Devil Ash Days (Devil Ash Saga) (3 page)

“Let’s go, quickly now,” she whispered.

Ash and Grace followed Arthemise through the backyard and into the empty field they owned. Every couple of seconds the sky would light up around them. Sometimes, they would see the lightning bolt that caused it. But when the light came from behind them, they knew it was the angels attacking. 

Four demons remained. Sosime hadn’t even begun to tire himself out, but Cyril was starting to sweat. He wasn’t used to this much physical activity. Back where he came from he was more of a pencil pusher. He had only been in combat training for a week, after all. Sosime could hear his heart rate increasing and his breathing becoming heavier.

“If you are beginning to tire, you may rest. I will provide defense,” Sosime said.

“I could not burden you, sir.”

“These beasts are mere lesser demons; they hardly provide a challenge for me.”

“I volunteered for this mission to be of use to you, sir. If I allowed my usefulness to become hindrance, even if only for a moment, it would be too much.”

Their ‘break’ was interrupted by a fast-moving incoming demon. Jagged fangs glistened with every strike of lightning. Cyril concentrated hard and shot forth another beam of light. The beam blasted a small hole through the demon’s torso, knocking it to the ground. It was hurt but not dead.

“I’ll show you my greatest trick,” he said, pulling the cylindrical object from his inner coat pocket. With a slight amount of concentration and a flick of the object in his hand, a thick beam of light shot out of it like a flashlight. The light stream flattened and solidified into a white blade just as two more sniffer demons pounced. With one slash of his light blade, Sosime took two demon lives.

The final sniffer decided enough was enough and tried to retreat. With its back turned it didn’t even see Sosime’s attack coming. With an effortless flick of his blade he split the demon straight down the middle.

Turning around, Sosime saw the demon that had attacked Cyril still writhing in pain on the ground. Cyril stood above it, attempting to create a new blast of light. It looked like a dying flashlight as he strained himself to force the attack. Sosime ended the demon’s life instead with one quick thrust from his blade.

“I’m sorry, sir!”

Sosime shook his head in dismissal, giving his subordinate a smile of understanding. “It is done. We should follow Arthemise. Hopefully she will have opened the gate by now.” He put a hand on Cyril’s shoulder, content with a job well done.

“
A swordsman! Magnificent!
” said a loud voice from an unknown location. The two angels snapped to attention. “
I was worried I’d be bored!
” said the voice again.

“
There
!” Sosime pointed to a lone tree in the yard. Sitting among the many branches was an armor-clad man with a giant sword strapped to his back. He hopped down from the tree, a ten foot fall, and landed softly on the ground below.

“It’s never fun killing an unarmed man,” he said. The two of them tensed up and Sosime gripped his sword. “Well, okay, its
a
little
fun!”

“Cyril,
run
!” Sosime said. Cyril did as he was commanded. He jetted as fast as he could to the side of the house. Before he could reach it, he was stopped dead in his tracks by an invisible force. The moment he made contact with it, the barrier illuminated all around them. They were trapped in a large dome, about thirty or so square yards across. Cyril fell over backwards from the force of hitting it, landing in a sprawl on the grass.

“You’re not going anywhere,” the armor-clad man said, a wicked smile spread across his face.

This is bad
, Sosime thought.
I’ve never seen an area seal so large before! To make one of this size, he must be
extremely
powerful.

“We are here under the orders of Our Lord, you will release us!” he said.

The armor-clad man laughed. “I don’t answer to
him
,” he replied. “Besides, I need you to stay put! We’re here for the boy too.”

“
The boy is not yours to take
!”

“
Relax
,” the man said. “I’m giving you a fair shot, aren’t I? I’ve sealed myself inside here with you. If you want to escape and rescue the boy in time, all you have to do is
kill me
!”

“If we kill him, the seal will disappear?” Cyril asked.

“See? Even your lackey gets it!”

“Stand back, Cyril,” Sosime said. “I will handle this.” Cyril backed away as far as the area seal would allow him to. Sosime removed his torn suit coat and tossed it to the ground. He didn’t even blink as his wings shot out of his back once more, much faster than when he gave Ash the demonstration earlier.

The armor-clad man shrugged. “Big deal. I got those too.” A similar transformation started with him. The lumps on his back stretched and grew straight through some strategically placed holes in the back of his armor. While the lumps started out flesh-colored, they quickly turned a dark shade of grey. As they grew, the beautiful feathers that adorned the angel’s wings did not emerge. They remained thin flaps of flesh, stretched out like a bat’s wing, until they spanned nearly fifteen feet.

“Mine’s bigger,” he said, smiling. The man pulled the giant sword from the holder on his back.

“Only a Devil of immense strength and skill could craft an area seal this wide,” Sosime said. “Who are you?”

“I think you already know,” the armor-clad man said.

“Cyril,” Sosime said, turning his attention to his subordinate. “I want you to concentrate on staying alive.”

Cyril nodded in fear. “Who…is he?”

“Our opponent is the devil Darko Satan; The Prince of Hell!” 

Chapter Three: All Good Soldiers

The humans followed their angelic savior through the night, across the field and into a grove of trees on the other side. As they ran, Ash gasped for air and there was an ache in his side. Lucky for him, Arthemise pulled halted once they’d penetrated the tree line. For the moment there were no demons in sight, although even if there were, it would be hard for him to see them with his glasses so fogged up.

“This will do,” Arthemise said.

“Do for what?” Grace asked. Ash used the small break to wipe off his glasses.

Rather than answer her question, Arthemise simply pulled from her pocket the gate key that Sosime gave her.

“How do you use it?” Ash asked. “More magic?”

“I need complete silence for a moment,” she said. She dropped the gate key on the forest floor, closed her eyes, and put her hands together in prayer. The ring started trembling. It started out slowly, but within seconds the ring was shaking around so much that it looked like there was an earthquake happening underneath it. The ring also started to grow.

It was large enough to fit around a wrist within ten seconds. In another ten seconds, it could fit around someone’s waist. In ten more seconds it was over two feet across. It stopped growing after that.

“That was cool, but what good is a hula-hoop going to do for us?” Ash asked.

“That was only the first part,” Arthemise said. “Now, I need you two to stand inside the circle.” Grace hesitated. With a little nudge from Ash, they stepped over the large ring and stood in the center of it. “Okay, I need you both be silent again,” Arthemise said. They obeyed as she returned to her prayer.

Aside from the events forcing them outside and the occasional crack of thunder, it was a beautiful night. Ash and his mother watched Arthemise, keen on seeing what the gate key would do. After a short time locked in prayer, the calm look on the angel’s face turned to strain.

The gate key started to levitate off the ground. It hovered around their ankles, floating in midair. Ash had to battle a strong urge to stick his foot under it to see if there were any wires. Given all that he had seen tonight, he was willing to give this one a free pass.

The ring drifted upward slowly but steadily until it was up to their chests. Arthemise continued her silent, intense prayer and all appeared to be going well. It was the perfect moment for something bad to happen. While Ash and Grace enjoyed the show, off in the distance a couple of pairs of glowing red eyes drew closer.

“Um, Arthemise?” Ash said, breaking the silence.

“Don’t speak. I need to concentrate.” As she said this, the ring dropped a few inches, which seemed to prove the fact.

“How much longer will this take?” Grace asked.

“Not much longer now,” Arthemise said.

“That’s good,” said Ash. “Because there’s a demon coming.”

Swords clashed as Sosime and the Prince dueled. The Prince’s own sword - despite not being made of Holy Light - was powerful, and the Prince wielded it like a master of the art. He had an unfair advantage against Sosime, having been in many battles throughout his life. Their swords locked once again, neither one giving in.

“You’re not bad,” The Prince said. “Let me guess. You’re an Archangel? Anyone else would be dead by now.” Their clash finally broke and the two jumped back. “How rude of me! I’ve forgotten to introduce my blade to you! Its name is Infernos.” He held the sword up, admiring it himself.

“I don’t care,” Sosime said. He checked on Cyril. He was doing an excellent job of staying out of their battle so far.

“I know we’re trying to kill each other, but there’s no reason to be rude,” Prince Darko said.

“Do not lecture me on etiquette,
Devil!
”

Sosime could take no more banter and leapt forward, swinging his light blade straight down. With a single arm, The Prince held his blade up sideways, blocking the angel. A small fire erupted in his free hand. The flame grew larger and formed into a spherical shape. Within seconds, The Prince was holding a ball of fire that he pointed at Sosime.

Darko fired. The ball of flame hit Sosime in the chest and sent him staggering backwards. Smoke filled the air, obscuring his vision. The Prince jumped forward, continuing his attack. Sosime narrowly pulled his light sword up in time to block.

The Prince laughed. “Don’t tell me you forgot Devils could make flames?”

Sosime remained silent, still in pain and giving everything he had just to defend himself.  He planted his feet firmly into the gravel driveway and prepared a counter-attack. With a mighty heave, he pushed forward and extended his wings while forcing his blade onward. The Prince was knocked back.

“My, how
serious
you are,” The Prince said, his voice brimming with sarcasm.

“The Lord gives me strength, and I will not lose to you!”

“That’s mighty confident, but I’ve already evaluated your sword skills. You’re not really a challenge for me. So instead I’m just going to have some fun!” The Prince swung his enormous sword around and rested it on his shoulder. He raised his free hand and collected more flame in it.

“That will not work on me again!”

Sosime dashed forward ready to bring his holy light sword down on his foe. The Prince pointed his hand down at the ground instead, shooting the fireball into the gravel. Dirt and rocks flew everywhere, kicking up a cloud of dust. Sosime brought his blade down on the area where he thought The Prince was but his blade didn’t connect with anything.  The Prince was gone; hidden amongst the dust.

As the dust expanded, it would have eventually thinned out and settled. But with the area seal in place, the dust couldn’t leave. Sosime heard several more explosions, and then more dust and dirt filled the air. From outside the area seal, it looked like a large dome made out of dirt. Nothing could be seen inside of it, and no one inside of it could see.

“
Sir?!
” Cyril called out to Sosime.

“Stop shouting, you’ll give away your location!” Sosime said.
And that’s exactly what I’m doing with this,
he thought as he looked down at his light blade. It could easily still be seen through the dust, so the archangel put the blade away.

“Smart move,” The Prince said. “Now let’s see how fast you are!”

  No time to think. The Prince’s sword stabbed straight at him. He took one step to the right, narrowly avoiding it. Two seconds later and the blade came back, this time from the left. Sosime took one step backwards, missing it again only by inches. Five seconds this time, and the blade came again from behind. With his attacker directly behind him, Sosime knew he was all clear in front. He leapt forward, spinning around and shooting a blast of holy light back in that direction.

“
You got me!
…Just kidding.”

Sosime stood in place once again, waiting. He was getting nowhere only dodging. His talent for avoiding The Prince so easily came from his ability to read the changing air currents within their enclosed dome. That, and he could feel the murderous intent that emanated from Darko’s soul. It was so pungent that it was visible. To Sosime, feeling someone’s soul power came easily. Cyril, however, was not that experienced.

“You’re doing pretty good,” The Prince said. He had a strange way of turning a compliment into something that made Sosime feel worse. “I wonder how your lackey will do though?”

That got their attention. Cyril proceeded to freak out. He wasn’t trained for this. He couldn’t read the rooms changing air currents. He’d never felt a killing intent before. He was completely defenseless. He had been waiting patiently at the edge of the seal, but now he began creeping along the edge of it. He accidentally bumped into the seal wall, knocking him backw and lighting up the barrier for a moment.

“Something tells me you’re up against the edge!” The Prince said.

As Cyril lay on the dirt floor, The Prince’s blade stabbed the ground only a few inches away from his head. He let out a shriek of fright and pushed himself backwards. Climbing to his feet wasn’t a problem now. He took off in one direction. It didn’t matter which direction, he just needed to escape. Another swing of The Prince’s blade came down only a foot in front of him. He put on the brakes and turned the other way. The blade came at him low this time, low enough to easily hop over.

But Cyril wasn’t that good. Instead, he attempted to jump back but landed on his rear. With fear driving him, he stood up and ran the opposite way. The Prince stood in front of him, blade pointed forward.

“I’ve had about all the fun I’m going to have with you. Time to die.”

Cyril was paralyzed in fear. The Prince raised his sword.

“S…Sosime…” Cyril choked.

“Goodbye, lackey!” The Prince said.

The Prince swung his sword. It tore through flesh and sprayed blood like a fountain. But it was not Cyril’s flesh or blood that was spilled.

Sosime, having found their location, dashed in just in time to push Cyril out of the way. As the dust finally settled and cleared the air, Cyril picked himself up off the ground. He expected to turn his head and see his leader standing tall and proud. He looked up.

He saw Sosime standing, arm outstretched to push his subordinate out of the way. His arm oozed blood, completely severed from the bicep down. All that remained was a bloody stub. The rest of the angel’s forearm lay motionless at his feet. Sosime’s face was twisted in pain but he said nothing.

The Prince smiled. “That works too.”

“Sir…!” Cyril gasped, tears forming in his eyes.

“Stay back, Cyril… I will finish this,” Sosime said.

“What confidence for someone who’s just lost an arm,” The Prince said. Sosime gave a war cry and charged forward, his remaining arm outstretched to attack. The Prince stopped him easily with a high kick to the chest. Sosime tripped and fell on his back. The Prince once again turned his attention to Cyril.

“I hope you enjoyed your prolonged final moments of life.” Cyril could do nothing. He couldn’t move, or speak. He choked for air trying to come up with something to say. He sobbed like a baby.

“
Cyril!
”

All Sosime could do was call out to him and try to scurry to his feet. But it was like his legs were made of rubber. It was no good. He lifted his head in time to see The Prince stab forward, directly through Cyril’s chest. Blood shot out in all directions.

“This reminds me, I forgot to show you what makes Infernos so special!” The Prince said, turning to Sosime, acting as casual as if he wasn’t holding a massive sword pierced through someone’s chest. He collected flames in his hands, which were wrapped around Infernos’s hilt. The flames traveled by way of two small holes in the hilt through the blade and channeled out through several vents along the edge of the sword. The blade burst into flame.

Cyril, too, was set ablaze. The poor man released a blood-curdling scream with his dying breath.

“
Nooooo!”
Sosime shouted.

“Well that did nothing for me,” The Prince said, placing a foot on Cyril’s charred body and pulling his sword out. “It’s
hardly
any fun killing someone who doesn’t even put up a fight.”

As Infernos slid out with a disgusting, wet noise, something else exited Cyril’s body. A small orb of light, no larger than a tennis ball, drifted through his charred skin and floated gently through the air. After a few seconds it started to vanish, whisked away back to Heaven. Cyril’s soul departed this world, now at peace.

“Bye bye, now!” The Prince called after it.

“He was
nothing
to you!” Sosime said as he staggered to his feet. “You didn’t have to
kill
him!” He pulled the tube from his pocket and materialized his light blade again. This time something was different. Sosime gave off a faint glow that looked like a cross between steam and light, like something very cold being pulled out of a freezer. It was the near-physical manifestation of his soul. The sudden surge of anger he felt awakened his sleeping soul power, and now he was going to use it to make The Prince pay.

Sosime flickered like a light bulb and then disappeared. At least, at the speed he was moving, that’s how it looked. The Prince was barely able to raise his sword in time as Sosime ‘reappeared’ directly in front of him, slashing with his own blade. The angel twisted his body around and slammed his foot into the side of The Prince’s face. The devil went soaring through the air and slammed against the invisible barrier.

Long ago, when the human race was still young, angels made frequent trips to Earth. Because they were so different, they were eventually discovered. For one thing, they had wings. That was a dead giveaway. The other giveaway was their method for entering and leaving this world. The gate keys they used hovered above their heads before transporting them to and from Heaven. After enough humans witnessed this phenomenon, it became standard to depict angels with their wings and halos.

With the giant gate key hovering above their heads, the humans continued waiting for Arthemise’s prayer to pull through. A lone sniffer demon was heading towards them at a steady trotting pace.