The worst gash was the one on her buttock. Otherwise she had only minor sliver punctures and scrapes. She touched the deep wound and found her hand covered in blood. It was going to require stitches, and that was going to be embarrassing at the emergency room. It was as if some cruel joke had been played, as if some twisted sense of humor had made her the brunt of a cruel prank.
She wept, because above all she felt violated.
When Tanner answerd his door and saw Danube, his mouth dropped open. "What do you want?"
"A word."
The writer remained in the doorway, blocking the entrance with his body.
" You upset the hell out of Gabrielle."
Danube looked down at the porch planks beneath his dark shoes rather than display anger. He was weary of explaining. When he looked back at Tanner he had squelched some of his frustration.
"If you'll let me talk with you for a little while …"
A wisp of a breeze swept down under the cave of the house, bringing a feeling of dampness and chill.
"Inside," Danube added. He'd spent enough hours under uncomfortable conditions.
They sat in living room armchairs, facing and eyeing each other.
"Where the hell do you come from?" Tanner asked.
"Far away."
"So what do you want here?"
"Something unusual happened.”
“How do you know that?"
"I have to know."
"Why are you so damned mysterious? Did you have something to do with this?"
"I've come only to help," he said without inflection, bored. "Something dark has come here, Mr. Tanner."
The imperceptible accent flared in Danube's voice. "Who I am does not matter, and you probably would not believe my answer. What matters is this: what is happening has to be identified and dealt with."
"Heaven's upset, probably about her mother's divorce," Tanner said. "That's all. Don't come at me with some kind of mumbo jumbo about dark spirits."
"You were there. Did it appear to be something which could be explained within your usual perception of reality?"
" No, I can't explain it, but that doesn't make it something supernatural."
"The forces behind it are what make it something beyond the normal realm. The child is under spiritual attack. I would not have been sent here if some disturbance in the spiritual fabric had not been detected."
"Detected by whom?"
"The order I serve, The Order of St. Marius. A circle of nuns once sanctioned by the Vatican, now serving on their own, forgotten by most.”
“What do they do?"
"Struggle to keep the powers and principalities of darkness from interfering in the human realm. It is a difficult task, insurmountable. Is that what you wanted to hear?"
Tanner laughed. "What did you do, slip out of the mental institution in Penn's Ferry?"
"Your tact escapes you, but I have been called worse, Mr. Tanner. A time far back might have had me exacting retribution. I'm too weary for that now. I need your help. Tell me what I must do to convince you. I don’t have time for trial and error."
"You're sincere as hell, aren't you?”
"I am."
" Unbelievable."
"You deal in mysteries, Mr. Tanner. You put together pieces of puzzles. This is the same. It is just that some of the pieces lie in corners where you might not otherwise look."
"What do you think is going on?"
"Somehow, or in some way, something has come into contact with the child. Something from the other side, the spirit world."
"Ghosts?"
"I do not suspect spirits of the dead."
"Then who or what?"
"There are many things out there. I will need your help to establish contact with Mrs. Davis. She is resistant.”
Tanner's eyes grew skeptical again. "How do I know you're not some kind of pedophile trying to get to her kid? Crazier schemes than this have been cooked up."
"I have lived a long time. There was a point when I indulged in vices, though they were far more conventional than you’re implying. That is past. I have sworn an oath to the sisters. If I were driven by lust I could find ways to indulge myself without concocting elaborate ruses to lead me to little girls."
Tanner's eyes were still filled disbelief.
"I cannot blame you for not trusting me," Danube said. "We must talk for a while. Give me information. We will worry about convincing you of the other matters later."
"What motivates you?" Tanner persisted. "Why this commitment if you're not really a priest."
Again the breath sighed heavily from Danube's lungs. "My father betrayed a friend once. I've spent most of my existence trying to atone for that."
The silence followed, finally giving way to Tanner's voice: "I don't know what I can tell you that will be of value."
"What did you see when the child was attacked? Were there any unusual smells? Sounds?"
"How do you know I was there? How do you know everything?"
"I thought we were beyond that."
"Okay. I was there. Smells, sounds? Just her screams. We were talking, I think. Heaven just started spinning around. There was nothing there, but her clothes tore. Cuts started appearing. It was like something invisible was making swipes at her with a blade."
"Did you hear anything?"
"Just her screaming."
"Had she given any indication of anything else unusual?"
"I think she had some kind of nightmare after she was over here the other night. Her mother said the Gnelfs had been preying on her mind."
Danube held up a hand to halt his speech. "Gnelfs? What are Gnelfs?"
"Cartoon characters, the story is that they're nomads, half-gnomes and half-elves. Glorified elves really. Not something you'd think a child would normally be frightened about."
"She has what? Seen these on television?"
"Yeah. They have books about them too."
"And before this incident she was frightened of the characters?"
"For some reason."
"Do you have something that shows these things?"
"I tossed the disks. Let me see if I have something." He riffled stacks of magazines until he found an issue of Time that pictured the little characters in an upper-corner inset on a cover featuring Tom Cruise.
Inside a feature in the television section profiled the creators, a couple of young men in their twenties, who worked at a studio in Hollywood, maintaining their individuality even as the popularity of their creations climbed.
Danube studied the various illustrations, his red eyebrows wrinkling as his blue eyes scanned the two-page spread.
"They certainly do not look frightening," he said.
"Does that give you any insight into what you need to know?"
"I need to talk to the mother and the child."
Tanner threw up his hands. "I don't know about that. I mean Gab and I haven't known each other that long. I kind of thought something had sparked there, but she wants to devote herself to getting the child well. She kind of pushed me out tonight."
“She cannot handle this crisis alone. She will need support. The people she turns to for help will not be prepared."
"You're the only one that can help, right? But she doesn't trust you, and she doesn't know me that well. How do you expect me to get you in to talk to her?"
"You have to try," Danube said as he rubbed his beard, smoothing it down over his jaws. "If you don't it might be too late."
Chapter 9
Gabrielle stood in the doorway for a long time, peering over at Heaven's still form. The child seemed to be resting well now, at last. Satisfied she would not be disturbed, Gabrielle walked back into the living room
With the TV turned down, she flipped past newscasters, romance website promos, old movies, talk shows and fake talk shows on how to combat cellulite. None of it looked interesting. She rested her head, wondering if she would be able to sleep if she tried. Her temples were throbbing, and her vision was
blurring.
Standing, she clicked off the television. No way could she follow a plot even if she landed on something she wanted to see. Yet somehow she knew if she lay down she would be wide awake again, worried and restless. Instead of walking back to the bedroom, she headed toward the kitchen. Perhaps warm milk would weave whatever magic it offered. She opened the refrigerator, took the carton from the shelf, and filled a glass which went into the microwave.
Heaven awoke abruptly, snatched from quiet slumber. As she came awake she felt her hair being yanked, and her head twisted painfully to one side.
She looked up into the eyes of the Gnelf Master whose fist was tangled in her locks. He bent toward her, his leering face only a few inches from her own.
"'Lo, girly," he said through his grin. The foul reek of his breath seeped out through his yellow teeth. She wanted to turn her head as the smell gagged her, but he held on too tightly.
"Lot of people have been by to talk to you, haven't they?"
"You hurt me."
He pulled her hair tighter. "Oh? You were hurt? It could be worse, a lot worse, little bitch. A lot worse."
Her face showed him her fear, and he began to laugh, and behind him his followers joined in the laughter, a chorus of grunts and heaves, like pigs gagging.
"We hurt that whore that came in here asking questions. We could have hurt anybody we wanted. Your mommy if we'd chosen. It was just easier to get the other bitch. She was alone, like you are now. We can do anything we want to."
"No."
"Oh, yes. Yes." He tugged at her hair, bending her sideways over the edge of the bed so that the stitches ached in her wounds.
"Want me to rip you inside out?"
"No!"
"Want us to rip your momma inside out?"
"Nooooo!"
With his free hand he brought the sickle around and raked it across the pillow at Heaven's side. The fabric of the case split open with a harsh ripping sound, and the tip of the blade plunged down into the interior with a belch of escaping air.
It was an old feather pillow, and as he yanked the sickle upward it burst open, the small feathers spraying into the air in a sudden white cloud.
They fluttered upward then began to rain down, snowflakes. Tears filled Heaven's eyes as the Gnelfs standing around the bed began to laugh.
"That could have been you," the Gnelf Master said. "Except when you rip a little girl open it's all red and slimy. The skin splits open and the blood runs everywhere."
"No. Don't say that." She sobbed.
“The blade hooks on her intestines and they come up out of her like snakes—did you know you have snakes inside you?—and then it pokes at her liver and splits it open so that it spits out this ugly stuff that's green—"
"Stop it!" Heaven screamed.
He tilted his head back, his laughter a roar that pulsed up from his chest. "Yes, scream. Say it loud. Noooooo! Let mommy know you're afraid. Let her know."
Heaven could not contain the fear, and the scream was already curling through her lips.
It was as loud as she could make it. She let it flood out of her lungs, pushing the sound up through her parted lips.
Gabrielle felt the glass she had just pulled from the microwave slide through her fingers. It shattered at her feet, splattering warm milk up onto her ankles.
Ignoring the sting, she stepped cautiously with her bare feet over the ruined shards and rushed down the hallway. It was like the trip she had made that first night.
Having Heaven in the master bedroom saved only a few paces, and once again images of possible harm assailed Gab. Could the madness be happening again, or perhaps that crazy priest had somehow gained entry and was molesting her? God help her.
She rushed through the living room, realizing a sliver of glass had made its way into her big toe in spite of her caution. No matter. The room would have to be cleaned anyway.
At the edge of the hall she felt something push past her, something unseen. She was frightened. Refusing to let that deter her, she plowed through the bedroom doorway into a snowstorm of feathers. Coughing when they touched her face and nose, she waved her hands to clear them from her eyes and fought her way through the mess to the bed.
Heaven was there, eyes wide with terror. She was clutching the covers against her, her lips and chin quivering. The tears on her face had caught some of the feathers which stuck to her skin.
Gabrielle wiped those away and clutched Heaven's head to her breast. "What's the matter, baby? What happened?"
Heaven only moaned.
"Oh, God. What is going on?" Gabrielle whispered. "What's wrong with you?"
She was still clutching Heaven against her when the doorbell rang.
Lifting Heaven into her arms, Gab moved down the hallway and through the living room. When she looked out she saw Tanner on the front porch. He hadn't heeded her wishes. She was glad.
Pulling back the chain with one hand, she yanked the door inward. "Jake, it happened again. She hasn't been hurt, but something tore up the pillow in the bed."
Tanner moved forward, trying to speak but stammering, and she saw Danube standing behind him. Instinctively, she pulled back, holding Heaven protectively although the child's weight was already making her muscles throb.
"What is he doing here?"
"He wants to talk to you," Tanner said. "I was leery, but I thought maybe you should hear him out."
" He convinced you to bring him here?"
"I'll take him away. I can't guarantee it, but he seems sincere."
Gabrielle made sure that Jake was between her and the red-bearded man. Heaven was still trembling, and she had to shift the child's weight to keep from losing her.
"What happened?" Danube asked. He had removed the white tab from his collar, and in its absence, clad all in black, he seemed even more sinister than before.
"Why do you keep coming here?"
"I have come to help you. Something strange is happening. We have to find out what it is so that I can fight it."
She hesitated. "Why would I trust you?"
"Is anyone else going to this much trouble to offer assistance?"
"Let him in," she said. "For now.”
They moved into the living area where she eased Heaven's weight down onto the couch.
"She's pale," Danube said.
Gabrielle ran a hand across the child's forehead, brushing her bangs away and noting the pallor of her skin. "She's been frightened."
"What happened?"
"She screamed. I ran into the bedroom, I guess I shouldn't have left her alone, but she seemed to be resting. When I got to her she was scared to death and the pillow had been ripped apart. I don't know if she had a nightmare and tore it in her sleep, or if… if something happened like last night."
"Let me see the pillow," Danube said.
"I don't want to leave Heaven. Jake, it's in the next room."
Some of the feathers were still floating in the air. The two men moved through them to the edge of the bed, and Danube looked at the ruined pillow.
He held up the edge of the pillowcase to show Tanner the cut’s smooth edges. "Straight. It would have to have been a blade."
"But how?" Tanner moved to the window. "Locked," he said.
"Further evidence that we are dealing with something other than a conventional intruder."
. “The same thing as last night?"
"I don't know yet. I would guess your little green men. As for ascertaining what they really are, that may take time."
They moved back into the living room to find Gab gently touching her daughter's skin. "She's cold," she whispered.
"Get a blanket," Danube instructed Tanner. Then he walked over to stand beside Gab. "Did you see anything? Any visible signs?"
"Nothing. Just her scream and the results.”
“Anything else that you remember. Any of it could be important, vastly important."
Gab blinked. "Something in the hall. I felt something brush past me maybe."
"You saw nothing."
"Just felt it. May have been my imagination.”
“Not yours. Hers."
"What?"
"Mr. Tanner told me about the Gnelfs. It could be something is using those images in her imagination to manifest itself."
"A spirit of some kind is appearing to her as the Gnelfs?"
"Based on what I know of this universe, that's what it appears. If you felt it too, it could be growing stronger."
Instinctively she cradled Heaven protectively, more to shield against Danube than any unseen spirits.
"You can't expect me to believe this," she said.
"You know that what has happened to her does not have an explanation."
"I talked to a psychologist this afternoon."
"And did you get an answer?"
"She only spoke to Heaven for a little while."
"Long enough to know she did not have an answer?"
Gab continued to stare at him. "Maybe," she said.
"She didn't offer you any?"
Gab's hand covered her eyes. "No. She didn't."
"I would like to see something of these Gnelfs," Danube said. "It may give me a better idea of what might be happening."
"I don't want Heaven to see the book. It's been put away.
"Understood," Danube said.
"It's in a drawer in the kitchen. The one by the stove, Jake."
Tanner nodded and led the way through the swinging doors.
The book was wrapped in a towel and concealed under some knives.
Opening the book, at the table, Danube began to turn the pages slowly and deliberately. His eyes scanned the words and studied the artwork.
"They look harmless enough," Tanner said, standing beside him.
"That can be misleading as you no doubt have been told all your life."
"You're trying to tell me something is evil about these little guys?"
He turned the book around to show a double-page spread of Gnelf Master and some of his cohorts setting up a bridal cottage for a couple of newlywed Gnelfs. Master was sketching some kind of protective symbol over the doorway. The caption read "Gnelf Master drew the good-luck sign over the door."
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