Avenging Cupids

Chapter 13: Runaway Art

"All truths are easy to understand once they are discovered; the point is to discover them."

— Galileo Galilei

“We will not execute the ritual Cassius! Besides, were you not the abolitionist who was opposed to Amoretto's Ritual in the first place?”

Willow squashed her ear harder against the wall. She felt the point of her earring prick her neck but she ignored it. She loved the sensation of pain—especially the exhilarating pains that accompanied body piercings. That was precisely why the parts of her body where the sun didn’t shine were jeweled and inked. Although Cassius would probably think her tattoos were cool, Azaria was a different story. She would probably get aneurysms if she found out.

"If you were in my shoes, wouldn't you change your mind at the sight of sexual conduct between Willow and this vile boy? Need I remind you Azzy, the boy is not only vulgar, but he is her soul mate!"

"Oh Cass, give her some leeway. She's a teenage girl and she has a good head on her shoulders."

There was silence between her parents. Willow thought she could hear her father's blood boiling.

"The three of us will relocate to Madriax Caosgo. It is the only way.” There was a slight—but noticeable—tremble in Cassius’ voice that made him sound less like Willow’s burly father and more like a wimpy snot-nosed boy.

“Don’t you understand?” Azaria hissed impatiently. “Willow will never stand for that!”

“Then what do you propose we do? Sit back quietly and allow this...this...frolicking?”

Cassius’ choice of verbs made Willow’s cheeks flush as burgundy as Cabernet wine. She wondered if he somehow knew about her and Alden’s little one-night getaway at the beach.

“Precisely. We shall recline in our seat of sentry and watch over them.”

Cassius let out an immature scoff. “If you think I’ll be giving this depraved creature of a boy even a morsel of protection, Azzy, you are sadly mistaken.”

Willow heard her mother walk a few paces—probably towards her father. She imagined Azaria to be standing akimbo, her petite frame shadowing Cassius. “You speak of Alden as if he were one of the Dark. Need I remind you? We are sworn to love and guard all of humanity. Our kind does not forsake any soul. Do you no longer abide by your tenets?”

A thick shroud of silence enveloped the master suite. All Willow could hear was the tick-tock of the grandfather clock, the hum of the air conditioner, and the rhythmic pulsing of Cassius’ infamous vein. She wondered if her parents’ conversation was over.

Out of the deafening silence, a quaking voice emerged. “Oh Azzy,” sighed Cassius, “why is parenting so hard?”

“No one ever said it would be easy,” Azaria laughed. “The road to good parenting is one of the most treacherous in the world. Even more perilous than Dalton Highway in Alaska.”

Cassius laughed with his wife, obviously lightening up. “While that may be true, we are not contending with zero visibility or enormous potholes. We are dealing with a teenage boy here."

"Give him a chance, Cass. He makes our daughter happy. And Nicollette is a dear trustworthy friend. Any child of hers is a superb one."

"Oh I suppose. He is only a boy after all. But if anything should go wrong, we are the ones to blame and our Willow will be the one to bear the brunt.”

“Cass, nothing will happen so long as we are here.”

Willow knew. Cassius’ ‘anything’ and Azaria’s ‘nothing’ were euphemisms for “death.” In that moment, the respect she had for her parents tripled. It must have taken a lot of resolve for her father to accept her relationship with Alden and she revered him for that. He had practically agreed to silent suffering for the sake of her happiness.