Grounded! More Confessions of an Angel in Training (9781310362958) Read online

“As in, there are two of you?”

  “Yes…Sort of. Really, there’s only one of me. I’m just in two places at once. It’s like advanced multi-tasking.”

  “I’ll say.”

  “Listen. I wasn’t supposed to go back. Archangel Michael thought it was too dangerous.”

  Justice looks supremely confused and a tad scared. “Why are you telling me all this?”

  “You saw what happened with me. I had to concentrate on what was happening with my other self, so I wasn’t entirely here.” Because sharp knives need my full attention. “We have all the same classes, so I thought—” I swallow hard, “—if you see me do that again you could cover for me. Interrupt. Or create a distraction. Something?” What I was asking definitely fell into Justice’s normal range of behaviors.

  He shook his head. “I don’t know, Grace. We could get caught and then we’d both be in really big trouble.”

  “Someone is already in trouble. My Assignment. Here, read the book.” I tap my finger at the beginning of the chapter on Locusts.

  Justice eyes me warily and then looks down. As he reads he grows moon eyes, big and wide and shining with the light of understanding.

  }{

  Later, back in my room, only partially relieved by Justice’s promise involving a crossed heart and finger licks, I think about meeting Victor on Earth. I kinda wish I was wholly there for that. I plop onto my bed and open my laptop but can’t even begin to focus on the project. What is my other self going to encounter? What will this self do?

  Mercy comes into the room, interrupting my worry-wart session. Chilly hellos are exchanged and she powers up her computer too.

  “Where’s Faith?” I ask.

  “She had an errand to run at Perpetuity. Her scales are out of balance or something.” Her fingers fly over the keyboard.

  I want to snark about Faith’s scales and her decisions, but I’m pretty sure Mercy won’t laugh. Still, it seems like this might be a good time for the two of us to talk. I want to tell her about my Deadly Sins class and the Michelangelo story and my bi-location. Because even though Justice knows, I didn’t let on how scared I am about Annex.

  “You know, I was at The Hall of Records today, and guess who was still painting?”

  Silence.

  “Anyway…I talked to him again, and he told me this story about when he was on Earth. See, there was this other artist—DaVinci—and—”

  “I have a lot of work tonight, Grace. I really have to focus on all this to earn my wings. It’s not that I’m not interested. Because I’m sure it’s all really interesting, but I’m never going to interact with humans, you know? So what they do…well, it doesn’t have anything to do with me.”

  Wow. That stung.

  “I know it’s important to you, and that’s good. It’ll make you a fantastic Guardian, but it’s not important to me. Sorry.” Mercy turns back to her homework.

  Maybe this wasn’t such a good time to talk, after all. We’ll work it out, eventually. Our relationship is nowhere near as bad as Tara and Finn’s had gotten, and that turned out okay. But the truth is if I’m going to be spending a lot of time on Earth, and if she’s going to be spending a lot of time with Celestial Bodies, it’s probably not going to go back to the way it was before. My other half, the one who’s having a better time, is almost to the fountain. If I focus on that and Victor, it’ll take my mind off this.

  Yeah. There he is. I see him in my mind’s eye.

  }{

  I perch anxiously on the edge of the fountain as Victor strides across the courtyard. Is he happy to see me? I can’t tell from his expression. When he reaches me he stops and lifts me up into a bear hug, his nose under my curls, against my neck, breathing deeply. I wish we could stay nestled together. “It’s so good to see you.”

  He sets me down and strokes my arm. “So Michael decided to fix you up, huh?”

  I sort of mmm-hmm, while laying my cheek against his chest and listening to his heartbeat, I manage to avoid looking him in the eye. Because while I don’t want to lie to him, I can’t have him deciding that I shouldn’t be here. “I know that Annex is a Locust,” I say. “I’m just not sure what he wants with Izzy.”

  “I don’t think like Locusts, so I never understand their motives, and besides it’s not important. It’s only important to stop them…which isn’t going all that great.” He rakes his fingers through his hair. That feels like one of my confessions. “Maybe I’m struggling because I’m not officially his Guardian. I don’t know.”

  “What’s happening?”

  “Well, if it wasn’t for Annex, I’d say everything is going great. They did a quick edit of the video and even used the footage of you falling. It’s gone viral.”

  Great?

  “Izzy’s been nominated for best new artist. He’s going to perform ‘Cherish’ on the UMAs.”

  Now that is truly great.

  “We’re all heading out to L.A. in two days to prepare for the show. Izzy’s supposed to meet with City of Angels studios the day after the show. Annex is overseeing the meeting.”

  Yeah, I see what he means about well, if it wasn’t for Annex. Izzy’s joke about selling his soul is too close for comfort. “So, what can I do right now?” I ask.

  He pauses. “I need to have Izzy get you a ticket.”

  I picture us all on the subway, whizzing along to L.A., wherever that is. “What time does the train leave?”

  “Train!” Victor snorts a laugh. “Grace, sometimes you kill me. We’re taking a plane. We’re flying.”

  Oh, snap! That sounds unbelievable. Flying before I even get my wings.

  }{

  Victor holds my hand. With the other, he taps in Izzy’s number and puts him on speaker. “I’m not kidding, she’s back. I’m with her right now,” Victor says.

  “Hi, Iz,” I say into the phone. “Turns out I’m speedy at recuperation.”

  “That’s fantastic! I felt horrible, absolutely awful when you were hurt. But you know sometimes…um, did Vic tell you we used that footage?”

  “He did.”

  “Oh, that’s good then that you know. I don’t know what the fascination is with it, but the hits are out of this world. I can’t understand why people would want to see an angel fall, I’d rather see one fly.”

  “Me too, Iz.”

  “Well, Annex is the one who suggested it, and it was brill on his part. It’s made me a regular household name.”

  “I’m glad. That’s what I always wanted for you.”

  “Okay, darlin’. I’ll have Roger book your ticket and I’m glad you’ll be backing me up. This show has a huge viewing audience and it’s live. Is your voice is feeling as good as your arm?”

  “Yep.”

  He makes phone kisses and hangs up.

  I put both hands over my eyes and cry into them.

  Victor pulls me close. I breathe in his heavenly scent. “What’s wrong?”

  I don’t know how to explain it. How can I be having so many different emotions at once? I’m thrilled that Izzy is on his way to fame. He sounded so excited and happy. I’m scared of what’s to come with Annex, unsure what he’s capable of. I’m nervous about being on a TV. My last experience didn’t go so well.

  And I’m confused about everything.

  Izzy has just moved up several notches on the music hierarchy. Why can’t that happen for Guardians? Why are we stuck with a horrible status? Maybe I shouldn’t have come back. Maybe I should’ve changed my Declaration?

  “Maybe I’m not cut out for this,” I say to Victor.

  “What makes you say that?”

  “I don’t understand why humans need Guardians, especially with the Free Will Rule. I’m not sure even if they knew we existed that they’d want us.”

  Victor hands encircle my waist. “I can prove that they want us if you’ll let me.”

  I lean into him, warmed by the contact. I wish the part of me that was in the library with Justice could be here for this. “You can pro
ve it?”

  He rests his chin on the top of my head. “If you let me. You have free will too.”

  I tip my head back and gaze at him. “Okay,” I whisper.

  }{

  “You’re taking me to an art museum?” I may be more confused than ever, though I do wonder if they have anything by Michelangelo. We climb the steps toward the entrance. It looks like a lot of the buildings in Heaven.

  “Not just an art museum—The Met.” He taps something into his phone and shows a number on the screen. “More than two thousand. That should keep us busy.”

  “More than two thousand? What does that mean?”

  “You’ll see.”

  Three hours later we’ve seen paintings and sketches and murals and statues and bas relief. All of angels. Wings and halos galore. It’s overwhelming how often artists portray us. It makes me wonder if their Muses were vain.

  “Now do you believe me that we’re important to them? Do we need to see the rest?”

  I laugh. “No, no. We can stop, you proved it.”

  He smiles. “Two more things.”

  “Seriously? My feet hurt.” But we trudge to another room, where a portrait of Michelangelo done by another artist is displayed. The rendering looks like him but doesn’t nearly capture the energy that flows off him. “Cool. I wondered about him.”

  “C’mon. Last thing.” He drags me to another room at the other end of the building and we stop in front of a totem pole over twenty feet high. “Remember when you said to me that Guardians were low men on the totem pole?”

  “Yes,” I whisper. Why is he doing this? I turn and walk away.

  “Hey, hey.” He grabs my hand and spins me around. He leans down and kisses the top of my forehead. “I had a great time today. No Mission, no Assignment. It was almost like we were…human. Don’t be upset.” His expression is so happy, and I don’t want this perfect afternoon to end like this.

  “I’m not upset. And I loved seeing all those angels. Thank you. It’s just what I needed.”

  We leave the museum and walk down Fifth, holding hands. Victor bumps me gently. “I never said thanks for what you did for Stevie.”

  When Aisha visited me in the hospital, she brought the vial from Bethesda Fountain, telling me that it would heal me before I got back to Heaven. I told her to give the vial to Victor to heal Stevie instead.

  “He needed it a lot more than me,” I say.

  “I never knew about the fountain. See? Even an old dog like me is still learning new tricks. And the doctors are calling his recovery a miracle.”

  People on HVEN TV use that expression all the time. If only they realized how often they were right. And now that we performed a miracle for Victor’s Mission, we need to figure out what kind of miracle Izzy will need.

  }{

  The next day had been fairly uneventful. At least in my version of life it was. On Earth, rehearsal was cut short so everyone could get ready for our flight to the UMAs tomorrow. Besides, I could sing Izzy’s songs while sleepwalking. The only truly awkward moment came when Aisha took me shopping for a gown. When I stepped out of the dressing room to model for her and the salesgirl, I spied Annex on the street. My blood ran cold. For a moment, I froze in that store on Fifth Avenue and in Gabriel’s choir class, missing several notes.

  Confession: Gabriel’s used to my random weirdness, so it wasn’t a complete shock.

  Now, in both worlds, I’m home: with Aisha in one, and Faith and Mercy in the other. There’s a loud knock on the door in Heaven. Faith jumps up to answer it.

  Standing in the doorway is Archangel Michael looking all you’re-in-big-trouble,-missy. I’d been wondering when he’d track me down

  “Your Excellency—I mean your, your Arch-ness—how may we serve?” Faith blubbers, visibly flustered.

  “I need to speak with Grace,” he booms.

  I wave from my bed but don’t get up, because I don’t have a good feeling about this.

  Michael steps into the room. His golden boots shake the floor. He’s actually wearing his flaming sword, sheathed at his waist. In other words, it’s not smoking. Yet. “Did you think I wouldn’t know you had bi-located?”

  I shrug and offer an apologetic smile.

  Mercy gasps. “You’re bi-located?”

  “Merce, I tried to explain yesterday, but you had a lot of homework.”

  “You were telling me about that painter.”

  “I had a lot I wanted to say, but—”

  “Silence!” Michael booms again, his palm held out like a traffic cop. Faith takes two steps back. “While I admire your courage, Grace, this is a very delicate situation. You never should have returned without my permission.”

  What? He wouldn’t have given it. “But—”

  His hand shoots out again. “No more buts. Since you did, we now have to see this through. The timing is too short, and I haven’t come up with a good reason to have you disappear from Earth again.”

  C’mon. I’m not buying that. I’m sure if he really wanted to, he could come up with something. I’ve never understood why I was given a Mission when other Guardians were on furlough, and this decision is even more confusing. I narrow my eyes at him but don’t breathe a word. Mercy and Faith look like they’ve stopped breathing altogether.

  “However,” he continues, “I can’t very well have a half-strength AIT battling against a Locust. So tomorrow at the airport, your twin Hope will show up to see you off.”

  Sheesh. He knows about my first bi-location screw up. You’d think I’d know by now that there’s no getting away with anything. I nod to show him I understand what he wants me to do and hold up my cast.

  “Yes. That has to go.” From his pocket, he withdraws a vial that looks nearly identical to the one Aisha brought to Bethesda Fountain. “Drink up.”

  I knew it! One gulp, and I feel the warmth of my bones mending for a second time. He unsheathes his sword, flicks it on—flames and all—and with a lightning stroke slices the cast. It falls to the floor with a thunk.

  Show-off.

  Faith cups her hand to her mouth while I point at his sword, saying to him, “I gotta get me one of those,” and then I laugh.

  Mercy swivels her head in my direction, and Michael holds back a small smile.

  “I should have known from your first class what I had in store.” He doesn’t say it in anger, but with affection. Then, softer, “Be careful, Grace. There’s quite a bit riding on this for both Heaven and Earth.” With that, he re-sheathes his sword. At the door he turns back to us. “By the way, Mercy, that was some nice work you did in the Celestial Workshop.”

  Pink spreads across her cheeks as she puffs with pride. “Thank you.”

  I feel proud of her too, and I know how much a compliment from Michael means. With that he makes his exit as grand as his entrance.

  After the door closes, Mercy and Faith stare at me.

  I laugh. “Well, that doesn’t happen every day, does it? Praise be to The Admiral!” I start to giggle, because a huge weight has been lifted in knowing that I’m not going this alone. Michael supports me.

  Mercy giggles too. “I can’t believe he just showed up at our door.”

  “And, it seems as though he…likes you,” Faith says, flabbergasted.

  “Of course he likes her! Who wouldn’t?” Mercy snaps.

  It’s then that I know everything will be all right. We still have stuff to talk about and work through, but she cares enough to stand up to Faith. “Thanks,” I say to Mercy while rubbing my right arm where the cast was. I stoop to pick the remnants of it off the floor. “I’d better get to sleep. It’s gonna be a long day tomorrow.”

  “Yeah,” Mercy agrees. “You know, I never thought I’d say I’d be glad to have Archangel Michael come to my room, but I am.”

  “Why’s that?” Faith asks.

  “When he said Heaven and Earth together like that…” Mercy looks down at her comforter. “I guess I never realized how linked they are until now.”
<
br />   “Yeah,” I say. “The connection’s always been there. Once I realized that, well, it’s how I knew what I wanted to do with my life.”

  Chapter 13

  At the airport, just as I pass a crowd of people lined up for Dunkin’ Donuts, I see myself—I mean Hope. She waves at me and we hug, which is totally freaky.

  “I had to see you off,” Hope-me says.

  “Thanks for coming,” Grace-me says as I take her by the arm and lead her to the ladies room, where we can re-combine. We pick the large stall at the end, and right before we head into it, a lady with two kids gives us a very strange look.

  “We’re identical twins,” Hope explains right before the lady looks away.

  It feels wonderful to be whole again, like I’m faster, stronger and smarter, which I’m probably going to need to be in order to deal with Annex. I wheel my carry-on to a cluster of blue and grey upholstered seats and look out the window at the planes lines up for boarding. So that thing flies, huh? It doesn’t seem as slick or graceful as a bird or angel.

  Izzy and his entourage are spread out in the seats. When I take mine, pulling the luggage close, Victor eases in next to me. “Izzy, Cherish and I are in first class, but I couldn’t get you a seat with us because it was booked so last minute. Sorry.”

  Honestly, I don’t know what any of that means, other than we won’t be together. Figures. I shrug.

  The wait to board stretches on.

  And on.

  And on.

  It feels like being stuck in some kind of travelling version of Purgatory. Finally, they call our flight, and we head down the narrow, stuffy ramp toward the plane. Izzy and gang take their seats up front and I keep going, looking for 17A. Ah, I see it. A smaller seat, but I have a window, so that’ll be cool. There’s a tall, blond businessman folded into 17B. He helps me lift the luggage into the overhead rack and then lets me in. I try to peek to see Victor but with all the other passengers piling on, no luck.