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He nods, taking the box from my waiting hand and stepping around the altar to the opposite side. The trail of gas begins on the floor beneath it, and with one strike his match is lit.
Looking at his father one last time, he shakes his head in disappointment. “May you forever remain in the darkness you imposed upon everyone else, as far from the light of your worthless god as the void can take you.” With that, he drops the match onto the pool of gas and watches as it ignites and follows the stream to the front of the room. When the benches begin to burn he turns back towards me, drops the box of matches next to the syringe, and extends his hand to me.
“Come on, time to sneak home.”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Cas only lives a few blocks away so we’re able to reach his house in just a few minutes. We scrambled back into our black clothes before leaving so we could easily sneak through the shadows, and by the time the phone rings we’ve both showered, my hair is dry and up in a messy bun as if I’ve been sleeping, and we’re dressed in our pajamas. The call was from a follower who happened to be a volunteer firefighter, and he wanted to inform Cas he was responding to a call at the temple because he couldn’t reach the Reverant to inform him of the situation.
We rush to his car while he begins calling his father’s phone, leaving messages begging him to call back or get to the temple. Because it’s so close, we actually beat the first fire truck there. Cas is careful to park far enough away that we’re not blocking emergency services but can still see what is going on. Flames are dancing in the windows and a few are broken out, letting thick smoke escape into the atmosphere to black out the sky and perfume the air.
Within minutes of our arrival the street is lined with firetrucks, police cars, and an ambulance. Members of the flock have learned of the fire and rushed to the temple, gathering as close as they possibly can as if their presence could help. Officer Elliott, a member of the local police, has been speaking with Cas off and on checking to see if we’ve been able to reach the Reverant and to provide completely uninformative updates. Each time the officer leaves the flock bombards Cas with questions, asking for answers about what is happening and where his father is. He reassures them all that we are working to get in contact with the Reverant, and we currently do not have any more information than they do. Like usual, I am avoided.
It takes a few hours to put the fire out. Members of the flock come and go and Cas continues to call his father, showing the right amount of worry while seeming as if he’s trying to keep things together for the flock. By the time the fire is under control the sun is beginning to rise, helping to show the full extent of the damage. The building that ruined my childhood is unironically now in ruins, and it feels like justice. While some of the offices and annex rooms may still be standing, the temple itself, the heart of worship, has been completely destroyed.
Officer Elliott returns once more, but this time he is wearing gloves and carrying the opened letter. “Cleric, can you come with me please?”
“Of course,” Cas nods and leans over to kiss my cheek, following him behind the barricade that has been erected to keep civilians safe. Officer Elliott speaks to him for a moment before handing over a pair of gloves for Cas to put on. He fumbles slightly while putting them on, but once he does he takes the letter and begins reading. After a few moments his brow furrows sharply and his gaze jerks to mine in feigned shock. He turns back to the letter and finishes reading it, shaking his head the whole time as if he can’t believe what he’s seeing. Handing it back to the officer, they spend a few more moments talking before a fireman approaches to join their discussion.
The people around me are all trying to guess what happened, wondering why the Reverant hasn’t arrived yet, and keeping their distance from me. I ignore them all, my attention shifting between Cas and the firefighters that are moving about. It looks like they’re all slowing down, so my guess is they’re cleaning up and checking for hot spots. Cas shakes the hand of both men and returns to my side. Once he arrives, he holds up a hand to silence the barrage of questions from those around us.
“There isn’t much known at this time, other than that the fire looks to have started in the temple. They won’t know for sure until a full investigation is done.”
“What were you reading?” someone from the crowd interrupts. “And where is the Reverant? He should be here! We need him!” More voices join the chorus and demand answers until Cas once again has to raise his hand for quiet.
“The police have asked me not to share the contents of the document at this time, and we haven’t been able to reach my father. Both the emergency responders and I would like to request that you go home at this time and allow them to finish doing their jobs. Having too many people here can interfere with their work going forward. I will continue to attempt to locate my father and we will call a meeting when we have more information to share.”
“What about worship?” one of the Elders asks, despondent.
“I’ll work to find a location where we can meet for that until we can rebuild. Please watch your email for updates and our next meeting time and location.”
It takes some more convincing, but the crowd eventually disperses. Once we’re alone the officer and fireman join us once more. Cas introduces us, but when they request that he speak to them without me he declines.
“Laurel is my fiance, I’d like her to stay.”
“Fair enough,” the fireman, who I learned is Chief Schappell, allows. “The fire is out, and we found one body in the temple lying on the altar. It is burned beyond recognition, but based on the letter we found we expect that we’ll find it’s your father.”
I gasp in shock, covering my mouth with my hand as I look up at Cas. “I don’t understand any of this,” he croaks. “My father was not the kind of man to do something like this. The temple was his life. It just doesn’t make sense.”
“Honestly, we don’t know what the truth is at this point. We’ll investigate everything we can, but the letter strongly hints to your father being responsible. We have your number, so we’ll call you if we need anything or have answers. If that isn’t your father and he happens to show up, please have him contact us as soon as possible.”
Cas remains silent, looking out over the destruction. Both men start looking slightly uncomfortable with his lack of response so I answer for him. “Of course. Please let us know if there is any way we can help. We’ll most likely be at his house in case his father shows up.”
“Thank you. We’ll be in touch.”
Since Cas is still not responding they hand me their business cards, nod, and walk away. I wrap him up in a hug and bury my face in his chest so no one can see my lips as I talk to him. “Shock, huh? You’re a pretty good actor. How much longer do you want to stay here?”
Dipping his head to kiss my temple, he mumbles against my skin. “Just a few more minutes. I need to see them bring out the body bag. He deserves everything he got.”
It’s been weeks since the fire, and we’ve been waiting impatiently for any news. Cas and I were both questioned, as well as most of the flock, but it’s been at least a week since we’ve heard anything. He stayed at our house last night since Mom had chemo yesterday, which has been going extremely well, so when his phone rings during breakfast he has three sets of eyes staring at him in anticipation.
“Hello? Yeah, hi. Ok, so you’re done? Right. Right, of course. I understand. Thank you, I’ll wait for their call. Goodbye.” He hangs up and returns to his pancakes as if there aren’t three women waiting on pins and needles sitting in front of him. Stuffing his mouth with a huge fork full, he finally looks up and meets my gaze.
“What?” His mouth is so full it comes out garbled, and he laughs and swallows hard when I pin him with a death glare. “Ok fine. That was the police. It has been determined that my father was not only responsible for his own death, but he also started the blaze that destroyed the temple. They will be sending his body to the funeral home today so arrangements can be made, and I have been invited to come to the station to collect the letter he left, since it was addressed to me. Oh, and the temple is no longer a crime scene.”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Cas has called the flock to the temple for a meeting in a few hours to discuss their future, and the future of the temple itself. After a lot of discussion, his final plan is to read the letter and tell them the temple will not be rebuilt as it was. We anticipate problems, so the police have agreed to send a few units to keep the peace and ensure that nothing goes wrong.
