The Adventures of Lazarus Gray (43 page)

"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 Rook 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 Rook 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 Rook 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 no shape to re-enter
the fray, Lazarus threw himself toward 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 Rook 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 Rook’s legs and he was now choking the life from
him. The Rook had to exert all his will to remain conscious as he
fought to take York down. Somewhere in all of this, The Rook’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 Rook’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 Rook to pull free, gasping for air.

The Rook 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 unable to put much weight on
it but with one good shot, the battle would be over.

York was on his feet again
and The Rook 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 Rook
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 Rook 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
see the truth: the man before him was not Wilhelm Lunt at all. He
had been battling The Rook for the past several minutes, while his
aides fought for their survival.

Just as The Rook 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 Rook."

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 Rook 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 Rook’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 toward The Dark Gentleman. "Decided
to add a masked man to your team, Lazarus?"

The Dark Gentleman smiled.
"I’m just helping out."

The Rook 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 Rook 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 Rook 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
Rook stepped out onto the first floor and hurried out into the
Sovereign City streets.

To The Rook’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 Rook 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

A TIMELINE AS IT PERTAINS
TO LAZARUS GRAY AND OTHER CHARACTERS CREATED BY BARRY
REESE

Major Events specific to certain
stories and novels are included in brackets. Some of this
information contains SPOILERS for Lazarus Gray, The Rook, Eobard
Grace and other stories.

1748 - Johann Adam Weishaupt is
born.

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.

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 Rook Volume One, more details shown in "Origins," the Rook
Volume Two] Hans Merkel kills his own father. ["Blitzkrieg," the
Rook Volume Two]

1910 - Evelyn Gould is
born.

1913 - Felix Cole meets the
Cockroach Man and becomes part of The Great Work. ["The Great
Work," Startling Stories # 5]

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. Richard Winthrop's parents die in an
accident.

1922 - Warlike Manchu tutors Max
Davies in Kyoto.

1925 - Max Davies becomes the Rook,
operating throughout Europe.

1926 - Charlotte Grace dies.
Richard Winthrop has a brief romance with exchange student Sarah
Dumas.