The Glass Man (14 page)

18

A knock came on Parthalan’s bedroom door ten minutes after Donovan left. Two fae guards entered, wearing the same black outfits with the red and gold capes that Donovan wore. Their black shoes gleamed.

“I’d like a robe to wear until I get there, Willa.” I peered around the doorframe from the dressing room. The red corset pinched, and the hose itched my legs beneath the vinyl boots. My lips tingled, slathered with a sticky layer of bright red gloss.

“Just as you are,” the shorter of the two guards said. He had thick forest green hair woven into braids and light coffee-toned skin. His crystal eyes held splotches of mint. He stood as straight as a T-square.

Willa shrugged, a frown pulling at her full lips. “Sorry. I’m sure he’ll be wantin’ to show off his prize.”

I pounded a fist against the door and hung my head for a moment before I crossed my arms over my chest and stepped the rest of the way into the room. If I’d had Donovan’s
cumhacht
, I would have made myself look like a wart-ridden hunchback and crawled into the nearest bell tower.

The other guard’s eyes bulged as if they might pop out and roll over for a closer look. I glared at him. His short hair looked dark at first, but when I looked closer, I found a few shades of plum.

He cleared his throat, offered a little bow. “Pleased to serve you, my Queen.” His deep, mellow voice soothed.

“I’m not your queen.” I couldn’t be as rude as I wanted to be. Who knew which of the fae could be useful later? “Nice to meet you both.” My hips swayed as I walked toward them.
Damn boots.
No wonder the women who wore them always walked like whores; I couldn’t help it. “What can I call you?”

Green Hair fumbled for the door knob while his eyes scanned me. When he managed to get it open, he gestured for me to go out with a dramatic sweep of his arm.

He stuttered a few times before he spoke. “I’m Lochlann, and this is Cas.” He cleared his throat, and his eyes left me in favor of the wall. He won a little of my respect for that.

I kept my smile plastered on and sauntered past them, nodding as if I gave a crap. Cas’s lips jerked into a pathetic, crooked grin.

Concentrating on the growing ache in my abdomen, I followed Lochlann along the wide corridor. I tried to avert my mind from the impossible task ahead and the consequences if I failed. Liam would have been there already if he’d survived. Doubt slithered around my guts and sickened me.

Lochlann strutted as if trying to keep up with someone who had a much longer stride. Cas followed behind me. We walked along an endless maze of vine-infested tunnels and up a flight of stairs. My feet complained in the boots. Considering I’d never worn heels before, it was a miracle I could walk at all.

“Where are those black banshee things that crawl along the ceiling?” I asked when I couldn’t stand the clacking of my boots anymore. A constant assault of thoughts came at me.
What if I can’t stop this? What if Donovan’s plan doesn’t work? How could I stand Parthalan touching me that way again? What if he uses me to destroy what’s left of the human world?
A tremble ran through me.
Help me, mother. Give me strength.

“Our king sent all of the Sluagh out on a task.” Lochlann peered at me over his shoulder. “He sent the banshees with them.”

Smooth, Glass Man, very smooth.

I couldn’t stand the weight of Cas’s gaze any longer, so I stopped and whirled around with my hands on my hips.
Where else can I put my hands in this outfit?

Cas froze. His eyes were fixed to the place where my exposed butt cheeks would have been. I glared as his skin turned from dark tan to several shades of red.

“Having a good look, Cas?” I asked.

“I … forgive me, my Queen.” He stared at the floor.

Lochlann stomped over and smacked the younger fae on the side of his head. “What are you doing? Parthalan catches you eyeballing her like that, and I’ll be cleaning you off the floor with a mop and bucket.”

“I doubt it.” I uttered a frustrated grunt. “Anything that humiliates me seems to tickle his funny bone. What’s so fascinating, anyway? It’s just ordinary skin.”

Cas lifted his gaze, rubbed at his head where the other guard had hit him. “There’s nothing ordinary about your skin. I couldn’t help it, your bare …” He paused, and discovered a few more ruby shades while he gestured to my back side, “I’ve never seen anything like yours, and I’ve never met a Seelie Sidhe before. I feel like I need to touch you to see if you’re real.”

A laugh burst out of me unbidden.

Lochlann narrowed his eyes at me.

“You’re not kidding are you, Cas? You truly can’t help it? Even now you’re staring at my breasts.” His innocence and embarrassment endeared him to me in a backwards sort of way.

Cas smirked and tore his gaze away, but I could tell it took some effort.

“Come on!” Lochlann yanked him by the arm, and they both walked in front of me. Cas kept trying to gaze over his shoulder at me, but it earned him a slap in the head every time.

“So why can’t we do this ceremony thing in Parthalan’s room?” I rubbed my bare arms and rolled my neck. “Does he need a big stage in order to perform?”

Cas whirled around. “The members of the Court wouldn’t fit in his bedroom.”

Lochlann grabbed him by the throat and shoved him into the wall.

“What?” The word came out in a whisper. “Are you saying he’s going to … in front of the entire Unseelie Court?” Not that I knew how many fae that meant, but if Donovan’s plan didn’t work, then I had no chance of escaping a whole herd of fae. No wonder he wanted me scantily dressed—the ultimate humiliation. My feet moved me backwards, and my lungs squeezed down until I could hardly breathe.

I turned and ran, chased by Lochlann shouting, “Stop!”

The boots slowed me down at first, but I leaned forward and ran on my toes. Hallways branched off every few yards. It didn’t take me long to become hopelessly lost. When heavy footfalls drew closer, I darted around the corner and down a corridor. It grew darker and narrower the farther I ran.

“Don’t make me hurt you!” Lochlann shouted between gasps.

“You can’t—” Cas started.

“Shut your trap!”

I turned enough to see how close they were, but I stumbled and fell in the boots. When I scrambled to my feet, cursing, Rourke’s face met mine. My guts twisted into knots. I held my breath and waited for the lightning bolt to fry me.

He winked.

My breath came out all at once. “Donovan. You scared the hell out of me.”

“Play along.” He spun me around, wrapped an arm around my throat and twisted my right arm behind my back.

Lochlann and Cas skidded to a stop in front of us, looked at the floor.

“I’m sure the king will love to know the two of you have failed him again,” Donovan said in Rourke’s creepy cadence. “Run along now. Lila and I are going to have a little chat.” He pushed me forward, and I stumbled along in front of him.

I attempted to show panic on my face, but it wasn’t necessary. Both guards kept their eyes down. They backed away slowly as if any sudden movements would draw a strike from a snake. When they reached the main corridor, they turned and sprinted in the opposite direction we’d been walking.

Donovan let me go, and we walked side by side. “Fools,” he muttered.

“Are Willa and Althea safe?”

“I gave them their skins and disguised them as wolves. I’ve done all I can for them.”

“Thank you.” A bit of tension eased out of my muscles.

“You saved them.”

I shook my head. “I didn’t do anything.”

He put his hand on my shoulder, turned me toward him. My father’s smile coming out of Rourke’s face was disturbing. Pride shined in his eyes again. “Don’t be humble. And don’t be afraid. Our plans are in place.”

“Our? Who else is helping you?”

My father didn’t answer. I stopped and stood in front of him. “Who?”

He averted his gaze. “You must trust me now, and do exactly as I say.”

“I don’t like this.”

A pained laugh rattled in his throat. “Neither do I, but we must go now.” With a smile, he offered his hand to me.

After a few deep breaths, I took it. “Why can’t you disguise me and sneak me out the same way? We could leave together, right now.”

Donovan hung his head before staring back at me. “I’ve tested every exit from this building. Parthalan had Sebastian place a perimeter ward around the entire structure. If you cross the barrier, Sebastian will know it.”

“What are wards?”

“That’s Sebastian’s
cumhacht
. It’s typically a witch’s power. There are lots of different kinds, but this one is a sort of magical barrier specifically tuned to you.”

“Witches don’t really exist, right?”

“Many races inhabit this world, my child, but now is not the time for that.”

He was right. I shook off my curiosity. “How do you know the ward’s there? And how do you know it’s tuned to me? I mean, are you sure?” My hope faded.

“I felt it, like walking through cobwebs. I didn’t know it was specific to you until I asked Sebastian about it.”

“Cobwebs.”
So that’s what I felt that day at the farm where I met Liam.
It must have done something to mask their energy from me and keep most of the sounds out. I thought for a minute, picturing the way Liam had closed his eyes right before my senses returned to me that night. “I thought Liam lifted the ward the night Parthalan came.”

“They must have had a metaphysical means of communication between the group. Liam probably told Sebastian to remove it.”

I nodded, somewhat enlightened and more confused at the same time. We started down the corridor again in silence.

A few minutes later, we arrived before gigantic wooden doors that were at least twenty feet high. I turned and stopped short of touching Donovan. “I’m …” I couldn’t say it. His presence reminded me of my mother—a safe haven where I could tell him anything, that I was afraid, or let him see me cry. I wasn’t a little girl anymore. I hadn’t scraped my knee or thought I’d heard a monster beneath my bed. The monster had already dragged me away to his dark cave, and he waited behind that door. I needed to be strong.

Donovan wrapped his arms around me and held me tight. My heart sang.

“Soon you will be free of this place. You will be free to become who you are supposed to be, and one day you can return here as queen. A queen of all fae.” After kissing me on the forehead, he pushed the doors open and stepped through.

The sight before me erased all thoughts from my mind. I stood there gaping, unable to move.

You have got to be shitting me.

An enormous cathedral stretched out so far I couldn’t see the sides of it. The conversations crashing around the room in a deafening roar fell silent, and all crystal eyes turned to look at me. There had to be several thousand, at least.

Donovan cleared his throat. When I tore my eyes from the towering glass ceiling, he urged me forward with his head. I took a step and stopped when it ricocheted like a gunshot into the silence. After a deep breath, I straightened my back, lifted my chin and sauntered down the main aisle toward the raised dais at the far end. I wouldn’t give Parthalan the satisfaction of seeing me squirm any longer than I could help.

Three ornate wooden thrones with red embroidered seats sat on top of the stone platform in the distance. Two benches framed them on either side. Behind them, a stained glass window stretched from wall to wall, a rendition of the Black City, complete with a few Sluagh dotting the purple sky.

On either side of the aisle, there were smaller daises set along a gentle, bowl-shaped slope, so the uppermost one sat far above my head, but still had a perfect view of the entire room. Bodies filled every seat, all grouped in little clusters of fae wearing matching clothes. Mostly, they wore black with a different colored or patterned cloak tied at their throats. Some wore elaborate beaded or feathered hats, while others had gem-encrusted swords strapped to their sides. Every color of skin painted the room.

My heels clacked as I continued toward the front of the Court. Parthalan lounged in the tallest throne on the dais. One leg dangled over the wooden arm, swinging casually. A satisfied, rather wolfish grin spread across his features.

I glared at him.

Sebastian sat on one of the benches, slouched forward with his elbows on his knees. His eyes rolled up to me.

The door crashed shut behind me.

I nearly leapt off my high heeled stilts and turned to find Lochlann and Cas pushing some sort of thick rectangular object along the aisle. A red velvet blanket had been draped over it and trailed along the floor.

Donovan cleared his throat again. When I looked at him, wrapped in his illusion of Rourke, his expression made me think he’d been trying for a while to get my attention. I resumed my course forward and walked until I made it to the edge of the dais in a large open area. Parthalan sat ten feet away, still perched on his throne. Tension drew the muscles in my back taut.

I have to stop this.

The platform arrived behind me. The two guards arranged the blanket neatly all the way around and placed red satin pillows at one end. What lay beneath wasn’t a table, but a thick stone slab on wheels.
A sacrificial altar.

I did my best to breathe while I tore my gaze from the makeshift bed to Donovan, who had a fierce look in his crystal eyes. He turned and walked around the king’s dais to the stairs, climbed up and sat in the throne to Parthalan’s right—where Rourke would normally sit, I assumed. He glanced at his watch, then at me. My logical side knew my father sat only a few feet away, but part of me ached to have the safety of his arms around me again.I held myself still.

“My people.” Parthalan’s voice echoed into the room. He rose from his throne, lithe, regal, watching me as he walked to the front of the dais, and jumped down beside me. “This night you will bear witness to a mating between the two most powerful fae ever to have lived.” He paced in a circle around me, studied all of the fae as if it would be a great insult to leave one group unacknowledged. He spread his arms wide, and his voice rose in volume with every word. “And when we rise, bonded, blessed by the Goddess herself, we will cleanse this world of her disease!”