on than you’ve let on. It’s time to level with us now. What is out there?”
“Do you think you are ready for this, Mr. Hannigan?” McKenzie replied soberly. “Ready for the truth? I’ll tell you then. There’s an army, Mr. Hannigan. An army of the dead!”
Hannigan regarded him with a cool unblinking stare.
McKenzie sighed. “Have you ever heard of the legend of Prester John?”
Chapter Eleven
Hans Wessel sat back thoughtfully, digesting the news he had just received. He felt his mouth twitch into a half-smile. He had new orders concerning Ragnarok. While the search for the Emerald of Eternity continued, the good doctor would continue to hold supreme authority, but once it was recovered, we would be expendable! Doctor Ragnarok was now under a death sentence.
It seemed that his squandering of two pilots and fighters from the elite Kondor Squadron of the Luftwaffe had caused him to fall out of Hitler’s favor. Wessel’s new orders called for him to recover the gemstone and then rendezvous with Colonel Wolfgang Kondor.
Kondor was an enigma. The Luftwaffe did not openly acknowledge that such a man even existed and little was known about his history. Nevertheless, an appointment to the Kondor Legion was the most coveted posting a pilot could hope for. Whoever he was, the mysterious Colonel Kondor was refused nothing.
The most noteworthy example was the Valkyrie itself. Officially, construction of LZ-131 had been abandoned as aircraft technology had made heavier than air flight more practical, but Kondor had picked up the pieces and finished building the enormous airship in secret. Rumor had it, the Valkyrie was the first of a new fleet of zeppelins, and that Kondor was working on a spectacular flying airbase that could constantly provide fuel and repairs to entire fighter wings - all part of a massive unequaled sky armada. With such a force, Germany could rule the skies, and from the skies, the world!
Wessel smiled at the thought, his hand unconsciously dropping to the holstered Lugar on his belt. World domination was a fine goal indeed, but he was more interested in disposing of a certain meddlesome wizard.
*****
It was Shotsky of all people who broke the silence to dismissively scoff, “Prester John, the ancient Christian Priest King? He’s a legend, nothing more.”
Niles McKenzie raised an eyebrow. It was an obscure legend, and he hadn’t expected either of the young men to respond in the affirmative. His face remained grim and tight, as did his voice. “No, he is not. I know this for a fact.”
Mike Hannigan watched them both, unsure of who to believe or where any of this was going. “I think I missed Sunday school the week they talked about him. Anyone want to bring me up to speed?”
“It is a story the old women tell, Michael. Prester John was the son of Balthazar, one of the three Magi that visited Christ at the Nativity. He’s the one who leaves naughty children a lump of coal. According to the stories, Prester John protected a fabulous fortune that was later the envy of Mongol barbarians led by Genghis Khan. In the stories, his kingdom is in the Orient - an island of Christianity amid a sea of Muslims and infidels - but some versions say it is in Africa, Ethiopia to be exact, and that his fortunes remain undiscovered.”
“So which is it? Africa or the Orient?”
Shotsky laughed. “Neither. It is a legend, nothing more.”
“Prester John is more than just a legend,” McKenzie countered. “While it is
“Do you think you are ready for this, Mr. Hannigan?” McKenzie replied soberly. “Ready for the truth? I’ll tell you then. There’s an army, Mr. Hannigan. An army of the dead!”
Hannigan regarded him with a cool unblinking stare.
McKenzie sighed. “Have you ever heard of the legend of Prester John?”
Chapter Eleven
Hans Wessel sat back thoughtfully, digesting the news he had just received. He felt his mouth twitch into a half-smile. He had new orders concerning Ragnarok. While the search for the Emerald of Eternity continued, the good doctor would continue to hold supreme authority, but once it was recovered, we would be expendable! Doctor Ragnarok was now under a death sentence.
It seemed that his squandering of two pilots and fighters from the elite Kondor Squadron of the Luftwaffe had caused him to fall out of Hitler’s favor. Wessel’s new orders called for him to recover the gemstone and then rendezvous with Colonel Wolfgang Kondor.
Kondor was an enigma. The Luftwaffe did not openly acknowledge that such a man even existed and little was known about his history. Nevertheless, an appointment to the Kondor Legion was the most coveted posting a pilot could hope for. Whoever he was, the mysterious Colonel Kondor was refused nothing.
The most noteworthy example was the Valkyrie itself. Officially, construction of LZ-131 had been abandoned as aircraft technology had made heavier than air flight more practical, but Kondor had picked up the pieces and finished building the enormous airship in secret. Rumor had it, the Valkyrie was the first of a new fleet of zeppelins, and that Kondor was working on a spectacular flying airbase that could constantly provide fuel and repairs to entire fighter wings - all part of a massive unequaled sky armada. With such a force, Germany could rule the skies, and from the skies, the world!
Wessel smiled at the thought, his hand unconsciously dropping to the holstered Lugar on his belt. World domination was a fine goal indeed, but he was more interested in disposing of a certain meddlesome wizard.
*****
It was Shotsky of all people who broke the silence to dismissively scoff, “Prester John, the ancient Christian Priest King? He’s a legend, nothing more.”
Niles McKenzie raised an eyebrow. It was an obscure legend, and he hadn’t expected either of the young men to respond in the affirmative. His face remained grim and tight, as did his voice. “No, he is not. I know this for a fact.”
Mike Hannigan watched them both, unsure of who to believe or where any of this was going. “I think I missed Sunday school the week they talked about him. Anyone want to bring me up to speed?”
“It is a story the old women tell, Michael. Prester John was the son of Balthazar, one of the three Magi that visited Christ at the Nativity. He’s the one who leaves naughty children a lump of coal. According to the stories, Prester John protected a fabulous fortune that was later the envy of Mongol barbarians led by Genghis Khan. In the stories, his kingdom is in the Orient - an island of Christianity amid a sea of Muslims and infidels - but some versions say it is in Africa, Ethiopia to be exact, and that his fortunes remain undiscovered.”
“So which is it? Africa or the Orient?”
Shotsky laughed. “Neither. It is a legend, nothing more.”
“Prester John is more than just a legend,” McKenzie countered. “While it is
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