Page 112 of Demons & Damnation

As her gran’s kitchen faded from her reality, Kyla could do nothing but watch in utter fascination as a new world shimmered into existence. A sandy cobbled road stretched before her, stone buildings lining the edge of the street either side. Bright blue skies above, not a cloud in sight, beaming sunshine baking the earth beneath. Bright green trees littered the landscape, standing metres tall, shouts and screams of children playing echoed around her.

On the horizon, a huge mountain reached high up into the sky, lush green grass and thriving vegetation reaching halfway up its side.

A woman appeared from a house on Kyla’s right, dragging a bright red and white patterned rug out into the street. Her long brown hair was tied up into a high bun, leaving only a few wispy bits framing her delicate face. Her white dress wrapped around her slim frame, held in place by a red and gold threaded rope cinching her in at the waist.

She turned to Azazel, on her left, and said, “Where the hell are we?”

He closed his eyes and pressed his lips together for a few seconds. “Here we go again,” he whispered. Opening his eyes, he looked at Kyla, his jade green eyes brimming with tears. “This is a glimpse of my human life before I became...well...me.” He took a breath, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down as he swallowed the lump in his throat. “Balthazar and I lived in Pompeii before it...you know the rest.”

Kyla’s jaw dropped. She drew a deep breath as she glanced around her, taking in the odd shaped stones underneath her feet, the columns supporting the corners of each building, and the old but peaceful feeling surrounding her.

“I...oh my God. Can they see us?”

Azazel shook his head. “No. Thankfully. I think I’d slit my own throat if that were the case.”

“What happened here, Azazel?”

He lifted an arm and motioned for them to walk down the street. “I’ll show you.” He took a moment and then said, “I’ve been back here many times, torturing myself over what happens next. I haven’t been back for at least five hundred years—I realised it was doing me no good to keep rehashing things that had once been. But it’s still just as raw as if it happened yesterday.”

Kyla’s heart sped up, pumping a heady mix of adrenaline and anxiety through her veins. What on earth was going to happen next? “Is...” she wet her lips with tongue “...is what happens next what turned you into a demon?”

He nodded, glancing down at the street, his features glazed over with sorrow.

The warm yet fresh air enveloped Kyla in a serene hug, making her want to stay here and explore. Smells of baking bread, cooking meat, and herbs and spices invaded her senses, making her stomach grumble.

They walked past a few shops that sold everything from pottery to clothing to paintings. Men and women hurried around the streets, going about their day. Kyla couldn’t help but feel a sense of sadness as she flickered her eyes towards Mount Vesuvius, wondering how she would have felt knowing her impending doom was slithering towards her and she couldn’t do a thing about it.

“Am I about to see that erupt?” she asked, nodding her head towards Vesuvius. “I don’t think I can handle watching thousands of people and animals be turned to ash.”

“No,” he whispered, leading her off the main street and down a side alley. “That’s about another five months from now.”

So enamoured with her startling temporary reality, Kyla paid no attention to the rabbit warren of streets Azazel led her through. She walked with the pace of a three-year-old, staring at every building they passed, drinking in the magnificent old buildings and wishing she could witness how they built everything to last so many thousands of years.

When Azazel finally came to a stop, Kyla bumped into his solid form, her attention taken by staring high up at the roof of a shop and the exquisite markings carved into the stone.

“Sorry,” she said, heat rushing through her in an instant.

Azazel offered her a small smile, ignoring the bolt of electricity that shot through him when their skin touched. “This was my home,” he said, nodding his head towards the building in front of him.

Kyla took in the front of an exquisite villa. Two huge columns, easily eight feet tall, stood away from the front door, supporting a flat, block roof that appeared to be some sort of balcony with its linear metre high edging. Along the front of it was a beautiful artwork of a lion and an eagle, following a two-horse chariot into battle. The vivid reds, whites, and golds were absolutely breathtaking.

“This was my human life as Lucius Maximus Valens. I was a general in the army.” He took a deep breath and pointed to the villa next door. No grand entrance, just a modest double oak door hinting at being an entrance. “Balthazar lived there. He worked in politics. He had the name Octavio Maximus Valens.”

Kyla felt her heart skip a beat, stealing her of breath for a second. Where is this going?

“Let’s start here,” Azazel said, motioning for her to head towards Octavio’s front door.

Opening the front doors, Azazel led them through a shaded entrance way, closing the doors behind them. Straight in front of her sat a picturesque courtyard, edged by the stone of the house, but a thriving green garden complete with a fish ornamental fountain, water spouting from its mouth.

Azazel headed them to the left, taking her into a large kitchen, an open fire on one side, the light-coloured bricks charred black from smoke, shelves of pots, pans, and herbs littering the walls, and thick wooden benches dotted around for food preparation.

As he led her through the house, each room linking to the next like a line of rooms, Kyla took in everything she could—ancient paintings of gods and goddesses on the walls, intricate patterns in expensive mosaic flooring, colourful motifs on the walls depicting various scenes from eating to orgies.

By the time they’d done a complete tour of the rectangular home consisting of a kitchen, four bedrooms, two bathrooms with small pools in each, and a reception room, Kyla found herself speechless.

“This is incredible. I’m blown away.” Standing back in the shaded entrance way overlooking the garden, Kyla thought back over the rooms she’d been through. “I don’t get the feeling of a family being here though. Nothing hinting at kids.” She looked over at Azazel, noticing the anguish lingering in his eyes. “Was a woman’s touch even a thing back then, back here? If it was, I don’t see it.”

Azazel shook his head. “You won’t see it. Because he was unmarried, he was alone.”

---