Natural Born Angel (Immortal City 2)

“Ladies, gentlemen, and Angels, welcome to the 143rd annual National Angel Services Guardian Commissioning. And now, please let’s all welcome the nominees for Guardianship!”

Maddy’s heart began pounding in her chest. This was really happening. She reached up and felt the Godright sash that hung from her neck. It comforted her.

The doors swung open and the audience cheered. The twenty nominees filed down the main aisle of the Temple, each being announced as they crossed the threshold.

Finally: “Madison Montgomery Godright,” the voice announced as Maddy stepped into the Temple itself. Maddy felt instantly overwhelmed by the grandeur of the space – a row of columns ran along each side of the aisle, leading to the front stage, on which sat enormous screens. Screens that were presently showing Maddy’s face as she slowly walked towards her seat on stage.

For a second, seeing her face that big on the screens paralysed Maddy. But then she realized she actually felt good. She was happy.

She smiled wide, and the boisterous crowd responded with large cheers on both sides as she made her way down the aisle. She walked on stage with the other nominated Guardians, passing the altar where all twenty Divine Rings sat, along with a neat stack of twenty envelopes.

She took her assigned seat, still trying to take all the pomp and circumstance in. The last fading light from outside filtered in the enormous stained glass windows that hung over the whole scene.

Looking out into the audience, Maddy saw Jackson sitting in the third row, next to his mother and sister. Jacks looked at her with a beaming smile. Even from this distance, his looks and presence were nearly magnetic to Maddy. She felt so lucky. And next to the Godspeeds sat Uncle Kevin, still messing with his tuxedo.

The female voice announced the arrival of the Archangels. They ceremoniously filed into the Temple in their deep crimson robes, taking seats in the first row. Once the Archangels had been seated, the lights grew low and the giant screens on stage began playing a kind of highlight reel or tribute to all the nominees, with their names and a shot of them looking into the camera and smiling before showing footage of them in action. As usual, the clips weren’t long, and Maddy kept waiting for her sequence to show up. She saw Mitch’s, in which he showboated for the cameras and showed his all-American side, and then some clips of Emily Brightchurch’s fancy flying and sexy appearances at Angel events. The reel had gone through all the nominees before it finally reached Maddy.

They showed clips of Maddy smiling at events – though she noticed worriedly they always used angles from which you couldn’t see Jacks by her side – debuting her wings at that first photo shoot, and even embarrassing photos of Maddy in her waitress uniform and in school. Although these latter images had clearly been photoshopped a bit, they got across the point that though Maddy might be the world’s hottest new A

ngel, she was still just the “girl next door”.

The video cut to footage of Maddy’s smiling face that they’d shot last week. The camera held the shot, and the crowd started cheering louder and louder. Maddy couldn’t believe they kept holding on her smiling face even longer, as the crowd applauded more and more.

Finally text appeared on screen: OUR MADDY.

Having been whipped to fever pitch, the crowd erupted in their loudest cheering yet. The Angels knew Maddy was a true phenomenon – that since she was half-Angel, half-human, the fans really felt like she was part of them, that they had access to Angels themselves. And the NAS knew how to market its stars.

Maddy felt a small hole burning in the back of her head. She turned back, and although it was pretty dark, she could see Emily staring directly at her, giving her the stink-eye. Maddy turned her head forward, not bothering with the Australian’s envy.

“THIS YEAR’S GUARDIANS,” the screen flashed, before fading to full black.

Although Maddy hadn’t ever watched a Commissioning, she knew what was coming next: the Council of Twelve in what had become their one public appearance per year.

On the screens, light slowly faded in, and you could start to make out twelve robed figures sitting in a semicircle. A bit of murmuring rippled through the crowd: the Council wasn’t sitting in its normal small chapel. This seemed to be a more open space, with dark Grecian columns on each side.

There sat the twelve True Immortals, the original Angels who had gone public, developed Protection for Pay, and made Angel City what it was today. They remained obscured in the shadows of the carefully stage-managed lighting of the live footage of them from a remote, undisclosed location. After a moment, one stood up, his gorgeous golden robe shimmering under the light: Maddy knew this would be Gabriel.

Lifting his head, Gabriel faced the cameras. Maddy gasped, having never seen an image of him. Even only on screen, his presence was something that took her breath away. His face filled the screens on both sides.

Gabriel’s stature hadn’t changed with age, and he seemed larger than life. His trademark white hair was perfectly poised on his head as his Angelic eyes looked at the audience. Maddy could swear he was looking right at her, just for her.

Gabriel began speaking.

“May you young Guardians flourish with our blessing, on this historic Commissioning,” he said. His voice was thunderous in the now-hushed auditorium. Historic? Did he mean her, Maddy? Many of the other nominees on stage glanced at her.

On screen, the rest of the Council nodded in approval as Gabriel spoke. Without ceremony, Gabriel turned around and took his seat with the rest of the True Immortals, the applause of the audience rising to fever pitch as the lights came back up in the Temple.

The time was coming. This was what they had been waiting for.

Archangel Mark Godspeed walked on stage and stepped to the microphone by the altar. Jacks’s stepfather cleared his throat and began speaking.

Maddy stole a glance out into the audience and saw Jacks. His eyes seem to be saying almost there.

“Each year we meet here to celebrate the best and brightest that we Angels have to offer, those Angels who would be Guardians, those who would take an oath to offer their lives in service to the Protections we serve at the NAS. And each year they remind us why Angels remain honourably willing to render their Immortal services to mankind, sworn to protect the ideals of the NAS, the Council and Angelkind.”

Applause peppered the auditorium. Representatives Perez and Wheeler nodded in approval.

One at a time, each nominee was called to the altar by Archangel Godspeed. Each nominee stepped up, took their solemn oath, and received their Divine Ring from Mark. Emily was one of the first, and as Mark placed the Divine Ring on her delicately gorgeous hand, she turned to the audience, her blazing hair flaring. The crowd oohed. When Mitch received his ring, he gave a thumbs-up to the crowd, kissed the ring, and pointed to the sky.