Free All the Gates of Hell by Richard Parks Page B

HAS DECREED THAT HE MAY DO SO. IT IS NOT OUR PLACE TO QUESTION HIS WILL.
    "Teacher...? Dammit, he knew !"
    Jin sat down again. Not for the first time she wondered if she was going to be able to discuss a matter rationally with Teacher before she ripped his lungs out. On the far side of the cavern, the statue of Guan Yin smiled at them all.
    (())

Chapter 6
     
    "Whatever the reason you've taken on this mortal incarnation, I really hope you don't do it again, Lady. You're not very good at being human."
    Teacher was waiting for her at the dais after she left the two guardians by the passageway entrance as if he was merely keeping an appointment. He accepted her ranting with the same blend of weary patience and exasperation he seemed to be dealing with everything she'd said to him lately.
    She shook her head. "The problem, if anything, is that I'm too damn good at it. Including mastering the finer points of losing my temper!"
    Teacher sighed. He leaned back against the platform supporting the three golden statues. "Jin, Jin, Jin...haven't we been through this already? Anything I say to you about the Shadow Creature may interfere with your own divine plan which, for the record, you did not share with me."
    She shook her head. "We can drop the 'Shadow Creature' spookiness. He has a name, as you well know. If you weren't in on the plan, then giving him access to all the hells wasn't part of the plan, now was it? You did that on your own, and now that thing is interfering with my duties; he almost prevented me from freeing that girl -- "
    "Hmmm," said Teacher.
    Jin crossed her arms. "Don't start, Teacher. I want the story. All of it."
    "All right, but first you can answer a question of mine: why did you chase after this 'Shiro' when your Divine Self told you to avoid it?"
    "She doesn't have to deal with him -- I do. This is the second time he's taken over what appears to me to be the functions of a demon, only he seems determined to find people who are ready to leave whatever hell they're currently in and keep them there. I have no idea why, but he's actively interfering with my work, so 'avoiding the shadow' isn't really an option now, is it?"
    Teacher shrugged. "I don't know. I just know that the Guan Yin that Was must have had a reason."
    "Fine. Now answer my question."
    "All right, though there's not a lot to it. I did it as a favor to someone close to me...at least, I thought it was a favor. It was an appalling lack of judgment on my part; I admit that. But in case you were wondering, no, Guan Yin did not ask me to do it."
    "All right, but I want some details."
    Teacher hesitated for a good long while, but at last he lowered his gaze slightly. "There was once a man named Shiro. I don't think there's much left of that man now. Passing from hell to hell for centuries, untouched, untaught. I didn't do him or anyone a favor when I gave my word. But said is said, done is done. I can not and do not go back on my word, and more than Guan Yin would."
    "In my dream Guan Yin said that when you make a mistake, it's a beaut. Was she referring to this?"
    "More than likely," Teacher said, then glanced at his watch. "Judgment awaits, Jin. Make it quick."
    "So how do I deal with this 'Shiro' if none of the hells can hold him?"
    "I never said that."
    "You did so! You said this Shiro person can travel between hells at will!"
    "Yes, but not all of them. There's the Avici Hell, sometimes called the 'Hell of No Interval.' If he went there, he'd be trapped for so close to eternity that the difference isn't worth mentioning."
    "I think I read a little about that. So how do I get him there?"
    "Haven't you been paying attention? You don't . He gets himself there by his own actions, the way anyone else gets to any other hell. You want to know how someone ends up there? Look it up, but I don't think you really want to know. So. All done with me?"
    "Not half. You're the one who judges the children in O-Jizou's realm, aren't you? How can children be guilty