The Glass Man - Lila Gray Book 1

Chapter Twenty-Eight

One of the Sluagh soared down from the sky and landed on the cobblestone in front of me. Bain, Lord of the feathered guys. My skin tried to crawl away at the thought of ending up as one of them.

"Where's Rodan?" I sucked wind from the struggle with Rourke. "I figured that eager little beaver would 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. That'd be a shame.

Bain tossed back his hood, revealing his ashen, bird-like face. It was long and somewhat scaly, his beak lined with striations that reminded me of wood grain. He writhed and groaned as his 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 goth sort of way. They were all fae at one time—could they still use glamour? Or were they shifters, too?

I stifled a shudder when I considered the implications of that. How many Sluagh had I passed by in my life, not knowing what they were?

"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. Not good. "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."

The hell I'd go with him. I surveyed my surroundings, wondering where the selkies had gone. If they were coming, now would be have been a choice 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. The ancient shifters, of course! I hadn't counted them among my assets, but they were my ticket in. If it was really trying to help me. It was possible Parthalan had made a deal with them, too, and they were about to eat me up and barf me out at the king's feet.

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 like Rourke. I wouldn't take that chance.

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, and they amused him. Good, I wouldn't have to distract him. I sprinted toward the door 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 hesitate before taking two at a time. It might 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.