The Glass Man - Lila Gray Book 1

Chapter Six

Faint pink light seeped through cracks in the shed walls and under the door. Dawn had come at last. Had I used my power in the realm of the waking? Or only in the dream? The guys in the shed continued to sleep, and Sebastian did, in fact, snore like a chainsaw, as Garret had said. A blinding flash of light and a thunderous crack would have roused them, but maybe they were heavy sleepers.

I pressed palms to my forehead to contain the ache growing under the quandary, and eventually, logic emerged through the haze. They should have been awake, but they weren't, so the surge must have been contained to the dream. I hadn't inadvertently painted a bloody target on the farm, on Garret or Liam, or anyone else within a fifty mile radius.

Now that I knew the Glass Man could track my energy fluctuations, I'd have to carry on without the use of it. Wasn't that a sobering bitch? There would be no more side trips to protect the innocent. No more unnecessary contact with other people. I'd exist alone in the wilderness, with only my strength and knowledge to protect myself with.

Tears trailed down my cheeks, and I scrubbed angrily at them. It wasn't fair. I was tired, and I wanted nothing more than to throw the covers over my head and sleep in the company of other people, even though most of them were assholes. The depth of loneliness I'd known usually existed in the background of my thoughts, but here, so close to companionship and normality, it consumed me.

The sight of Garret sleeping peacefully, balled up under his blanket, made it worse. My desire to protect him seemed absurd, considering my presence alone put the kid in far worse danger than Rourke ever would.

I struggled into my shirt, shouldered my backpack, and went out the crooked door. My skin tingled from the dream, from the Glass Man's touch, from his breath across my lips. His night fresh scent clung to my skin like an erotic perfume. The urge to scrub myself raw threatened to overwhelm me.

The horizon blushed, and the late September air held a hint of winter. Before it hit, I needed to be far to the south, or I'd starve to death and nothing would matter. As I strode into the early morning light, silence continued to drown the farm and its vast orchards to the east. When the world was that still, it usually meant another storm waited just beyond my sight.

Once I made it to the path along the barn, adrenaline sent me sprinting across the yard. I had at least ten hours before the Glass Man could come—he only came out at night as far as I knew—but my survival instinct compelled me to get as far away as possible before the sun went down. Just in case our interaction in my dream gave him what he needed to find me.

A screech tore open the silence. A jolt of fright speared my stomach as I glanced behind for the source of the sound, still barreling forward. I'd barely turned my head back when I crashed into a warm body, his scent swirling around me. My momentum took him to the ground with me.

"Jesus H.," Liam shouted. "Where the fire?"

I scrambled to my feet, ignoring the imprint his hard body had made against mine. My voice shook. "I have to go." Why was he outside so early?

Lids lowered with suspicion, Liam stood and leaned closer. He reached out and lifted something from my cheek.

I smacked his hand away. "Don't touch me."

"You're cryin'. If I didn't see it for myself, I wouldn't believe it."

"I'm not crying. I never cry." I scrubbed at my cheeks and came away with wetness. What was wrong with me?

A flash of anger morphed his face into a terrifying mask. "Which one hurt you? I'll fuckin' kill him!"

"Nobody hurt me." I tried to push past him, but he caught me across the front of my shoulders with his arm.