Author’s Note
This short story, complete unto itself, originally appeared in
Searching Souls Magazine and became the basis for my novel
Gnelfs. The incidents from this story form a central event in the novel, but there’s much more story beyond this confrontation and much more about the mysterious Danube in the modified and expanded version. It’s currently available as an e-book for Kindle and on other platforms. Look for it wherever you purchase e-books or from the publisher at
http://store.crossroadpress.com
***
Heaven's scream pierced the night, cutting like a razor through Gabrielle's REM stage.
Throwing back the cover, she jumped from bed and thundered down the hall toward the sound. The child sat at the head of her bed, huddling between the pillows and clutching the covers about her like a shield.
Gabrielle flipped on the light and rushed toward her. Tears streamed, and as Gabrielle embraced her, she felt the child's small body trembling.
"What's wrong, honey? I'm here. Are you hurt?"
"They wanted to get me, Mommy?"
"Who?" Her gaze turned to the window. Closed.
"The Gnelfs. Daddy Gnelf and his village folk. They had pitchforks and things with blades."
Gabrielle cradled her daughter, gently touching her hair and rocking back and forth. "It's okay. You had a nightmare. The Gnelfs are your friends."
The bedtime story had evidently been the last thing on Heaven’s mind, and, mingling with the second helping of spaghetti she had demanded at supper, it had turned into a horror show.
When Heaven was at last asleep again, Gabrielle closed the bedroom door softly and headed back to her own room with the Gnelfland Bedtime Story Book tucked under her arm so that Heaven wouldn't wake and see the cover.
The fear of her daughter being in peril had rattled her so badly she knew she wouldn't be able to sleep again for a while, so Gabrielle turned on the light at her dresser where she sat in front of the mirror to brush her hair.
She didn't want to fight tangles in the morning while she was trying to get Heaven ready and to make it to the office on time. Working full time and caring for a five-year-old alone was exhausting.
As she pulled the comb through the long brown waves, she went through her regular ritual of checking for wrinkles. She was twenty-eight, and there were gray hairs appearing far more frequently than she wanted, stalwart frontrunners of age’s full-scale assault.
Things like those isolated strands of silver made her aware of how rapidly years passed. In no time she had become a mother, then a divorcee, career woman and single parent.
It didn't seem that long since she had been in college, falling in love with Dave. It had all passed faster than a television commercial break, including the horrible experience with Simon last spring.
Dave had not been a bad man, and he had not been a bad husband, but after a time they had realized they were not right for each other. Their interests, their ways of approaching situations, even their way of thinking were different. While many marriages had survived such problems, they had decided to move on.
His moving had recently carried him to the West coast to a better job. In a way it was almost as if he had never existed, yet Heaven had his blond hair and blue eyes as reminders. Perhaps that had been the reason Gabrielle had turned to Simon. He was like a refuge from Dave's memory. She'd met him at the office, a client of one of the accountants there.
As an older man with hair graying at the temple, his manner had been elegant and cordial, and she had been smitten.
They had dated for almost two months, even though she had quickly discovered him to be possessive. He expected her to be at his beck and call. When she tired of it and told him she wanted to quit seeing him, his face grew red, and he unleashed a rant filled with vicious insults, which had driven her to tears. Threats followed.
She had discovered Simon’s eccentricity during their time together. He had odd collections, strange books and seemed fascinated by world religions, but she had never expected such harshness from him. He made phone calls and sent notes for several weeks, apparently losing interest after it became clear that Gabrielle was neither going to come back to him or give other response.
She sighed and brought herself back to the present. Why was she brooding over that? She realized she was drumming her fingers on the cover of Heaven's book.
She picked it up and walked over to the bed, placing it on her nightstand as she climbed beneath the covers.
Heaven usually loved the tales of the half-elves/half gnomes. With their smiling faces and comic antics on television and in books, they had captured the hearts of millions of children. From the nightstand, their smiling faces bade Gabrielle pleasant dreams.
There had been cries from some parents groups that the little creatures were demonic because they used magic, but Gabrielle dismissed them. All fairy tales were filled with magic. Heaven had only had a nightmare, nothing more.
The next incident came several days later. The nightmare forgotten, Heaven was in the living room watching a recording of The Saturday Morning Gnelf Hour for probably the jillionth time. From the kitchen, Gabrielle could hear Heaven's laughter.
Gabrielle was stir frying vegetables when the screaming began. Rushing into the living room, she saw Heaven on the couch, thrashing about, tiny fists swinging wildly at empty air as she screamed again and again.
Gabrielle tried to embrace her and calm her, but she would not stop struggling. It was as if she was fighting something.
"What's the matter?" Gabrielle shouted. "I'm here. It's all right."
"They're all around me," Heaven cried. "They want to hurt me."
"Who?"
"The Gnelfs."
Gabrielle looked at the television screen. The little green Gnelfs there seemed to be trying to avert floodwaters from their village. Quickly she switched it off, and a news man's image replaced the cartoon.
When it did, Heaven stopped struggling and sat on the couch breathing frantically with exhaustion and fear. Her eyes were red-rimmed, and her gaze was like that of someone badly disoriented.
Gabrielle again cradled the child and rocked and comforted her until she dozed off. Then she sat watching, afraid some other nightmare might be generated. This time, however, Heaven remained peaceful.
While she slept, Gabrielle studied her features. They were so soft and innocent. What bugbears lurked in her mind? Undoubtedly there had to be scars from the divorce.
Dave had taken great pains with Heaven to explain that his departure was not her fault, but perhaps complications remained.
Gabrielle had been meaning to get back to church for some time to make sure Heaven was instilled with the proper values. Gabrielle had quit attending during school. Often she and Dave had talked about getting involved again, but it had never come about.
~*~
She wasn't sure why she decided to go to a minister instead of heading straight for the psychiatric hospital. The health insurance at her company would have covered any needed evaluation. Perhaps she just had some underlying fear that she had let spiritual training languish too long and that was part of the problem.
She wound up at a Methodist church because that was where she'd always attended as a child. The pastor, a Rev. Fillerman, was in his late fifties and seemed to have an affection for children. He made Heaven laugh and listened intently to Gabrielle's concerns.
So that they could speak privately, they let Heaven sit with the secretary.
"I've never thought the show was frightening or anything," Gabrielle said, shaking her head. "I am careful about what I let her watch."
The pastor laced his fingers and considered the dilemma silently. "It's hard to say what will frighten children," he said. "Their imaginations are quite active, and they haven't developed the ability to distinguish between the real and the imagined like you and I. When I was a child I remember being terribly frightened by Fantasia."
Gabrielle smiled. "For me it was the witches in Snow White and Sleeping Beauty."
"I don't think such things are really damaging,” Fillmore said.
"I was just afraid this might be a symptom of something caused by the divorce."
"Perhaps it is. I can recommend a counselor who is very good with young people, but let’s hope it’s just a temporary thing."
"I was wondering, I guess..." She hesitated. "I know it sounds silly. I've heard people talking on television about shows having demonic meanings. I was wondering if she might be picking up some sort of negative subliminal messages."
Fillmore pursed his lips. "Sometimes I notice writers and animators are incorporating elements and symbols based on real-life practices. I guess it's an effort to make their programs more realistic. Daddy Gnelf uses symbols that you might find on Tarot Cards or such things but I don’t think that’s a serious concern."
Gabrielle accepted the advice, thanked him and promised she would see him soon at Sunday services.
There were no further incidents for several days, so she held off on calling the counselor’s number that Fillerman had provided. She didn't let Heaven watch any Gnelfs programs, and she selected comic books for her that didn't have any frightening elements.
~*~
Everything appeared to be going right again until the assault.
First Gabrielle thought it was just something being dropped in the kitchen. She walked through the swinging door to find Heaven scrambling onto the cabinet near the sink. She had knocked a glass over, and she was continuing to climb.
"Heaven, what's going on?"
"They're after me."
"What? There's nothing here."
"The Gnelfs," she screamed, standing on the cabinet.
Gabrielle started to walk toward her with reassurances, when there was a sudden tear in Heaven's nightgown. It was a slash out of nowhere, and a rip several inches long appeared in the cloth.
"My God," Gabrielle shouted and grabbed for her daughter.
Before she could reach her another slash ripped open a three-inch cut on Heaven's leg. Blood began to seep out in a red line.
It was Gabrielle's turn to scream as she reached up for Heaven. Another cut appeared, this time ripping through the gown and slicing open Heaven's knee.
"Mommy, it's the Gnelfs. Can't you see?”
"No. I don't know what it is."
Another gash appeared and then another. From the window over the sink, Gabrielle ripped down the curtain and tried to wrap Heaven's legs. Then she tried to lift the girl down, but it felt as if something was clinging to her.
"Help mommy. They want to hurt me!" Gabrielle had placed the Gnelf book in a spare drawer in the kitchen. She tugged it open and jerked the book out. With it in hand, she rushed to the back door and tossed it outside into the darkness.
Once it was removed, the attacks seemed to subside, and she quickly carried Heaven upstairs to the bathroom for first aid.
The cuts were not deep, no more than scratches, but the experience had terrified the little girl.
Gabrielle trembled as well, because she could not believe what had happened. It was impossible, yet somehow Heaven's mind had created the cuts.
It must have been something like stigmata, thought Gabrielle. That was the only way to explain it. But what could explain the rips in the nightgown?
"There are many things in heaven and earth not explained or dreamed of," said a voice from the bathroom door.
Gabrielle almost jumped from her skin as she wheeled around to face the man who stood there. He was a thin man, red-haired and unshaven. His pale skin seemed more so because he wore a black overcoat. His hands thrust deeply into the pockets, he leaned against the door frame.
"How did you get in here?" she asked, embracing Heaven protectively. For some reason the child did not seem frightened.
The man took a step into the room, and one comer of his mouth twisted up in a half smile.
“lt’s all right," he said. "My name is Danube, and I've come to help you." His voice was thick with an English accent. It sounded like Michael Caine's.
“How do you know I need help?"
"A clerical grape vine. The minister you talked to spoke to a friend of his who is a local priest. The priest spoke to a Father Byrne about the troubles, and he contacted my order. The Seven Brothers of St. Jude Thaddeus."
His coat was open at the throat over his Roman collar, and a gold Crucifix hung from his neck.
Gabrielle closed her eyes. "Let me put Heaven to bed, and we can talk."
She prepared the priest a cup of coffee and joined him in the living room.
"What does your order do?" she asked.
"It is a group of holy men who fight evil, evil in its purest form."
"I thought that's what all priests and monks and pastors tried to do."
"They do, but there are many other jobs which occupy the clergy, and many problems. In today's world, there are those, even among the holy, who don't realize the ancient ways still exist. Conjuring and practices are not forgotten, and there are still those who would use those things for evil. We are devoted to seeking that out and combating it. I am a priest, not a monk, but I serve as the investigator for the circle."
Gabrielle crossed her arms nervously. "I guess you wouldn't be here if you didn't suspect something evil was taking place. I mean, I've been thinking Heaven's problems were psychological, but after tonight I'm not sure."
"There are indications that something out of the ordinary is going on. Tell me. Where is the little girl's father?"
Gabrielle outlined the situation, touching lightly on everything from the last few years.
"No animosity lingered between you and your husband?" Danube asked.
"Not really. There's always hurt when a marriage ends, but we escaped being cruel to each other. Why?"
"I am exploring all of the possibilities," said Danube. He asked no questions about Simon. "I would like to see the storybook and one of the programs."
Gabrielle retrieved the book from where she had tossed it, and reluctantly she played a recorded Gnelf show. Danube opened his collar and sat watching, then reading. He was silent, rubbing his stubbled chin with a thumb on occasion. His curls spilled down over his forehead in unkempt fashion.
"In many instances real symbols are utilized," he said when he was finished perusing the materials.
"What does that mean? You’re saying my daughter’s the victim of some ancient curse that was inadvertently placed on her by a cartoonist somewhere?"
"I think not," said Danube. "I believe the things happening to your daughter are quite intentional."
"What do you mean?" Gab asked, contemplating the supposition she didn’t want to voice.
"I won't know that until I'm finished looking into the matter," he said as he placed his coffee cup on the table and departed.
~*~
The next morning Danube entered a small dusty shop in a deteriorating part of town. A man in a Nehru jacket greeted him with a smile. His Indian features were brown and wrinkled like old parchment, but he had a spry nature.
"Hello, Rajhi," Danube said.
"Greetings. Would you like tea?"
“It would do."
He showed Danube into a sitting room decorated with old world globes and mystical artifacts. After a few moments he returned with a sterling tea service, trailed by a silver-haired man in clerical garb.
"How goes the search for truth, Father Byrne?" Danube asked.
“As perplexing for Rajhi and I as for those of you who still operate within the church's guidance," said the priest. "What brings you?"
"The woman you referred me to."
“Is her problem as we were told?" Rajhi asked.
“Perplexing,” Danube said as he produced the storybook from his coat and placed it on the table. "Have a look."
“Interesting,” the old man said as he thumbed it then passed it on to Byrne.
“Interesting symbols in here," Byrne agreed. “Very ancient. Mesopotamian and other almost forgotten pieces. Someone did a great deal of research in compiling these.”
"It seems absurd to be worried about drawings in a child's book," Danube said. "But I find myself wondering of perhaps those symbols could be utilized."
“You mean the fairy tales could serve as a channel for discarnate spirits," Rajhi mused.
"It would call for the most ancient of knowledge. Not everyday dabbling."
"Such knowledge is being rediscovered all the time," said Danube.
"Why would someone want to harm the child?"
"How do you hurt a person the most?" Danube asked. "By causing physical harm, or by destroying something they love?"
"The father is separated from the family?"
"I'm assured there is not animosity there."
"You would do well to hurry and find out who else might want such revenge," said Rajhi who was looking at the book again.
"Oh?"
He tapped a page near the end of the book. In the artwork, the Gnelfs were using a fire to combat a massive wall of water, which again threatened their village.
In the dirt at their feet was a symbol they had drawn to create the fire.
"Do you recognize this?" Rajhi asked.
"It's out of context," Danube said.
"Nevertheless, it is the symbol of Girra, the spirit of the flames," Byrne said. "The key, which unlocks the furnace."
"Perhaps we could just destroy the book," Danube said.
"The symbol is already in her subconscious. That could suffice for the conjuring," Rajhi said. "You must find another way to combat it."
"Thank you for the encouragement," Danube said.
~*~
Simon Oxford was a tall man. Dressed in a tailored gray suit, he stood at his office window as he dictated instructions into a recorder.
"So this is you inner sanctum," Danube said.
Paintings and antiques filled the room, one wall dominated by books, ancient and modern. He was obviously a man who indulged all of his interests and desires. His office was like a museum of all he held dear.
Simon wheeled to focus on Danube sitting on a couch.
"How'd you get in here?"
"Perhaps I'm not here at all."
"What do you want?"
"Ever hear of a young lady named Heaven Ramsey? A beautiful child."
"I dated her mother once. What's this about?"
"Someone has been tormenting the little girl."
"I haven't been near her in seven or eight months. Not since I quit seeing Gab. I don't see what concern it is of yours, Father."
"I'm concerned for all of God's children, and I might add that there are ways of harming people without being near them. I think you know about that, Mr. Oxford."'
" If you don't have business with me besides unsubstantiated innuendo, I suggest you get out the same way you came in."
Danube got to his feet and slipped his hands into his coat pockets.
"Innuendo? I only suggest someone is tormenting the child, perhaps someone who got to know her mother and realized how much she loves her daughter. Someone who sees Heaven's destruction as a way of hurting Gabrielle."
"I have no reason to do that."
"You mean besides ego? Since you're such a powerful man, I don't expect you're accustomed to having people tell you no about anything."
Simon moved to his desk and called for security.
Danube moved casually to the door. "Interesting ring you have there," he said. "I believe that's called a conjurer's stone. Very rare. They say those of its kind were forged in Hell. You have a friend who gave it to you no doubt, a magician of some sort?"
"It's just a ring."
Danube was gone before the guards arrived to find Simon drumming one fist on the chair arm. His fingers were already dancing across his telephone keyboard.
"The gate is clearly ready," he said into the mouthpiece. “No more dallying.”
~*~
Gabrielle realized something was wrong when Heaven began to complain of a headache.
"How bad is it?" She asked, waiting for Heaven to say something about the little green monsters.
"It just hurts," Heaven said, rubbing temples. Gabrielle went to her, and as she touched her, she discovered her skin was growing warm. "I think you've got a fever," she said.
Lifting Heaven into her arms, she carried her up to her room and placed her on the bed.
"Mommy?" Heaven asked as Gabrielle reached for a thermometer on the dresser.
"Yes, sweetheart?"
"Is it the Gnelfs?"
“I don't believe so. Slip this under your tongue. I may have to take you to the emergency room."
"I don't think that will do it."
The thermometer slipped from her fingers and she turned to glare at Danube.
"Urgency prohibits courtesy.” He was already moving to the bed and lifting the child into his arms. Perspiration was now covering her face and forehead.
“Fill the bathtub with cold water," he commanded.
"Now," he barked when Gabrie1le hesitated.
She led the way down the hall to comply with his instructions, helping him lower the child into the water when it was ready.
Within seconds, shimmers of steam began to rise.
"Ice, and hurry," Danube said, holding the child's head above the water.
"What's wrong with me?" Heaven asked.
"Someone's trying to hurt you, but we won't let them.” Danube said, sweat beading on his own forehead as the temperature of the water began to rise.
When Gabrielle brought the ice tray in he dumped the cubes into the tub, and still the temperature moved upward.
"What's happening?" Gabrielle screamed.
"Take her head,” Danube commanded. "Simon is trying to destroy her."
"How?"
With his thumb, Danube made the sign of the cross on Heaven's forehead.
"By conjuring a demon through her. A gateway symbol was planted in her subconscious by the book, and he's using that."
"What will happen?"
Danube ripped down the shower curtain, and from his jacket, he took a vial of holy water. "If it's not stopped she'll combust like something out of a Stephen King novel."
"Oh my God."
"Pray. Have the child pray. A faith of purity may be the only way to stop it."
Reaching around his neck, he removed his Crucifix and draped it around the child's neck.
The water was still quivering, almost to a boil. It was turning Gabrielle's arms pink, the child's face becoming a bright scarlet.
"Do something," Gabrielle screamed. "They're going to destroy my baby."
Danube knelt beside the tub and grasped the child's hand.
"Heaven, someone wants to come into your mind, you mustn't let him."
"It's Daddy Gnelf," she cried. "It burns, mommy. It burns so bad."
Danube brushed her damp hair from her forehead. "You have to fight," he said.
"I'm trying.”
She clutched at the cross.
"Is this God?"
"A symbol for God."
"Is he hurt?"
"He hurts whenever his children surfer."
Flame fingers crept up the four corners of the room and a blanket of orange began to spread across the ceiling. Smoke quickly filled Gabrielle's lungs.
"God," Heaven called. "Help us. Make the bad ones go away."
Danube raised a clenched fist toward the fire, which was billowing throughout the room.
"Demon or darkness, in the name of our Lord I command you back to the pits of Hell."
Pieces of the ceiling came down. He raised an arm and deflected debris.
"Tell the spirit it can't control you," Danube said.
"Stop being mean," Heaven called out "Stop hurting people. Stop the bad things. I don't want you here. You're bad."
Danube crossed himself and then repeated the measure on the child, using the holy water.
"I command you back into the flames. You cannot possess this child. She has rebuked you, and I command you to leave her, in the name of God. The blood of the Nazarene commands it."
He held his breath as the water continued to shimmer. If it did not end soon there was no hope.
But slowly, he felt her temperature begin to ebb.
Around the room the flames began to subside, crawling back into nothingness.
Gabrielle lifted Heaven from the tub and began to cradle her head as Danube slumped back onto the floor.
"Simon conjured this?" Gabrielle asked.
Danube nodded. "Perhaps with some kind of help."
"He always had strange friends. Is the demon, I mean, is it gone back to Hell?"
"It's been unleashed, and it is a spirit of destruction," Danube said. "It will travel the earth."
"Where will it go?"
"To another place the symbol of its gate exists perhaps. Perhaps the nearest instance"
"Like where?"
"Perhaps to the copy of Gnelf story book which was used to attack Heaven."
"Oh God. Where is it? I left that…"
"Not to worry. I may inadvertently have left it tucked between the seat cushions in Simon's office." Danube raised an eyebrow. "Were his books and paintings very dear to him?"
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