’s kinda confusing, but the way it works for me is that I’m living a linear existence, moving from one place in space/time to another. But there are other versions of me out there, doing the same thing. I never run into myself—thank goodness—but I’ve met people who knew another me and I didn’t know them, though the memories from the other versions of me sometimes rush in when I need them. Is that making any sense?”

“No.”

Jenny laughed. “Okay. Forget all the stuff about there being more than one of me. All you really need to know is this: I shift through time. Before I arrived here, I was in Seattle in 1994, watching Pearl Jam in concert. Best grunge band ever.”

Evelyn began to think that this girl was either insane, or at least so beyond whatever Evelyn could conceive of—that they would never understand one another. “Do you know my husband?” she finally asked.

“Max Davies, aka the Peregrine.” Jenny sounded like she was reciting something she’d memorized at school. “Witnessed his father gunned down before his eyes at the age of eight. Driven both his personal desire for vengeance and by visions induced by his dead father, Max traveled the world and mastered martial arts, the sciences, and more. He became the Peregrine, one of the foremost heroes of the so-called Great Age of Vigilantism.”

“So you’ve never met him,” Evelyn said.

“Right. But I’ve come back in time because that’s what I’m supposed to do. See, while I was in Seattle I did a little surfing around on the Internet, looking for references to Jenny Everywhere. I know, I know,” Jenny laughed as she finished off the pancakes. “Makes me sound like an egotist. But it’s fun, and sometimes it helps me figure out what I should do next. I found a black-and-white photograph of me with your husband on this conspiracy/occult site, dated 1946. Read up on it and voila, here I am!”

“So in the future, you read that you met my husband in 1946… so you came to the past to do that.”

“Right-o!”

“And what are you supposed to do with the Peregrine? Just talk to him?”

Jenny shook her head and her smile faded. She still retained her ever-present aura of optimism, but it was clear that she didn’t consider her next words to be funny in the least. “No, ma’am. I’m going to help him save the world.”

Evelyn crossed her arms over her chest and leaned back against the sink. She’d remained standing during this entire exchange, but she was beginning to feel like she should have stayed in bed. “But if you’re from the future, that’s a foregone conclusion, right? Obviously if the world is around in 1994, then that means that Max saves it in 1946.”

“Not necessarily. I was in
a
future, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that it was
your
future.”

Evelyn felt like she was growing older by the second. William, on the other hand, began to giggle, and Jenny reached out to tickle him, sending him into spasms of laughter. This, in turn, led to Emma cackling, as well.

Smiling, Evelyn asked one last thing that was nagging at her. “And what
exactly
are you and my husband going to save the world
from
?”

Jenny’s voice never quavered as she spoke—which was good, because otherwise Evelyn would have thought she was joking. “Adolf Hitler is a vampire.”

CHAPTER X

The Gateway to Heaven

Belladonna stood a few feet behind Stickman, who was facing one of the famed Easter Island statues. In his remaining limb he held a piece of paper on which Bella had scrawled out the message he was supposed to read aloud.

Storm clouds passed quickly above their heads, and a bright flash of lightning suddenly illuminated the sky. There was an energy to the proceedings that was completely impossible to ignore. Bella wasn’t sure if she was more nervous or turned on.

Near her feet lay Leonid Kaslov, who had slowly begun to warm back into consciousness. He remained motionless, though he was convinced that Bella knew he was no longer too frozen to take action. He remained confused as to why she had chosen not to kill him, for his body had been too chilled for him to have heard her explanation. Still, Kaslov was not going to look a gift horse in the mouth.

Stickman hesitated for a brief moment before launching into the written statement. He didn’t trust Bella and knew that she could easily have mistranslated this spell—a few misspoken words could sometimes have catastrophic consequences. But he also sensed her eagerness to see the gateway to heaven opened up, and he wondered if she truly thought that her willpower would prove greater than his. The idea that the angel would grant Bella her wishes over Stickman was almost laughable. At least Kaslov was unconscious, meaning he’d have no chance of interrupting the process.

“The Peregrine’s on his way,” Bella prompted, beginning to get tired of waiting.

Stickman grunted, thinking that perhaps he should simply snap her neck and be done with her. If she’d translated correctly, he no longer needed her—and if she had failed, then chances are they would all suffer for it when he read out the mistranslation.

Deciding once more to err on the side of caution, Stickman raised his chin and began to read. His voice was strong and steady, despite the rush of emotion he felt. The words were in Latin, and Bella had helped him practice his pronunciation before he began, but he still felt like he was uttering gibberish.

Bella looked around as the sky continued to churn. Suddenly, in the midst of a particularly dangerous-looking cloud, a ray of light cut forth. It projected straight down towards the island, coming to a brightly glowing halt just in front of Stickman.