“You try now to oppose me. Using the power that you generated through calling on me? You have almost entertained me."
He reached down and took Simon's hair, then, dragging him across the room, flung him into the midst of the souls against the wall.
As Simon struck the wall he gasped loudly, and before he could orient himself with touch, Samael wrapped him in chains.
"This will be your home. Yes, reign with me. Rule this room with your amusements. You've earned your place here, magician."
Samael spun around and moved back to the center of the room where Gabrielle and Heaven crouched together. Danube moved toward them now, but the demon held up his hand, stopping the holy man's movement.
Then, reaching down, he cupped Gabrielle's chin. "You are very beautiful," he said. His hideous hand reached over and stroked her hair.
She jerked Heaven away before he could touch her child's hair as well. That made Samael laugh.
"You seek to deny me? You will not deny me anything, woman. You and your child were my gifts." Gabrielle looked around at Danube, her eyes pleading for help. He hesitated, watching the demon.
"You would try to help her? You are a gift as well," said Samael. "You followed through the veil. What did you expect to gain?"
"I came only to help the woman and the child.”
“You cannot help them. This is my palace. You have no magic and no power here."
Danube moved forward despite the admonishment. "Take me and let them go free.”
"I have all three of you. You came here willingly.”
“The child did not come willingly. We followed only because we had to."
"Because of love? I am afraid you will find no sympathy in me. I have no feelings."
"Let us leave here," Gabrielle said. "We didn't come here by choice. We never wanted any part of you. We were dragged into this by sickness and hatred. And those things," she said pointing at the Gnelfs.
The demon's fingers closed on her hair and yanked her to her feet. Looking into her eyes with the bloodshot orbs he had stolen, he glared down into her soul.
"You could be my bride," he said. "And she could be my child. You could be my family. You could tell me stories, so that I would not have to wait for those who come before me to confess their sins and face my pronouncement of judgment to the abyss. I hear their wicked deeds and that is all I have, but you could talk to me of many things."
"I don't have anything to say to you," Gabrielle stated firmly. "You want nothingness? That's what you'll receive from me. And Heaven too."
The demon's head tilted back slightly, and his expression registered his assessment of her defiance. He was surprised but not amused.
He let go of her hair as if it had grown hot in his grasp, or as if it were dirty and he no longer wanted to touch it. "Leave here then, if you think you can escape. But your daughter remains. She pleases me. I will watch her grow. I will nurture her, and it will be as if she were my own."
Gabrielle met his gaze now. "She's been through enough. Everybody wants to attack the child, but it's time for that to stop. It's time for her to be allowed to grow without interference, without everyone trying to use her or control her."
"You would attempt to take her back to some pristine chapel? She will be better off here than shaped by what would be offered in your world."
"She'll grow up with whatever protection I can provide, without the influences destroying her."
"A noble attempt. Yet is it enough?"
"It's all I can do, and it's better than you can offer.”
“Perhaps."
"Then let us walk out of here."
"That would be entirely too easy."
She realized he was playing with her. Her presence was a diversion, and he would keep her for as long as she amused him.
She turned back to Danube, searching his eyes, looking for some indication of what should be done. She could find no answer in them, and she realized he had done what he could. He had brought her here. But the final battle for her daughter and for their freedom had to be hers.
But what was there to do? They had stumbled and struggled through the attacks by the spirits Simon had summoned. How could she now defeat the demons' leader?
Physical confrontation could not bring victory. This was his domain, and to oppose him was to wind up in chains as Simon had.
Samael had tired of Simon quickly. Simon had groveled. Gab realized it was because her defiance amused him that Samael had not quickly relegated her and Heaven to the wall.
She had opposed Samael, had stood up to him instead of groveling. What must she now do? Further defy him, show him the ultimate in defiance.
A challenge.
She looked over to the wall where Simon's battered form dangled in chains. His head seemed about to fall from his neck, and his sockets still dripped blood and other fluids.
"You brag, Samael, that you feel nothing," she said.
He nodded, and she noticed the pupils of his borrowed eyes were beginning to cloud even more. A film was creeping across their surface. They would meet his needs only for a short time.
“You have no touch of loving-kindness," she stated calmly.
"None."
"I have none for Simon," she said. He tortured my daughter, and he brought us here. But I challenge you. If I can show him compassion, if I can go over to him and treat his wounds and support him, then I challenge you to find the same capacity within you."
"What could I, Samael the Wicked, offer in confirmation?" he asked, his hand rising to his chin. Gently, one finger touched his lips in consideration of her proposal. She had intrigued him.
"Samael the Wicked could show his compassion by thinking not of himself but of my daughter. Let us leave this place. Let us walk from the doors and cross the gulf without harm."
"This is but a trick to gain your freedom."
"No. You can sense my anger and my hatred of the magician."
"So if you, a lowly human, can overcome them, I should be able to as well? Is that a challenge or a request or a magnanimous gesture on my part?”
"Take it as you will. It should at least be a diversion for you. That's what you're looking for, isn't it? That's why you have your Gnelfs, or whatever they are. Their deeds give you a vicarious thrill. When people come here for your pronouncements, you listen to their sins for the same reason."
He laughed. "You attempt to apply human rules of psychology to me. I am because I am. I seek not thrills as much as knowledge."
"Then expand your existence."
He continued to stroke his chin. "Let us see what happens," he said. He gestured toward the wall. "Go to him."
Slipping her hands from around Heaven, Gabrielle took a couple of steps toward the wall. Even upon seeing Simon's pitiful state, a part of her wanted to hurt the magician further for the harm he had caused.
But she took control of her anger before moving on, combating the revulsion she felt for the ravaged figures chained around him. They grunted as she neared them, tongues fluttering through tattered lips as they uttered lewd remarks in hissing voices. Their torment had not curtailed the lusts and desires which had won them eternity here.
Kneeling beside Simon, she grasped the shackles on his wrists. They were difficult to open, but she managed to pry them apart, freeing first his left hand then his right.
He slumped against her then, and she held his weight until she could ease him back to the wall. As his head rolled back, she found herself looking into the caverns where his eyes had been.
Stringy bloody matter still clung to his cheeks, like tentacles stretched across his drawn, white flesh. He groaned as she cradled his head and ran a hand across his forehead.
"Easy now," she whispered.
He mumbled something. Apparently pain and loss of blood had put him into a delirious state.
"Simon, can you hear me?"
He didn't respond, but his head shifted slightly as if he might have heard. Evidently he was somewhat dis
oriented.
"Simon, I'm going to help you," she said. "I know it hurts. I'm going to do something for your eyes."
She tugged the scarf from her throat and wrapped it around his face. She wasn't sure if it would do any good, but she hoped it would slow the flow of blood or at least absorb some of it.
He sat up on his own then, supporting his weight. She took his arm, and helped him to his feet.
She turned to Samael. "Let me take him out of here too, he needs help."
The demon's eyes seemed even more clouded then before. He took a step toward her before he spoke. “You would take him home?"
"For my daughter mostly, but yes. Even with what he's done, I will help him."
"A good deed wins no grace from me, even though I find it interesting."
"What do I have to do to get out of here?" she asked.
The demon grinned. "There are possibilities."
He was about to reach out for her again, when Simon pushed her aside and dropped to his knees. His hands shot forward, aimed in the direction of Samael's voice.
At the top of his voice he screamed something, a word then to Gabrielle's ears. He followed it with a string of other words from some odd language.
From the tips of his fingers a light began to tingle, and then in an instant the light turned into a blaze. In a cloud of orange and blue the light exploded forward toward the demon.
Gabrielle shielded her eyes against the heat that was produced, but she continued to watch as the cloud billowed through the air, reminding her of a nuclear explosion.
Samael did not move as the cloud enveloped him. He stood still, the orange billow surrounding him before he could resist. He screamed, not in pain but in anger as the flame wrapped around him.
"Die, you bastard," Simon called as the flame continued to chew at the air. The portion of his face not covered by the cloth was twisted in anger.
"Bastard," he shouted again.
In the next instant, the flame was gone, and the demon stood there unharmed, wisps of white smoke dancing off his flesh. He lowered his head, and his jaw seemed to drop open.
His shout was in the same language Simon had used, just as coarse and guttural. Gabrielle jumped away from the magician just as swirling clouds of flame burst onto him.
He screamed in agony as his flesh burned away from his body, and as the flame continued, he began to writhe about inside the cloud.
Through the flame, Gabrielle could see him crumbling, flesh dropping away, then bone. She didn't bother to watch any longer. Rushing forward, she snatched Heaven into her arms and ran past the cluster of Gnelfs.
Seeing her movement, Danube, who had been crouched near the door, acted as well. For some reason, he dashed toward the smoldering form of the magician, but he paused only for a moment over the body which had turned to ashes. Then, meeting her at the doorway, he pushed her through, curling his injured hands around the edges of the huge panel.
As the Gnelfs rushed after them, he shoved the door forward into place. Then he was behind her, running with her along the hallway.
She heard the door burst open, but she didn't look back as she threaded her way through the narrow corridor. She felt the sickening things slithering beneath her shoes, but she ignored them. She had to concentrate on finding the exit.
Heaven was heavy in her arms, an almost unbearable weightas she tried to hurry through the darkened passages. Cries of torment came from the rooms on either side of her.
As they approached a point where the passage widened, Danube reached up and tugged a torch free of its holder. Then he put an arm around Gabrielle's shoulders and urged her forward.
One of the black things on the floor reared up at them, its mouth hanging open to expose fangs. Danube dipped the torch down, letting the flame force the thing backward.
Then they were moving again, racing down the jagged hallway. Gab almost slipped when one of the floor dwellers moved beneath her foot, but Danube steadied her.
Behind them now, the Gnelfs' footsteps were echoing, as was the cackling laughter. Samael might not follow, but he had dispatched his minions or at least had given them free reign.
"We can't outrun them," she said.
"We can try." He gave her a slight push, and they moved along the last stretch of the corridor. At the main door they moved together out onto the narrow walkway which stretched out across the canyon.
Easing Heaven to the ground, Gabrielle took her hand, unwilling to risk balancing her in her arms as they traversed the chasm. "Don't look down, baby," she warned. "This is just like walking on a fence or something. Understand?"
Heaven nodded.
"Be brave. You're a big girl."
"Yes, ma'am."
"Let's go then."
They started out onto the crossway. Ignoring her own advice, Gab looked down at the slithering masses beneath her.
They had covered half the distance across when the Gnelfs broke from the castle. Danube was waiting for them and drove the torch into the face of the first one that emerged from the doorway.
That sent the creature backward into his brethren. His green hands clutched at his face, and he screamed in agony.
Pushing him aside, two more Gnelfs came at Danube. Raising the torch, he touched it to the clothing of one of the demons. The cloth ignited immediately, and the Gnelf began to flail about.
Before the other one could move, Danube swung the torch like a baseball bat, striking the creature across its small rib cage. The force of the blow sent it sprawling. Before it could gain control of its movements, it went over the edge.
Screams rose up from the pit as it fell amid the serpents which quickly moved to entwine it. Like anything that fell into the pit, it was subject to the tortures.
Now Gabrielle understood the motivation of the demons in the biblical story. She could see that living amid the swine would be preferable to this place. Hell must be even worse.
Holding her breath, forcing herself to look straight ahead, she rushed Heaven on across the bridge.
Turning to hurl the torch, like a spear, into the remaining Gnelfs, Danube then ran across the bridge himself. Behind him, the creatures danced about, some of them enveloped in flames. They were susceptible to fire for some reason, and several more plunged over the edge, their screams rising as they fell.
Danube didn't look down as he ran, didn't worry about misplacing his steps. He just tried to keep his course straight, mustering as much speed as his weary muscles would allow. He was near collapse, and it showed in his movements. Still, he managed to cover the distance quickly, and he hoisted Heaven into his arms when he reached Gabrielle.
Gabrielle didn't argue. In spite of his wounds and exhaustion, Danube managed to carry the child. Who knew what power he might be calling on for support.
She followed him as they worked their way down the path which had brought them to this place. It seemed more treacherous now with its cracks and holes. She tried to ignore the voices of the Gnelfs that still pursued them, but she was unable to shut out the sounds. They were bent on destruction, and they swore and spat out curses, their weapons clanging, sending echoes of warning.
"We can't fight all of them," she said through gasps for air as she ran along at Danube's side.
"I am trying to think of something," he said. "Even if we reach the shore, will the boatman take us back?"
"Crossing the gulf is not our immediate concern," Danube replied.
Chapter 24
The village was still a jumble of lumbering forms when they reached the base of the trail. The figures continued to shamble, ignoring the humans in their midst as they walked their endless trek toward nothingness. With Heaven still in his arms, Danube began to lead the way through the tangled mass of bodies. The beings bumped into each other, stumbled, and fell, only to pick themselves up and try again.
There seemed to be more of them now, thousands swarming the narrow pathways that zigzagged through the landscape. They were like a wall. Running was impossi
ble, but for a few moments Gabrielle was glad of that, even with the Gnelfs pursuing. Her lungs were begging for relief.
"We can make our way down to the shore," Danube aid. "If they catch us there, we will have to stand and fight."
Dodging a rotting figure with long silver hair and a sunken face, Gabrielle voiced her agreement with one syllable and they began their attempt to break through the group.
The bodies did not part for them. They moved so determinedly on their course that they were almost impassable. Danube managed to step around one, and then another so that he and Heaven became something like a stone in the stream of minions flowing around them, but passage was slowed as he sought another opening to move forward.
Gabrielle moved with even more difficulty, finding it almost impossible to break into the group. When she pushed through in front of one form, she felt the fingers of panic crawl up her back. It was terrifying to be trapped in the midst of these things. They brushed against her, and the touch of their putrid flesh made her cringe.
She groped her way past the second row of them, struggling to keep Danube in sight. He had made it into the middle of the flow now and was weaving through a twisted tangle of walking corpses.
Heaven's head was lifted above the crowd, her eyes wide as she took it all in, terrified. Gabrielle wanted to shout to her, to tell her not to watch; but she had to concentrate on her own passage.
Behind her she could hear the horrible voices of the Gnelfs. She didn't dare look back over her shoulder because she feared becoming entangled among the moving bodies and being dragged away. She didn't have to look back anyway. She knew the Gnelfs would be making their way through the crowd also, and with their smaller bodies, they would have a better chance of moving quickly.
"Danube," she yelled above the crowd. “They're coming."
He looked back only briefly to acknowledge that he'd heard. Then he continued. A large, gray figure bumped into him, but he put his shoulder into the figure's chest, diverting him.
Gabrielle felt as if she were smothering. Tilting her head back, she tried to keep her face aimed toward the gray sky so that she could at least see more than just the withered faces and cracked skin.
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