by Scott Speer
She could still save Jacks.
Maddy ran. She willed her feet faster and faster. It was the fastest she’d ever run in her life. The rest of the world blurred on all sides of her as she focused on this one thing.
Jacks’s face grew confused. Maddy flew right by him. She ran at Ethan, colliding full-force as he lunged at Jacks with the knife. Maddy fell on him, and the two tumbled toward the edge of the roof.
Ethan was on top of her, gasping in surprise. Maddy felt something tugging at her side, like her clothes had snagged on something. Then a warm sensation, not altogether unpleasant. She looked down. Both her and Ethan’s hands were wrapped around the knife handle. The blade was deep in her side.
She looked at Ethan. His eyes were blind with rage. If he could pull the knife out, she thought, he would go after Jacks again. She was sure of it. She had one instant to make a decision. She closed her hands tightly around his and pushed the knife as far inside of her as it would go. Then she let out a ragged, agonized breath. The blood began to flow.
The pain was startling at first, then unbearable, and finally it engulfed her, sucking her consciousness away and closing her eyes. She heard a metallic clang as the door smashed open. Willing her eyes open for a moment, she saw Detective Sylvester burst onto the rooftop with his gun drawn, followed by a fleet of cops. Her eyes fluttered closed again. Many voices, and the pounding footsteps over the rooftop. She heard Ethan shout something as the detective drove him to the ground and handcuffed him. Then everything went black.
In the darkness of her mind, she drifted. To that first night when Jacks came into the diner. Back to the night they went flying together, and how the city had looked reflected in his eyes. To the gym, and the way his lips had felt against hers. Looking down, she realized she was floating over the rooftop now. It was quiet up here. Peaceful.
She could see her body and the dark pool growing underneath her. The police were everywhere now. She watched with detached curiosity as they pulled Ethan up and took him away. Angels began landing on the roof. She saw Mitch, wearing the black armor of the ADC, an ancient broadsword flashing in his hands. Maddy also recognized a couple other Angels as they landed, sheathing their swords. The demon must have fled.
Then she saw Jacks. He was yelling something as he knelt over her body. On his back was a bleeding, bloody stump. She saw him take her in his arms and hold her. He was calling her name over and over. I’m up here, she tried to say, but he didn’t seem to hear her. He shook her body again and again. The drone of a helicopter filled her ears, and suddenly, she felt herself being pulled back. Steadily, painfully, pulled back down toward the roof.
Her eyes opened. Jacks was holding her. A spotlight shone down on them from a chopper hovering above. Maddy squinted up at Jacks in the glare of the spotlight.
“Just hang on, they’re coming for you right now,” he said. She watched his eyes dart helplessly over her body. “They’re going to fix you, Maddy!”
She moved her lips. “I’m sorry for what I said . . . at the station. I’m sorry for being so impossible all the time. Can you . . . forgive me?”
“You have nothing to apologize for,” Jacks said urgently. “This is all my fault. If I had never convinced you to leave with me. If I had never kept bothering you. If I had never gone into your uncle’s diner.” He trailed off, his throat closing. Maddy shook her head. The pain drilled through her.
“I’m glad you did.”
The darkness took her again. She was dancing with him at the party now. Maddy couldn’t even feel her feet moving over the floor. She didn’t know how long she danced with him. It could have been minutes or only a few seconds. When she opened her eyes and found Jacks again, he was looking at her with terror-stricken eyes.
“Don’t do that,” he said. “Stay with me.”
“I’ll try,” she said. Her response was barely more than a whisper.
“Tell me how to help you, Maddy,” he said desperately. “What can I do?”
“Hold my hand.”
She felt his fingers lace into hers. Her hand was sticky against his. His hand was trembling. He leaned on one elbow. His strength was leaving him. Maddy felt the darkness coming for her again, and this time, she was sure, she would not be back. It was almost impossible to move her lips. When the words came out, they were slurred.
“Promise me something,” she said.
“Anything.”
“Be the best Guardian you can be. Save lots of people. And every time you save someone, think of me.”
“No, don’t you dare say that. We’re together now; everything is going to be okay.” He looked across the roof with agonized eyes. “I can see them coming. They’re coming for you right now, Maddy.”
Maddy realized there was no pain anymore. It was becoming peaceful again. “Jacks,” she said, “I think I have to go now.”
“Please. Don’t leave me, Maddy.” He was begging.
“It’s okay,” she said. “It really is. Do you remember my pretend memory?”
“The park,” Jacks said.
“I can see it. I’m looking at it now. I can see my parents; they’re beautiful, Jacks. I think I’m going there now. And if I’m lucky, they’ll let me stay with them. Forever.” Tears spilled over Jacks’s eyes. “I’ll wait for you, Jacks,” Maddy whispered. “I’ll be waiting for you there.”
Her eyes closed. She felt Jacks’s hands reach down and unclasp something from around her neck. Then she felt the cold, hard weight of a ring on her finger.
“You are my Guardian Angel, Maddy,” a voice said, but it was far away from her.
Everything was far away now. She tried to smile, but her body was no longer obeying her commands. It was all happening so fast. Then the darkness came and took her.
Jacks collapsed next to Maddy. They lay there, side by side on the cold rooftop. The paramedics descended on them. Maddy was no longer breathing, but Jacks thought she could still see him. A medic unclasped their hands.
He watched as they shocked her again and again. If he could’ve talked, he would have begged them to stop. But he couldn’t. The strength had gone out of him. He watched Maddy’s eyes empty of life, but she still lay there looking at him, somehow seeing him. She seemed happy to be with her Angel, finally at peace.
“Call it,” he heard one of the paramedics say. Then they stopped shocking her and, finally, let her be.
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
Beep. Beep. The sound at first was distant, then came closer. It grew clearer. Beep.
Jacks faintly moaned. The sound of his own voice seemed strange. He tried to swallow, but his tongue felt numb and paralyzed. Struggling to open his eyes, he made out a gauzy shape to his left. He was lying on his side. Then his eyes closed shut, the effort too much. He groaned slightly again. Consciousness began slipping away.
“Jacks? Can you hear me?” a voice said. Beep. Beep. Jacks made another effort to open his eyes and was more successful this time. He saw a white curtain and gray, blinking machines. The blur took shape as he focused. It was his mother, Kris. She moved in and out of focus. He felt her take hold of his hand.
“Hi, darling,” she said.
As if from an electric shock, Jacks jolted up, reaching for his back in an attempt to push away Ethan’s plunging knife. His mind swirled in panic. It took Kris and three nurses to restrain him, ultimately getting him to lie down on his side again. Jacks reached back and touched the place where the knife had severed the wing. Instead of an Immortal Mark, he now felt only a mass of destroyed flesh and bandages. He lay there trembling as the awful memories returned to him. The demon. That boy Ethan. And Maddy’s glassy, lifeless eyes.
“Maddy,” Jacks whispered.
“Rest, Jacks,” Kris said and squeezed his hand. Moving his head as best he could, he realized he was in a hospital bed. The room was clean and impossibly white.
“You were . . . hurt,” Kris said. “The doctors were worried. But everything’s going to be okay. You’re going to be f
ine. They’ve performed emergency surgery on your wing.”
Jacks looked at his body. He was covered in bandages. He forced air in and out of his nostrils, trying to keep consciousness, trying to keep the one thing at the top of his mind from overwhelming him. The girl who had died in his arms.
“That boy,” Kris said.
“I know,” Jacks rasped.
“He was troubled. It seems his father died in an accident in which a Protection was saved. He used the father’s life insurance money to travel the world in search of . . . revenge.”
“The Dark Angel,” Jacks said.
Kris nodded.
“It appears his mother didn’t even live with him. She had been institutionalized ever since her son’s return. When she saw what he became.”
Jacks heard the hallway door open, and a familiar voice spoke.
“The demon should have known it would take more than that to mortalize a Godspeed.”
Jacks turned his head stiffly.
It was Mark.
Jacks tried to sit up again, the cords of the monitors tangling around him.
“Get out,” Jacks croaked. “I know what you did. All of it. Get out.”
His stepfather didn’t move, although something unreadable flickered in his eyes.
“I will. Just as soon as I tell you something.”
He took a step into the room.
“The NAS and the Council have dropped their case against you. I made a personal plea that, based on special circumstances, you had done nothing wrong.”
“Nothing wrong?” Jacks said incredulously, rage edging his weakened voice. “She’s dead.”
Kris put a hand on Jacks to calm him.
“Maddy is dead because of me,” Jacks said again, his voice cracked with misery.
Mark just smiled. For an instant Jacks hated him.
“Only an Angel can kill another Angel, Jackson.”
Tears welled in Kris’s eyes as she looked at her son. Mark stepped forward and pulled the curtains aside.
Maddy lay in the next bed. Her breaths were long and deliberate, her vitals steady. Kevin sat asleep in the chair next to her. A magazine was open on his lap, facedown. The sound of the curtain woke him. His eyes were red and bleary from keeping watch over his niece, but he smiled when he saw Jacks awake.
“It’s good to see you up,” Kevin said. He gently rubbed Maddy’s arm.
Maddy’s eyes fluttered open. She lay there blinking at her uncle for a moment, then turned her head and saw Jacks.
“Hey,” she breathed.
Jacks attempted to get up, cables and tubes tangling up as he went. His foot touched the ground and he almost crumpled. He was much weaker than he had thought. Kris helped him back into bed.
“I thought I had lost you,” Jacks said, his voice saturated with relief.
Maddy just looked at him, tired but radiant, her eyes never leaving Jacks’s. He felt like he could live in those eyes forever.
“I’ve taken care of all Maddy’s recovery costs,” Mark said. “The doctors assure me she’s going to be just fine. Apparently there’s more Angel in her than we first thought . . . More than anyone thought. Because she’s half human, though, her Angel traits have only begun to develop in the past few years. So that’s what I argued to the other Archangels. Technically it wasn’t an illegal save, Angel saving Angel. There’s a lot to talk about, but it can all wait for later.”
Jacks took his gaze off Maddy long enough to see Kevin eye Mark coolly.
There was a light knock at the door. It opened, and Mitch stuck his head in.
“Are we interrupting?”
Jacks smiled.
“Come in, Mitch.”
“You’re awake, man!” Mitch beamed. He stepped into the room. Just behind him followed Gwen. They both carried cups of coffee from the hospital cafeteria.
“This is Maddy’s friend Gwen,” Mitch said.
Gwen came in, utterly Angelstruck. For a moment Jacks was worried she might actually faint.
“Hey, I’m Jacks,” Jacks said.
“I know,” Gwen said, blushing impossibly red. “I’m . . . Gwen.”
“Nice to meet you, Gwen.”
“I’ve heard so much about you,” Gwen said, then caught herself. “Er . . . from Maddy, I mean. I like your car, by the way.”
Mitch laughed and Gwen punched him playfully.
Then the door flew open again. This visitor, apparently, didn’t see the need to knock.
“Once I get done spinning this, they’re going to give you the Medal of Honor, Jackson,” Darcy said as she came in. As usual she had her head buried in her BlackBerry and was furiously typing something on the keypad. In her other hand she held a heavy-looking black garment bag. She glanced over at Maddy’s bed.
“Oh, good, you’re up too. I’ve got Teen Vogue and Angels Weekly in a bidding war over your fall fashion spread. We’re going with Teen Vogue, of course, but let’s let them sweat it out. And ANN wants your first televised interview, but we’re holding out for the Today Show, which, trust me, we’re going to get.”
She threw the garment bag over a chair in the corner. “And Free People was hoping you’d wear this when you leave the hospital. They didn’t know your style or sizes, so there are four options in the bag. Keep them all if you want.”
“What?” Maddy said weakly.
Darcy paused and for the first time looked up from her Berry. “Maddy, I’m the fiercest bitch in PR, I always get my clients what they want, and you’ll never look better in the public eye, or make more money, than with me. What do you say?” She stuck out her hand.
Dazed, Maddy just blinked.
Then Darcy’s Berry went off again.
“Hang on, babe,” she said, and picked up. Her brow drew together as she listened. “What? Forget it. If you think Maddy Montgomery is showing up for that appearance fee, then you’re wasting both our time.” She held up an apologetic finger to the room and stormed out the door.
Jacks smiled. He looked over at Maddy’s bewildered expression.
“Trust me, she won’t take no for an answer.”
Maddy swallowed and spoke in a surprisingly strong voice. “Please tell her thank you, but I don’t intend on doing interviews. Or talk shows.”
Jacks turned to Mark. “What happened to the demon?”
“The Dark Angel is gone.”
“How is that possible?” Jacks asked. Mark’s expression turned heavy.
“It has the soul it came for.”
“Ethan?” Maddy asked.
Mark was silent.
“Dark Angels—demons—have been kept at bay for thousands of years. Now that Ethan has done this . . .” He trailed off. Mark’s eyes were distant. “We can only hope this is the last time.”
“Mark?” Jacks asked. His stepfather’s gaze focused.
“Yes, son?”
“That night I took Maddy to the party—when you were in my room. What was on your jacket? It looked like . . . well, like blood.”
Mark was silent for a second, looking genuinely saddened. “I’m sorry to realize that you were suspicious of me,” he said at last, “but I suppose my conduct has been such that I deserve it. The truth is that the demon left Lance Crossman’s body in the NAS lobby for us to find that night. I’m ashamed to say that I hid it rather than informing Detective Sylvester. I thought we could handle finding the killer ourselves. Obviously, that wasn’t the case. David and I have spoken at length about it.”
Then the Archangel’s face lightened. “But don’t worry about any of that now. What’s important is that you two get better. I’ll leave you to it.”
Kris looked away from Mark as he stepped out into the hallway. Jacks wondered how long it would take for her, for both of them, to fully trust his stepfather again, despite whatever strings he had pulled at the NAS.
After a few more minutes of small talk Mitch and Gwen left to get more coffee, and Kris stepped out to make a call and check up on Chloe. Kevin, feeling awk
ward about being the only one in the room, excused himself to use the bathroom.
Maddy and Jacks lay on their sides, facing each other, and let the silence overtake them. Maddy gazed into Jacks’s pale blue eyes. Jacks looked right back.
“Thank you,” Jacks said finally.
“For what?” Maddy said.
“For saving my life.”
Maddy blushed slightly.
“You . . . do you remember what you did up there. You saved me?” Jacks said.
Maddy nodded.
“I know. That’s what we perversions of nature do, I guess.”
“Maddy, please.”
She rolled over onto her back, wincing a little, her eyes growing tired again.
“Well, I don’t care,” Jacks said.
“But everyone else does. I’ll always be a freak. Even if they say I’m ‘a bit more Angel’ than they thought.”
“Can you not be impossible just for one day?” Jacks asked.
Maddy laughed a little. “I’m too tired to argue anyway.”
Her eyes fluttered shut. Another silence drew out and Jacks watched her, still in happy disbelief that she was here, alive. Then he spoke.
“Was it true?” he said quietly.
“Was what true?” Maddy said, her eyes still closed.
“What you said on the rooftop. When Ethan was going to kill me.”
Jacks waited for her to respond. He waited until he heard her slow, steady breaths. He sighed.
She had fallen asleep again.
CHAPTER FORTY
The ACPD credentials and authorizations got Detective Sylvester through every checkpoint he needed. A guard at the jail rode with the detective in the elevator, down to the maximum security level. The Tombs. The lift whirred. Sylvester merely stared forward, the ride passing in silence. The entire time the guard attempted to hold his hands still, but they wouldn’t stop shaking.
Eventually the guard drew his pistol.
“That won’t be necessary, Officer,” Sylvester said as calmly as he could.
