A Touch Mortal

by Leah Clifford

  A Touch Mortal

  Leah Clifford

  To Karen Prickett and Marie Ricotta,

  my second-and fourth-grade teachers

  “For her house leads down to death

  and her paths to the spirits of the dead.”

  —PROVERBS 2:18

  Contents

  Epigraph

  Chapter 1

  Eden dug her hand into the damp sand, black polish…

  Chapter 2

  “I’ll take whatever’s most expensive, please.” Eden handed the menu…

  Chapter 3

  He’s kissing a dead girl. Gabriel dove again as a…

  Chapter 4

  Az opened the door to the hotel room. One glance…

  Chapter 5

  Ivy grew thick across the back of the house, the…

  Chapter 6

  Being Bound had its advantages. First off, faster travel options.

  Chapter 7

  Az reached forward and tucked a few strands of her…

  Chapter 8

  One split second passed where she could have reacted, could…

  Chapter 9

  Gabe’s hands clutched the rock, his legs quaking, threatening to…

  Chapter 10

  Eden nuzzled deeper into the covers, letting the warmth lull…

  Chapter 11

  The hesitant rapping on wood was enough to pull her…

  Chapter 12

  Eden descended the stairs, scoping out the room below, but…

  Chapter 13

  Eden wiggled her fingers, the gloves on her hands too…

  Chapter 14

  Every morning they’d climbed onto the train, she and Kristen,…

  Chapter 15

  All she needed was one loose screw. Eden slipped her…

  Chapter 16

  “Eden,” Az sighed. He tried to hide what was left…

  Chapter 17

  Az is alive. Every time Eden thought it, her heart…

  Chapter 18

  Eden reached blindly for her phone and shut off her…

  Chapter 19

  The bell on the coffee shop’s door sounded when she…

  Chapter 20

  Gabe stalked past the corrugated metal covering the storefronts, his…

  Chapter 21

  A quartet of police cars broke around the corner, lining…

  Chapter 22

  First it had been a car alarm; that had been…

  Chapter 23

  It was just after one in the morning when they…

  Chapter 24

  “I think she’s coming around.” The voice floated out of…

  Chapter 25

  Libby was first out the door. Over her shoulder, Eden…

  Chapter 26

  Hours passed before anyone dared knock, but finally a soft…

  Chapter 27

  Eden pressed her ear against her bedroom door, listening. She…

  Chapter 28

  The windows and doors were locked, the shades drawn long…

  Chapter 29

  “She has got to be kidding.” Eden shook her head.

  Chapter 30

  Eden rubbed her eyes, trying to concentrate. She hadn’t slept,…

  Chapter 31

  The sound stole into her room through the keyhole. She’d…

  Chapter 32

  She heard the screams through the door. Bloodcurdling, murderous screams,…

  Chapter 33

  It was snowing as they made their way across the…

  Chapter 34

  No, Gabe thought, watching the pink clips bobbing in and…

  Chapter 35

  Eden pushed her way through the dancing bodies to the…

  Chapter 36

  “Bend your knees,” Az said as their speed slowed. Eden…

  Chapter 37

  Next to her, Adam was curled tight into the blankets.

  Chapter 38

  The tension hadn’t cleared since the first night Gabe and…

  Chapter 39

  Az stood near the door, leaning against it as if…

  Chapter 40

  Eden didn’t have a chance to buy a bottle of…

  Chapter 41

  Snowflakes melted on the window of the cab, headlights flicked…

  Chapter 42

  Hours later, but before the black sky had begun to…

  Chapter 43

  She stared into the alley, her heart thumping wildly. For…

  Chapter 44

  She grabbed Az’s hand. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean…

  Chapter 45

  Gabe jumped from the couch as Eden burst through the…

  Chapter 46

  “She won’t help,” Eden repeated yet again. Gabe still hadn’t…

  Chapter 47

  “Are you out of your fucking minds?” Kristen gripped the…

  Chapter 48

  The fire burned. Logs popped as they dissolved into ash.

  Chapter 49

  Eden’s mind fluttered through the subway ride, up the stairs,…

  Chapter 50

  Gabe staggered, the weight of the ungainly things throwing him…

  Chapter 51

  It wasn’t Az.

  Epilogue

  Hovering behind them, Gabe let his gaze wander to Az.

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  Credits

  Copyright

  About the Publisher

  CHAPTER 1

  Eden dug her hand into the damp sand, black polish chipping off the tips of her fingernails. The sand was cold, the beach pockmarked by late afternoon raindrops. A gust of wind ruffled through her dark hair. Eden sighed.

  Last month there had been a string of parties, out-of-control times. She checked her phone. No missed calls. She couldn’t figure out what she’d done to get the cold shoulder from everyone the last few weeks. Even her mom no longer questioned where she was, if she was even alive.

  Screw them. I just have to hang on until graduation and I’m out, she thought, trying to convince herself she’d make it that long. An entire year. But then she could hit the road, go somewhere else where every day wasn’t bullshit. Start over.

  Even in her head the words sounded like lies. It wasn’t like she had a college fund, or could take off to some faraway campus. She didn’t have the grades to get in anyway.

  So that’s the extent of your brilliant plan? Eden sifted her fingers through the sand, coming back to the same facts. No car. No money. No job. If she got lucky, she’d spend the next fifty years working the front desk at one of the hotels in this crappy tourist town.

  Her mind went to her other option, the one she considered more every day. What was the difference between feeling dead, knowing her whole life would be that way, and actually being dead? It wasn’t like anyone would miss her. They clearly didn’t now.

  This time she didn’t push the idea away. She wanted the thought of death to hold some thrill, terror. Wrongness. Instead, it held an empty acceptance her body ached for.

  She dug her fingers deeper, and something distinctly not sand hit her fingers.

  “Sick.” She yanked up her hand, taking a cluster of decayed scales with her. The wind changed direction, bringing the faint smell of salty dead fish. “Little late for the warning,” she muttered, scanning the area for an abandoned towel, anything to wipe off the goo. She grabbed a soggy magazine page out of the sand and tried to scrape her fingers clean. “God, can nothing go right?”

  As if in answer, Eden’s skin prickled. She raised her head.

  The beach had cleared out while the sun finished setting. Only two couples remained, but she could barely make out their horizontal outlines in the darkness. Carnival s
ounds and the scents of popcorn and cotton candy floated down from the boardwalk. There were two guys walking close to the water’s edge coming down the beach. They were still a good fifty feet away, but closing the distance. She watched them for a moment, wondering if she knew them. They seemed to be heading right for her.

  Eden rolled her eyes once she realized she didn’t recognize them, preparing herself. It was Jersey; getting hassled by guys was just another fact of summer. She normally put a few hours’ effort into achieving her normal balance between the fashionable “leave me alone” and a more stylish “I’m not afraid to knee your groin.” Lately though, even makeup seemed like too much work. She settled for a glare, hoping it would be enough.

  The blond one was in a dark green polo, the color setting off his hazel eyes. With the short sleeves and his tattered-to-be-trendy jeans, he had to have been freezing. Suffering just to pander to underage cheerleaders. Clearly a winner, she thought, and then second-guessed herself. Something about him set her gaydar screaming. Lovers’ stroll? She eyed the other one. Brown curls, dark sweater, paired with cargo pants. Be gay. Be gay and keep walking. He noticed her giving him the once-over and smiled in a way no gay boy in history had ever smiled at a girl. She shifted her eyes back to the water, but they stopped next to her. Perfect.

  When she turned toward them, the one who had smiled at her brushed his hair back from his face.

  “Your eyes are blue, like the ocean.” She raised an eyebrow in annoyance, unable to believe he went with a line so pathetic. Slightly behind him, the other’s mouth cocked an apologetic half smile. At least he knew his friend was an idiot. “I think I’m lost at sea,” lover boy continued, his voice sincere. A snort of laughter burst from somewhere between her throat and nose.

  “You can’t be serious.” She stood, brushing the sand from her black leggings.

  “Damn. Gabriel, did you hear that? That was the sound of my heart shattering.” His face twisted in mock pain. He gripped his sweater so tightly it left behind divots. Next to him, Gabriel rolled his eyes.

  “Come on, Az.”

  “Fuck off,” Eden enunciated each word, trying not to sound as amused as she was. “The water’s not even blue, jackass.”

  She turned toward the stairs to the boardwalk and the guy grabbed her arm. Even through the material of her thermal top, his fingers were frigid. He offered up another smile and shrugged. “‘Storm-tossed’ seemed a bit cliché.”

  Her lips twitched before she could stop them.

  “Was that a smile?” He dipped a bit, studying her face.

  She fought the treasonous grin, managed to smother it away. “Are you kidding me with this?”

  She met his eyes for the first time. He jerked forward suddenly, more of a stumble than a step, as if she’d yanked him closer by some invisible string. She should have shot off some comment about staying out of her personal space but the retorts vanished, her thoughts melting away like scorched snowflakes. It was almost too bad his pick-up lines weren’t as pretty as his eyes. Their color like cooled anger. Blue sea glass.

  “Wow,” she whispered. He looked equally stunned, his smile bringing out dimples so subtle she hadn’t noticed them until now. How could she not have noticed them?

  “Az, stop.” The voice was faraway. She didn’t bother to really register it at all, just let it slide by as she sank deeper into those eyes. Nothing’s wrong, she wanted to say. Everything’s perfect.

  “I’m not doing anything, Gabriel,” he said slowly. She couldn’t take her eyes off Az. A tingle started deep in her chest. She gasped as everything inside her seemed to come back to life, shift into place.

  “Who are you?” Az asked, his words coming honey slow.

  “No one,” she managed. “Nothing.” She hesitated before she ripped her gaze away, dizziness rolling in as the connection broke.

  A pressure at her elbow held her upright as she slumped, unsteady. It was the blond one, Gabriel.

  “I’m fine, it’s just…” She pulled her arm away slowly, trying to get her bearings. What the hell had that been? Az reached out to her, concern in his eyes. She stepped back, unsure and off-kilter.

  “You look kinda shaky,” Gabriel said. He’d moved aside, but looked ready to step in if her legs gave out. Luckily, they seemed to be in working order again.

  “Dinner,” she said. “I haven’t eaten yet.” Wasn’t even hungry, her brain spat out, let alone starving enough to hallucinate some dreamy lost-in-his-eyes stare down with a stranger. She pushed away any contradictions, forcing the excuse into reality. Just hungry. Which didn’t do much to explain how different she’d felt.

  How alive.

  “Would you let me take you out to dinner, then?”

  She glanced up at Az, expecting the same rush when their eyes met, not sure whether to be disappointed when it didn’t come. “I don’t think so.”

  “Why not?” He offered her a tentative smile. His hand hovered there between them, looking more orphaned as the seconds passed. But he didn’t move, a picture of patience as he waited. “Tell you what. You don’t smile, and dinner’s off.”

  “Don’t smile?” She stared at him in confusion. “Easy enough. Why the hell would I have dinner with you, anyway?”

  “Because I’m an amusing young gentleman wooing you into a better mood. Because, with your high standard of pick-up lines, I think you’d be able to hold a decent conversation.” He shrugged, his eyes dancing. “Because I’m paying?”

  Eden crossed her arms, rubbing her lips together to crush his victory before it fully formed.

  “Did I just see one?” He tilted his head, eyebrow raised. “Was that a yes?”

  “Damn it,” she said, giving up, letting the smile break loose.

  His own grin brought back the dimples.

  CHAPTER 2

  “I’ll take whatever’s most expensive, please.” Eden handed the menu back to the waiter without opening it, waiting for Az’s reaction.

  “Actually, now that you mention it”—he didn’t break her gaze as he returned his own menu—“expensive sounds wonderful. I’ll have the same.” When the waiter retreated, Az leaned over the table, lowering his voice. “Out of curiosity, what are we eating?”

  Eden shifted forward. “I have no idea.”

  Az laughed, pulling back and draping his arm across the back of the booth. “So, awkward, but you haven’t told me your name.”

  A list of fakes scrolled through her mind, but in the end she figured the least she could do was give him her real one.

  “Your name is Eden?” The grin slid away. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Yeah, go ahead and get the forbidden garden comment out of your system. And no matter what witty snake joke you’re considering? Trust me, I’ve heard it.”

  “Gabriel’s going to have a field day with this one,” he muttered.

  Eden startled as the waiter dropped a basket of bread onto the table. She waited for him to elaborate, but instead Az took a slice and buttered it as she peeled the wrapper from her straw, dunking it into her glass of ice water.

  Eden eyed him over the bread basket and grabbed a roll. What happened between us on the beach? The question bobbled around her head, but she couldn’t bring herself to voice it. Not yet, anyway. “So I assume you’re on vacation? Couldn’t afford to go somewhere good?” she asked. At least it would tell her what he was doing here, how long he’d be in town.

  “Jersey’s far enough away for us to relax, but I can get back to the city.” Az unwrapped his silverware slowly. “We.” He paused. “We can get back to the city if we need to.” His fingers slid down the hem of the napkin, straightening it before he dropped it to his lap.

  Eden stared at him, her knife dipping into the unwrapped pad of butter. “The ‘we’ would be you and Gabriel? So you go to school together?”

  Az shifted. “Kind of.”

  “College?” He didn’t answer. Maybe he’d dropped out. Great, she thought. The g
uy’s got one touchy subject and you zero right in on it.

  “Things have been crazy lately. We needed a vacation. So you live here?”

  Subject change. Thank God. Eden sipped her drink before giving him a sarcastic smile. “Lucky enough to be stuck here year-round!”

  Az looked surprised. “Are you kidding me? It’s gorgeous here.”

  “Sweatshirts in August aren’t gorgeous.”

  “True. But you can’t let a little rain ruin your fun.” He caught her eye across the table, smiling. “Besides, it cleared up just in time for things to get interesting.” She felt a blush creep up her neck, her face growing hot. Az glanced over her shoulder. “Looks like our mystery dinner is coming,” he said, sweeping his bread plate to the side. “I hope you’re in the mood for…” He trailed off, pausing as the waiter set down the plate. “Lobster tails.”

  “You’re not allergic to shellfish or anything, are you?” she asked.

  “Nope.”

  “Good, because that would have been a deal breaker. Their lobster’s pricey, but it’s to die for,” Eden said, taking up her own fork. Az cocked his head, his jaw dropping a bit.

  “Here I thought we were on this grand adventure into spontaneity.” His eyes danced. “You knew what we were having the whole time, didn’t you?”

  “I live here. You think I don’t know what they serve?” Eden smiled.

  Tinfoil swan of leftovers tucked under her arm, Eden stepped through the door Az held open. A thrill jolted through her when his hand touched her back, guiding her past him.

  The temperature had dropped while they were in the restaurant, the cold air rousing her a bit from her food coma. When they reached the boardwalk, Az turned to her.

  “I should get going,” he said. “Gabriel’s probably hungry.” He held up the dinner he’d ordered to go, but didn’t move, almost seemed to hesitate.

  She nodded, shifting to lean against the railing, struggling to think of something to say, an excuse to keep him there. “Thank you, for convincing me to come,” she said finally. “I was having kind of a shitty night.”

  “Me too.” Az tapped the heel of his hand against the bag he held. “It’s been a while since I had one this good.” Something in his gaze stopped her from calling him out for how cheerful he’d been on the beach, made her take him at his word. She wondered how he managed to hide it so well. “You know, I’m gonna be in town for a while.” He pulled his phone from his pocket. Eden took it from him, entered her number.