Mainz, 1602 AD
The sun had already risen a few hours ago when Gabriel Laymann, a young novice of the Dominican monks of Mainz, passed the gate to leave the monastery for his work...
Maybe he was honored for his grate struggle during the last trial when he attended to Else Vogler's soul in devil's hand, before she was fed to the purifying flames. He didn't know for sure, but it seemed like the older monks back in the monastery - especially his kind of mentor Jakob with whom he had had the responsibility for Else's soul together - liked the way he faced the situation in the prison cell of the Vogler witch, who was denounced because of being discovered reading heathen writings.
Jakob must have been proud of him, because he mentioned many times, how impressed he was by Gabriel's sensitiveness; how the one acted in those situations, when the devil came back into her body to talk through her mouth and when he drove out to come back again... And although it was not easy to see human being in the hysteric woman. Gabriel had never forgotten that she once had been a human-being like himself as well; until the old evil spirit had taken away her sanity.
So, immediately he got the reward: Today he was sent on his own to the witches' tower, where those who had lost the right way awaited what they deserved. For the first time... But when he had opened the heavy wooden door to take a look at the one, who was lying there on the cold, scanty straw covered stone floor, he felt like a thunder striking down right into the back of his head. He looked once, once more and finally couldn't take his eyes away from his "client" anymore: Anna Held!
She was lying there looking up to him, and it seemed like she was too weak to recognize him. To recognize her own stepbrother, that had been like a real brother to her when they had been young children. When he had had to leave her then at the age of nine to join the Dominicans, he had promised her that they would surely meet again one day.
But this way? Anna Held? A witch? When he was a child, he had never thought that the devil would be able to possess her ever. But of course he hadn't known anything about witchcraft and the old demon's game then...
Whatever it was, speaking over her lips to him, it told him that she must have been innocent. Doubtless, a demon was not a demon, if it disclosed its identity that fast. Sometimes it took weeks until it made the body, in which it lurked, confess.
But there had to be at least a little chance, that her imprisonment was just a big mistake by law. Anyway, there was just one way to find that out: Jakob! He would help Gabriel if there was anything wrong going on. And he would find out IF there was anything queer business... ...carefully Gabriel opened the door and the shine of a few candles enlightened the monastery hallway through the slit of the door from inside the library. Gabriel had looked for Jakob during the whole late afternoon and early evening, but since he couldn't find him anywhere he determined on visiting him in the library later. Jakob was always open minded for any problem while he was sitting there reading; and the chance to meet him there was quite good, because he was there almost every night.
So Gabriel set foot in the room and as the old monk became aware of him, the latter immediately shut the book he was reading in and put it back on the shelf; well, he threw it more than he put it and he threw it more behind the shelf than on it.
Did he want to hide anything? No way, Jakob was one of these guys who could really sink into stuff they read and so he must have been really startled, when he realized that he was not alone in the room. None the less the old monk listened consciously to Gabriel's matter and promised, that he would make Anna's imprisonment and trial as comfortable for her as possible, until her innocence - or guilt - would be proved.
Furthermore he told the worrying novice, that he would start investigations about the file to find out it there was anything wrong. With some soothing words he left Gabriel, who went back to he's monk's cell to find no sleep at all. What was going on around the novice? Of Course, Jakob promised to help; but were his words meant honestly? He acted so strangely, when Gabriel entered the library.
And why did he give a start at him surprising him reading? Maybe there was something wrong with the book... Yes, the book, it could eventually bring some light into Gabriel's thoughts. And if not? At least it could be a heathen book that Gabriel wasn't meant to know anything about. Maybe it was one of the satanic books, they confiscated from Else Vogler, the witch.
Although he was involved in the trial, he had never seen the books she was accused of having read in. But how could it help him to free his stepsister Anna? Or... could it? Or shouldn't he better try to free his stepsister? Wasn't she maybe really possessed by the Old Dragon? Whatever, Gabriel couldn't sleep anyways and so he thought that it was worth an endeavor to keep an eye on the book.
Silently he sneaked back to the library... And even if the book could be a potential danger for its reader, Gabriel's belief was surely strong enough to face and stand any evil forces. Old, it seemed to be very old. And the smell made Gabriel know for sure: The book was evil. Just evil! Fixed on the inner sleeve of the leather cover there was a triangular plaque as big as a hand. He wasn't able to understand most of the things in the book because he didn't know the language it was written in.
Only a few scribbes, someone had added afterwards, probably a long time after the book itself had been written. But although he could read those words he didn't managed to get their meaning:
Many ways lead to Rome. Seven times one way for all that leads to a world beyond our imagination.
Story written by Tobias Sammet
