by Lynn Hagen
He released the demon, and the demon stood. He glared at Einarr before exiting the restaurant.
Kendrick returned and smiled widely as he took a seat. “That bathroom is amazing. It looks like a palace in there.”
Einarr had to calm his nerves. He nodded at Kendrick, but his eyes were on the door.
“Am I that boring?” Kendrick asked.
Einarr snapped his head around and frowned at Kendrick. “No, why?”
“Your attention seems to be elsewhere tonight.”
Kendrick’s demeanor seemed to shrink, and Einarr wanted to kick own ass for making Kendrick feel that way. He reached across the table without thinking and laid his hand over Kendrick’s. The touch sent a shot of thrill through Einarr, but he refused to pull his hand away.
“I’m sorry. I was just hoping to show you a good time. I can see how nervous you are, and I guess that had me a little jittery.” Boy, when Einarr laid it on, he made it thick as hell. He wasn’t jittery. Einarr hadn’t been jittery since living in the hellhole called Zakerym. It was also Deandre's birthplace. The city was the worst of the worst, and Einarr had killed three men before he reached the age of puberty. It was the single worse city in the entire demon realm.
He was cut from a bloody cloth and had broken his tooth on violence. Einarr had been abandoned by his parents as a child and raised by an uncle who thought a ten-year-old was a ripe enough age to run a drug smuggling operation while maintaining a brothel at the same time. Einarr didn’t know what jittery was. His skin was as thick as titanium and his heart barely beating with humanity.
But there was something about Kendrick that caught Einarr’s attention, and he couldn’t shake the need to be near the guy.
“You are so full of shit.” Kendrick laughed. “But it’s cool. It’s not like we’re on a date or anything. Just two friends hanging out. I’m old enough to see things for what they are.”
Einarr sat back and laughed. “Okay, you got me there. Just got a lot of things on my mind. But I really did want you to come here. I’ve been hanging out with you, and I wanted you to see my side of life.”
Kendrick bobbed his head up and down. “I like when you tell the truth. I can handle that.”
Einarr asked, “Exactly how old are you?”
“Twenty-eight. I was born late in my parent’s life. My brother, Clarence, was twelve years older than me.”
“Clarence?”
“Dylan and Omar’s father.” Kendrick smiled and shrugged. “He passed away about five years ago. That’s how I gained custody of the boys.”
“Omar is one hell of a kid,” Einarr admitted. “I love his boundless imagination.”
The tension between them eased, and Einarr found himself smiling through dinner as he and Kendrick talked and laughed. He usually never smiled, yet Einarr did so much of it around Kendrick that his cheeks actually hurt.
The dinner almost lived up to the company.
* * * *
Kendrick was finally home and seated behind his desk. He needed to get some work done. He was falling behind schedule. Yet he couldn’t seem to concentrate. All his thoughts centered around Einarr.
He thought of the demon’s silky blondish-brown hair, his soft blue eyes, and his beautiful laughter. But there was something about Einarr. Kendrick got the impression that the demon hadn’t always had a good life and was uncomfortable with smiling. He’d done enough of it, but that smile never reached the man’s eyes. They held a haunted look that captivated Kendrick.
He glanced up when someone cleared their throat. Dylan was standing in the doorway of his office, his shoulder pressed into the doorframe. “Working late?”
Kendrick looked at the clock on the wall to see that it was well past three in the morning. “What are you doing up?”
“Paine snores loud enough to wake the dead,” Dylan said and then grinned. “I came down here for some quiet and something to drink.”
Kendrick was genuinely happy that his nephew had found someone to love him. Dylan deserved a good life. His mother had died of ovarian cancer, and his father—Kendrick’s brother, Clarence—hadn’t been able to deal with the loss. The man had taken his own life, leaving behind a note and two devastated children.
Kendrick was still angry with Clarence for such a selfish act. He tried his best to understand why his brother had done something like that, but when he looked at Dylan or Omar, the anger grew instead of abating. “You can come in if you want. I can’t seem to concentrate anyway.”
Dylan strode in and took a seat. “Does your lack of concentration have anything to do with your friend Einarr?”
“I’m supposed to be giving you advice about relationships, not the other way around,” Kendrick said. “Speaking of, how are you and Paine doing?”
The two seemed happy together, but Kendrick knew all too well how that could be a façade.
“We’re fine,” Dylan said as if waving off Kendrick’s concern. “He’s stubborn and gets on my nerves sometimes, but I don’t regret what we have together.”
“Good,” Kendrick said. “Because if he ever treats you with anything other than adoration and respect, I’ll neuter him.”
Dylan chuckled. “We’re mated. It’s ingrained in him to keep me happy.”
Kendrick frowned. “I’ve heard you mention mating before. What does that mean exactly?”
“I think I have it all figured out,” Dylan said as he sat up straighter. “Paine tells me that fate handpicked me for him. He said he felt some kind of pull toward me, and he just knew. He puts my happiness and health above everything else, and mates don’t cheat. At least, that was what he told me.” Dylan nodded. “I do feel a deep connection to him, almost like our hearts are beating as one. It’s hard to explain.”
Kendrick wondered what it would be like to be mated to Einarr. Would he do the same, put Kendrick’s happiness above everything else? Did the guy feel some sort of pull? Admittedly, Kendrick was deeply attracted to the man, but he wasn’t sure it was the same connection Dylan was talking about.
“You don’t…uh…feel any connection to Einarr, do you?” Dylan asked.
“Not like you described,” Kendrick admitted. “But he’s only a friend anyway.”
Kendrick inwardly winced when he heard the disappointment in his own voice.
Dylan gave him a warm smile. “You never know. Things could change between you two.”
Kendrick wasn’t sure about that. He’d been hanging around Einarr for weeks now and not once had the man tried to make any kind of move. “Stop worrying about me and go to bed,” he said. “I have to get some work done.”
Dylan rose from his chair. “If, uh, you need someone to talk to, not saying that you do, but if you do, I’ll listen.”
“I know you will,” Kendrick replied. “Now go to bed.”
He didn’t like anyone knowing how he felt toward the demon when Einarr didn’t feel the same way. It came off as pathetic. He turned his attention to his work, and Dylan walked out. As soon as his door closed, Kendrick ran a hand over his face and stared at the ceiling, wondering what Einarr was doing at that very moment.
* * * *
Panahasi tucked his hands into the front pockets of his pants as he stood just inside the tree line at the Walsh place. He could see Kendrick working late in his office, and he knew the human had spent hours in the demon realm with Einarr.
“It seems that Joe Hephner has caught wind of Omar’s talent,” Lucinda said as she stood next to him. “I wonder how long it will take before he comes up with a plan to exploit the young boy’s talent.”
Panahasi turned to his niece. “You have a connection with Joe. Why don’t you find out what he plans?”
She scoffed as she crossed her arms over her breasts. “He won’t tell me. He hates me just as much as he needs me.”
“Somehow I have a feeling that you can persuade him to tell you.”
Her jaw worked back and forth as she glared at him. “I am not sleeping with the pathetic
human.”
“I never said sex,” Panahasi corrected her. He was still reeling over the fact that this rare fae was Death’s daughter. As far as he knew, she hadn’t forgiven Jaden for leaving her mother. Lucinda was as stubborn as the day was long. “I know how persuasive you can be.”
“And if the rumor isn’t true?” she asked. “If Joe doesn’t know about Omar? We’ll tip him off and send him after the boy. Is that a chance you’re willing to take?”
Panahasi rubbed his jaw and knew he couldn’t put the small boy’s life at risk. “I’ll have one of my demons keep an eye on the place. If Joe comes near it, I’ll know.”
Since Einarr was already interested in the uncle, Panahasi could use that to his advantage. Only a handful of people knew that the uncle possessed the talent of seeing past a person’s façade to their true identity. Kendrick was just as valuable. Both Omar and Kendrick were natural-born divining rods to the preternatural and could be exploited.
Joe Hephner, leader of the Vampire Hunters, would have no problem using either person to find out who was human and who was not. Panahasi couldn’t allow that. “I’ll set things in motion.”
Lucinda nodded. “And if Joe goes after them, I’ll do us both a favor and take him out.”
A slight smile curved the side of Panahasi’s lip. He knew she would. After all, she was Death’s daughter.
Chapter Two
Einarr cleaned the dishes in his sink and was wiping his hands on the towel on the counter when someone knocked on his door. It had to be someone who lived in the building. The Keeper had made spells and wards on the brick and mortar. No one of warrior descent could enter the building. The warriors had to bring someone in, so no one who wasn’t living there could waltz right in. Those spells and enchantments were also what the Demon Warriors drew their strength from.
Tossing the towel aside, Einarr walked into the living room to answer the door, but Panahasi was already standing there. It ticked him off when people walked into his home uninvited.
“Couldn’t wait for me to answer?” he asked.
The demon leader smirked. “Yes, I am well aware that you do not like uninvited guests. But I hate standing in the hallway just as much.”
He waved at the leather sofa to his right. “Have a seat.”
Panahasi shook his head. “I have other things to take care of.”
“Then why are you here?” Einarr was getting a bad feeling in the pit of his gut. Panahasi hardly ever invited himself in unless he needed something or was delivering bad news. Occasionally he and his mates were asked to come to dinner by other warriors, but Einarr had never extended an invitation.
“I’m sure you are well aware of Omar’s gift,” Panahasi said.
Einarr nodded. He knew that not only could Omar detect preternatural beings, but so could Kendrick. “I am.”
“The Ultionem suspect that Joe Hephner has gotten wind of this talent,” he continued. “But we can’t be sure.”
Einarr was starting to get the big picture, and he didn’t like it one bit. “You want me to use my friendship with Kendrick to keep an eye on the place.” Although being around the human was no hardship on Einarr, he’d decided while eating breakfast that he needed to back off. His life was a thousand shipwrecks, and though he enjoyed his time with Kendrick, sooner or later his past would catch up to him. He didn’t want the human becoming a casualty in Einarr’s sordid life.
His uncle was still on a rampage that Panahasi had come to Zakerym and taken Einarr away for his training as a Demon Warrior. And when Kadrino Zakul became pissed, he always sought revenge. Einarr wasn’t sure why his uncle hadn’t come after him so far, but now that Kendrick was in the mix, he didn’t want to take any chances.
And he still had to consider the threat from Tjan’s brother. Einarr’s life was as complicated as complicated could get, and it didn’t look as if he’d catch a break anytime soon.
“I hadn’t planned on going back there,” Einarr said.
“So getting another demon to watch over the humans is fine with you?”
Einarr growled before he could stop himself. Thinking of another male around Kendrick made him want to kill someone.
“That’s what I thought,” Panahasi said as if Einarr’s possessiveness was a forgone conclusion. “I’m taking you off patrol and placing you on guard duty at the Walsh resident.”
“Why don’t I just kill that damn Hunter and be done with it?” That would solve a few of Einarr’s problems. He wouldn’t have to worry about the guy going after Omar.
“If you have a way of finding him, please, enlighten me. He’s as allusive as Bigfoot. We’ve tried tracking him down, but the man is like a ghost,” Panahasi said. “Just stick to keeping the Walsh family safe.”
“For how long?” Einarr asked.
Panahasi’s eyes darkened. “For as long as it takes. Don’t screw this up, Einarr. If Joe gets his hands on the boy, we’re all in deep shit. So far he knows about vampires and heavily suspects there are shifters. But if he were to capture Omar and torture the boy for information, how long do you think a seven-year-old human could hold out?”
It turned Einarr’s stomach to think of anyone hurting Omar. The kid sang to his own tune, and his head stayed in the clouds, and Einarr liked that about Omar. He had one hell of an imagination, and Joe would ruin the boy. He would break Omar’s spirit to get the intel that he wanted.
All Demon Warriors had a talent. Hondo’s was fire. He could use it as a weapon or engulf his entire body in flames. Phoenyx could heal with a single teardrop. Kane could freeze time. Kobe had mind control. And the list went on. Einarr’s talent was invisibility. Maybe he could watch over the family without anyone knowing he was there. He could keep his distance from Kendrick while still ensuring the family’s safety.
Einarr nodded. “I’ll do it.”
Panahasi turned and walked out without another word. Sighing, Einarr walked to his bedroom to shower and dress before he headed into the human world. In the daytime, demons were transparent, their corporal bodies fading in the light. That was why it was always dark in the demon realm. When the sun faded tonight, he would use his ability to remain hidden.
Einarr stepped through the shadows in his bedroom and emerged in the woods behind Kendrick’s home. He spotted Omar and Kahl racing around the backyard. Kahl was in his cheetah form, growling as he tried to take Omar down. Kendrick was sitting on the back deck, sipping on something in the mug he held.
He was transfixed by how gorgeous Kendrick truly was. Those unfamiliar feelings began to stir inside him once more. Einarr was drawn to the human like nothing he’d ever experienced. He wanted to go to Kendrick, pull the man into his arms, and make love to the man.
Don’t be ridiculous. Love isn’t in the cards for you. Einarr knew his mind was telling the truth, yet he began to cross the yard to get closer. No one could see him. His corporal body was invisible. Still, Kahl paused and scented the air, turning his head toward Einarr.
Einarr paused. Kahl shouldn’t be able to detect him. He used his ability to make sure he remained unseen. Kahl gazed at the spot where Einarr stood a moment longer and then turned back around, giving chase to Omar.
Einarr stepped onto the back deck and moved to the side, taking in Kendrick’s handsome features. Now that Kendrick was unaware of him, Einarr could openly catalogue every inch of the man’s face, let his eyes roam over his exceptional body, and learn a little more about the man.
There was a laptop sitting next to Kendrick on the table. It was open, and Einarr became curious when he saw that the human had been searching mythical websites. Was Kendrick trying to learn about the world around him or someone specific? The heading on the page was about demons.
Einarr rolled his eyes when he saw the renderings. They were nothing like him. He didn’t have curled horns or a tail. He leaned close and read the passage. It was all wrong. Whoever had created this page didn’t know what he or she was talking about. Einarr wanted to tell Kendrick thi
s but wasn’t willing to reveal himself.
And then Kendrick did the strangest thing. He rubbed his hand over his heart as he glanced around. “I swear I feel him here,” he said.
Einarr’s heart beat triple time. How could Kendrick feel him? That was impossible.
Kendrick sighed and closed his laptop. “I’m going crazy. I just miss him. That’s why I think I feel him.” The man chuckled softly. “I’m losing my damn mind.”
The guy was talking to himself. Did he do that often?
Kendrick slipped his arms around his stomach and glanced toward the floor of the deck. When he looked up, Einarr was stunned by the sadness in the man’s pretty green eyes.
Why was Kendrick sad?
Omar and Kahl raced toward the deck, and Einarr quickly backed away. The melancholy seemed to slip away as Kendrick smiled, and Einarr knew he would never be able to walk away from the human.
* * * *
Kendrick swore he’d felt Einarr the entire day. Was that the connection Dylan had been talking about? No, that was ridiculous. There was no way he felt the guy. “Are you two ready for dinner?” Kendrick asked as Omar and Kahl dropped onto their butts on the deck, panting and wearing smiles of delight.
“I got the little rascals,” Paine said as he stepped outside. “I already made their dinner. Dylan had to go into work, so I guess it’s you and me.”
“Well, uh…” Kendrick grabbed his laptop. “I was wondering if you could handle them. I have a project I have to get done. The deadline is soon, and I’m afraid I’ve fallen behind in my work.”
Paine waved him off. “I got them. Go ahead and get your work done.”
Omar and Kahl shouldn’t be too much of a problem. They’d played the entire day, and Kendrick knew Omar at least would be tuckered out. Diablo was coming by to pick Kahl up soon, so Paine would have only Omar to contend with.
