The Siders Box Set

by Leah Clifford

  He wasn’t very pleased with me when he left, Kristen had said, something off in her voice.

  Eden had latched on to the idea. He needs some time to cool down, Kristen. Give it a few days.

  One simple lie. She should have told Kristen what had really happened. It’s my fault, Eden thought. Gabe’s Fall, everything. All because of me.

  Eden’s gaze wandered to Az. Even the thought of the Fallen was enough to light fire to her rage at seeing him hurt, the terror of almost losing him. A light scar on his cheek was faded but still visible. The memory of the shears so close to his face, already glistening with his blood, fought to the forefront of her mind. He’s still here, she reassured herself.

  She gave Az’s hand a squeeze.

  “You okay?” he asked.

  She nodded, then reconsidered. They’d made a pact. No secrets between them, no lies. “Actually, not really.”

  “Too many people?”

  “It’s not that,” she said. The mortals around her on the train weren’t as distracting as the Siders that still camped out on her stairs every morning. Without the constant excess Touch she absorbed at each Sider’s death, being in public wasn’t as tempting as she’d thought it’d be. The cold snap that had rolled in this morning had helped, since the mortals left little skin exposed.

  Actually, she realized, she hadn’t spread Touch since using it to help Jarrod heal after his rooftop fall. Her fingertips weren’t tingling, no itching burn pressing her to pass to the mortals surrounding her. Still, the crowd made her nervous, reminding her of when she’d lost control at the rave, how sick she’d been afterwards, how many mortals had lost their lives that night because of her slipup.

  The train squealed into the station. The urge to get off, to turn around and go home, almost overwhelmed her. Az’s arm encircled her. His chin fell to the top of her head.

  “I don’t know how to tell Kristen. She’s going to blame me,” Eden said. She turned into Az’s shoulder so he wouldn’t see the hurt and guilt in her expression.

  If she’d done better on the roof and gotten Az out of there before Gabe had shown up, things would have ended differently. Gabe’s sin, the one that had caused his Fall, had been taking a life. Hers.

  Gabe had known Eden would turn into a Sider after her death. He’d sped up the process to keep her safe from Luke, and it had cost him everything.

  “Gabe made his choices,” Az said.

  Surprised by the roughness of his tone, Eden adjusted to get a better look at him.

  “He knew it was a mortal sin. He did it anyway.” Az kept his gaze on the list of subway stops above them, the next one lit with a red light. He fell silent but Eden waited him out. “He hurt you,” Az said finally.

  Confused, Eden started to shake her head.

  Az reached for her hand and laced their fingers together. “I know why. I know what Luke would have done to you.” He paused. “What Luke could still do to you. But the more my brain spins it over and over, the angrier I get. Gabe took your life, Eden.”

  “I…” Eden hesitated. She’d never considered Az hadn’t come to terms with what Gabe had done. “I forgave him,” she said finally.

  Az turned to her and caught her gaze. “And I’m still trying.”

  Parting her lips, Eden tried to find the words to respond but nothing came.

  “I think,” Az said when she didn’t, “Kristen’s going to be more worried about finding him than blaming you for his Fall.”

  Eden had the distinct feeling Kristen wouldn’t be so civil once she knew why she’d lost her best friend. “Gabriel would want her to know, right? He’d want her to know he didn’t just leave?”

  “Honestly? Gabe’s dangerous. I think we’re putting her at risk telling her what happened.” Az wouldn’t look at her as the train’s brakes squealed. “I don’t know if we should be looking for him at all.”

  She stared at him as the doors opened. It was their stop. Az got up and Eden followed.

  They surfaced onto street level and Eden’s phone vibrated in her pocket. The icon for a voicemail flashed on her screen. With no signal underground, missed calls only came through once they exited the station. She dialed in for the message, Az trailing behind her as if lost in thought.

  His head was down, his movements slow and methodical. Eden dropped back to him, a pang of worry stirring in her stomach. “You alright?” she asked.

  He seemed to catch himself, snapping a smile on as he lifted his head. She held up a finger, her attention on the voicemail. She hadn’t recognized the number but she sure as hell recognized the voice.

  “It’s Madeline,” Eden said. Even the name set her on edge. No one had ever been specific about why Madeline was so terrible. Maybe it’d all been blown out of proportion, but Eden wasn’t naïve enough to think there wasn’t a kernel of truth in her fearsome reputation.

  “Eden, hey! It’s Maddy! I hope you don’t mind me calling but we have a common adorable who seems to have been sullied with a bit of a scandal!”

  Eden could practically hear the sweetness oozing from her. A common adorable? she thought.

  “At this point, I figured it’d be in our best interests to team up and help Gabriel out. A little birdy told me you hopped a train bound for the Bronx, so I’m guessing you’re headed to Kirsten’s. Maybe you could give me a call before you see her? I need to talk to you. It won’t take long.”

  “What?” Az asked. When she didn’t answer, he stopped her in the middle of the sidewalk. “Eden, what’d she say?”

  Eden managed to disconnect from the voicemail. “She knows we’re here. She knows we’re going to Kristen’s.” She glanced up. “Az, she mentioned Gabe. Something about a scandal.” It screamed of a trap but it was far too obvious to actually be a trap. “She wants me to call her before we go to Kristen’s.”

  She wrapped her arms around herself, the phone still clutched in her hand.

  Az pressed his lips together, staring up at the sky. She almost missed his soft curse, but his tension was undeniable. Even with the thick parka he wore, she could sense the stiffness in his stance.

  Once Kristen knew what had happened to Gabe, Eden would lose her alliance. Her best bet was to hear Madeline out. She unlocked her screen, hit send, and put it to her ear.

  “Wait, before you call her I—”

  “Eden!” Madeline said cheerily after barely one ring. Az’s shoulders slumped as the call connected. “My God, how are you? These last few weeks have been insane!” Eden thought she heard her stifle a giggle. “Really you and I should have gotten together ages ago, but, well, you seemed kind of Team Kristen.” Something in her voice shifted, hardened a bit though the light cadence stayed the same. “How’s that working out for you?”

  “Fine.” Eden’s voice broke. She swallowed. “You mentioned Gabe,” she said. “That’s what I’m interested in.”

  “Meet me,” Madeline said. “You just got off the train, right?”

  Eden tensed and shot a wary glance at the pedestrians milling about. Somewhere amidst the mortals was a spy. “Yes.”

  “Look up,” Madeline said. “A block or so in front of you there’s a blue sign sticking off the front of the building. Says laundry in big white letters.”

  Eden glanced ahead. “I see it.”

  “I was told you’re not alone. Is it Az with you?” The wind picked up, snowflakes swirling in thin lines across the sidewalk. Eden wondered how long Madeline’s ‘little birdy’ had been following them. Maybe they’d only been seen getting on the train. It would have been fairly obvious where they would have been going. At least enough so to make an educated guess. Still, Madeline had had them tailed and neither she nor Az had noticed.

  “Yes, he’s with me,” Eden answered, unnerved.

  “Even better.”

  I bet, she thought. “We’ll be there in a few.” She didn’t wait for an answer before she hung up and pointed ahead.

  “Laundry,” she said to Az. She grabbed his hand as they sta
rted walking again. With every step they took closer to the Laundromat the snowflakes seemed to multiply. “I don’t like this. Adam says…”

  She paused, faltering and attempted to start again.

  “He used to say…” For a split second a perfect memory of Adam played through her mind, the first morning at Kristen’s when he’d stolen her bacon from her breakfast platter. She could almost hear his laugh. Before he’d told her how he’d felt about her, before Az had come back and she’d turned Adam down. Before Adam’s betrayal had led them all to the roof and Libby had turned him to ash. Sent him Downstairs.

  “Eden?” Az’s careful tone snapped her back to reality.

  “Yeah, I just…Sorry.” She cleared her throat. She couldn’t be sure she’d spoken Adam’s name aloud since everything had happened. She was prepared to feel hate, but not the hurt ache filling her chest. “Adam said once that Kristen wasn’t the worst. Madeline scared the shit out of him. She knew we were on the train, that you were with me. She’s having us followed, Az. I should call Jarrod and warn him in case she’s got someone on him, too.”

  Az let out a long breath, shifting ahead of her. “Look, Eden, there’s something you should know about Madeline. I should have told you before, but Gabe didn’t want anyone to know.”

  They were still two shops down, but the door to the Laundromat swung open, Madeline’s head popping around the entrance.

  He leaned closer under the guise of a kiss he planted near Eden’s ear, his whisper urgent. “Madeline knows about Gabe. That he’s Fallen. Don’t answer any of her questions if you can help it, understand?”

  She managed to keep the surprise from her expression as best she could, but it didn’t help the sting his words left. “You kept that from me?”

  Az lifted his head to Madeline and didn’t answer. She bound toward them in something between a skip and a run.

  “Look, she’s already doing her straight to business face!” Madeline’s smile seemed fastened to her lips, fake enough that it could pass for a prop, glued over her real mouth. Her attention shifted to Az, her tone playful. “You make scorching arm candy for someone who’s supposed to be dead.”

  “Yeah,” he said. “Turns out the afterlife is boring no matter how you get there.”

  Madeline snickered. “I’m glad you decided to stick around. Speaking of sticking around…” Her tone darkened. “How are you doing without him?” Eden remembered Madeline’s face at Kristen’s ball, how she’d paled and panicked when Eden had told her about Az’s ‘accident’.

  “Okay, I guess,” Az said, thrusting his hands into his pockets. “I’ve hit some rough spots.”

  How well does he know her? Eden wondered. And why the hell didn’t I hear about it?

  Madeline glanced over at Eden. “Wow. Now that is a death glare.”

  From the corner of her eye Eden caught Az scoping out the street around them. They’d stepped off to the side but were mostly out in the open. Whether on purpose or not, Madeline had made them easy targets.

  Eden fought to keep the fear from her face. If Madeline knew about Gabe, that meant she really did have her rumored connections to the Fallen. No one else knew what had happened on that roof but Lucifer. She sidestepped closer to Az.

  “You don’t know me well. You're used to dealing with Kristen,” Madeline said, her eyes sharpening to a glittery emerald green. She crossed her arms, her neck drowned in the enormous fluffy scarf wrapped around it. “Ten thousand games that lead to one tiny useless nugget of a fact. She drives me crazy, Eden. Can we skip the drama?”

  “I think that’d be best. You mentioned Gabriel.” Eden kept her tone even, neither challenging nor inquisitive, simply stating a fact. She didn’t react when Az took her hand, unsure whether it mattered if they appear as a united front, if Madeline was a threat at all. He promised me no more secrets, she thought bitterly, and once again she was at a disadvantage because Az had kept something from her.

  “I know that you all spent a lovely sunrise on top of a building a few weeks ago.” Madeline pointed to Az. “You were there, and you were there.”

  “What is this, the Wizard of Oz?” Eden forced the sarcasm.

  “What do you want, Madeline?” Az asked.

  A sharp twinge in Eden’s stomach made her breath catch. She pressed her lips together to hide her distress, but luckily Az’s attention was on Madeline.

  “God, the both of you are completely set on ruining my good mood, aren’t you?” A bitter cold breeze swept past them, whipping a chunk of Madeline's bangs loose from her bun. She unsnapped her barrette and yanked the red strands back where they belonged.

  “I'm guessing it wasn't a breakfast get together. And I wasn’t invited.” Madeline’s gaze lingered on Eden before it shifted to Az. “You’re being awful picky about who you trust these days. Have you told Eden all the secrets yet?”

  Az squeezed Eden’s shoulder. Her pain grew worse, stabbing.

  She ripped away and spun on him, her breaths sharp. “Told me what secrets?” she demanded.

  “On account of her love of causing strife, most of the Siders think Madeline sticks with the Fallen. In truth, she plays spy for both the Fallen and me and Gabe.” His tone wasn’t friendly. “Though I’m pretty sure Luke would be pissed to find that out.”

  Madeline chuckled. “I’d say that’s accurate. Speaking of, Luke was on cloud nine, pardon the out of place Upstairs reference. Now though, not so much. When I asked him what was up he mumbled something about complications with Gabe.”

  Seconds ticked away, the traffic sloshing by. A thin layer of snow had accumulated, already turning to slush on the road. Az toed at the concrete. “You shouldn’t have done things this way, Madeline. I can’t talk about Gabe with you. Not now.”

  Under Eden’s ribs, pressure grew. Her entire abdomen and chest cavity clenched. She grabbed reflexively for Az’s hand, squeezing it harder than she intended. A whimper escaped her, but then she felt a soft pop and the pain vanished instantly. The relief brought tears to her eyes as she slowly exhaled. It was so much worse than the aching she’d felt after taking in too much Touch.

  “According to what Luke’s told me, being newly Fallen, Gabe should be on some sort of bloody rampage,” Madeline went on, oblivious. “He’s not. I mean, last time I saw—”

  “Stop.” A shudder passed through Az. His fists curled and uncurled at his sides, tension rolling off him in waves. Eden couldn’t catch a look at his eyes, but she bet they’d changed from their normal blue.

  “Az?” Eden said.

  “Anything else.” His voice cracked. He allowed only Eden a flash of his eyes, the dark navy spreading like smoke past his irises and into the whites. “Talk about anything else but him.”

  She jumped when Az dropped to one knee, reaching for him before she managed to stand up straight again. “Madeline, how are things in Queens?” Eden choked out.

  Madeline’s eyes flicked down to where Az knelt, his shoulders rising and falling with his deep breaths. “There was,” Madeline said carefully. “Another reason I wanted to talk to you. Why I really called you.”

  Eden tore her attention away from Az, waiting.

  “You can kill Siders,” Madeline said bluntly.

  Eden hesitated for only a fraction of a second. Her abilities were common knowledge at this point. “Yes.”

  Madeline bounced on her toes. “I’m not sure if Kristen told you, but there’s been a bit of…restructuring in the other boroughs. It didn’t go well. I was wondering if there was a chance you’d work on commission.”

  Eden cocked her head. “What, like a hit? You want me to take someone out for you?” She scoffed. “I don’t think so.”

  “Listen,” Madeline said, moving a gloved hand to Eden’s arm when she turned back to Az. “You’ve been hanging out in Manhattan, but it’s not your territory. It’s Erin’s.”

  “It was Erin’s.” Eden stiffened. The day she’d left Kristen’s house, Kristen had told her Erin was gone—made it
seem certain she’d caused the whole lot of them to vacate. Eden hadn’t questioned. For some reason she’d assumed the girl was dead, even though it wasn’t possible. “You’re doing this now?” Eden said in disbelief, her eyes flashing to Az.

  “Relax.” Madeline forced a smile. “Eden, you’ve got a skewed picture of things, I promise. Kristen treats the rest of us like enemies, pretends she needs to reign over her little stronghold like we’re going to yank it from under her. In truth, the territories only came about so we can find the new Siders. We don’t want them to be alone for longer than they have to be. It was difficult for us, when we didn’t have each other. And we didn’t want the Bound to notice we existed.” Her brow furrowed for a brief moment. “Kristen is our friend, but her paranoid quirks really are just paranoid quirks.”

  Eden’s eyebrow rose. “A second ago you asked me to kill one of you. Yeah, she’s totally paranoid. Sure.”

  “It’s an isolated incident,” Madeline said, her tone soft but confident. “Vaughn’s selling Touch to the mortals. Like a drug. He has a whole slew of Siders in on the operation. As soon as the rest of us found out, Erin went to Staten Island. She asked him to stop. He refused. We tried force, but it doesn’t seem to faze him. Honestly, at this point I don’t care what happens to him. He’s putting us all in danger by being so blatant. Especially now that the Bound know about us.”

  Eden bristled. She feigned disinterest and squatted next to Az. The safest bet was to get them both out of there and grill Az on what Madeline knew later. “We’ll go as soon as you’re ready,” she whispered and stood. “Look, Madeline. That’s not my thing.”

  “I’ll make it worth your while.”

  Eden knew she couldn’t consider the offer, not now that anyone she killed increased Luke’s numbers. But Madeline thinking of her as a last option gave Eden a bit of power. Power she planned to hang onto if she could. “What’re you offering?”

  “What’s valuable to you?” Madeline asked. “Vaughn needs to be shut down for all of our safety.”

  “I’m not—”

  Az grabbed Eden’s leg, startling her. “We need to go. I need…” He squeezed his eyes shut tighter and bit his lip. “Now.” He stood and leaned into Eden, speaking low enough that only she would hear. “It’s not getting better.”