GNELFS (34 page)

A few days ago, Mace would have been the first thing that came to Gabrielle's mind; she would have been thinking of warding off an attacker. When reality was ripped away, however, you altered your survival skills.

Heaven was already getting heavy when Gab reached the end of the hallway and raced past the den toward the playroom which opened onto the back yard. She realized her legs weren't as sturdy as they once had been. She hadn't played tennis in a while, and she was out of shape.

She had reached the door when she heard Althea's voice. She turned and found herself looking into the pale face of Simon. His arm was around Althea's neck, and he pointed a dagger toward Gabrielle.

"Don't move," he commanded.

She froze, clutching Heaven against her. "Who are you?"

He grinned, his eyebrows arching upward impishly. "Simon says be still," he warned.

"Damn you. Leave us, alone. You've hurt us enough."

"I've made promises, Mrs. Davis. I don't have any choice but to keep them." He fumbled into his coat and found a metal skull cap, which he placed on his head.

"You can tell whoever you're working for to go to hell. I've had enough."

"The ones I work for are already in hell."

She turned, fumbling for the knob, but he shouted before she could get the door open. When she looked back at him the dagger was pressed against Althea's throat.

"She won't resist me," he said. "I could open an artery right now and she wouldn't struggle.”

“Leave her alone!"

"I'd like to, but I must have your daughter." He held up his hand, showing a jagged nub where a finger should have been. "I made a down payment, but there are those expecting more."

She reached back, trying to find the knob.

Realizing what she was doing before the door opened, he pressed the blade into flesh. Blood began to drip from Althea's eyes. The crimson tears streaked her cheeks, dripped down her jaw-line, and trickled from her chin.

Gab stopped moving, and in that same instant, the nightmare continued to blossom. With a quick movement of the dagger, Simon split the flesh at Althea's throat. It parted as if it were a mouth opening to belch out a red spray of spittle.

Gab closed her eyes, placing a hand across Heaven's face to protect the child from the sight as well.

Releasing Althea's body, Simon let it slump to the floor. "Don't be upset," he said. "There had to be a sacrifice to open the doorway."

"What do you mean?"

Suddenly he was flanked by the
Gnelfs
, or
keslim
. The ugly little creatures huddled about him, wringing their green hands in anticipation. They were like mad brethren preparing for dark communion.

"It is time my debts were paid."

She clutched Heaven to her chest, fear coursing through her like electric shock.

Simon walked forward and placed his hands on Heaven, tugging her away, while the
Gnelfs
grabbed Gab and pulled her back before she could struggle.

"Mommy," Heaven shouted. "Don't let him take me."

She reached out to her mother, but the
Gnelfs
had pinned Gab against the door, their gnarled hands pressing her into place as guttural growls and hisses issued from their lips.

Standing over Althea's body, the blond man smiled. "Simon says, we're going to hell," he said. "Or at least to Hades."

The nails were loosening in the boards. As pain assaulted his brain, Danube slid his hands along the shafts, clenching his teeth as he strained his forearms, pressing forward.

The wounds in his hands had grown larger with the movement, and their throbbing was constant. The pressure against the nail heads stung the tattered openings in his palms, but he curled his fingers forward to avoid ripping his hands apart. The effort brought excruciating pain.

Tears were continuing to flow from his eyes, and his beard glistened with sweat. His internal organs felt as if they were trying to force their way up through his throat. Part of him had grown numb even though his palms were alive, and it would have been easy to lose consciousness again. The thought of it was tempting.

As he tugged at the nails, he fantasized about sinking into oblivion, letting his thoughts fold in on themselves. That would be simple enough. He would hang there, upside down, strangling without suffering, suffocating without protest.

To quit suffering, that would be wonderful. Wonderful to escape the pain, the heavy feeling in his head, and the fire in his body.

He might fail in his task, but he would be able to rest. Let the other paths of the universe take their own course. He could die here.

Almost unexpectedly, the nail in his left hand pulled free from the crosspiece, jerking him back from the fading limbo of unreality. He opened his eyes wide.

His hand looked awful as he brought it in front of his face, even to his badly focused eyes. It was coated in blood, and a gleaming silver shaft shot through the jagged opening in his flesh.

With a grunt, he brought the back of his hand toward his lips. Closing his teeth around the nail head, gripping it tightly, he slid his hand off the spike. It seemed to move slowly along the cylindrical length of the shaft, the nail finally slipping from the wound, but when his hand came free the sensation was akin to ecstasy.

He spat the nail from his teeth, listening to it clatter to the concrete floor. It sounded like no more than a pin. How could it have caused such agony?

Without further speculation, he reached over and pulled out the nail in his right hand, tossing it to the floor as well. The delirium of relief: despite the jagged, raw pain still pounding at his nerve endings, came in a rush that brought forth as much of a sigh as his lungs could manage.

Blood pounded in his head, and his ears were roaring. As he tilted upward to see his feet tangled in the cord, a wave of dizziness swept through him. He lowered his head again after only a moment of studying the knots that encircled his ankles. They were not complex, but they were far away.

~*~

Simon did not vanish.

It was as if the air opened up, and he stepped into some invisible doorway. Gabrielle screamed as she heard Heaven's cries. They continued for a split second, and when they faded it seemed she was very far away.

Gabrielle's cry raked its way out of her throat, resounding throughout the house. It lasted a long time, continuing even after it ceased being a conscious act. She sensed the dangerous edge of hysteria starting to slice into her.

Stumbling, she moved over to a chair, bending forward to allow her face to meet her hands. She breathed deeply, forcing herself to regain control. She had to think. Where could the sorcerer have gone? If her belief in his magic had ever wavered, now it was firm and complete. He could do everything Danube had warned about. Somehow he had opened a doorway and carried Heaven away.

Or perhaps it had been a trick, a stage maneuver.
They do it with mirrors
. Bouncing off the seat cushion, she raced through the house, hoping that she might reach the front window and look out and see him running across the lawn.

At least then she could give chase. She might have to run until her lungs were bursting and her legs rubbery, but she would keep after him until neighbors began to pour out of their houses. When they saw he was trying to abduct a child they would help her.

She had no hesitancy, no fear of going after him. He had murdered Althea, but he had her child and he would have to kill her too if he was going to get away. If she didn't rip that dagger out of his hand and use it on him first.

Her hopes fragmented when she reached the front room and peered out onto an empty lawn. Althea's car was still parked in the driveway. He didn't need that kind of transportation for his escape. He had taken his own mode, escaping into some magical realm.

What would they do to Heaven there? The
Gnelfs
had terrorized her, but he had spoken of promises. Would they destroy her in some sacrificial rite?

With her heart still kettle-drumming, Gab spun and saw Katrina awkwardly sitting up in the center of the floor, a hand resting against her forehead.

"Jesus, Lord, what did he hit me with?"

Gab knelt beside her, placing one arm around her shoulders. "I don't know. He killed Althea."

Katrina stared at her in horrified disbelief. "Katrina, he took Heaven."

Blood drained from Katrina's face. "He left with her?”

“Disappeared into thin air. I don't know where he went. How do I follow him?" She was almost screaming again.

Katrina closed her eyes, struggling against the pain. "I don't understand."

"He vanished with my little girl. Into nowhere.”

“Sorcery? It's impossible."

"It's real. What are we going to do?"

"It's gonna take that Danube character."

"I don't know where he went, or how to find him. He comes and goes. He could be anywhere. What if he never shows up again?"

Gradually, Katrina managed to get on her feet. Together they moved over to the couch, side by side, supporting each other.

Gripping Katrina's hands, Gabrielle tried to find something inside herself that would give her control. She had to think. There had to be a way to locate Danube.

"Tell me what happened," Katrina said.

"He slit Althea's throat, and then he snatched Heaven away from me. The
Gnelfs
held me, and then he was just gone. He took a step and he and Heaven weren't there anymore."

"The
Gnelfs
went with him?"

"They were gone right after he was."

"Weird. Like all of this. Did Danube say anything about other dimensions? Like on 'Twilight Zone'?”

“I don't know."

Katrina closed her eyes again. "I'm gonna have to have something for my head. Can you get me a cold cloth?"

"Sure. Gab rushed into the bathroom, tearing open cabinets until she found a washcloth. Running cold water she soaked it, then took the Tylenol in the medicine cabinet.

"Thanks," Katrina said. "Give me a second, then we'll try to figure out what to do."

~*~

Danube's stomach muscles felt as if they were going to rip out of his abdomen as he bent double, pulling himself upward by gripping his trousers and literally hauling his upper body up. It wasn't as high as Everest, but he had to struggle to reach the electrical cord binding his feet.

Twice he had it in his hands, and twice he lost it, the pain in his stomach proving too great, the blood making his hands slippery so that he flopped back like a fisherman's catch. Perspiration streamed from his brow now, dripping down through his hair, soaking it and splashing onto the floor to mingle with the blood.

He had to go on. The temptation of giving up was still present, but he was not going to turn his back on his purpose. He would get free.

Straining upward once again, he began to clutch at his pants, dragging his way up until finally one wounded hand found the knots.

His weight held them fast, pulling the cord taut so that it was impossible to manipulate. He held tightly to them with his fingers. Now that he had it, he didn't want to let go. Gasps of desperation curled through his throat. He couldn't give up. He might not be able to make it up there again.

With a moan of defeat, he dropped down again, dangling, the waves of nausea rippling through his stomach and the throbbing returning to his face. He was going to have to try some other tactic.

The click of the door opening jolted him. He tried to look to the stairs, but he could not turn.

He listened to footfalls as they descended, then the clack of hard-soled shoes on the concrete. At least it didn't sound like
Gnelfs
.

"Looks like you're in a spot of trouble." The cab driver seemed to have spat his words onto the floor.

"A little," Danube croaked.

"Reckon I ought to cut you down?"

"It would be appreciated," Danube managed.

"Watch your head," Joe Wilson warned.

~*~

A search of the back room, with careful steps around Althea's body revealed no secret openings or escape methods of any traditional nature. Thin air was the only explanation.

"Where would he take her?" Katrina muttered. "I don't know enough about this magic crap to figure anything out."

"He said something about going to hell."

"All right. We're going to have to wait for Danube."

"What if he doesn't come? Or what if it's a long time? He'll just be getting farther and farther away with Heaven."

"Danube will have a way to find him. He must. He's been through too much with you on this to back off. You know that."

Katrina found herself doubting that, but she couldn't let Gabrielle know it. Comforting her was important for the moment. She couldn't be allowed to get hysterical. They both had to remain as rational as possible. Freaking out wasn't going to help at all.