A Touch Mortal

Chapter 22





First it had been a car alarm; that had been easy enough to laugh off. But after jumping at the sound of the toaster, a blush colored Gabe’s cheeks.

Transferring from Upstairs never got any easier. It didn’t take any physical effort, just a pure thought of home was enough to get him there, but the New York tension, millions of tightly wound mortal coils, always seemed worse when he returned.

To top it off, on this trip there’d been an agenda. Most of his time Upstairs had been spent scouring through the record room, checking and double-checking. Tedious research on the dozen names Kristen had given him.

But he’d found what he was looking for.

Az shot him a sidelong gaze while he scraped butter onto his toast. “You’re edgy….”

A glob of butter melted off the knife, slopping onto the dish’s daisy chain border. Gabe sighed, long and harder than he’d intended. “Nnnn…” His voice strained on the first letter. He couldn’t finish the word.

Az dropped the blade onto the plate next to it, watching Gabe stifle a gag.

“No? You sure?” Az reached behind, opening the refrigerator. He groped the top shelf and handed Gabe a can of soda. “For the sulfur,” he added.

Gabe cracked the pull tab, took a long swig. Az shoved a piece of toast into his mouth. He chewed slowly, his elbows cocked behind him, leaning on the counter.

The straight inky hair didn’t look right on him. Gabe still hadn’t grown used to the new look, the way the black of the dye set off Az’s eyes. There were dark circles under them—yesterday’s eyeliner had apparently given in to wanderlust while he’d slept.

The harsh light from the bare bulb glared against his shirtless chest, shadowing his abs. He’d lost weight when things had gotten offtrack with Eden. Now, from the look of things, he was losing more. His collarbone jutted as he took another bite of the toast. Well? he asked with his eyes.

“I was near her apartment. Near. Not at, right?” Gabe hesitated. “Because I don’t want you to freak out at this next part.”

Az lowered his hand. Gabe looked away. “I saw Luke.”

He heard the wet kiss of the toast landing butter side down, waited for the panicked yelling to start. Or worse.

For a change, Az seemed to be keeping his cool. “Is she all right?” he asked quietly. “Tell me that first.” When Gabe looked up, he saw Az had closed his eyes. His hands were shaking.

“She’s fine, Az. I would have told you if…”

“Okay,” he said. “Tell me what happened.” The quaking had spread to Az’s legs. Gabe wasn’t sure if it was in rage or fear. Either way it wasn’t good. It had been weeks since he’d been overwhelmed with a temptation to Fall. His hips rattled against the countertop, yesterday’s low-slung jeans offering no protection.

“The Basement knows there’s a rogue, what she can do. Luke’s getting close. I don’t think he knows it’s Eden,” Gabe added, knowing it wouldn’t matter.

Az scooped the toast from the floor, tossing it into the trash. He grasped the edge of the counter as he leaned back against it. “Yet. Like that won’t change the second he sees her.”

“Az, we knew he’d be after her as soon as he figured out she was different.”

“But we were supposed to be there.”

“And just how do you expect to be there?”

“She’ll answer the phone.” He stopped when he saw Gabe’s shoulders shrugging up and down with soft laughter. “What?”

“You’re delusional.” Gabe ran his thumb across his lips, as if to brush away the smile.

“Prick,” Az mumbled.

“Hey, I would be very nice to me were I you. Are we even talking about the same girl, because Eden is far too stubborn to randomly pick up the phone. You’ve been trying almost every day for how long?” Az’s eyes flared, the blue ring rusting to a sour maroon, betraying his anger. “I think it’d be better if you left talking to her up to me.”

“So what?” He pushed away from the counter. “You want me to stop trying?”

“Az,” Gabe said softly. “Look how upset you are. Maybe it’d be better if you let her go. Use the wings,” he said, hating the pleading arc that crept into his voice at the end. He opened his mouth, but already knew the answer when he saw the look in Az’s eyes. “You could come home,” he finished anyway. “I’d make sure she’s kept safe.”

“Not a f*cking chance.” Az pushed off the counter, striding to the front door. He’d slid on one of his shoes before Gabe caught up. “You know what ‘upsets’ me,” Az ground out, tightening the laces in a double knot. He grabbed for his coat with one hand, yanking his other shoe on with a hooked finger. “That you think she’s dispensable.”

Gabe’s jaw dropped. “When did I ever say that?”

“What’d you just ask me to do? Use the wings, come home,” he mocked. “They’d never let me back down here,” Az said. “I’d never see her again.”

Gabe slammed a fist against the door.

“Okay, lover boy. I’ve had it with this,” he said, tossing his hand in an angry flair. “This whole ‘poor Az’ thing. What are you gonna do? You think you can just say you’re sorry and she’s gonna let it all go? Let you waltz in there and play knight in shining armor? How’d that work out for you at Kristen’s?”

“F*ck you, Gabriel.” Az stopped suddenly, his coat in his hand, staring. “What’s with you lately? You’re all over the place.”

Gabe glanced away, hiding his eyes.

“You know I love Eden. Now you want me to throw that away and go back Upstairs? I’m worried about her and you’re laughing about it?” Az leaned against the door. “You’re having trouble, aren’t you?”

Gabe winced. “Not confessing goes against everything inside me. It gets harder every day.” He lifted his head, let Az see the shame in his eyes. “I don’t know if I can hold out much longer, Az.”

“You can do this, Gabe.” Az took a breath, let it out slowly. “You have to. Once the Bound find out about the Siders, things will only get worse. I need to get through to Eden before then. It’s been two months. I gave her space, gave her time to cool off. I’m just gonna have to talk to her face-to-face.”

“You do what you have to do, but give me a chance to talk to her first. I found something out when I was Upstairs. I don’t want her to be all pissed off when I tell her. Turns out she’s more different than we thought.”

Az thought about it for a second before he nodded. “In the meantime, I think you need to stay away from Upstairs. The more you go up there, the worse you seem to get.”

Gabe turned away. “I know,” he whispered.