Immortal City

“There’s a killer on the loose; we can’t let you just walk around.” He laughed, as if he had made a joke.

“I think she’s right, man,” Ethan said diplomatically.

“And besides, should you two really be driving? I’ll drive her.”

“Dude, I told you we got this!” Simon said. “Just let me get my keys.” He stumbled into the kitchen. Jordan tried to follow and tripped over something. Maddy turned back to Ethan.

“Look, I’m going to go before this gets any messier,”

she said. “Really, I’ll be fine walking home. Thanks, Ethan, for having me, and again, I’m—”

“No more apologies,” he said, and pulled her into a quick hug, speaking into her hair. “I’ll see you soon.” Maddy hugged him back, then hurried out the door, passing Tyler coming up the walk. He gave her a dirty look, but she ignored him.

The cool ocean wind had turned blustery and biting now that the sun was down, and Maddy thought it might start raining soon. She pulled her hood up. The streetlights blinked on one by one as the night fell. She had almost made it to the end of the block when she heard the laughing and hollering behind her. It carried down the street in the otherwise quiet evening.

“Maddy? Maddy? Where’d you go?!” a voice called out. It sounded like Simon. Maddy paused to listen.

“I told you I saw her leave,” another voice said. She heard a question being asked but couldn’t make out the words. She thought it was, Where are you going?

“Picking up the Montgomery girl!” Simon yelled.

Then the other voice— Jordan — answered. “Not if I find her first! Good luck keeping up!” Drunken laughter rolled down the street as car doors slammed and two sets of headlights cut into the dark. Maddy started walking again, more quickly this time. Her head throbbed. She wanted nothing more than to put as much distance between her and the party — between her and this night — as possible. If she could get around the corner of the block, they probably wouldn’t see her.

Tires squealed behind her and light from the headlights danced down the street. What are they doing? Maddy thought. She hazarded a glance over her shoulder and saw the vehicles swerving back and froth, barely missing each other as they rocketed toward her.

They’re racing, she realized with a spike of nausea in her stomach. She had to get around the corner. Breaking into a run, she headed for the corner and the light post she could safely hide behind. She could hear the snarl of the car engines gaining on her. Kevin’s warning echoed in her mind, about how high school parties were dangerous, about how they were “just dumb kids and alcohol.” What had she been thinking in coming tonight?

Maddy was so preoccupied with the drunken race behind her that she didn’t even see the Range Rover approaching from the opposite direction. Apparently, the two boys didn’t either. Until it was too late.

The Rover’s horn roared as it swerved to avoid the oncoming vehicles, its headlights illuminating Maddy just as she reached the corner. The front tires jumped the curb right in front of where she was standing, stock-still and frozen with panic. For a split second she saw herself in the reflection of the SUV’s windshield, her face transformed in-to a mask of surprise and horror, before she was thrown back by the force of the impact.

Maddy was hit hard.

There was almost no pain as her bones snapped and her internal organs exploded. She didn’t even hear herself scream as the Range Rover crushed her fragile body against the light pole.

The vehicle’s front crumpled around her as it heaved to one side, then the other, and, finally, came to rest.

It was strangely peaceful afterward, lying with her face resting on the warm hood of the car. Maddy could feel her body surrendering her life, and there was a kind of sub-lime peace to it. A release. She could feel the breeze playing with the ends of her hair. Somewhere far away, a voice was yelling. It sounded like that boy, Simon, but it was getting farther away now. The world receded. Maddy thought of Uncle Kevin, and Gwen, and Ethan. As her eyesight dimmed, she thought of Jacks. The first few raindrops of an autumn storm pattered on her cheek. Then everything went dark.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

News choppers swarmed overhead, looking down with their telescopic eyes at the thousands of tourists and fans crowding the boulevard below. Traffic in the city had come to a standstill for what was always the event of the year in the Immortal City — the annual Commissioning and the reveal of the Protections. But the mania rose to fever pitch specifically for what was being called the “event of the century”—the Commissioning of Jackson Godspeed.

The preparation had begun before daybreak, with crews bolting together rows of bleachers, laying down hundreds of feet of red carpet, and setting up giant marble sculptures of Divine Rings at the entrance to the Temple of Angels. Teenage girls were camped out along the barricades, where they had slept for days. And, seemingly everywhere, there was security. Crews from A! ANN, and Angels Weekly laid cable, set up cameras, and double-checked their satellite linkups. The feeds would be going live all over the world.

As dawn broke, the city was gripped with excitement, a strange combination of both festivity and fear. The media coverage was nonstop, alternating between Jackson’s Commissioning and the Angel murders. The atmosphere inside coffee shops and restaurants was celebratory despite the dark news about the Angel disappearances. Commissioning was always the biggest unofficial holiday of the year, and the scandal around the unprecedented murders only added to the thrill. Many stores around Angel City had shut early, with hastily written signs in doorways reading Closed for Commissioning. By the time the shadows had grown long on the letters of the Angel City sign, the crowds at the Temple of Angels were roaring. They stomped their feet and chanted, waving signs that read PICK ME! and SAVE ME, JACKS! The news choppers had arrived shortly thereafter, eager to capture every possible angle of the story of the decade, or century.

Tara Reeves looked striking in a low-cut silver gown as she covered the lead-up from her exclusive A! stage at the start of the carpet.

“The fans have descended on the Temple of Angels, the red carpet has been rolled out, and the cameras have been turned on as the moment we have all been waiting for has finally arrived. That’s right, it’s the Commissioning of Jackson Godspeed and his nineteen other fellow nominated Guardian Angels! The guest list is elite. The most famous Angels in history are here tonight, along with the hottest Angel men and their lovely lady Angels. The mayor, the governor, congressmen and senators, luminaries of business and the arts have all been scrambling for tickets, looking for their chance to mix with the flawless Immortals. Stay with us as we bring you the Commissioning, live!”

On the Angel Boulevard sidewalk, a black cover was neatly laid over the section where Jackson’s and the other Angels’ stars would be unveiled. ANN threw their coverage to a special investigator who was kneeling at the sight of Jacks’s star. The network was doing a special story there.

The reporter spoke into the camera.

“That’s right, Jamie, there is a lone black cloud on this seemingly perfect day of happiness. The ongoing investigation into what the press has dubbed ‘The Angel of Death.’ There was some talk that these stars would not be revealed today on account of the investigation into the reported Angel murders. A theory surfaced this morning that the Angels have been disappearing based on the order of their stars — and Jackson Godspeed’s would be next. But I’m happy to report that the ACPD feels like it has the investigation well in hand and that all the stars will be unveiled as scheduled. Still, security has never been so extensive. With the city teetering in fear around the potential Angel serial killer, along with repeated threats from the Humanity Defense Front, the Angels are taking absolutely no risks. Security personnel are everywhere, setting up checkpoints and ensuring the safety of all involved. Back to you on the red carpet, Jamie!”

The Angels began emerging on the carpet, taking pictures and giving interviews, each Angel more spectacular than the last. The crowd was whipped into a new frenzy as the most popular Angels began to step out. On the carpet, correspondents maneuvered for the best Angels — of course having agreed not to bring up questions surrounding the Angel murder investigation on this happy occasion of Commissioning.