Götterdämmerung Read Online Free PDF Page B

Gravedigger knelt down and opened Tom’s black bag. It was filled with enough sharp implements to give even Li a bit of pause.
    “He wasn’t innocent,” Gravedigger whispered. “No one is.”
    * * *
    Charity Grace was the second Gravedigger that Mitchell Williams had served. During his youth, he’d fallen in with a rough crowd but his life had changed for the better when he’d been caught committing a crime by Josef Goldstein, the man who had preceded Charity in this costumed role. Goldstein had spared his life and taught him to be something better. For that, he would always be grateful.
    A black man from England, Mitchell was something of a dichotomy to many people in America. Because of his tremendous size and the color of his skin, it was generally assumed that he would be plodding and unintelligent. The exact opposite was true, however. He was quick thinking, well-spoken and possessed a brilliant tactical mind. All of those attributes made him a powerful weapon in Gravedigger’s arsenal.
    It also made him her most trusted aide—and her lover.
    Mitchell was standing outside a burning building on the city’s east side. It was a tenement, home to as many rats as human beings. As such, the firefighters weren’t throwing themselves into harm’s way and were instead content to allow the hovel to burn to the ground. Not a one of them had done more than flinch when the sound of a baby crying had cut through the night air and a young mother had begun screeching that her child was still inside.
    For a moment, Mitchell had thought to rectify the matter himself. But then he’d seen him—the man he’d spent so many hours looking for: The Dark Gentleman. Of all Sovereign’s heroes, this was undoubtedly the most well-dressed. He wore a white shirt covered by a gray vest, black tie and ebony jacket. Over all of this was slung a dark opera-style cap that was clasped about his neck. With dark slacks and shoes, as well as leather gloves an accompanying top hat, The Dark Gentleman looked like he had stopped off on his way to a fancy ball. It was only the presence of the automatic in his right hand and the large domino-style mask that he wore that gave one pause.
    The crowd had spotted The Dark Gentleman upon his arrival and a gasp had spread quickly amongst them. The masked man was on the flaming rooftop and he’d disappeared inside, seemingly with no concern for his own safety.
    Seconds had stretched into minutes and Mitchell had begun to shift uneasily. The roof suddenly gave way, crashing inward and nearly bringing the entire structure down with it. Just as everyone backed away in horror, sure that both the infant and the hero were dead, a figure emerged.
    The Dark Gentleman sprinted from the inferno, his opera cape wrapped tightly around the baby that he carried. He rushed past the firefighters and went straight to the crying mother, who accepted his precious parcel with great emotion. Before anyone could stop him, The Dark Gentleman was off again, rushing through the crowd and vanishing into the darkness.
    Mitchell smiled in admiration. The man had style…
    * * *
    Several minutes later, Mitchell returned to his parked car. He was not surprised to see The Dark Gentleman waiting nearby.
    “Mind telling me why you’ve been hounding me all night?” the masked man asked. His gun was nowhere to be seen but Mitchell was sure that it would take only seconds to reappear if needed.
    “My employer would like to speak to you.”
    “And who would that be?”
    “Gravedigger.”
    The look of surprise that flickered across The Dark Gentleman’s face lasted only a few seconds but Mitchell’s keen eyes detected it quite clearly. “I’ve heard of her,” the masked man replied. He reached up and removed his top hat, shaking off soot and debris before replacing it. “Is she looking to lop my head off? I think that’s her usual method of dispatching her foes, isn’t it?”
    “She doesn’t consider you an enemy.” Mitchell