Natural Born Angel (Immortal City 2)

Avoiding the paparazzi, Maddy crept in the back door of her uncle’s diner – she still had the key – and walked through the back hall towards the dining room. She took a glance through the open door at the cluttered office as she walked by. Kevin had been meaning to clean it for about a year. She shook her head. Some things never changed.

She was surprised to find the kitchen empty. Where was her uncle?

Stepping out into the main dining room, she found Tom was already there, sitting in a booth in the corner. Kevin was standing by the table, his apron still on, chatting with her tutor.

“Speak of the devil,” Kevin said as Maddy walked up.

“Hey,” Maddy replied, giving him a hug. “You’ve met Lieutenant Cooper?”

Tom looked up at Maddy with his green eyes. He was wearing a leather motorcycle jacket over a dark T-shirt, old jeans and boots. This was the first time she’d seen him out of uniform.

“Thomas was telling me about the jets he flies – really interesting stuff,” Kevin said. “You remember how much I liked the Air and Space Museum when we went that year, Maddy?”

“Just another day at the office, sir,” Tom said. “And please, call me Tom. Only my mom calls me Thomas. And that’s when she’s mad at me.”

“Well, then, please, call me Kevin,” Maddy’s uncle said. “And don’t forget – not everybody’s office is a supersonic jet.”

Kevin looked over at the waitress, Jana, who was giving him the eye. “Looks like duty calls. Let Jana know if you need anything else. Nice meeting you, Tom.”

“Nice meeting you, too, sir.”

Standing there, relaxed, Maddy realized that she felt instantly more at ease around those who weren’t Angels, like Kevin. And even Tom. It was like taking a vacation from her new life. Sometimes there were things that only humans understood.

“So this meeting is unorthodox,” Tom said, looking at her expectantly. “But I told Susan I would help you. And it sounded like you need it. So here I am.”

“I’m sorry, I know you’re probably busy with your own work. I just didn’t know what else to do,” Maddy said. The pilot’s face remained inscrutable.

“Of course I saw the news. Everyone has. They’ve moved your Com

missioning to this year? Is this – your call – about that?”

Maddy nodded.

“One second I think I have a couple of years to get used to flying,” Maddy said. “Get used to the idea of being a Guardian. How I’m going to start making my mark. Helping to work to reform some Angel practices from the inside out. And now, all of a sudden, they say I’m going to be a nominee. A year ago they were calling me an abomination. Half-human, half-Angel. Now I’m their best hope?”

“You’re different than them, Maddy,” Tom said, sounding suddenly impassioned. “You know that. Not everything’s been given to you.” He seemed to recollect himself. “I guess I have some strong opinions about Angels. Now’s probably not the time for me to share them, though.”

Maddy remembered their first meeting, when he was so cold to her. “I know, I’m different,” she said. “But I can’t even fly properly yet. I’m still not getting it. Even with your lessons. It’s like I’m unteachable. Even Jacks” – she noticed Tom’s expression slightly changed when he heard the name – “can’t help me. He doesn’t know what to say.” She looked down at the old Formica on the table. “I can flap around. It’s kind of like flying. But just not like an Angel.”

“The Angels, it’s in them already. They don’t have to work at it,” Tom said. “It’s like a bird trying to teach a fish how to fly. The bird really can’t even explain it, it just knows. So you need to have more faith in me. And yourself.”

“I guess so,” Maddy said hesitantly, trying to imagine the conversation between the bird and the fish, and instead getting a mental picture of the bird eating the poor fish.

“You’re ready, Maddy.”

“What are you suggesting?”

Tom’s green eyes deepened. “You may want to get a coat.”

The headlights of Tom’s truck climbed over the ridge as the sun set along Angel City. Maddy sat in the passenger seat as the pickup made its way to the private airfield out past the Valley. The owner of the field, wearing a big belt buckle and a cowboy hat, greeted Tom like a son as they pulled into the small gravel car park next to the field. It was closed for the day, but he had come down especially to open it up for Tom.

“She’s all fuelled up, ready to go,” the man said, pointing to the small plane on the small runway.

Soon the Cessna climbed into the sky, Maddy’s stomach dropping as she sat next to Tom in the cockpit and they quickly gained elevation. For a brief moment, the image of Angel City disappearing below them caused Maddy’s mind to flicker back to that first night Jacks took her flying.

The orb of the sun burned with colour as the plane crossed it. The Cessna was silhouetted black against the sinking blood orange disc.

Yet again, Tom seemed so confident, calm and at home behind the controls of the plane – he was a natural. He turned, glancing at Maddy for a moment from behind his aviator glasses before looking forward again. Flying was a joy for him.