The Gray Path
Chapter 9
by Krss, published in Q1, 2001
Thursday, 29th May 1994
The crisp morning light falling over the white of the opposite wall made Grace blink and groan aloud. Her mouth was sticky, her neck was stiff and her head felt like she had terminal hangover. She needed to go to the bathroom. She needed a fresh change of clothes. Not being able to dress in her usual nightie hadn't let her rest one bit. The pillow and the sheets were uncomfortably hot, and since too much heat always brought her silly food nightmares, Grace was definitely in a bad mood.
God, I miss my toothbrush... At least a shower. Gotta get up...
Carefully, without sudden movements, she managed to stand on her own feet. She thanked the kind soul that had put decent bathrooms in the lodge, against all the 'beastlier than thou' philosophy.
After a good splash of icy cold water on her face and a quick lukewarm shower that made her grumble about what was the use of the hot water tap anyway, she heard her mind go slowly back into gear. She opened the window and took in the clean morning scent of the forest, letting the cool air brush over her skin through the neckline of her shirt.
There was something dim like disappointment lurking in the muddy areas of her mind. She tried to sink it back, but by doing that she only managed to take a good look at it. She felt let down, cheated...
He invited you here to sleep, for God's sake!! What did you damn well expect? Hey! What am I rambling here... it's crazy to even think it!
She shook her head to collect herself. Then she walked to the door, creaked it open and stole a look down the small corridor. The doors to Gabriel's and von Glower's bedrooms were closed. There was quiet everywhere. She descended carefully to the kitchen.
At least my being here prevented those two from getting too close...
Small consolation... She took out some milk from the fridge and seated herself at the small table, wrapping her hands around the cold glass.
Gabriel sat on the edge of his bed, head in hands, trying to figure out his fuzzy mind. He had slept dreamlessly, it was a bright cheerful morning... So why on earth did he feel disappointed?
Or better, 'by whom?' Thus put, the question could be easily answered. Friedrich. Great so far. Moving on to 'what for'. Grace, of course. 'Why Grace' proved a little more difficult. Stop to think of it, it had been civil of him to invite her to spend the night. It was late, and it wouldn't have done to let her ride alone like this. So what was it? The thought popped out without warning.
She got in their way.
Simple as that. But so different from the way he was used to think that it had taken him days to understand it... all of it. Too long. He had kept Friedrich. at arm's length too much damn time.
How could he expect anything from his friend after acting like the careless pig he had been a hundred times before? Never giving him any sign of how good he made him feel... Avoiding his eyes during the day after snuggling in his arms for the whole night... Taking him for granted without trying to give anything back.
He had missed Friedrich. that night, but he was never going to miss him again.
When von Glower entered the kitchen he found the two sitting on opposite sides of the table, eating in silence.
"Good morning, Grace!" She nodded briefly and resumed her milk. Friedrich. walked to Gabriel's side and murmured as he sat down, "You too..."
Gabriel turned radiantly towards his lover and replied with a soft "thanks". He locked his gaze with Friedrich.'s, letting him know what his soul had just told his mind about himself. The intensity he saw in the loving blue eyes made him blush. Happiness rose in warm waves from inside until he felt he'd burst, so he excused himself and walked away from the room, raising a hand to hide the silly grin on his face.
Finally, Grace looked up from her glass. Her eyes were moist and her upper lip was trembling. She hesitated, opened her mouth as if to say something, but shut it tight and looked down again.
"If it is of any comfort to you, you should know that I understand."
She looked to him sharply and stifled a sob. In a voice as restrained as she could muster, she began "You can't..." and stopped when the tears threatened to break out.
"Think of it like this. He will be with me in a way much different than he could have been with you. I am not your competition. In time, this will mean a great deal for your self-respect."
Grace wiped her nose and looked aside. She prayed for the soothing, sad, fascinating voice to stop, to leave her alone, there is no way I can stop the tears now, don't you know you make me worse with every gentle word, but no, don't stop, never stop, I need someone to understand, to relate, then the pain will just wash away and leave me behind...
"You can finally have the freedom you have always wanted... You can move on."
She listened eagerly, trying to believe that all was right, it was even better to be alone, abandoned and betrayed, strong women don't need love, we live on air and research, no, I don't need anyone to hold me, to seat me next to the fire, to reach into my soul with his eyes...
She brushed a trembling hand over her strained neck, touching a familiar gold chain.
She wasn't alone in all this. The talisman was there to help.
God what's wrong with me, did they put something in my milk?! Get a grip!! This here is my worst enemy, and I'll kick his butt sooner or later... Preferably sooner.
She cleared her voice abruptly and straightened her head in defiance.
"Thanks for your help and all that, but I won't be needing it for the moment."
He smiled. "That's a good thing."
"So... back to business. Did you get that permit?"
"Yes, I did, and the car is ready. We can leave as soon as you finish your breakfast."
"I'm done with it, so what are we waiting for!"
Von Glower was leading the way up the stone staircase that spiraled through the center of the tower. Huge tapestries, showing mostly swans and lilies bound together in delicate patterns, adorned the walls as they climbed on. One particular image made Friedrich. stop very suddenly, and Gabriel, who was just behind him and not watching where he was going, bumped into Friedrich.'s elbow and clutched his hands to his stomach in pain.
Friedrich. was lost in studying the tapestry that had caught his attention. Grace recognized it from the painting at Herrenchimsee. It showed Ludwig inside the royal sleigh in the middle of a snow-covered clearing, surrounded by his soldiers. But now there was also a huge black wolf in the distance, howling to the moon.
Gabriel's small groan made them both turn to him in concern.
"What is the matter? Does your stomach hurt?"
Gabriel looked at his friend and grinned. "That's a pretty sharp elbow you got there... It's dangerous to wave it 'round like that!"
"Are you saying I did that to you? Are you sure?"
"Yeah, kinda knocked me out for a bit."
"I though I felt a small ache, but nothing even near pain..."
"Hey, no big deal. It's almost gone anyway... Let's move on."
Friedrich. shook his head in confusion, turned around and continued to climb. Grace knew he wasn't satisfied with the explanation. She wasn't either. Of course, Gabe always made such a fuss over small pains, like most men usually do, but now it seemed genuine. And it was strange that the alpha hadn't felt the pain he had inflicted on his beta.
But she would think about that later, for they had already arrived to the end of the stairs. The room they entered was large and almost devoid of furniture, except for a few chairs and some little tables for study. It smelled of antique paper and aged wood. The view was as grand as the one offered by the huge window of the Singers' Hall.
Friedrich. looked around to recognize the place where he had been so long ago. If that brought him painful or pleasing memories he didn't show it, but instead he walked to a particularly barren wall and pushed on a little invisible door. It looked like the other hideouts downstairs, from which Grace had picked up the three acts. He moved his hand about and soon enough he uttered an exclamation and brought out two scrolls.
Gabriel and Grace rushed to sit down next to him around a nearby writing table. Friedrich. untied the red ribbon and spread the first parchment on the plane surface. It was yellow and wrinkled, and the handwriting was atrocious, but it was English. Grace put on her reading glasses and examined it carefully. It had lines of irregular length, each one centered horizontally on the paper.
the passage of soul. Repulsion with the opposite shall cast the silver
shadow upon the fang
of the enemy. May
the power of the
maker bless the silver and curse the image and be certain
that the spirit
protects our lives and will save
his children from
spawn of hell"
"My God, this is so interesting! What do you think?"
"Dunno, Grace, can't make much of it..."
"Let's take a look at the other one."
The second proved to be the same text, but translated into German in Ludwig's handwriting. And it had the word 'hurkila' scribbled across the empty space.
Grace let out a little gasp. Imagining it was one thing, but here it was, black on yellow. She couldn't believe it.
Hey, maybe I can make a good Sherlock after all...
She smirked at Gabriel's incredulous look, then grabbed the English version, took out her pen and notebook and leant closer to the paper.
"Let's see... 'righteous fire'. I bet it means the creature. And apparently it comes through some 'passage of soul', I wonder what that is... I think this scroll explains how to summon one!"
"There she goes..."
"Look! 'the silver shadow upon the fang of the enemy', doesn't this sound familiar? And it seems to appear from 'repulsion with the opposite'. What is this opposite? The creature is light, fire..."
"It reminds me of the Yin/Yang duality." At least Friedrich. appeared to follow her chain of thinking.
"Right! What was the symbolism again? Male/female, positive/negative, expanding/contracting, light/dark, hot/cool... Fire is expanding, light, hot..."
"Water?"
"Yes, of course! Water is contracting because it's liquid, it's also cool and can be the opposite to fire. So where does it get us? Water has a role in the appearance of the thing... Right.
Now to 'bless the silver and curse the image'. Well, the silver is quite obvious I should say, it appears so much as a symbol that it's almost boring. About the image, though... For one thing, it's also about the enemy, because it must be cursed. Maybe it's an image of the enemy?"
"Well... if it's any help... In my dream Ludwig threw a silver medallion with Friedrich.'s picture into the water before he died."
"What?! Did you say silver medallion?"
"Yeah, why?"
"Oh, nothing... But then..."
"Then what?"
"Then Ludwig did the summoning at Starnberger See, just before he died!! And it all fits in! He was in the middle of water, he had that silver medallion with the image he wanted to curse..."
"Gosh, and Gunther appeared right after Ludwig died..."
"My God! Maybe we'll find out what really happened there between Ludwig and the doctor..."
"Read on!"
" 'the spirit protects our lives and will save his children from spawn of hell'... This one is quite plain, don't you think? Are there any hidden meanings here?..."
"The children? The spawn of hell?"
"Nah, I think they have their usual religious meanings... That's weird. This sentence doesn't seem very efficient... It's different from the others before it, which are short but full of hints. It's sort of standing out... Why did the writer make it so long?"
"Maybe he wanted to have 10 lines, does that mean something?"
"I don't see what it could mean... Let me think about it a little..."
She picked up the paper and began to walk around the room, muttering to herself. "Six... twelve... three times four... eleven?? No way! First half is... 30, second... 26, doesn't make sense either... No numbers then, but what? Come on... Beware... blah blah... silver... fang... silver fang... Through silver fang... That's it!!"
"What?!"
She didn't answer, but grabbed the pen and started scribbling frantically on the notepad. When she finished she gave a little laugh and started to read.
"Beware the shadow of the maker that protects his spawn. Through silver fang may the certain spirit save from hell."
"Where d'you get those?!"
"Take a look here, if the author made that sentence so long only because he wanted 10 lines then why didn't he put an equal number of words on each line? The lines are very different, and the lengths don't seem to follow any logical rule. So why are the lines divided like that? And the answer is... look at the 10 beginning words, for example!"
Gabriel took the paper in his hands. "Beware... the... shadow... Wow, you're right, Grace! And the ends make up the second sentence!"
"I know, I'm good..." she grinned modestly. "But those seem like riddles on their own... First one. Who can 'the maker' be? It's not used in the religious sense here, because he has 'spawn', and the writer seems to associate 'spawn' with 'hell'. The shadow... An evil maker, hunted by the light..." She raised her eyes to Friedrich.
"Yes, I recognize myself in that description." He smiled. "But how do I protect my... spawn, so to speak? And from whom?"
"My guess is from the creature... How? I don't know."
"But how can I protect my descendants from the creature if I cannot protect myself from it?"
"I don't know... Maybe you can only protect others, not yourself, I'll have to think about it... Now that second one... I think it says that a spirit can save himself by using silver... guess the fang is just a figure of speech."
"It ain't just that. It's real."
"What do you know about it, Gabriel?"
"Should I tell 'er the whole thing?"
"Definitely. I already told you that Grace needs to know every detail about this case."
"Okay, but it's a long story... We were runnin' through the forest at night and we came to this clearin'..."
"...and they changed almost all of his blood. And then Gunther ran off. And you know the rest."
"And you say he broke a fang? Is it still there?"
"I don't see who could've taken it... Anyway, it didn't do him much good, I guess he's still hangin' around somewhere..."
"Anyway, so much for the second sentence."
"I think I know what the first sentence means."
Grace and Gabriel looked at Friedrich. in curiosity.
"It says indeed that the alpha can protect his betas from the hurkila. And the alpha blood is what protected me from it during all these years. But now I am no longer a full alpha... my original blood has been 'watered down'."
"That's right!! Gunther transformed in the hospital after your transfusion. And you didn't feel Gabe's pain a little while ago on the stairs... It's all clear now!"
"What are you sayin', you're not an alpha any more?" Gabriel looked completely stunned.
"Oh, I do not see what else I could be, I still have a little alpha blood in my veins... The only difference is that now I can knock you unconscious and still be there to enjoy myself through all the process... Oh, I was just kidding!" He grinned and made a gesture to pull Gabriel towards him, but controlled himself just in time.
Gabriel gave him a half-amused, half-pouting look, then let out an exaggerate sigh of relief and turned his thinking to more mundane matters.
"Geez Friedrich., gives me the creeps to think of Gunther near you all this time, waiting for a chance to kill..." he shuddered.
"Quite frightening indeed..."
"And he touched my coat..."
"Hey! there's something I don't get here... Didn't Ludwig read this? This is his scroll, for God's sake! I figured this out in ten minutes! Why did he send the hurkila after you if he knew you were an alpha? He did know that, didn't he?"
"Yes, he did. But the explanation is quite easy, in fact..." Friedrich. smiled. "He used the German translated version, which naturally does not have the words in the same places. I read it, and the two sentences do not make any sense."
"Oh... hadn't thought of that. Okay," and Grace smiled back.
"That's all good and fine, but what now? What do we do to stop it?"
"It seemed pretty invincible to me... Unless it can be called back by its summoner, I don't see how we could get rid of it. And even if it can, I don't think Ludwig will jump to oblige, as he's not exactly your biggest fan... He would get nothing by calling it back, and everything by letting it loose."
"C'mon, Gracie, we gotta find a way outta this! You're the Ludwig expert, you think somethin' up!"
"My mind feels pretty dried up now, and I'm not surprised. Since we're finished here, why don't we go somewhere to eat? It may help, you never know..."
"I subscribe fully to the idea. We need some time for all these new things to settle in."
"Can't argue with that. Let's get outta here!"
"Okay, I'm stuffed. Anyone want the rest of my pizza?"
"Naah, Gabe... I've had enough to eat, and besides - you deserve it."
"You just need to take it easy, we are not going anywhere right now."
"I was right, food did give me an idea. I think we should go to that clearing and get the silver fang."
"Why that?"
"I don't know, I have a feeling it'll help us communicate with Ludwig. We'll have to try that, sooner or later, you know..."
"Do you think we can make 'im turn that thing back?"
"I have one or two little ideas that just might help... Anyway it never hurts to try. But I think we need that silver fang for it."
"Friedrich., do you know how to find the clearin'?"
"I think I can lead you there... Are you finished with the pizza?"
Gabriel looked down at his plate in disgust. "Very. I don't think I can look a mushroom in the face ever again."
"Lead the way... baron."
"My friends call me Friedrich."
"And your enemies?"
"You may call me however you wish... All set to go?"
The forest at day was quite different from what Gabriel remembered. It had been a psychedelic whirl of color and smell, pulsing with danger and the unknown; now it was only a green, quiet and peaceful source of fresh air. The bed of lilies was still there, but most of them were wrinkled and dry.
Ludwig needed their energy to appear...
Grace approached the white isle slowly. It seemed that one little flower had survived the plague and was sticking out its proud head from the mass of limp sisters. She bent down and picked it.
Sorry for that. Bigger would've been better, but I guess you'll have to do... Now for that fang.
After a little looking around, she saw the fang sparkling in the grass. It was as big as her index finger.
"I found it! Want to have a look?"
"Yeah, but you pick it up and bring it along, will ya?"
She approached and showed it to them from a safe distance.
"That's huge..." Gabriel lightly touched Friedrich.'s former wound through his shirt, reassuring himself that his friend was okay. He was rewarded with a warm smile.
"... and pretty sharp", he continued. His gaze was fixed on the silver tip. It was fascinating him, his fingers tickled from the need to feel the edge that had slashed inside his friend... He tried to fight it, but the urge to touch was too strong. He saw his hand move forward and before he knew it his finger was pressed on the pointy end.
It had caught all of them by surprise. Grace and Friedrich. both reached for Gabriel's finger at the same time as pain shook him away from the fang. The two helping hands touched for a brief but intense moment. Grace tried to fight the flush raising to her cheeks by fussing over Gabriel.
"What was that all..." His eyes interrupted her in mid-sentence. They were yellow. The beast had felt the sting and was waking. She looked to Friedrich. desperately. He understood and grasped his friend's head between his hands, forcing him to look into his eyes.
"Gabriel, come back... It's all right... You can come back to me now..."
Grace waited while von Glower talked gently, reaching for the human side, trying to bring it back in control. She was afraid of what might happen if he couldn't. All she saw were the yellow eyes, inhuman, alien, angry...
...but not Gabriel's. Ludwig's. He was panting heavily and sweat was dripping from his face... into the water, he was in the middle of the water and his hands were clutching at something... someone's throat. The victim's struggle only increased the lust to kill that showed in his mad eyes. He growled and tightened his relentless grip... it was over.
Grace watched in awe as a narrow vertical tunnel of pure light started to become visible, aspiring the delicate mist of the soul that floated out through the stiff gasping mouth. Ludwig looked at the passing of the soul, tears falling from his now black eyes. The purple disfigured face was mocking him from beyond death, and he turned the floating body face down.
He took out the medallion, stealing his final look at his beloved, then threw it into the waters. And waited.
A white fire appeared at the sky end of the tunnel. It had no shape, it was just liquid energy pouring in streams down the narrow walls of light, until the first ethereal droplets crossed the border to the material world. And encountered the water.
The repulsion between the opposites exploded into blinding white steam and started a fierce boiling. The turmoil threw Ludwig back and his head sank under water. By the time he resurfaced, the rest of the liquid fire had condensed itself into the shape of a graceful sea creature with a thorn. But by doing that it had enlarged the end of the tunnel right above Ludwig's head.
The creature undulated away, in a direction known only to it.
Ludwig looked at the light that danced in a whirl around him, beckoning him upwards. "Louis..." he muttered. His hands searched around for something, but there was only endless empty cold water. The light began to whirl faster, hungrier, he tried to swim away but couldn't, moved his hands to his neck, gasping, choking, slowly giving way under the crushing pressure. Grace felt his loss of air, all the despair of his agony moments... and she fainted.
"Grace? Gracie? You okay?"
She moaned and tried to open her eyes. A blurred Gabriel was leaning over her. She felt the burn of something alcoholic on her lips and licked them nervously.
"Gabriel?" she muttered feebly.
"I'm here... tell me what happened."
"Where am I?..."
"In a bed at the lodge... you're safe here."
"God, please... Gabriel, I don't want to die... Please..." She started sobbing wildly.
"It's okay... you're alive. You're okay. Calm down..."
"Ludwig... The passage of soul... Louis..."
"Louis?"
She opened her eyes and looked at him more clearly.
"I saw Ludwig die."
"Drink this now, that'll make you feel better. You'll talk later..."
"The scroll was right! The 'passage of soul' is the tunnel of light from my vision... It was needed in the summoning. Ludwig killed Dr. Gudden and the passing of his spirit opened the road to the hurkila."
"D'you think he killed him on purpose then?"
"I don't know... he was ridden by the beast. I think he did it from instinct, maybe the doctor wanted to keep him from going into the water or something and that made him mad. He was devastated when he saw what he had done... but still used it to accomplish the ritual."
"Poor beast... in a way it was suicide..."
"He didn't want to go. I felt his fighting. He was calling for 'Louis'..."
She looked to Friedrich. just in time to see him wipe at his eyes. "You are what's keeping him here. He killed most of the alpha in you, and that should be enough to save his soul. But, like the scroll said, 'Through silver fang may the certain spirit save from hell.' He may save from hell, if he is certain. But he's still here... And only you can help him decide to leave."
"I shall try."
Last update: October 24, 2007
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