A Touch Mortal

Chapter 45





Gabe jumped from the couch as Eden burst through the front door, relief nearly stopping his heart as he caught her in his arms. “Where were you? Az is gone, Eden! I’ve been calling you for—”

“They’ve got him!” A thick warbling sob choked her off. “They have Az!”

He pulled away from her. She swallowed hard, pressing her palms against her eyes. Gabe yanked her hands down, forcing her to look at him. “Who has Az?”

“Luke!” she screamed.

Gabe froze. “How do you know that name?”

“He’s Libby’s boyfriend! They’re both with the Basement!” she said through chattering teeth, her whole body shaking. “I saw her in the alley. Gabe, she can kill Siders!”

“What did she say, Eden?” he asked, gripping her shoulders. “Everything. Maybe she gave something away that you didn’t catch? Where they are?” He was almost frantic, struggling to keep his words from tangling together.

“It’s bad.” Her voice broke. “Gabe, it’s really bad.”

His hands drifted from her shoulders, falling to his sides. The rest of his body crumbled down with them, until he was on one knee, head bowed. Tell. Tell it all. I’ve already lost. He forced the thought away, steadied himself with a shaking hand as he took a deep breath. “Did she say that he’d Fallen?”

She shook her head.

At least I have her with me, he thought. As long as Az knows Luke doesn’t have her, he’ll hang on. At least, he would have if he hadn’t been dosed. “There’s still time,” Gabe said. He tried to make his voice strong, sure. “But we have to get to him. Luke will do whatever it takes to break him.”

Her eyes darted past him, to the bedroom door. “Jarrod!” she screamed.

“Jarrod left, Eden,” he whispered. “He got a call and took off.”

Her hands folded against her forehead, hiding her face, the fingers tangling in her hair. “I…I lost them.”

“What do you mean you lost them?”

“I mean they’re”—she hesitated—“they’re with Luke now.”

“What?” Gabe’s rage lifted him, until he was bearing down on her from above.

“It was Adam,” she added in a rush. “Adam gave them Az. That’s what she said. I’m supposed to wait for her to call,” she said, swallowing thickly.

“Oh, f*ck that,” Gabe seethed. “She expects us to just sit around and wait while they…” He didn’t finish the thought. “No. We have to do something. We have to find him.” He tried to hide the glimmer of maroon he knew flooded his eyes, the anger a quicksilver of colors that would be glistening like an oily sheen.

“How?” He could hear the desolation in her question, the acceptance. They’d lost him. Az is going to Fall. He caught the thought as it drifted through her mind. He’s going to Fall because of me. “I don’t know what to do,” she said, her voice breaking.

It’s over, he thought. His throat burned with confessions as he looked at her.

“Your eyes,” she said. “They’re yellow.”

He stepped toward her; for a second he was sure he was going to fall and held his arms out to her. Her hands were enough to steady him.

“There’s still time,” he said. “We just need a plan.”