call it good.” He shot a glance toward the stairs. Kristen could come home any second. Leaving was one thing. Taking out Kristen’s Siders would have consequences. What they were, Eden couldn’t imagine, but the bridge was already lit. Might as well burn it down.
“Few more.” Eden fought the urge to brush his hand away. When he pulled back, she opened the door to an empty room. She didn’t bother shutting it, went on to the next. Empty.
“Where are they all? Shouldn’t there be more?”
“Kristen took the strongest ones with her this morning. She left me to watch the rest.”
Eden stopped, the key stuck in the next lock. Behind it, she heard whispers but ignored them. She kept her eyes on Adam. “Why you?”
He shrugged. “Because I was the only one in the kitchen when she walked in? Kristen doesn’t really plan things out, in case you hadn’t noticed.”
Adam’s watched your every move, she thought. Trap? Maybe that was why he was so eager to get her to the door. To stop her. He only needed one, maybe two deaths to figure out her technique, how she’d dispatched of Marcus. She considered him. The idea of Adam doing Kristen’s bidding didn’t sit right with her. “Why not Sebastian, though? Wouldn’t she have left him in charge?”
He shrugged. “Those two were all hush-hush before they took off which usually means something’s up. And when something’s up, Sebastian’s on that chick like glue.” Eden had seen him that way at the ball the first night. She turned the key, opened the door to three sets of eager eyes.
She leaned against the wall on her way back to her room. Something’s wrong, she thought. You’re fine, her brain commanded. Just keep walking. Get the backpack and get out. She pushed off the wallpaper, forced herself to keep going though the hallway shimmered in front of her.
Adam called her name from somewhere behind, but she didn’t dare turn. If she did, she was pretty sure she’d go down. She grabbed the threshold for balance as she passed through.
“Just gonna grab the bag and…”
Burning laced across her clavicles, corseted the bones of her ribs. She gasped. The feeling wrapped around her hips, sliding into her gut. Her whole body clenched, her legs giving out.
“Whoa, you all right?” Adam’s hand was on her shoulder.
“Don’t touch me,” she hissed, though the words came out pain-slurred. She slammed her hand against the floor. Everything inside her felt like it was ripping apart, rearranging.
“Eden, look at me.” Adam moved in front of her and crouched down to her level. She forced her eyes up, blinking hard. “What’s going on?”
“I don’t know. Hurts.”
“You look like the Screamers when she’s left them too long. Like you have way too much Touch. Haven’t you been passing?”
She nodded, her jaw clenched. The pain was diminishing, her vision clearing. She got her hands under her, staggered to her feet. “Kristen took me yesterday.”
“Jesus, did you get it from them? Is that even possible?” His voice changed, filling with wonder. “You took in their Touch.”
“Adam, please!” She took a tentative deep breath, expecting another wave of hell from her entrails. When none came, she straightened. “Can we not do this now? I’ve got to get out of here before…”
The front door closed. Eden and Adam snapped toward the sound. She heard Sebastian, the sound of footsteps on the stairs. In seconds, Kristen would be aware something was off, if she wasn’t already. No time to make a run for it.
“Fuck.” Eden wiped any trace of fear from her face. “She’s coming. You want out? There’s still time for me to…”
“I want out, but not like that.” Adam moved a step closer, still keeping his distance. “I want to come with you.”
Her eyelashes fluttered, sharp needles of pain digging a trail across her shoulders. The rush of the last bits of Touch left her shaking. She felt it inside her, each particle wrestling for space. Adam watched her, waiting. “No. You can’t come with me, but I can take one more.” She wasn’t sure how much more she could handle, if she’d offered Adam an empty promise.
“Hear me out.” His eyes darted toward the door. Confident footsteps that could only have belonged to Kristen glided up the stairway. “I have a few hundred bucks….”
“Then go. You can handle yourself. Besides,” Eden added, “I’ll be lucky to make it out of here.”
From beside her, Adam started to say her name, cut off as Kristen rounded the doorframe.