The Peregrine Omnibus Volume One Read Online Free

interesting.
    “He looks familiar to me, though I can’t quite place him.”
    “Some of the newspapers ran stories on him a few years back. Feared lost on an expedition, turned up hale and hearty, only survivor, heroic case of human will overcoming nature. All that sort of thing.”
    “Sounds like it, doesn’t it? And he never lets you forget that it is.” Gilbert surprised Max by reaching and touching his arm. “He’s a dangerous man, Mr. Davies. Be wary of him.”
    Max nodded, feeling a bit unnerved by the fear that he’d seen in Gilbert’s eyes. Before he could question the man further, he heard Beauregard clear his throat from behind him. Turning, Max came face-to-face with the man who had haunted his mind earlier today.
    “Mr. Davies, may I introduce you to…”
    Beauregard’s words were lost in a sudden scream that made everyone in the room jump. Max shoved his way past Trench and his host, running full speed towards the door. He recognized the woman who had emitted the sound, which had been full of agonizing terror.
    It was Evelyn.

CHAPTER V
    Bodies in the Mist
    Max burst into the parlor room, barely able to stop himself from retrieving the pistol he wore strapped under his coat. He found the women staring outside the windows, into the thickest fog Max had ever seen outside of London. It tumbled about like small clouds of mist, borne along by mystic winds.
    Evelyn stood closest to the window, a hand raised over her open mouth. The poor woman looked as pale as a ghost and she jumped when Max touched her shoulder.
    “What’s happened?” Max asked, feeling the way she shivered beneath his hand.
    “Out there… Can’t you see them?”
    Max followed her gaze, aware that the other men had entered the room and were asking their own wives and girlfriends for information. Outside, in the mist, were men… shambling mockeries of men, stooped over and somewhat misshapen. “Stay here,” he whispered. He turned and found himself face-to-face with Trench.
    “Going somewhere, Mr. Davies?”
    “There are people out there. I’m fairly certain that Beauregard didn’t invite them.”
    “I’ll come with you, if I may.”
    Max hesitated, remembering the dark terror of his earlier visions. Despite them, there was no way he could avoid the offered help without seeming rude to the other guests. “If you’d like. Just stay behind me.” Max reached under his coat and drew out his pistol, careful to keep it hidden from the women.
    “Do you always come so well prepared to parties?” Trench asked.
    “Only ones where unnatural mists spring up out of nowhere.” Max hurried out the front door, stumbling a bit as he reached the stairs. The fog was so thick that he could not see more than a few feet in front of him. He thought he saw two of the mysterious figures ahead of him, but he could not be sure. “You there!” he yelled. “Identify yourself!”
    Trench’s voice came from just over his left shoulder. “Look to your right.”
    Max did so and felt the blood in his veins chilling at the sight before him. A man with bluish-tinted skin had come into view, his clothing soiled by dirt and blood. His eyes were rolled up in his head, leaving only white showing. There was an awful nature to his gait that made Max feel sick and confused. “God in heaven,” he whispered.
    “I don’t think God had anything to do with these things,” Trench whispered.
    The undead creature shifted at the sound of Trench’s voice, seeming to zero in on the two men. It picked up speed, raising its arms and forming the hands into fists.
    Max shot it twice in the chest, but the bullets only seemed to stagger the creature. It continued on, closing the gap quickly. Just as its fingers began to close around Max’s collar, he unloaded a bullet directly between its eyes. Blood sprayed backwards, along with white fragments of bone and gray matter.
    The monster fell to the ground, twitching. A noxious odor rose from it and Max recognized it