Devil Ash Deceit (Devil Ash Saga) (24 page)

“
Uhhhh
…” Aura started to sweat. Having his sister attracted to him was worse than her discovering his true identity!

Again, Nora laughed unexpectedly. “I’m only kidding. I haven’t seen a man’s face in so long, I’ve forgotten what my type even looks like.” When Aura remained quiet for too long, Nora continued. “I’m sorry, I haven’t told you
my
name yet. It’s Nora.”

The girl stuck out her hand to shake his. Her
right
hand. Aura took it with his right hand. The girl flinched as she felt the cold metal grip. Quickly, she snatched Aura’s left hand in hers.

“Only wearing one gauntlet today, Frank?” Nora asked.

“Oh, uh…” Aura stammered. “I took off my left glove because I’m left-handed. It’s easier to write down all your answers without a metal glove on my writing hand.”

“I see,” said Nora. “So what does a reporter from the paper want from me?”

“I heard all about your unfortunate accident a few years ago. I thought writing about your life might help others who suffer from blindness. Would you mind if I asked you some questions?”

It was a shot in the dark, but Aura thought it was his best shot at getting to talk to her about everything. Nora thought on it for only a moment then nodded her head.

“If I can be of some use, then why not? I’m not doing much good to anyone these days, anyway.”

Aura smiled. “I can see you like drawing,” said ‘Frank’, as the boy stared down at Nora’s sketchpad. The drawing she’d been working on was a mess. Aura inspected it as he bent down to pick up the pad.

“I used to be good at it,” Nora said. “Back when I could see what the heck I was doing…”

On the paper, Nora’s picture resembled something out of an abstract nightmare. Body parts floated on the page, disconnected but eerily just close together enough to resemble a man. This nightmare man has different proportions for each appendage. The smile on his face looks more like a demon’s. Aura could tell his sister’s old habits would never die.

“You’re still good at it,” he lied.

“Oh come on,” said Nora. “It must look like crap.”

“No, it’s very good,” Aura insisted.

“Can you even tell what it is?”

“It’s a man. A very handsome man.”

Aura took the sketchpad and flipped through a few pages. On every page was another version of the terrifying nightmare man. No two pictures looked the same and the further back in the book he went, the more horrifying the images were.

“These are all quite good…”

Nora slapped her hand on Aura’s chest. The boy panicked and dropped the sketchbook. He waited as Nora held her hand steady on his chest. After a moment, she spoke.

“Your heartbeat increased. That means you’re lying.”

“My heartbeat increased because you slapped me.”

“
Maybe
.”

Aura felt he had to change the subject quick. He cleared his throat.

“So, can you tell me how your life has changed since you lost your eyesight?”

“Where to begin?” Nora said with a sigh. “For starters, I don’t get out much anymore. I’m not allowed to leave the house without an escort, anyway. One time I was out walking around when I heard the demon invasion siren going off. I was only a few blocks away from home, but my dad freaked out. Now he won’t let me out of the house, except for this fenced in backyard. But if the siren goes off, I have to get inside immediately.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Aura said.
I did this to her. I’m the reason she can’t go outside anymore. I wish I could help her out somehow.

“It’s not so bad,” said Nora. “There isn’t much for me to see out there anyway.” The girl smiled bravely at her own joke at her expense. “The worst part is never having anyone to talk to.”

“What about your classmates? Surely you have some friends from back in your school days?”

“I stopped going to school shortly after the incident. I didn’t have many friends before that, and being yanked out of school only killed my social life even more. No one ever comes to see me. I had a home tutor for a while, but she was a cranky old fart. I never liked her much. Strange thing was, once she finally stopped coming to teach me, I started to
miss
her.”

“Bad company is better than no company, huh?”

“Did you know they don’t let you create flames anymore if you lose your eyesight? The Royal Guard sent us an official declaration. Under no circumstances am I allowed to make fire. Being blind, I might accidentally shoot someone.”

“No, I didn’t know that. How’s your family treating you?” asked Aura.

“Fine, I guess. My dad’s way overprotective, but I guess I understand why. I’ve got a few uncles and aunts as well, but they don’t talk to me much. They all think I’m a burden and a waste of their money.”

“If that’s the case, I’ll punch them all in their stupid faces for you!” said Aura, getting fired up.

Nora chuckled, her frown turning into a smile. “You remind me of someone, Frank. Someone very dear to me.”

“A
boyfriend
?”

“More dear than that, even. I’m talking about my brother, Aura.”

“
Oh
,” Aura said with a gulp. “Where is he?”

“He disappeared shortly after the accident. I’ve heard from my father he’s been drafted to a new team that assists the Royal Family. I’m really proud of him.”

“
Disappeared
? Now why would he do that?”

“He still blames himself for blinding me. I can’t blame him though. He was only trying to protect me. We would have both died if he hadn’t done what he did.
He
saved us both that night. I
only
blinded myself. Hey, if you write this article, do you think my brother will see it and finally realize he’s been stupid for so long and should just come talk to me?”

“Oh, I’m sure one way or another he’ll get the message,” said Aura. “I think you’ve got one heck of a story there. Thanks for your time, but I really should be going now.”

Aura turned to leave and brought out his wings again.

“Oh, Frank…” Nora said. Aura paused. “Weren’t you supposed to be writing down what I was saying? I didn’t hear any writing from you at all.”

“Sometimes the spoken word can leave enough of an impression on you that the written words don’t even compare. What you’ve told me has been written down on my soul.”

“Whatever, you weirdo.”

“See you later, Nora.” Aura leapt the fence and took to the sky, leaving his sister behind.

Once he was gone, Amos entered the backyard and approached his daughter.

“Do you know who that was?” Amos asked.

“Said his name was Frank the reporter,” Nora told her father. “Aura’s an idiot if he thinks I’m buying that, though.”

“Did he happen to see what’s hanging on the wall in our living room?”

Nora shook her head.

“That’s too bad. I think he would have got a kick out of it.”

Amos looked in through the living room window at the painting hung on the wall. It was Nora’s last painting of Aura from so long ago, the night she lost her eyes.

With only a handful of days before the Royal wedding, the boys arrived at the private yard surprised to see Shiva waiting with Wilhelm. It had been days since they last saw the girl. The boys approached with confused expressions on their faces, and Shiva took the initiative to explain.

“The past few days have been a disaster,” she said in a positive tone. “I frankly do not care what flowers we have, or what food we’ll serve, or who we invite. All I want is to get it over with and be done. So Phoenix being the mature, responsible man he is volunteered Leona to set everything up in my absence. So I guess she
is
good for something after all.”

“I’m glad you’re back, sweetie,” said Wilhelm. “The boys won’t admit it, but I’m sure they’re glad you’re back too.” Aura and Ash smiled and shook their heads, but said nothing to deny it.

“I could only take so much wedding talk,” said Shiva. “I needed to get outside, spar a little, fight some demons, track some rebels. You know;
relax
.”

“I don’t think you know what the word relax means,” Aura said under his breath.

“I can’t wait any longer, let’s get started! Who wants to fight me first?” Shiva said, excited to finally quench her thirst for action.

“I’ll pass,” Aura said. “Ash, why don’t you take the first dance?” The boy backed away to the darkest corner of the courtyard, where he could practice a little flame manipulation by himself.

One of Aura’s favorite techniques was creating multiple fireballs and trying to control them all. His record was ten flames at once, but he was confident that he could get as many as a hundred with more practice. Wilhelm had told him that the technique would likely not be helpful in a real fight, since it required too much concentration to be used effectively. To demonstrate his point, while Aura was going for a new record of juggling eleven fireballs, the teacher shouted “Leona! Put your robes back on at once!” Aura’s ten fireballs simultaneously exploded after that.

Shiva and Ash sparred hand to hand. In the short time that Shiva had missed practice, Ash had become much better at fighting. The boy was subconsciously learning to rely on his other senses in a fight, and some of his moves were even better than Shiva’s. The girl was pleasantly surprised to find that Ash had surpassed her in some aspects of their training. It drove her to work harder, to push herself to her limits. She hadn’t had this much fun since… she didn’t know when.

When they’d pushed each other as far as they could go for the day, Shiva and Ash dropped to the grass on their backs, huffing and sweating and laughing. Ash climbed to his feet first.

“I have to say, I have a much better time fighting you over your grandpa,” he said. “I feel like we’re more evenly matched now. Wouldn’t you say?”

“Hah,” said Shiva. “You still don’t know half the moves I know though!”

Ash, feeling generous, extended his hand to the girl on the ground. Shiva didn’t get the gesture at first, but then it dawned on her. She grabbed the boy’s hand, and he pulled her up to her feet. It took six blissful seconds altogether. In those six seconds, Phoenix also entered the courtyard in plain sight of the two.

Ash noticed the man staring at them and released Shiva’s hand immediately. The boy diverted his gaze and walked over to where Aura was sitting. Phoenix approached Shiva, whose face was red and sweaty from all the activities of the day.

“That wasn’t what it looked like,” she tried to explain to her fiancé. “I mean, why would I…? With him…?”

“Save your words, I trust you,” said Phoenix. “By marrying each other, we’re putting our trust in one another. I trust you with my life. Do you trust me with yours?”

“
O-of course
!” Shiva whispered. “You’re about the
only
person I can trust. Just you and grandpa. You’re all I got. You made that perfectly clear on
that
day…”

“That’s right,” said Phoenix. “Never forget that day. No matter how bad it gets, remember your grandfather and I are here for you.”

* * * *

When the day was over the group disbanded. Ash yawned and bid his teachers goodbye. He and Aura had almost left the castle courtyard when Ash realized he’d left his jacket behind. He had abandoned it when Phoenix came in. Ash slapped his forehead and sent Aura on without him. He hustled back up the castle stairs, backtracking all the way to the private courtyard.

He entered expecting the yard to be empty. Shiva was still there though, doing sit-ups in the middle of the yard. She looked particularly tough, her forehead covered in sweat from the day’s training combined with sit-ups in a set of armor.

“Don’t you ever quit?” Ash asked.

Shiva paused mid-sit up. “No,” she said. She continued to workout.

“Okay…” Ash said, walking over to get his coat. He picked it up off the grass and brushed away some dirt. On his walk back to the entrance, he saw Shiva switch to doing push-ups. She sweat and strained so hard Ash thought she was going to pass out.

“Do you really have to wear that armor when you workout?” Ash asked her, knowing he’d probably get yelled at for such a comment.

“Yes,” Shiva said. “Why shouldn’t I?”

“It just looks heavy and restricting.”

“It’s not.” Shiva climbed to her knees. “It’s lightweight armor, so it’s actually very thin and flexible. I like it because it gives me the perfect balance between defense and speed.”

“I didn’t know you paid so much attention to stats,” Ash said, offering Shiva his hand again. She accepted right away, and he pulled her to her feet. They quickly released hands. “You’d probably be good at video games,” the boy said awkwardly.

“I do not enjoy playing games.”

“Right, well it’s kind of hard to get a video game hookup in Hell anyway.”

“I’m going to return to my extra training now,” Shiva told him. “You are welcome to stay and join me if you want.”

Ash thought it over. It really did not sound like fun doing
extra
training. But he hadn’t seen much of Shiva lately, and found himself actually
wanting
to spend more time with her. To his surprise, he found himself agreeing to join her.

“I guess I can stick around a bit longer,” Ash said. He set his coat down again and they started sparring. They remained quiet for the first couple of minutes, both of them slow and lacking in concentration. Finally as Ash missed another block, Shiva grabbed his body and twisted him sideways.

“No, turn
this
way when you dodge,” she scolded him.

“Oh, sorry,” Ash mumbled, turning red at Shiva’s touch. The girl realized how silly she felt holding onto Ash’s sides and let go, stepping away awkwardly. Ash broke the silence.

“Yikes,” Ash said. “I’d hate for your fiancé to walk in on us
again
.” Ash quickly realized that what he said was stupid, and braced himself for her rebuttal.

Shiva smiled. “That’s stupid,” she told him. “Phoenix and I trust each other.”

“Is that so?” Ash said, resuming their sparring but at a drastically slower pace. “He does seem like an understanding guy, I suppose.”

“He’s the man I admire most, right after my family,” said Shiva, throwing a weak slow punch. Ash caught her fist and held it.

“And I suppose your family likes him?”

“Of course,” Shiva said, breaking away from Ash’s grasp. “They approved, and that’s all that matters.”

“What do you mean that’s all that matters?” Ash asked. “Shouldn’t the only thing that matters be that you
love
him?”

Shiva froze. “
That’s not really your business…
”

“I guess not,” Ash replied. “But… I just hope you’re marrying him because
you
want to, not because your
family
wants you to.”

“Why do you even care?” Shiva dropped their slow-mo spar and turned away from the boy, hiding her face.

“Because I want you to be
happy
. Is that such a foreign concept to you?” Ash asked.

“As long as my father and brother are happy,
I
will be happy.”

“That’s a crappy life philosophy.”

“It’s worked out well for me so far. At least I get to marry the one guy I like, instead of whoever my dad picks.”

“Why can’t there be a third option?” Ash asked. “You could just not marry until you find someone you actually
want
to marry.”

“You think you know how to live my life better than I do?” said Shiva, her voice tense and aggressive. “You don’t know anything about me!” The girl turned to storm out of the courtyard, tears welling in her eyes.

“I might not know a lot…” Ash said. “But I
do
know you deserve to be happy! So tell me Shiva…”

The girl stopped.

“Are you
really
happy?”

Shiva turned to face him, tears streaming down her cheeks. The girl had dark circles under her eyes from all the added stress. Without a comprehendible word, the girl left the yard. Ash could say nothing. He watched, disappointed, as she walked out of the private courtyard.

Ash stood silently for a few minutes, staring at the moon and wishing their talk had gone smoother. He still had a lot of questions. He wanted to know more about Shiva. Why did she insist so strongly on pleasing her rotten father and brother? What about her life was so difficult that he wasn’t getting?

As Ash moved to pick up his coat, he heard footsteps and became aware of the presence of someone else in the courtyard with him. The boy spun and saw Wilhelm Satan near the entrance. Ash was in such a daze the old man had snuck in unnoticed.

“Lovely night tonight,” Wilhelm said.

“Wilhelm…” Ash turned to him. “I have a favor to ask of you…”

“What is it, boy?” Wilhelm said stepping forward.

“I want to know about Shiva.”

“What about Shiva?” Wilhelm asked, chuckling at the notion.

“Well, is there a reason she’s… the way she is?”

“My boy…” Wilhelm said with a grave look of sadness coming over him. “You may find it hard to believe but Shiva has not had the easiest life, despite being in the Royal Family. She grew up without ever knowing a mother’s love, and Darko was not exactly a proper role model.”

“That’s what I don’t get,” said Ash. “If we can see it, why can’t she?”

“There was… an
incident,
long ago when Shiva was younger. I could tell you, if you have the time.”

“Of course I do,” Ash said. “But first, Aura should join us.”

“Didn’t the boy take off? Who knows where he is now?”

“I do,” Ash said. “Hey Aura! Come on out!”

High above the courtyard, in a Royal Guard watchtower Aura crouched in hiding. He had been there the whole time watching Shiva and Ash quarrel, and was now intending on eavesdropping on Wilhelm’s story. Upon hearing Ash call for him, he turned red with embarrassment and stood up to reveal his location.

“Oh, hello there!” The boy acted stupid. “Fancy seeing you guys here!”

The death toucher joined the two on the ground. Wilhelm took note of how much better Ash was getting at sensing nearby people.

This boy has come a long way,
the old Satan thought.
That worries me…

With the sun shrinking and the Kingdom bathing in darkness, the two boys sat on the grass and stared ahead at the old man. Wilhelm turned his back on the boys, preferring to not see their faces when he revealed the worst point in Shiva’s life to them.

“When Shiva was a child, there was an
incident
,” Wilhelm started. “Shiva almost died.”

“We’ve all had brushes with death facing demons,” Aura said. “What makes her case so special?”

“The one who almost killed her…” Wilhelm struggled to get the words out. “…was her own
brother
.”