Grounded! More Confessions of an Angel in Training (9781310362958) Page 13

  Victor clasps my hand between both of his. That alone makes me feel like a puddle. “Let me take you to a show on your last night here.”

  “A concert?” I ask.

  “Not exactly.” He has a lopsided grin, which means he’s got something hidden under his wing. How can I say no?

  }{

  Victor takes me to see Wicked, which leaves me feeling very torn. Something about Elphaba reminds me of Annex. She had good intentions, and he does not, but it still seems like the two of them are carried along by forces outside of their control. After the show, we stroll out of the theater, arm in arm, and Victor Time Bends. The city is suddenly, eerily quiet, all traffic and people seemingly frozen. He wraps both arms around my waist, hugging me from behind. “Want to go flying?”

  I’m tongue-tied. He unfurls his wings, and I touch one. I miss seeing him in all his glory.

  We lift off, and it’s like I’ve never been on the ground. That feeling of weightlessness. The heat from Victor’s body in contrast to the cold, wintery air. My worries drop away, left far below. Victor speeds down Broadway just above the traffic, heading for Times Square. One of the ads we soar past is an enormous black-and-white digital picture of Izzy, bare-chested, arms crossed, head tilted down. From behind him a huge pair of wings branch out. They’re larger than any real pair in heaven, dwarfing those the Seraphim have earned. Once the whole picture is revealed, it says the name of his new album, Somewhere Between Heaven and Hell.

  Now that’s a pair of wings!

  Victor must have heard my thoughts because he laughs at me. “Are you still obsessed?”

  “A little.” I can’t quite take my eyes off the picture as we fly away. It’s mesmerizing. Izzy seems more attractive, which makes me wonder what draws me to Victor. Is it him or his wings?

  Confession: I don’t like thinking about it.

  Victor hovers for a minute, looping between buildings, and then he ascends straight up past the glittery lights. We head further south, where we circle the Empire State Building, touching down soundlessly on the observation deck, surrounded by human statues. He faces me and slips his arms around my waist, his hands clasped behind my back. I lean against him, my cheek to his chest, and listen to his heartbeat. He bends down and steals a quick kiss. It’s soft and warm and I wish we were alone. “Stop, it feels like everyone is watching.”

  “They are. They won't remember because it’s so fast, but somewhere deep in their subconscious will be a memory of Angels kissing.”

  “I'm not an Angel yet,” I remind Victor.

  “You are to me.”

  He kisses me one more time, barely brushing his lips across mine, practically scorching them. I press against him, urging him to kiss me again. It feels like it’s just the two of us. The statues fade from my awareness. He breaks the kiss and whispers, “There’s more to see,” his breath tickling my ear.

  Victor flies me out over the Hudson River, past The Statue of Liberty. Her serious expression reminds me of my teacher Prudence Freeman. He spirals us around her and we hover next to her torch, absorbing the beauty of the city lit up.

  I sigh. “What an incredible view.”

  “All those humans, angels and demons thrown together in an experiment that mirrors the experience of Earth. It’s almost like a world within a world.”

  “Yes, that’s it. I get the same feeling.”

  Victor coasts to the torch’s balcony, leaning us out over the intricate metal railing. Looking down we see her crown, lit from within just like my halo. He pulls me back from the edge and cups my face in his hands. “Don’t deny me, Grace,” he croaks. My shaky legs keep me woozy until he kisses me. I’m steady in his arms. And warm.

  I kiss him back.

  }{

  Aisha swipes one tear from her eye as I pack the few things that she’ll send back to Heaven for me. “I can’t believe how much you’ve grown up in two Missions.”

  “I’m still me,” I say.

  “A new and improved you.” She squeezes me into a hug.

  “Thanks for showing up in L.A…and…for always looking out for me.” I’d explained to the Murphys that there wasn’t an official mom in Heaven, that sometimes Mary helped out. But Aisha has been friend and nurturer, and that’s what moms do, so maybe there are a lot of them in the ranks of Guardians.

  Chapter 16

  I wander around Grand Central, feeling a little like Moses in the desert, hoping to find the blasphemous portal before the forty-year mark, because seriously, I’m ready to go back if just for a while. But because when I arrived pre-Mission I was distracted by the homeless guy yelling “Angel” every two seconds, now I can’t seem to get my bearings.

  Suddenly I see him, the guy, camped out with a pile of stuff, sitting with his back to the wall. And next to him—yeah, I’m pretty sure that’s the portal. I approach him carefully, not wanting to set off the angel alarm, and press an envelope into his hands. It’s most of the money Izzy paid me to be his back-up singer. I’d used some for my UMA’s gown, some for meals, and I picked up a pair of boots identical to Aisha’s so that I would stop envying hers. There’s quite a bit left, and no use for it in Heaven.

  He looks up at me, barely raising one eyebrow. “Angel?” he whispers.

  I’ve broken all the other rules, so what the heck, why not this one? “I’m almost an angel,” I tell him. “Actually I’m still training, but I wondered, how did you know?”

  “I can see through the veil,” he says, pointing his gloveless finger at my ugly black briefcase.

  Yep, I definitely get how that might give it away, but somehow I think he meant something more with the “veil” comment. “That’s for you.” I point to the envelope.

  His fingers flip through the wad of bills, and his mouth drops open. “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome. Find a nice place to stay, okay?” I say right before stepping into the portal—

  Whoosh!

  This time I land right outside the entrance to The Wilds. Weird. My Missions have always originated or ended at The Temple. Sometimes by Transport and once directly from Michael’s office. I don’t understand how I ended up here.

  I scrutinize the vast expanse of Heaven where I’ve never been. Is it true that more Locusts are hiding in there? A chill runs up the back of my neck. Whatever happens from this point forward, I don’t want to ever have to go in there. Please. The end of this Mission showed me that there are so many things about Heaven and Earth that I still don’t understand. Like, what was that language Victor used?

  One thing is certain. Emerging victorious from this minor skirmish has taught me that Guardians have nothing to be ashamed of. Ever.

  I square my shoulders, standing taller, and give the heavy briefcase a hitch. Who would want to carry one of these? But then I think, Maybe the homeless guy noticing it would be enough to change Michael’s mind. Maybe we can start using something a little more stylish and twenty-first century.

  It’s worth a try. I glance back over my shoulder at the Wilds and start the schlep toward home.

  }{

  There’s a loud rap on the door to our room. Mercy and Faith look at each other and then at me, eyes wide.

  “I’m not answering it. What if it’s Michael again?” Faith says.

  Bwauck! She’s such a chicken.

  I get up from the bed and open the door. Michael? No, not exactly.

  Victor walks into the room, tan and broad-shouldered in all his—ahem—Heavenly glory. He leans over and gives me a chaste peck on the cheek. “I brought you a present,” he says. “Thanks for saving my butt.”

  He holds out a small gift bag from Earth stuffed with tissue paper, and I paw through it. Inside is a miniature version of the totem pole he showed me at The Met. Here I was feeling all buoyed by the finale at the awards show. This is a reminder of my true place in The Hierarchy. My shoulders sag.

  “Hey, what’s that look for? You haven’t even read the card that came with it.”

  I ro
ll my eyes at him and pull the small brown card from the bag. It says:

  Much has been written about the relative importance of

  figures on totem poles. Some tribes believe the highest figure

  is the most revered, as it is closest to the Creator.

  That would be the Seraphim.

  Other tribes used their best carvers for the figures in the

  Middle because those were the ones at eye-level and most

  likely to be seen.

  Virtues and Dominions? I glance at Mercy and Faith. It never occurred to me that they might be the most important.

  While others believed that the figure at the base was the

  strongest, holding up all the others.

  Guardians. My heart swells and I smile at Victor. Not so long ago, I admired the beauty of an elegant, fragile bird cage, but the message of this gift is so much lovelier. “Thank you. And I’m sorry for how I acted when you tried to show this to me.” I glide to my bookshelf, Victor in tow, and place the totem pole next to his plume.

  “You kept it?”

  “Of course I did. Why wouldn’t I?”

  It’s the perfect moment for a kiss, except it’s too crowded with Mercy and Faith in attendance.

  Victor threads his fingers through mine. “I’d better go.” He leans in and brushes my lips with his and softly closes the door behind himself.

  Tears prick my eyes. The bittersweet of not knowing when I’ll see him again—a month from now, a year from now, a hundred years from now—is too much. I sit on my bed and fiddle with the gift bag, pulling the tissue from it. Tucked inside is an elegant envelope with an embossed wax seal. I peel the flap back and slip out the card, floored by what it reads.

  “What is it?” Mercy asks.

  “An appointment at Perpetuity.” I look at the card in my quaking hand one more time, just to make sure it hasn’t changed, like one of Michael’s fortune cookies.

  It’s the same. I can hardly believe it.

  “An appointment?” Faith asks.

  “Yes,” I say with a serene smile. “For my wing fitting.”

  End of Book 2

  from the Angel In Training series.

  Thank you for reading Grounded! I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it. If so, I’d like to encourage you share it with a friend. This e-book is lending enabled to make it easy for you to do that.

  If you did enjoy it, please consider leaving a review at any of the on-line retailers or GoodReads, or any of the book blogs that you’re involved with. It will help other readers to discover my books, and believe me, that’s more than half the battle! 

  If you’d like to receive e-mails about future releases, please sign up here. I’m a little bit of a slacker—like Grace—so you’ll only hear from me a couple times a year, at most.

  Other Books by Shel Delisle

  Winging It!

  (book 1 from the Angel in Training series)

  SHE JUST WANTS TO FLY.

  Ever decided to do something that seemed like a good idea and in the second before there's no turning back think, I musta been totally mental when I came up with this? And, then, Oh, well, here goes.

  That's how Angel-In-Training Grace Lightbourne felt right before she asked the Big Kahuna to go straight to Earth on a mission as a Guardian Angel. The problem? She never was a great student and now she won't even finish her last three years of school. To make matters worse, Archangel Michael isn't happy about her special assignment, but Grace is convinced she's on a fast track to her wings. How hard can it be? She's working with humans, after all.

  Winging It!, the first book in the Angel-in-Training series, is an irreverent, light hearted take on Angels, Heaven and everything else that's divine.

  Dolphin Girl

  Jane Wants The Life Of A Dolphin.

  Wild. Graceful. Free.

  But these days her life is nothing like that. Between her mother’s strict rules and the cliques at school, she feels strapped in a child-sized life vest. It’s not until Jane gets a tattoo and befriends popular Sam Rojas, a star on the school’s swim team, that her life feels freer. She begins to wonder: Is there a way to be myself and not be alone?

  While she navigates these murky waters, a wave of events crash down on her, separating her from her family, her best friend Lexie and Sam, who Jane's fallen fin over tail for. Now she must figure out how to surf through rough seas without having everything she cares about pulled under.

  DOLPHIN GIRL, author Shel Delisle’s first novel, is a story of family, friendship, first loves and most importantly – freedom.

  My Wishful Thinking

  WHAT WOULD YOU WISH FOR?

  Birthday candles, dandelions, turkey bones or shooting stars-- seventeen-year-old Logan Carter never passes up a chance to make a wish. But there’s nothing magical about her life until the day a genie goes poof and promises to grant her every desire.

  Can she finally bring her father home? Help her mother? Find true love?

  It all seems possible—if she can figure out one little complication. She has to share the genie with her best friend Emily, and their desires only come true if they wish for and receive the exact same thing. It's time for Logan to compromise, because no two people--no matter how close--can agree on everything.

  Acknowledgments

  I’d like to thank the following people for being my Guardian Angels during the writing and publishing of this book.

  Thanks to my glorious publication team including: Rhonda Helms, editor, Matt Delisle, cover artist, and Guido Henkel, e-book formatter.

  Special thanks to Kerry Cerra and Jill MacKenzie who read multiple, seriously-flawed, early versions of this book, and still liked it. You girls are divine!

  I’m also grateful and indebted to my readers, especially those who wrote to let me know they loved Grace. Their requests for the second book kept me focused on writing this book and their enthusiasm was transcendent.

  Finally, to my extended family, my boys and my husband—you are a blessing.

  About the Author

  Shel Delisle is the bestselling author of the teen novels Dolphin Girl, My Wishful Thinking, and the Angel in Training series. Most days she wishes she had a genie or someone to help with the housekeeping. She enjoys living in Florida with her hubby, three boys and a very hairy, very sweet dog and loves to hear from her readers.

  You can visit her at:

  Her Site

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