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 impossible, 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.
A scream tried to escape her throat, but she stifled it. Danube might think it was caused by something other than fear and try to help her. He had to keep moving. Even if she couldn't make it out of this mass, perhaps he could break free and take Heaven to safety.
She saw that he was nearing the edge of the herd. Holding Heaven protectively, Danube nudged and elbowed his way through the bodies. Each time he pushed a few aside, othe
rs stumbled into their places. He was beginning to appear more and more exhausted. Only determination seemed to keep him going.
Gabrielle forced herself to exert the same determination. Using her hands, she pushed at the forms around her, lashing out, twisting and forcing herself through the spaces between them.
"Let me through, you bastards. Let me through." The razzing voices of the Gnelfs followed her. They were weaving through the corpses' legs. That made her work even harder. In a few moments, they would be gabbing her calves, perhaps tripping her so that she could be trampled by the lumbering monsters.
She looked ahead again and saw Danube breaking free if the moving bodies. He had made it, and Heaven was still clutched in his arms.
Ducking, Gabrielle followed, proceeding as quickly as the dead souls would allow. They brushed past her and bumped into her, making her carom about, but finally she was only a few feet behind Danube again.
Her breath rasping, her lungs dry and heavy, she steadied herself only for a moment before moving ahead, now at Danube's side. They hadn't traveled far before she heard the Gnelfs breaking out of the crowd as well. Danube spun around, looking back at the line of creatures as they approached.
Gabrielle turned also, ready to claw at the monsters or whatever was necessary to keep them away from Heaven. She clenched her fists. She had not had a physical confrontation since high school, but she was ready for whatever might happen.
Danube's hand fell against her arm, checking her movement. She realized he had set Heaven on her feet.
"We cannot stop them by force," he said. "There are too many."
"You were fighting them like a madman a few minutes ago."
"That was to hold them back. I thought we could get away."
She jerked her head around toward him, looking at his face for an instant before glancing back toward the approaching crowd. "What do we do then?"
"Heaven has to do it," Danube said.
Gab felt her heart flutter, and she glared at him. "What?"
"They were originally summoned through her. Her thoughts gave them the form they are still using. Only she can banish them."
Gabrielle dropped to her knees at her daughter's side, wrapping her arms around the child to protect her. "What can she do?"
Danube also knelt, dropping one hand onto Heaven's shoulders. The Gnelfs were moving faster, the blades of their weapons swishing in the air.
The one called Gnelf Master moved at the forefront, clutching a pitchfork. His fangs curled over his lips as his grin twisted up his cheeks.
"So little one, you're still here. Didn't we tell you everyone would suffer?"
Grabbing Gabrielle's sleeve, Heaven buried her face against her mother's shoulder.
"Do not be afraid," Danube said. "They have no power over you. They were summoned to torment you, but the spells are gone. Turn to them, rebuke them."
Hesitantly, Heaven eased her face away from Gabrielle's shoulder and looked at Danube. "Tell them you want them to go away," Danube said,
The Gnelfs were pausing but not retreating. They hovered at their leader's shoulder, their heads tilted forward. The anger in their eyes made them look like wild beasts eyeing prey.
"We will destroy you all," Gnelf Master said.
"No," Heaven screamed, anger and defiance in her voice. "Leave us alone. Quit hurting Mommy."
"Little one, you have no say," Gnelf Master warned. "None at all." He jagged the pitchfork in front of him as if to punctuate his remarks.
"Go away," Heaven shouted. "Go away. Leave me alone."
The creature stabbed a finger toward Danube. "You have no sway here. This is our realm."
"Your realm, but you still hold the form you used to come into our world. The form you took from Heaven's thoughts. Enough. The summoning is over. She is not a conduit for you any longer. She has chosen to close the gate."
Nervously the Gnelfs began to grumble among themselves. They were not able to fight his words, and they began to shudder.
"Clear your thoughts of them," Danube commanded. "You too, Gabrielle."
Clutching Heaven against her, Gabrielle forced her mind to go blank. She created a black field and concentrated on keeping it blank.
"Think of something else, baby," she urged. "Think of pretty things. Lace and flowers and bluebirds."
She was reminded of a Zen exercise she'd encountered in college. They had been discussing something called a double bind, and the instructor had said, "Whatever you do, don't think of a green elephant."
Of course that was impossible. The first thing the motion-picture screen in the brain did was set off a reel of green elephants. It was the kind of thing radio advertising depended on. In her own head, she fought the images, holding them back from her black field, but how could she help a five-year-old control her thoughts?
The Gnelfs began to inch forward. She could hear their small feet scraping across the dry dust. They were losing steam but not giving up.
"Baby, listen to me," she said. "I want you to picture a big wide field, but whatever you do, don't think of any blue elephants grazing there. Don't think of that at all. You can think of birds or flowers, but not blue elephants."
"Mommy, I can't help it."
The Gnelfs' growls seemed to indicate pain now. They were frightened. They stomped the ground and rattled their weapons.
Danube placed himself between Heaven and the group. He would be able to provide some delay if they charged, but that would not be enough if Gabrielle was unsuccessful.
As she concentrated on maintaining the black field and continued making suggestions to Heaven, Gab realized she hated deceiving the child, even in this situation, but she had no choice.
"Mommy will have to spank you if you think of those blue elephants," Gabrielle scolded. "And I don't want you to picture pink monkeys on their backs."
"Mommy, I can't help it if you say it," Heaven shouted.
"You'd better. Don't think of those elephants. Don't look at them plucking orange sunflowers with their trunks.”
"Mommieeeeeeeeeeee."
The Gnelfs charged, Gnelf Master in the lead. He extended the pitchfork, aiming it at Danube's midsection.
Stepping to the side, Danube grasped the weapon's handle and forced the shaft backward so that the tip struck the Gnelf in its midsection.
The Gnelf was forced into the others, and they all tangled around him, spilling backward.
Angry, the little monster got to his feet and ran toward Danube, preparing to rip at him with his bare hands. Danube caught him beneath his armpits and, lifting him, slammed him to the ground with a loud thud.
Blood showed on Danube's bandages, and he staggered as he braced for the approach of the others. They didn't hurry, but they jangled their weapons and roared, a mob out for vengeance.
Heaven was on the verge of tears. With her eyes closed, she chewed her lower lip, her features twisted as she tried to obey her mother's command.
"Quit telling me," she said. "Every time you say something it comes into my mind before I can help it."
"Green birds aren't perched on the monkeys' shoulders, are they?"
Heaven stomped her feet, struggling to empty her mind. Before Gab could offer another suggestion, she screamed. The sound rose loudly, piercing the dry air, and in the same instant, the Gnelfs began to shudder.
Weapons slipped from their grasps, and their bodies seemed to quiver from within.
Gabrielle allowed herself to stare at them now, even as she continued whispering to Heaven, calling up every form she could imagine to keep her daughter's thoughts off the Gnelfs.
In the next instant, she saw Danube stepping toward her, pulling something from the folds of his coat. It was charred and black, and at first she wanted to keep him away. She thought he had been struck by some madness and was trying to harm Heaven after all.
He forced her hands aside without speaking and pushed the object he held down onto Heaven's head. It was the reason he had knelt beside Simon's ash
es. He had pulled this small metal skullcap from the remains, and now Heaven wore it. It fit loosely, but he held it in place.
"It will protect her thoughts," he said, brushing soot away from the twisted images on the helm's surface. They seemed to be Greek or Hebrew in origin, not evil symbols at all but those that might be found in biblical manuscripts.
"Sorcerers use signs of light to protect them," Danube explained. "This will do the same for her."
With the helm in place, the Gnelfs seemed to melt, their green flesh peeling away and dropping from them like wet clay. When they burst apart, the vision was not something Gabrielle could easily comprehend. They were not without form exactly, but their forms defied her frame of reference.
They were dark things, shadowlike with gleaming eyes; and deprived of their previous shells, they scrambled about wildly. Or were they floating, like thin black veils dropped toward the ground?
The sounds they made were filled with terror, and they seemed to be seeking cover. Some of them tried to dart back toward the crowd of corpses.
Others tried to sink into the gray powder, but from above the flutter of leathery wings sounded. Danube looked up, and ducked abruptly as one of the winged things swept down. It was not after him, however. It swooped over him and dipped, snatching at one of the dark things in its claws before beating its wings to gain an upward lift.
Quickly, Danube peeled his coat off and held it in front of him the way a matador might hold a red cloth. Cautiously, he then crept back to Gabrielle's side.
She was hugging Heaven now, clutching her tightly against her breast and cooing to her.
"Everything's all right, baby," she said. "Everything's going to be all right."
More of the winged creatures came down, ear-piercing screeches raking from their beaks as they snatched even more of the veils.
"Makes sense that they wanted to venture to our realm," Danube said. "The torment for all beings is continuous here."
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