Devil Ash Disarray (Devil Ash Saga Book 3) (45 page)

“Moskazek.”

“Yes! Master!”

Without another word, the Captain dove headfirst from the roof. Extending the devil’s wings, the possessed man plummeted straight for the psychotic Prince. A tidal wave of gasps arose from the concerned spectators as the Captain and Prince came within seconds of colliding into each other.

Prince Killian, always reliant on his trusty sword, prepared to swing the heavy blade. Before they could connect, the demon launched a surprise attack.

The Captain’s mouth opened, a black blob of flesh shot out. Killian swung his blade, but the timing was all wrong. He was too slow, too far off. The demon flesh grew quickly, bending and contorting to easily avoid the Prince’s attack. The body of the Captain, now fully separated from the demon, drifted away unconscious. In seconds, the full figure of the man-mosquito demon was upon the Prince. The demon’s long, hollow spear of a nose pierced through Prince Killian’s chest.

“
Killian
!” Shiva shouted out of concern for her brother.

“Oh man…” said Ash.

He and Shiva watched as the unthinkable happened. Prince Killian, his weakened body pierced, plummeted to the ground under the weight and force of the mosquito demon. Like a stone in the water, Killian plunged through the sky until he collided with the ground below the castle, disappearing from the spectator’s sight.

“
Blood boost
!” Moskazek’s survival skill. Prince Killian’s boiling blood climbed through the demon’s stinger as he guzzled. The results were instantaneous. The thin, frail looking grey flesh of the demon swelled. New muscles formed, turning sticky arms into tree trunks. The more devil blood that flowed, the more threatening the mosquito-man became. When he’d drank his fill, Prince Killian looked like a bag of flesh and bones. All life was wiped from his face, his skin turned almost translucent. Like a corpse.

With powerful new legs, Moskazek launched himself off the ground and spread his long insect wings wide. With his new, borrowed strength he could fly faster, more accurate than any devil. He propelled himself off the ground and after Aura, who was still working his way over to King Al.

  Though his friends called out trying to warn him, it was no use. By the time Aura craned his neck to look down at Killian’s situation, it was too late. Moskazek blasted by the boy, pulling his stinger off his face and using it like a blade. The demon slashed the death toucher across his body before the boy knew what hit him. A quick midair flip and a well-placed kick sent the hurt boy hurling to the ground. His mission accomplished, Moskazek took his place at his master’s side.

Ash jumped off the balcony and pursued his fallen friend. Shiva stood powerless watching the disaster scene continue to play out. Cries of panic and frustration swept through the crowded streets as the greater demon stood casually by the King of Hell. But King Al was no longer waving to the people. A dire look spread over his face.

“
Now we put an end to their fun
.”

Ash watched as the King tilted his head back and released a loud, feral screech. No devil had ever made such a noise before. The concerned citizens covered their ears and squealed with fright and confusion. The beastly wailing lasted several seconds, and when the King next spoke his voice sounded no different than it always had.

“
Pitiful devils
,” he started, his voice carried far across the expanse of the devil Kingdom by his demonic aura. “
I may look like your disgraceful King Satan, but I am only wearing his body like a bad outfit. Your King has been taken by the son of Demon Lord Jirosek: I am Prince Otozek
!”

To punctuate his point and clear up any misunderstandings among the masses, the pointy-ended black tip of his tail climbed out of the King’s throat. The tail wagged back and forth a few times, showing the people how clearly possessed he was. King Al’s body went limp and he almost fell off the rooftop. The beefed-up Moskazek had to hold the King aloft. The plump black cable-like tail slurped back inside Al’s body and Otozek regained his control.

Prince Otozek continued his speech. “
I have infiltrated your Kingdom and stolen your King. But I am not as savage a creature as you would believe me to be. I am willing to return your stolen King, if you so desire it. All you have to do is come to the Demon Kingdom and rescue him
.

“
I vow on my life that your King will be safe in the Demon Kingdom while the Helio Star burns in the sky. When the star disappears, I will feed your King to my father. This can be avoided with a simple trade
.”

Ash’s blood ran cold, his palms sweaty.

“
King Satan
…
for the human
.”

The crowd screamed, but Ash couldn’t tell if it was a noise of approval or defiance. Everyone watched as the King abandoned his place upon the roof. Jirosek sprang into action, gripping his master under his arms and flitting his bug wings into action.

“
Before your time is up, send your strongest warriors after us
!
Come to my father’s Kingdom, and don’t forget to bring the human, Ash Kaplan
!”

The duo drifted higher into the dusk sky. Some devils refused to remain inactive, lobbing small fireballs into the sky. Most were content to shout their disapproval. Shiva Satan threw quite a few of those fireballs herself. But none of that mattered when the demon flew away faster than any devil could follow, taking with them the body of the stolen Devil King.

Part Three

Prepare for Departure

Chapter Thirty-Three: Aftermath

A lot happened in the hours between dusk and dawn after that evening’s tragic incident. Goddard and Shiva stayed up all night working overtime with the Royal Guard trying to stifle any whispers of insurgence. With every Captain and the Commander still out of commission, it was up to the Royal Advisor and the Princess to lead the wayward troops.

The castle remained on lockdown through the night, with the brunt of security stationed at the main castle gates. It took hours for the unruly crowds to clear out. Understandably, those that had witnessed their king effortlessly taken into the custody of demons had a few questions for anyone in charge.

These questions they asked the front gates, or perhaps the Royal Guards stationed out front, or maybe they weren’t asking anyone in particular. Just trying to get the crowds riled up, hoping for some kind of action. But once the sun went away, people started to reconsider hanging out in the open, in the dark, when there could be more demons around. Anywhere. Anyone.

And so the night passed quietly, to everyone’s surprise and relief.

For some, like Shiva and Goddard, the night was long due to the excessive work that had to be done. For others, it went by in less than a blink of the eye. That is, because they were unconscious and missed pretty much everything. The four Captains. Commander Sepultura Stryd. They’d be waking up anytime now with a massive headache and some brand new mental health issues to deal with.

For Ash, the night passed slowly. Though he was dead tired, he hadn’t slept a wink. Too many exotic chemicals racing around his body. He spent the night in a guest room on the third floor of the castle. There was no way he was going home.

They set him up with a comfy-enough bed, and Aura was there in the bed opposite him. He’d been cut deeply by Moskazek, then his entire body bruised from the collision with the ground. The death toucher was deathly silent for most of the night, but Ash was awake to hear his friend start snoring in the early hours of the morning. That’s when he knew Aura would be fine.

Ash laid there all night, wide-awake and listening to the shallow rhythm of Aura’s breathing. His only company the thoughts in his head, none of which were particularly comforting. Sure, they had been given a little more time to plan their retaliation, but the situation had gone from worst to
worst-est
real fast. Now the boy was just trying to wrap his head around the possibility of a trip to the demon kingdom.

It was a few hours after the sun formed when Shiva knocked on the door and poked her head into the room. Ash sat up at once to greet her, waving her in. Aura still slumbered in bed, drool dripping from the corners of his mouth as Shiva crept in quietly, keeping her voice low.

“Did you sleep?” she asked, taking a seat on the bed next to Ash.

“Not even a little bit.” Dark bags under his eyes showed he wasn’t kidding.

“Neither did I.” She stared daggers at Aura, sleeping peacefully across from them. “Come to think of it, I’m kind of pissed that the only one of us that
did
get a full night’s sleep is
that
slacker.”

“Well, he’s got a fresh wound to go with it.”

“I’d take his wounds and a nap over the night I just had.”

“What’s going on out there?”

“It was a mess, you know, right after…” Shiva shifted uncomfortably.

“Yeah.”

She went on. “A bunch of loud obnoxious people decided to hang around the gates for way too long. In the end we managed to convince them all to spend the night in their own homes instead of a jail cell. By the time that commotion died down we had all four Captains accounted for. They’re all resting in the basement barracks. Same goes for Stryd, that poor bastard…”

Shiva seemed to drift off into space for a moment. Ash was certain that in her mind she was recalling her own possession incident. No one else understood quite as well as Shiva what it felt like to have another creature steal your body, wear you like a suit, and parade you around like a puppet.

“How’s Goddard holding up?” Ash asked, hoping for good news. “Did he by chance get any work done on my medicine?”

Shiva managed a weak smile, one that faded so quickly it was like it was never there at all. She reached into a small pouch. “Actually, I came here to give you this.” She pulled her hand out of the pouch, between her pointer finger and thumb was a black marble. “The first of a new batch.”

“
Give me that
!” Ash lunged at first sight of the little black pill. Shiva almost drew her hand back in surprise, but Ash would not let the medicine elude him any longer, and so into his mouth and down his throat it went. “
Why didn’t you give me the medicine first
!
You know how important it is to me
!”

The boy stared, wide-eyed, teeth bared. He ended his rant there, choosing to breath deeply to himself instead. A wise decision. After a few seconds he bowed his head in disgrace.

“I’m sorry,” he said. In his tone was true sincerity. “Thank you.”

Shiva continued as if nothing had happened.

“Goddard looked like he was in rough shape, but he was surprisingly full of energy. Which was great, since we had so much on our plate all night. After we wrapped up our business outside the gates Goddard returned to his lab. He wanted to get right back to work on your medicine. I checked in on him just an hour ago, and that was all he had made at the moment.”

“I see,” Ash said, disappointed. “So what do we do now?”

Shiva shrugged. “Plan a trip to the demon kingdom. Duh.”

Ash smirked.
Just like that, she’s ready to go.
What a woman.

“Actually, there’s a bunch of other details we’ll have to address. Preferably sooner, rather than later. Time is our enemy now. So’s every citizen in Hell.”

“Excuse me?”

“I’m worried about how the Nobles might react to all of this,” Shiva said, averting her eyes. Staring off again. “The papers will be printed soon, you know. No way this story gets overlooked. Not when that brain-dead idiot Glebeck is in charge.”

“Right,” Ash said, new thoughts running amok in his mind. “
That
guy.”

“Anyway, we’ll know soon. The paper should be delivered within the next hour or so.”

“I’ll keep my fingers crossed for good news,” Ash said, crossing his fingers in gesture.

“For now, you got nothing to worry about.” Shiva stood up. “The castle will remain on lockdown. Almost every Royal Guard is stationed outside.”

“That’s supposed to be comforting?”

Shiva laughed. “I guess so.” Her face went somber once more, and she turned her back. “Anyway, in a couple of days you’ll have another full supply of that medicine. We all just need to rest our bodies and minds for a while. Recharge. Stay positive.”

“Right,” Ash said, mustering an insignificant amount of enthusiasm. “Will do.”

“Come up to the conference room when Draxler wakes up.”

Shiva left without another word spoken. Ash continued to lay there on his bed staring out the window, wishing he could just get away from all this craziness for once. He thought he’d adjusted to his new life in Hell. That he could build some sort of life here that would be, at best,
temporary
. His end goal being to get back to his homeworld of Earth somehow. He made a mental note to start researching gates, like the one he first saw Goddard summon over a year ago.

It seemed like so long ago, already. A different life.

After Aura awoke, the pair of defeated young men wandered the castle halls on their way to conference. Aura, with his shirt removed, his bloodstained black and blue jacket draped over his shoulders with a fresh bandage wrapped around his torso, strived to draw the attention of any young chambermaids they encountered.

They arrived at the familiar conference room. They met Goddard there regularly to receive small jobs. Usually crap work. Inside the room was a large wooden table that could seat a small army. The furniture was all made from skeletal remains of demons placed in elaborate designs, like some kind of demented art project. Even the chandelier was made from demon bones.

Shiva sat on one side of the table, tapping her fingers on the table. She stared at the pair as they entered, slowly crossed the room and pulled up seats across from her.

“Everyone else should be here soon,” she said.

“And a good morning to you to, Ms. Satan.” Aura cracked a smile.

“I’m not in the mood for pleasantries right now,
Draxler
. Unlike you, I was up all night. Doing
helpful
stuff.”

“You wouldn’t have wanted my help for any of that,” the death toucher reasoned. “Besides, now that I got some beauty sleep I can get back in the game. These wounds will heal in a few days, and when I’m back in top shape we’ll go straight to that demon kingdom and
demolish
it – along with that damned demon Prince!”

“You’re pretty confident about that?” Shiva said curiously. “Even though
no one
’
s
ever done it, including the hero Aster?”

“Aster didn’t have
my
power.”

“
Your power
still makes you sick to your stomach,” Shiva reminded him. “What’s your limit these days, huh? How many times can you even use it before you puke your brains out?”

Aura deflated a little. “I’m getting better,” he said. But the spark of argument was no longer present in his eyes.

No one said anything for a while. Then, the doors burst open and in walked a familiar batch of faces. Two of the men had to lean on the two others for support just to walk. Their leader, the man in black armor, lead them in as Ash and Aura craned their heads to get a look at them.

Commander Stryd and his Captains looked beaten. Despite their pitiful appearances, Stryd kept his chin up and marched straight over to the meeting table. He took a seat at one of the ends, his four men securing their spots closest to him. Ash, Shiva, and Aura sat on the opposite end of the table.

For a brief moment, no one spoke. What a wonderful moment it was. Then…

“What are
you
looking at?” Stryd glared at Ash. His eyes were bloodshot red and messy like a child’s finger painting. Admittedly, Ash had been stealing glances at the man. He felt sorry for the guy, after all.

“Just looking around,” Ash muttered lamely. He hoped Stryd would back off without a fight, but it looked like the Commander would not settle.

“What are you even doing here human? This whole thing is
your
fault! If you would have just died we would still have our king!”

“
That’s enough
!” Shiva interjected.

But Stryd still had more to say. “He’s as good as
vermin
to us. We’ll
gladly
trade him away to the demons, you’ll see!”

Stryd stopped his rant as Shiva emitted a bright light, enveloped by her own tormented soul power. Her stare punctured the Commander’s psyche. “
I won’t let you talk about someone on my team that way.
”

That was enough to cause Stryd to back down. He stayed quiet after that. The Captains remained quiet too, for they had nothing to contribute. Their failures had been just as bad as everyone else’s, if not worse.

Was she saying that as my leader
? Ash thought.
Or, as something else…

His pondering was interrupted as the doors swung open once more. This time, they were surprised to see someone’s backside come into the room first. The backwards-man held the front of a stretcher, and he worked together with another able-bodied servant to lift the medical table into the room.

On the stretcher, wrapped from head to toe in raggy bandages, was the defeated Prince Killian. “Was that my little sister’s deadly aura I just felt? It gave me chills!” The servants stopped before the table. Everyone stood to greet the Prince. “Put me down over there! Yes, right there!”