buy.”
“Fine. Why are you helping me now? I thought you were afraid the Glass Man would hurt somebody.”
Liam uttered a pained cry and pounded his palm on the steering wheel. “Their bodies were dumped at the front door of the Black City while we were—” His breath hitched. “My sisters.”
I rubbed my aching head. “Rourke?”
“Of course it was Rourke!” His voice thundered.
I jumped back against the seat and stared at the profile of pain and suffering: jaw held tight, eyes narrowed to slits, and a vein jumped in his temple.
“They were carved up.” He let out a wail, but it turned into a piteous scream. “Fuck! Fuck, fuck, fuck!” A fist pounded on the wheel punctuating each word. If we’d been going fast, we might have ended up in the ditch.
Saying ‘I told you so’ would have been cruel. Saying I was sorry seemed inadequate. Before I thought about whether or not I should tell him, my story spilled out of my mouth.
“When I was thirteen—the day I became a woman, or hit puberty, or whatever you want to call it—I accidentally turned my bedroom into a pile of rubble when I got angry at my brother.” I gripped the leather until my fingers ached. “I hurt him. He just stood there while I hit him in the face, again and again. I didn’t even know what I was doing, or why. And I couldn’t stop.
“I woke up the next day. My room and Milo were back to normal. He and my mother told me I just had a dream, but my little sisters acted weird around me for the rest of the day.
“That night, my mother grabbed me out of bed and dragged me down the street to Nan’s house. My whole family was there inside Nan’s door—in their pajamas—even my little sisters. They were five. I’ll never forget the look of terror in their eyes. Mother pushed me ahead of her until we came to Nan’s bedroom. She put a backpack into my arms, and then put her hand on the hardwood floor. It opened like a flower. I was so stunned I couldn’t even ask her how she’d done it. It was the only time she’d done something—out of the ordinary.”
Some of the tension went out of Liam, and his shoulders lowered. He turned a little in his seat.
“She shoved me into the hole, a tunnel that must have taken months to dig out.”
I clutched at my chest, the sounds and sights of that night gripping me by the throat.
“Go on,” Liam said. “Please.”
I swallowed the sob and wiped my nose. “She told me a man would come for me. She handed me the music box and told me it was the key to our people, that I would meet a man who would show me the way home. She told me to run. She told me to listen to the earth and the wind, to look for kindness in unlikely places, to not be afraid of the wild things—that they would care for me. She told me a lot of rules to follow when I left.
“And then I heard the screaming.” My words were all mixed up with a sob. “From the other room. They were dying. I could smell the blood, could hear their cries. I heard crashing and saw light leaking in under the door from Nan’s living room.
“Mother smiled at me, touched my face. She made me promise to be brave and to outthink him so I could live to put things right. I gave her my promise, and she closed the floor above me.” I drew in a jagged breath and let it out. “But I stayed. I listened to her die, the last of her breaths while he howled like a deranged god. I stayed until her blood dripped through the floor and covered my face, and I couldn’t do anything to help her but scratch at the floor.”
“Jesus,” Liam said.
“The Glass Man killed them all, and I have a promise to keep, but I don’t know how. Hell, I don’t know what all of it means, and now I don’t even have the music box.”
“Parthalan has it, but I don’t think he knows what to do with it.”
That made two of us. “I’m just one person. How can I possibly stand against him?”
Liam didn’t answer. I didn’t really expect him to, but I’d hoped he
“Fine. Why are you helping me now? I thought you were afraid the Glass Man would hurt somebody.”
Liam uttered a pained cry and pounded his palm on the steering wheel. “Their bodies were dumped at the front door of the Black City while we were—” His breath hitched. “My sisters.”
I rubbed my aching head. “Rourke?”
“Of course it was Rourke!” His voice thundered.
I jumped back against the seat and stared at the profile of pain and suffering: jaw held tight, eyes narrowed to slits, and a vein jumped in his temple.
“They were carved up.” He let out a wail, but it turned into a piteous scream. “Fuck! Fuck, fuck, fuck!” A fist pounded on the wheel punctuating each word. If we’d been going fast, we might have ended up in the ditch.
Saying ‘I told you so’ would have been cruel. Saying I was sorry seemed inadequate. Before I thought about whether or not I should tell him, my story spilled out of my mouth.
“When I was thirteen—the day I became a woman, or hit puberty, or whatever you want to call it—I accidentally turned my bedroom into a pile of rubble when I got angry at my brother.” I gripped the leather until my fingers ached. “I hurt him. He just stood there while I hit him in the face, again and again. I didn’t even know what I was doing, or why. And I couldn’t stop.
“I woke up the next day. My room and Milo were back to normal. He and my mother told me I just had a dream, but my little sisters acted weird around me for the rest of the day.
“That night, my mother grabbed me out of bed and dragged me down the street to Nan’s house. My whole family was there inside Nan’s door—in their pajamas—even my little sisters. They were five. I’ll never forget the look of terror in their eyes. Mother pushed me ahead of her until we came to Nan’s bedroom. She put a backpack into my arms, and then put her hand on the hardwood floor. It opened like a flower. I was so stunned I couldn’t even ask her how she’d done it. It was the only time she’d done something—out of the ordinary.”
Some of the tension went out of Liam, and his shoulders lowered. He turned a little in his seat.
“She shoved me into the hole, a tunnel that must have taken months to dig out.”
I clutched at my chest, the sounds and sights of that night gripping me by the throat.
“Go on,” Liam said. “Please.”
I swallowed the sob and wiped my nose. “She told me a man would come for me. She handed me the music box and told me it was the key to our people, that I would meet a man who would show me the way home. She told me to run. She told me to listen to the earth and the wind, to look for kindness in unlikely places, to not be afraid of the wild things—that they would care for me. She told me a lot of rules to follow when I left.
“And then I heard the screaming.” My words were all mixed up with a sob. “From the other room. They were dying. I could smell the blood, could hear their cries. I heard crashing and saw light leaking in under the door from Nan’s living room.
“Mother smiled at me, touched my face. She made me promise to be brave and to outthink him so I could live to put things right. I gave her my promise, and she closed the floor above me.” I drew in a jagged breath and let it out. “But I stayed. I listened to her die, the last of her breaths while he howled like a deranged god. I stayed until her blood dripped through the floor and covered my face, and I couldn’t do anything to help her but scratch at the floor.”
“Jesus,” Liam said.
“The Glass Man killed them all, and I have a promise to keep, but I don’t know how. Hell, I don’t know what all of it means, and now I don’t even have the music box.”
“Parthalan has it, but I don’t think he knows what to do with it.”
That made two of us. “I’m just one person. How can I possibly stand against him?”
Liam didn’t answer. I didn’t really expect him to, but I’d hoped he
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