The Glass Man - Lila Gray Book 1

Chapter Twenty-Four

I sprinted along the corridor after Brígh. The sneaks were too big and flopped against the spotless tile with every step. The polished alabaster walls gleamed, making the tall, seemingly endless hallway appear brighter than it really was.

"What was the message?" I asked, rubbing at my tight chest. It wasn't from the exertion of running, but from the horrific thoughts that crept into my mind about what Parthalan might have done, or threatened to do. Knowing him, it would be apocalyptically bad.

She stopped in front of a set of wooden double doors, an inlay of a golden eye in the center of each. The doors opened a moment later, revealing a white chamber. Without a pause, she snatched up my hand and yanked me inside with her. The doors closed, and the light in the walls brightened.

"What is this thing?" I asked when my vision distorted.

"It's a transport. Beats the hell out of walking up the stairs." She paced and muttered something unintelligible.

I moved to block her path. "The message. What was it? By the way you're carrying, on I'm thinking we need to get this transport moving faster." My heart beat an ominous tune against my rib cage as I stared at her fear-shined eyes.

"I don't know exactly, but it freaked out Gallagher. He doesn't get freaked out over anything." She shook her hands out, then threw her arms around me. I stumbled back into the wall with my new cling-on. When I couldn't pry the trembling fae away from my body, I rubbed her back until she calmed.

"Your Light is so warm," she whispered against my throat.

Awkward didn't quite cover it. I grabbed her by the arms and pushed her back far enough I could see her face. "Can you see what Parthalan plans to do?"

She dropped her gaze, rubbing her arms as if discovering them for the first time. "It doesn't work that way. And I don't want to see." She put a hand over her eyes, a child afraid to look at the monster.

I wondered how old she was. I guessed late teens, but considering how slowly the fae aged, she could have been anywhere from fifteen to four hundred. "Then how does it work?"

"I see visions once a path is certain, like when you escaped Parthalan and started for Dun Bray. Nothing with him is ever certain. His madness makes him too unpredictable to see, and his ambition makes him dangerous." She dropped her hand, her features cast in shadow. "He can still win. He can still destroy everything we are, and every last human on the earth. All he needs is you to do it."

I slumped against the chamber wall. She spoke the truth, but to hear a certified psychic say it out loud crumbled the momentum I'd been building.

The doors opened. Panic launched me out of the elevator beneath a domed glass ceiling. The enormous circular room hummed, filled with at least fifty fae, sitting, standing, some talking and some staring absently at the alabaster walls. Their postures, low voices, and darting gazes betrayed their communal fear.

I searched for the one I needed.

Liam bolted up from a black leather chair, one of many that encircled a round table the size of a small house.

I could feel the tightness in my eyes as their pupils dilated, drinking him in. Others stood up as I ran, unable to peel my focus away from him. He was clean shaven, his hair spiked up a little similar to the first time I'd seen him, wearing light blue jeans and a white T-shirt. When I remembered where we were, I stopped before I touched him, realizing how many people were watching us.

He kept coming, grabbed me up in a bear hug and squeezed until I thought he'd break me in two. I gave up and hugged him back, pressing my face against his chest, inhaled his scent until his essence drowned out everything else. Trembling, he grabbed my face and crushed his lips against mine.