The Glass Man

by Jocelyn Adams

  “I’m so sorry things’ve taken such a turn.” She held me at arms length. “We’ll do what’s right, and I’m afraid it’s not yer choice. We’ll go back with or without yeh till there’s no life left in us.”

  I don’t have time for this! The thought of putting such a tender soul back in Parthalan’s hands put an extra squeeze on my burdened heart. I ran along the rock without thinking about which way to run or how I’d get back to Arizona.

  “Quinn can transport us,” Willa called after me, a note of triumph in her voice. “It’ll be faster than runnin’.”

  I stopped and hung my head before I turned and jogged back to them. “Okay, fine. You can come with me that far, but I won’t give him another hostage.”

  Willa smiled as another of the group stepped forward and dropped his hood. He had short sable hair that invited touch.

  “Are we off, then?” he asked. A scar ran the length of his face from above his left eye down to his chin. It did nothing to take away from his handsomeness but gave him a rugged edge.

  I didn’t know how the transport worked, so I stood amongst the group. My spine tingled. I’m coming, Liam. Don’t you dare die, or so help me I’ll find someone to resurrect you so I can kick your ass.

  Quinn gazed skyward and reached his arms out to the sides. He uttered something in Gaelic. I knew a little of the language, but I didn’t understand what he said. The air compacted and pressed down on me. I wobbled on my feet. Flashes of dark and light lit up my vision and churned my stomach. The silence convinced me I’d gone deaf.

  When the world stopped spinning, I fell to the ground at Quinn’s feet. My ears transmitted sound once again to the point the wind rushing past caused a deafening roar. He reached a hand down to me. I took it and stood, clinging to him until my head cleared.

  “God, I’m so sick of this otherworldly crap,” I said. “I’ve fallen on my ass more times in the last week than I have in my entire life.”

  “Yeah, it’s quite a ride the first time.” Quinn glanced toward the canyon. “Off you go. Draw ’em all outta the chamber if yeh can.”

  “No!” I searched for Willa. She came to stand beside Quinn. “I told you, you’re not coming with me. I don’t want to have to worry about all of you, too. I’ll free Liam and the others, and then I’ll deal with Parthalan.”

  That innocent smile again, her brown seal eyes shone with it. “Yeh may be stubborn, and I might be afraid, but the selkie don’ back away from something so vital, even with death starin’ us in the face. The riddance o’ that king benefits the lot of us, and we’re here to give yeh the best chance of gettin’ it done. Like it or not.”

  I’m sure the shock showed on my face. “The portal will let you fall.” I didn’t think she had it in her.

  Quinn cleared his throat. “I’ll port us directly ta the chamber. I’d send us somewhere else, but we’re wary o’ the Sluagh.”

  “I could force you to stay.”

  “But yeh won’t.” Willa’s grin never wavered. “Now get off with yeh before I have ta get Althea ta give yeh a push. Probably get a kick out of it, too.”

  I hadn’t even noticed her in the crowd. She nodded to me but didn’t appear entirely happy to be back there. That made two of us.

  “But what will you do once you’re down there? The place will be crawling with Unseelie scum of one kind or another.”

  “Exactly.” A shadow of a smile lifted Quinn’s lips. “Distraction, then we’ll wing it.” In his eyes, I found the same determination, the same desperation that drove me.

  I sighed and turned. “It’s your asses. I guess you can decide for yourselves how you’ll die.” I hesitated, glanced over the group of ten, maybe more, wondering how many more had fallen trying to save my father. “Thank you. All of you.” The words would never be enough, but for the moment, they were all I had to give.

  With a few deep breaths, I pushed aside my fear and sprinted the rest of the way to the ledge. With no hesitation, I leapt into the canyon with closed eyes. The wind whistled in my ears as I fell. It occurred to me that Parthalan might have led me back only to send me hurtling into the ground.

  Too late.

  When I’d fallen far enough my theory gained merit, the portal drew me against the rock, and I toppled onto my knees in the chamber. Empty. Not a soul within the building. That I didn’t expect.

  Peering into the shadows, I crept to the doors and eased the left one open. Someone grabbed me by the shirt and yanked me through. His cologne stung my nose. The world spun as I tumbled to the ground and smashed the side of my face against the cobblestone. Before I could right myself, he jammed a knee into my stomach and wrapped his hand around my throat. I coughed through the pain and the squeeze on my windpipe.

  My Light came bursting out of my skin, but I couldn’t locate the mind controlling the body that gripped me.

  After a few seconds, my eyes focused. My heart skipped a few beats. For a moment I wondered if it would stop all together.

  “Ah, this brings back memories, doesn’t it?” Rourke’s grinning mug hovered inches above my nose. His dark tangle of hair blocked all but his face. For a brief moment, I hoped my father hid beneath his Rourke illusion again, but the stone cold eyes stole away my hope.

  “It seems to me this is how we met.” He chuckled, pushed his knee into my stomach. I grunted as I struggled in his grasp. “In case you’re wondering why you can’t bully me, Sebastian has warded me against you. But you have bigger problems, my pet. Your King awaits you, quite impatiently in fact. He’s very disappointed that you sullied your goodies with that insolent half-blood, Liam. And you’re so late. Parthalan doesn’t like to be kept waiting. Good thing he has a few things to—amuse himself with.” He grinned. “Shall we go?”

  Rourke yanked me to my feet. I cursed under my breath as I strode along in front of him. Thoughts of what Parthalan might be doing to Donovan and the others threatened to overwhelm me, but I forced them away. What the hell good is my Force of Will if everyone can turn off their brain to me? It didn’t matter. I needed to defeat Parthalan, and my cumhacht wouldn’t work on him anyway.

  “What’s this?” Rourke said. “No sarcasm? No jabs? No making fun?” When I said nothing, he added, “If you won’t talk to me, then maybe you’ll scream for me.”

  Electricity charged through me. I screamed a high, piteous sound that came unbidden. Ripples of agony surged through my body. My back arched. Rage tainted his Light, intensifying it into something not only painful but terrifying, too.

  I’d fallen to the ground at some point. He jumped on my back, grabbed a handful of my hair and twisted my face to the side. His warm breath washed across my ear as he panted—from exhaustion or maybe excitement.

  “I’ve so longed to hear that beautiful sound from your lips, my pet. A taste of what’s to come between us. Once Parthalan breaks your bond with your precious Liam and takes you for his own, he wants nothing more than your power and to see you bow before him as his slave. The rest of you he has promised to me.” He licked across my ear, dark laughter grumbling in his chest as he righted me again.

  Numbness consumed my body. With some effort, I managed to breathe in and out, to move one foot in front of the other. I had to keep moving or my courage would fail. I’d rather have fallen to my death in the canyon than become Rourke’s pain slut. If I failed, that would be my future. He might have intended to wear me down, to frighten me, but he strengthened my resolve instead.

  Where are you, Liam?

  No answer.

  The time had come to break my rules. Rourke couldn’t be influenced by my will, but I could still break his body. I turned and dove at him, slamming him to the ground. My well of energy burst open. I pressed my knee into his chest and gripped his throat with my hand. Rourke stared up at me with hope shining from his eyes, face held tight with need. I shoved my will into his flesh, pictured his shins in a splintered, bloody mess.

  The wet cracking of bones invaded my thoughts. Rourke cried out
beneath me. His body jerked. I leapt up and hoofed him in the ribs twice while he screamed. He rolled over and drew his broken legs close to his body. Gurgled coughs rushed up his throat.

  He moaned and angled his face up to stare at me—the kind of moan that belonged in the bedroom, not the sound a person should make after someone broke their legs and maybe a rib or two.

  “Oh, my God.” I scowled. “You really are a fucking pain junky. You make me sick.”

  “More.” A purr vibrated low in his chest. “Please.” He rolled onto his back. Wetness spread across the front of his jeans. The sight of him induced my gag reflex.

  I hurt him, and he unloads in his pants. Fucking unreal.

  “Go to hell.” I started up the street but stopped.

  Rourke and I had drawn an audience to our little freak show. Wolves and Unseelie Sidhe lined the street with the purple light from the sky pulsing around them. Their power thickened the air into something that touched my skin like a warm, rough hand. Sluagh lined the rooftops and hovered above me. Every color of glowing eye stared in my direction.

  Great. Over, around, or through?

  27

  A Sluagh soared down from the sky. Bain, Lord of the feathered guys, landed on the cobblestone in front of me. “Where’s Rodan?” I sucked wind from the struggle with Rourke. Fear climbed my spine with prickly fingers. “I figured he’d have taken over your job by now.”

  “He has been—demoted,” Bain hissed in his choppy way. By the uneasy shifting of the rest of the undead, I took it that demoted meant someone had killed his ass.

  What a shame.

  Bain tossed back his hood, revealing his ashen, bird-like face. He writhed and groaned as his black beak and feathers withdrew into his body. After a few seconds, what appeared to be a regular man with pale skin stood before me. His blazing orange eyes remained the same, and raven feathers covered his head. I found him handsome in a twisted sort of way. They were all fae at one time—could they still use glamour? How many Sluagh had I passed by in my life, not knowing what they were?

  I stifled a shudder when I considered the implications.

  “The king and I have come to a new arrangement.” Bain’s voice sounded normal, though low and a little hoarse.

  Before I’d arrived, I’d considered the possibility of striking a bargain with the Sluagh. There went that idea. I’d just arrived, and Parthalan was already a few steps ahead of me. “What do you want?”

  “You will come with me to the Court. After my last duty has been completed, the city will be divided, and we will no longer serve the king. I will rule Cargun, and the Unseelie will keep the rest of the Black City.”

  Like hell I’d go with him. I surveyed my surroundings, wondering where the selkies had gone. If you’re coming, now would be a good time.

  Something moved on the right side of the street, but I didn’t turn to look in case the selkies were mounting an attack. Instead, I took a step and feigned pain in my leg. When I bent to rub my calf, I glanced along the row of houses. The one closest to me held its door halfway open. Scenarios played in my head. If I forced my will on all of the king’s minions, it would drain me, leaving me helpless for a few minutes—not something I wanted to be in the Black City. I didn’t even know if my cumhacht worked on the undead or if they’d all been warded against me. I couldn’t risk it.

  Crawling inside a shape-shifter might leave me trapped, but I’d take it over an undead escort. If nothing else, I’d buy myself some time to think.

  Bain stood a few feet away, turning his human fingers back and forth as if he didn’t see them often.

  I sprinted toward the door just as it swung open farther. Howls and flapping wings erupted behind me as I dove through the opening. The door slammed shut behind me. Fists pounded against the outside of it.

  “What now?” I yelled into the empty room. The red walls expanded and contracted as if it strained to breathe.

  The floor opened and stairs formed down to the basement. I didn’t even hesitate. It could have been a trap, but at that moment, my instincts screamed at me to get the hell down those stairs.

  The door crashed inward as my head sunk below the floor. The stairs disappeared, dumping me onto the basement floor. The hole in the ceiling sealed shut.

  “Thank you.” I paced along the wall. “Now what?”

  Right on cue, a hole opened in the red wall in front of me, revealing a tunnel, the end of it lost in the distance. If the passage went all the way to the Court … sweet. If not … oh boy.

  “You’re the best.” I entered the tunnel, lit by dim red light. Had they’d stored some of the Light they gathered from the Unseelie? Maybe they’d been listening in on the fae that lived in them? That could prove useful.

  Shouts punctuated the commotion outside. My thoughts conjured images of Willa, terrified as she faced the Sluagh, but I had to think of something else. She’d made her choice, and I’d made mine. I hoped I succeeded for all our sakes.

  Goddess help them.

  As I trudged on, memories of the last time I’d crawled through a tunnel haunted me: the copper scent of blood, the sounds of my mother’s cries, the blinding light seeping through the cracks in the floor above me, the sounds of the Glass Man’s laughter as he killed them all. I stopped for a moment, bent over and propped my hands against my knees.

  Not now! I can be sad later when this is done. A few shaking breaths calmed me, and I started forward again. Each time I passed into the bottom part of another shifter, I uttered my thanks and sent a little of my Light into their walls before passing through the next tunnel.

  They jittered in response.

  After several minutes, a stone wall appeared at the end of the passage. I sprinted toward it. A few feet before I reached the wall, another ward passed over my skin, similar to the one at the Conner farm—an invisible spider web. I didn’t have time to wonder what it was for but knew it had to be Sebastian’s. I allowed a little hope to push away the doubt that had taken hold of me. I never believed I’d make it, yet the wall had to lead to the castle of the Court.

  Gathering power, I placed my hands against the cold stone. I had a suspicion it wouldn’t work, but I had to try. After conjuring an image of the wall exploding inward, I poured my will into the rock. Not only did it not break, but it sent an answering jolt of cold energy at me. I landed a few feet away on my back.

  I roared my frustration at it. Lately, there didn’t seem to be any other way than ‘the hard way’. A sprint brought me back to the last shifter I’d passed through.

  “I need something to break stone with.” I gestured with my hands. “A pick, an axe, a crowbar. Can you create something like that?” I’d seen them create furniture but never tools.

  The house shuddered, but it seemed weak or maybe hurt from its sluggish vibration. I pressed my hands against the wall and fed it some of my Light. The sense of joy radiating from it did little to overcome its pain as its doors and walls took a beating from what I assumed to be my pursuers.

  Shit.

  My head thudded as I searched the room for anything that could break through that wall. I knew I didn’t have much time left. Even with the selkies distraction, there were too many Sidhe and at least a few hundred wolves on the surface. If that wasn’t bad enough, the Sluagh owned the skies. I had to stay underground and find a way to make it work.

  The shifter groaned as a mass of oozing black liquid formed at my feet. Sickening, squishy noises and the tinny scent of blood filled my senses. Part of it hardened into a wooden handle. The metal head of the pick axe formed last.

  “Perfect.” My half-assed plan might work after all. I snatched the axe and went back through the ward to the castle wall. I hacked away at the stone again and again, chipping away small pieces at a time. The dull roar of a fight grew louder. They’d broken through the outer wall of the last shifter. I hacked faster.

  Sweat pearled on my forehead and trickled along my face as I worked. My shirt soaked through with it before I
broke a big enough hole for me to crawl through head first. After checking the room beyond for movement, I shoved the axe through and climbed in after it.

  “Liam,” I thought at him, “where are you?”

  When I received no response, I decided to risk using my Sight. Sebastian’s ward would have clued him in to my arrival anyway. I thought of Liam, his touch, the pleasing lines of his face. Memories of his scent overtook me, coaxed a sigh from my lips.

  Flashes of black marble filled my mind. Down corridors, up stairs, through rooms, my Sight travelled. I didn’t know what part of the Goddess lived in the castle, but whatever lent me its sight rested along the ceiling.

  The vines.

  I remembered seeing them during my first visit, how they snaked along overhead as I walked the corridors. I let my mind drift along their pathways.

  I clutched my chest when I found Donovan, Garret and Liam shackled to an oozing stone wall, the same one I’d seen in Gallagher’s vision.

  They’re alive.

  “Liam!” I called across the wind.

  He looked up as if he could hear me—bloodied, swollen, broken. The door opened between us, startling a moan out of me.

  “No, Lila! You—”

  The connection dropped as quickly as it came. Something—or someone—cut him off. I had a suspicion that I’d have to destroy Sebastian before I’d get to his king.

  Although Liam’s voice had been cut off, his Light still called out to me—one floor above, directly below the Unseelie Court.

  Up the stairs I climbed, hugging the wall. My lungs ached as I concentrated to slow their heaving. A metal door with an ivory handle sat at the top of the steps. I grasped it and eased the door open a crack. The dim hallway lay still and silent. Not even a banshee slithered along the ceiling. I expected armies of Sidhe and Sluagh at the very least.

  I crept out the door, searched both directions before I edged along the wall. The little voice in my head screamed warnings at me, but I had to keep going while I could. My instincts led me forward with the same ferocity they had led me into the valley toward Liam the first time. I didn’t resist the lure of his power; I opened myself to it, let it stoke my internal fire.