Author's notes: Goodness, it has been a long time, hasn't it? Many things have happened and gone on…the endless cycle of things. I had decided not to continue this story; however, thanks to all of your lovely reviews, I have been revived to the effort, lol. Special thanks to Faith-Catherine and SilverRosePhoenix for poking the ashes. So, thanks to all for sticking with this story, and enjoy!
Oh, yes, warnings and disclaimers remain the same.
Chapter V: Equus
The screaming was unbearable. People were screaming in fear, their terror palpable to those with even very little empathetic sensitivity. John Constantine, calm and collectedness embodied, was screaming to reach his young friend and companion (and so much more he had yet to realize). Now Chas was screaming back, fighting the blackness so close to engulfing him; reaching out to his mentor, protector, stabilizer. Michael was screaming at her over the roar, trying to tell her something…trying…
None of these screams concerned Mahina, as the ground began to pitch and the roar began to grow and echo off the downtown buildings even as the windows shattered and rained on them. She stood in the middle of the street, her soul troubled. Mahina waited, her ear turned toward the unseen, the middle ground Constantine was so famous for traversing. Mahina knew the only way to break the seal on the figurine was to take it to the middle ground, the grey area that wasn't quite hell or heaven. The middle ground was the buffer between those places and earth, and it was the only place to break a divine seal. It was obvious the seal had been broken because of the green sky and the earthquakes.
"And it hasn't even broken into this plane." She said with a grim smile.
Michael stumbled over and grabbed her shoulders. "Mahina! Can't you…"
"No." She repeated, frowning.
"Shut up and listen to me for once!" He snapped. "The Seals! If all of you were here could you block Gabriel from bringing it in?"
"I don't know! But that's not an option anyway! If you hadn't noticed, there are only two of us present and Chas is in a swirling black vortex!"
Michael shook his head. "There's no other way. If we can't fight it, we have to keep it away! I'll be back!" He vanished in a pop of light.
"Oh sure. Take your time. Bring me back a latte." Mahina grumbled. She shut her eyes and refocused carefully on the middle ground. She clenched her fists and waited for the scream that would bother her most.
John was almost crawling to cover the last few paces between him and the teenager in front of him. He could hear Chas's ragged breathing, he could see his eyes begin to focus and loose a little of the blackness. As he inched forward, John would swear that he could hear Chas's heartbeat.
Chas watched John try to get closer, second by agonizing second, with a kind of detachedness. Somewhere in the back of his exhausted mind, he thought he should help John out a little, move towards him, but the thought wasn't making a connection with his weary body.
"John…" he whispered.
That was all the impetuous John needed, and he gathered his energy, pulling all his strength into his muscles, and launched himself at Chas. As soon as his arms tightened around the teen, it was like an explosion went off inside Chas and all the pieces…almost all the pieces…fell into place. The dark energy vanished instantaneously, the wind subsided, the ground stopped shuddering, and the pair fell to the sidewalk with Chas's head on John's shoulder.
John lay there and stared at the green sky, holding Chas tightly against him. He was afraid to move and afraid to breathe as if he broke the moment Chas would disappear. Above him, John felt Chas stir and press his face into his dress shirt and felt the teen's finger's clench into his jacket. Far below him, he could feel the tremors begin to move through the earth again. They had to get up, no rest for the wicked.
Chas felt warm and safe for the first time in a very long time. And now…now that he remembered…he squeezed his eyes shut and hid his face against John's shirt hoping he wouldn't see the tears that escaped him and eased down his skin.
John noticed when Chas's tears soaked into his shirt and suddenly felt very unsure of himself. He tilted his face as if to press a kiss to Chas's head and let out a puff of air that ruffled the curls when he didn't. His grip tightened for a moment, then John let go with one arm to push himself up on one elbow, bringing the teen with him. When they were in a sitting position, which was slightly awkward with John still supporting the majority of Chas's weight, John let out a heavy sigh, smiled softly and said, "Hey, kid."
Chas looked up at him and had to swallow before he could talk. "Hey yourself." He rasped.
"Are you over your spontaneous combustion phase?"
"Shut up." Chas grumbled. There was a pause before Chase spoke again. "What the hell took you so long, anyway?"
Then it came, the low keening sound that made Mahina's hair stand on end. It was a death call, a scream that sounded as if it had to craw up through a thousand graves to break free. The earthquakes started again, and Mahina was jerked forward at the unexpected movement. Her breath caught and she realized that the interlude occurred because the balance shift had been felt in the other realms when Constantine had calmed Chas. Gabriel knew the balance had changed, and who it had changed to. The scream got louder and a ripping noise was added to the air.
John looked up at the sound of cloth being torn, and saw Mahina standing and facing them maybe twenty feet away. He glanced past her and narrowed his eyes.
"What the hell?" he murmured. Chas turned his head.
Mahina realized Constantine was staring past her and she whirled around to see what looked like the air itself splitting in two.
"Shit!" she exclaimed. She had been so focused on the beast making entry; she forgot to pay attention to the point of entry. She cupped her hands her eyes widened, turning black.
"Claudo, iamdiu, recuso!" She cried out. A blackness reached out of her hand and wove itself around the tear forming between dimensions. The tear reduced in size marginally, but did not disappear.
Mahina growled in the back of her throat. "Anytime now, Michael. Claudo, iamdiu, recuso!"
It had the same affect the second time, only the tear was increasing faster than she could decrease it. She alone was not enough to stop this monstrosity from entering the mortal realm.
Chas felt something stir within him, and he cringed against it. He recognized it as the feeling that started before he became a human tornado the last time. Only now, it didn't seem so big or so uncontrollable. In fact…the words he heard her saying…he somehow recognized them. His eyes slowly darkened as he echoed Mahina's seal.
John frowned. "Chas? Don't do that. Chas?"
More rips formed in the air mere feet away from where Mahina was standing. John could tell that the power Mahina was sending had gotten stronger with Chas's contribution, but it wasn't enough. It was like trying to plug a leaking boat with only one person's fingers.
And a horrific scream forced its way through the holes, making the bigger, shaking the buildings and blowing down park trees, and causing Mahina to stagger backwards. She was about to give it up, to tell Constantine to take Chas and run like hell (not that it would help, but hey, what else could she tell him) when she heard a distinct popping noise behind her.
Michael stood next to where Constantine and Chas were sitting; only he wasn't alone. A young girl with blonde curls and green eyes, no more than six or seven years old, stood next to him. The girl let go of the Half-breed's hand and jumped forward, nodded at Mahina as she did so.
John inhaled sharply as a snout –at least he assumed that was a snout- poked through the largest hole. Its giant nostrils flared, and dark green and brown mottled skin folded away from lines of yellow teeth as if it was sneering at them. He drew his eyes away from all of the teeth and upwards to see its face as it came through. John half expected to see red eyes glaring at him out of the void, but he was caught by surprise when a spiteful blue gaze met his own.
Gabriel.
His eye contact was broken when three young voices rose together above the din, Chas's included.
"Claudo, iamdiu, recuso!"
Tertura the earth beast roared in anger as the seal surrounded him and pushed him back into the middle ground. A second outcry from the Seals closed all the holes but the one Tertura was still fighting to get through. A third round forced him back and sealed the dimension completely.
The sky above them slowly turned reddish pink to show the very end of a beautiful Californian sunset.
Mahina collapsed in an ungraceful heap on the cement. "I so do not get paid enough to do this." She grumbled.
"Mahi!" the young girl squeaked happily and launched herself into the older girl's arms.
She patted the blonde head. "Hey, Nora. Long time no see."
The girl, Nora, glared at Michael. "It's his fault."
Michael threw his hands in the air. "Of course it is."
John looked down at Chas, who was fast asleep. He glared at them all. "Now will one of you explain to me what the hell is going on here?"
Michael and Mahina looked at each other. And looked at each other. And looked at each other…Michael finally sighed and looked away in defeat. "Fine. Let's get everyone inside and cleaned up. Then, you'll have the truth."
"The whole truth?" John demanded.
"And no thing but. So help me." Michael agreed.
A set of brown eyes watched the little group slip into the cathedral. He smiled softly. Soon, his time was soon.
A/N: Next chapter, Seals and Cornerstones explained, I promise!