The DG had plastered the place with flyers, promising a wonderful rally, filled with truth, enlightenment, and new beginnings, all starting at noon.
"Truth, enlightenment, and new beginnings? Try ma.s.s destruction of humanity!" Dylan sputtered.
I nodded, continuing to scan the area. I saw nothing ominous-and no signs of Angel or Gazzy. How would D-day come about? A bomb? Death rays? A huge meteor that no one expected? So far I wasn"t getting any clues. I felt tense, with a weird sense of foreboding in the pit of my stomach. Still, this could all turn out to be a huge bust. Maybe the DG had overextended itself?
I could only hope.
We found the main stage, where kids were setting up metal barriers to control the crowd. At least six news vans were unloading equipment, getting ready to film whatever happened.
"Why haven"t we heard from Angel and Gazzy?" I asked under my breath as we waited to speak to someone in charge. "I"m getting nothing from her."
"I"m sure she"s okay," Dylan said, putting a hand on my shoulder. I tried not to jump out of my skin. Would I ever get used to him? It really seemed like too much, to have to deal with my feelings about him on top of saving the world.
"Yes?" A smiling teenage girl came to the metal barrier. She looked normal, 100 percent human. Though that didn"t mean anything. "Can I help you?"
"We"d like to volunteer," I said eagerly. "This is so exciting!"
"It really is," said the girl. "I feel so honored to be here today serving the One Light." She gave us another smile. "We"re lucky to have all the help we need right now, so why don"t you grab a good spot and wait for the rally to begin? We"re going to have multiple live feeds to just about every major city in the world-and then a huge fireworks display at the end!"
"I love fireworks!" Nudge said cheerfully.
"It"s going to be beautiful!" The girl"s eyes sparkled. "Mark is going to deliver a really inspiring message."
"I know!" I tried to sound perky. It was hard. "That"s why we really want to be part of this. We came all the way from the US of A to help! Isn"t there anything we can do?"
"I"m not sure what else there is," the girl said, smiling helplessly. "I"m sorry."
"We were thinking that maybe a cool aerial show would help advertise the rally," I said quickly. "We could show people how special it is to be different-or enhanced."
Dylan stepped back and quickly extended his wings, fifteen feet of bones, muscle, and raw power. The girl almost fell over backward.
"Oh, yes," she said in awe. "I think an aerial show is a brilliant idea!"
69.
HALF AN HOUR LATER, we were gliding and swooping over the Place de la Concorde on a gorgeous sunny morning in Paris. If we weren"t there trying to stop a bunch of crazies from blowing up the world, it would have been great.
As it was, the closer it got to noon, the more people poured into the enormous plaza, and the more I realized just how many people might lose their lives right in front of me if we couldn"t figure out what was going on and how to stop it.
The four of us (me, Dylan, Nudge, and Iggy) pulled out all the stops: we dive-bombed the crowd, making them scream; we did death spirals around the obelisk (that I hoped were not omens); we shadowed flocks of pigeons and imitated their movements. It seemed like everybody in the plaza had their eyes glued on us, spellbound, making anyone engaged in nefarious activity easier for us to spot.
Throughout everything, I maintained a raptor lookout for Angel and Gazzy, lasering in on everyone working around the stage, every member of the DG I saw. Fang and his gang were in plain view-well, not Star so much, what with all the zipping around. They were handing out copies of the Enhanced People"s Manifesto, selling T-shirts, and generally walking about, and, we hoped, gathering some intel.
An emcee had taken the stage and was starting to whip the crowd into a frenzy, announcing their special lineup, the musical guests, and the huge fireworks display at the end.
But still no Angel or Gazzy.
Dylan and I were flying in tight formation, moving our wings with split-second precision so we wouldn"t crash. I wondered if Fang had noticed or if it bothered him. I still noticed Maya. A lot. Every time I saw her, it was like getting salt water in my eyes all over again.
Suddenly, I realized that Dylan had shifted his position to fly barely two feet above me, matching me wing stroke for wing stroke.
"What are you doing?" I asked, craning to look up at him.
"I like this view," he said.
I frowned. "What do you mean?"
"I like watching your... power," he said. "You"re a beautiful flyer. Your hair is streaming through the air like silk ribbon. The sun is shining on your feathers. And I"m just glad to be here, with you. Even if we are trying to stop ma.s.s destruction."
My face burned. Once again, when I was feeling at my most vulnerable, Dylan was somehow there, saying exactly the right thing, reading my mind- "Can you read minds?" I asked.
"No," Dylan said. "Not that I would tell you if I could." He gave me an infuriating smile and then rose higher in the air, looking graceful and strong.
Everything was so messed up.
Max!
I almost looked around but then realized that I was hearing Angel"s voice in my head.
Angel? I thought, studying the crowd anxiously. I thought, studying the crowd anxiously. Where are you? Are you okay? What"s going on? Where are you? Are you okay? What"s going on?
Danger, Angel told me. Angel told me. Max, such enormous danger, I can"t even tell you. We"re in the sewers, beneath the city. We"ve never faced anything like this. I"m scared, Max. Max, such enormous danger, I can"t even tell you. We"re in the sewers, beneath the city. We"ve never faced anything like this. I"m scared, Max.
My heart pounded in my chest as I scanned the city streets below. Where are you?? Where are you?? I thought. I thought.
Under the Place de la Concorde, Angel told me. Her thoughts were fuzzy, indistinct. Angel told me. Her thoughts were fuzzy, indistinct.
Just then, my eyes focused on a small black dot, right outside the barricades around the plaza. It was an open manhole cover, maybe two feet in diameter.
Angel was there. I was sure of it.
I tucked my wings against my back, angled down, and shot toward the small opening at a hundred miles an hour.
I"m on my way, I thought. I thought.
70.
TRYING TO FLY through a target that small was like trying to spit from the top of the Empire State Building to hit a nickel on the ground below. But I"d done it before, and I knew I could do it again. I just needed to focus. And for everyone to stay the heck out of my way.
Max, maybe you shouldn"t come down here. I don"t know if we can fix this, Angel"s fuzzy, troubled thought said to me. Angel"s fuzzy, troubled thought said to me. There"s just too much. This might be... the end. There"s just too much. This might be... the end.
I couldn"t even think as I plunged downward. I tucked my wings back tight, pointed my hands forward, and dove into the darkness.
As soon as I was through, I tucked myself into a ball and flung my wings out wide. I hit a hard concrete floor and tumbled, sc.r.a.ping my face and hands, but my sneakers and my wings helped me stop. I skittered forward, slightly out of control, and halted just inches from the narrow ca.n.a.l that flowed through the sewer system.
Whew, I thought, then heard a whoosh. Something big and heavy plowed into me from behind and shoved me right into the water. I thought, then heard a whoosh. Something big and heavy plowed into me from behind and shoved me right into the water.
"Augh!" I said, as it followed me over the edge and landed in the water with a splash.
I could see Dylan well enough to whack him hard on the shoulder.
"Thanks! A girl always loves to take a dip in the sewer!" I said.
He scrambled onto the bank and held out his hand to help me up. I ignored it and got out by myself.
"What are you doing here?"
We spoke at the exact same time, the exact same words. He answered first.
"Saw you go down," he said. "Followed you."
I tried to shake some water off. "I got a message from Angel," I said, scanning the tunnel. "She says there"s ma.s.sive danger down here, something too big for us to fix or deal with."
"So of course you immediately came down."
"Yeah. That"s the way it works in the flock," I said. "And you just left Nudge, Iggy, and Total alone up there?"
Dylan shook his head. "Fang and Maya showed up, just as you took your dive. They said they"d stay with them."
Max? Angel"s voice trembled inside my head. Angel"s voice trembled inside my head.
I turned this way and that, as if I could get a trajectory on a thought. Where are you? Where are you? I asked her. I asked her.
There was a long pause, then Angel said, This way. This way.
I just slowly tried to follow her thought, and when it felt right, I started walking.
"What kind of danger? Did she say?" Dylan asked quietly.
I shook my head, trying to listen. The water trickled by in the middle ca.n.a.l. I heard the skittering of small feet, heard the clicks of insects. But nothing else.
This way...
"I think she"s nearby," I said softly, frustrated. "It"s not clear. She"s not giving me directions."
"Max." Dylan took my arm. "Are you sure that you"re hearing Angel?"
I stopped in my tracks.
After a moment"s reflection, I nodded. "It sounds like her," I said. "And not many people can send thoughts."
Dylan hesitated, looking around. "It"s just... If this is a trap, it"s a really good one."
Max?
I hadn"t felt Angel seem this frightened in... forever.
Where are you? I thought. I thought. What"s going on? What"s going on?
I can"t ever tell you, Max, Angel responded. Angel responded. Not ever. Just that now I know for sure what kind of evil they"re capable of. Not ever. Just that now I know for sure what kind of evil they"re capable of.
71.
WE"RE COMING, ANGE, I thought. Later I"d find a way to get her to tell me what they did to her. I thought. Later I"d find a way to get her to tell me what they did to her.
The concrete was smooth, wet, and slimy, requiring careful foot placement. My heart was pounding, and I felt jittery with dread. At first I thought the dull roar I heard was water rushing somewhere. But as we walked, I realized it was the sound of the crowd above us. The rally was heating up.
Which meant time was running out.
"I hope these tunnels are st.u.r.dy," Dylan whispered. "There are probably five thousand people up there. At least."
I nodded. I couldn"t tell exactly what was happening, but the waves of sound swelled and receded as the crowd got more and more excited about the Doomsday Group"s message.
Again, Dylan took my arm. He leaned down and spoke into my ear, almost inaudibly. "Up ahead. To the left. They"re behind that wall."
I glanced into his eyes-he looked certain but cautious.
We flattened out against the wall and sidled forward, moving noiselessly, breathing very slowly, totally in sync with each other. Another five yards. Then I thought I heard Gazzy"s voice.
"Just ten," he said.
"No," said Angel.
"Five."
"No."
I shot a knowing look at Dylan but had too much experience to feel glad yet. They could be in cages. This actually could be a trap. Any number of awful things could still happen.
Slowly, I edged around the corner, listening so hard my ears hurt. The screams, chants, and clapping overhead were starting to drown out everything down here. With Dylan behind me, I sank down to my knees and eased forward so I could see.