Free A Touch Mortal by Leah Clifford Page B

feeling this morning?”
    Eden rolled her eyes. “I’m feeling annoyed that you never answer any questions.”
    “A bit uneasy, maybe? Like you’ve had too much caffeine? That’s usually what it feels like when Touch isn’t spread, at least the first day.”
    “Currently I have a headache from lack of coffee. No jitters.”
    “Nothing?” Kristen took her in for a moment, as if waiting for her to break down. “Well, it’s still early, I suppose. Touch is, unfortunately, our burden to bear.” She glanced down at Eden’s hands. “And the reason you should be wearing gloves in public. Each day, starting tomorrow, you’ll be passing it to a different mortal. This needs to be done every day, Eden. If you let it build, it becomes lethal.”
    “So if I don’t touch people, it’ll kill me?”
    “No. Immortality is one of the rare upsides to being a Sider.” Kristen lowered her voice. “If you let it build, it will feel like being eviscerated. But Touch won’t kill you.” Her eyes darted to the coffin and back. “It’ll kill them. It’s a virus, and we’re the host.”
    “We make them sick?” Eden whispered.
    Kristen looked thoughtful. “It feeds off their feelings, strips away the ability to see right and wrong, to know when to stop. A mortal on Touch sees no consequences. I guess in that way it’s more like a drug than a virus. If they’re happy, satisfied, they come through with a few crazy stories.”
    Kristen swept her bangs out of her eyes, her fingers lingering on her brow. “Not every Sider takes it to a good place. Take Madeline, for example. She seeks out thesuicidal. She enjoys it, Eden,” she said, enunciating each word. “Fancies herself some kind of reaper. Nothing gets that girl off more than using Touch to give them that final push.”
    “And what about you? What do you do?”
    “Not that.”
    “You don’t seem like the type to care. I mean, you gave her too much Touch and it made her crash.” Kristen’s head snapped up, the movement so sudden that Eden jumped.
    “I did nothing of the sort. I didn’t lay a finger on her.”
    “So what happened to her?” Eden asked. The line in front of them had run through. Kristen closed the gap, kneeling down in front of the coffin. Eden copied her, glancing around uncomfortably.
    “Obituary said car accident.” Kristen fell silent, her lips moving in prayer.
    Eden stared at the girl, found herself feeling sad for all the plans she’d put off for “maybe someday” that had died with her. There was a makeup line just below her ear, the hideous purple of a bruise showing through.
    Kristen rose from her knees. Eden followed when she backtracked past the people lined up behind them and toward the front door. Paul opened it for them. Kristen shot him a wink before traipsing down the stairs at the end of the walk, heading back toward her home.
    “What was the point? Paying your last respects?”
    Kristen dug for the silver case again, lighting another clove.
    “If we’re going to spend our day with these little girl chats, Eden, do learn to pay more attention. Her family has a crypt. Yes, they’re usually easy to get into, but I still like to check out the merchandise before I expend the energy.” She exhaled another cloud of smoke. It drifted into Eden’s path. “Jewelry was costume. Dress was hardly noteworthy. Black cocktail is so cliché. I just saved myself the trouble of finding out the hard way. As I said, research pays.”
    Eden’s head twisted as she reassessed Kristen’s dress, the antique rings adorning her fingers. “You’re telling me you rob graves?”
    “Nine times out of ten, the dead wear designer, and I’m on a budget.” She rolled her eyes at Eden’s hanging jaw. “Oh, honestly. I wash them.”
    “You’re insane!”
    “And you’re boring. You sounded much more interesting when Gabe was begging for my help.”
    Eden shifted out of the path of the smoke blowing in her direction, didn’t give Kristen the