A Touch Menacing by Leah Clifford Page A

angel beside him.
    Gabe felt himself flush, the confidence he’d worn like armor dented. Every chair was occupied. A purposeful slight.
    No one moved.
    “Take mine.” Raphael said, and pushed back from the table. He waited until Gabe took his place before laying a hand on his shoulder. “You’ve been scarce these past days, Gabriel.”
    “Yes,” Gabe answered. There was no point in attempting to fashion a cloaked truth when there were so many real reasons. He chose one. “I thought perhaps it would be best to give everyone time to adjust to my return.”
    Raphael shot him an annoyed glance. “May we speak of the Siders, please?” Raphael asked. A creak broke the silence as Michael leaned back in his chair, his fingers forming a tepee.
    “Of course,” Gabe said uncomfortably.
    “We’ve learned how to kill them,” Raphael continued. The ten angels sitting around the table turned expectantly between him and Gabriel, following the exchange as it bounced back and forth. “We’ll be moving forward with the extermination.”
    Gabe licked his lips. “I don’t believe that’s necessary.” He stood, his words desperate but careful. “There may be options we haven’t considered. The Siders were mortal once. I think they can be cured if . . .”
    He trailed off as their faces changed.
    “Cured?” one said, wearing a look of condemnation.
    Dropping his head, he wanted to give them an image of Madeline helping him when he’d been Fallen, of Eden and how much her friendship meant to him. Kristen, and the bond they shared. But the other Bound wouldn’t look beyond the unnaturalness of the Siders. “Make them mortal again,” he said quietly. “So that there’s no reason to kill them.”
    Slowly over the years, he’d learned the Siders spread Touch, which made the mortals become either manic or depressive. Touch was addictive and ate away at the path of a mortal each time it was passed until there was nothing left. “Their bodies act as if they’re still alive. Without a path, they can’t move forward. I think the Touch is the key. We need to figure out what it is and then . . .”
    Raphael walked to stand beside Michael, clearly disappointed. “These are not things you should be investigating, Gabriel. Our only task is to eliminate the threat.”
    “But—” Gabe started, and Michael slammed an open palm against the table.
    “Gabriel, this ceases immediately.” Michael suddenly appeared next to him, catching him in an embrace. “Do you not realize how we fear for you? You Fell for these creatures. No Bound has ever come back from that, save you. And yet you seem so eager to dispose of this glorious turn.” Michael kissed his cheek softly.
    Having Michael this close triggered memories of why he’d left Michael decades ago.
    It’d been slow and subtle, the way Michael had isolated him from the others. First, simply extra assignments around the mortals. Then the official position as Messenger. As one of the only Bound allowed to travel back and forth between the realms, Gabriel had been lonely, ached for Michael and the moments they were able to steal together. He’d met Az when Az was a Watcher, one of the Grigori. They’d both been on assignment. It’d been so nice to have a friend, someone to team up with and pass the time. When some of the angels—Az included—had started mixing with the mortals, Gabriel had turned a blind eye, even though it was forbidden.
    But Michael hadn’t. He’d accosted Gabriel for letting it go on and made sure Az’s indiscretions came into light. When he’d made an example of Az, Michael had finally lost Gabriel once and for all.
    Now Gabe felt Michael tense. Had he picked up a bitter thought Gabriel hadn’t meant to send out? “If you cannot bear the strain, you can tender a resignation as Messenger.”
    “No!” If he was kept Upstairs, Gabe wouldn’t have a chance at helping the Siders. They’d be slaughtered. “I’m strong in my beliefs,” he said. “I