Immortal City (Immortal City 1)

Kris nodded. “As an Archangel, that is his duty. But as a father, he has a duty too, and he’s managed to do something extraordinary. He has spoken to the Council.”

Kevin’s face showed surprise, but still remained skeptical.

“There is a chance now, a chance for Jacks to walk away from all this and be forgiven. A chance for Maddy to come home, and for all of this to go away.”

“I don’t understand what you need me for then,” Kevin said. Kris regarded him. He wondered suddenly if she understood something about what happened that he did not.

“I know the way my son feels about your niece.” She shook her head and looked at her hands on the table. “It’s something Mark could never understand, and so that is why I have come to you. I need you to get a message to her.”

When she looked up at him again, her eyes were wet.

“Only you can make this happen. Only you can save my boy. So I’m coming to you, and”—she swallowed hard—“I’m begging you. Please help me. For my son. For my only son. Please help me save his life and bring him home.”

Her face dropped again and her shoulders shuddered as she stifled her crying. Kevin considered her—considered not the Angel, but the mother before him. He took a deep breath and spoke.

“What’s the message?”

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

Palm trees stood dead still in the windless morning. The marine layer had settled in and hung low over the city as they drove. Maddy and Jacks sat in the back of Sylvester’s unmarked cruiser. Jacks wore a long trench coat, dark glasses, and a fedora he had borrowed from the detective to hide his identity. Maddy had taken a thick scarf and another pair of dark shades. They looked a little oddly dressed, but hopefully not so much so that they would attract attention. Sylvester had the slightest of a grin, looking at the two of them in the rearview mirror as he drove.

“It’s going to work,” he said.

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.”