by Lynn Hagen
Kendrick leaned forward, his teeth sliding over his bottom lip as he gazed at Einarr. His eyes sparkled in the light of the fire. Something tightened in Einarr’s chest. Would Kendrick love him that deeply? How could someone this good love a retched soul like him?
“Stop frowning,” Kendrick said. “You’re bruising my ego.”
Einarr smiled and hooked his hand behind Kendrick’s neck and pulled him close until their foreheads were touching. “There’s nothing for your ego to be bruised about.” He thrust upward, and Kendrick groaned.
Keeping his hands on Kendrick’s waist, Einarr turned. He pressed Kendrick’s back into the couch and then placed his hands under his mate’s knees, pushing them upward before Einarr’s rhythm quickened.
Kendrick reached up and grabbed the cushion on the arm of the couch, curling his fingers into the fabric. Einarr locked his gaze on where they were joined, watching as his cock jetted in and out of Kendrick’s tight ass. His worries were forgotten as he made love to Kendrick, basking in the man’s light, soaking up his warmth.
His mate arched his back, crying out as his cock erupted, pearly ribbons splattering over his chest. Einarr grabbed Kendrick’s cock and stroked it quickly and then glided his fingers through the sticky mess. He placed his fingers in his mouth, and Kendrick’s nostrils flared at the sight.
The taste of his mate had Einarr hammering into the man’s ass, chasing his own release. As badly as he wanted this to last, he knew it wasn’t possible. He jerked and faltered before he buried himself deep and shouted his release as he spun out of control, his cock spilling his seed inside Kendrick.
“That was,” Kendrick said as he licked his lips and panted, sweat glistening over his stunning body. “Marvelous.” The man chuckled and laid his arm over his eyes. “Fantastic.”
Einarr pulled from Kendrick and then grabbed his mate, pressing the man into his chest as he sat. He didn’t say anything. He sat there silently, petting his mate as he thought of his uncle coming after him, after Kendrick.
Einarr wanted to smile. Einarr wanted to share in Kendrick’s afterglow.
Einarr wanted to…but all he could do was pray.
* * * *
“So you’re saying you had nothing to do with Omar being kidnapped?” Lucinda asked as she glared at Joe Hephner. “You had nothing to do with someone trying to auction him off?”
“How many times do I have to tell you that I’m out to eradicate nonhumans?” Joe said as he worked his jaw from side to side. “From what you say, Omar is human. Besides, I would never auction off a child. Even I have lines I won’t cross.”
Lucinda tried her best not to give Joe too much information. It seemed he knew nothing about Omar’s ability, and she wanted to keep it that way. She crossed her arms over his chest and tapped a lone finger on the opposite arm. “It seems you don’t have as much control over your men as you think you do.”
Joe stood there studying her. “Did this informant give you a name?” he asked. “Did he or she tell you which one of my men was there?”
“Caspian.” Lucinda spat the name. “The same man who initiated the mates being kidnapped. I thought you said you would take care of him. Why is he still doing things that go against everyone’s morals? Why is he trying to buy a child? I think you need to examine your men a little more closely.” She moved in closer, standing toe to toe with the Vampire Hunter. “Because if you don’t get them in line, I will, but when I’m done with them, you won’t have any more followers left.”
“I’ll handle him.”
She cocked her head to the side as the truth dawned on her. “You don’t know where he is. Caspian has gone rogue, hasn’t he?”
“I said I’ll handle him,” Joe spat before he turned on his heel and strode out of her kitchen.
She watched as the most wanted man in the preternatural world disappeared. She would hand him over to the Ultionem, but Joe was tied to her. Of course, his death would do nothing to her. She would live on, but if she died, so would Joe. Still, something told her to hold back, not to hand him over to his enemies.
Caspian, however, was a whole different story. Lucinda made her way down to her cellar and then slipped into a room she kept hidden behind a false wall. She entered and walked into her study, going straight for the podium that held her book of spells.
If Joe couldn’t find Caspian, she would. And when she did, she would hand the Hunter over to the leaders. She wasn’t sure why Panahasi hadn’t done so already. The demon leader had the ability to find Caspian. But Lucinda had learned over the millenniums that just because you could didn’t mean you should. There were times when interfering with fate resulted in a worse outcome than letting things play out in their natural order.
Maybe she would pay Caspian a visit instead, get a handle on the guy, and find out what he was up to.
And if he happened to act like an ass, then, hey, it wouldn’t be her fault if he happened to end up on the floor, dead.
Chapter Seven
The following evening, Omar stood in the middle of the kitchen as he pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and stared at Einarr. “Do it again,” the little boy said. “Slow this time.”
Einarr could see Kendrick fighting not to smile. His mate stood on the other side of the counter and nodded. “Yes, slower this time.”
Grunting, Einarr slowly faded until he was invisible. Omar swept his hand out and slapped Einarr in his leg. “But you’re still here. How can you be invisible if you’re still here?”
“His molecules blend with their surroundings,” Kendrick explained. “Kind of like a chameleon.”
Although it was a bit more technical than that, Kendrick was right. His molecules mirrored their surroundings, blending so well that he was unseen by the naked eye. And just like when he rescued Omar, if he extended his ability, he could mask another’s appearance as well.
He patted Omar on the head. Omar glanced around and then frowned. “Why can’t I make myself invisible? Kahl can change into a dragon and a cheetah. Why can’t I do something with super powers?”
“You do have super powers,” Kendrick said as he studied the area where Einarr had been standing. “Your super power is imagination.”
“That’s not a super power,” Omar argued as Einarr moved around the kitchen until he was standing next to Kendrick. He brushed his knuckles down his mate’s face and smiled when Kendrick jumped, his gaze darting around.
Einarr reappeared and kissed Kendrick on the cheek.
Omar rolled his eyes. “You two are kissing. Does that mean you like each other? I’m never going to like anyone. Kissing is gross. I show Kahl that I like him by wrestling around with him. Why can’t you two just wrestle around?”
Kendrick choked on the juice he was drinking as Einarr chuckled. “We…uh…we wrestle around,” Kendrick said as he wiped his shirtfront with a towel.
“We wrestled last night,” Einarr informed the small boy. “You were just asleep.”
“You shoulda woke me up,” Omar said. “I would have wrestled, too!”
“Come on.” Einarr grabbed Omar around his waist and hiked the boy onto his shoulders. “We’ll wrestle in the living room. But you better not break me.”
Omar giggled. “I can’t break you. But you can’t go invisible. That’s cheating.”
When Einarr stepped into the living room, he pretended to fall, taking Omar down with him. Omar was on his feet in seconds, grunting as he tried to pin Einarr. The boy could barely hold onto Einarr’s arm, let alone lift it, but Einarr helped—although Omar had no clue that Einarr was making this easy on the child.
“Careful,” Dylan said as he walked into the living room. “Omar is a master of wrestling. He pins me every time.”
There was a pride-filled smile on Omar’s face. “And I’m going to pin Einarr!”
Damn if the kid wasn’t cute. Einarr grunted and frowned, pretending that he was having a hard time getting Omar off of him. The little boy was like a monkey, climbing ove
r Einarr with impressive speed. He grabbed Einarr’s wrist, his hair, his arm, and anything he could get his small hands on as he struggled to keep Einarr down. Einarr basically didn’t move, allowing Omar to do whatever. He did roll a few times.
He couldn’t make this that easy for Omar.
As he pretended that Omar was doing some damage, Einarr caught sight of something in the shadows. He kept going, pretending he hadn’t seen a thing. But there was no mistaking that set of eyes. He grunted and hollered, “You win. Now go get me something to drink before I pass out.”
“I won!” Omar whooped.
Omar jumped up and danced around victoriously before he darted from the room, Dylan following. Einarr stood, brushing himself off before he spun and moved so fast that the intruder didn’t have time to react. Einarr had his hand wrapped around the demon’s throat in seconds. “How did you use the shadows?” he demanded.
Only Demon Warriors could travel this way.
Einarr forced the intruder farther back until he could use the shadows to move through the realms. Within seconds they were standing on the streets of Serenity City. “Tell me.” He shook the demon. “Why in the fuck did you come after me?”
The demon refused to speak. It could be the fact that Einarr had his hand around the man’s throat, cutting off his air supply. But it was more than that. He could see the stubbornness in the man’s eyes.
Einarr closed his fist, making the demon struggle in his grip. “Tell me, or I’ll crush your damn throat.”
The demon held his hands up. Einarr loosened his grip.
“I’m a diversion.”
Those three words sent an icy chill down Einarr’s spine. While he thought he was removing the danger from Kendrick’s home, the real threat was still there. He hit the demon so hard that the man slumped in Einarr’s grip. He released the unconscious man and raced for an alleyway. As soon as Einarr stepped back into Kendrick’s kitchen, he knew something was wrong.
* * * *
“I gotta get Einarr something to drink ’afore he passes out,” Omar said breathlessly as he hurried into the kitchen.
Kendrick chuckled. “Did you beat him?”
Omar’s head bobbed up and down as he opened the fridge and grabbed a small juice box. Kendrick was dying to see Einarr drink from the tiny straw. He’d have the box empty in seconds flat.
Omar spun on his heel, racing toward the kitchen archway when he stopped. He paled. Kendrick frowned, glanced toward Omar’s interest, and gasped. A large demon strode into the kitchen, his blazing red eyes fixated on Omar. There were times when Kendrick truly hated his ability. He wished he could see only a man standing there, not this frightening sight. But then again, he wished no one was standing there, gazing at his nephew as though Omar was a valued prize.
Omar backed away.
The demon advanced.
Kendrick raced around the counter and pulled Omar behind him. There was no way he could defeat this demon, but he wasn’t going to let Omar be taken again. “Who are you?”
The demon smirked at Kendrick as he glanced around the kitchen. “Nice setup.”
Omar’s small fingers clutched at the bottom of Kendrick’s shirt. Kendrick kept backing away, trying to figure out how to get away from the demon. Where was Einarr? Didn’t his mate sense trouble?
The demon moved so fast that Kendrick nearly fell over Omar as he grabbed his nephew’s hand and tried to race from the kitchen. It was futile. The demon had Kendrick’s shirt and was pulling him back as Kendrick shouted for Einarr.
“He can’t hear you,” the demon said. “Einarr is otherwise occupied.”
What did that mean? Had this demon hurt Einarr before he came into the kitchen? The thought made Kendrick’s blood run cold. He wanted to run to the living room to see if Einarr was okay, unharmed.
“He’s a bad demon,” Omar whispered. “I don’t like him.”
Neither did Kendrick. There was ill intention written all over the man’s face. He wasn’t here for a friendly visit. “What did you do with Einarr?”
The demon shrugged. “Nothing…yet.”
“You don’t hurt Einarr!” Omar shouted. “He’s my friend.”
The demon deposited Kendrick into a kitchen chair. He did the same to Omar. “I wonder if Einarr informed you that he’d murdered three people before his eleventh birthday.”
Why was the demon telling him this? Kendrick wasn’t sure. He wasn’t even sure if he should believe the guy.
“He even ran a brothel.”
“What’s a brothel?” Omar asked.
“It’s where—”
“Don’t you dare!” Kendrick shouted. Omar was still innocent, and he wanted to keep it that way for as long as he could. Telling the small boy about harlots would steal a part of his nephew. Kendrick didn’t want Omar’s eyes opened like that.
The demon’s gaze shot to Kendrick as he rubbed a hand over his jaw. “How old is this child?”
Kendrick refused to say anything. It was Omar who offered up the information.
“I’m seven!”
“And still so innocent.” The man clucked his tongue. “By your age, Einarr was running my drug smuggling ring. Maybe I’ll take this boy instead of trying to recapture Einarr. He should fetch a high price.”
Kendrick shot to his feet, only to have the demon slam him back down. “You won’t touch him,” Kendrick said so venomously that he shocked himself. Even Omar was staring at him strangely.
The demon grabbed Kendrick by his hair and yanked his head back, sniffing deeply at Kendrick’s neck. “He mated you. His stench is all over your skin. Maybe I’ll take the both of you.”
When the demon grabbed them both, dragging them toward the shadow of the kitchen, Kendrick knew what the man was going to do. But he had a feeling they wouldn’t end up in Serenity City. Just as he felt the dizziness start to take over, Kendrick shoved at Omar, dislodging the demon’s grip on his nephew. He heard Omar screaming for him as Kendrick faded into the shadows.
Kendrick wasn’t sure where he was, but the place looked like a warzone. This couldn’t be Serenity City. The buildings here were boarded up. The streets were much darker. The people he did spot were lingering close to the mouths of alleyways, watching as they tried to stay hidden. He felt as if he’d walked into an episode of Tales from the Crypt.
“Where did you take me?” he asked. Although he felt the need to run, to escape, Kendrick wasn’t willing to run these streets. He’d go from one bad situation to another. Even the large rats that scurried by appeared malevolent.
“You’re going to take Einarr’s place,” the demon said. “He was taken from me at the height of his career. Now you will make up for lost income.”
“H–how?”
Kendrick would say that the building the man waved to needed to be condemned, but it looked as though it had already been condemned. “I already found someone to run my brothels. Since I have no need for any more muscle”—the demon raked his eyes over Kendrick—“which you clearly do not have, you’ll make up the income in other ways.”
“Y–you want me to work as a whore?” Kendrick shouted his words as he stared wide-eyed at the demon.
The man stepped closer, and Kendrick flinched away when the demon gripped his chin, turning his head back and forth. “You are pleasant to look at. I see why my nephew is fond of you. Your looks will be an asset.”
Kendrick decided he’d take his chances on the streets. He turned to run, but the demon grabbed him by his hair, pulling him painfully toward the building. Kendrick shouted, fought, kicked, and screamed as he was forced inside the brothel.
* * * *
Einarr walked into the kitchen to find Omar yelling for his uncle. The little boy was teary eyed and swiping his arms at the space in front of him. “Uncle Kendrick!”
Dylan and Paine raced into the kitchen, both watching Omar in puzzlement. “What’s going on, kiddo?”
Omar turned, and Einarr’s chest tightened to see the tears streak
ing down the young boy’s face. “The demon took Kendrick!”
Einarr had to keep his cool. If he lost it, he would be no help to Kendrick. “Can you describe the demon for me?” he asked as he squatted by Omar, trying to get down to the frightened boy’s level.
He listened as Omar described every detail of Einarr’s uncle. Kadrino had been here. Dylan’s blue eyes met Einarr’s for a moment. It was like being sliced into by an icicle. Einarr could feel that gaze boring into him. The oldest nephew was blaming him for Kendrick’s kidnapping.
“Tell me you have a plan to get my uncle back,” Dylan said. His tone was frosty.
“Dylan.” Paine said his mate’s name softly. “This isn’t Einarr’s fault. You know the world we live in. I’ve told you about the good as well as the bad, kitten. How could Einarr know that a demon—”
“My uncle,” Einarr said as he rose to his full height. “This was my uncle’s doing, and I swear I’ll get Kendrick back.”
“Promise,” Omar said. The little boy grabbed Einarr’s hand and yanked on it until Einarr gave Omar his attention. “Promise you’ll bring him back to me.”
Einarr wasn’t sure if he could. There was only one place Kadrino could have taken Kendrick, and it was the one place Einarr never wanted to return. He would need help. Zakerym was not a city one just strolled into. “I promise,” he whispered. He couldn’t help it. Omar’s eyes were big and pleading, and Einarr felt like a heel for letting this happen in the first place.
“Let me go now so that I can get him back.” Einarr walked to the shadows in the kitchen.
“Don’t give up,” Dylan said. “Search for him and bring him home to us.”
Einarr could hear the tears in Dylan’s voice. He nodded before he slipped into the shadows and emerged just outside his apartment building. He spotted Cadeym coming out. The Demon Warrior stopped and stared at him.
“Kendrick has been taken,” he said as he moved closer. “I know it was my uncle.” Einarr had never discussed his past. None of the Demon Warriors did. All of them had had brutal upbringings, and none of them wanted to remember. But it seemed he was about to face his head-on.