4.1 Cain and Abel

One by one we stepped through the painting, entering a world of perpetual night. The snow fell so fast and thick you couldn't see more than ten feet ahead, even with our heavy-duty LED flashlights.

"Wow." Danny signed, breath pluming through his face mask as he studied the starless, pitch night. "If my grandmother could see this... Even she wouldn't believe it." He shook his head in wonder. "Our people are Haudenosaunee. I grew up on her stories of other worlds, other times before this. She would tell me about Earth Woman, how she gave birth to Good Spirit and Evil Spirit. They were polar opposites--like the sun to the moon, life to death. Good Spirit made all the beautiful parts we see in nature--light to see by, plants to eat, forests to walk through. Evil Spirit--he made the bad parts--rocks to block your path, crows to steal from fields... blizzards, to freeze water and stall your path."

"What happened to them?" signed Vanida.

"The same thing that happened to Cain and Abel." Danny's steady gaze fastened on Dorian. "One brother killed the other."

"What do we do now?" I asked Dorian, shining my light ahead. With no path to follow, we'd have to make our own.

"One of us stays behind to guard the portal," he signed. "That person will build a fire, so the others can follow the light home."

"I'll stay," I volunteered.

Vanida shook her head. "It should be me."

"No." Danny touched her shoulder. "I'm not leaving you behind, I'll stay."

Vanida took her boyfriend's face in her hands. "They need you. And my fires are brighter than yours. Girl Scouts, remember? Besides, I'll have the flare gun. If anything happens--"

"Nothing will happen," he said firmly, wrapping his arms around her.

Dorian and I said our good-byes to Vanida, then gave her and Danny a moment alone.

"What about the red eyes?" I said in a low voice. "She'll be alone."

"Don't worry," Dorian assured, blue eyes sympathetic above his face mask. "If anything goes wrong, she'll have the portal. She can go home."

I nodded, turning to face Danny when I heard his footsteps crunching on the snow. "Everything okay?"

His brown eyes flashed, full of anger and resentment. "How many times will Vanida have to stay behind to clear up your mess?"

"Danny..." There was nothing I could say that wouldn't sound trite and useless.

"Whatever. Let's just go." Danny walked past me, leading the way into the blizzard.

The trek was slow-going. Within five minutes, we knew finding Opal would be impossible without some sort of sign or guide.

I nearly bumped into Danny when he stopped walking.

"This is never going to work," he said. "Not like this."

Dorian waited patiently, head cocked to the side. "Then what do you propose, Daniel?"

"Me." Danny shrugged off his heavy winter jacket, letting it fall to the snow. "Wait here. I'll fly ahead, see what I can find."

"I'm sorry, did you just say fly?"

Danny ignored me, removing his face mask. "Don't say anything to Van, okay? I should be the one to tell her." Heedless of the snow and temperature, he continued to strip. Gaze averted, I shrugged at Dorian who only shrugged back.

"Okay, is this really neces--" I stopped short, astonished at the sight of a large, white-tailed eagle standing in Danny's pile of clothes. "Danny?"

The eagle cawed as he spread his massive wings, launched himself high in the air.

Head tipped, I watched Danny soar upwards, until he was swallowed by snow and darkness. "What. Just. Happened."

"A miracle." Dorian wasn't fazed in the slightest.

I walked in a circle, rubbing my arms and stamping the snow to keep warm.

"Danny's a shapeshifter?" Suddenly, things were starting to make sense. "He's my friend, how could I not know?"

"Some secrets are our own to bear. Don't take it to heart. Even Vanida doesn't know."

"All this time..." I shrugged. "He told me not to involve her in this because he knew I was close to discovering the truth--that supernaturals exist. And he's one of them... I'm an idiot. A stupid idiot. A cold, stupid, idiot."

"We'll be warmer if we stand together."

Blushing, I slid close enough for our winter gear to brush.

"Better?"

I smiled. "Better."

"Are you okay?"

"I dunno." I raised my shoulders, letting them drop. "My whole life I've felt out of place, left behind, overlooked. Art has been my only escape and Dark Dorian is using it against me. And now he's out and my friends are in danger... I have no clue what I'm doing."

"Does anyone?"

I walked into his hug, feeling safer than I had in a while as his arms closed around me.

"I don't think your friends and family expect you to be perfect, Amelia. Being there is enough. At least, it is for me."

Eyes squeezed closed, I took a breath and let it sink in. Finally, I was warm. "Thanks."

"Don't thank me yet." Dorian hugged a little tighter. "Red eyes," he whispered in my ear.

The ground trembled beneath us.

Slowly, I turned, every part of me seizing tight as a coil when I saw the eyes ahead. Dancing ten feet from the ground, they flickered like flames, large and red and glowing.  As the eyes approached, the form they belonged to took shape and solidified, white as the falling snow. The head sat like a boulder, on wide, sloping shoulders ending in finger-less, uneven arms. Its trunk and legs were thick as tree trunks, shapeless as a child's creation. But this was no snow-man. More like a snow monster.

Eyes filled with fury, it took slow, trudging steps forward. Dorian remained where he stood as I backed up, headed for the backpack I'd abandoned in the snow. Never taking my eyes from the monster, I rummaged in my pack, watching as it descended on Dorian. Opening its shapeless black pit for a mouth, the monster roared in his face.

"Dorian, duck!"

He did as he was told and I fired the flare gun. Sparks erupted; the creature was knocked back, a smoking hole in its chest as it lay melting in the snow. We approached with caution, watching the steam rise as it dissolved. I glanced at the gun dangling from my hand, relieved that my plan had actually worked.

"Dorian, I've only got three rounds left." More monsters cried from the distance.

Before Dorian could respond, an eagle screeched overhead. Danny landed in the snow, his outline turning blue as he transformed. Returned to his human shape, he rose from his knee unabashedly naked.

"Saw the fireworks," he said. "Everyone okay?"

"Thanks to Amelia," Dorian replied. "Dark Dorian sent us a welcome party."

"I saw. Whatever those things are, they're all over. But there's a cave about a half mile east. Your friend may be there; the path looked pretty clear. If you hurry you might find her before you run into any more... Yetis?"

The ground was shaking again.

I scooped up my backpack, brushing aside the snow before slinging it on my shoulder. "What about you?"

"I'll stay behind, buy you some time."

"Danny, I--"

"Don't worry about me, A. I'll catch up. Just go--now!" The shimmering blue spirit of a giant grizzly rose, towering behind him.

Dorian grabbed my hand and we took off running. I looked behind me, watching as Danny the Grizzly tackled the first Yeti.

The cave loomed ahead, just as Danny had described - a hole carved in the rock-face at the base of a snowy mountain. If we didn't move fast, we'd be digging our way out. Removing our flashlights, flare gun at the ready, we stepped through the entrance, following the curve of a high-ceilinged tunnel deeper into the mountain.

The blue glow from our flashlights bounced and intermingled. For a time, the tread of our boots and the steady drip of moisture was all that stirred the silence.

Sick of the pressure on my face, I ripped off my mask and took a deep breath. "Can I ask you something?"

"Anything," Dorian replied, removing his own mask.

"Who's Sybil? What happened to her?"

Dorian swiveled to face me. "How do you know that name?"

"Dark Dorian. He said the same thing that happened to her would happen to me, and... I dunno. I guess being this close to death just makes me wonder."

"You're not going to die, Amelia." Dorian spoke so firmly, it was easy to believe him. "Sybil was--is my biggest regret. I was cruel. I broke her heart. She gave up everything for me and I gave her nothing in return. And before I could make things right, she killed herself. Sybil was the first sin I committed after the painting was created. She's the reason Dark Dorian exists." He glanced away.

I placed my hand on his arm. "I'm sorry."

"Me too." He walked past me and I followed after, kicking myself for asking him to relive such painful memories.

We followed the tunnel until it forked, one path leading left, the other headed right.

"It'll be faster if we split up," I said.

"I'm not terribly fond of that idea." Dorian shined his light down the tunnels. "Dark Dorian could be waiting."

"It's a risk we have to take. Opal needs us."

He sighed. "You go left, I'll go right. And Amelia..."  Written on his face were the words he struggled to say. "About last night. I've been meaning to tell you--"

I threw my arms around his neck and kissed him. "It was real for me too." We kissed again and I pulled away, smiling in relief as I hurried down the tunnel.

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