Chapter thirty-one

“I t’s okay, it’s okay,” a voice whispered. “You’re okay

now.” Maddy looked up at the man who was holding her. He

was older and wore glasses. His face was creased and worn.

“It’s got Jacks!” Maddy protested, her voice muffled

against the man’s jacket. “We have to help him.” Maddy

twisted away from his grasp and ran back down the hall.

The man followed quickly. They found Jacks crouched like

an animal waiting to attack. His wings trembled in the air,

ready. In a blur, he had thrown the man against the lockers.

The Angel’s eyes burned in fear, almost unrecognizable.

“Jacks, wait!” Maddy said.

“It’s... gone...” the man choked. “Please, it’s gone.”

It was several seconds before Jacks released his grip on the

man’s throat. The man slumped, coughing, against the lockers.

Jacks’s chest was heaving. His eyes darted to Maddy

and then back to the man.

“Wait a minute, I know you,” Jacks said furiously.

“My name is Sylvester. I’m a detective with the ACPD.

We met when I interviewed you at your house earlier this

week.” Jacks’s face tensed. Sylvester held up a hand in surrender.

“I’m alone. If my intention was to arrest you, this

place would be swarming with police right now.”

“What are you doing here?” Jacks asked. Sylvester

rubbed his throat.

“Up until tonight I was leading the investigation into

the Angel attacks on the boulevard. I started tracking the

demon two days ago. I tracked him here.”

Demon, Maddy thought. She had heard the word before

but never thought they were real.

“It just left,” Jacks said, his eyes bewildered. “It was

right there, facing me, and then it just disappeared.”

Sylvester nodded. “I was hoping this would work if I

ever made contact, and it did, but it likely won’t again.” He

opened his fist. A small amulet with an ancient inscription

sat on the palm of his hand. He retrieved the brass ornamental

box from the pocket of his jacket and carefully

placed the object on the crushed purple velvet inside. He

closed the box securely.

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Jacks studied the tall, tired man before him. His eyes

narrowed.

“You’re an Angel,” Jacks said in disbelief.

Sylvester nodded again. “Yes, I am.”

“How is that possible?”

“Not every Angel is still a Guardian, Jackson,”

Sylvester said, “and not all Angels are loyal to the Council.”

Jacks stepped back. Sylvester straightened up and

smoothed his coat.

“You have a theory?” Jacks said. “About this... this

thing?”

Sylvester shrugged. “It’s just a hunch.”

Jacks considered his words. “We need to talk,” he said

after a moment.

Sylvester’s brow furrowed. “Technically I should be

bringing you in.”

“But you’re not going to do that,” Jacks said carefully.

“Are you?”

Sylvester sighed.

“No, I’m not,” the detective said. He removed his

glasses and rubbed his face. He looked between Jacks and

Maddy.

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“My car is parked out front. I’ll pull it around.”

They rode in the back of Sylvester’s unmarked cruiser

through the sleeping streets of the Immortal City. The car

tracked past the pockets of nocturnal homeless and

criminals, fluorescent-lit twenty-four-hour donut shops, the

occasional fogged window with lights creeping out from behind

drawn curtains. Unsavory business getting transacted.

The Angel City underworld. In another hour or so, it would

start to get light, street sweepers would scour the roads and

alleys, and the Immortal City would be camera ready again.

Maddy settled into the seat quietly next to Jacks and

let the relief course through her veins. She had never experienced

fear like that she had felt in that biology lab. She

wasn’t sure she trusted the rumpled detective who was driving

them to who knew where, but at least they were headed

away from the school. At least for now they were safe.

Maddy looked down at the small gap of vinyl between

her and Jacks on the seat. When they had gotten into the

backseat, she had instinctively left that space between them,

like she always did. A minimum of protection from Jacks’s

intoxicating presence.

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In the terror of the moment she had almost forgotten

the new deal she had made with herself. To believe he actually

had feelings for her. To let him in. Carefully, she leaned

toward him and closed the gap between them. Her heart

thudded irregularly as her shoulder touched his, and the

wave of his warmth washed over. It was so lovely to be close

to him. Jacks reached over and rested his hand on her leg.

The casual touch was thrilling. Like he was familiar with

her. She sat there feeling the warmth of his hand through

her jeans, listening to the sound of her pounding heart, and

trying to control her suddenly erratic breathing as Sylvester

pulled up a narrow driveway and parked.

The apartment was in a Spanish-style building from

the 1930s. Old Angel City, Maddy thought, a reminder of a

forgotten past. They followed him upstairs and into his

corner unit. The apartment was simple and unadorned.

There was a living room with a fireplace at its center instead

of a television and chairs for sitting instead of a couch.

Through the glass door of the tiny balcony she could see an

old Catholic church. She had never noticed it before; it was

beautiful.

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Newspaper clippings and articles haphazardly covered

the walls. The apartment must double as an office, Maddy

thought. She went to the wall and read some of the clippings.

Bizarre sightings, unexplained tragedies, natural disasters.

Descriptions of a strange, burning creature with

wings. Maddy began to feel uneasy. When Sylvester spoke,

it made her jump.

“I know it’s not much,” Sylvester said, a little self-conscious,

“but please make yourselves at home.” Maddy

turned and glanced at Jacks. He gave her a nod as if to say

he thought things were okay. They sat in the old chairs.

“It’s not every day I have a Godspeed and a Godright

over,” Sylvester said as he settled into his chair.

“You know?” Jacks said, surprised.

“Of course,” Sylvester said, looking at them both. “I’m

one of the very few who does.”

Jacks nodded. He was silent for a moment as he considered

this.

“That thing,” Jacks said finally. “At the school. I’ve

never felt anything like it. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

“Most of us haven’t,” Sylvester said grimly. “It’s been

years since anyone has encountered a Dark Angel.”

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“A what?” Maddy asked.

“A demon,” Jacks said.

The word hung ominously in the tiny room.

“But there’s no such thing,” Maddy said, as if saying

the words would make it so. Sylvester looked at her evenly.

“If you can accept there are Angels in the world, then

you must also realize that there are demons.” His face was

deadly serious. “Just as there is a world above us, there is a

world below us too, Maddy.”

“But they were destroyed. Thousands of years ago,”

Jacks said.

“The world is a darker place than you think, Jackson.”

Maddy thought about the thing. She felt the claw

trace down her back again. A demon. It sent a chill slithering

down her spine.

“Demons can be found in the darkest corners of our

world. They’re in the shadows, causing catastrophic earthquakes,

tsunamis, even hurricanes. I think if someone went

looking for a Dark Angel and looked hard enough, they

could find one.”

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“Even if what you’re saying is true,” Maddy said, “and

even if they do still exist, what was one doing in my high

school?”

Sylvester’s face faltered. “I don’t know. Ancient writings,

even the Bible, describe demons attacking cities and

laying waste to villages. Causing chaos. What’s going on in

Angel City is entirely different. This demon is attacking specific

Angels. It’s choosing its targets. It tracked Jackson

there. It feels like premeditation to me, like there’s a motive

behind it. It feels like a good, old-fashioned, regular crime.”

Jacks studied Sylvester intently. “Meaning what?”

Sylvester removed his glasses and began polishing the

lenses against his shirt.

“Meaning I think someone could be controlling it.

That’s my theory at least. We talk about demons in our lives,

and we talk about controlling them. Where do these metaphors

come from? I think a long time ago it was possible to

hire a demon, much like Angels are hired today. Not with

money, of course, but with something much more valuable.

Something the demon wants. It may still be possible today.

Someone might have brought a demon to the city and be using

it to carry out these attacks.” He finished his polishing

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and returned his glasses to his face. “I know it sounds incredible,

but I think someone is playing a very dangerous

game with a force they can’t possibly comprehend.”

Maddy’s heart was racing. “But who would do that?

Who would be using it to kill Angels? And sending it after

us?”

“The Archangels,” Jacks said miserably, thinking

about the stain on Mark’s jacket. “It has to be the

Archangels. They must be using it to eliminate their enemies,

and now that includes us.”

“I wouldn’t jump to conclusions,” Sylvester said. “It’s

one possibility. Although... hmm.” He got up and started

pacing. “I haven’t been able to put my finger on why the

NAS would want to eliminate Godson, Templeton, and

Crossman. They weren’t with the anti-Angel movement. I

found no evidence of ties between them and Senator

Linden, say, or the HDF. But Godson was known to be a womanizer

and a drunk, and Templeton had a secret drug addiction.

It could be that the Archangels are pruning the tree,

cutting off embarrassing branches. I’ll have Garcia look into

Crossman’s background.”

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“It’s the only possibility,” Jacks said through his teeth.

“Kevin said the Archangels would do whatever it took to

keep us apart. We’ll, that’s exactly what they’re doing.

They’re going to kill us just like they killed Jacob and Regina.

Just like they killed my father.”

The detective looked unblinking at the young Angel in

front of him.

Jackson stared back, narrowing his eyes. “What

happened to you? Did they take...?”

“Yes, the NAS took my wings. Punishment,” Sylvester

said. Maddy’s eyes grew wide. “Not for missing a save, like

most police at ACPD would think.”

“What was it?” Maddy asked.

“It was for saving someone who wasn’t a Protection.”

“The Archangels let you live?” Jacks said, astonished.

“It wasn’t public. They didn’t consider me a threat.

Found it more of a punishment to mortalize me, discredit

me, send me as a ‘failure’ into the human world.” Sylvester

studied him gravely. “You can be sure they won’t have the

same leniency with you. You’re too involved with Maddy,

everyone was watching your Commissioning. You’re just too

big, Jackson.”

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Maddy held her breath. The detective was silent.

Jacks sat very still. She could see him thinking intensely.

“What should we do?” Maddy said finally.

“We’re getting out of here,” Jacks said. It surprised

them both. “I want to get as far away from Angel City and

from the NAS as I can.”

He turned to Sylvester.

“We need to figure out a way to get out of the city.

Will you help us?”

Sylvester looked back and forth between them with

searching eyes, then nodded.

“Yes, of course.”

“Thank you,” Jacks said, giving him an appreciative

nod. Maddy watched as despair washed in waves over his

face. She wondered if he was replaying the detective’s words

in his head, or Kevin’s words, or maybe even Mark’s. Was he

remembering the chase through the skyline or the demon?

Maddy wished she could know what he was thinking. That

she could help. Jacks got up and left the living room. He

went out to the tiny balcony and slumped down in a chair.

After a moment, Maddy followed.

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The balcony faced the street, with a view of Sunset

and of East Angel City. Jacks sat in one of the rusted metal

chairs. A few dead plants sat in pots on a wire table. Maddy

sat in the chair next to him. They watched the first light of

the gray dawn spread along the streets.

“Everything I’ve believed in is a lie, Maddy,” Jacks

muttered. “Everything I’ve worked for since I was ten. Angels

aren’t the heroes. We’re the villains.”

Maddy shook her head firmly. “You are not a villain,”

she said.

He looked at her with searching, intense eyes. “Will

you come with me? Leave the city. I mean, haven’t you ever

just wanted to get out of here?”

It was all she had ever wanted. She had always imagined

it would be with her bags packed for college, and not

escaping as a fugitive. But it was still leaving, all the same.

“Yes,” she said. It was the only answer. Not just because

it was what she had always wanted, but because, she

suddenly realized, she was going wherever Jacks was going.

It was just like when he had invited her to the party and

asked her to come with him on the rainy rooftop. There was

only ever one answer.

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“Good. We’ll leave this morning and never come back

to Angel City again.”

He smiled at her, but the smile was edged with sadness.

Reaching over, she placed her hand over his on the

table. Just as he had done for her at her house, she supported

him by saying the most important thing she could say.

Nothing at all.

She felt the contours of his hand around hers and

realized it was becoming familiar to her. Like much of him.

Sitting next to him in silence, Maddy was surprised to realize

she was totally happy in this moment. It was incredible.

She wasn’t used to being happy. She didn’t want it to end.

“It’s going to be dangerous,” Jacks said, interrupting

the silence.

“I know,” Maddy said. She thought about what would

be involved in trying to escape Angel City while not being

recognized. Her stomach filled with a heavy feeling. There

was something she was missing, even if she couldn’t put her

finger on it.

“I’m willing to risk it if you are,” he said.

“Yeah,” Maddy said. “Me too.”

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“We’ll be okay so long as we’re together,” he said,

leaning over and putting his lips in her hair.

Maddy reached up and put her hand on his face. “We

will, together.”

They were silent a moment longer before Maddy

heard Sylvester shuffling around inside.

“We should get going,” Jacks said, drawing away.

They got up and went back into the apartment, leaving

the balcony and the dawn, silent behind them.

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Дата добавления: 2015-11-14