Murder looked at him knowingly. “For a moment there, you made it sound like you weren’t a part of it. You said ‘they’ before you corrected yourself. I’ll ask you again, Lunt… what are you planning to do with it?”

  The German hesitated for a moment before he spoke. When he did, he sounded both vulnerable and determined. “The first thing I will do is a bit of vanity.” He touched a glove hand to the scarred flesh on his face. “Once my appearance has been restored, I will set about taking control of The Illuminati. The idea of the group is a good one but I could improve upon it.”

  “So you seek to be a God, too,” Murder said.

  “Of a sort, yes.”

  Murder grinned like a jackal. “Then perhaps we can help each other, after all.”

  ***

  Lazarus Gray’s airplane banked low over the fog-shrouded terrain of Locust Mountain. Lazarus craned his neck, trying to catch sight of a suitable place for a landing. It was early morning and even though the sun was shining bright, the clouds hung heavy around the city, making visibility difficult.

  Not satisfied with any of the landing sites he could see, Lazarus flipped a switch and activated several devices mounted on the bottom of the plane. These converted the airship into something suitable for use on uneven terrain. The new landing gear was set in place by the time he lowered the plane until it was skimming against the bumpy surface of Locust Mountain. Gray stopped the engine and stared out the front window, marveling at how drab and unwelcoming the place really was. To think that people still lived here was mind-boggling.

  Lazarus stepped into the passenger cabin of the small plane, his mismatched eyes taking in the people that he considered friends and family. Samantha wore an ankle-length pleated skirt, flats and a button-up blouse. She was busily putting her gasmask on when she caught sight of Lazarus, flashing him one of her megawatt smiles. Just behind her was Morgan, who wore his usual suit and tie. His gasmask was already on, giving him a surreal appearance. Eun wore brown pants and a white shirt. He was staring miserably at his own mask but quickly slid it into place when he saw Lazarus studying him. The young Korean disliked wearing anything that covered his face but after hearing about the effects the air in Locust Mountain could have on his lungs, he had agreed to wear the covering.

  Along with Assistance Unlimited was Sporrenberg. The handsome Nazi was wearing a military uniform, though he had stripped it of any sign of his national allegiance. This had been done with much distaste, as Sporrenberg felt that this implied shame over his German heritage. But in the end, he had agreed with Gray’s request. Though America and Germany were not enemies, there were still many who felt uncomfortable with Hitler’s rhetoric.

  “Remember, everyone, we have to be prepared not only for Professor Murder’s forces but also for Satan’s Circus.” Lazarus slid his mask into place and his voice became muffled by the leather and plastic that covered his features. “We’re here to find and destroy Die Glocke. Shutting down Murder’s operation sis secondary objective. Understood?”

  The group nodded their assent and began heading towards the door. Samantha reached out and took Morgan’s hand as they stepped to the ground. Keeping her voice low, she said, “I have to confess, I’m glad to be back on a mission. Things have been too slow lately.”

  Morgan laughed softly, the sound taking on an eerie quality because of his mask. “You’re an action junkie.”

  “We all are,” Samantha countered and Morgan’s lack of response was all the confirmation she needed that he agreed.

  “I think Eun’s just looking forward to getting rid of Sporrenberg,” Morgan added after a moment.

  Samantha pulled her hand away and pulled out her pistol, mimicking the same thing that her companions were doing. She had tried talking to Eun about his attitude towards the German but it was hard to put much heart into the fight. She agreed with him that Hitler’s policies were wrong and that eventually all of Europe—and perhaps beyond—were going to realize how dangerous the Fuehrer really was. But Sporrenberg seemed like a decent sort to her. He was just a man who had grown up in an environment that had confused patriotism with blind obedience. As far as she was concerned, the best way to deal with him was with kindness. In the end, perhaps he’d realize the error of his ways.

  For his part, Sporrenberg seemed to care little for how Eun viewed him. Even now, the German stood side-by-side with Lazarus, surveying the hellish scene before them. If he was even aware of Eun being off to the side, watching him closely, he gave no sign of it.

  “We’re being watched,” the German said. He pointed to the left and then to the right. “A man over there, third house, the one with the red roof. And to the right, there’s a small camera, not unlike the one you have at Assistance Unlimited’s headquarters.”

  Lazarus began moving forward, his fingers adjusting their grip on his gun. He had already spotted the surveillance and figured there were several more that couldn’t be seen so easily. It didn’t matter. In the end, it would come down to the same thing it always did: force. That was a language that every criminal in the world could understand.

  The group moved through the mostly abandoned city in silence. The steam rising up from underground soon had them sweating in their clothes and Samantha was glad she’d worn a skirt. She couldn’t fathom how Morgan was able to keep going in his suit and tie.

  Once or twice Lazarus saw signs of the town’s residents. Fearful faces peered out through curtained windows, wondering who the armed newcomers were. From the looks in their eyes, however, it was not a completely new sight. With Professor Murder calling the town home, they had probably seen more than a few firefights.

  The seat of Murder’s power was located in the center of town. The roads leading to the old City Hall were splintered from various subterranean upheavals and Lazarus led the way through the debris with careful movements, lest they all plunge into the abyss.

  The front door of the building was open, making everyone tensed immediately. The likelihood that they were being led into a trap had just increased immeasurably. Lazarus gestured for everyone to remain vigilant as they passed through the open door.

  Inside they found that the interior of the structure had been gutted, leaving the ground floor as one large laboratory with a second floor overlooking it. There were corpses everywhere, though from the looks of some them, a quick death would have been a mercy. They were covered with blisters and sores from their prolonged proximity to Die Glocke. The German super weapon stood quietly in the center of the lab and the sight of it was enough to cause Sporrenberg to shiver in recognition.

  Samantha knelt beside one of the bodies, turning its head to the side. The motion revealed that the man’s skull had been brutally crushed.

  “Who did this?” Eun asked aloud, counting the dead scientists as he took in the scene.

  “Professor Murder.”

  All eyes—and guns—turned in the direction of the woman who had spoken those words. It was a thin woman with wispy white hair, wearing oversized black glasses. She held a small handgun at her side. “My name is Ellen Dombrowski. I was in charge of this operation.”

  Sporrenberg reached her first, gripping her hard by the elbow. “This machine has been recently used, hasn’t it? I can feel the electricity in the air.”

  “It’s been used twice in the past few hours.” Dombrowski had a stunned look to her features and Sporrenberg roughly shook her in an attempt to get her to focus.

  “Who used it? What did they do?”

  Dombrowski stared at the German and then looked at the rest of Assistance Unlimited. “The Circus wanted to journey to Antichthon. Professor Murder betrayed them and sent them straight into the sun.”

  “At least we don’t have to worry about them anymore,” Morgan said. He noticed that Eun had stripped off his mask and started to remind the younger man that Lazarus had ordered them to wear the protective gear at all times but he refrained from doing so. Eun was a grown man and if he wanted to risk his lungs, it was his right to do so. It wasn’t like Morgan hadn’t smoked more than his fair of cigarettes, which did the same thing.

  Eun nodded, though his eyes remained fixed on Sporrenberg. The German had dropped his hold on Dombrowski and was now approaching Die Glocke, a look of mounting anger on his face. “You said it had been used twice. What else did Murder do with it?”

  “He was visited by a German named Walther Lunt. Together, they decided to fulfill the mission that The Circus had set out to do. They went to awaken the great beast that slumbers on Antichthon. They hope that the monster will grant them the power it would have given to Twining.”

  “Great beast?” Lazarus asked. He had grown increasingly concerned when he’d heard that Lunt had beaten them here but there was nothing to be done about that now. He had to focus on stopping whatever occurred from this point forward.

  Dombrowski nodded, the shocked expression returning to her eyes. “I saw it, when they opened the portal. It raised its head and looked at us… and then it said… it said….”

  “Tell us,” Lazarus pressed.

  “It said. I am the forgotten spawn of God, the hideous brother. I wear my sins and they are never forgotten. Free me, and I shall give you a place at my side.”

  Lazarus grimaced, an uncustomary show of emotion. He knew that both Lunt and Murder were sociopaths but to so willingly turn over their lives to a monster… it boggled the mind.

  “We need to destroy the machine,” Sporrenberg said and Lazarus found himself nodding in agreement. “We can’t let them come back with that thing in tow.”

  A bark of laughter erupted from Dombrowski and she raised a hand to cover her mouth. Tears were now flowing from the corners of her eyes and the fingers that were wrapped around her own gun twitched. “It’s too late. They’ve already come back. The beast killed all of these people.”

  Lazarus looked around quickly. “Where are they?”

  “Out back. They’re about to leave.” Her eyes closed and she began to recite something, her head bobbing with each word as if she were moving in time to music that only she could hear. “And the darkness shall be torn asunder and the great beast shall return from his prison. Singing and joyous sounds will emanate from the shadowy corners of Earth, for the age of man is ending. Do you hear the sounds of dark glory? Evil has a forked tongue and burned lips... Together they form the names of the beast. Nug-Rabib-Om! Jack-In-Irons! The-Giant-Who-Kills! This is the sound of chaos.”

  Dombrowski then raised the barrel of her gun and quickly placed it in her mouth. Even as Lazarus yelled for her to stop, she was pulling the trigger. The back of her head exploded outward, painting the walls.

  Samantha buried her head in Morgan’s shoulder and even Eun was forced to swallow the bile that rose up in his throat.

  Lazarus, coated in the woman’s blood and brains, paused only a moment before heading towards the door. Sporrenberg was quick on his heels and the rest of the group followed soon after.

  They found Lunt and Murder kneeling on the ground behind City Hall. Towering above them was a figure nearly sixteen feet in height. It had the body of a man but its head resembled a boar’s, complete with tusks that curved upward from its mouth. It was naked save for series of heavy chains fastened about its neck and a belt of human skulls, tied together with what appeared to be a loop of someone’s intestines. The creature held a large spiked club in his right hand and as the members of Assistance Unlimited approached, he turned his smoldering eyes upon them.

  “More humans to join my forces… or to die at my hands. Which shall it be?” the creature bellowed and the stench that came from its open mouth was fierce enough that the heroes all recoiled, despite the gasmasks they wore.

  Lazarus forced his gaze away from the monster, looking instead at Lunt and Murder. The two of them were staring with gaping mouths at the beast, grayish-green smoke drifting slowly from their eyes. They were obviously enslaved by the creature they’d freed and Lazarus wondered how much of their souls remained.

  Before he could pursue those thoughts any further, the beast took a step towards them, the chains clanking loudly as he moved. “Swear fealty or I shall drench this ground in your blood!” the monster bellowed.

  Sporrenberg answered by opening fire. His bullets dug bloody holes in the monster’s flesh but rather than falling, the creature seemed to become more enraged. He roared like the boar he resembled and slashed through the air with his club. It caught Sporrenberg in the side and sent him flying. He toppled over the heads of the Assistance Unlimited members, crashing hard on the roof.

  Lazarus gave a quick motion to his aides, who launched into their own attacks. All of them spread out to make it more difficult for the monster to assault them but the creature smashed its club down with such strength that the ground shook, knocking Samantha off her feet and causing Morgan to lose his grip on his gun. It slid across the ground and vanished into a deep crevasse that was spewing clouds of hot air.

  Lazarus targeted the monster’s face, hoping to catch one of its eyes with a bullet. There was something about the creature that struck a chord in his memory—specifically the female scientist’s reference to ‘Jack-In-Irons’—but he didn’t have the time to dwell on it. His normally unerring accuracy failed him on this occasion and the bullet instead bounced off the monster’s left tusk.

  The creature, whom Lazarus was now thinking of as Jack-In-Irons, kicked out with a foot, catching Eun and knocking him hard into Morgan. The two men lay on the ground, unmoving. Samantha continued her barrage of bullets, until she had exhausted her supply of ammunition.

  The towering figure glared down at Lazarus, its eyes twinkling. “I know you, Lazarus Gray. You were prominent in the mind of the human called Walther. He feared you and I covet your power. Will you serve me?”

  Lazarus tossed aside his own pistol, which was now empty. He drew out a dagger and held it at the ready, though it was obvious that the blade would do little good against the giant. “Never.”

  “I will show you my power, and give you an idea of what I will do to all your enemies if you swear your soul to me.” Jack-In-Irons twisted his torso and brought the massive club down upon the head of Walther Lunt. The Illuminati foot soldier, who had been the bane of Lazarus’ existence for so long, was killed instantly. His body broke apart like kindling, sending bone, blood and gore flying in all directions. Jack-In-Irons straightened, a look of triumph on its awful face. “Now do you see? Bow down before me and pitiful wretches such as this will no longer trouble you. I will give you gold. I will give you women. I will give you life immortal.”

  Lazarus was still reeling from the shock of seeing his old enemy killed so quickly. He forced himself to move, running forward with blade in hand. He stabbed at Jack’s legs, the blade barely penetrating the thick skin. He yanked the knife back out and was about to try again when an oversize hand shot out and brushed him aside. He rolled over the ground like a stone, his vision growing dark. The last thing he saw before his consciousness faded was the giant reaching down to lift up Murder with one fist.

  ***

  Ravenmaster David Copeland held his black hat in his hands, his fingers tightly gripping the brim. He was no stranger to pomp and circumstance, having served 22 years with the Royal Marines before beginning his service at the Tower of London, but he still felt strangely out of place standing before the Prime Minister. Particularly with this kind of news. “They're all gone, milord. Even the ones whose wings I clipped myself.”

  “And how can that be?” Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin inquired. “I though the clipping process rendered them incapable of flight.”

  “Not quite true,” Copeland explained. “Trimming the feathers under one wing just means that they get less lift on that side. Means the best they can do is fly in an arc... But you're right in that they shouldn't be able to fly away like this.”

  “Maybe it's the work of hooligans, stealing the birds or driving them away. Or maybe there are wild animals getting loose in the area. Dogs, perhaps?”

  “They don't seem to have a taste for ravens, milord.” Copeland cleared his throat before continuing. “All but our clipped ravens began to disappear early last week. They would fly within a mile or so of the Tower and then turn tail. It was almost like they didn't like the smell of the place. Then, one by one, our clipped ravens began disappearing. We haven't found a' one of them.”

  Baldwin sat back in his chair, his eyes flickering briefly towards the window. A storm was brewing. “What do you think it means?”

  “I... To be honest, milord, I think it's something unholy. Everyone's felt it since, a chill in the air that wasn't there before... a sense of an impending storm, even when the skies are clear.”

  “You make it sound like the end of the world.”

  “You know the old legend, don't you, milord? It says that when the ravens leave the tower, that the White Tower will crumble and the commonwealth will fall. That's why we keep the clipped ones around. So that the day of legend won't ever come.” He swallowed hard, unable to hide his fear. “But it's here. Now.”

  A sudden crack of thunder made both men jump. Though it was only late afternoon, the sky outside had darkened considerably and thick sheets of rain began to fall. They struck the windowpane like rocks, echoing loudly. Baldwin glanced at the ravenmaster and saw terror reflected in the man's eyes. “I'll pour us a stiff brandy, shall I?”

  Chapter X

  Jack-In-Irons

  Doctor Thomas Hancock enjoyed his association with Assistance Unlimited. Though it required him to be on call 24/7 and frequently forced him to deal with obscure illnesses or even cases that challenged his worldview, Hancock loved feeling like he was a part of the team. Assistance Unlimited did good work and paid well – it was a combination that proved very satisfying for one of Sovereign City’s top physicians.

  Dr. Hancock took a small step back from the patient bed on which Lazarus Gray laid, a smile touching his lips. “All the tests seem fine. There don’t appear to be any lingering problems related to the concussion.”

 

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