by Barry Reese
The ship’s approached slowed as it came closer and the vessel turned slightly, coming alongside the Peregrine’s own ship. Eva had come to join Max and Evelyn now and she carried with her a large rifle.
“Don’t let your bare skin touch the metal of your gun,” Max warned her. “The temperature’s so cold you’ll lose skin that way.”
Eva gripped the weapon tighter with her gloved hands and nodded. She was watching the other ship closely now, staring at the men and women who were standing near the railing. They wore heavy furs and cloaks, most of them brandishing cutlasses in their hands. Several of them looked inhuman, with fairy-like wings on their backs or horns protruding from the foreheads.
The Peregrine readied himself for a possible boarding. In a place like the World of Shadows, who knew what kinds of threat they were about to face?
And then a man climbed up on to the railing and held on to one of the moorings. He had longish blond hair streaked with gray and piercing blue eyes. He wore the tattered remains of a Civil War-era military jacket, in the Union’s colors. He held a large sword in his free hand and Max noted that its blade shone like moonlight.
The man smiled at Max and in the stranger’s handsome face and trim waist, Max found a sense of recognition. This man looked like an old, dear friend of his… a man who had ties to this world before his untimely death: Leopold.
The Peregrine moved forward. “Are you Eobard Grace?”
The captain of the other ship nodded, a smile stretching across his lips. “Indeed I am. And you…?”
“I’m Max Davies. I was friends with your son, Leopold.”
Eobard’s eyes darkened a bit. “Yes, he spoke of you many times. I wish I could have made it back to your world for the funeral. I was… detained.”
“Leopold would have understood.” Max marveled at the fact that the man before him looked like he was in fifties, at worst. Eobard Grace had been a soldier in the Civil War and had to be in his eighties by now. Realizing that in a realm of magic, aging might not occur as it normally would, Max tried to focus on the matter at hand. “We’re trapped in this world, Mr. Grace. Can you help us get back?”
Eobard sheathed his sword and gestured to some of his men to start linking the two ships together. Ropes, hooks, and moorings were tossed from vessel to the other. “I can get you back, but the return trip won’t be without its dangers.”
Max, Evelyn, and Eva all smiled simultaneously. It was Eva who spoke up first, her words summing up the feelings of the entire trio. “That’s par for the course.”
Eobard laughed heartily at that. “Then let’s not waste any time. Come aboard my ship, and I’ll set you on your way.”
CHAPTER XV
Back at the Aerie
Sally Pence let out a deep groan as she felt the warm water hitting the back of her neck. She stood under the shower for a long time, letting the kinks slowly relax from her muscles. She felt like she’d run a marathon, and in a way, she had. Since foiling the Ten Fingers a couple of days ago, the entire Claws team had been running from one crisis to the next.
Even now, Sally knew she shouldn’t be wasting time by relaxing, not with both Max and Evelyn missing, but Nathaniel and Rachel were both working to find them and there was nothing for Sally to do until they came up with a location.
When she finally exited the shower, wrapping a full towel around her lithe form, she examined herself in the bathroom mirror. She was a beautiful young woman, twenty-six years old, with strawberry blonde hair and a trim figure. In college, she’d been captain of the pep squad, and in the years after school, she’d continued to maintain an athletic tone to her body. The past year she’d spent adventuring throughout Bordia as the Revenant, the strenuous nature of her duties having continued to firm her body. Her eyes betrayed the stress she felt, however. They were the eyes of someone much older.
A knock at the bathroom door made her jump and she laughed softly in embarrassment. The big, brave Revenant was susceptible to the same jumpy nerves as anyone else. Making sure her modesty was going to be protected by her towel, she opened the door. “Yes?”
It was Vincent. A slight flush touched Sally’s cheeks as she saw the big man’s eyes widen at the sight of her. She reached up and brushed back her wet hair. “I’m sorry to bother you,” he said, averting his gaze before it became improper. “Nathaniel thinks he’s found something.”
“I’ll be along in a minute. Thanks for letting me know.” As Vincent started to turn away, Sally reached out and touched his wrist lightly. The move made him pause and he glanced back in her direction, his eyes gamely trying to stay on her face. “Listen, before we were interrupted back on the plane…”
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”
“You don’t think I’m beautiful?” Sally asked, teasingly. “I think it was very sweet. And I meant what I said about going out for coffee or something. But I have to be honest with you… My head’s in a really strange place right now. I’m not sure I’m ready for any kind of relationship beyond just being friends.”
Vincent’s gaze remained steady. “You are attracted to Nathaniel.”
Sally winced visibly. “Is it that obvious?”
“Yes, but I think either Rachel is oblivious or she just doesn’t care. She doesn’t seem to realize why you dislike her so much.”
“I don’t dislike her… not really. Well, sort of. We just clash. Yes, I’m attracted to him, but he’s married. So that’s that. Doesn’t mean you and I can’t be friends and see what might happen.”
Vincent smiled and his face, normally so menacing, looked as bright and sunny as a small child’s. “I’d like that. And for what it’s worth, I’d pick you over her any day of the week.”
Sally grinned as Vincent left her room. He was incredibly sweet… but she’d meant what she’d said about not being ready for a relationship.
“Just take it slow,” she reminded herself. The towel dropped to her feet and she moved to the bed, where her uniform lay waiting for her.
* * *
The four heroes finally assembled in the meeting room, each of them sitting in the chair bearing their symbol. Esper was eating a sandwich and drinking a glass of iced tea, which she had found a surprisingly enjoyable Southern specialty. Rachel’s husband, who loved warm tea as much as any Englishman, found the iced concoction thoroughly disgusting and refused to touch it, which amused Rachel to no end.
Catalyst leaned forward in his chair and ran a hand over his chin, looking like he was confused about how to begin. “The first thing I want to tell all of you is that Rachel found no trace of either Max or Evelyn. Now, her powers have limits, but with people she knows well, she can trace them for hundreds of miles sometimes… and she found nothing. That led me to wonder if they were dead, or maybe no longer on this plane of existence. When we first met Max, it was during an adventure involving another Earth, an alternate world that was almost like ours, but slightly different. I think Max and Evelyn are on something like that now.”
Revenant considered those words and then shook her head. “But… how? If they were kidnapped by the Reich, why would they have been taken to another world? Were they… alien Nazis?”
“Wouldn’t be the first time,” Rachel said around bites of her sandwich.
Ignoring her, Nathaniel looked at the team’s leader and spread his hands wide. “I have no idea how or why they’re there, but I was able to cast a spell that let me look in on them. I saw them aboard a large freighter, surrounded by mammoth icebergs. The Nazi soldiers were all dead, but there were two men and a woman with Max and Evelyn. The woman was working with Max, but I could sense he didn’t trust her… but the other two men were pure evil. One of them was Mr. Dee, I’m positive of it. I got a powerful sense that this was the man we were really after. The other one, though, he was… powerful. He knew I was watching them and he slapped me away—I literally felt a pain as he knocked me aside. I lost sight of them all after and I haven’t been able to get it back. But I�
�m positive that Mr. Dee and his dark companion are back in our world—though I can’t actually see them, I’ve got a ‘scent’ for them. They’re at the Berghof.”
Vincent shook his head, sending his shaggy hair flying. “That’s no good. We can’t possibly get into Hitler’s house without being caught. Even if the Fuehrer isn’t there right now, it’s bound to be well-guarded.”
Revenant nodded, picturing the place in her mind’s eye. Located in the Bavarian Alps near Berchtesgaden, Germany, the Berghof was one of Hitler’s favorite resting places, second only to Wolfsschanze. “So they’ve come back to our world but didn’t bring Max and the women with them?”
“That’s what it looks like,” Nathaniel said.
“Is there any chance you could locate Max again, either take us to them or bring them back here?”
“Not without more to go on. The only reason I can still track Dee’s friend is because he’s so damned powerful that he left a psychic imprint on me. And yes, that means that if we go after Dee and this stranger, they’re likely to kick our arses all the way back home.”
“Well, it sounds like we don’t have any choice. If we’re going to find out where Max is, we need to find out from Dee and this mysterious friend of his.”
“It’s Nyarlathotep,” Vincent said.
Catalyst glanced his way in confusion. “How would you know that?”
Vincent tapped the side of his head. “When Victor Frankenstein made me, he tapped into the dark side of science, veering as far into the world of the supernatural as you can get without being a magician. It gave me an affinity for the strange… I can’t manipulate it like you do, but I do get… hunches… sometimes. That ‘dark companion’ sounds a lot like how Max has described Nyarlathotep to me.”
“But isn’t he dead? Max destroyed him.” Rachel reached under the table and took her husband’s hand.
“Something like that doesn’t stay dead. Not for long, anyway.”
Revenant stood up. “We’ll find out soon enough. I want our plane ready to go within the hour. Nathaniel, can you do anything to make us travel even faster than normal?”
“Give me a little while… and yes, I think I can.”
“Good.” Sally smiled at her friends. “Let’s go rescue the Peregrine, shall we?”
CHAPTER XVI
From the Shadows
“There are a number of points where this world and yours intersect.” Eobard Grace stood just inside a massive ice tunnel, one that disappeared into the bowels of a large mountain range. “This is one of them. Push on through and you’ll come out on the other side… you’re in luck, too. This one connects to another series of portals in your own world, allowing you to quickly move to wherever you need to be.”
“It’s interesting,” Evelyn said, enjoying the warmth of the heavy jacket Eobard had provided her with. “You’re from Earth and yet you talk about it as if this is your home world.”
“It is. After the war, I felt lost… I was a soldier without a war. When I came here, I found love, I found friends, and I found a savage world that needed taming.” Eobard smiled at Max, having felt a kinship with the other man from the start. “And it looks like the world has plenty of good men to take care of it over there.”
The Peregrine shook his head sadly. “Not enough, I’m afraid.”
“I know about the war, but from what I’ve heard, the Allies are going to win.”
“Things have been going well for us lately, but I wouldn’t put a bow on anything just yet. There’s a lot of fighting left to do.”
Eva moved past the others, staring into the darkness of the tunnel. The floor was slippery and the lantern she held in one hand cast an eerie blue-tinted glow on the walls. “The Reich still has a few tricks up its sleeves.” She turned her head to the side for a moment before looking at Eobard. “I hear something moving up ahead.”
Eobard’s face grew grim. “Yes. The portals are guarded by creatures called Ice Wraiths. They’re nasty things, all claws and teeth, and they can perfectly blend into the snow and ice, making them nearly invisible.”
“Do bullets kill them?” Eva asked, pulling free a small handgun.
“They do.”
“Then let’s be off. I’m sick of being here.” Eva began to slowly move into the passage, leaving the others behind.
“Thanks again for the help,” the Peregrine said, shaking Eobard’s hand. “Your son was a wonderful man. You raised him well.”
Eobard seemed touched by Max’s words. “He loved you, as a friend and as a brother. Go and be safe.”
Max and his wife moved off after Eva. Eobard watched them until they disappeared from sight, wishing he could accompany them further. He had no desire to return to Earth, but he knew how dangerous the Ice Wraiths could be. He turned and moved back towards his waiting ship, knowing that many more adventures awaited both himself and the Peregrine.
* * *
Eva was silently fuming as she led the way towards the portal. She’d been betrayed by Mr. Dee and that stung… she hated playing the fool. What was worse was that the Peregrine and his damned wife were watching her like hawks now, and they were no doubt planning on turning her over to the authorities at the earliest opportunity.
As she moved around a bend in the tunnel, her feet sliding across the ice-slicked floor, Eva heard the sounds of scuttling feet once more. Eva held her lantern in one hand and her pistol in the other, but she still felt vulnerable.
“Pretty sweet meeeeatttt…”
Eva skidded to a halt. The voice, low and dangerous, had seemed to come from above her but a quick glance upwards showed nothing but a thin layer of ice over rock. And then, just as she started to turn away, she thought she saw movement. “Max… I think I’ve found a Wraith.”
The Peregrine moved forward quickly, the Knife of Elohim held before him. The blade glowed brightly in the presence of evil and as Max held it towards the ceiling, a creature hissed in response. Despite the fact that Ice Wraith was normally able to hide against the ice, the blade somehow revealed it to normal sight. It was long and slender, with a hairless white body and an elongated snout-like face. The Wraith’s eyes were pools of yellow and black and its teeth and claws gleamed sharply.
The Ice Wraith dropped from above, landing directly on top of Eva. It snapped its teeth at her neck but she was able to jerk her head to the side and the gaping maw closed harmlessly on the air. She could smell its fetid breath and her stomach churned. Because of their positioning, she wasn’t able to turn her gun on him, but it turned out that she didn’t need to.
Max drove the mystic blade he held deep into the creature’s back, yanking it free only to plunge it into the Wraith once more. The Ice Wraith yelled in pain, scurrying off of Eva and whirling about to face the Peregrine.
“Huuuuuman, you cannot leave my home. Kill you and eat you, I willlllll.”
The Peregrine watched as Evelyn helped Eva to her feet and he waved the blade before him, keeping the beast from coming too close. Max had managed to put himself between the Ice Wraith and the girls but he wasn’t sure if the beast was alone… if the monster had friends, they could overwhelm the Peregrine and his allies. “I don’t want to kill you,” Max warned. “But I will if you don’t turn tail and run.”
The Ice Wraith bared his sharp teeth and hissed like a cat. He jumped for the Peregrine, who dropped and thrust upwards with the dagger as the monster soared overhead. The blade caught in the Wraith’s belly and tore a jagged rip that was several inches long. Warm blood spilled on to Max’s shoulder and the Wraith landed unsteadily just past him, steam rising from his open wound.
“Huuuuurt meeee,” the beast whined. It began to turn back towards Max, its eyes narrowed in anger. “Going to hurt you baaaaack…”
“Oh, shut the hell up,” Eva muttered. She tore away from Evelyn and raised her pistol. The sound of the weapon discharging was deafening in the tunnel but her bullets ripped through the Ice Wraith’s skull, splattering his brains on the ice.
The German beauty looked at Max in annoyance. “You shouldn’t play with these things. Just kill them and move on.”
The Peregrine was about to respond when the ground beneath their feet seemed to shift and a cracking sound echoed throughout the tunnel.
“What was that?” Evelyn asked as the ground suddenly rumbled once more. She reached out to grab the wall but found her gloved hands couldn’t find a purchase. She nearly fell but Eva snatched her up by the elbow.
“I think Eva might have started a cave-in,” Max said, as bits of ice began to fall on his head. “Come on. We’ve got to hurry.”
The three of them moved as fast as they could down the tunnel as slightly larger chunks of ice and rock began to rain down around them. At times, Max found he could move faster by “skating” across the ice.
As they rounded one final bend, they spotted what at first appeared to be a dead end. On closer inspection, however, the wall shimmered slightly, like the rippling of a lake’s surface.
Without a moment’s hesitation, the Peregrine surged towards the portal. He threw himself through, his feet leaving the ground, and tumbled from one world into the next. Much to his surprise, he landed with a splash in a large pool of brackish water, his arrival disturbing a nearby alligator that quickly began to swim in the opposite direction. A full moon hung heavy and bloated in the night sky, illuminating the swamp in which Max now found himself.
He was quickly joined by Evelyn and Eva, both of whom landed with surprised squeals at his side. Evelyn spat out some water that had ended up in her mouth, looking around her in shock. “Where are we?”
“I don’t know,” Max admitted. He sheathed his knife and drew a pistol. “But we’re not alone.” He pointed towards the shadows, where two figures lay half-hidden by darkness. The smaller of them moved into view, her lovely skin looking the color of chocolate in the moonlight.