Natural Born Angel (24 page)

“Here, take it. Please.”

Puzzled and a bit wary, Maddy looked into the case. It was lined with velvet, and inside was a golden and purple silken sash. It was of the Godright class. She gasped.

“It’s for you,” Kreuz said. “You know, to wear.”

“I didn’t know any had survived,” Maddy stammered, pulling it out of the case.

“Here,” Kreuz said, helping arrange the sash so that it draped over her neck.

Maddy felt a tingling as the sash fell over her. As if it were sending energy to her.

“There aren’t too many, but, well, I managed to have one set aside.” Kreuz coughed. “It was your father’s.”

“But how. . . ?” Maddy said, tears starting to well in her eyes. “Or why, even?”

Kreuz put a hand on Maddy’s shoulder. He looked Maddy in the eyes. “Your father was the best nominee I’ve ever seen. Until Jackson Godspeed, actually. Your dad was hardworking. Talented. Smart. Fast. A natural-born Guardian. And also stubborn. In some ways he felt like a son to me.” Louis’s eyes cast off to the past. “You remind me a lot of him.”

“But you were so hard on me,” Maddy said, remembering the meetings in his office, when he had basically told her she would fail.

“I’m sorry,” Kreuz said. “But any less than perfect would’ve been enough for your enemies to stop your Guardianship. And I could tell when I first met you, you had more of your father in you than even you might imagine. I knew I had to challenge you harder than anyone else could challenge you. And all I could do was hope you’d be up to it.” He smiled at her. “And you were.”

Maddy looked at the Angel in front of her, her entire perspective of him changing rapidly.

“I wanted to apologize, too, for ever even mentioning some false . . . allegations that were brought against you,” Kreuz said. “You know I have to investigate every charge of misconduct, regardless of who it is or how much hooey it may seem.”

A bolt went through Maddy. “Emily,” she said. “What did she say?”

Kreuz didn’t respond directly. He just looked at her thoughtfully.

“Keep your eyes open, Maddy. That’s my best advice about that one.”

Maddy nodded. “Thank you, sir.”

“Now, having delivered my special package, it’s time for this old Angel to find his seat upstairs.” Kreuz adjusted his bowtie. “You know they have a special seat with my name on it. Moved it from the old Temple and everything. Perks from old Angel City.” He smiled.

“But I want to know— ”

“No more time for
buts
,” Kreuz said, waving his hand as he left the dressing room. “Now get up there and become a Guardian.”

Someone with a headset arrived directly after Kreuz departed and guided Maddy to her position in line, at the end. Just like Jacks had said he’d been the year before. It wasn’t until Maddy was lined up with the rest of the nominees backstage that she really began to feel nervous. Her palms were sweating and her heart was beating hard. She realized at that moment she’d never even watched a Commissioning on TV before, much less been in one.

The main room of the Temple waited just beyond the doors. The music struck up as the commercial break ended, and a woman’s voice echoed into the back hall, where the nominees were waiting.

“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 Angel, 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.

Soon everyone but Maddy had been called up.

“Now, at last, we have the historic Commissioning of Madison Montgomery Godright.” Maddy flinched when she heard her full name – it was always so strange. “Maddy, please come up here,” Mark said.

The Archangel could barely be heard over the din as the crowd erupted in cheers. Maddy stood up and walked to the red-and-gold altar under the spotlight. Mark had to motion to the audience to calm down. They finally quietened. Maddy felt every single eye in the Temple trained upon her as Mark began speaking.

“Madison Montgomery Godright, do you offer yourself in the service of mankind?” Mark looked at Maddy.

“I do,” she said.

“Do you swear,” Mark continued, “to keep safe, at all times, those under your protection?”

“I do.”

“Do you take this burden of your own free will, to do this good work on this earth?”

“I do,” Maddy said.

Maddy looked down at the dark velvet that held her Divine Ring. Mark lifted it from its holder and carefully slid it on Maddy’s finger. She held her breath.

“I hereby commission you Guardian Madison, of the Godright class.”

Maddy looked down at the Divine Ring on her finger, which dazzled under the bright lights. Turning, she faced the audience. Their cheers grew, pounding in the Temple. Their adulation was deafening and overwhelming. She saw Uncle Kevin clapping as hard as he could, tears in his eyes. She spotted Jackson in the tumult, using his fingers to whistle loudly.

With poise and grace, Maddy lightly waved at her audience, her smiling face and sparkling ring magnified on the giant screens behind her. The cheers somehow grew ever louder and louder. The crowd was now out of their seats and on their feet.

She had really done it.

She was Guardian Madison Montgomery Godright.

E
arly the next morning, Maddy stood in the glass conference room of the Archangels at the NAS headquarters in Beverly Hills, facing the wall of windows that ran from floor to ceiling on two of the four walls. Just below, on the street, was the mad hustle and bustle of the Angels, Protections and those who would be them. Maseratis, Bentleys and Porsches crawled in stop-and-go traffic, as slack-jawed tourists stumbled their way to Rodeo Drive and the boutiques where all the beautiful Angels shopped. Maddy noticed that not the slightest bit of noise made its way up into the conference room from the street below. It was like she was in a perfectly sealed bubble, her own world away from that noisier, messier world below.

The door to the glass conference room opened and Max, Mark Godspeed’s manic assistant – although he seemed slightly calmer; maybe he’d adjusted his medication – poked his head in.

“Hi, Maddy. Archangel Godspeed wants to know if you’re ready. Your first Protection is here.”

Maddy nodded, sitting down in one of the chairs facing the door. She poured herself some of the sparkling water in front of her, took a sip and drew in a deep breath.

Mark soon entered, holding the door for a sixteen-year-old girl in a designer pink mini. Diamond earrings sparkled in her ears.

“Oh my God, it really
is
you,” the girl said, running up and throwing her arms around Maddy. “This is . . . amazing.”

Maddy stiffened, totally unprepared for this girl to just invade her space. But, then again, if her parents could afford a Guardian, she was probably used to getting what she wanted. Always.

“Please, take a seat, Ms Westfield,” Mark said, offering a chair. He sat just off to the side as the girl sat down.

Westfield?
Maddy thought she knew about the Westfields – they’d first made their money in oil near Santa Barbara in the early twentieth century and had owned half of Angel City, practically. She and Gwen had even taken a field trip to the Westfield Mansion, which was now a historical landmark, when they were in middle school.

“I’m Vanessa,” the girl said, looking Maddy up and down. “Am I really going to be your first Protection?” Eagerness danced in her eyes, complemented by the light flashing in her diamond earrings.

“One of the first, yes,” Maddy said, looking at the heiress. She probably could have hired twenty Guardians, and her family still would’ve had plenty of money left over.

“This is
so incredible
. Wait until my friends hear about this, they are going to be
so jealous
.”

Maddy bit her tongue, knowing that this was part of the process. “We’re glad you’re so pleased, Vanessa.”

“Maddy? You’re like the biggest ever,” Vanessa said. “I can’t wait for us to go shopping together!” The girl’s eyes flickered with delight as she thought about the prospect of her every move with Maddy being caught by the paparazzi.

Maddy wanted to point out that shopping together wasn’t in the contract, but instead she said, “That’d be great.”

It’s all about pleasing the Protections when you first meet them
, Mark had said.
Keep them happy
.

Mark said, “Now please just relax for a moment, and— ”

“I’ve done this before, with Lance, remember?” Vanessa interrupted Mark. “Even though no one knows what you guys do.” Vanessa settled in her chair. “Ready.”

Maddy looked over at the heiress, then closed her eyes. Using the technique Susan taught her, she opened her mind and let Vanessa’s energy come in fully. She then began the process of disentangling the frequency from all the others nearby. The energy was buoyant, mostly happy, and just a bit mean. Soon Maddy had a clear lock on Vanessa’s frequency.

“We’re good,” Maddy said, opening her eyes and smiling again. She was surprised at how easy it had been.

Squealing, Vanessa pulled out her iPhone. “OK, can I just get a picture?”

Maddy looked at Mark. He nodded, telling her to play along.

Vanessa came around the table and then leaned next to Maddy, taking the picture with her phone. She checked it. “I’m totally tweeting this right now!” she exclaimed. “Maddy, thank you so much!” She threw her arms around Maddy again, and then bounded out of the room, led by Max, who was standing by. The door closed and the room was silent again.

Maddy had her first Protection.

Jackson’s stepfather looked at Maddy: “Are you all right?”

“I am,” Maddy said. “Now who’s next?”

*

Over the next couple of hours, Maddy met five more Protections. They ranged from another wealthy teenager to an older woman who had been married to a man who had started a doughnut empire. All were absolutely thrilled to have Maddy as their Guardian; Maddy was clearly the hottest Angel on the planet right now. There was only one Protection who had any problem with her. His name was Jeffrey Rosenberg.
The
Jeffrey Rosenberg. The billionaire.

Rosenberg was considerably overweight. His belly rounded underneath his tailored jacket, straining the buttons as he walked into the room, sweat on his brow. He was accompanied by his assistant, a young woman with a short pixie haircut, A-line skirt and white blouse.

“Mr Rosenberg, meet Guardian Madison Godright,” Mark said. “Maddy, this is Jeffrey Rosenberg.”

Mark was being overly nice as he sat Rosenberg down, Maddy thought. Entitlement just oozed from the billionaire’s pores. Maddy found it mildly repulsive, and given enough exposure to it, she might find it
very
repulsive.

Still, she let herself go and let Rosenberg’s energy wash over her. After having met only a handful of Protections, Maddy could memorize their frequency within seconds now. It was getting easier each time. Even though Rosenberg left her feeling gross. This was her
job
now.

Settling his girth in the seat, Rosenberg’s eyes drifted incredulously over Maddy, all the way down to her Louboutins, and then back up. She smiled tightly.

“I didn’t want the one that was half,” Rosenberg finally said.

Mark shot a quick glance at Maddy that seemed to say,
Be calm.

“I can assure you, Maddy is as capable as any other Guardian, and she possesses skills I haven’t seen in years,” Mark said. “You are in good hands.”

“I want half off my protection plan.” Rosenberg’s voice was flat. Maybe borderline ruthless.

“Jeff, you know that’s not an option,” Mark said, trying to maintain his composure.

The billionaire flared his nostrils as he looked at this part-human, part-Angel across from him, the slightest wisp of an arrogant smile on his face.

Maddy’d had enough.

“If you don’t want to work with me, that’s fine,” Maddy said. “Because the truth is that there are a lot of people out there who need help. And you, sir, don’t look like one of them.”

Silence reigned in the room. Mark sat, frozen. Jeffrey’s assistant was totally silent, her eyes the size of golf balls – she’d probably never seen someone tell off her boss like that. As for Rosenberg, he just sat there, not moving a muscle, looking directly at Maddy, as still as a statue. Ten seconds passed. And another ten. The tension in the room was thick and oppressive.

Then Rosenberg did something Maddy never could have seen coming. He laughed. He came to life, his laughs small and gurgling at first, and then transforming into long, wheezing peals of laughter.

“I like this one. She’s got nerve,” he said, nodding at Maddy.

Rosenberg got up and, without saying another word, waddled back out into the hall, his assistant by his side. His laugher trailed behind him like an eerie echo until it was lost in the general murmur of the office.

“You OK?” Mark asked.

Maddy nodded, but Rosenberg’s presence still lingered in the room, and in her mind.

The final two Protections were a couple in their thirties; the husband had started a popular website, and the wife did a lot of human charity work. They’d just bought their third house.

They were polite enough, and happy to have Maddy as their Guardian, but just like the others, they were rich and entitled.

Maddy felt their frequencies quickly, and after exchanging a bit of chit-chat, they left quietly, thanking her for her time.

Max came in with a printout of the list of all her Protections, along with their contact information, background, et cetera. Maddy felt kind of strange looking at it. Like there was something she was forgetting, and couldn’t remember.

“Max?” Maddy asked as he picked Mark’s empty water glass off the conference table.

Mark’s assistant looked at her expectantly.

“Have you had any word on the status of the Protection charity programmes I wanted to start for the disadvantaged? Jacks was going to have Mark present it to the Archangels?”

“Oh, we’re definitely working on that, don’t worry, Maddy,” Max said, smiling. “Can I fill you up there?” He poured her some more sparkling water. “It’s definitely one of Mark’s big priorities right now. But, as you know, anything involving Guardians and Protections also involves lawyers. We just need to make sure that we’re not infringing on anyone’s contracts and that every
i
is dotted. You know how these things go. They just take time.” He smiled even wider.

“I actually
don’t
know,” Maddy said. “But if you say it’s happening. . .”

“Oh, don’t worry about that. It’s definitely one of Mark’s big priorities right now,” Max repeated. “Should I call down so your car’s waiting?”

Maddy was absent-mindedly looking out of the window again, watching the people on the street.

“No, it’s OK,” she said. “I think I want to go for a walk.”

Downstairs she wandered towards the front door of the building, passing the sandwich chain café that was inside the lobby. She thought she recognized someone and paused. Inside the café, Jeffrey Rosenberg’s young assistant was at the head of the line, digging in her wallet for enough money to pay. After a minute she shook her head, blushing, and pushed the sandwich back at the cashier before walking towards the exit, head down.

Maddy felt a cold sensation settle over her body at the sign of the girl’s tightened straits. Suddenly, in total clarity, Senator Linden’s conversation with her at the diner came into her mind. How he believed she would never be able to reform the Angels from the inside. And how she had felt this morning as she’d looked her wealthy Protections in the eye.

She swivelled. The clack of her heels resounded across the lobby as she walked to take the elevators downstairs to her car.

She drove fast, maybe even recklessly, to Jacks’s house, who she knew would be home by now after his scheduled session at the Angel doctors. Chloe was in the living room watching TV when Maddy entered the house with the keys Jacks had given her. Jacks was in the kitchen, making a turkey sandwich.

Chloe’s eyes took in Maddy’s suit. “You look amazing in that, Maddy. Nice choice!”

Maddy tried to smile at her but found she couldn’t. She walked towards Jacks.

“Hey, I wasn’t expecting you ’til later. You done at the NAS already?” Jacks seemed caught off-guard in some way.

“Jacks, you told me things were going to change,” Maddy said.

“What?” Jacks looked over and saw Chloe surreptitiously trying to eavesdrop from the living room. He opened a sliding glass door to the deck, and they walked outside. Jacks slid the door closed so that they had privacy. It was a blustery day, and wind whipped their clothes in gusts as they stood outside on the deck overlooking the canyon.

“Maddy, what’s wrong?”

“My Protections. It’s all the same as it has always been. I know it takes time to bring progress,” she said. “But I was supposed to change it. And nothing has changed.”

“Maddy, calm down,” Jacks said, putting a hand on her shoulder. “Now what happened?”

“Nothing. . .” Maddy said. “I mean, nothing, but everything. You should’ve seen him, Jacks. He was so . . . smug.”

“Who?”

Maddy just shook her head, thinking of Rosenberg. She wanted to cry, but she wasn’t going to let those tears happen. Jacks pulled her into an embrace.

“Mads, the charity programme you’ve been talking about putting together is going to help get Guardians to disadvantaged people across the country,” Jacks said. “But that takes a long time; you can’t change things overnight. Especially with the Angels. When the change comes, it’s going to be huge, opening up Protection to so many more. Just like you wanted. But to pay for that, we also have to keep getting Protections that
can
afford to pay. You know this.”

Maddy leaned against Jackson’s chest. “But meanwhile, the threats the Council has made against Senator Linden and, well, against humans have been pretty serious, Jacks. It’s changed a lot of people’s minds, and a lot of people are starting to join his cause.” She paused. “What if he has a point? That the Angels
do
have too much power and influence? That Protection for Pay is ultimately corrupt?”

Jackson stiffened against her.

“That’s what Linden
claims
for the Immortals Bill. That it will be temporary while they investigate Protection for Pay. But the ban on all Angel activities would be open-ended. It could take years before anything was decided, and the case would probably have to go before the Supreme Court. And what until then? It’s illegal to be an Angel? For me to be me?” He narrowed his eyes at Maddy. “And, do I need to remind you, illegal for you to be you?”