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“It’s okay, girl,” she said. “No demons here.”
Reaching into her pocket, Maddy found a packet of facial tissues and a granola bar. She opened the package and split the bar with the dog, who ate it gratefully, then came up to Maddy and sat next to her. Maddy sat down and petted her while she ate her half of the bar.
Suddenly, a fighter jet screamed overhead, skimming the rooftops. It was so loud Maddy was deafened for a moment. The dog fled into a nearby building. The roar of the engine rattled whatever windows were left on the street. Then Maddy saw what the jet was pursuing: a demon, maybe ten blocks away, that had emerged above the rooftops. Though the demon was somewhat far off, Maddy still ducked for cover behind an intact SUV. Also in the distance, Maddy saw the glow of
another flying figure—probably a Guardian and her Divine Sword. It was trailing the Dark Angel, which seemed to be getting farther away. Meanwhile, the jet banked left and launched two missiles above the buildings, which exploded in a tremendous fireball against the demon. The demon tumbled, temporarily stunned but not killed by the explosion. It bought enough time, however; just seconds later, Maddy saw the Angel move in. A flash spilled across the horizon as the demon was killed. Maddy watched helplessly as the Angel and jet both flew off in the opposite direction. She wished she had some way to signal them. But, after a second thought, she realized that this was best as a solo mission.
Suicide missions always are.
Maddy kept up her furtive pace down the Angel City street until she found what she was looking for. A pharmacy. The front of the store advertised a special on diabetes kits and a “Special Saturday Coupon Saver” on bottled water. She walked up to the front door and drew her weapon from behind her back. Covering her face and turning away, Maddy rammed the butt of the Divine Sword against the plate-glass window. The pane shattered into thousands of glittering fragments that tinkled to the ground. A backup alarm, probably running on emergency battery life, started weakly ringing and flashing green inside the store. Maddy used the sword to clear away the jagged pieces still sticking out from the metal doorframe and walked into the pharmacy through the makeshift entrance.
She walked down the aisles of the darkened, abandoned store, looking for bandages. She found them in what she assumed was the first aid aisle, then scanned the shelves opposite it until she found some medicated burn cream. With a sigh of relief, she then found that the door to the prescription-filling area had been left open. In the pharmacist’s area, a stale donut and a half-full cup of coffee with red lipstick on the paper rim sat on the counter next to a workstation. A skim of mold floated on the top of the coffee, which had been sitting there for who knows how long. Maddy scanned the shelves of innumerable drugs. Azithromycin, Prevacid, Fluoxetine. How would she be able to figure out which one was the right painkiller or even what dosage to take? Sighing, she walked back out to the main store area, empty-handed. Back in the over-the-counter section, she found a bottle of ibuprofen and swallowed a few of the brown, sugarcoated caplets. It’d have to do. She couldn’t afford to be groggy or take something totally wrong on a blind assumption.
Maddy found the bathroom. It was dark inside, but a green glimmer from the backup alarm lit her face up in the mirror in blinks of light and dark. Back and forth. The green light made everything seem even more ghoulish than it already was.
Turning on the tap and squeezing out some soap, she washed the hand on her good arm. She was trying to recall all the instructions she’d learned during first aid training in her high school health class. What had they said about treating burns? She couldn’t remember clearly. But she was pretty sure that, no matter what they’d taught her, they hadn’t prepared her for a burn this big.
Gritting her teeth in anticipation of pain, Maddy turned to her burned arm, which she had pretty much avoided even looking at since she woke up in the dark room. It was black and raw. Delicately, Maddy reached with her fingers to pull out a piece of her burned shirt, which had melted into her skin.
The instant her finger tugged on the charred, loose scrap of cloth, Maddy screamed in pain and buckled forward. She almost collapsed onto the white tile floor; only a last-minute grab of the sink had held her up. Tears of pain dampened her cheeks. Well, that’s not going to work, she thought. She’d have to make do. If by some miracle she survived and was able to see a doctor, they’d just have to deal with pesky details like clothing melted into skin later.
Maddy washed her good hand again, then put the tube of burn cream between her teeth to keep it steady while she unscrewed the lid. She squeezed the tube, and some of the goop came out. Taking in a deep breath and holding it, she slowly and carefully began to apply the medicated cream along the burn area. Beads of sweat formed on her forehead, her clamminess made even more ghastly by the flashing green light. At last she finished and let out a huge breath, sobbing. Okay. One last thing. Using her teeth, she ripped open the package of large bandages. She delicately layered them over the burn area, careful not to leave any part uncovered. It was excruciating. But after she finished, as painful as the process might have been, at least the arm started to feel slightly better. At the very least it was covered. She pocketed the rest of the bottle of ibuprofen and left the store the same way she came in. Her feet crunched down on broken glass as she stepped out. She could hear the alarm still sounding as she made her way down the road, which was lined with burned parked cars. No matter; no one would be coming to see about the alarm for a long time.
Maddy walked for a long while, keeping the main action of the battle to her side. At last, she looked ahead and saw that she was just near the foot of the Angel City Hills. A pang of worry struck her as she realized that, not so far off to the east, was Uncle Kevin in the emergency shelter. The battle lines were pushing just up to that neighborhood, and all she could do was hope that there was some way to stop the demons before they broke down the shelter walls.
Maddy looked to the Hills. Her gaze moved higher and higher, up into the dark trees, which reflected the glare of flames across Angel City. Somewhere up there was the entry. It was drawing her. She had no doubt she’d find it. She just hoped she didn’t have to knock.
She began to climb.
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
The elevator door opened to reveal an abandoned sanctuary. Slowly walking forward, Jacks found himself alone in the main passage. Nobody was home.
Down at the end of the hallway, someone—or something—scurried across an intersecting hallway, then disappeared.
The lights were dimmed, running on emergency power, lending the deserted sanctuary an even stranger feeling as Jacks explored the marble passages. Of all the places he imagined he would end up on the day of the ultimate battle for Angel City, this was not one of them.
Soon Jacks reached the main hub, where abandoned shops and restaurants stood as if keeping watch over the center fountain.
It looked as if some kind of struggle had taken place here. A café table next to the fountain had been overturned; empty plastic cups littered the area, their iced skinny mochas spilled onto the normally well-polished floor. Several of the darkened stores had suffered broken windows.
Jacks moved slowly, carefully, through the familiar passages, seeing no one. His solitary footsteps echoed down the tunnels.
He was about to pass Emily’s rooms. He became quieter and quieter as he approached, until he heard a strange sound coming from her quarters. With hushed breath, he stepped closer and closer, until he finally reached the threshold.
False alarm. The door was wide open, and the TV had been left on to blare its buzzing static throughout the halls. Strangely, though, a Louis Vuitton suitcase with designer clothes poking out of the top sat on the couch just next to the TV. Emily must have left in a hurry. But why?
Then something caught Jacks’s eye, and he looked down to the floor. There were a few drops of blood.
What had happened here?
The Battle Angel made his way closer and closer to the outer ring of the sanctuary. The lights became fewer, and an ominous air grew as he approached the passages to the Council chambers. He had no idea what to expect, or whether he could even get in, but he was sure it would not be simple.
A distinct uneasiness hung thick in the corridors as lights flickered in and out. The place was entirely deserted. And it felt as if the source of unrest was coming from within the sanctuary, and not from the demon assault without.
Suddenly, Jackson was without a doubt that Gabriel knew he was coming.
• • •
