Panahasi

by Lynn Hagen

  “I will?” Phoenyx asked. “I mean, I will.”

  What, did everyone have a hearing problem today? Panahasi had a few other things he needed to check on, and taking the two shifters down to the keeper was out of the question. The keeper may be the ruler of the underworld, but he didn’t like company, especially strangers. He tolerated Panahasi because Panahasi had been around since dirt was invented. But the creature could be downright lethal to others.

  “Do I look like I need a damn babysitter?” Drake asked in a snarky tone. “Either you take us with you, or we will followyou.”

  Panahasi would love to see that happen. He could move through shadows, portals, and a few other places most were unaware of. Drake could not. Before the small, combative man could say another word, Panahasi was gone from his apartment and standing at the entrance to the underworld.

  He breathed a sigh of relief and rubbed his temples. He could see dealing with Drake was going to be a constant battle of wills. The man seemed to love to argue. Panahasi did not.

  Casey seemed more on the quiet side. It was a welcoming reprieve to Drake’s contrasting personality. But Panahasi knew he was going to have to sleep with them to settle things between them, and then he had a feeling the real fun would begin if they were truly his mates.

  Walking the labyrinth of corridors down in the underworld, Panahasi tuned out the patois of the tormented. This was not his favorite place to be. He knew the creatures down here were too deadly to unleash on the world, but it did not mean he enjoyed hearing their screams of agony.

  “You seek answers.”

  Panahasi stilled when he heard an all-too-familiar voice. It wasn’t the keeper. He knew the keeper’s raspy voice anywhere. They had known each other far too long for Panahasi to forget it.

  Turning to see who was behind him, Panahasi cursed under his breath. Talk about piss-poor timing. Now he knew for certain who had been in the area with him and the two shifters on that dark country road. The oppressing feeling was not only back, but so strong that it felt like a wet blanket of stagnant air was surrounding him.

  “I can give you those answers and so much more.”

  “I highly doubt that,” Panahasi replied as he turned to fully face the one creature who could negate his powers and give him a run for his money.

  “You don’t think I know your darkest secrets, demon leader?”

  “No, Jaden. I doubt you know them all.”

  The man gave a half scoff, his lip turned up as his head tilted down. “You have two mates,” he said, speaking in a calm manner. The tone was light, but Panahasi knew the intentions were nothing but dark. “And,” he added as his head lifted and the look in his eyes darkened,“you will lose them.”

  “Guesswork,” Panahasi replied. He glanced past Jaden, seeing that the creature was a physical barrier between Panahasi and his exit. Panahasi briefly thought about his creation, and then Jaden’s. Everything in the universe had to have a balance.

  Good and evil.

  Right and wrong.

  Panahasi and Jaden.

  They all went hand in hand.

  The scales must always remain balanced.

  Jaden was Panahasi’s counterpart. Whereas Panahasi was the leader of the demon warriors, a group of men born to protect Serenity City, Jaden was the leader of himself, born to make Panahasi’s life a living hell.

  But, what no one knew was that Panahasi was life, the very essence of creation, and Jaden was death. It was a well-guarded secret, and one that Panahasi planned to keep buried. Jaden was the dark side everyone feared.

  And Jaden excelled at what he did. He struck bargains with humans for their souls. When wars broke out, Jaden was usually the hidden face behind it all. When famine ravaged a land, it was Jaden who caused the land to dry up and die.

  The man invaded a person’s dreams, turning the docile images into nightmares. He was dark, twisted, and someone who made Satan look like Little Bo Peep—which was a fitting comparison considering the man looked at people as a flock of sheep, ready to slaughter them without a moment’s hesitation.

  Panahasi hadn’t seen the man in over twelve thousand years. Jaden liked to keep himself busy causing havoc and mayhem. The stench of death and the smell of violence were like an aphrodisiac to Jaden.

  And now he was in Serenity City.

  Chapter Two

  Drake looked around the penthouse, wondering exactly who Panahasi was. The man was a mystery to him. Sexuality and sensuality clung to him like a second skin, but Drake knew that there was more to the man than just his good looks and sexual allure.

  Panahasi was also dark and mysterious, his aura dangerous and silent. The man’s body language screamed for everyone to fuck off, yet the man seemed to tolerate Drake and Casey. True, they were his mates, but that didn’t automatically give them a free pass into the man’s life.

  No, the tall and lethal man was a thinker, a brooder, and piqued Drake’s curiosity to the point he felt an overwhelming need to find out just who Panahasi was. What made him tick? What made him so reserved? Those, and many more questions, drove Drake to snoop around.

  He was mated to the guy after all. So was it really snooping? Nah.

  Drake had to admit, the guy was handsome as hell, but other than

  that, Drake hadn ’t a clue who his mate was. The man’s features were sharp, chiseled, and he had a tall, lean frame that was made for sex. Drake wasn’t a fan of men with long hair, but Panahasi wore his in a sexy leather cord that made Drake’s fingers itch to run them through the soft-looking strands. It was only shoulder length, but it was plenty for Drake to grab onto as the man fucked him into unconsciousness.

  But it was Panahasi ’s eyes that had drawn Drake in. They held the wisdom of ages in their dark, murky depths, and formed a lethal shadow ready to strike. His mate looked no older than a man in his early thirties, but Drake knew that those looks were deceptive. The guy was someone who had battled hard and seen plenty. Panahasi was not as he seemed, and Drake was determined to find out exactly who his mate was.

  “I don’t think we should be in his bedroom,” Casey said warily as he stood by the doorway, glancing back toward the living room. “That’s invading his privacy, Drake.”

  “He’ s our mate, Casey. Don’t you want to know who he is?” “Yes, but I want him to tell us, not snoop around.”

  Drake glanced over at his mate. The man was so damn cautious

  that he was surprised Casey wasn ’t still rooted to the spot in the living room. Drake had always looked out for the guy, and loved Casey beyond words, but sometimes the shifter was a little too uptight. Although he did have a stubborn streak a mile long, and a sharp tongue to match.

  “It’ ll be fine. I have a feeling he’ll be gone for a while. It’s not like I’m stealing from him. I’m just trying to find some clues to tell us who he is.”

  Casey sighed. “That still doesn’t make it right, Drake. Would you want someone snooping around your room?”

  “I’ve had that happen a thousand times, Casey,” Drake said bitterly at the memories of growing up in foster care. “I have no privacy. That was stripped away from both of us. That’s why we have no belongings. If we own nothing, then no one can take anything from us.”

  “That isno way to live, Drake.”

  It was an argument they had shared many times over the years, and Drake was no closer to agreeing with Casey.

  In foster care, Casey and Drake had had their belongings stolen from them so many times that they stopped collecting things. But no matter what had happened, Drake had always taken care of Casey, kept him safe.

  Drake knew at a young age that Casey was meant to be his. He didn’t know anything about a pull, or mates, not until he was older, but he had known from the start that Casey belonged solely to him. Casey was the one thing no one could steal from him.

  Until now.

  Drake knew that Panahasi wouldn’t try to steal Casey from him. That was not what mating was all about. But a ti
ny part of him was worried that he would lose some part of Casey to Panahasi.

  It was a ridiculous and immature thought, so Drake continued to search for his answer on who Panahasi was, pushing the insecurities away.

  “He is a demon,” Phoenyx said from behind them, startling the shit out of Drake. The man stood in the hallway, looking pissed as hell that Drake was in Panahasi’s room. And Phoenyx answering Drake’s inner thoughts was just creepy. What was the man, a damn psychic?

  “I’ve never heard of a demon,” Casey replied nervously. “Is he a bad demon?”

  “He is the leader of the demon warriors, and he wouldn’t appreciate anyone being nosey in his room. As a matter of fact, he’ll probably kill the both ofyou for it.”

  Drake ignored the threat, but agreed with Casey. He’d never heard of a demon before. So this guy telling him that Panahasi was the leader of demons didn’t help clear up his confusion. But it did impress him that his new mate held a position of power.

  He knew the man was a keeper, but damn.

  Truth be told, Drake hated to always be in charge and make the decisions for him and Casey. But he wasn’t going to hand that privilege over to his warrior mate until he knew exactly what Panahasi was and what his intentions were. He’d be damned if he and Casey ended up with an abusive mate. He had protected Casey their entire lives together, and he wasn’t going to fail his mate now.

  “And what is a demon warrior leader?” Drake asked as he closed the dresser drawer, finding nothing but socks and very expensivelooking boxers inside. The man liked his comforts from the looks of the bedroom. He wondered if Panahasi was a pampered man. It wouldn’t surprise him from the elegant way the man was dressed when they met. Although the GQ look fit Panahasi perfectly.

  “You are in the demon realm, shifter. It is a realm of many paranormal creatures, including humans and shifters, but mostly demons. Panahasi rules the warriors who were born to protect this realm.”

  If Panahasi was the leader of the demons sworn to protect this realm, he couldn’t be a bad man. Right? “So where did he go?”

  Phoenyx chuckled, and Drake didn’t find any humor in the sound. He didn’t think the man was going for humor either. “He answers to no one.”

  Okay. That cleared Panahasi’s whereabouts up. “I don’t like you,” Drake said to Phoenyx.

  “Drake!” Casey scowled at him. “That’s not very nice.”

  “I never claimed to be nice, Casey. We don’t know him, or Panny. For all we know, this guy is feeding us a line of bullshit. And no offense, but I’m allergic to bullshit.”

  “You don’t have to likeme,” Phoenyx said with a slight snarl. “But you will go back to the living room and wait on Panahasi.”

  “I was done looking around anyway.” Drake grabbed Casey’s hand and pulled his mate behind him. He wasn’t liking the demon realm very much. But then again, he hadn’t liked the human realm all that much either. He never felt like he had fit in anywhere, and this place was no exception.

  He and Casey had kind of drifted along, never settling anywhere for too long. Maybe it was the result of being shuffled from foster home to foster home, but Drake always felt restless. Whenever he and Casey had been split up, Drake would run away and hunt Casey down, the two of them living on the streets until the cops found them. And then the cycle started all over again.

  He and Casey may fight at times with each other, but Drake loved Casey more than his own life. They were not only mates, but best friends. And best friends fought occasionally. He would never hurt Casey, but sometimes the guy did irritate him. They weren’t the perfect couple, but Drake knew there was no such thing.

  Now he had a new mate to contend with.

  “I’m hungry,” Casey said as he sat down on the sofa. “We haven’t eaten since this morning.”

  “Do you have anything to eat around this place?” Drake asked Phoenyx.

  “I can see what Panahasi hasin his kitchen.”

  Drake waited until Phoenyx was gone before grabbing Casey’s hand and pulling him from the couch.

  “What are you doing?” Casey asked.

  “Getting the hell out of here.” Drake almost had to drag Casey to the front door, but they were soon in the hallway and jogging down the steps. “If we ask Phoenyx who Panahasi is, he might just lie, but if he is really a leader, then the people around here should know who he is. We can ask around, find out others’ opinions about him. That should give us the real lowdown on him.” He heard noises coming from the other apartments, but Drake didn’t stop until they were outside, and then halfway down the street.

  “Makes a weird sort of sense,” Casey said.

  Drake stilled for a moment, looking at his surroundings.

  It was dark out here.

  The place kind of reminded him of Gotham City in Batman. It was a bit creepy, and shadows seemed to lurk in every corner. He saw a few people, but they were hurrying along more than leisurely walking. The place didn’t feel welcoming in the least.

  “But Panahasi said we were to wait for him,” Casey reminded Drake. “We don’t even know where we are.”

  “Has that ever stopped us before?” Drake asked as they passed a coffee shop. He didn’t have any money on him, but he could use something to drink right about now. He was thirsty as hell and hungry, too.

  Casey tugged on Drake’s hand. “No, but it usually gets us into trouble, though. You always go flying into things, not thinking them through first, dumbass.”

  Drake stopped and turned, cupping Casey’s face as he stared into his mate’s amazing blue eyes. Gods, he loved this man. “Have I ever let anything happen to you, sweetie?”

  “No,” Casey said with a slight pout. “But you know as well as I do that Panahasi is our mate. I don’t know how that happened, but he is. We shouldn’t be running from him.”

  “And we shouldn’t be in the demon realm either, Casey. But we are. Until I know why in the fuck we are mated to a demon, I’m not taking any chances with you.”

  Casey looked as if he wanted to argue. Drake prayed the man didn’t. He was relieved when Casey nodded. As much as he liked battling wits with Casey, this was neither the time nor the place. They needed to keep moving.

  “Then we find out exactly where we are and whoPanahasi is.”

  “That’s the spirit,” Drake said as he gave Casey a quick kiss and then started walking again. “I wonder if we can find a map of this area. For an otherworldlyrealm, it sure is big.” And scary, he thought, but didn’t say that part out loud. He didn’t want to worry Casey.

  Drake pulled Casey closer when he noticed a man walking on the opposite side of the street, paying a little too much attention to them. Phoenyx had said that shifters lived here as well. So their presence shouldn’t be a big deal. But the guy kept on watching them as Drake hurried Casey along.

  “Someone’s watching us,” Casey whispered.

  “I already peeped him out.” Drake walked swiftly into the first door he came to, finding himself in a fancy-ass restaurant. That would have been fine but for his grumbling stomach. Having no cash on him, this was only an effective way to torture him. The scents alone were driving Drake mad. His mouth was watering, and his stomach began to loudly demand food.

  “Can I help you, gentlemen?” a distinguished-looking gentleman who was extremely tall and slim asked as soon as they walked into the place. The man had light-brown hair, cut to his neck, dark-colored eyes, and a kind face. Drake didn’t trust him. “I am Malcor, the proprietor of this establishment.”

  Casey’s hand gripped Drake’s harder, sending a small amount of pain through his fingers.“We were just passing through,” Casey said quickly.

  Drake shook his hand until Casey relaxed his death hold. The man had one hell of a strong grip. Drake feared Casey was going to break his fingers from his fear. “We’re looking for Panny. Have you seen him?”

  “Panny?” A perplexed look crossed Malcor’s face, and then a smile tipped the side of his lips. “Are y
ou referring to Panahasi?”

  “Yeah, he’s the one,” Drake said. “He’s our mate and we can’t find him.”

  “Is he now?” the man said with a curious drawl and an interested gleam in his eyes. “Come, have a seat. Your dinner is on the house.”

  Hot damn! Drake wasn’t going to turn the man down. He and Casey were starving. He pulled his mate along until they were seated in a back booth. Drake wasn’t going to complain about the seating being so close to the kitchen. It was a free meal after all. Maybe he should toss Panahasi’s name around a little bit more. They might be able to stay in a posh hotel and eat like kings.

  Casey gave an undignified snort as he scooted into the booth opposite Drake, giving one of his infamous scowls of disapproval. “Oh, now you want to say something about Panahasi being our mate.”

  “I never denied that he was. I just wasn’t sticking around until I knew more about him. I’ve never met a demon, and from what the foster homes have taught us about heaven and hell, demons are evil. Would you want to be stuck in the same room as him if he went all demonic on our asses?”

  Casey looked like he was considering Drake’s words and then shook his head. “I suppose not. But he did tell us to wait. There had to be a reason for that.”

  Drake waved Casey’s concern away. “He’s a leader of some warriors. Why wouldn’t he want us to socialize with the community and let everyone know he’s our mate?”

  Casey narrowed his pretty blue eyes at Drake. “You’re just using his name for gain, Drake. That isn’t right.”

  “Nothing monetary, Casey. But it did get us fed.”

  “Don’t you think it’s weird that someone was watching us with such interest and now we are being treated like royalty? Think. There is something wrong with all of this.”

  Drake opened his mouth to argue, but closed it when a waiter approached their table with a bottle of wine. “This was sent over to your table,” the man said as he pulled the cork and poured two glasses of sparkling pale pink wine. The smell was fruity, making Drake’s mouth water, but when he took a large swallow, a bitter taste flooded his mouth. Drake had thought it would taste as it smelled. He wasn’t a wine connoisseur, but if it smelled fruity, then it should have tasted fruity. It made perfect sense to him.