Parallel Process

by Barbara Sheridan

  “Make love with me.” Matt flicked his tongue over Haku’s earlobe before enveloping the soft bit of flesh in his mouth. Standing behind Haku, drawing them together in a hug, he pressed close. The prominent bulge of his hardening cock nudged Haku’s backside.

  “Satisfy me,” he murmured, slowly massaging his hands down Haku’s chest.

  “Matt, snap out of this…” Haku squirmed against the caress. The rest of his words dissolved into a throaty moan as his lover’s caress traveled lower. Matt rubbed a hand over the swelling length inside Haku’s pants, the other leisurely working open the fly. He nuzzled the side of Haku’s neck, gliding his tongue and teeth along the skin above the high collar of the turtleneck.

  Tilting his head back to better expose himself to those exhilarating kisses, Haku caught a glimpse of Maaya watching them. A soft, taunting laugh came from the man, daring Haku to resist. You can’t, Maaya mouthed.

  Almost as angry as he was turned on, Haku pivoted on his heel and bent at the knees. He shoved against Matt, just hard enough to break their embrace, and strode toward Maaya. “Get out of his body. Now!”

  Maaya didn’t budge an inch; that coy half-smile never wavered. Before Haku could get a foot closer, Matt charged into him from behind. The blow sent them both tumbling past the ropes around the display where they landed on the bed. Matt was strong and leaned his weight on Haku to pin him to the bench. But Haku used their momentum to wrench Matt to the side, reversing their positions in one quick motion.

  “Get out of his head,” Haku panted, his forearm braced across Matt’s heaving chest. “Don’t make me tell you again.”

  “I could leave this body an empty husk without a soul. Is that really what you want?” Matt smiled. But the expression was a darker version of the usually bright and friendly grin that always charmed Haku.

  Reaching up with the arm that wasn’t pinned to the bed, Matt smoothed the back of his hand across Haku’s cheek. In a gentle motion, he wiped away a trickle of perspiration. “Or we can enjoy one of those options I gave you earlier. That sounds more fun for the both of us, I think.”

  “You bastard,” Haku seethed, even as he pulled his arm back. He wanted to tell himself this was only for Matt’s sake and that he wasn’t aroused by any of this. Unfortunately, the erection he’d struggled to restrain all evening disagreed with that rationalization. Haku’s cock jerked up and pushed against the partially opened zipper of his pants. He wished to God he’d bothered to put on some underwear this morning, as if that would’ve helped. The swollen head of his prick forced open the zipper the rest of the way.

  “Dammit, Matt.” Haku clutched at the front of his possessed lover’s striped T-shirt. “If you’re not going to be strong enough to resist this, then I’m sure as hell not.”

  Haku squeezed his eyes shut. “You win, Maaya.” He dipped forward, capturing the other man’s lips with his own and releasing his passion at last. Strong hands rubbed over his shoulders, the kiss heating up to a fever pitch. Without warning, the kiss came to an abrupt end, and he was held at arm’s length.

  Matt gawked at him. “Who the hell is Maaya?”

  Chapter Eleven

  “It’s a long story…” Haku began, his words drifting off as Matt began to look around, then at him, then around the dimly-lit museum once more.

  “What the hell is going on? How did we get here? Like this? I was just coming in looking for you and ‑‑”

  Haku did the first thing he thought of ‑‑ silenced Matt with a kiss until the crackle of a walkie-talkie being keyed and a voice drifted from the gallery’s entrance.

  “I’m telling ya, Frank, I saw people messing with stuff in the back, then the camera went on the fritz. I think they stole something. I’m checking it out now; you go to the control room and check the camera.”

  “Shit!” Haku whispered hoarsely. He climbed off Matt, grabbed his bewildered lover’s hand, then pulled him into the shadows where Maaya had been and began to snake around to the museum entrance from the opposite end, trying to avoid detection. This would be one hell of a situation to explain, especially with a broken display and the ancient box having been tampered with. Please let the security camera still be malfunctioning, Haku prayed as they slipped out of the building.

  Matt pulled away and stopped. “What the hell is going on?”

  Slumping against the heavy steel railing running down the center of the building’s steps, Haku ran his hand through his hair. “It’s a very long story, Matt, and I ‑‑”

  A loud wolf whistle and long glance from one of the girls walking up the steps behind Matt made Haku look down. “Shit.” He hastily stuffed the head of his dick back into his pants and zipped them up, then rushed down the remaining cement steps, the girls’ laughter ringing in his ears.

  Matt caught up within seconds and grabbed Haku’s shoulder, turning him around. “What is happening here? I went to that old streetcar station, and I found this tunnel, and it was weird, weird shit. The wall had ancient Indian writing on it. I was copying it down when it split open, and this freaky little thing like the one you killed ran out past me. I thought it was coming after you, so I headed back here.”

  “Hey ‑‑ I asked you to stay away from that station.” Haku said. “Why didn’t you listen to me?”

  “Because you’re acting weird, and I have to figure out why before something happens.” Matt caught Haku’s hand and squeezed it gently. A worried look flashed across his face before he glanced over his shoulder and scanned the peaceful campus around them. “One of those freakish things is out there somewhere, and I don’t know when it’s going to pop up.”

  “It’s not after either of us.” Haku slipped his hand free and smoothed down the front of his shirt. He’d specifically told Matt to stay away from that site, hoping to keep Matt from having any contact at all with Maaya and putting himself at risk. The plan hadn’t worked, and Maaya obviously still had a deadly hold over him. Haku had no doubt the demon god’s threats were true.

  “Damn it, when I talk, do you even hear the words coming out of my mouth?” He jabbed Matt in the chest angrily. “Do you even care?”

  “Of course I do.” Matt gave him a hurt look. “I’m not going to sit on my ass while the person I love is in danger. Sorry if that pisses you off, ’cause it interferes with whatever ronin ego trip you’re on. ”

  Haku blinked. “What did you say?”

  “That’s right, I called you a ‘ronin,’ and I don’t give a damn if you think that’s stereotyping ’cause ‑‑” Haku pressed a fingertip to Matt’s lips, silencing him.

  “No, before that,” Haku whispered, lowering his hand.

  “I love you,” Matt replied softly.

  Haku stared deeply into Matt’s bright blue eyes, and for the first time, realized that his own love was reflected there, and probably had been all the time he’d been thinking that Matt was only interested in him for the sex. And though he very much wanted to pull Matt into a crushing embrace, Haku held back, instead tugging on Matt’s sleeve and leading him down the remaining steps.

  “Let’s go back to Adler’s office, so I can get my laptop; then we can figure out what to do next. Maybe the professor has an idea of where Dannings might be.”

  “What’s Dannings got to do with those things?”

  Haku breathed a sigh. “Like I said, it’s a long story, and I’ll try to explain while we head over to Adler’s.”

  “Just give him the Cliff Notes to read later on.” Maaya melted out of the shadows beside the stone steps, scaring the crap out of both men.

  “Jesus!” Matt gave a start, catching himself on the edge of the railing.

  “Hardly.” Maaya leaned forward, stroking his chin, as he stared Matt up and down. “Now this is interesting.” He tapped the side of Matt’s head. “How did you do that earlier?”

  Matt sidestepped around him, pressing close to Haku. “Dude, I don’t know what you’re talking about, but we have to go.”

  “I’m only curious
.” The man squinted his hazel eyes into narrow slits. “How did you have the power to push me from your mind?”

  “What?” Matt stared, looking thoroughly confused.

  Haku couldn’t bring himself to explain everything to Matt, and he felt a surge of guilt. “No more games, Maaya,” Haku warned the god. He pulled on Matt’s sleeve to get the hell out of there.

  “Maaya?” Matt lurched to a stop. “That’s the guy?” He sniffed the air, picking up the scent Haku had thought only he could detect until now. “That’s sandalwood. I noticed it at the station, too.”

  “Not now, Matt.” Haku felt a nervous sweat break out on his forehead. “Come on.”

  “Don’t worry, Haku.” Maaya raised both eyebrows in a look of mild surprise, his expression a mask for whatever he actually felt. “It seems like we both underestimated his willpower.”

  “Someone mind filling me in on what’s going on?” Matt huffed. He jerked his thumb in Maaya’s direction. “Starting with why I have this urge to knock that dude flat?”

  Truthfully, Haku was curious, too. But he doubted Maaya would share anything just yet. “I’ll explain later,” Haku promised, clearing his throat. With a few particular details left out, of course.

  For once, Haku was grateful when Maaya changed the subject. “Just so you know, I wanted to warn you.” The god yawned. “Apparently, the cameras in the gallery were able to snag some footage at the end there.”

  “How much?” Haku felt the blood drain from his face.

  “Enough for two men to be identified,” Maaya said coolly. “I’d start picking up the pace if I were you.”

  “Oh, shit, oh, shit.” Haku spun around and smacked right into the last person he wanted to see. “Beaglehole,” he gulped.

  Blotches of purple appeared on the school official’s plump, round face. The man carried a stack of papers under one arm and a set of keys in the other. His clothing and the few strands of hair on his head were in disarray, as if he’d rushed to the scene.

  “You two!” he sputtered, so furious he couldn’t get another word out. Wagging a fist at them, the keys jangled loudly as his tirade gathered momentum. “Of all the reckless, most irresponsible, most unbelievably stupid stunts ‑‑ you thieving little pricks!”

  Uh-oh. “It’s not like that,” Haku stammered. “We didn’t take anything.” Conveniently, Maaya had vanished from sight. “Bastard,” Haku muttered under his breath.

  “When word of this gets out, do you realize how humiliated the university is going to be?” Beaglehole fumed. “This is going to be the worst scandal in our institution’s history, and it’s all because of you two pathetic ‑‑”

  Matt stepped forward, eyes wide. “Oh, my God, Bagelmiser, behind you! It’s President Carroll, and she looks pissed enough to revoke your tenure!”

  The school official dropped his keys and paperwork in a panic. He whipped around to find no one there. Taking advantage of the diversion, Matt and Haku made a run for it.

  “You two can’t get away with this!” the man yelled after them. “And the name is Beaglehole! Beaglehole!”

  Matt dashed up the pavement, Haku right beside him. “I think we’re seriously screwed,” he panted. “And I’m not even sure why.”

  “Once we get to Professor Adler’s office, we’ll figure this out.” Haku gulped down some air.

  “He might even have more information on that demon,” Matt added as they rounded the curve along the administration building.

  That’s when it hit Haku. The whole connection between Dannings, the artifacts, the demons he was trying to control, and who the target was supposed to be. Why hadn’t he realized it sooner?

  “We have to hurry.” Haku picked up the pace. “It’s Professor Adler ‑‑ he’s the one in danger!”

  Matt inched ahead and beat Haku to Adler’s office, stopping dead in the doorway. Haku rushed into his lover’s broad back, and only Matt’s quick reflexes of grabbing onto the doorframe kept them from tumbling face first into the office ‑‑ or what was once the office.

  What Beaglehole hadn’t had removed was a shambles, and in the center of it was the demon Matt had encountered in the tunnel. He ‑‑ it sat with its back to them, perched atop a heap of splintered wood and twisted metal that had once been Adler’s desk, and it was holding Adler’s jacket at arm’s length, shredding it with long, pointed claws.

  “We’re too late,” Haku whispered, his fingers knotting in the back of Matt’s sweat-dampened T-shirt. The demon froze. Haku pulled Matt’s shirt as the creature turned and snarled, rows of jagged fangs dripping with saliva, its beady eyes glowing with fury and hunger. “Oh, shit.”

  “Run,” Matt said. “I’ll hold him off.”

  “No! Come on!” Haku yanked Matt’s shirt, but Matt held fast to the doorframe.

  The demon snarled again and leapt at Matt. “Run, Haku!”

  “No!”

  Suddenly, a black shadow fell over them, and Maaya materialized in front of Matt. He raised his hand and muttered something, and the demon collapsed to the ground in a smoldering, putrid heap.

  Maaya turned and fixed them both with a cocky look. “Don’t either of you have self-preservation instincts?”

  “When the fight-or-flight mechanism kicks in, we’re not the type to run.” Matt squinted at the guy, seriously hating him without knowing why. Never mind the fact he’d just witnessed Maaya fry a demon by practically just looking at him. Matt’s hands balled into fists.

  “So much bravado.” Maaya rolled his eyes.

  “Professor Adler!” Haku shoved past them both and ran into the battered room. He skidded to a stop, slipping on a pool of the creature’s saliva near the remains of the desk. Picking up the torn shreds of Adler’s jacket, he held them up to the light that streamed in from the window. “There’s no blood.”

  Matt tore himself away from his stare down with Maaya and joined Haku. “He was taken?” He helped Haku stand.

  “And in one piece, thank God.” Haku tossed the shredded garment to the floor. “For now, anyway. Dannings has him, I’m sure of it.”

  “Dannings?” Matt and Maaya asked in unison.

  “Don’t do that.” Haku rubbed the sides of his forehead. “I’ve had enough of that stereo-thing from you two already.”

  Matt shot Maaya a dirty look before addressing Haku. “Dannings has something against the professor?”

  After a brief explanation to bring Maaya up to speed on the long-ago prank gone wrong, Haku rummaged around the room. “Look for a clue ‑‑ anything!” He tossed a crushed microscope aside and dropped to his knees to sort through the mess on the floor.

  “All this trouble for a silly college professor.” Maaya sounded disgusted. He lingered in the doorway, arms folded across his chest. “What a waste.”

  “Why don’t you help instead of bitching?” Matt snapped from the counter on the back wall. The door to the old medicine cabinet had been torn off, the contents scattered on the black Corian top. Beside that, the coffee maker was knocked onto its side. Adler’s Russian tea dribbled toward the sink, leaving an orange-colored stain visible even in the poor lighting.

  A stain…like the practical joke that started this all. “Haku, the professor’s right here on campus.”

  “He could be anywhere.” Haku shook his head, his brow creased with worry and stress. “You saw how fast those demons move; they could’ve carried him miles from here.”

  “Dannings has him at the pool where he pulled that joke back in the day.” Matt picked up the glass pot, noticing it still felt warm. “He was in the office up until a little while ago, so we still have time if we move!”

  “Shit, you’re right.” Haku pulled himself up.

  A cold breeze slid over them from behind and they turned to the door. Maaya was gone. “Self-serving bastard,” Matt grumbled. He turned back to Haku. “We should take something to fight those things, but what?” he asked, his gaze skimming the demolished room.

  “Everything that wasn’
t taken earlier has been wrecked.” Haku ran a hand through his hair.

  “Then Beaglewhore did us a favor without meaning to.” Matt darted for the door, pulling Haku behind him. “Almost all demons have a serious aversion to iron. I’ll bet anything that’s how you were able to kill the one from last night; there had to be metal on the camera stand.”

  They left the office in a rush and raced down the corridor leading toward the back of the building. As Matt and Haku shoved open the door, they crashed into another guy who was heading in. Matt didn’t pay him much mind until the man caught him by the collar.

  “Whoa, slow down there, Mulder and Scully.” It was Rick, in school reporter mode, complete with a digital camera around his neck and a notebook in his free hand. Since his breath came in heavy gasps, he’d probably sprinted all the way across campus from the newspaper’s office. “Have you two completely lost your minds?”

  “Not now.” Matt shrugged him off. “We don’t have time for this.”

  “Why? Planning on ripping something else off on campus?” Rick shoved him into the doorway and poked Mat in the chest with a hard finger. “What the hell’s gotten into you, Gavin? You and your boyfriend seriously screwed up this time.”

  “Hey, back off.” Haku shoved Rick away. “We haven’t done anything wrong.”

  “That’s not what Beaglehole is saying.” The reporter let out a frustrated puff of air. “He’s accusing you two of stealing historical artifacts from the university’s gallery and wants to press charges with the police.”

  Matt shook his head. “Whatever. They can arrest us after we save Professor Adler.” He started down the steps two at a time.

  “Nishikawa, talk some sense to me,” Rick said.

  “You wouldn’t believe me if I tried.” Haku shoved past him and darted after Matt.

  “Shit,” Rick hissed, but followed.