Immortal City

  Jacks watched out the window as they passed under the huge Angel billboards. The largest advertisement of all was of him, of course, plastered on the entire side of a building. There he was, twenty stories high, wearing the latest pair of Nike Wings.

  “Feels different now?” Maddy asked, gazing at it too.

  “Yeah,” Jacks said thoughtfully. “It does.”

  After a few minutes they pulled into Union Station.

  “Be safe,” Sylvester said as they got out. “Call if you need me, but remember, no cell phones.” He wrote his number down and passed it over. They said a quick goodbye and walked into the terminal.

  The train station was busy and loud. Maddy had, in fact, been there before, when Kevin used to take her on day trips to San Diego as a little girl. The station had a single, sprawling lobby under a vaulted wood- beam ceiling, with a marble floor and arched windows that looked out to courtyards. It had always reminded her of a scene from an old movie. Directly ahead stood an advertising kiosk that Maddy couldn’t help but notice with dull annoyance. On it was a picture of Vivian running her hand seductively through her hair to show off a twinkling diamond Cartier watch on her wrist. Could she ever get away from that Angel? Beyond the kiosk, an ornate, arched hallway extended under a tunnel that read TO ALL TRAINS.

  Maddy looked on the crowded station with equal emotions of fear and excitement. The terror of being recognized in such a public place fought in her heart with the thrill of finally getting out of Angel City. With Jacks at her side. Maddy wondered how many times she had dreamed of this, of seeing Angel City disappear in the distance forever. It was everything she had ever wanted, and yet, she was surprised when Sylvester agreed to drive them to the station that she didn’t feel more, well, excited. As much as she tried to deny it, something was nagging her. Again. She told herself it was just the fear of going out during the day and the risk of being recognized, but in truth, she knew it was something else. It was another voice in the back of her head, like the night at Jacks’s party, speaking words of warning she couldn’t quite make out.

  “Come on,” Jacks said, taking her hand. “Just act normal.”

  They headed toward the large electronic departure board and the ticket windows at the far side of the lobby. A few people looked askance at their overdressed appearance, but no one cared enough to say anything or really take a second look. Jacks let Maddy lead the way for once. She knew the terminal already, and besides, Jacks had only ever traveled in private jets; she wasn’t sure how familiar he was with the concept of public transportation.

  She gathered fragments of conversations as they passed crowded waiting areas. Most people were talking about them, it seemed, chatting excitedly about the scandal and the ongoing manhunt. They intently watched flat screen TVs distributed around the room as ANN reported on the latest developments. Maddy tried to raise her gaze discreetly and catch a piece of the broadcast but looked quickly away when she noticed a little girl peering at her curiously. The girl had on a Team Maddy shirt. Her sister was wearing Team Jacks. Maddy couldn’t help but stare for a moment. It was unreal. The girl looked at Maddy and opened her mouth to say something but then was quickly pulled away by her parents.

  With a horrible jolt, Maddy thought of the demon they had encountered just hours before. In her mind, every person who passed was looking at them. Who could they trust? What if this was a trap?

  “Jacks,” she said under her breath. “What if the detective is leading us into something? Wasn’t it convenient that he arrived just as the Dark Angel was there? How did he know?” Maddy’s mind flashed to the maps, the articles on Sylvester’s apartment wall. She hadn’t actually inspected them too closely—could it have been that those were for planning the attacks? That he was the one controlling it?

  A shadow crossed Jackson’s face as she watched him consider it. Her pulse quickened. The detective knew so much. But wouldn’t he have taken the opportunity to kill them right there, in the school?

  “No. Maybe. It’s too late anyway, Maddy. We have to go ahead; it’s our only hope of getting out of Angel City.”

  Maddy scanned the spacious hall. Streams of travelers moved past, not taking notice of them. She took a deep breath and calmed a bit. Jackson was right. But she still had that nagging feeling that there was something she was forgetting.

  “Okay.”

  Maddy led him to the ticket kiosks. Sylvester had given them a prepaid debit card to use at the machines; they couldn’t buy tickets from the staffed windows or they would have to show ID. They stopped in front of the electronic boards displaying departure and arrival information.

  “I’m going to find a pay phone and call my uncle,” Maddy said. Jacks gave her a hard look. “I need to make sure he’s okay after last night. And . . . I want to say goodbye.”

  Jacks hesitated for another moment, then his face cleared in understanding.

  “Okay. Let me handle tickets, then,” he said, squeezing her hand. “It’ll be a surprise.”

  “Let’s meet on the train platform,” Maddy suggested. “Better not spend any more time out here in the open than we need to.” Jacks agreed.

  She walked over to a row of pay phones. Each phone was housed in its own glass booth, another relic of the old station. She stepped inside the nearest one and closed the door behind her, cutting the terminal noise to a muted murmur. She picked up the phone and listened to the dial tone. What was she going to say? What could she say? After seventeen years of your taking care of me, I’m just leaving forever? Nice knowin’ ya?

  Through the glass, Maddy looked back to where Jacks was standing in front of the departure and arrival board. She watched him scratch his head as he considered destinations. San Diego. San Luis Obispo. Bakersfield. Maddy sighed. It was too late to second-guess anything now. They had formed their plan; now they had to follow through with it. She fed in two quarters and dialed.

  Kevin picked up after the first ring.

  “Kevin, it’s me,” she said.

  “Maddy?” His voice was ragged, as if he hadn’t slept at all. “Are you okay?”

  “Yes, I’m with Jacks. Are you . . . okay?”

  “I’m fine. Just a scratch on the forehead. Maddy, where are you?”

  She looked out the window at the station but bit her lip. “I can’t tell you.”

  “I need to talk to you, Maddy,” he said, his tone urgent. “Jacks’s mother came into the diner this morning.”

  Maddy froze. She had been expecting him to try to convince her to come home or maybe go to the authorities. She was completely unprepared for this. Jacks’s mother? Her eyes darted back in the direction of the departure board, but Jacks had vanished. Buying tickets, most likely, or already down at the train platform.

  “W-what?” she managed to stammer at last.

  “She wanted my help in getting a message to you.”

  “What’s the message?” Maddy’s heart suddenly raced.

  “Jacks’s stepfather has managed to negotiate a deal with the Council and the rest of the Archangels. It’s a chance for Jacks to get out of this situation Immortal and alive. They’re willing to forgive everything so long as the two of you never see each other again. Jacks goes home this morning, alone, and becomes a Guardian Angel; you come home to me and go back to being Maddy Montgomery, senior at Angel City High. You both live out your lives separately, as it was meant to be.” Kevin paused. “They just want this all to go away, Maddy.”

  The phone booth suddenly felt claustrophobic and suffocating.

  “We’re leaving, Kevin,” Maddy said, trying to sound resolute. “That’s why I’m calling.”

  “They will never stop hunting him,” Kevin said, his tone abruptly hard. “They will track him down. You’ve seen how powerful they are. We both have. Does he really think he can run from the Angels forever? This is Jacks’s one chance, and it’s in your hands.”

  “It’s his decision,” Maddy said quickly. “Why is it in my hands?”

  “Because
you’re the one who has to leave him. He thinks he’s protecting you, so he’ll never leave your side. But if you stay with him, you’ll kill him.”

  Maddy listened in silence to the buzz and crackle of the line.

  “I don’t understand. What is it you expect me to do?”

  “Leave him.” Kevin’s words were like daggers. “Tell him you’ve changed your mind. Get out of there, and get him to go home.”

  “How could I hurt him like that?”

  “Hurt him to save him,” Kevin snapped. “If you don’t, they will find him, and when they do, they will mortalize him. If you care about him, you’ll do this for him.” His tone took on a kind of naked appeal Maddy had never heard before. “Maddy, listen to me, what do you think you’re doing? You can never be a part of his world, and he can never be a part of yours. He’s a Guardian Angel and you’re my niece and I love you, but you’re just . . .”

  “Nobody?”

  Kevin sighed.

  “Normal, Maddy. You’re just normal. You’re not meant for what he’s meant for. He’s going to be the Guardian Jackson Godspeed and this is where he needs to be, in the city of Angels.” He paused. “The truth is I don’t care what happens to Jacks, but I care what happens to you. I tried to tell my sister what I’m telling you now, and she wouldn’t listen to me. Look what happened to her, Maddy. Look what happened to them both. Please, don’t make the same mistake she did. I don’t want to lose you. And if you care about Jackson, do this for him too.”

  Kevin’s words echoed in the tiny booth. Suddenly she realized the thought that had been nagging at her since Jacks had come up with the plan at Sylvester’s apartment. It was the same inevitable truth her uncle was talking about: they could never run from the Angels. It hadn’t been twelve hours since Jacks saved her life, and they had barely made it this far. Were they just deluding themselves by believing they could get away?

  “This is what’s best for both of you,” Kevin said. “But of course it’s up to you. It’s your decision.”

  She watched the bustle of the travelers outside. When she spoke again, her voice was barely more than a whisper.

  “If . . . I did, do I have your word, and Mark’s word, that nothing bad will happen to Jacks?”

  “Yes,” Kevin said.

  Maddy let the ice water of reality wash over her. This was the only way to save Jacks. The word was out before she could stop it.

  “Okay,” she said.

  “Good girl,” Kevin said. “Now where are you?”

  “Union Station,” Maddy said.

  “I’ll call Kris right now and they’ll send someone to pick him up. I can be there in ten minutes for you. It’s what’s best, Maddy. Now go tell him you’re leaving. Do it now. I’ll see you soon.”

  The line went dead.

  Maddy stood there with the phone still pressed to her ear. The dial tone droned. She pressed a hand to her temple and leaned her throbbing forehead against the glass. Nausea came with the pain, rolling and lapping against the walls of her stomach. She began to tremble.

  Suddenly there was a rap on the glass. Maddy turned to see a security guard glaring at her. Her heart leapt into her throat. Maybe this was it, and she had been caught, and she would be saved from what she knew she had to do. She opened the door.

  “No loitering in the booths, miss,” he said in an annoyed tone.

  Maddy nodded, moving numbly past him.

  She entered the tunnel at the end of the lobby under the TO ALL TRAINS sign. Slowly her thoughts began to break through the brick wall of shock and to plan. She was going to hurt him. She had to. Then she was going to go back home and be Maddy Montgomery again, and forget she had ever met Jackson Godspeed.

  Anxiety welled up in her as she emerged onto the platform and found herself alone. She looked around. Maybe he had left without her. She almost hoped it. Then she saw him, standing at the far edge of the gray platform, waiting for her.

  Standing there for a moment, Maddy just watched him. She took a picture in her mind that she would keep forever after this was over and she had gone back to being just another girl. She knew she would see him on TV and in magazines and on billboards—she had already prepared herself for that—but this image of him would be different because this moment was hers and hers alone. Jackson Godspeed, waiting on a foggy train platform next to a hissing locomotive, waiting to whisk her away to an impossible future they would never share.

  He turned and saw her. His face brightened at her approach. She allowed herself to bask in his magnetic presence one last time.

  “The train should be here any minute,” Jacks said. “I tried for California, but there were only short trips to Anaheim and Solana Beach. Anyway, I’ve never been to”—he checked the ticket—“Kansas City.”

  Maddy stood quiet.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked, seeing the look on her face.

  She had pushed him away so many times before, but now she didn’t know if she could. Her head was throbbing in protest. She met his gaze.

  “Jacks, I can’t do this.”

  He stepped toward her, confused.

  “What are you worried about? We’re almost there.” He glanced down the track. “I think this is it approaching now. We can get on right here; no one will see us.”

  “No.” Maddy’s tone was cold. “This isn’t right for me.”

  Jacks paused. An announcement for Kansas City echoed on the platform.

  “What do you mean?”

  “What I mean is I want you to leave me alone, Jacks,” she said tonelessly. Almost robotic. “I’m going home and I want you to stay away from me.”

  It was as though the words had physically struck him.

  “Both our lives are in danger, Maddy,” he said in a low, urgent voice, color draining from his face.

  “My life is in danger because I’m with you, Jacks,” she snapped. “It’s like Sylvester said. They will never allow us to be together. If I go back to being a normal girl—”

  “But you’re not a normal girl,” Jacks said.

  “I am, Jacks. When are you going to realize that?” Her voice was almost hysterical now. “We come from two different worlds, Jackson, and I’ll never be allowed to be a part of yours. You belong here, in Angel City, saving people’s lives. I belong in my uncle’s diner. It’s just the way things are.” She was trembling now. The nausea rose in her stomach and her head screamed.

  Jacks shook too.

  “It was you who told me I have control over my own actions. It’s simple, remember? So I’ve made my choice. I want to be with you. I’ll keep you safe. We’ll get away.”

  He held out his hand with the ticket in it.

  “Do you trust me?”

  Maddy thought about the night he had held out his hand before they went flying for the first time and then last night, when he had held it out to her in the pouring rain. She wanted nothing more than to take it now, but doing so, she knew, would seal his fate.

  “Jacks, I don’t want this anymore. I want to go back to the way things were.” She said the words clearly and carefully. His hand dropped to his side.

  “Will you listen to me just this once?” he nearly yelled. “I . . . I like you, Maddy. I mean, more than just as a friend. Are you so stubborn you can’t see that? Maybe last night meant nothing to you, but it meant something to me.” His eyes were vulnerable, almost tortured. “Did you ever even consider that I might love you, you stubborn, impossible girl?”

  The words hit her. Another announcement blared over the platform speakers. It was the final boarding call for the Kansas City train. The words poured out of Jacks.

  “You know, there’s something when you just know you fit together. And I fit with you. I don’t care what you are, human or anything else. It’s like a need, Maddy. So please.” He stopped and looked at her desperately. Nakedly. “Give me a chance, Maddy.”

  She turned away. Tears threatened to spill from her eyes; she couldn’t let Jacks see her face. She pushed the pain
violently away. She had to keep her emotions under control. When her words came, they were unapologetic and hard.

  “You’re a superstar, Jacks. The only person you know how to care about is yourself. You don’t love me. You’re just . . . in love with the idea of loving me. It’s all about you, Jacks, don’t you see?”

  He didn’t move or make a sound. Then he spoke.

  “All about me? I saved your life.”

  “You did,” she said. “And now I’m saving yours.”

  She didn’t need to say more. There wasn’t even time. At that moment something huge and powerful landed on the platform, pushing a wall of wind past them. It almost knocked Maddy off her feet. Panic shot through her system. She put her hands up in defense, waiting for a repeat of the attack at her house, for the Angel to grab her by the throat again. But nothing happened.

  A moment passed before she could open her eyes and see the Angel who had just landed.

  It was Mitch. Shrieks of surprise and fear gave way to screams of excitement on the platform as all eyes turned toward them.

  “Oh my God!” someone on the next platform yelled, and pointed. “It’s Mitch Steeple!”

  Mitch looked at his best friend.

  “Come on, man,” Mitch said. “There’s a car waiting for us out front.”

  Jacks’s eyes darted to Maddy. She watched the full realization of her betrayal hit him.

  “Jackson Godspeed!” a young girl shrieked. “OMG, it’s Jackson Godspeed!”

  The chaos was abrupt and all encompassing. People began shrieking “WE LOVE YOU, JACKS!” and “FREE JACKS!” Maddy saw travelers drop their bags and push toward them like a gathering tidal wave.

  “Maddy! There’s Maddy!” someone else screamed. A sudden mob rushed at her, pulling her away from Jacks.

  “Wait!” Maddy called frantically. “Jacks!”

  But it was impossible to be heard over the bedlam. The crowd closed around her, and Jacks disappeared from her sight. Phones were held high and cameras snapped as the travelers pressed in desperately to get a picture with her. Maddy shoved her way through the mob, trying to get back to Jacks, but the more she struggled, the farther away he became. It was like they were being carried apart on a violent sea.