Götterdämmerung Read Free Page A

right through The Peregrine’s brain, making him scream out loud.
    Nimrod and the men watching all froze in place, uncertain what was happening. They saw The Peregrine reach up and seize the sides of his head. His face was contorting in obvious distress.
    “Jesus, what did you do to the guy?” Declare asked.
    Nimrod paused, giving a shrug of his shoulders. “Maybe he’s upset because he knows he’s about to get killed.”
    The truth was that The Peregrine was now unaware of his surroundings. He was seeing images in his mind’s eye… horrific things full of death and destruction. Ever since he’d witnessed his father’s murder, Max Davies had been plagued by such visions and they came at a time of their choosing.
    He now saw a set of dramatically-attired people, most of whom he recognized but some that the did not: he saw Lazarus Gray, the bloodthirsty vigilante known as The Gravedigger, a man dressed in a domino-style mask and, of all things, a top hat, a Negro wearing a peculiar set of emerald clothing and several others that looked too hazy for him to focus on the details.
    All around these people were scenes of horror. Strange, octopus-like tentacles were writhing around them, seizing hold of their necks and limbs. He heard echoing laughter rising above all… and he saw the already infamous swastikas that were now associated with Nazi Germany being raised on scarlet flags on no less than the White House itself.
    Another flash of light and sound accompanied a transition of sorts, showing The Peregrine a familiar locale: 6196 Robeson Avenue, the home of Lazarus Gray. The building was aglow with some sort of mystic power and a skeletal man dressed in dark clothing was on the roof, bearing aloft a crystal ball.
    The visions faded as quickly as they had emerged and The Peregrine shook his head to help clear them away. He remembered now where he had been and as he looked around, he saw Nimrod had reclaimed one of his pistols and was now standing above The Peregrine, the barrel pushed up against the hero’s forehead.
    Acting quickly, The Peregrine seized Nimrod’s hand and yanked the pistol towards Declare. Applying sudden pressure, The Peregrine caused Nimrod to pull the trigger, sending a bullet straight into the mobster’s face.
    The reaction from Declare’s men was instantaneous. The action had been so quick that many of them had never even seen The Peregrine’s movement. As a result, they suspected a double-cross, leading them to open fire not only on Nimrod but on the Italian mobsters, who then responded in kind.
    Nimrod cried out as a bullet caught him in the shoulder but he was swift in his motions, diving below a table and then quickly scurrying towards an exit.
    The Peregrine also elected to take the better part of valor, though he reached into his jacket and extracted a small smoke bomb. It wasn’t enough to do more than annoy those it hit, which was why he hadn’t used it upon being spotted. But in the sudden chaos, it took on a greater impact as the bullets continued to fly wildly.
    The Peregrine emerged into the night air. He wiped away blood with the back of a gloved hand, noting that Nimrod had managed to effectively vanish.
    I’m going to find you, The Peregrine silently swore. And next time I’m going to be prepared for your little tricks.
    Confident that there would be few, if any, gangsters left alive after their gunfight ended, The Peregrine took flight and found his roadster parked down the street. The visions he’d seen were still rattling around in his head, concerning him.
    He knew what he had to do, though. Before anything else, he needed to call Lazarus Gray and tell him that dark days lie ahead.

CHAPTER II
    Sovereign
    The rain was coming down hard, making the edge of the rooftop perilously slippery. The woman who stood balanced there was attractive, with long brown hair and soulful eyes. Her green dress was drenched and clung to her athletic form in the most scandalous way. It