The Glass Man - Lila Gray Book 1

Chapter Nine

Pain screamed up my legs as I ran from the farm house through the reaching arms of the trees. Most of the shards in my feet had broken off, but some crept deeper into my rough soles. The cuts on my thighs spewed hot ribbons down my legs, soaking into the blue dress. I'd suffered every sort of wound and internal agony known to humankind over the years, so I had a lot of practice disconnecting myself from it.

Besides, no amount of pain or blood would make me stop. Not with the crickets screaming louder with every passing second. The silhouettes of trees whipped past me, like scenery from a dark dream. I stumbled over a fallen log and crashed down, ripping up my forearms. My body grew into a giant, burning ache.

A deep base growl rose up from the shadows in front of me. Shit. Respect the wild things, and they'll repay you in kind—another nugget of wisdom my mother had bestowed upon me. Up until now, animals had been my aiders and abettors, never once threatening harm.

Returning to some semblance of calm, I came back to a shaky stand, picked the bits of bark out of my wounds, and limped on. The glass in my left foot met with bone, and I bit back a cry.

The growl came again, closer. What was out there? Was that growl meant for me? Had I come too near some pups and their mother was being protective? I stopped and stilled my body, scanning the darkness. There, deeper in the woods, the moonlight didn't penetrate the canopy, only dappled the forest floor.

Amber eyes appeared in front of me. The outline of a scruffy, black wolf emerged from the darkness a moment later. He barked and flattened his ears as he stalked forward, curling lips over shining, white teeth. I fought to control my breathing and held my hands out as I sidestepped around him. My gaze never lifted higher than the large, black paws. I'd learned to never stare a wild beast in the eye unless I wanted a fight—a trick I'd only used on human beings so far.

A whine and a few yips came from my right before a second wolf stepped out to block the new path I'd chosen. When the third ruddy wolf appeared, I realized they were herding me. What the hell? The Glass Man had made some new friends since I'd last seen him.

My mind spun furiously as I looked around for a weapon. Nothing. Not even a dead branch or a rock. I tested the barriers around my energy again, poking and prodding at it, but the harder I pushed, the more impenetrable it became.

A fourth wolf, a white one, showed up, and the four of them stood in a u-shape in front of me. Leaving one way to go. The one direction I wouldn't turn. I could climb a tree, but that would leave me trapped, so not much better.

"You are a hearty thing," the Glass Man said in his usual amused tone. He sauntered out from behind a tree, wearing a dark gray suit. A gray silk tie painted a shining line down the matching shirt. His wavy hair had been pulled back and secured with a black ribbon. I'd never seen him dressed up. In another life—one where he wasn't a murderous sociopath—I might have thought him beautiful, but at the moment he looked like a cancer wearing an Armani. He stood in a little circle of moonlight a few feet away, as if he'd set the scene for his dramatic entrance.

My upper lip curled in a snarl. "Where's my music box?"

He straightened his tie, his gaze lowering from my face. "I chose well with that dress. Matches your eyes to perfection." His stare swept lower down my body. "Tsk, tsk. Look what you've done to it. Lucky for you, I brought extras." He smiled as if I'd done something to impress him. "Bleeding like a stuck pig, and you still ran nearly four miles from the house before I caught up with you. I can think of better uses for stamina like that." He gave a pathetic double-raise of his eyebrows.

"Yeah, I just bet you can. The only reason you caught me is because you called in your dogs. What's the matter, not man enough to get me on your own?"