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“Maybe because he just attacked a lion shifter in the human realm, easily transporting said lion to the demon realm.”
Alric sat forward. “Impossible, Panahasi. No one escapes once I slam their cell door closed.”
“Except Morog,” Panahasi pointed out, though he’d been reluctant to bring up the first creature that Alric had created. Morog had been a pet, one that had attacked the Keeper and nearly killed him.
“Don’t remind me of him,” Alric snapped. “I’ll be right back.”
The guy simply vanished right in front of Panahasi, only to return moments later, looking a bit ill. “How in the hell did he escape?”
“Your guess is as good as mine, but he’s pissed Hondo killed his soul-sucking brother, and now he’s out for revenge.” Panahasi leaned a hip against the dusty desk. “I’m guessing that once he’s done avenging his brother, he’s going to want to kill the ones who locked him up.”
Which was Alric. “Let him try,” the Keeper snarled. “I locked him away once, but I’ll obliterate him this time.”
“There’s just one slight problem,” Panahasi pointed out. “He’s a master at remaining undetected. You lucked up when you captured him. Kalin won’t make that mistake again, and while he’s using whatever cloaking talent he has, he’ll rain down destruction wherever he goes.”
The Keeper sighed. “And here I was having a good day. I promised Trey I would take him to Italy this afternoon. He’s going to be pissed.”
Hardly. Alric’s mate was so sweet that Panahasi got a toothache whenever he was around the guy. Trey would understand the bind his mate was in. Alric was nearly fourteen billon years old and was starting to act like an old fart. Panahasi couldn’t believe how much the guy bitched lately.
“You were created when the universe was,” Panahasi said. “Tell me you can’t detect him.”
Alric crossed his arms as he arched a brow. “You’re Life. You’re every creature ever created. Can you detect him?”
Panahasi couldn’t. Even the most powerful had flaws, and clearly the inability to detect Kalin was one of those flaws for both of them. “Point taken.”
“We’re just going to have to follow the trail of destruction and hope we can find him,” the Keeper said. “Put your Ultionem on high alert. Where was the lion when Kalin attacked?”
“A town called Midnight Falls,” Panahasi said. “Do you know of it?”
The Keeper gave him a daft look. “I know every crevice in the universe.”
Clearly the Keeper was the one who was pissed that his plans had been interrupted, not Trey. Panahasi knew how that felt. He couldn’t count how many times he’d made plans with his mates, only to have them ruined by some bullshit going on. Thankfully Drake and Casey were understanding that Panahasi had a heavy burden to bear and a lot of responsibilities. His little wolf shifters simply entertained each other, which only served to piss off Panahasi because he wanted to be a part of that entertainment but some crisis had pulled him away.
Like now.
“Keep the lion at your apartment building,” the Keeper said. “Maybe that will draw out Kalin and we can get our hands on him before he causes any destruction and ruins my plans more than they’re already ruined.”
“The lion was injured by Kalin’s fire whip,” Panahasi said. “His wounds aren’t healing. Not even by Phoenix’s tear.”
“You could try healing him,” the Keeper said. “And if that doesn’t work, all you can do is try to manage his pain.”
“How?”
“Really, Panahasi. Do I have to explain everything to you?”
Panahasi ground his teeth. “Look, old man. Just because your plans with Trey are delayed doesn’t mean you take your attitude out on me.”
Panahasi didn’t care how scarily powerful the Keeper was. He wasn’t going to take that kind of disrespect from anyone. One snap of the fingers and Panahasi could vanish, but he’d rather vanish than let the ancient bastard throw a tantrum.
“You’re right.” The Keeper stood. “I’m pissed and taking it out on you. For that, I apologize. Hold tight at your residence. The sooner we kill Kalin, the faster I get my ass to Italy.”
“Can’t you just turn back time and stop Kalin from escaping in the first place?” Panahasi asked.
The Keeper grew quiet, as if deep in thought. “There are some things better not messed with, Panahasi. I might be the most powerful creature you’ve ever met, but monkeying with time only brings more chaos, not less. Have you ever heard of the grandfather paradox?”
Panahasi shook his head.
“Say you go back in time to kill your grandfather. How were you born? Say you go back to kill him after you’re born. You can’t kill him because you never did it in the first place. The cause is eliminated by its own effect. I can’t go back in time to stop Kalin from escaping because I never stopped him from escaping in the first place.”
