All the Gates of Hell by Richard Parks Page B

Jin knew the streetlight should have blinded him, but he kept his gaze fixed on her as if he could see her perfectly well. "All right then, who are you and what do you want?" She asked.
    "Who I am depends on who you are," he said. His voice was a deep baritone, almost incongruous with his slim frame and pale features.
    "Who I am doesn't matter to who you are. Tell me your name," Jin said.
    "Not until you tell me yours ," he said, softly, "and it does matter. A lot."
    "I'm asking the questions," Jin said, irritated. "You followed me, remember?"
    "Yes, but how can I be sure I followed the right person if I don't know your name?" he asked, all reason.
    "For the love of... My name is Jin," she said. "Satisfied?"
    He shook his head. "No. I mean your real name."
    She sighed. "What do you want? My driver's license?"
    "No, I want what I said I wanted. Your real name. Jin or Jin Hannigan or whatever variation you're using isn't it. Do you not even know your real name?"
    Jin finally understood. "My name is Guan Yin."
    To her considerable surprise, at the mention of that name the young man dropped to his knees in front of her and put his forehead to the pavement.
    "Enlightened One, I am your humble servant."
    Jin blinked. "Ummm...you are? And please get up. That doesn't look comfortable."
    "As you wish." He got back to his feet in one smooth motion and just stood there, smiling at her. Close up, Jin realized he wasn't bad looking, though his deference was making her distinctly uncomfortable.
    "Listen, did you say you were my servant? And how did you know my other name?"
    "I didn't know it at first, though I had been told to meet you in this place. I thought I recognized you when I first saw you, but your fundamental nature was obscured, as I was told it would be. I've been following you for weeks waiting for you to notice me, since only an awakening of your true self would make this possible. I learned your current name while waiting."
    Jin frowned. "Hey, I know you! You were standing near the alley by the florist shop a few days ago."
    "Just so."
    If the guy was telling the truth, Jin realized, then it was only the recent partial opening of her third eye that had made it possible to finally spot him. She held up her hand.
    "Wait a minute. Who told you to meet me here? And who told you that my 'fundamental nature' would be obscured?"
    "In answer to both questions -- You did."
    "I did...?" Jin stopped. Oddly enough, it was finally starting to make sense. The Guan Yin That Was did say that her servants would find her. "Would you please tell me your name?"
    "Your pardon, Immanent One. I am properly known as Shan Cai Tong Zi or, since I know you don't speak your father's language presently, 'the Celestial Youth of the Treasure of Merit,'" he said, giving a slight bow.
    Jin blinked. "Could you repeat that?"
    "Certainly," he said, "but maybe you should just call me Frank."
    (())

Chapter 7
     
    Frank sipped his tea, looking around Jin's kitchen with intense interest, just as he had studied the rest of her apartment. The dishes in the sink and the unemptied garbage can that smelled faintly of used coffee grounds seemed equally fascinating to him.
    "It's all so wonderfully ordinary," he said finally.
    Jin wasn't sure if this was a compliment or an insult, but neither prospect concerned her overmuch at that moment. "You act like you've never seen an apartment. How old are you, twenty?"
    "I've known everything from hovels to palaces, but nothing like this so recent. And I'm much older than that, Immanent One."
    "Could you call me Jin? And I meant in this incarnation."
    He frowned then. "As you wish, but Your -- Jin, I mean -- you're mistaken. I am not incarnate. I have simply taken an appropriate form."
    Jin reached out and pinched his arm, hard.
    "Ow!" said Frank, and Jin nodded.
    "Feels physical to me," she said.
    Frank rubbed his arm. "Your present circumstances must be confusing you, so I'll presume to explain: All bodhisattvas can assume