Page 113 of Demons & Damnation

Kyla raised an eyebrow and looked around her again. “Why would he need something this big if he was all alone?”

“Times were different back then. You lived in a home according to your status in society, not according to the size of your family.”

“But if he had a high status, he must have had women wanting to be with him?”

Azazel nodded. “He wanted nothing more than a wife, really. I can’t deny him that truth. The problem was he was always too picky, finding something wrong with even the most beautiful of women.” He closed his eyes as he ran shaking hands over his face. “I only wish I had realised why.”

Kyla watched his hands as he let them fall to his side, the tremble in them still glaringly obvious. Her mouth ran dry as a ball of dread churned in her stomach.

Azazel led them inside his house, the layout identical to Octavio’s, just on a slightly larger scale. Walking through the rooms here, it was hard to miss that this was a family home. Various items of clothing strewn around, marbles littered the floor, a couple of wooden swords and some handmade chariots, clearly a child lived here.

The clattering of pots and pans combined with the sound of a cheery female voice singing had Azazel walking straight to the kitchen. He went through the doorway and stopped dead, holding his breath.

Kyla came to a stop at his side, her eyes widening as she took in the sight of Azazel as a human, as Lucius. Crisp white robes settled against his bronzed skin, his muscled arms flexing as he wrapped his arms around a brunette beauty. She ran a small hand through his blonde hair as she stared deep into his eyes, her whiskey-coloured eyes full of love for her husband. With her silky-smooth skin, red lips, and high cheekbones, the woman was the epitome of beauty. Her own white dress clung to her body, held in place by two horse brooches decorated with gleaming gems.

“Cassia,” Azazel whispered, his eyes glazing over with a forlorn look.

A young boy with blonde hair and high cheekbones ran through from the inner courtyard, his bright green eyes gleaming with joy as he tugged on Cassia’s robes. “My vegetables are growing,” he yelled, jumping up and down in excitement.

“That’s amazing,” she replied. “Why don’t you show me?”

Lucius let his wife go, taking a long, velvet red robe from a nearby bench and swinging it over his shoulders. Grazing Cassia’s cheek with a kiss, he departed, leaving his smiling wife and child to head out into the garden.

Kyla heard a hitch in Azazel’s breathing and turned to look at him. His whole body shook from head to toe, his lips pursed into an O as he tried to regulate his breathing. “Hey,” she said quietly, gently placing a hand on his forearm. “Are you ok?”

A couple of seconds passed before he blinked and turned to look at her. “I never thought I’d watch this again. Let alone with...” his voice cracked “...with my demi-soul. I don’t want you to see me like this, Kyla. Say the words, say you reject me, and you won’t have to see what happens next.” He squeezed his eyes shut, a solitary tear rolling down his cheek. “And I won’t have to relive it again either.”

Emotion rose in Kyla like a tidal wave. Knowing what she did of Azazel so far, to see him so open, so vulnerable, so sensitive, struck a chord in her. She knew these raw emotions, the damage they did when you drowned in their depths for too long.

“Maybe,” she said, sliding her hand down to his and interlacing their fingers. “Maybe this will be the visit that heals you. That finally gives you closure.”

He opened his eyes, nothing but walls of water staring back at her. “How?” he whispered. “I’ve been back here thousands of times, Kyla. And I mean thousands. I once spent an entire month here, just reliving it over and over again. There will never be a moment of closure for me.”

She squeezed his hand. “Maybe you’re looking in the wrong place for closure.”

He blinked at her a few times, confusion and surprise filtering through his jade green depths. “Maybe.”

They moved to stand out in the street watching as time sped forwards, the hustle and bustle of town life quietening down as twilight settled in the sky, the glittering of stars giving the dusky landscape a priceless picturesque view.

A swishing sound caught Kyla’s attention, making her turn around. She saw Cassia walking out of the house down the street towards Octavio’s home. Carrying a dish in her hands, she hurried along, her pretty face set into a look of determination.

“The streets were no place for a woman after dark,” Azazel whispered. “She knew I didn’t like her being out after dusk.” He swallowed. “But she also knew how much Octavio hated his slaves cooking so whenever we had leftovers, she took them to him.”

Azazel moved to walk behind Cassia, ushering Kyla along with his hand hovering over her lower back. Holding the door open for her, he let Kyla take the lead and follow Cassia through the house.

Heading straight into the dining room, Cassia set the dish down on a wooden table, various burn marks across the surface of it. Sat in a carved wooden chair was Octavio, dressed in his white robes with a gold eagle brooch at his shoulder. His dark eyes held an unnerving stare, a paradoxical mix of emptiness but at the same time full of emotion.

“You’re so kind to me,” he said, looking up at Cassia. “I cannot understand why.”

Cassia moved towards him, placing a delicate kiss on his cheek. “You’re my husband’s brother, Octavio. I will always care for you.”

Kyla felt her mouth go dry. She sucked in a breath and held it, each second that ticked by feeling like it stretched for eternity.

“I can’t watch this again,” Azazel said, closing his eyes and turning around.

Kyla spared him a glance, but her curiosity won out. She needed to know what happened next.

As Cassia turned to walk away, Octavio grabbed her wrist, yanking her back to him. Surprise and fear mixed together in the woman’s eyes. Standing up, Octavio reached up with his free hand and caressed Cassia’s cheek, the aching tenderness in his expression sending barbs of panic right through Kyla.

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