The Dawn of Light

(14)Earthly Desires (Part 1)

Earthly Desires (Part 1)

Casseus' POV

We were all standing in front of the large ivy-covered building; most of us severely hungover.

Simos, Malreus and my sister had left for the docks early in the morning to go check out the contestants for the games, while the rest of us moved around the city, dropping off one-by-one for our appointed employment.

First to leave the group was Narray.

"So this is a mortal brothel... Hmp." Triton shrugged and grazed his eyes over the old, renaissance styled manor. "Not bad."

"It looks horrible." Narray was by far the worst off this morning. Her eyes held dark rings underneath and every few minutes she'd rush into an alleyway to vomit up some vile contents. It looked like a poison I could make with just tree bark, moss and the right kind of fungi. Disgusting.

My head was throbbing a bit, but not nearly as bad as Narray and Triton's. Serves them right for drinking so much last night. Claudeus nearly had exactly the same amount, but my brother never had the unfortunate blessing of waking up with a hangover. Lucky bastard.

"You're actually going to be a prostitute?" Asclepius asked Narray with a lifted, blond eyebrow. He'd slipped away near the end of the night to go to bed. A good choice.; Narray would've ended up pushing at least five more shots down his royal throat.

"Of course not!" The demi-goddess shouted at him. The streets were busy with a bustling crowd of people- all dressed as if they were headed to a formal festival. I suppose this was how the wealthy dressed here every day. "I'll just use some magic to put them to sleep and then make them think that we had sex. Easy."

"What magic?" Ash scoffed at her plan. "You only know earth, astronomical and ancestry. That covers the 'put them to sleep' bit, but you don't have blood magic to compel them?"

"Oh, shut up." She grumbled and crossed her arms. "I'll figure something out."

"Eh, just have fun with it." Triton gave her a pat on the back, but Narray wasn't in the mood for his jokes. She slapped his chest and walked up ahead, to meet her new employer.

Madam Keya- the mistress of the island, Mania.

"Let me go with her." I held Triton and Morpheus back when they moved to follow Narray. "The rest of you stay behind. We'll move together from here."

They nodded. Although I might've been one of the youngest children of the gods, I held a certain air of authority that most of the elder ones couldn't deny. The only two people who really had any say over what I did, were Malreus and my sister. I didn't mind listening to them- their advice and tactics were good, but the others I didn't pay much attention to when it came to plans and strategies. Call it egotistical or arrogant- I just believed I knew a bit better.

Claudeus was different though. I liked to involve him in what I planned and I did listen to his advice too; my brother was smart. Book smart. I was street smart. We made a good combination.

I ducked down a bit as I entered the manor. The door's frame was a bit too short. A red curtain hung over the entrance, covering the foyer in darkness and giving some purpose to the lit candles.

Narray looked around the large chamber. It was beautifully decorated; with luxurious, fur rugs placed elegantly on the floor, glass chandeliers and candleholders and a theme of dark red, magenta and light lilac running throughout the house.

This was clearly an expensive place for some entertainment- this Madam Keya clearly didn't spare any expensive to create an ambience of extravagance for her patrons. I hoped Narray would be treated well though; but I knew her well enough to know that concern would only annoy her.