Natural Born Angel (Immortal City 2)

“Even I know Beaubourg’s hiding in plain sight in Malibu since he got released from prison,” Jackson said. “In the middle of all the Angels. Could be bad for his health. The organization of the HDF moves vertically, so his lieutenants can’t be far.”

Mark gave Jacks a surprised look.

“I told you I wanted to help,” Jacks said to his stepfather. “I’ve been researching.”

Sylvester raised an eyebrow. He was impressed Jackson had unearthed this information. Behind his fancy car and designer clothes, it seemed he might have some real grit.

Mark coughed into his hand. “But, David, if you asked us here in the middle of the night to try to get more information,” Mark said, “I’m sure you know more than I do— ”

“This isn’t about the bombing,” Sylvester said. “Well, at least not directly.”

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Mark’s gaze sharpened. “Go on.”

“It’s about London.”

“London?” Jacks asked, puzzled. He studied the detective’s face.

“For some reason, I didn’t peg you for the travelling type, David,” Mark said.

“I didn’t take a trip.” The detective looked at Jackson and his stepfather. “You may have heard about the Eurostar derailment at St Pancras Station?”

“It was all over Twitter,” Jacks said.

“I may have read something about it,” Mark said.

“Something’s going on,” Sylvester said. “I think there are Dark Angels once again among us.”

“Demons?” Jacks asked, a chill rippling down his back as a muscle memory of the demon’s searing grip hit him. “But you yourself said the one that attacked me had gone back into hiding.”

“That’s true. But I think there may be more. Different demons. The marks inside the station were consistent with the marks in the cell last year after the demon came for its soul payment. Eyewitness accounts spoke of an incredible heat and steam shortly before the accident. These aren’t coincidental. And there have been other . . . incidents . . . that I’ve been coming across on the Internet. From Asia to South America. And in the Pacific Ocean, too – that disappearance of the F-18 last spring. And something else . . . downtown. These incidents are growing. I think bringing the Dark Angel forth last year created a kind of crack. There have even been . . . children killed.”

Mark’s ears perked up at the word children. “David, don’t let your past start clouding your judgement.”

Jacks gave his stepfather a questioning look.

“I resent the implication, Mark,” Sylvester said coldly.

“I’m sorry.” The Archangel didn’t sound sorry, though. He went silent in thought for a moment. “More demons? But why would they start coming now? Last year we faced a Dark Angel. A rogue. The demon did his grisly job and left. But his kind have otherwise remained hidden since the Wars. It doesn’t make sense.”

“I don’t know why. There are just too many variables right now.” Sylvester looked at the Archangel.

“What can we do?” Jacks asked. His encounter with the demon last year had been the worst experience of his life. No way was he letting anyone else go through something similar, if there was any way he could help prevent it.

“I’m going to need the aid of the NAS,” the detective said.

Mark looked uncertainly out into the night. “David . . . I made an error in not trusting your intuition last time. I misjudged it, and you. I’ve already apologized, and I’ll apologize again. But if you want me to go to the other Archangels— ”

Sylvester cut him off. “If what I’m fearing is true, the collective powers of the Angels need to be pulled together immediately to stop it. We have no idea how big it could get. You need to tell the other Archangels and bring this to the Council as soon as possible.”

Mark shook his head. “David. I trust you. But what proof do you have?”

“Proof? Dark Angels are just like deadly wisps, nightmares and fires in the night, gone as soon as they’ve destroyed. The proof is in the body count. Do we need more deaths?”

“He’s right, Mark,” Jacks said.

“I want to help you,” Mark said. “I honestly do. But there’s only so much I can do without proof. Dissension has hit the Archangels regarding how we need to deal with this bombing and the anti-Angel movement in general. Things are getting shaken up. You’ve seen the Council’s response to Senator Linden’s Immortals Bill. Well, it was a mistake to come out so strongly. Big chunks of support for the Angels in this country are starting to fade and disappear. Yes, the Angel networks are still airing all the same adulatory stuff. But there’s something shifting in this country outside of Angel City, in how Americans feel about the Angels. There is a lot of fear among my colleagues. That’s why Maddy has become so important to the Angels. We need to focus on positives, not negatives.