Chapter Four

Peni

It was ten to nine the next day… roughly. Dakata had a large clock in his study that chimed every quarter hour, and if Peni strained his ears, he could hear it. Peni hadn’t got as much sleep as he’d like. Between his goat bleating what felt like every five minutes about wanting their mate and him straining his ears every few minutes, wondering what the demon upstairs was doing—or more specifically, which demon was upstairs—Peni had been awake from the moment the sun rose.

His basement spot had one significant advantage—someone had insulated the floor with some kind of heating for the levels above. It meant if Peni was cautious, he could move around and have his television on, without being heard by the people in the main house.

Dakata, if he was home overnight, was usually gone by eight in the morning, even earlier most days. His workaholic habits gave Peni a chance to have a quick shower in the tiny cubicle someone had put in the basement and then forgotten. It wasn’t tiled, only lined with plastic, but it had hot and cold running taps, and between that and the singular toilet and tiny hand sink, which sat next to the shower cubicle, it was enough for Peni. He’d always been cautious, never flushing the toilet until Dakata left for work, in case the pipes made a noise through the house. It’s not like he could be in two places at once and check for that sort of thing.

You should’ve gone up and made him breakfast before he went out. Show our mate we can be useful for more than just cleaning. His goat piped up again as Peni poured himself a bowl of cereal, adding a splash of milk that he stored in his cooler. Going over to his small mass of cushions that made up his bed and chair all in one, he sat down quietly and dug his spoon into the bowl.

A huge demon like that needs a good start to his day.

Great. Now his goat was offering tips on demon nutrition. Dakata doesn’t eat breakfast. He barely eats here at all. Yes, Peni was being deliberately obtuse, but he desperately wanted his day to be a normal one. Shower. Eat. Go upstairs and clean. His pay would be in his account once he got done for the day. Peni could go and buy a few bits of groceries and replenish his soap and shampoo before curling up for another quiet evening with his library books.

Dakata didn’t come home last night. Our mate was the one who slept here last night.

Peni stilled in the act of putting another spoonful of cereal in his mouth, his eyes darting around his space. How do you know that? It’s not like we can hear anyone moving much around the floors above.

Our demon slams the doors differently to Dakata. Dakata’s are short and sharp, as if he’s not thinking about it. Our demon does it deliberately. Bedroom door. Closet door. Bathroom door. Front door. I think he knows we’re here, and he’s sending us a message. Isn’t that sweet of him?

No! Peni didn’t even want to consider that possibility. The demon with the big balls couldn’t know he was staying in the basement. He can’t find us here. I’d get fired if he knew we were down here… and Mrs. Danials would get into trouble… Don’t you see? We’d be homeless again.

Our demon wouldn’t let us be homeless.

Yep, you keep telling yourself that , but Peni kept that message to himself. Just the stress of being put out, of having nowhere to go, was enough to give him a headache. He’d spent more time than he’d like to think about sleeping rough. The world wasn’t kind to little shifters like him.

It's time to go upstairs and start work. His darn goat was almost singing he was so happy about it. But Peni knew that was what he had to do—it was what he would normally do. The front door had slammed shut just before eight. He’d showered, wiping down the plastic so it was as clean as the day whoever had installed it, and he’d eaten. Peni couldn’t put it off anymore.

Rinsing his bowl in the tiny sink, Peni left it in there to drain, rubbing his hands dry on a small towel he kept handy for that sort of thing. He gathered up his change of clothes. It was laundry day, and Dakata never seemed to notice when he washed his clothes in with the used linen in the house. His headphones he looked at and left behind. Peni wanted to keep his wits about him. There would be no singing for him while he was so nervous—which was a shame because Peni loved to sing… as long as no one was listening to him.

Everything’s normal. The demon is at work. The house is mine for the next seven hours. Keeping that thought forefront in his mind, Peni crept upstairs, wincing as the bolt he’d latched the night before squeaked on opening. He made a mental note to oil that later. The door opened quietly enough, but Peni paused as he saw the outer cupboard door was open. I know I closed that when I came through it last night.

Just the idea that the demon could be lurking on the other side of the door, waiting to jump out and grab him, had Peni thinking about spending the day in the basement. But if he did that, then Peni knew he would have to spend that day moving out. He justified he wasn’t doing anything wrong by staying downstairs because he cleaned the entire house methodically from top to bottom. And Peni worked hard so he didn’t feel he was doing anything wrong… even though he knew technically he was.

No. Peni was determined he was going to have a normal day. It was highly possible the demon spilled something on the floor and needed the mop to wipe it up. Peni ignored the fact that the mop head was dry and moved through the cupboard, pushing the door open wide and peering around both edges.

No demon. He’s gone to work. Stop being silly. Peni stepped out and went over to the huge industrial washing machine Dakata had. Time to change the linens, get the machines going, and then I’ll clean the study and the upstairs bedrooms. Just another normal day.

We are not rolling all over Dakata’s bed. What is wrong with you? Peni was hanging on by his last nerve. The first couple of hours had been normal enough. He got his clothes washed and dried quickly enough while he was cleaning the study, which was the one thing he hadn’t finished the day before. There was just a coffee mug left in the kitchen, so Peni washed that and put it away before setting up the coffee machine for a fresh brew for when Dakata came home.

Dakata, not the other demon. In fact, Peni had decided by the time he made his way upstairs that the demon who’d chased him around the kitchen the day before was clearly just a random overnight visitor. Probably some poor demon who Dakata had let stay because he was busy doing something else. Nothing to worry about, in other words.

His goat half had great fun snorting at that idea. A mate will not leave us. Something else Peni ignored. By all that was holy, the moment he went into the main bedroom, his goat started acting as though he was drunk.

Roll on it. Smother our scent all over his covers. He’ll love it, and it’ll make him feel spicy.

We’re not a cat shifter. Goats do not leave scents for others to find. Peni definitely didn’t want a “spicy” demon running about the house. He took the cover off the bed and reached for the sheets when, all of a sudden, his knees went weak. “What’s happening?” Stunned, Peni spoke out loud.

You have to. Do it.

Right. So his goat was trying to force Peni to do something he would absolutely never do. “Cleaners do not roll on their employer’s bed. That is undignified and a tremendous breach of trust. It’s wrong.” He gathered up the sheets into a large roll to take downstairs when he got a prickly feeling across the back of his neck. The feeling a prey animal would get when a predator was nearby.

What are you doing to me now?

His arms filled with the dirty linen, Peni looked around for somewhere to hide, just in case. Who’s here?

No one. We’re the only ones in the house.

Rubbing the back of his neck, Peni wasn’t so sure, but he hadn’t heard the front door, and he had been listening out for it. Giving himself a determined shake, he took the dirty sheets down to the washing machine and grabbed fresh sheets and towels from the linen cupboard.

The prickly feeling came back as he went back upstairs. Are you sure someone’s not watching us?

There’s no one here but us.

I’m going out of my mind, another thought Peni kept to himself because his goat was not being helpful. Inside, he knew he was one loud noise away from running out of the house and never returning. He hurried to remake the bed with fresh sheets, taking the time to smooth out the wrinkles. Mrs. Danials had told him wrinkles were something Dakata absolutely wouldn’t tolerate. The bed hadn’t been made so crisply or quickly ever before.

Hurrying through to the bathroom, Peni got hit with another wobble in his knees. Please stop doing that, he begged his animal half as he quickly bundled up three damp towels that were hanging over the railing and replaced them with clean ones. Using the end of one of the drier used towels, he buffed a shine back into the taps on the basin, checking the shower door. It wasn’t too bad, and with Peni worried he was going to collapse on the floor in a heap any minute, he decided to leave that for another day.

No, don’t leave the bathroom. Our demon’s scent is so delicious in there. Can’t you imagine him standing there all naked and dripping with water, just waiting for you to dry him off with your tongue?

Where do you get your weird ideas? Not from me, that’s for sure. Peni almost fell, he was in such a rush to get down the stairs. That feeling of being watched hadn’t eased. Peni’s heart was racing, and he could hear the blood rush in his ears.

Wash the towels.

Dust the surfaces in the bedroom.

Vacuum the floors.

Peni kept working, but he’d never moved so fast in his life—that feeling of being watched persisting. By the time the vacuum was put away and the last of the linen was dried, folded, and put back in the linen cupboard, he felt as though he had run a marathon.

It was only three o’clock when Peni went back down to the basement, and out through the basement window, taking care to leave the latch ajar so he could get back in. He peered around the side of the house, making sure there were no cars around, before scuttling down the path and onto the street.

“I’ll do some shopping. Maybe grab a takeaway for dinner. This is just my nerves rattling. Everything will be fine. It will be fine.” But Peni couldn’t shake that same feeling of being watched even as he left the house behind.

Do you think our demon likes pizza?

Peni groaned out loud. Unfortunately, he’d never found a way to silence the other half of his soul.