GNELFS (14 page)

"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."

"
Gnelf
magic," Tanner said.

"That symbol is not a good-luck sign," Danube said. "It's an ancient Sumerian character, one of the symbols of the gates which separate this world from the beyond."

"What? You sound like you're talking about something out of H. P. Lovecraft."

"It goes back further than pulp magazines, Mr. Tanner. Mr. Lovecraft created his mythos based on ancient wisdom. Some have speculated he was a student of Aleister Crowley. The Sumerian symbols are just a part of what I find in this book. Hebrew signs are here also . . . the mark here"—he held up another page which showed a symbol carved into the trunk of a tree the
Gnelfs
were walking past—"is the sign of
Shomer
Dappim
. He is a demon, the guardian of books and pages. He would exact vengeance on someone who left a holy book open."

"What you're telling me is that there are hex signs in this book?"

"Various symbols, not hex signs. The point is these markings incorporated into the artwork are based upon actual symbols and are not just random creations of the artists."

"Somebody is throwing real occult symbols into children's books?" Tanner said. "You know a few years ago they caught Mighty Mouse snorting coke."

"I have heard about subliminal messages. No this is real, Mr. Tanner. I do not know why these images are here, but they are real."

"And these markings are what's affecting Heaven?"

"No, the symbols are not, in and of themselves. If they worked that way, every child who had one of these books would be subject to something similar."

"Then what are you getting at?"

"Somehow these images are being used. Heaven is a target. Why is the question."

"A child her age can't have any enemies, no preschool witches."

"Then I guess we had better talk to Mrs. Davis about who might be angry at her."

They returned to the living room, presenting the book to Gabrielle so that she could examine the markings. Danube briefly explained what he had told Tanner.

"Someone is putting curses into children's books?"

"Not curses. Symbols. That can be used to make curses."

"Couldn't this be something like the stigmata?"

"It could be, but it is not," Danube said stoically. "Now will you consider who might be angry at you? Who might want to harm you by hurting your daughter."

“I can't think of anyone." Her eyes closed, and she shook her head. "Except David."

Tanner frowned. "Your ex-husband?"

"I can't believe he would try to hurt Heaven," she said.

"Was he angry about the divorce? Your leaving?”

“He ran away. He went out to California."

Danube looked at Tanner. "This material, it is produced in California?"

The writer nodded. "At
Gnelf
Inc."

"Have you been in contact with your husband since this began?" Danube asked.

"He hasn't answered the phone."

Danube ran a hand across his beard. "You have an address for him?"

"If he's still there."

"Perhaps I should pay him a visit."

"You won't hurt him."

"I will only talk to him."

"Don't expect me to cover your expenses."

"That is taken care of. And while I am in California, I can pay a visit to the creators of the
Gnelfs
as well.”

“You think you can just walk into a cartoon studio?”

“I will make the contacts," Danube said.

"In the meantime, are we safe?" Gab asked. "Or should I expect more of these attacks."

"The symbols are in her mind. Those symbols can be used as gateways to channel many things. It could get worse.”

"What can be done?"

"Let me pray a blessing over her. It will help some."

Gab looked to Tanner for approval. He nodded cautiously, so they carried Heaven into the bedroom. While the child slept, Danube knelt beside her, whispering a soft prayer. Then he spoke a few words in Latin and touched her forehead, gently forming a cross before getting back to his feet.

"Will that ward off the demons?" Gab asked.

"It will help some. You would do well to pray if something more occurs. It should help, if you can summon faith."

"I can try."

She wrote Dave's address down for Danube and followed him and Tanner to the front door. She caught Jake's arm before he exited

"Do you trust him?" she asked.

"I don't know."

"He won't hurt Dave?"

"I don't think so."

"This is so crazy. It can't be real."

"Can't it? What's happened is beyond imagination."