“Koreani,” he said. “I suppose you know why I’m here.”
“Of course,” she answered. “You’re here to kill my father. Please step in.”
Kaslov and the Peregrine entered the store, which was cast in dim shadows and floating particles of dust. The main room was filled with books and badly straining shelves. The cat had taken up a perch on a cushion in the corner of the room, purring loudly.
“Does your father know that we’re here?” Max asked.
“If he did, we’d all be in terrible danger,” Koreani said. She moved into another room and returned a moment later with a tray of tea. “It took you longer than I would have thought to come find me, Mr. Davies.”
“You’ve waited all these years?” Max asked.
“Not just for you. I work here. This is my home but it may not be for much longer. The Germans are everywhere, like rats. I may leave for another country soon enough. But this war that’s spreading like wildfire… it may engulf the world.”
Kaslov took a cup of tea, sniffed it and then sat down in a plush chair. “Can you give us any reason to trust you?”
“My father and I are not close,” she said in response, smoothing down her skirt as she took her own seat. “He wanted a male heir to his empire. An accident in battle robbed him of the opportunity to sire more children and he took out his anger on me. It was very hard to be his daughter.”
“I can imagine,” Kaslov replied. “But it might go a long way in terms of improving your relations if you were to turn his greatest enemy over to him.”
Koreani studied the Russian in silence for a moment. When spoke again, her words carried a brittle tone that threatened to end the conversation completely. “Nothing I do will ever erase the fact that I am not a male. If you have come here for no other reasons than to insult my honesty, you may leave at any time.”
Max leaned forward then, trying to project his concern to this woman. “My family is in grave danger. Your father has a new student, a German who goes by the name Shinigami. They’ve threatened and killed my friends. I need to put a stop to this. Please.”
Koreani studied him for a moment and then nodded. “My father maintains his youth because of a special elixir. I have created a counter-serum that will reverse the de-aging process. If he takes in even a little bit of the counter-serum, he will begin to age at an incredibly rapid rate.”
“How old are you?” Kaslov interrupted, studying her. “I get the feeling you’re not as young as you look, either.”
“I was born over sixty years ago,” she said, surprising Max. He thought she looked not a day over twenty-five. “I have used the same elixir as my father.”
“How is this any different than putting a bullet in his brain?” the Peregrine asked. “I still have to get close enough to him to use the counter-serum on him. It’s just another method of murdering him.”
“This is not murder,” Koreani countered. “This is undoing a falsehood. My father is ancient. He should have died long ago. Plus, my father has altered his body chemistry so that he heals very quickly. What would kill a normal man would only wound him. The only sure way to end his threat is to use this counter-serum.” Koreani rose from her seat and moved over to a bookcase, where she pulled a large leather-bound volume from the shelf. She opened the book, revealing its nature as a placeholder for a small syringe set into the center of the “book.” It was filled with a yellow-orange liquid.
The Peregrine allowed her to place the syringe in his hand, staring into her face. The sunlight illuminated her eyes, as the rays streamed in through the nearby window. She looked just as wise as her father but with a vulnerability that he always seemed to lack. “I’ll take care of him,” Max promised. “He won’t bother anyone ever again.”
She opened her mouth to say something but her words were lost forever as a crack sounded from outside, just as the window exploded and a bullet struck home in the side of Koreani’s head. Blood and bone flew from the wound and Kaslov was the first to react, throwing himself from his chair and knocking the Peregrine to the floor. Koreani fell to the carpeted floor, her cat taking off to a safer location deeper in the shop.
The Peregrine stared at Koreani in horror, knowing that she’d put herself at risk to help him… her death was partially on his hands.
From outside, a German accented voice rang out. “Come out and play, little Peregrine. Shinigami is here.”
CHAPTER X
Kidnapped!
January 30, 1940
9:30 AM
Atlanta, Georgia
Evelyn tried to ignore the way the police officers stared at her as she ran past. She wore a modest pair of knee-length shorts and a sleeveless blouse but it was still enough to elicit lust in the men around her, apparently. Few people gave thought to how the leading ladies of Hollywood kept in shape but Evelyn did it by running a couple of miles a week and watching her diet.
The plantation property was large enough to give her a variety of running spaces, keeping things from getting too boring. She had just finished moving through the tall grasses on the outskirt of the property and was about to head back out for the last leg when she passed the patrol car that had been parked out front for the last couple of days. Assigned by McKenzie, the rotating groups of officers were there to ensure that Evelyn and her family were safe. So far, they’d done their job well enough but the two who were currently on duty now were ‘fans’ of Evelyn’s, having seen her in several plays and movies. Their favorites had, apparently, been the ones in which she’d appeared in the least amount of clothing.
Sighing, Evelyn focused on the task at hand. She pushed herself harder and harder, feeling a burn that started in her chest and spread downwards, spiking in her calves. She couldn’t worry about what Max was up to—he could take care of himself, especially with Leonid alongside him—but she did have concerns as to whether or not the Warlike Manchu might have shared his knowledge with other criminals. How many more madmen would come gunning for her and William in the years to come?
Panting, Evelyn finished her run, returning to the house after another ten or fifteen minute jog. She staggered to the back porch, picking up a white cotton towel that she’d left there for the purposes of drying the back of her neck. She noticed that the back door was standing wide open, which was unusual. Nettie was a stickler for keeping the doors closed, especially with a crawling baby on the loose.
As she started up the back stairs, another thing caught her eye: the police car was sitting where it had been for the last couple of days, but there were no officers around it.
Suddenly fearing the worst, Evelyn sprinted into the house. The pain in her chest and legs was completely forgotten, especially when she saw Nettie lying on her back in the middle of the kitchen. Evelyn knelt and checked the frail old woman’s pulse, happily noting that it was strong and regular.
Flynn
, she thought, hoping that the rambunctious fellow had proven as capable as Kaslov thought he was. She pictured Josh, the plantation’s mammoth black farmhand, as well, but knew he wouldn’t be any match for the Warlike Manchu’s minions. Neither, for that matter, would be Libby…
“Calm yourself, Mrs. Davies. Becoming frantic will do you no good whatsoever.”
Evelyn didn’t bother looking to see who was speaking. She knew it instinctively. The lilting tones didn’t belong to anyone who should have been in the house and that could mean only one thing: it was either the Warlike Manchu himself or one of his agents.
She sprang up with a dancer’s grace, moving towards the sound of the voice with astonishing speed. She now saw him—tall, lean and of Oriental descent. It was the Manchu, dressed in a set of green robes with a rampant yellow dragon on the front. He threw up a hand to block her kick easily enough, then did it again and again as she tried to rain down blows against him. Evelyn was a natural fighter, having taken to the lessons given her by Max quickly and smoothly… but the Warlike Manchu made her look like an amateur, one who was moving in slow motion. He allowed her to continue her assault until she began to slow with weariness and he then ended the charade by grabbing hold of her right wrist and twisting it painfully, driving her to her knees. He continued holding it above her head, occasionally increasing his hold upon it, until she was still.
“Your son will be raised in a most proper fashion,” he said, leaning close so that his words were whispered almost lovingly in her ear.
“What…?” she stammered, seeing past the pain as best she could.
“I came here tonight because my two failed sons are even now engaged in battle. My anticipation is that they will kill one another. Your husband was the greatest of all my pupils… but he is weakened by this false sense of morality that infects so many in your culture. My Shinigami is driven by lusts that make him ill-suited for any role atop my organizations. My mistake was in thinking I could take grown men and shape them in my image. What I need—what I have always needed—was an infant. One who could be raised in the old ways, taught the dark arts of assassination and power brokering. If I cannot have Max Davies, I can have one of his blood. It is a fitting replacement.”
“If you harm my son, I’ll kill you. I swear it!”
“I imagine you mean those words… but you are not capable of fulfilling them. Even should your husband survive his battle with my new pupil, there will be no returning your son to you. He will be marked as mine, body and soul.”
“You’re insane,” she hissed, struggling with renewed ferocity but unable to break his grip.
“Your friends are alive but injured. When you awaken, call for help immediately. I shall give you my word that your son will be raised to be strong and intelligent.”
“You’re the devil. Leave my son and my family alone!”
“From this moment forward, he is mine.”
Evelyn felt his free hand come down on the base of her neck. The blow was so sudden that she had no chance to avoid it and she fell forward, her face smacking against the floor with a loud thump.
From elsewhere in the house, little baby William began to cry.
CHAPTER XI
To the Death
January 30, 1940
3:30 PM
Copenhagen, Denmark
“Head out back and come around,” the Peregrine whispered, receiving a nod of approval from Kaslov.
As the Russian crept towards the rear of the store, the Peregrine rose to his feet, aware that his enemy could shoot him just as easily as the man had killed the Warlike Manchu’s daughter. He reached out with is mental abilities, trying to sense the man’s intentions. What he got was a jumble of strong emotions: hatred, excitement, desire for combat.
He wants to fight me hand-to>-hand
, Max realized, relaxing a bit.
“I’ve heard a lot about you,” Shinigami said, speaking again as the Peregrine moved outside the store. There were a few people further down the street, watching in fear. They had heard the gunshots but none of them appeared brave or curious enough to intervene further. “The Warlike Manchu claims you’re the best fighter he’s ever seen.”
“That doesn’t say good things about this fight you’re spoiling for,” the Peregrine pointed out. “Unless you’re looking to get your head handed to you…”
Shinigami and the Peregrine stood facing one another, each taking in the full appearance of the other. Shinigami wore his black bodysuit and skull mask, a curved dagger in his right hand and a smoking pistol in the left. The Peregrine drew forth the Knife of Elohim, preferring to have the magical weapon in hand as opposed to one of his modified pistols.
“I’m not looking to play games with you,” the German said, moving a few steps closer. The two men began circling one another, like tigers preparing for battle. “That woman in there… who was she? What did she tell you?”
“I’m surprised your master keeps those kinds of secrets from you,” Max teased, sensing that he was getting through to the other man. “He never bothered telling you about his daughter?”
Shinigami stiffened in surprise, remembering all the talk that the Warlike Manchu had made with regards to wanting an heir… if he had a daughter, why not train her in the ways of business and assassination? True, she was just a woman but if that was all you had… “I thought you were here looking for a way to kill the Manchu,” he finally said.
“His daughter gave it to me… the way to kill him. Turns out that he wasn’t the best father in the world. But that’s his way—there was a time he told me I could be his son. But now he’s sent you here to kill me. You think he won’t turn on you when you’re no longer useful to him? That’s the way he works, Shinigami… people are just tools to him, things to be discarded when they’re not needed any longer.”
“You were too weak to be his rightful heir,” Shinigami countered, striking first. He swept his blade towards Max’s side but the Peregrine countered with his glowing knife and knocked aside the blow. “And if his daughter is helping you, it only makes sense that she’s just as weak.”
The Peregrine noted that Kaslov had come around the side of the building, ready to intervene if necessary. The Russian was, however, seemingly content to allow Max the opportunity to defeat Shinigami fairly. For that, Max was grateful.
“I didn’t appreciate you striking at me through my friends and family,” Max hissed, slashing with his own blade. He managed to embed a part of the knife into Shinigami’s shoulder but it was not enough to slow the other man down. In fact, Shinigami caught him in the midsection with an up-thrust knee and Max staggered under a follow-up backhand.
Before the Peregrine could recover, Shinigami grabbed hold of his wrist and slammed it back against the outer wall of the bookstore. Max lost his grip on the magic dagger he wielded and cried out in pain.
“I would have cut your heart out long ago,” Shinigami whispered, bringing his face in close, “but the Warlike Manchu wanted you to suffer first. He wanted you to taste fear.”
“He was just hoping he could break me… make me come begging to take my place at his side. You were just a weapon to use against me. If he’d really believed in you, he wouldn’t have kept you from coming after me.”
“Maybe I was just so valuable he didn’t want to risk losing me,” Shinigami responded, slamming his forehead against Max’s nose. It didn’t quite break under the impact, but blood spurted from the injured area of Max’s face and his vision swam.