by Barry Reese
The man who had lived as Robert Phillips these past few years, coasting on a fabricated past until he had achieved a position of power, now knew that his plans were swiftly coming to an end. He sagged to his knees, pain blotting out all rational thought. He saw The Peregrine entering the basement and he wanted to curse the unfairness of it all but he knew that it was his own fault. He had stuck to a plan for years, killing only those girls who wouldn’t be missed. But Schuller had been an impulse murder and it had led to his downfall.
“Don’t give up hope just yet,” Lady Death purred and her voice seeped directly into her follower’s mind. “We may yet have our victory…”
* * *
The Peregrine stared about him in amazement. He saw the lovely young Samantha Grace being freed from her chains by Morgan Watts; Eun Jiwon was in danger of being ripped to shreds by a half dozen undead; Lady Death herself stood on the edge of it all, a haunting smile visible from beneath her hood; Devil Face was on the floor, flecks of blood on his lips; and—most surprisingly of all—a villain from his past.
Turning to face him was Doctor York, a madman who had tried to open a portal to Hell back in ’33. The Peregrine had defeated him then but the incident had haunted him ever since, mostly because he knew how close he’d come to losing the battle.
The Peregrine drew one of his pistols and took careful aim. If York was involved in all this, then things were even more dangerous than he’d assumed.
* * *
Lazarus Gray could scarcely believe what he was seeing. Coming down the stairs in all his arrogant glory was Walther Lunt. Lunt was the German mastermind who had recruited Richard Winthrop into the Illuminati and he had eventually become Winthrop’s greatest foe, overseeing the plot that led to Winthrop’s “death” and “rebirth” as Lazarus Gray. Since then, the two had clashed repeatedly and Gray had come to know Lunt’s ruined visage almost as well as he knew his own. Badly scarred by an acid attack years ago, the right side of Lunt’s face was a mass of burned tissue and the ugliness had seeped into the man’s very soul.
Suddenly things began to fall into place: no doubt Lunt was somehow the puppet master behind all of this, pulling Devil Face’s strings in some elaborate plot to destroy Gray and his allies.
After casting one quick glance at Devil Face to ensure that he was in shape to re-enter the fray, Lazarus threw himself towards his old enemy. He managed to drive Lunt against the wall but the other man responded with more skill than Lazarus remembered him possessing, slipping an arm under Gray’s and using the bigger man’s momentum to toss him to the ground.
Lunt slammed a foot down, narrowly missing Gray’s skull when Lazarus rolled out of the way. Lazarus reached out and grabbed Lunt’s leg, driving a fist just above the German’s kneecap. A loud cracking sound indicated that Lazarus had successfully broken the man’s leg and Lunt quickly joined Lazarus on the floor. They grappled now, hands wrapped around each other’s throat. There was no letting up now and it was obvious to each that this would be their final battle.
* * *
The Peregrine was in the fight of his life. In their last meeting, Doctor York had shown none of the skills that he was now displaying. The made scientist had just broken one of The Peregrine’s legs and he was now choking the life from him. The Peregrine had to exert all his will to remain conscious as he fought to take York down. Somewhere in all of this, The Peregrine’s pistol had been knocked from his grip but the vigilante had more pressing concerns at the moment.
Stars were beginning to appear before The Peregrine’s eyes and he knew that he was literally seconds away from blacking out. He drew his head back and then slammed it forward, smashing his forehead directly into York’s nose. Blood spurted from York’s nostrils and his grip weakened enough for The Peregrine to pull free, gasping for air.
The Peregrine scrambled to his feet, his shoe bumping against something hard on the floor. Looking down, he spotted his pistol and he quickly snatched it up. His broken leg ached horribly and he was unaware to put much weight on it but with one good shot, the battle would be over.
York was on his feet again and The Peregrine realized that he had a perfect shot: one bullet to the villain’s head and the city would be safe.
Just as he was about to pull the trigger, he caught a glimpse of Lady Death. The hooded figure was watching the battle with obvious interest and The Peregrine momentarily assumed that it was because she was concerned for York’s survival. But then something occurred to him: where was Lazarus Gray? His aides were here, actively battling the zombies—even poor Samantha, naked as the day she was born. But their erstwhile leader was nowhere to be seen.
The Peregrine suddenly realized that he’d been duped. He twisted, turning the barrel of the gun on Lady Death.
* * *
Lazarus had tensed, preparing for a potentially fatal shot to come from Lunt’s gun. Blood was flowing freely from his nose but Lazarus was ignoring it. If he didn’t time his movements just so, he was about to die… and all that he’d accomplished with Assistance Unlimited was going to come to an end.
Lazarus caught Lunt’s eyes shift to something over his shoulder and he risked a glance, wanting to make sure that Devil Face wasn’t back in the fray. What he saw gave him pause: it was Lady Death, standing half in the shadows. Seeing her brought a bit of clarity to his mind—something about this situation did not feel right. The last time he’d checked on Lunt’s whereabouts, he’d been in Europe… how had he managed to spearhead this plan involving Devil Face? Especially since the murders began before Lunt ever came to Sovereign in pursuit of Lazarus? Had he just taken over a pre-existing plot of some kind? Or was all of this just a bizarre illusion perpetrated by Lady Death?
Narrowing his eyes and focusing all of his amazing willpower allowed Lazarus to suddenly the truth: the man before him was not Wilhelm Lunt at all. He had been battling The Peregrine for the past several minutes, while his aides fought for their survival.
Just as The Peregrine turned his gun on Lady Death, Lazarus turned and jumped into the middle of the scene involving the zombies and the other members of Assistance Unlimited. Samantha’s body was covered with scratches and bruises. She was fighting bravely but was unarmed and had been backed into a corner by two of the undead. They tugged at her hair and opened their mouths in an attempt to catch her tender flesh between their teeth. Lazarus unsheathed the dagger he kept on the calf of his left leg and drove the blade through the head of one of the monsters, freeing Samantha to dispatch the other by gripping its skull in her hands and repeatedly driving it into the wall. When the thing’s head had been reduced to a liquid pool of gore, Samantha shoved it away from her.
“Glad to have you back with us,” she said with a smile. “I was wondering what was up with you and The Peregrine.”
Lazarus removed his jacket and draped it around her shoulders. “A momentary lapse of rationality,” he explained.
A gunshot rang out, sounding abnormally loud in the basement. All heads, even those of the remaining zombies, turned to see Lady Death stagger back. The bullet couldn’t really destroy her but it was enough to ruin her tenuous hold on this plane. Her body shimmered, turning to thin trails of smoky vapor that eventually dissipated. Devil Face cried out, a mournful sound that spoke of dashed hopes and lost love.
The four remaining zombies seemed uncertain now, their hungers no longer enough to drive them forward. They became easy prey for Morgan, The Dark Gentleman and Eun, the three men using differing means to dispose of the beasts: Morgan and The Dark Gentleman put bullets through their brains while Eun preferred bashing their skulls in.
In the aftermath, the heroes stood silently for a moment, lost in their own thoughts. When enough time had passed for everyone to feel like they’d regained their footing in the real world, it was Lazarus who spoke first. “We should tie up Phillips and call the authorities.”
The Peregrine cleared his throat, gun still in hand. “I think we should kill him. He’s dangerous—and the
police won’t believe half of the truth, even if we decide to tell them. With his money and clout, he might pay somebody off in this town and get off scot-free. The best way to deal with a rabid dog is to put him down.”
“That’s not how I do things,” Lazarus retorted. “I know that the justice system in Sovereign is corrupt but we have to give it a chance to do the right thing.”
The Peregrine’s fingers shifted on the gun he held and he knew that no one would be able to stop him if he chose to end Devil Face’s life here and now. But he liked Lazarus and didn’t want to test their friendship in that way. He holstered his weapon and nodded towards The Dark Gentleman. “Decided to add a masked man to your team, Lazarus?”
The Dark Gentleman smiled. “I’m just helping out.”
The Peregrine watched as Lazarus used a thin, almost invisible cord to wrap up Devil Face’s hands. The killer was sobbing softly and put up no resistance. The cord was obviously of Gray’s own design and The Peregrine knew there was no chance of the villain escaping, even if he came to his senses and tried.
The members of Assistance Unlimited crowded around one another now, sharing their experiences. The men were anxious to know that Samantha was mostly unharmed and she was grateful that none of them mentioned the fact that they’d seen her naked.
The Peregrine slowly ascended the stairs, preferring not to say goodbye. He had forged some friendships here but he had other places to be and he had never been good with partings. He noticed that The Dark Gentleman had the same idea. The young man was making his way to the stairs when The Peregrine stepped out onto the first floor and hurried out into the Sovereign City streets.
To The Peregrine’s surprise, the sun had come through the clouds. The darkness still clung to the edges of the sky but it looked like they were being driven back by the rays of the sun. For a moment, The Peregrine thought he saw the face of Lady Death in one of the clouds but then it was gone, replaced by a beam of light that shot forth, like a spotlight.
For one day at least, the forces of good had won—and in a place like Sovereign, that was something to be proud of.
THE END
THE SCORCHED GOD:
AN INTERVIEW WITH AUTHOR BARRY REESE
The Scorched God is the sixth installment in The Peregrine Chronicles but it’s unique in that it’s set in-between previous volumes. What made you decide to take that route?
I wasn’t entirely pleased with how the fifth volume turned out, quite honestly. I thought I’d made things a bit too easy for Max with all the allies he’d accumulated and moved too far away from the core concepts of the series. So I came up with the idea of doing a story set in a “classic” era of The Peregrine, with all the coolest things still in place. So you’ve got his father, his marriage, his visions of the future, the branding of criminals, etc.—this is the story I’d hand to someone if they said they wanted to read only one Peregrine story to see what the fuss was all about.
Can you tell us about Sun Koh?
Sun Koh was an actual character that was quite popular in the 1930s Germany. His series ended in 1938, just prior to the outbreak of World War II. His stories haven’t been translated into English but folks like Jess Nevins and Art Sippo have done a wonderful job of keeping the character from being forgotten. I have to give major thanks to Art Sippo, who not only inspired me to use Sun Koh as the antagonist of this novel but who also gave permission for me to use a few characters he’d created for his own Sun Koh series in this book. If you haven’t already read them, I highly recommend you seek out his Sun Koh books published by Age of Adventure. Very high quality stuff and a slightly different take on the “Nazi Doc Savage” than what I went with.
The Furies were a lot of fun—were they always meant to be part of this story?
I actually thought about using The Furies before I decided to include Sun Koh. The high concept of The Furies was that they were going to be the Axis version of Charlie’s Angels. When I got Ed Mironiuk to do the cover, I knew they had to be featured there, since his stuff is oriented in those directions. I really liked the girls and felt kinda bad for killing them off.
The tie-in to the Un-Earth from Volume Three was interesting. What brought that about?
Basically, it occurred to me that Sun Koh was the embodiment of all the Aryan ideals—so much so, that it almost seemed unbelievable that he could be real. So what if he wasn’t? What if some overzealous researcher on the Un-Earth Project created Sun Koh and then accidentally released him into the real world before his own creation? It was a paradox that I found interesting and helped preserve both the history of the world I’d set up for The Peregrine and the one presented in Sun Koh’s own series.
The ending—with a vision of Sun Koh victorious—is that meant to be real? Did Sun Koh go to heaven? What’s that about?
I’ll leave that up to the reader to decide. It kind of wrote itself and I liked leaving things on an ambiguous note.
Any hints about Volume Seven?
Not a one! I honestly have no idea what the future will hold for The Peregrine. I have several other projects lined up for the near future but I’m sure I’ll return to Max Davies at some point.
THE REESE UNLIMITED TIMELINE
Major Events specific to certain stories and novels are included in brackets. Some of this information contains SPOILERS for The Peregrine, Lazarus Gray, Gravedigger and other stories.
~ 800 Viking warrior Grimarr dies of disease but is resurrected as the Sword of Hel. He adventures for some time as Hel’s agent on Earth. [“Dogs of War” and “In the Name of Hel,” Tales of the Norse Gods].
1748—Johann Adam Weishaupt is born.
1750—Guan-Yin embarks on a quest to find her lost father, which takes her to Skull Island [Guan-Yin and the Horrors of Skull Island].
1776—Johann Adam Weishaupt forms The Illuminati. He adopts the guise of the original Lazarus Gray in group meetings, reflecting his “rebirth” and the “moral ambiguity” of the group. In Sovereign City, a Hessian soldier dies in battle, his spirit resurrected as an headless warrior.
1793—Mortimer Quinn comes to Sovereign City, investigating the tales of a Headless Horseman [Gravedigger Volume One]
1865—Eobard Grace returns home from his actions in the American Civil War. Takes possession of the Book of Shadows from his uncle Frederick. [“The World of Shadow,” The Family Grace: An Extraordinary History]
1877—Eobard Grace is summoned to the World of Shadows, where he battles Uris-Kor and fathers a son, Korben. [“The World of Shadow,” The Family Grace: An Extraordinary History]
1885—Along with his niece Miriam and her paramour Ian Sinclair, Eobard returns to the World of Shadows to halt the merging of that world with Earth. [“The Flesh Wheel,” The Family Grace: An Extraordinary History]
1890—Eobard fathers a second son, Leopold.
1895—Felix Cole (the Bookbinder) is born.
1900—Max Davies is born to publisher Warren Davies and his wife, heiress Margaret Davies.
1901—Leonid Kaslov is born.
1905—Richard Winthrop is born in San Francisco.
1908—Warren Davies is murdered by Ted Grossett, a killer nicknamed “Death’s Head”. [“Lucifer’s Cage”, The Peregrine Omnibus Volume One, more details shown in “Origins,” the Peregrine Volume One] Hans Merkel kills his own father. [“Blitzkrieg,” the Peregrine Volume One]
1910—Evelyn Gould is born.
1913—Felix Cole meets the Cockroach Man and becomes part of The Great Work. [“The Great Work,” The Family Grace: An Extraordinary History]
1914—Margaret Davies passes away in her sleep. Max is adopted by his uncle Reginald.
1915—Felix Cole marries Charlotte Grace, Eobard Grace’s cousin.
1916—Leonid Kaslov’s father Nikolai becomes involved in the plot to assassinate Rasputin.
1917—Betsy Cole is born to Felix and Charlotte Grace Cole. Nikolai Kaslov is murdered.
1918—Max Davies begins wandering the world. Richa
rd Winthrop’s parents die in an accident.
1922—Warlike Manchu tutors Max Davies in Kyoto.
1925—Max Davies becomes the Peregrine, operating throughout Europe.
1926—Charlotte Grace dies. Richard Winthrop has a brief romance with exchange student Sarah Dumas.
1927—Richard Winthrop graduates from Yale. On the night of his graduation, he is recruited into The Illuminati. Max and Leopold Grace battle the Red Lord in Paris. Richard Winthrop meets Miya Shimada in Japan, where he purchases The McGuinness Obelisk for The Illuminati.
1928—The Peregrine returns to Boston. Dexter van Melkebeek (later to be known as The Darkling) receives his training in Tibet from Tenzin.
1929—Max Davies is one of the judges for the Miss Beantown contest [“The Miss Beantown Affair,” The Peregrine Volume Three]. Richard Winthrop destroys a coven of vampires in Mexico.
1930—Richard Winthrop pursues The Devil’s Heart in Peru [“Eidolon,” Lazarus Gray Volume Three].
1932—The Peregrine hunts down his father’s killer [“Origins,” The Peregrine Volume One]. The Darkling returns to the United States.
1933—Jacob Trench uncovers Lucifer’s Cage. [“Lucifer’s Cage”, The Peregrine Volume One] The Peregrine battles Doctor York [All-Star Pulp Comics # 1] After a failed attempt at betraying The Illuminati, Richard Winthrop wakes up on the shores of Sovereign City with no memory of his name or past. He has only one clue to his past in his possession: a small medallion adorned with the words Lazarus Gray and the image of a naked man with the head of a lion. [“The Girl With the Phantom Eyes,” Lazarus Gray Volume One]
1934—Now calling himself Lazarus Gray, Richard Winthrop forms Assistance Unlimited in Sovereign City. He recruits Samantha Grace, Morgan Watts and Eun Jiwon [“The Girl With the Phantom Eyes,” Lazarus Gray Volume One] Walther Lunt aids German scientists in unleashing the power Die Glocke, which in turn frees the demonic forces of Satan’s Circus [“Die Glocke,” Lazarus Gray Volume Two]. The entity who will become known as The Black Terror is created [“The Making of a Hero,” Lazarus Gray Volume Two].