Devil Ash Deceit (Devil Ash Saga) (22 page)

The guards chatted away, their words the only entertainment such a dull job had to offer. From out of the darkness in the distance, a single fireball rose into the sky. It was difficult to tell how far away the fire was, but the bright speck was steadily moving closer.

“What’s that?” one of the guards asked.

“Prolly a loggin’ team. One left just yesterday,” the other guard replied, grabbing a clipboard off a nearby shelf on the wall. He looked down at the schedule printed on the paper. “Yep, says here we got one team returnin’ today.”

The guards continued to watch the floating fireball come closer until they could see the men illuminated underneath it. When the team reached the required distance, the guard went to the window and lit a signal torch mounted to the outside wall.

“Listen up men! We got a loggin’ team returnin’! Open up the gates!”

The patrolmen scrambled into place along the edge of the wall, getting as close to the gate as possible. The men readied their flames in case anything demonic happened. With the turn of two enormous cranks on either side of the gate, the giant door opened slowly. The returning caravan marched through the gap to the thunderous cheers and applause from the citizens who gathered to watch. Wives and their children waited anxiously for their fathers, their brothers, and their sons to return from the deadly Hellwood expeditions.

As soon as the last person was through, the men operating the cranks reversed directions and closed the gate. Families were reunited as the men charged forward into the warm embraces of their loved ones. The team parted ways with the loggers, who headed off to their next destination with their massive carts full of wood. Phoenix took the moment to speak to his team.

“Nice job staying alive out there,” he said. “I had hoped you would activate your soul power, and you’ve all succeeded. Now that you’ve all tapped into your soul power, it will be easier to do from now on. Your real training is just beginning. For now, you are dismissed. Oh, Shiva,” he said, turning to the girl. “I will accompany you back to the castle. We have a lot to discuss.”

Aura was all too eager to get moving, but Ash hung back when he heard Phoenix speak privately to Shiva.

“I suppose so,” Shiva replied. “I need to report to Goddard about our encounters with the rebels as soon as possible. I sense they’re about to make their move…” The couple walked away before Ash could hear anything else. Aura called to him to hurry up, making it even more difficult for Ash to hear any more. When they were out of earshot of the couple, Ash finally had to spill the beans to his friend.

“Dude! You’re so inconveniently dense sometimes!” Ash unloaded his day’s worth of frustrations caused by Aura.

“What?” Aura asked with a blank stare. “I just want to get home already! What’s wrong with that?”

“I’ve been trying to tell you all day: Shiva and Phoenix are
engaged
!”

“Engaged for what?” Aura asked. “Like a training engagement or something?”

“No! Engaged, as in to be
married
!”

“Oh, that’s…” Aura thought about it. “…
What
?”

“I heard them talking about it last night! I’ve been trying to tell you about it all day but you’ve been extra stupid!”

“Sorry! I thought you were just acting weird,” Aura said. “But that’s… seriously weird. Are you sure that’s what’s happening?”

“Definitely. That’s probably what they’re going to talk about right now!”

“Okay, okay, keep your voice down!” Aura said, pulling Ash in close. He looked around to make sure no one nearby was listening. “You shouldn’t talk about it aloud. News of a Royal Wedding would send the Kingdom into a frenzy.”

“Really? Why?”

“People go nuts for a Royal wedding. It only happens every couple hundred years or so. I guess it’s a nice distraction from all the demon attacks or something. Once this news gets out, Shiva is gonna be
very
popular.”

“I don’t think she’s going to like that,” Ash said. He wouldn’t want to cause Shiva any additional stress, so the boy decided to keep his mouth shut on the matter. “So… should we just wait for her to tell us herself, then?”

“Probably,” said Aura. “Until then, let’s play it cool.”

As the boys stood chatting, Amos Draxler worked his way through the crowd hoping to catch the team on their return. The weapons expert waved when he spotted the boys and headed over. Aura tensed up seeing his father coming.

“Welcome home, boys,” Amos said. “How did it go?”

“We all finally used a little soul power,” Ash told him. “The sword was a big help too. Thanks.” Ash returned the sword to Amos.

“I’m glad to hear it,” said Amos. “You too?” he asked, looking at his son.

“Yeah,” Aura replied. “And I killed two demons with one touch.”

“Impressive. You’ve become a lot stronger,” Amos said with a smile. His face then turned serious. “You must be hungry. I was wondering if you’d like to come have dinner with me and Nora. You’re welcome to join us as well, Ash.”

“Oh, I…” Ash stammered. “Aura?” he turned to his friend to make the call.

“Dinner sounds good, but I’ve been craving a bath more. Ash and I were just heading to the bathhouse, then we were gonna call it a night,” said Aura. “Maybe next time, though.”

“Oh, yeah,” Amos said, his disappointment obvious. “I understand. It’s been a long trip. You’re tired.”

“We were kicked out of the bathhouse though,” said Ash.

“Oh, yeah,” Aura said. “We’ll have to go to a different one from now on.”

“Wait a second,” Amos said plunging his hand into his pocket. He pulled out his wallet and removed a card. “Here’s my membership card for the Noble bathhouse in North Hell. You can use it as much as you want. It’s extra fancy.”

“Whoa,” Aura said, impressed. “You have a membership to the Noble’s swanky bathhouse now?”

“Yes,” said Amos. “We do.”

* * * *

The employee stationed at the lobby desk gave the boys filthy looks and even appeared to be surprised when they actually presented a membership card. The homely lady begrudgingly allowed the two boys in after confirming their card wasn’t a fake. Aura flashed her a smug smirk as the boys wandered the luxurious lobby of the Noble’s bathhouse.

They walked down a marble hallway adorned with many beautiful paintings on the walls and fancy vases on podiums. Unlike the public bathhouses, the Noble’s of North Hell enjoyed private bathing chambers. The boys ducked inside an unoccupied room and Aura whistled, impressed.

The private bathing chambers were about the size of a full bedroom. There was a shelf to put their clothing on, as well as a full-stocked towel rack and bin for used towels to be put in. The bath resembled a hot tub sunk into the ground, and Aura was quick to strip off his clothes and hop in. Ash lingered above the water a little longer, still not quite used to the public nudity.

“Oh come on,” said Aura, splashing a little hot water at his friend. “It’s just you and me in here!”

“I know you like to see me naked, but that doesn’t mean I
want
you to,” Ash said, taking off his dirt and sweat-stained shirt.

“
Whew
!” Aura made catcalls at his friend. “Take it off!”

The boy finished removing his clothing after wrapping a towel around his waist. He sunk down into the hot water across the tub from his friend. Though his bruises stung at first, the water eventually washed all his pain and aches away.

“This is the life,” said Aura. “Those wrinkly old Nobles sure have got it made.”

“Mmm hmm,” Ash replied. The edges of the tub were lined with foam cushions for the boys to lean their heads on, making for the ultimate relaxing experience. It was times like this that Ash forgot he was actually in Hell.

“So,” said Aura, “what do you make of all this?”

“All what?”

“Shiva getting hitched to Phoenix. He’s an alright dude, I just don’t see the two of them together. Even if they are old friends or whatever.”

“I agree,” said Ash. “Phoenix is way too controlling for Shiva. She’ll go from taking orders from her father to taking orders from her husband. It’ll be the same crappy life with a new slave driver. Plus I seriously doubt Shiva is prepared for the life of a housewife.”

“I just wonder if she’ll keep her last name.”

Ash let out a loud sigh and dipped his head below the water. He emerged a few seconds later and gulped for air. “Do you think she really even
wants
to marry him? It’s just, with everything I know about her, I can’t believe she’d truly want to get married. At least not right now.”

Aura shrugged. “She must have her reasons. She did say
yes
after all.”

“She said she hadn’t seen him in years. Maybe he’s not as cool as she remembers. He was pretty cruel during our training, really. He never hesitated to hurt any of us. Not even his bride-to-be. He wouldn’t even go look for her when we told him the rebels attacked us! Isn’t that a little weird?”

“You missed his drill sergeant act when we were defending West Hell. The guy sure has a way with words, especially when asking people to die for his cause.”

“You don’t think it’s a political move, do you? The marriage? He is a Noble after all, wouldn’t marrying into the Satan family be like hitting the jackpot?”

“Shouldn’t we also consider the possibility that he may actually be
in love
with Shiva?”

“I think we can rule out the possibility of
anyone
being in love with Shiva,” said Ash, his cheeks turning pink. “Isn’t it a bad idea to have a Royal wedding when the rebels are openly threatening to make their move? I mean, that’s kinda like welcoming an attack, isn’t it?”

“I’m willing to bet security’s going to be tight on that day.” After one last dip, Aura stood up and removed his body from the water. The boy moved to the ice chest in the room and pulled out a bottle of cold water. After guzzling half the bottle, the boy turned to his friend.

“Still, it could be interesting to see an actual uprising,” he said.

“I’m not so sure anymore,” said Ash. “The rebels we’ve encountered so far have been anything but friendly. I don’t think they’ll care about helping us escape from Hell. Sucks to say, but I think we’ve hit another dead end in our quest.”

“If they’re not going to play nice, I guess it can’t be helped,” said Aura as he started putting clothes on.

“They hurt Shiva. That’s enough of a reason for me not to like them.”

“Fine, fine,” said Aura. “We’ll just let them take out Darko and the King for us, and
then
we’ll stop them.”

* * * *

The boys crashed hard in their own beds that night, happy to be home. They slept soundly until the formation of the next morning sun lit their room. Ash struggled to open his eyes and sit up while Aura continued to doze. The boy knew he couldn’t waste an opportunity to get to the bathroom first, and did just that.

When the boys were up and dressed, ready to return to their daily training routine, Ash swung the door open to a familiar face blocking their path.

“Ash! What a lovely coincidence seeing you here!” said Gio, clutching Ash by his shoulders.

“You’re standing in front of my door. That’s not very coincidental at all, Gio,” Ash replied.

“Yes, well, actually I did have a matter to discuss with you,” Gio said. “I was hoping you could put in the good word with Lady Shiva for me.”

“What’s he talking about?” Aura said, still half-asleep but perfectly groomed.

“What
are
you talking about, Gio?” Ash asked.

“I would like to design her wedding dress, of course!” Gio said.

“Whoa, keep it down!” Ash said. “How did you find out about the wedding?”

Gio laughed. “You can’t be serious! You’re her friends and you don’t even know yet? Well, I hate for you to find out this way, but I guess you should see the morning paper…” Gio reached into his back pocket and pulled out a rolled up newspaper. He unrolled the paper and handed it to the boy.

The headline read:
SHIVA SATAN TO WED PHOENIX DAWNFALL

The boys were shocked to discover the entire Kingdom would now be aware of the upcoming Royal wedding. Ash feared the worst for his friend, knowing she would likely hate all the attention she’d soon be getting.

“Whoa! So soon?” said Ash, glossing over the article.

“Damn it! How did those noble bastards find out about the wedding so fast? I was going to sell them the information later!”

“Aura!” Ash said, shocked about his friend’s scheme.

“What?” Aura defended himself. “Everyone’s going to find out sooner or later. Why not make a little money off those stupid nobles from it?”

“Because she’s our friend and we don’t want to ruin her life!”

“Well it doesn’t matter now cause someone beat me to it.”

“So, will you tell Lady Shiva for me, or will I have to seek her out myself?” Gio asked, crossing his arms and tapping his foot.

“I tell you what,” said Ash. “I’ll ask her about the dress if you do something for me in return.”

“Let’s make a deal then.”

“I’d like you to do something to my coat,” Ash said, taking his peacoat off. “Unfortunately, I won’t always have the time to take it off before every battle. Maybe you could do something to make it a little more ‘fight-ready’?”

“I don’t condone wearing the coat into a fight, but I suppose you have a point. Fine, fine, hand it over.” Ash handed the coat over to Gio. “I’ll see what I can do. But I want an answer about the dress by tomorrow!” Gio took off with Ash’s coat in hand, eager to start sketching out his new wedding dress design.

“What a fruit loop,” Ash remarked.

“What’s a fruit loop?” Aura asked as they headed off to the castle.

* * * *

Ash and Aura weren’t prepared to battle the crowds at the castle. With the news of the Royal wedding breaking, people were already lining up waiting to get into the courtyard for a chance at getting a glimpse of the Royal couple. The boys had to push their way through the unmoving masses just to make it to the front gate.

As always when the boys reached the castle entrance the Royal Guards on duty traded smirks and stepped aside for the boys to open the gates themselves. This time Ash and Aura had a plan. Without even looking at the guards, they stepped up to the gate doors and pushed with all their might. The giant metal doors flung open with ease to the surprise of the guards. The boys walked through with smug looks on their faces.

“Thanks dudes,” said Ash.

“For all the extra training!” Aura added.

The Royal Guard jerks stood in shock of the realization that they were indirectly helping their competition grow stronger. Ash and Aura continued on through the mega-busy courtyard, no doubt bustling with news of the Royal wedding. When they finally waded through the crowds of gathering visitors and climbed the stairs up to the main castle gateway, a familiar face was waiting for Ash.

“Archen?” Ash said. Standing guard at the castle door was the former Commander. Ash had spent some time with in West Hell during the dire fly invasion, and remembered his aging face well.

“Ah, if it isn’t Ash Kaplan,” Archen said. “Are you going in to the castle?”

“Yes,” Ash said. “I don’t ever see you posted here.”

“Ah, the usual guards were all occupied, so I got assigned to this post today,” Archen said. “And death toucher Aura Draxler, it’s nice to officially meet you. I’m sorry I didn’t get much of a chance to talk to you yet. I’m the former Commander of the Royal Guard, Archen Loil.”

“You’re
the
Commander Archen?” Aura asked, stunned by his former fame.

“I am.”

“Me and Archen were in charge of evacuating everyone in West Hell. While we were working, we got to talking a little and he told me he was in the crowd that day when I kicked Apsat’s butt.”

“
Whoa
,” Aura said with stars in his eyes. “You knew Commander Aster too, didn’t you?”

“I was his best friend till the day he died,” Archen said proudly.

“I’d love to hear more stories about Aster. We should hang out more.”

Ash decided to pull Aura out of there before he asked for an autograph or something equally embarrassing. The two boys bid their new friend goodbye, and Archen proudly opened the doors for them to enter the castle. As the doors shut behind them, they heard Archen shout one last thing.

“Oh, and tell Lady Shiva congratulations from me, will ya?”

The two followed their usual path through the castle cafeteria, jamming their pockets with food for the day and gulping down anything they could carry in their hands as they went down the buffet. When they’d had their fill, the boys went to the private courtyard. When they arrived at the yard, Phoenix and Shiva were already there along with Leona, Wilhelm, and Goddard.

“What’s new?” Aura couldn’t help himself from asking the obvious question.

“Phoenix, would you care to explain it to them?” Goddard asked the man.

“If you haven’t already seen the morning news paper, last night I received King Satan’s blessings to marry Shiva,” said Phoenix without a trace of anything resembling happiness. Shiva’s face turned redder than her armor.

“
What
?”

“
No way
.”

“I know,” said Goddard. “It’s a pain in my rear too. Now I have to throw together a Royal wedding on top of all my other duties! You people will be the death of me.”

“I plan on making it all up to you. Mr. von Gosick, I’d like to join your team. Together, my wife and I will make it our personal mission to track down and eliminate anyone who opposes the Royal Satan family,” said Phoenix. “With me on your team, we
will
find the rebels.”

“I should count myself lucky to employ such a talented scholar. You’re hired,” said Goddard, grinning like he’d come out the winner. “Great, now I’ll be buried in security arrangements with Stryd until the day of the wedding,” Goddard said. He let out a long sigh. “It’s no good! Call it off! I’m against this wedding!”

“You can’t object just because you don’t wanna do your job!” said Shiva, firing back.

“If it would please Mr. von Gosick,” Phoenix said, cutting in, “I would personally help in overseeing the security details of the wedding. It’s the least I could do to ease your hassle. No one deserves that stress more than me.”

“You’re a kind man, Mr. Dawnfall,” Goddard said with a grin. “Okay, I’m back on board. I approve of your wedding.”

“Like we needed
your
permission!” said Shiva.

“I would like to say something as well,” said Wilhelm. He’d been oddly quiet and distant this whole time. Ash expected the man to be smiling from ear to ear at the news of his granddaughter’s engagement, but the man looked haunted.  “I am so
proud
of my granddaughter. I don’t think she could have picked a better man to marry than Phoenix. I believe the merging of the Satan and Dawnfall families will bring great success to Hell for generations to come. Shiva, Phoenix - I wish you the best.”

He’s laying it on awfully thick for someone who looks so gloomy,
Ash thought.
Come to think of it, ever since I saw him arguing with Phoenix before our trip to the Hellwood, Wilhelm has seemed kinda down. He was always smiling and cheerful. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him go this long without twirling his mustache.

“Alright, enough gramps!” Shiva said, turning beet red. “Jeez!”

Aura’s eyes were not on Shiva, but as usual the boy was focused on the lady servant Leona. He couldn’t see most of her face, hidden by her baggy hood, but he did notice one strange thing about her. She tried hiding it behind her back, but Aura could see. She was clenching her right hand into a fist so tightly that it was shaking.

Is that jealousy?
thought Aura.

“That’s all the news we have to report,” said Phoenix. “Shiva and I will be very busy working with Goddard and the castle servants to prepare for the wedding, so don’t expect us to make every training session until after the wedding.”

“
Sweet
,” Aura said to Ash with a nudge. “
That means some days we can skip
.”

“I’ve asked Lord Wilhelm to step in for me and watch over your training until the wedding is over,” Phoenix said. Aura’s head and shoulders sagged with disappointment.

“Glad to help out in any way I can,” Wilhelm said with a forced smile.

“
Great
,” Aura whispered to Ash. “
We’re getting stuck with the gloomy old guy
!”

Ash gave Aura a gentle shove to silence him, companied with a glare that screamed “
Dude!
”

“I’ll leave them in your care then, Lord Wilhelm. As you know, Shiva and I have to make an appearance at the castle entrance to answer questions,” Phoenix said.

Shiva groaned. “Do we
have
to?”

“Yes,” said Phoenix. “There are many things that we do not like to do, but we
must
do them anyway. This is one of those things.”

“Oh, Phoenix,” Wilhelm said. “What training exercise should we do today?”

“Why don’t you hit them repeatedly until they can use their soul power again?” said Phoenix. He turned away, grabbing Shiva by the wrist. The couple left the yard with the servant girl Leona trailing closely behind.

“Sounds like a marvelous time, but I have to be off as well,” Goddard said. “From now on, if you two aren’t in here training with Wilhelm you’re going to be out there tracking down those rebels! Have you seen any of the rebel graffiti that’s popping up all over the Kingdom yet? I want them all caught
before
the wedding!”

The boys nodded and Goddard took his leave. They had serious doubts about the feasibility of his demands, but didn’t bother to vocalize them.

With everyone gone, the remaining men got down to business. Wilhelm did his best to put away his sad face for a while and address the boys. “Well boys, how about for our first lesson we play a little game?” he said.

“We like games,” Ash replied.

Wilhelm disappeared for a few minutes to retrieve some supplies. When he returned, the old man stood shirtless and blindfolded in the center of the courtyard. Ash and Aura were equipped with wooden training swords, but so was Wilhelm.

“You sure about this, Wil?” Ash asked.

“Of course I am. Nothing clears the mind like a little blind swordplay. Now come at me!” he said.

“Surely he doesn’t really want us to attack him at the same time, right?” Ash asked. “I wouldn’t exactly say he’s at the top of his game currently.”

“I don’t know man, that guy is
freaky
strong,” Aura said. “Maybe he really can handle himself against both of us.”

“Are you boys discussing wedding dresses over there?” Wilhelm asked. “Or were you planning on
manning
up and showing me what you’ve got?”

“Screw it,” Aura said. “He asked for it.”

The death toucher leapt forward, wooden-blade drawn. He attacked the old man from behind, and made no sound as he thrust forward. He thought he was absolutely quiet, but apparently not to Wilhelm. The old Satan spun out of the way and jump-kicked Aura to the ground. The death toucher boy collapsed in an embarrassed heap.

“I have confirmed,” Aura said, “that he
does
have some skill.”

“You may have gotten a little stronger from your trip to the Hellwood, but I’ve made the same trip
several
times in my life,” Wilhelm gloated. “How about you, Ash? Let’s see what you’ve got now!”

He seems better now,
the boy thought.
“Okay, here I go,” Ash said. The boy charged forward with a different approach than his friend. Instead of attacking Wilhelm’s back, Ash circled the man cautiously first. The boy raised his blade slowly, letting out a tiny groan as he moved forward.

Wilhelm knew at once where the boy was and raised his wooden blade in defense. Ash’s sword met with his and the two were held at a standstill. “Such an obvious direct attack,” Wilhelm said. “Not your most impressive, I’m afraid.”

“The only reason my attack isn’t impressive is because I’m holding the sword with one hand,” Ash said. “If you weren’t blindfolded, you would see that.”

“One-handed, you say? So what? Why does that matter?”

“Because my other hand’s holding a nasty surprise,” said Ash, blasting a small fireball into the old mentor’s side. It was too close of range for him to dodge, and the old man was knocked back.

“You
have
improved!” Wilhelm said. “I guess I no longer have to go easy on you!”

For the rest of the afternoon Wilhelm used his soul power to dodge the boys again and again. They made it to lunchtime and still hadn’t managed to land a single blow on the old man. Disappointed, the boys went to the castle cafeteria for some much needed nourishment. After eating their weight in meat, Ash and Aura followed their ears to the castle entrance. The front doors were left wide open for a change, and the boys stood in the lobby watching the chaotic scene outside.