Page 24 of The Devil After Dark
twenty-three
LIANA
When I woke up, I was disappointed Cassio hadn’t visited in the night.
He hadn’t even messaged me since he stayed the night and woke me up for sex in the shower.
Okay, I hadn’t sent him a message either.
How could I be mad at him when I hadn’t reached out either?
I pulled on my running shoes and tied the laces.
I needed to clear my head and my morning was free of meetings.
My plan was to take the bus and train to the edge of the city and run up the hill to the Moon Goddess Temple at the top.
Well, I might walk the two mile path that led up the hill, but I would try to run it.
Thirty minutes later I was staring up the dirt switchbacks that snaked their way through the beautiful gardens below the temple.
The sun was rising and the air was cool and crisp.
It had been a while since I went for a run.
I used to come here all the time, but one day I just stopped.
My feet crunched in the dirt as I started up the hill.
Sooner than I wanted to admit it, I was breathing heavily.
My lungs and thighs and calves and ass all burned.
A few people passed me on their own runs up the hill.
Each time I pretended I wasn’t gasping like a fool.
About three quarters of the way up I finally gave in and slowed to a quick walk.
I made a mental note that I needed to come run the hill more often.
At least while walking I could enjoy the flowers that were starting to bloom.
Eventually, the path flattened out into the ancient and abandoned amphitheater and ruins below the temple.
The temple had survived, but the buildings below had somehow been destroyed or abandoned and left to deteriorate.
I crossed above the amphitheater and followed the stairs up to the temple.
As I opened the door, cool air met my sweat covered skin.
I slipped inside and wandered down the center of the temple before sliding into one of the pews.
I just sat and admired the stained glass windows that reached all the way to the ceiling.
The sun was now high enough that it filtered in and painted colors across the nearly empty temple interior.
The silence was healing. There were a few other people enjoying the quiet of the temple this morning, but besides the soft sounds of shoes on the floor, the temple was quiet.
“You ran up the hill, didn’t you?” A voice said quietly behind me and I whirled around to see Cassio leaning back casually in the pew behind me.
I hadn't even heard him sit down. His dark hair was messy and his leather jacket was half unzipped revealing a plain black t-shirt underneath. I let out a relieved sigh. I hadn’t expected anyone to talk to me here and I certainly did not expect to see Cassio.
Cassio leaned forward and brushed a stray strand of hair behind my ear. “Good morning.”
“Good morning to you,” I responded in a whisper. “Do you come here often?”
A grin pulled back the corners of Cassio’s mouth.
Then he leaned close to my shoulder and pointed towards the front of the temple.
I followed the line of his finger as Cassio whispered into my ear, “I do. That window on the right is one of my favorites in all of the temples.” His warm breath on my ear and neck made me swallow as I tried to focus on where he was pointing and not on the fact that just his presence made me wildly horny.
All of the windows here were beautiful. This particular window depicted a large white wolf and a person, likely a man, standing beside the wolf wearing a dark hood that shadowed their face.
I turned my head slightly back to Cassio.
“Do you believe the story that a wolf led people here to escape persecution?”
“That is the story for our existence isn’t it?” he replied.
“But do you believe it? What if it was made up?” I pressed.
Our written history began a few thousand years ago.
What or where our people were before then was vague.
One story included a white wolf and a hooded man delivering people here for their safety.
The stained glass window depicted this origin story.
That story always elicited sadness from me and I was not sure why.
“Do you have another theory?” Cassio asked with a small chuckle.
“Not necessarily. But where did we come from before? Why did we have to leave? What if the true story wasn’t ever written down correctly? You know, just normal questions I spend too much time thinking about,” I said and turned back to the windows.
Cassio’s fingers brushed my ponytail away from my sweat-sticky neck. “Come with me,” he replied as he stood and slid out of the pews. I stood and followed him. His hand closed around mine as he led me from the temple.
Cassio led me back into the ruins, weaving into an area that was quite private. “I love walking through here. It’s always so peaceful,” he finally said.
“Me too. I used to run up the hill and then sit in the amphitheater and watch the sunrise,” I told him. “Do you know what it was used for? The amphitheater? I didn’t really look into the history much when I moved here.”
Cassio stopped walking and I felt his body tense. It took him a few moments before he answered. “Magic wielders used to use this for their … entertainment,” he said carefully. “This was one of the earliest sites and it was destroyed by the lesser humans. Obviously it was never restored.”
“Entertainment?”
Cassio’s eyes scanned me before he spoke. “Games of violence with willing and unwilling participants.”
My stomach turned and I could not help but look out across the ruins.
I had heard rumors of these games and read incomplete histories that alluded to them as well.
This was a place of horror and death. “Oh,” I breathed.
I had thought this to be a beautiful place maybe of theater or music, not one of violence.
Cassio was just still and quiet beside me.
“Did this entertainment stop after this was destroyed?” Why the hell did I ask?
I wasn’t sure I wanted the answer. I’d grown up with stories of magic wielders kidnapping lesser humans.
It was why I was always told to avoid them.
But no one dared share specifics if they had known any.
“No. The games became more exclusive and hidden. Some of the other provinces still partake. The games in this province, however, stopped about ten years ago,” he said, his voice sad.
“Only ten years?” I shuddered.
“My mother was an unwilling participant in the Claiming. Which means my father partook and won. That was about forty years ago,” Cassio said softly as he stared out over the grounds.
I wasn’t sure how to respond to that. I didn’t want to know what the Claiming was. I was too afraid to learn what any of these sick games had been. “They both survived one of the … games?” I asked cautiously. “Well obviously, because you are here,” I stammered awkwardly.
Cassio let out a huff of a laugh. “Yep. And they were unhappily together until my father was murdered along with my brother. Then my mother left … I didn’t try to look for her either. I imagine she needed to get far away from my fathers memory. ”
“Gods, Cassio. I am so sorry,” I whispered in disbelief. How awful for him.
Cassio shook his head as if shaking off the memories. “What about your family?”
How could I follow up what he had just shared about his family?
“Alive and well in the west. My older brother and younger sister still live out there too,” I responded carefully.
My heart hurt for Cassio. I had chosen to leave my family and although I stayed in touch, none of us had the expectation that I would visit. His family however …
“Do you miss them?” he asked. I nodded. I did miss them. But moving here had been the right choice for me. I was running away for my own good and thankfully they understood.
Suddenly my phone buzzed and I almost dropped it as I startled. Looking down I realized it was my alarm telling me to leave so I could get home and cleaned up before heading in to work for the afternoon. “Shit. I need to get going,” I mumbled.
Cassio’s finger on my chin lifted my face to his. He gave me a gentle kiss. “Want to run down the hill or do you want a ride?” he asked casually.
I laughed. “I was planning on running, but thank you for the offer.”
“Alright, enjoy yourself,” he responded with a smile. Then he gave my ass a playful spank. “You better get going!”
I laughed and bit my lip as I took steps away from him. He just watched me as I turned and made my way through the ruins to the path that would take me back down the hill.