Before Adam could tell him to shut the hell up, the ground began to shake and a rumbling sound drowned out all other noise. A section of the wall just in front of Joseph slid open, revealing a room filled with glittering gold and locked chests.
“My god,” Joseph had said under his breath. He’d been the first to step in, reaching down to grab a large handful of coins. He was soon joined by both Adam and Mervin, who had lost his earlier fears. The three of them loaded themselves down with gold, laughing at their good fortune. There was far too much to carry out themselves and they were quickly making plans to return for the rest.
“They want their sacrifice.”
Adam turned to stare at Atwill, who was now standing in front of the small opening in the wall. “Kevin… what are you talking about?”
“There are spirits here,” Atwill said, gesturing about them. “They told me we could have the gold but there was a price to be paid. I offered to pay it… and now it’s time.”
Adam swallowed hard, seeing fear and certainty in his friend’s eyes. “There’s no one here,” he muttered without much conviction. “We’re safe.”
As if on cue, Atwill suddenly began screaming. He fell to his knees, clutching at his face, which had begun to smoke and sizzle. The scent of burning flesh made Adam almost vomit. “Oh my god!” Atwill yelled. “It hurts! Please—no! I changed my mind! Please, no!”
Adam took one step towards his friend but felt Joseph’s grip on his shoulder. “We need to get out of here,” Joseph said. “The wall’s closing!”
Adam heard the grinding of stone and saw their only means of escape beginning to close. “We can’t just leave him,” he stammered.
Mervin had no such problem. The coward was already scurrying outside, coins dropping from his overstuffed pockets.
“Whatever’s wrong with him might be contagious,” Joseph responded, pulling Adam out of the room. “Let’s go! Before it’s too late!”
Adam allowed himself to be yanked free but he could hear Atwill’s screams following him. “Don’t leave me! Don’t leave me alone with them!”
The last sight of his friend that Adam had was of Atwill rolling about in agony… and in the shadows, things moved: feminine monstrosities eager to share their knowledge with a new acolyte.
In the present day, Adam rolled himself a cigarette with shaking fingers. “I’m sorry, Kevin,” he whispered to himself. “But we had to save ourselves.”
The dead form of Joseph Nelson seemed to share his sentiments.
CHAPTER V
The Tale of the Three Sisters
“Floyd’s in jail and he’s singing like a canary.” Will McKenzie, the handsome young Atlanta police chief, talked around a mouthful of fried chicken. He was seated in the dining room of Max and Evelyn’s plantation home, his hat perched next to his plate at the table. “That brand of yours was a beaut, too. He’s never gonna be rid of that thing.”
Evelyn looked up from feeding baby William, a disapproving frown on her face. She exchanged a glance with Max, who steadfastly pretended to have not seen it. She didn’t like his methods of ‘marking’ criminals but they’d long since stopped arguing about it.
Max fingered the open collar of his shirt, his olive complexion darkening slightly. “That story he told was fantastic but the details check out. A few years back, Adam Wood did go off on an expedition into the Amazon. They reported Kevin Atwill lost when they returned. Since then, all three of the survivors have experienced tremendous upswings in their fortunes.”
Evelyn scooped up a bit of food that was trying to escape down her son’s chin. “But somehow Atwill’s still alive… and he’s turning people to stone?”
“That’s what Wood believes,” Max confirmed. “Floyd found that a little hard to swallow and thinks Wood’s simply gone insane.”
McKenzie wiped his fingers with a napkin and pushed away from the table. His dinner had been reduced to bones and a few spare scraps of meat. “I’ve got a lead on Mr. Saunders, though. Lives in Miami these days. I called in a few favors and he’s being brought into protective custody for questioning. I’ve also got out an order that his mail and any packages that are marked for delivery to his address be redirected to the local police department.”
“You’re actually pretty useful,” Evelyn said with a laugh. “I’ll have to correct Max the next time he says you’re worthless.”
“I’d appreciate that,” McKenzie said earnestly. He and Evelyn then laughed gently before noticing that Max was not joining them. He was tapping his fingers on the table, looking like his mind was a thousand miles away. “Max? What’s running through that dangerous mind of yours?”
“If Kevin Atwill is out there, he’s dangerously unhinged. He’s not just seeking vengeance against these men who wronged him somehow. He’s killing innocent people along the way. I’m just wondering what happened to him in the Amazon… and how he managed to gain these new abilities.”
“You don’t believe the stuff about the Gorgons?” Evelyn asked.
“I don’t think it would be the strangest thing we’ve ever heard.” Max rose from his seat, having made his decision. “I’m going to call in some favors of my own. Have the adventurer’s club find out if anyone’s come out of the Amazon region in recent months that attracted any kind of odd attention… while I question Mr. Wood directly.” He glanced over at Evelyn. “Fancy spending some time at the library, my love?”
“You want me to do some snooping on folklore in the Amazon region?” she asked, following his train of thought. “I can do that. Maybe we’ll find some reference to the gorgon legends in the area.”
“That’s what I’m hoping,” Max confirmed. He looked outside, at the setting sun.
Soon it would be dark enough for the Peregrine to take flight.
* * *
Evelyn left William in the care of their maid, the elderly black woman named Nettie. William adored her so much that Evelyn never felt the slightest bit of guilt about leaving him in her care.
Dressed in a red dress and heels, Evelyn caught the eye of many a man as she strode up the steps into Atlanta’s largest public library. She was well-known in the area, having starred in many local productions in addition to her screen work. Though the content of her films was generally of the unsavory B-movie side of things, she was proud of her career.
Evelyn was recognized by the head librarian, a straight-backed fellow named Oliver Lane. He doted on her whenever she visited and she was well aware that he had a bit of a crush on her. When she’d explained to him the bare essentials of her research, he’d left her at a quiet table in the back while he’d gone to fetch her materials. Within moments, he’d returned with a small stack of books.
The first hour or so of her search was very discouraging. Everything that Oliver had found regarding the Gorgons was set in Greece or the surrounding areas. Evelyn was close to abandoning the research when she opened up a book entitled
A Layman’s Guide to the Book of Shadows
. On one of the first pages she spotted a name that she recognized: Felix Cole, the Bookbinder. He was an acquaintance of Max’s, a collector of the arcane. He frequently took old manuscripts and bound them together into exquisite works of art. This particular volume was no exception—Evelyn found herself running the tips of her fingers along the spine, feeling the worn leather and marveling in the faint hint of spices that rose up from the inner pages. Had he somehow scented them? She wondered.
Inside the book she found exactly what she was looking for. With a triumphant smile on her lips, she began to read:
The Greeks commonly used the name Gorgo or Gorgon to describe female monsters who were a favorite subject in their art. The ancient lore concerning them is most fully summed up in Apollodorus’s Library of Mythology, in Ovid’s Metamorphoses and in Lucan’s Pharsalia. These accounts written between the 2nd century BC and the 1st century AD are all late versions of the myth of Perseus and depend on much old poetry, which has been lost.
There were three known Gorgons, all sisters: Stheno and Eurysale (who were immortal) and Medusa (who was mortal). It was said that they lived on the Atlantic shores of Africa, which linked them to the underworld, which was likewise placed in the far west. According to philogogists, the term Gorgon should denote a terrible roaring or bellowing but in Greek usage the name always refers to their glaring eyes.
The Greek hero Perseus came to their home, seeking to steal the head of a Gorgon in order to placate King Polydectes. He found the three sisters sleeping, their hair filled with living snakes and their mouths armed with great tusks like those of boars. Perseus slew Medusa and escaped the wrath of Stehno and Eurysale.
It is said that after the death of their beloved sister, the remaining Gorgons forced many of the women in nearby regions to serve them as slaves. Given their own hideous nature, they preferred to see the most beautiful of girls broken down by hard labor. With their slaves, the sisters set off across the sea with a great treasure, hoping to avoid future adventurers like Perseus.
Apocryphal accounts state that the sisters found their way into the jungles of South America. There they used their existing slaves and new ones recruited from nearby to forge a small community for themselves. When their physical bodies began to break down, their spirits merged with a set of caves in which their treasures were stored. It was said that their followers remained nearby, ready to serve the Chosen One when they emerged. This ‘chosen’ would be someone who was brave enough to accept the blessings (curse?) of the Gorgons. The monsters would pass on their petrifying gaze and the ability to enchant weapons and coins.
Evelyn closed the book, heart pounding. That explained it all then: Kevin Atwill hadn’t died at all but had instead been
transformed
. He now possessed the powers of the ancient Gorgons themselves, explaining how he had killed Joseph Nelson.
With a blown kiss to Oliver, Evelyn bolted from the library, armed with new knowledge.
CHAPTER VI
The Face of Evil
The Peregrine was perched on the roof of Adam Wood’s house, feeling a growing sense of amusement. News of Floyd’s arrest had made it around town and Wood had panicked, hiring several beefy bodyguards to patrol his property. None of them had detected the arrival of the Peregrine, nor were they aware that he now watched them from the shadows.
Max raised one of his pistols, exchanging the normal bullets he used for tranquilizers. There were four guards but within a minute, none of the four remained on their feet.
The Peregrine then dropped down from the roof and approached the back door. He had considered several different ways that he could confront Adam Wood. In the end, he’d decided that going in strong and hard would be the best way of ensuring cooperation.
With one strong kick, the back door shattered and allowed him entrance. He heard Wood’s exclamation of surprise from another room and the Peregrine launched himself inside, rushing forward to make sure that his quarry didn’t escape.
“Mr. Wood! I’m not here to harm you—but I need information.” The Peregrine found Adam in the living room, looking like a panicked rabbit. The statue that served as the final reminder of Joseph Nelson’s existence remained exactly where it been for the past several days.
“The Peregrine…?” Adam stammered, looking like he wasn’t sure if he felt relief or renewed terror. “You’re that vigilante the papers are always talking about.”
“The only ones who need fear me are criminals,” the Peregrine replied. He put away his gun, though his hand lingered near the Knife of Elohim, a mystical weapon that could carve its way through almost anything. “I know about your relationship with Floyd. And I know that you believe you’re being threatened by Kevin Atwill.”
Adam definitely looked relieved now. He slumped down into a chair, his haggard appearance making it clear he had barely slept in days. “I knew we shouldn’t have abandoned him… but we were frightened. And I thought he was going to die!”
“Tell me what happened, Mr. Wood. Every detail. That’s the only way I’ll be able to put a stop to this.”
Adam nodded, not caring that he was confessing to a whole series of crimes. He seemed to need this unburdening of his spirit and he was desperate for help. He told the Peregrine everything and Max remained stoic throughout. Max had seen and heard so many kinds of evil in his forty one years of life. At the age of eight, he’d witnessed his father’s vicious murder, which had launched him on to a dark and bloody path.
When Adam was finished, the Peregrine moved forward to examine the petrified remains of Joseph Nelson. He reached behind the statue and felt for the discs, dropping them into his coat pocket without a glance at their surfaces. He wasn’t sure how he could study them without risking a look but he’d think of something. If nothing else, he needed to remove them from the scene so that no one else would be hurt by them.
“I’m going to take you someplace where you’ll be safe,” Max said, turning to face Adam. The other man simply shrugged, as if all the fight were gone from him.
The Peregrine was about to say something more when the front windows exploded inwards as a hail of bullets ripped through them. Adam screamed and fell to the floor, hands over head, while the Peregrine reacted like a man who’d seen a thousand battles: he crouched and was quickly brandishing a weapon in each hand. In his right he held the Knife of Elohim, which glowed fiercely, and in his left was clutched a pistol. He was no longer using tranquilizer bullets, which meant very bad things to whomever was about to enter the house.
The front door was soon as bullet-ridden as the windows, allowing a group of four to enter. There were three women, all looking like they were of Latin descent, wearing white robes of Grecian appearance. The women were all beautiful but their expressions bespoke only murderous intent and each of them carried automatic rifles. The fourth member of the group was male and of unusual appearance. He wore a porcelain mask with carved human features that resembled those of a beautiful and somewhat amused young man.
“Hello, Adam,” the man in the mask said. “It’s been a long time, hasn’t it? Life’s treated you well.”
From his spot on the floor, Adam trembled in fear. “Kevin…? My god, it
is
you!”