GNELFS (38 page)

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 disoriented.

"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.

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, others 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.