Lines of Shadow: Sequel to Somewhere Between

Quicker chapter update than normal (when do I EVER say that?) While this chapter was pretty well planned out in my head, the next one is just as much of a mystery to me as it is to you. I know what needs to happen, I'm just not sure what order to put it in. So bear with me while I do a little planning.

- John

I stare at the wall Anubis pulled HB and Abe through. I've seen a lot of weird stuff, but never anything that could use a shadow as a door. The wall became a little like Jell-o when Anubis put his arm through it, resisting a moment before giving way. I'm tempted to go over and examine it, but I have wait for Anubis to help me through the mirror.

"Sir, what should we do in the meantime?"

I glance over my shoulder at the agents, not sure what to say. The world is probably going to end in the next few hours if we can't stop Lucifer, but I don't think admitting that would help anything. Plus, telling them to kiss their asses goodbye is not very professional. HB would do it…

"Head back to the plane and report in to Leonitus, bring him up to speed."

"Yes sir."

I breathe out slowly and study myself in the mirror while I listen to them leave. I look ridiculous. There's a half inch of blonde root showing in my hair, I'm wearing medieval style armor in the twenty-first century, and I can see the whites of my eyes because I'm really freaked out. I don't even have a weapon.

As soon as the thought enters my mind, the armor on my right arm shifts and changes. A long piece of metal slides out across my palm. It keeps sliding until there's almost four feet of blade past my fingertips. It flattens out a bit and the piece against my palm rounds into a grip that's perfectly suited to my hand. I wrap my fingers around it.

Great… I don't know how to use a sword. It was something they neglected to touch on in basic training at Quantico. Nice to know that the armor molds itself to my needs. Since it was made before Adam and Eve, I doubt it can handle becoming a gun.

My reflection vanishes from the mirror and is replaced by Anubis. Over his shoulder, I can see Red and Blue scouting the area. It doesn't seem like they're under siege yet. If Lucifer had opened the gate, they'd be neck deep in demons. Maybe we caught all this in time.

"Alright John, this will probably sound strange to you, but work with me. You should've felt a swell of power when you merged with the armor; I need you to reach for that power…"

I'm trying to focus on his instructions, but I see an angel emerge from between the trees. At least I think he's an angel. He's got massive wings, but they have hints of red in the feathers that match his hair. He pulls a bow from across his shoulders and notches an arrow, his eyes intent on Hellboy. I don't think anyone's seen him but me. Blue is examining the ground and Red is watching Anubis and me.

"Red!" I shout, but HB doesn't acknowledge me.

Anubis furrows his brow, "He can't hear you. What…" He looks over at Red and jumps to his feet, "Look out-" is all I hear him say before I'm starring into my own panicked expression.

For a second, I'm baffled before I realize that Anubis was the one keeping the connection alive. I don't know how to get it back.

"No no no!" the words come out of me in an unconscious stream as I start pacing.

If I go back to the plane, it'll take us hours to get out there. I still have no idea how to fly and that can't be much faster than a plane anyway… Think, damn it!

I turn back to the mirror. There has to be a way to do this. I touch the glass. Nothing happens. I think about Eden, Nothing. I try to picture what it looks like, the massive columns of trees and the soft, almost unearthly lighting. Nothing.

"God damn it!" I shout.

I need to get to Red, to know that he's okay. Briefly, the mirror ripples with an image. I hear Red grunt like something hit him hard. There's a flurry of movement, I catch the BPRD logo on HB's sleeve, and then it's dark again.

I force my mind to still. I made it do something, that's a start. I close my eyes and reach for my power the same way I used to reach for the wolf. It doesn't react quite the same way, but I was expecting that. Unlike the wolf, celestial energy feels warm as it floods my system. It spreads from my core, radiating through my chest and then out.

I put both hands on the mirror and try to push the energy down my arms, picturing Eden as I do so. I NEED to be there with every fiber of my being. I can only hope that helps.

"Come on, come on," I whisper, picturing the garden as vividly as I can.

I'm beginning to think that I'm doing this all wrong until a soft, gold glow seeps out of the armor and across the surface of the mirror. My reflection shimmers and vanishes, replaced by the massive, shadowy columns of Eden's trees. My heart rate leaps with my excitement. As I push more energy into it, the glass fractures. I freeze.

"Shit."

Weirdly, the image holds. I don't see anyone. There's something wrong with the garden, but I can't place what. I lean forward to get a better look and my hands slide through the glass. It rolls over my forearms like water, rippling as I push through it. I don't have enough time to wonder how I managed to get it to work, I have to find the others.

The helmet snaps around my face as I enter Eden. The eye-slit is very wide, so I don't have trouble seeing anything, but there's nothing to see and all I can hear is my own breathing. Where are they?

I take a step forward and realize what's wrong. All of the spongy moss that used to cover the ground is gone, replaced by some kind of ash. I kneel down and run my fingers through it. Everything here is dead. I remember HB telling me that when he made Demegov bleed that it killed everything around them. Did it spread to the rest of the trees?

A gun retort echoes through the garden. It's hard to tell what direction it came from. The shouting that starts afterwards is easier to pin down. I tighten my grip on the sword and run towards the fight. I don't know what it is. Usually I'm nervous when I launch into a skirmish, but all I feel is calm.

As I come around the last tree, I take in everything in half a second. There's an angel in the air with a bow and arrow and he's launching a barrage at my team. HB's got half an arrow sticking out of his shoulder. Blue's a few steps behind him, reloading and Anubis is knocking the angel's attacks away from the two of them. He's also got an arrow in his leg.

It's as if my brain is running in high gear. The angel is about ten feet of the ground, keeping himself up by slow, deliberate wing beats. I see a way to get to him, but in the back of my head I'm wondering how I'm going to pull it off. I feel like my body is moving on its own. I dart around the battle, coming up behind the angel. Going full speed, I jump at the tree closest to him and run up the bark several steps. I push off hard. He turns in the air, but he's much too slow. I catch his back with my blade. We both go down. I roll to my feet as soon as I hit the ground, slinging some of the blood off my sword.

How the HELL did I do that? It's got to be the armor, I don't have another explanation for it.

"'Scout?" Red exclaims, his voice heavy with disbelief.

I don't think I believe what happened any more than he does and I was the one that did it. The angel gets up. I'm really hoping that little stunt wasn't a fluke.

"Careful, Uriel is not to be trifled with," Anubis warns me.

Uriel? Isn't Uriel one of the good guys? Surely this is a misunderstanding… one that I've just made worse.

Uriel pushes his flamingly bright hair out of his face, sending me a glare I can practically feel the heat coming off of. The blade retracts into the armor and I raise my hands, "Wait, we're on your side. We're here to help."

"Are you?" he hisses as he eyes my armor. "You're a fool if you think you can stop what's coming. Just like Michael was a fool."

Before I can process what he's saying, Uriel throws a ball of fire at me. It hits in the center of my chest, knocking my breath out and throwing me backwards. The armor absorbed most of the impact but pain still lances through my chest. I slide through the ash for several feet.

"John! You son of a-" I hear the heavy thud of two bodies connecting before there's a bright flash and Red growls, "You're going to have to do a hell of a lot better than a little fire."

I roll to one side, coughing and panting. I can't get enough air into my lungs. When my breathing starts to steady, I struggle to my feet. Away from the fight, I can hear something else. It's different from the grunts and shouts behind me. It sounds like a hundred people or more, screaming, crying, howling… The voices are muffled like they're coming from outside.

Curious, I walk that direction, casting a glance back to make sure the others are still doing okay. Red is grappling with Uriel and fire is crawling up one of the trees. It's spreading fast. If it gets to the other trees, this whole place could go up in minutes.

I head towards the voices, staying as hidden as I can. Edging my head out into the open, I suck my breath in through my teeth at what I see. The tree of knowledge has a massive door carved into its surface. It's covered in demon wings and soulful human faces that look like they've been painted in blood. There's a limp figure laying at the food of the door. Judging from the gouge that transects her neck, there's not much I can do for her. I don't' see anyone else.

I enter the clearing, staring at the door. I hope that my mouth isn't hanging open. Red told me a little about this, since I was dead by the time Demegov revealed the door, but it's so much more intimidating in person. The door towers almost three stories high. Voices pour from behind I, both human and inhuman alike. Some of the screeches make it feel like there's ice working its way down my spine.

In the center of the door, a little about waist level, there are two perfectly circular holes. They've got to be the keyholes. It's reminiscent of the door in Russia, but it holds back a whole lot more than a lesser god.

I feel the presence at my back before I hear it. My blade snaps into position as I whirl to block his attack. The sickle hits my sword with a shower of sparks and a clang that echoes.

Michael's killer grins at me, "Bold of you to come after me alone. Or stupid. Which are you?"

I'm thinking 'stupid' as I swallow the lump in my throat. This was very, very stupid. The metal hisses as he slides his blade off mine. He circles slowly, eyeing me like he was appraising a show animal. My gaze flicks in the direction I came from, hoping to see somebody coming to back me up. All that's visible around the trees is the light from a massive fire.

He attacks me in the half second my attention is diverted. Purely out of instinct, I throw my blade up to block him, barely doing so in time. I shift my weight forward and sling his weapon away from me. He doesn't lose his grip on it, which is what I was hoping for, but takes a few steps back. He's still smiling.

"I have to admit, you are not what I was expecting. If Michael's armor didn't conform to the bearer, you'd never have filled it," he cackles.

There's no way I'm letting him goad me into charging. If he wasn't playing with me, I doubt I'd be able to hold off his attacks. It may have been stupid to wander off, but I'm going to try and limit my idiocy to that today.

Fresh blood is spattered across his armor, probably from the girl. My stomach turns slightly when I realize that he has Michael's stone arm tied to his belt. The remnants of his ulna and radius are sticking out of the base.

"We're going to stop you," I say, my words sounding a lot more certain than I feel.

His grin widens, "Try it, little one. Right now you're the only thing standing in my way and I doubt Michael had time to train you how to use that artifact you're wearing. Why don't you step aside?"

He lowers his weapon and walks towards me, expecting me to scamper out of his way like anyone with a proper sense of self-preservation would do, but I can't. If he opens those doors, I'll be dead anyway, but it won't just be me it'll be billions of people.

I tighten my grip on the weapon and swing it as hard as I can. I realize almost instantly that it was a bad move. He dodges back to avoid it and comes in fast while I'm still exposed, grabbing my left wing and slamming me into the tree. I can't stop my pained wail when he digs his fingers into the bone.

"You're a ballsy little bastard, but essentially Michael was throwing a bucket of water at an erupting volcano when he picked you. If you're the one his Seers have been blathering about, then I was right to put them out of their misery," he chuckles and spreads his fingers out on my wing.

Though his touch is lighter now, it still makes me shudder unpleasantly. Veldex flashes into my mind, startling me. Suddenly I'm in that tiny room in Demegov's mansion, the demon leaning over me, licking a trail up my stomach. I know it has to be an illusion, but my terror is real. I can feel his claws scrape against my hips as he rips off my jeans, smell the rotting flesh between his teeth when he tells me that no one is coming for me. I'm hyperventilating by the time he shoves into me.

The illusion vanishes, replaced by a different grinning face. I've broken out into a cold sweat and have slid partway down the tree because my knees gave out. I stare up at him, trying to control my panic.

He leans in close enough that I can feel his breath on my ear, "Test me, little rabbit, and you'll be living in that nightmare for the rest of your pathetic existence."

After dealing with me, he starts to undo the four heavy leather straps that connect Michael's hand to his belt. I look down at the girl on the ground. She's young, Arabic as far as I can tell. Her dark, empty eyes are fearful, frozen in the expression she had when she died. If I can't do something, she'll just be the first. It has to stop here.

One of the chants from HB's cheat book pops into my head. It's in Latin, one of the ones he said I'd never need unless we ran up against something that the other spells couldn't handle. I think this qualifies. It was one of the only incantations I went out of my way to memorize and now I'm grateful.

The words roll off my tongue more easily than they did when I was practicing. He stops and turns to me, his head tilted slightly to the side. Out of the corner of my eye, I see HB run into the clearing. Either they won or he left the others to finish the fight so he could come look for me. I keep reciting, pushing his presence into the back of my head. If I screw up the incantation, everything's going to turn to shit.

Halfway through the second verse, the assassin smiles. He starts the third verse with me and I falter to a stop. He finishes the incantation for me, laughing, "What do you think I am, a demon?"

Now I'm just confused. I look over at HB, hoping he has some kind of idea about what's going on, but he's wearing the same emotion that I am. I back up to Red, appreciating the arm he puts around me.

"I thought that would work," I whisper.

"It should have."

The assassin keeps laughing and pulls out a pair of feathered wings that are just as white as mine. As far as I know, when an angel falls, his wings change. I'm not sure to what, but it doesn't look like anything has happened to them. Uriel lands beside him, thoroughly bloodied and bruised from his fight with Red and the others. The picture is starting to get a little clearer. Lucifer was an easy choice for killing Michael, but I suspect that all of the archangels are brothers.

"Gabriel?" Anubis exclaims from behind us.

I turn to see him stick his staff into the ground and point an accusing finger at the dark-haired angel.

"It is not your place to start this destruction."

Gabriel takes Michael's key in both hands, holding it by the bone sticking out of the base and the fingers. "No, of course it isn't. Only those approved by the mighty creators can destroy what's been made, but that position was recently vacated. I'm simply stepping in for him."

A loud cracking noise draws our eyes upward as a massive, burning limb falls from the canopy. It crashes to the ground a few feet to the right of us. The entire canopy is on fire, spreading the blaze quickly to all the trees. The inferno has encircled the tree of knowledge, but hasn't caught it yet. The branches seem like they're curling away from the flames, almost as though it's protecting itself. Some of the outer edges are already starting to burn.

Red uses the distraction to charge at Gabriel. He smacks Red with Michael's arm. The thud is so loud I can feel it in my chest. I lunge in low and fast, coming around the far side of the burning limb. Gabriel turns as I attack, but a blade dripping fire blocks my swing. With his free hand, Uriel shoves me backwards.

Several wounds open across Uriel's chest as Abe unloads a clip into him. The archangel falls to one knee as Abe grabs my arm. "The trees are going to collapse. We need to leave," his voice is way too calm for the situation, but that's just Blue. I can count on one hand how many times I've been able to tell he's worried during a battle.

"We need to get the key!" I yell over the growing roar of the fire.

"The structure the trees have created over the centuries is holding up the mountain. It's going to collapse under the weight in a few minutes."

Anubis and Red are running a tag team on Gabriel, but he's holding them off easily. The key is still in his hand. Gabriel whips around and catches Anubis across the chest with his sickle. The jackal god falls back a step and snarls, showing a mouthful of sharp teeth. As quick as the two of them can attack him, Gabriel is still faster. He slings the stone arm in the way of Anubis's staff and leaps backwards as Red throws a hell of a punch.

A horrific screech cuts through the fight. I look back at the tree of knowledge as the trunk starts to blacken and burn. It's not a scream from behind the gates; I think it's the tree itself. Rotting fruit starts falling from its branches in a hailstorm. The branches curl and twist as they burn.

"No!" Gabriel shouts, expelling a burst of bright light from his skin that throws everyone off their feet. Everyone but me.

The gate is vanishing in the flames, turning back into wood. Gabriel runs for the door and I take off at his heels. There's a loud 'thunk' and a streak of pain jolts through my back. The second arrow glances off the armor. I glance over my shoulder to see that Uriel already has another one notched for me. Just behind him though, Red's got his stone fist cocked back. I turn away before the blow lands.

Gabriel reaches the gate a step ahead of me, shoving the key into the first lock. I tackle him and grab for Michael's hand. It turns without any guidance from Gabriel. Ash rains from the tree as a deep rumbling sound rolls out of the door. The seam in the center splits and heat forty times more intense than the inferno raging around us pours out of it. Millions of shadows dance at the crack, waiting anxiously.

I grab the bone at the base of Michael's hand and try to wrench it out of the lock. Gabriel reaches for my wing, but I duck out of the way. That's SO not happening twice. There's a sound like stone grinding on stone and the key slides out of place. It falls heavily into my hands. Before I can even turn, Gabriel grabs my helm and my vision is filled with white. The flash of light is so bright that I can still see it after I squeeze my eyes shut. The weight of the key disappears.

I try to rub at my eyes through the slit in the helm, but I can't really get to them. The screams of the damned quiet and then vanish all together just before a hand wraps around my arm and pulls me along. I don't need to be able to see to know its Red.

"Where are they?" I ask, tripping over my own feet as we start running.

"They took the key and flew off."

"What about the door?"

"Fire destroyed it."

The white starts to clear and I kind of wish it hadn't. There's fire all around us. A massive crack rips through the air and one of the trees directly ahead of us starts to slowly tilt to one side. If I remember right, the entrance to the garden is on the other side. If that thing falls, we'll be trapped in here. I speed up to a sprint. Abe is pacing us, but Anubis is way ahead. The falling tree picks up more momentum and Anubis slides to a stop, the claws of his back feet leaving gouges in the earth as he changes directions. He darts back towards us. It crashes down in a shower of sparks right where he would've been standing. I slow to a jog, panting in the thin air.

Red throws up his hands, "What now?"

I feel like I'm cooking in all this metal. The armor folds away from me, retracting into the disk attached to my back. Well… at least I know how to take it off. I'm not sure that it's all that comforting now. My stomach drops a little as I realize what the options are… more like what the option IS. There's only one that I can think of.

I reach up and put my hands on either side of Red's face, forcing him to look at me while I speak, "You need to go with Anubis. There are still plenty of shadows in here, use one to get out."

His reaction is immediate and powerful. "Are you fucking insane?" he shouts at me. "I'll die before I leave."

"Red, I still have the mirror, I'll use it, but you need to go now before the shadows are gone!" That mirror probably shattered in this heat a long time ago…

"No, you two get out of here," Red motions at Anubis and Abe. "I'm going to-"

"Red, you have to go!" I scream, shoving at him. Anubis locks eyes with me and I direct my next words at him, "Get him out of here."

As Anubis moves forward to seize Red's coat, Red slams his left fist into his snout. I wince for him. Anubis growls a little, but ignores the hit, grabbing Red and Blue and sinking through the shadows on the ground. Hellboy's extremely loud cussing is cut short when the dark envelops his head.

Once I'm alone, a swell of panic hits me. What the hell was I thinking? As much as I desperately want Red back, I know this is for the best. I look around Eden and wrack my brain for ideas. Another massive limb crashes to the ground at my back, making me jump. The heat is almost unbearable. I can feel it scalding my skin and scorching the insides of my lungs with every breath.

Trees all around me are collapsing. Some of them just fall. Others explode along their trunk and cave in on themselves. Fiery debris drifts from the ceiling with the ash. I stand for a moment and watch the birthplace of mankind burn. Even through all of the destruction, I see one small sapling standing untouched. Its bark is smooth, white, and flawless. I can only assume that it's the tree of life. Coursing from underneath its roots is a stream of water.

The river. Why didn't I think of it before? Red used the river to get into the garden when he came for Demegov. I dart around another falling branch and head for the water. Chunks of stone are falling out of place now. The ground shakes as the cavern starts to crumble. I roll out of the way of a massive piece of stone, shielding my eyes from the dirt it flings up.

Up next to the roots of the tree, the river is barely a trickle, but by the time it reaches the edge of the garden, it has formed a swift stream. I drop into the surprisingly cold water and wade towards the garden wall. The water is barely up to my waist, but it's rising fast. The opening in the cavern wall is low and debris is falling more frequently now. I drop into the water so I can swim. I need to get there before the entrance is blocked.

The water soaks into my wings, making me much heavier. I tuck them in close but it doesn't help. I cuss and cough. It's much harder to pull them in than it should be. The right one folds into place easily, but the left keeps catching on something and it hurts, bad. I crane my neck and spot the shaft of an arrow sticking out of my back. I don't have enough time left to do this delicately. Gritting my teeth, I reach back and yank it out. My scream is barely audible over the sound of Eden's destruction.

I pull my other wing in and dive beneath the wall. The river is very swift on the other side. At first, I try to swim with it, but it's not long before I'm being pulled along at its mercy. I bang against the sides of the cavern, earning a pretty collection of bruises and scrapes I'm sure, but it's better than burning alive any day. It's difficult to keep my head above the rapids. Every so often, I get a lungful of water instead of air and spend the next few minutes hacking.

After I've gone what seems like a mile or more, I burst out into the light and drop a few feet into a small reservoir. The water is shallow here. I swim to the surface and take a deep breath, croaking with laughter. I crawl up the bank and collapse in the mud. My aches feel strangely good right now. I've felt this before, with other near death experiences. No matter what I feel, it's good because I'm still alive to feel.

Red is going to be so pissed… and relieved, but he'll start with pissed.

When I catch my breath, I get to my feet and study my surroundings. It's a very mountainous area, but I know I'm east of the garden. I can see the plume of smoke from here. It almost looks like a volcano. The top of the mountain has collapsed inward, creating a sort of vent for the fire. That's going to confuse the shit out of the local scientists.

There's nothing further east for probably twenty miles, but I know there's a town to the west. It's going to be a damn long walk, but I don't have much of a choice. My phone is dead, fried by the water, I don't have a full-length mirror handy, and I still have no idea how to fly. I really ought to look into that. It could be a useful thing to know, especially in times like this.

The reservoir is on top of a small hill, which the river continues down the side of in white-capped rapids. I give the river a wide berth. As much as it saved my life, I would rather stay dry for the next month or so. I pick across the rocky terrain headed west.

I've only been walking for about ten minutes when I hear Red's voice, "You take me back in there or I'm going to rip you into tiny fucking pieces!" They must not have gone far from the entrance of Eden. I'm grateful.

Somebody, probably Anubis, answers him in a tone I can't hear this far off and there's a loud crack of stone hitting stone. Red is trying to intimidate him into doing what he wants. As easily as Red can be pushed into real violence, I'm surprised he hasn't started a fight with Anubis yet.

"You should've left me with him!" He shouts, anguish creeping into his voice.

I climb on top of a boulder so I can get a better view. They're down in a small valley just to the north of me. There's a deep crevice nearby that Anubis had to have brought them through. In the bright midday sun, it's the only place where there's a shadow dark enough. Red's pacing, rubbing his flesh hand across his face and neck, and Abe's sitting on a shelf of rock, his shoulders hunched forward and his head hanging low. I don't want to wait until I get closer to let them know that I'm okay.

I wave my arms and shout, "Hellboy!"

They all turn at once.

"John?" HB says almost too quiet for me to hear and then he's shouting and running towards me, "John!"

I jump off the boulder and work my way down the crumbly embankment. Sliding and stumbling though the loose rocks, I almost take a dive a few times before I get to the bottom. He disappears from view for a second, but rounds the corner and practically plows into me. Red grabs me up into a bear hug that's a little too tight. I don't mind.

He pulls me to arms-length and aims a glare at me, "You try a stunt like that again and I'll chain you to the fuckin' bed, got it?"

My smile is stupid, giddy really. "You promise?" I joke, finally earning a grin in return.

He hugs me again and I rest my face against his chest. When Anubis and Blue join us, we regretfully disengage. I smile at both of them as they express how relieved they are. I don't know Anubis well enough for any hugging and Blue mostly prefers not to touch people if he can help it. He grips my arm for a moment and I know how thankful he is that I'm alright.

"Job well done, right? Now we go home," HB says with a smirk.

Anubis shakes his head from side to side slowly, "They still have the key."

"But what's it matter, the door is gone. What good is a key with no fuckin' door?"

I have to agree with Red, but Anubis is looking back towards the garden with a scowl on his face.

"This may come as a shock to you, but that's just one gate of many."

"What?" Red draws the word out, annoyance dripping from it.

"One of twelve."

"WHAT?"

My heart drops into my intestines. There's no way we can anticipate which gate they'll try next. How are we supposed to stop them?

Anubis sighs as he takes on his human illusion, "We'll have to warn the others to guard their gates."

"Who? What others?" I ask.

He looks at me, his eyes locking with mine, "The other gods."

- TBC

HAHA! So things are not what you expected, I hope. I love plot twists! Just not M. Night Shyamalan plot twists. I'll try not to reach so far that I'm not on the same page as you. Like I said in the beginning of the chapter, I have to do a little planning before I continue so I don't write myself into a corner. Once I've got my order down, I should be able to move on pretty quickly.