Out of the Ashes

by Lori Dillon

  “Where is it?” she huffed, coming to a halt in front of Sera.

  Sera hugged her friend and led her over to the now-famous hole with pride.

  “There it is.”

  “Is it really a body cavity?” Olympia asked.

  David chuckled to himself. He couldn’t get over the awestruck expression on her round face.

  “We think so. Professor Moretti examined it this morning, but we won’t know for sure until the cast is made.”

  He turned his attention away from Olympia, following the cheerful tone of Sera’s voice. Her friend’s excitement about the discovery didn’t come close to Sera’s obvious joy. She was practically glowing, and it made her more beautiful than ever.

  He wished she’d send a little of that joy his way, but after the discovery, she’d pulled away. He wanted to think that, in her excitement, she was too busy to pay him much attention, but he knew that wasn’t the case.

  She was pushing him away on purpose, embracing the awkward tension filling the void between them. He couldn’t say he blamed her. She was the smart one, keeping her distance from him now that she knew who he was.

  And he was the idiot, trying to kiss her when common sense told him he should do everything in his power to stay on her good side. Making passes at the enemy wasn’t a smart way to accomplish that, but at the time, with her body soft and warm beneath his, he’d been powerless to stop himself.

  “That’s what I heard,” Olympia gushed, bringing his attention back to the two women. “Everyone on the site is talking about it. I’m so happy for you.”

  The women squealed and hugged each other as if one of them had just announced she was getting married.

  Even though he knew that wasn’t what they were celebrating, the wayward thought tickled at his brain. Just how long ago had she broken off the engagement with Giovanni? Had it been years or only weeks? Was she still in love with him?

  “This is so wonderful,” Olympia said when the two women finally peeled themselves apart. “I can’t wait to see the look on Giovanni’s face when he finds out. He’s going to swallow a toad.”

  Speak of the devil.

  The smile faded from Sera’s face. She looked confused. Or was that concern creasing her brow?

  “He doesn’t know yet? I thought you said everyone was talking about it.”

  David stabbed his shovel into the dirt. Why the hell did she care if Giovanni knew or not?

  “He couldn’t have heard yet,” Olympia remarked as she leaned down to get a closer look at the crack in the ground. “He hasn’t shown up for work this morning.”

  “Oh? That’s strange. He’s usually on time.”

  Definitely concern, he thought. If she didn’t like the guy anymore, why was she worried about him?

  Olympia snorted as she straightened back up.

  “Not really. He’s been late several times this month. His Highness comes and goes like he owns the damn place.”

  “He better watch out. Moretti isn’t going to like it.”

  “So far, I don’t think the Professor has noticed, but if Giovanni keeps it up, he’s going to get himself fired, senior archeologist or not.”

  David watched Sera’s expression closely. Just how upset would she be if her ex got the ax?

  Sera frowned and shook her head. What was that supposed to mean? Apathy? If so, it was better than caring about the snake. David would take what he could get.

  The two women resumed talking about the significance of the find and the procedure Sera would take to excavate it. She had been thrilled when Moretti told her she could do the excavation herself, with some supervision during the critical casting process. David didn’t have to be a mind reader to know how much the show of confidence from the Professor meant to her.

  Once Olympia left, they got down to work. The first part of the delicate job was to carefully remove all the loose earth from around the hard volcanic deposit. In short, direct words, she told David that it would be a very time-consuming process. One wrong move, too much weight on a particularly weak area, and the cavity could collapse. He didn’t have to be told twice to watch where he stepped.

  The task required them to work side-by-side, using hand trowels to scrape the dirt and loose pumice into buckets. As usual, Sera became so lost in her work she started singing. It took only the first few words before he recognized the tune. It was “Just as Though You Were Here,” the song they had danced to in her apartment.

  Her happiness was contagious, and he started singing the words along with her in his deep baritone voice. Not generally known for his musical abilities, he would be the first to admit that that young Sinatra guy didn’t have a thing to worry about from him. But he didn’t think he was that bad until he noticed Sera’s singing had stopped.

  He looked at her. Censure was written on every inch of her face.

  “What?” he shrugged, trying to ease the tension between them. “You’re not the only one who likes to whistle while they work.”

  She stared at him with a blank expression, evidently not appreciating his attempt at humor. Obviously, not all was forgiven or forgotten as far as she was concerned.

  God, he missed the sound of her laughter, her smile when he teased her. Why did he have to go and screw everything up? He resumed singing in the hopes that she would lighten up and join in, but she continued to work silently beside him.

  Fine, if she wanted to be that way. As much as he wanted to, he couldn’t change what happened yesterday. He couldn’t take back the words he spoke or make her forget who he was. All he could do was try to make things as neutral between them as possible and hope that they could somehow find their way back to the way things had been before.

  David continued singing as if her condemning silence meant nothing to him. He would wear her down and get her to relax if he had to sing Big Band tunes until the sun went down.

  He was on his third chorus of “It’s Been a Long, Long Time,” when a familiar voice sneered from behind them.

  “Well, well. Isn’t this sweet? Is my little mezzosangue feeling homesick?”

  They both turned at the same time to find Giovanni standing on the edge of the pit. Glancing quickly at Sera, David watched her face pale, and he knew it wasn’t only because of Giovanni’s unkind reference to her mixed heritage.

  Stupid. He was so stupid to be singing a song in English. Even though they were far enough away from the rest of the workers, people had been coming and going all morning with the news of the discovery. Anyone could happen by the site and overhear them, just as Giovanni had. David knew better than to take such a risk.

  Sera stood slowly, dusting her hands off on her trousers, and squinted through the sun at Giovanni.

  “What do you want?”

  “Interesting,” he continued, choosing to ignore her question. “I know you like the American music, but I wonder where he learned to sing it.”

  David braced himself. Was this it? Would this be the moment she would reveal his identity?

  He watched as a cool mask washed over Sera’s face, her original panic quickly replaced by the usual serious façade she always wore. She didn’t even miss a beat.

  “I taught him.”

  “Really?” Giovanni’s dark brows rose under the black hair falling roguishly over his forehead, doubt etched in his features.

  “Yes, really.” She shook her head at him. “Don’t look so suspicious. He doesn’t even know what the words mean.”

  Giovanni stared down his nose at David.

  “How quaint of you to teach him. Does he realize how it is you know the words so well?”

  David rose to his feet, standing straight next to Sera to get every inch out of his six foot height. It didn’t help. Giovanni could still look down on him, since David was three feet lower in the pit.

  “He knows about my father.” She crossed her arms defensively in front of her. Was she uneasy because he’d brought up the subject of her father, or was she worried Giovanni might discover
his identity? David would like to think it was the latter.

  Giovanni looked surprised. “You told him?”

  David couldn’t get over it. They were talking as if he were an idiot and couldn’t understand what they were saying. Maybe he wasn’t supposed to know English, but both of them were aware he understood every bit of the Italian words they were flinging back and forth at each other.

  “Some people aren’t as bothered by it as you are.”

  Giovanni chuckled.

  “It never bothered me. Amused me, perhaps, but it never bothered me.”

  “Well, it certainly didn’t amuse me to find out you were sleeping with another woman while I was in America.”

  That certainly got David’s attention. This was getting interesting. Maybe being ignored wasn’t so bad after all.

  Giovanni’s face grew rigid, the chiseled angles of his jaw turning hard as stone.

  “You should not have gone. You postponed our wedding to take your little trip.”

  “Well, it was a good thing I did put it off, now wasn’t it?”

  “You should’ve stayed here where you belong. If you hadn’t gone to America, I wouldn’t have been tempted to stray. A year is a long time to wait. I was lonely.”

  David’s humor at the situation faded. How could he do that to Sera when he supposedly loved her? If it had been David, he would have waited for her forever.

  Sera looked ready to blow, like the proverbial Mount Vesuvius. He braced himself in case he might have to stop her from clawing Giovanni’s eyes out. Then again, he might just enjoy watching her do it.

  “You weren’t just tempted. You did stray, and I don’t even want to know how many times. My plane probably wasn’t even half way across the ocean before you started looking for someone to keep you ‘company’ while I was gone.”

  “Serafina, please. I didn’t come here to argue with you about the past.”

  “Then what did you come here for?”

  “I heard about the cavity. I wanted to see it.”

  She stepped to the side and pointed at the hole in the side of the pit.

  “There it is. You’ve seen it. Now go.”

  Giovanni’s face took on the look of a hungry tiger spying its next meal. David half expected him to lick his lips and drool.

  “Let’s work together on it, you and I.”

  “What?” Sera appeared so surprised by his suggestion that her arms fell limp at her sides. A second later, her back stiffened, and she shook her head at him. “No. David and I will manage the excavation just fine.”

  “Him?” Giovanni sneered, jerking his head in David’s direction, barely bothering to acknowledge a mere laborer. “He’s not trained for such a delicate excavation. I know what I’m doing. Let me help you.”

  “You mean let you take the credit for it.”

  David glanced between the two. Something deeper was going on here beyond the typical lovers—or ex-lovers—spat, but he wasn’t sure what it was.

  “I would never do that.” Giovanni looked hurt by her accusation, but even David could tell the emotion was insincere.

  “Don’t lie to me. It’s the only reason you’re here. I don’t need your help, and I don’t want it.”

  “Fine.” Giovanni’s face hardened once more. He stared down at them for a moment, and then an unsettling light flared in his eyes. His mouth drew into a slow, menacing smile.

  “You should be careful, then, Serafina.” He started walking around the edge of the pit, making his way slowly toward the cavity area. “You know how easy it is for thieves and vandals to get into the ruins at night. It would certainly be a shame if something should happen to your new discovery.”

  The unspoken threat hung in the air all around them. Let me excavate it with you, or risk losing it altogether.

  If he took one more step, Giovanni would be right on top of the cavity. David’s hand shot out and grabbed his ankle. He yanked it hard, jerking him off his feet and landing him flat on his back in the dirt.

  Giovanni was back on his feet faster than a cat. “How dare you?”

  “Oh, sorry about that. You should watch your step. It can get pretty dangerous around here.”

  Threat thrown right back at you, asshole.

  Giovanni obviously heard the implied warning behind David’s words.

  “I’ll have you fired for that.”

  “No, you won’t.” Sera stepped between them. “He’s my worker. I say whether he stays or goes.”

  Giovanni looked back and forth between them, the unspoken assumption that they were more than coworkers dawning on his face.

  “So it’s like that, is it?” he sneered, piercing Sera with a condemning look. “My, my. Haven’t you changed? Tell me, are you spreading your legs for all the laborers now, or is it just this one?”

  The last thing David heard was Sera’s sharp intake of breath beside him. A vacuum seemed to suck all other sound from the world around him, leaving only the rush of his own blood whirling inside his head.

  Leaping from the pit, his fist slammed into Giovanni’s hawk-like nose, and a sickening crunch filled the air. The force of the blow sent Giovanni sprawling in the dirt once more. He rose slowly, clutching his face. Pulling his hand away, Giovanni stared down at his palm, the blood seeping through his fingers to drip like raindrops on the dusty ground. David hoped his nose was broken.

  “Bastardo!” Giovanni growled then lunged, diving on David and knocking them both down into the pit. David saw Sera scrambling out of the way, but the rage roaring in his ears blocked out everything else.

  Both men tried to land blows to the other, their arms and legs tangled in a mass of dust and fury. Drawing his knees up between them, David wedged his feet against Giovanni’s stomach and shoved with all his might, sending Giovanni flying through the air. Giovanni slammed into the edge of the pit, but bounced back, swinging, catching David in the jaw as he struggled to his feet.

  A starburst of pain blinded David, barely giving him time to block the next blow with his forearm. He swung with his other fist, landing a jab in Giovanni’s exposed midsection. As Giovanni doubled over in pain, David brought his knee up, catching him in the chin and sending him on his back. David jumped on him, straddling Giovanni’s hips, and grabbed him by the collar.

  His world faded around him, David’s anger tunneling in on nothing but Giovanni’s bloody face as he slammed his fist into it over and over again. He heard the impacts, like a wooden board smacking against a side of beef hanging in a slaughterhouse, but he didn’t see himself doing it. All that existed at that moment for David was Sera’s crushed look, washed in a raging sea of red hate. He felt detached from the violence, separated from the hostile man who was within minutes of possibly killing another with his bare hands. He couldn’t stop the fury, the desire to hurt, the need to protect.

  Somewhere in the distance, through the waves of bloodlust, he heard Sera begging him to stop. He felt her tugging on his arm, but the limb seemed to have a mind of its own.

  “What’s going on here?”

  Where all of Sera’s shouting couldn’t break through the fog of rage, Heberto’s gentle words stopped David cold.

  The sun seemed to burst from behind the clouds, casting a bright light on the carnage below. David released his grip on Giovanni’s shirt, letting the dazed man’s upper body fall to the ground. He stood and stepped away, sickened by what he had just done to another human being.

  Giovanni struggled to his feet, blood running down his face to drip off his chin, leaving bright red spots splattered down the white linen of his shirt. David turned to see Heberto standing on the edge of the pit, staring down on them like an angry grandfather.

  “Will someone please tell me what’s going on?”

  David looked at Giovanni. The man’s breathing was labored, and his eyes glared a hatred David was sure reflected in his own.

  As his own pain started to replace the blinding anger, David swiped at his lip, blood streaking the bruised knuc
kles on the back of his hand. His right cheek throbbed, and he knew he’d be sporting a handsome shiner by tomorrow.

  “There was a disagreement,” Sera answered for them. It was a good thing. David didn’t trust himself to speak at the moment.

  “I can see that. May I ask what it was about?”

  “It was—” she began to say.

  “Nothing important,” Giovanni interrupted. He wasn’t smiling anymore. David could only hope he’d knocked out some of those perfect teeth.

  “I beg to differ.” David glared at Giovanni. The man might want to avoid a scene, but calling Sera a whore was no small infraction in David’s book.

  “Obviously,” Heberto commented, then turned his attention to Sera. “Why don’t you two take a little walk? Let David cool off. I’ll escort Giovanni back to the main area and send for a doctor. He looks like he could use one.”

  *

  Sera couldn’t believe what Heberto was asking. He was leaving her alone with David after witnessing that violent outburst? What if he turned on her next?

  Of course, Heberto didn’t know that she had a reason to fear David.

  Tentatively, she reached out to take David’s arm, but he shook her off. Fine. She’d rather not be within arm’s reach of him anyway.

  David jumped out of the pit and started walking, leaving her to follow if she wished. She trailed him down the path running along the city wall. He continued on past the Palaestra and the main entrance, weaving in and out of the tourists milling about, until the pathway ended and he could go no further. Not bothering to slow his pace, he turned left and disappeared into the large archway in the side of the Amphitheatre, disappearing into the cool darkness of the tunnel.

  Sera stopped. Should she follow him? Was it even safe to be around him right now? Buried behind her fear and apprehension was concern for him. Was he hurt? Did he need her help? Did he even want it?

  She swallowed her trepidation and entered the tunnel, hurrying to reach the light at the other end. Stepping out into the bright sunlight, she was temporarily blinded. When her eyes adjusted, she spied several groups of tourists mingling about, taking pictures of the ruins and talking amongst themselves, completely oblivious to the danger in their midst.