“I don’t know why. There are just too many variables right now.” Sylvester looked at the Archangel.
“What can we do?” Jacks asked. His encounter with the demon last year had been the worst experience of his life. No way was he letting anyone else go through something similar, if there was any way he could help prevent it.
“I’m going to need the aid of the NAS,” the detective said.
Mark looked uncertainly out into the night. “David . . . I made an error in not trusting your intuition last time. I misjudged it, and you. I’ve already apologized, and I’ll apologize again. But if you want me to go to the other Archangels— ”
Sylvester cut him off. “If what I’m fearing is true, the collective powers of the Angels need to be pulled together immediately to stop it. We have no idea how big it could get. You need to tell the other Archangels and bring this to the Council as soon as possible.”
Mark shook his head. “David. I trust you. But what proof do you have?”
“Proof? Dark Angels are just like deadly wisps, nightmares and fires in the night, gone as soon as they’ve destroyed. The proof is in the body count. Do we need more deaths?”
“He’s right, Mark,” Jacks said.
“I want to help you,” Mark said. “I honestly do. But there’s only so much I can do without proof. Dissension has hit the Archangels regarding how we need to deal with this bombing and the anti-Angel movement in general. Things are getting shaken up. You’ve seen the Council’s response to Senator Linden’s Immortals Bill. Well, it was a mistake to come out so strongly. Big chunks of support for the Angels in this country are starting to fade and disappear. Yes, the Angel networks are still airing all the same adulatory stuff. But there’s something shifting in this country outside of Angel City, in how Americans feel about the Angels. There is a lot of fear among my colleagues. That’s why Maddy has become so important to the Angels. We need to focus on positives, not negatives.
“My influence on the Archangels isn’t as strong as it once was,” Mark continued. “The others aren’t going to want to stir up trouble chasing ghosts, tales from the Bible, unless there is incontrovertible proof about what’s going on. Until then, they’ll feel we need to show a united, strong front.”
“But it’s not a story from the Bible. There was one here just last year!” Jackson said, his tone sharpening.
“It’s true,” Mark responded. “But enough questions were raised about Angels during the demon crisis last year. We can ill afford to dig up problems now, unless it’s something that’s a direct threat. This is something that sounds like a scary story from The Book of Angels, David. And we’re too old for scary stories. Right now we’re focusing on discovering who was behind the bombing and eliminating that threat. Not supposed Dark Angels a half a world away.”
“Demons don’t leave behind a smoking gun, a fingerprint, a chain of phone calls. They simply destroy.” Sylvester smiled sadly, shaking his head. “Don’t you understand, Mark? By the time it’s a direct threat, it’ll be too late. If what I think is happening is actually happening. . .” He put his hand on Mark’s shoulder. “Thank you for taking the time to meet me tonight.”
The detective walked to his car and opened the door.
“I’ll do what I can, David,” Mark said, his voice louder. Sylvester paused. “I can promise you that. I’ll be in touch. But things are just complicated.”
Sylvester smiled the sad smile again before getting all the way into the car. “They always are in this city. Goodnight, Mark, Jackson.” He nodded at both of them.
Jackson and Mark watched as the headlights of the cruiser started descending into the parking structure, ultimately disappearing into the levels below.
CHAPTER 12
In the days and weeks that followed, Maddy plunged deeper into training, even if now she had a vicious, whispering doubt that she was ever going to get her wings, despite what the Angel doctors had been promising her. The Guardian training campus seemed like an island while the Angel media howled outside. Although not a peaceful island.
The more time Maddy spent in training, the more she realized that the other Guardian trainees were resentful of her getting dropped in their mix – with, perhaps, the exception of Mitch, Jackson’s long-time best friend. Even though Maddy would train for a few years, that wasn’t very long compared with how long most of the other potential nominees had been training. The NAS was giving her a big leg up, and the others knew it.
And Emily Brightchurch was the worst.
Just into her second week of training, Maddy was studying in an open classroom on the training grounds when Emily showed up. The redhead walked in and closed the door. Maddy looked up.
“Hi, Maddy,” Emily said.
“Hello, Emily,” Maddy said coolly, remembering how the Aussie Angel had treated her at the party the week before. Emily had also been tweeting a lot lately, and one of her tweets was from the night of the event: “When a girl has someone who’s TOTALLY out of her league #MakesMeCrazy.”
“I’m glad I found you. Alone,” Emily said. “It’s about time we had a chat.”
“Is it?” Maddy said, her adrenaline starting to flare.
“Yes.” Emily flashed her a thousand-watt fake smile. “I’m not sure if you noticed or not, but we just wanted to make sure that you knew nobody wants you around here.” She batted her eyelashes. “In case you were confused.”
Maddy’s face flushed. She stared the girl Angel down. “Thanks so much for the message, Emily. I really was confused. I hope you haven’t gone to too much trouble to deliver it. I know it must have been hard for you to stop taking your clothes off for money and come over here.”
Emily narrowed her eyes at Maddy and sucked her breath in through her teeth. Her voice, when she responded, was low and sharp: “If you think I’m just going to stand by while you pollute the Angels and ruin Jacks both at the same time, you’re more than just a half-Angel freak. You’re a fool. And I’ve got people who will help me.”
Maddy looked at the Angel in front of her, taking a moment before responding. “Jacks is mine,” she said firmly. She looked the Angel up and down. “You’re not me. You’re not even Vivian,” she said, referring to Jacks’s ex. “Frankly, she’s a much better bitch than you.”
“Watch me.” Emily flipped her hair and huffed out of the room.
Maddy’s eyes followed the Angel as she left, knowing that Emily wasn’t going to just disappear for ever (however appealing that might be). Maddy was going to have to keep an eye out. Sighing, she tried to return her focus to her homework but found it almost impossible. Although everyone might not be as vocal as Emily, Maddy knew the Aussie temptress spoke for a lot of the nominees when she said Maddy wasn’t wanted at Guardian Training.
And as if the prospect of not getting her wings, Emily’s threats, and the resentment of her fellow potential nominees weren’t enough, Maddy had another thing to worry about. Through hints her professors dropped, Maddy knew Louis Kreuz was keeping a very close eye on her progress. She had to show him she could hack it as a Guardian nominee. She seemed to work twice as hard as everyone else – she had so much to catch up on! – and her car, a brand-new Audi S5 she had bought as soon as she got her first check from the NAS, was always the last one still at the car park at night, the other Guardians in training having already left to go enjoy life as an Angel in the Immortal City.
After one of these late evenings at training, when even the guard was surprised at how long she had stayed, Maddy stopped in at a chic furniture showroom to finish picking the pieces she wanted for her apartment, which was going to be just a few blocks from the Halo Strip, down the canyon from Jackson’s house. She had a few more weeks, and then she’d be able to move in. Although she knew Kevin would miss her dearly, she’d only be a ten-minute drive, and she bet that deep down her uncle might enjoy being able to walk out to get the paper in his ro
be in the morning without being greeted by a dozen photographers.
The furniture dealer had arranged for a private showing for Maddy. A woman in all black with some kind of Nordic accent showed Maddy a flurry of pieces. Maddy yawned, trying to pay attention. Everything looked the same to her, and was probably too expensive. But Jacks’s mom had said this was the best place to go. Her mind was elsewhere, back on training, since she was having a difficult time even getting a start in her Elementary Time Pockets class.
“Thees one would be seemply stunning, an elegant but modern addition, do you not agree, Miss Montgomery?” the Danish woman coolly stated, pointing at a sleek sofa that looked like it had come straight out of its own photo shoot.
“What?” Maddy said, snapping back to the present. Her eyes focused on the sofa. She realized she didn’t really know what she liked and didn’t like. She’d never even thought about this stuff before. Were there always so many decisions in the world of the beautiful Immortals? “Oh, yes, definitely. I’ll take that one.”
By the time Maddy left, she was too late to meet up with Jacks for a bite – he’d promised to accompany his mother, Kris, to an Angel charity event that Mark couldn’t make. As Maddy’s Audi zipped down Sunset back towards Kevin’s, she was kind of glad to have an empty social calendar, actually; she was exhausted, and she was looking forward to an evening in. Plus, ever since the dinner after her first day of training, Jacks had seemed somehow different. Not in a bad way, but just different – a little more serious. She and Gwen had talked for hours about it on the phone but hadn’t really come to any conclusions. Gwen had made the shockingly un-Gwen statement, “Well, he may be an Angel, but he also is just a boy. And boys are strange sometimes.” They’d left it at that.
Maddy had found when she talked to Gwen that it was a strange contrast, like channelling the ordinary life she could have had at university, worries about finals, fights with dorm room-mates, dining halls, parties. It was so close to having been Maddy’s life. But it contrasted sharply with Maddy’s extraordinary life now. The life of a Guardian Angel in training. Something she could never have imagined just a year ago.
Inside Kevin’s house, Maddy threw her bag down on the front table and poured herself a glass of orange juice from the fridge. It was quiet. She let out a sigh, her body slowly relaxing. She flipped on the TV, moved a washing basket, and plopped down on the couch, wondering if her new one would be as comfortable as this old monstrosity. Probably not.
Maddy flipped through the channels: Angels, Angels, more Angels. She went to the “normal” news channel. There was a talking-heads debate on. The topic: Angels and human relations. Maddy sighed, but paused for a moment. The graphic at the bottom of the screen read: “Senator introduces Immortals Bill.”
A square-jawed male anchor in the news studio spoke:
“Senator Ted Linden, whose presidential campaign as a third-party candidate has been growing its support dramatically, formally introduced a landmark piece of legislation to the Senate today. It is being called the Immortals Bill. The legislation would ban nearly all Angel activities, including supernatural acts of flying, strength and speed, under penalty of prison until the entire Angel system can be reassessed, which some say could sideline Guardian Angels for years. Experts say Linden will have a tough time getting enough votes to pass the bill, but he remains confident. He has even gone so far as to propose limits on Angelic powers across the globe. Some prominent international leaders have stated that they support Linden’s reforms being carried throughout the world, including many in Western Europe, who have historically been much more critical of the Angels’ politics and lavish lifestyles than politicians in the United States and Angel City.”
Senator Linden, a handsome man in his fifties with a shock of grey-black hair, appeared on the screen at a fundraising event in front of a crowd of supporters waving American flags. “I will not rest until I see this piece of legislation passed, and America made safe from the pernicious influence of Angels again. My first act as president will be to sign this bill into law and simultaneously establish a Global Angel Commission with our allies across the world.”
The image cut back to the anchor in the studio.
“Reaction in the Angel community has ranged from shock to dismay to anger. We are awaiting an official statement from the NAS.”
The anchor turned to a different camera.
“Next up: you won’t believe this year’s Power List of the Immortal City’s Angels. Did your favourite make the cut? But first, the weather.”
Maddy turned the TV off, feeling perturbed. Like Linden, she supposed, she felt that the Angel system of Protection for Pay was somehow corrupt. You shouldn’t only get to be saved if you’re rich enough to afford it. And if she ever made it through Angel training, she was going to figure out how to fix that system, to give more humans an equal chance at being protected. But at the same time, Angels did save people. The work they did, at the end of the day, was good. She didn’t understand why Linden felt as aggressively as he did, unless it was just to make some noise and win some votes.
Maddy realized she had got a strange headache from watching TV, and her back was starting to hurt, probably from slouching on the couch. She got up and found herself a little dizzy. Maybe she’d draw herself a bath.
Upstairs, Maddy put in the plug and turned the tap all the way to hot, the steaming water beginning to fill up the bath. Below, Maddy heard the back door close – Kevin must be home.
The mirror began to slightly fog. The tub was nearly a quarter of the way full, light, white wisps of steam rolling up towards the ceiling from the scalding water. Maddy began to take off her clothes, but she felt light-headed again. Leaning forward, she gripped the edge of the sink to steady herself. A pain shot through her back, and she felt even more light-headed.
What was happening?
At that moment, Maddy felt the most excruciating pain since the knife had driven into her gut months ago on the roof of the library tower. Two separate pains, equal distance from each other. On her back.
Maddy let out a terrible cry and fell to her knees.
She could only think of one word: wings.
Please let them be normal, please let them be normal. Maddy’s mind raced as she doubled over in pain again. The entire bathroom, swirling in steam, began to quaver and ripple before Maddy’s eyes as her consciousness flickered in and out.
Maddy yelled again, the pain almost unbearable. It felt as if her back was suddenly on fire where her Immortal Marks were.
As if from another world, Maddy heard Kevin’s footsteps echoing on the stairs.
Tears streamed down her face. Helplessly she tried to lift herself off her knees. She swore she could feel tiny droplets of warm blood running down her back. She just wanted it to end.
All of a sudden, Maddy heard a quick rip as the back of her sweatshirt violently tore. An enormous whoosh shook the room as two wings emerged from her back, scattering shampoo bottles from the side of the tub, blowing back the shower curtain, ripping a towel off a shelf, before settling, tucked against her back.
Maddy kneeled, gritting her teeth. Her wings hovered, extended behind her. She took a deep breath. And then another. The terrible pain had subsided as soon as the wings emerged.
And now she could feel them.
She gasped as a knock rapped on the bathroom door.
“Maddy!” Uncle Kevin shouted through the door. “Are you OK?”
Maddy still leaned over, her newly formed wings curled up tightly against her. She panted, gritting her teeth. “I’m fine, it’s nothing, Kevin. I’ll let you know if I need any help.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes!”
Of all nights, Kevin had decided to let Samuel actually handle things at the diner!
“You’re sure sure?” Kevin asked, concerned. He had heard her cries.
“KEV
IN!!!”
“OK, OK,” she could hear Kevin muttering through the door. His steps slowly descended down the stairs.
The bath was almost overflowing now, and Maddy scooted over and turned the tap off.
Carefully, slowly, Maddy stood up, trying not to knock anything over and trying to understand this new feeling: there were two new appendages attached to her body.
Did she dare look?
She turned to the partially fogged mirror. Just by her thinking it, her wings slowly expanded, stretching out so she could see them.
They weren’t monstrous; they were beautiful.
Maddy’s wings were smaller than those of most Angels she’d seen and, uniquely, were shaped more oblong than normal Angel wings. They were delicate and sleek, almost like hummingbird wings. To Maddy they seemed almost lighter than air.
Maddy gasped: silver threads seemed to come alive and move throughout the wings. They also had a slight purplish glow. She turned around and craned her head to look at her back and see the entire span of wings. Beneath the shredded holes in her sweatshirt, she could see the faint glow from the base of her wings, where her Immortal Marks normally were. She turned back to face the mirror.
She reached and touched her own wing. The feathers were sharp, insistent. They were hot to the touch, alive, electric.
She had wings.
Maddy looked down at the floor – there were only the slightest few drops of blood, nothing near the terrible mess she had dreamt of. Her wings had already apparently cleaned themselves off, just as she had seen Jacks’s do in the rainstorm following her save. They gleamed.
Cautiously poking her head out into the hall, Maddy made sure that Uncle Kevin had, in fact, disappeared downstairs. She crept down the hall to her bedroom and quickly closed the door. She had some thinking to do – it wasn’t every day you grew wings, after all.
Maddy picked up her phone and saw that she had a missed call from Jacks. She paused, looking at the name JACKS on her call log. What was she going to say: “Hey, I just got some wings. Want to go get pizza?”