crack_van | The Gates of Hell Series, by D.L. Witherspoon (Mature)

Fandom: THE SENTINEL
Pairing: Gen
Length: Long
Author on LJ: Unknown
Author Website: TVLIT 101
Why this must be read:

D.L. Witherspoon was pretty much the first author I ever read when I discovered fan fiction, and I couldn't have had a better introduction. DL's writing is lively, witty, and baroque. Her Jim is grandly heroic and compassionate, but nevertheless human and vulnerable. Blair and Simon are his stalwart companions.

Quite a few of DL's many stories have already been rec'd. If I could I would rec all the rest, but I selected her Gates of Hell series, which include some of her darker stories.

In 'Bayou' a psychic connection with an abused child takes Jim, Blair, and Simon to New Orleans where they discover powers beyond their expectations. The story is haunting and heart-breaking.

The following stories in the series delve even deeper into the supernatural, and include crossovers with Millennium, Highlander, Friday the Thirteenth, Dante's Divine Comedy (sort of), and Touched by an Angel. Jim encounters demons and darkness, becomes a warrior for the archangel Michael, and confronts Lucifer himself.

Dip into the Bayou

"Why do you always send me away?" he asked the small figure, wondering if this was what it would feel like to have a child of his own. To feel so much, so quickly for someone else.
"Because you don't belong here. I should be strong enough to handle this on my own. I shouldn't call to you."
"You shouldn't ask for help?" His finger brushed lightly across the bruise that mottled her cheek. "As if I am providing any," he added bitterly.
"Tell that to your shirt which has dried my tears and your heart which had absorbed my pain. You have helped me survive this with dignity. Remember that when you need to."
His heart skipped a beat. "Why will I need to remember that?"
She closed her eyes, knowing that he wouldn't understand but it wouldn't be fair not to warn him. "Tomorrow night will be our last time together... like this anyway."
"You're going to send me away for good?" He didn't like the sound of that. Not that he believed he was helping her, but at least he could pretend... at least he knew she wasn't alone.
"Tomorrow, they will kill me."

Bayou
Reckoning
Lilith
Inferno
Angels We Have Heard on High