Devil Ash Deceit (Devil Ash Saga) (27 page)

She received a much-needed surprise one day while mopping the barracks. The floor was so clean that it shined, reflecting the image of a familiar face standing over the girl. Shiva jumped up at once, excited to see her visitor.

“Phoenix!” she cried, wrapping the man in a hug. “It’s been so long! Where have you been?”

“It’s nice to see you again, Lady Shiva,” he said. “I’m stationed in West Hell, keeping an eye on the development out there. How have you been adjusting to life in the Royal Guard?”

Shiva listed off her problems while Phoenix listened intently, his face the first to display actual concern. The man offered to check in on her once a week and provide some much-needed sparring practice, which the girl enthusiastically agreed to. It turned out to be less than ideal, with Phoenix barely even making it to see her once a month. Their sparring sessions were always brief, as Phoenix was a busy man and unable to put off his own duties long enough to tend to the girl.

As the years went by and more new recruits joined, Shiva recognized some of the boys that she fought with on the streets as part of her delinquent youth. Thinking some of them might not be afraid of sparring with her since they’d already done so in the past, Shiva felt hopeful at last. That hope was quickly dashed as the new recruits seemed to fall in line with their seniors, ignoring the Princess entirely.

When she approached someone she knew from years ago, they’d only express disinterest in fighting with her again. Knowing of her Royal ties and put off by her past crime of keeping her identity a secret from them, no one took her up on the offer to spar. She’d come a long way in her journey, but it now seemed like she’d hit a dead end. Without anyone to fight against, she couldn’t advance in her training. Without displaying her abilities, she likely would never make it out of the castle.

One day, Shiva managed to catch her brother meditating in the private courtyard. Thinking this could be her one last shot, the girl approached her sibling with a nervous lump in her throat. Without opening his eyes or breaking his concentration, Darko addressed the girl.

“What do you want?” he asked, his brow already starting to crease in agitation.

“I was just wondering, if you have some free time right now, maybe you’d like to join me in some sparring?” Shiva asked, her legs practically shaking. She was almost twenty years old now, and Darko closer to twenty-six. The difference in experience between them was so obvious even thinking about it made Shiva sweat. Her brother had been fighting real demons for years, not only surviving each encounter but never even suffering so much as a scratch. Her brother was
strong
; much stronger than her.

“No,” he said instantly. “I have nothing to gain by sparring with someone as weak as you.”

“That may be true,” said Shiva. “But
I
have a lot to gain by sparring with
you
.”

Darko opened his eyes and cleared his expression. With a gloomy look of boredom, the Prince climbed to his feet and addressed his sister one last time. “My refusal to spar with you is for your own benefit. I never limit or restrict myself in any way, and if someone as inexperienced as you faced me, you’d certainly die.”

Like turning on a light switch, the boy activated his soul power. Shiva felt a wave of power wash over her, so strong it was that she had to take a step back and nearly fell to the ground. If he used that power against her in a match, she knew that death would very likely be the result. She could say nothing more.

Darko left the girl standing alone in the yard, reminding her that no matter how diligent or enthusiastic she was, no matter how hard she tried or how much effort she put forth, she would always be alone in her plight.

* * * *

One day, everything changed. Shiva was cleaning out the barracks kitchen when the latest batch of new recruits walked in. She didn’t pay any attention to the new recruits any more. For the first couple of years she felt hopeful that one of them might join her for a spar. As the rumors of the Princess’s reputation spread, it became a social norm to simply ignore her until she disappeared entirely. Because of this, the girl was taken by surprise during that afternoon’s sparring session.

As always, everyone else quickly abandoned whatever line Shiva joined. Shiva stood alone in her circle, working out by herself as she always did. On the bright side, she was in the best shape of her life. Her body was no longer soft and delicate like a Princess, but toned and muscular like a warrior. Her fiery red hair, which had always been long and flowing, she now kept tied up in a ponytail to keep from getting in her eyes.

She had her face to the ground doing sit-ups when she heard someone clear their throat. The girl stopped her workout, and without trying to get her hopes up too much, lifted her head. Before stood a man, silhouetted by the torch light of the gymnasium.

“If you’re not too busy, I wouldn’t mind having a go at you,
Lady Shiva
,” the man said. Shiva’s heart skipped a beat. The man’s voice was vaguely familiar to the girl, but she couldn’t place it. She climbed to her feet slowly, and the image of the man came into view.

Standing before her was Dekko, the boy she’d once struck up a friendship with in her wilder days. Like the girl, Dekko had matured considerably as well. He barely resembled the pre-pubescent boy that Shiva had once known. He’d grown a few feet, and now stood taller than Shiva. The boy smiled at her, the first genuine smile she’d seen in a long time.

“Dekko,” she said. “I can’t believe it…”

“I always said I’d join the Royal Guard, didn’t I?” the young man said with a smile. “I never thought I’d see you here though. I mean, once I learned who you really were…”

“I’m so sorry!” Shiva said, averting her gaze in guilt. “I lied to you back then, and I never even said goodbye to you!”

“You can make it up to me by giving me a good match,” the boy said, taking a defensive stance. Everyone else stopped their sparring matches and watched the couple. Commander Stryd even put down his paperwork, taking a stand to see the developments better.

“You mean it?” Shiva asked, baffled. “You know that no one is willing to touch me, right? You’ll only make everyone else ignore you too…”

“I don’t care about these spineless wimps!” Dekko said. “I know you can handle yourself, I’ve seen you fight before! You’re damn good, and anyone who refuses to acknowledge that is just stupid. I say screw’em all! Let’s fight!”

Trying her hardest to not let any tears of joy escape, Shiva engaged Dekko in a match. Her
first
official sparring match since joining the Royal Guard nearly five years ago. The bout lasted almost the full hour, with both combatants being equally matched. When it was over, no clear winner emerged as neither fighter would allow themselves to be pushed out of the circle.

Stryd had to blow his whistle, shouting that sparring time was now over. The only ones still fighting were Shiva and Dekko, as nearly everyone else in the room had stopped to watch their match. Both fighters collapsed to the matted floor, gasping for air and sweating like a garden hose. Both had huge smiles on their faces.

“Alright, alright!” Stryd barked at all the onlookers. “Everyone clear out and return to your posts! Shiva, new guy, I expect every inch of this gymnasium to be mopped clean of all the filth you’ve left behind!”

Shiva and Dekko spent the rest of the day cleaning up. At one point, Stryd even walked through with especially muddy feet to ‘inspect’ the area. All he really wanted to do was punish the two for their ‘crimes’ of having fun, making even more of a mess for them to clean. When he left, the two exchanged looks, smiled, and then started laughing all over again. Shiva no longer cared about anyone’s cruel attitude towards her, because she finally had a friend to share in her misery.

* * * *

Thanks to Dekko, Shiva finally got the sparring practice she needed to complete basic training. The pair spent every session together, shunned by the rest of the company. It didn’t matter, as they soon realized they’d already surpassed most of the new recruits in their strength and abilities. Outside the ring, the pair was routinely assigned all the worst jobs, like cleaning toilets, mopping floors, and carrying equipment for senior staffers.

Their chance to prove themselves finally came when a recent demon invasion decreased the Royal Guard’s numbers. Suddenly, capable fighters like them were in demand. Commander Stryd approached the duo, hesitant but with no other alternatives.

“You’re being assigned to guard duty,” the Commander told them. “Your post will be at the castle entrance until further notice.”

“Yes sir!” they said in unison, jumping up to salute their leader. They started to head for the castle entrance, but Stryd had one more warning.

“Remember, this is a strictly defensive role. You are not to abandon your post, especially if the invasion siren sounds! You are expected to defend the castle at all costs, and that’s it.”

The two saluted again and headed off to their first real job. Even though it was a simple stand-and-watch position, they were still outside the castle and technically on the battlefield. While guard duty was in essence a boring job, Shiva couldn’t keep the grin off her face. Finally, she was making progress towards her goal of becoming a great warrior. At long last she’d made it outside of the castle walls and couldn’t stop smiling about it. She zoned out staring at Dekko, feeling gratitude towards the young man that made it all possible.

The first time they were posted outside and the demon invasion siren went off, Shiva stood by on edge waiting for the action to find her. Tempted as she was to step away from the castle gate and fight some demons, Dekko’s unflinching attitude kept her grounded. She remembered her duty, and kept her feet planted firmly in hopes the demons would come close enough that she could attack.

The first couple of times, she had no such luck. Fortunately for everyone else, the demons were stopped before they came anywhere near the castle. It was almost a full year later when she encountered her first demon. As she and Dekko stood waiting for the sirens to stop, a bizarre beast appeared before them. It was vaguely human in shape, but with pale scaly skin and a mouth that took up half its face. Shiva stepped forward eagerly, cracking her knuckles in anticipation.

“This one is mine,” she said. If anyone other than Dekko had been standing there with her, they might of insisted on keeping the Royalty out of harm’s way. But Dekko knew better than to get between Shiva and her long-dreamed of battle. Besides, he knew she could handle herself.

Shiva took her time toying with the lesser creature before completely dismantling it. She saw it as nothing more than a sparring match with an opponent she intended to kill. The demon was too stupid, too animalistic to pose a threat to the girl. Shiva killed it with ease after dragging out the fight as long as she could. When it was over, she turned to Dekko with the demon’s blood splattered all over her armor.

“That was so
fun
!” she said. “You’ve got to try that!”

After long, word spread of Shiva’s talents in combating the demonic threats to the Kingdom. She and Dekko were promoted to patrol duty, and finally things were looking up for Shiva. With her best friend by her side, the girl was living the life she’d always dreamed of having. Not only did she have the freedom to get out and see the Kingdom every day, but the challenge of battling demons was finally an open option to her as well.

It didn’t always go so well. Shiva often charged headstrong into battle with Dekko right behind her. On more than one occasion, the girl suffered some nasty damage. She received cuts, bruises, scrapes, bites, scratches and scars. She saw a number of days where she’d been too beat up to get outside the barracks, having to lie in bed recovering instead. But she never gave up.

At this point, both Stryd and King Satan had pretty much given up trying to get the girl to quit the Royal Guard. Though they wouldn’t admit it, Shiva did show promise. Her efforts in battling the demons had a small impact on the Kingdom’s safety, and she seemed to enjoy the job. Everything was going well, but Shiva’s growing confidence began to stir up doubts within her mind.

She could battle any demon and come away the victor, and in her sparring matches with Dekko she almost never lost. The girl felt as though she’d hit a plateau. While her life was going as fine as it ever was, the girl still yearned for more. For one, she’d yet to earn the respect she’d always craved from her brother. She knew she was of course nowhere near as strong as him (yet), but she’d thought she could at least impress him with how much she’d grown.

Expressing her desires to Dekko proved to be a bad idea, as her friend quickly shot down her hopes. The young man cautioned her to stay away from her brother, knowing full well the Prince was on a level unlike most in Hell. He made Shiva swear to keep away from Darko for years to come, which she half-heartedly agreed to.

Then one day Dekko took a nasty blow from a wolf-like demon during an invasion. His leg was torn open and would take several days to recover from. During that time, he was bedridden in the castle barracks. Shiva remained on patrol duty, but the job was significantly duller without her friend at her side. It was a slow day, and as the girl made her rounds she grew restless and bored. She discovered that even though she’d accomplished her dream, without the friendship of Dekko it wasn’t very fun at all.

With her shift over, the girl visited with her bedridden friend before deciding to call it a night. Unlike the other recruits who slept in the barracks most nights, Shiva still had her bedroom in the castle to call home. It was on her trek across the castle that she decided to stop by the private yard, just to see if she could catch her brother’s sparring session with Phoenix. It had been years since she last saw the two in training.

She arrived to find only her brother sitting in the grassy yard, meditating by himself. He looked as bored as she felt. The girl turned to leave, her brother not even acknowledging she was there. This gave her pause. She knew he’d seen her during the last several demon attacks, he must of known she’d become stronger. So why did he still not acknowledge her? She wanted more than anything in the world for him to see her strength, to commend her on it, or at the very least to tell her “nice job, you’ve come a long way.”

She cleared her throat. That was her first mistake. Darko opened his eyes and stared at her. “You again?” he growled.

“I must insist you give me the opportunity to show you how strong I’ve become,” she said without trying too hard to let her voice crack in fear.

The Prince did not outright refuse her, as he usually would of. Instead, he jumped to his feet and walked toward his sister. “I suppose, since Phoenix had to cancel our sparring session for today, I do have an opening.”

“So…” Shiva said, pausing to try to comprehend her brother’s words. “You mean you’ll spar with me?”

“It seems I’ve been too kind to you all these years by refusing to honor your requests. Only after you’ve experienced my power firsthand will you be able to appreciate, and
fear
me.”

Shiva gulped. She already feared him! She didn’t think it was possible for her to fear her brother any more. She tried to remain calm, thinking back to all the practice she’d had up till then. Her confidence returned, and she convinced herself she was ready.

Shiva took an offensive stance as Darko approached her. The girl knew that waiting for her brother to attack would be a bad move. She dashed forward, showing off her speed by quickly jumping to the side as Darko moved to keep her in front of him.

Shiva leapt all over the courtyard trying to throw off her brother. She had a smile on her face, thinking her speed was impressive. Her smile disappeared as Darko reached forward and snagged her ponytail as she passed by. She squealed in pain as her brother pulled her hair and drew her in.

“You’re quick, but not quick enough,” Darko said. “You have no place on the battlefield.”

Shiva gritted her teeth through the pain as she clutched at her brother’s hand, trying desperately to free herself. Prince Darko lifted her high off her feet and slammed the girl’s head into the ground. Her nose and mouth erupted like a geyser of blood and her head almost split from the pain.

“You’re lucky,” Darko told her, stepping away as Shiva thrashed in pain. “It seems you’re still alive.”

Shiva slowly staggered to her feet. She wiped the blood and tears from her eyes as she gasped for breath. Only her head was in pain. The rest of her body was still capable of fighting, and she wouldn’t leave until she demonstrated her new strength to her brother. She struck another fighting stance, her eyes blazing with determination.

“You sure? You might not survive round two,” said Darko.

Shiva leapt forward at her brother, this time aiming a punch straight for his face. Darko swatted her aside easily, but she jumped right back at him. They continued this pattern of her striking at him, with the Prince easily avoiding or evading her. When he began to tire of the game, Darko simply plucked Shiva’s fist out of the air and pulled her in, shoving his knee into her gut. Even with her armor, Shiva got the wind knocked out of her. She dropped to the ground once again.

The girl, refusing to quit, pointed her open palm at her brother and fired a small blast of flames. Darko didn’t even bother dodging, and let the small fireball collide with his shoulder. The man simply brushed it off as if it were a speck of dirt on his clothes.

“You’re weak, sister,” Darko said. “You have nothing to contribute to this family. Whatever happens next, I wanted you to know that.”

Tears flowed from the girl’s eyes, and blood from her nose and mouth. She’d exhausted all her stamina and could barely move. As the Prince stood over her, a familiar voice rang out through the courtyard.

“Leave her alone!” called Dekko. The injured man stood with the aid of a wooden crutch at the entrance to the yard. “Can’t you see, she’s doing all this
for
you
?”

“Dekko…” Shiva said in stunned disbelief. “What…are you doing here?”

“Never mind what I’m doing here,” said Dekko. “What are
you
doing! I told you not to fight with him!”

While Shiva kneeled on all fours dripping blood, Darko scoffed. “No wonder you’re so weak. Is this boy the best sparring partner you could find? You’re both pathetic.”

“And you’re a
dick
!” Dekko shouted, hobbling closer. “All Shiva wants is to get stronger and protect the Kingdom, but you treat her like garbage!”

“Dekko…” Shiva said, her voice hoarse and somber. “
Shut up…
”

Darko was speechless. Not since his mother had there been anyone who talked to him like that. That tone of discipline was not one that the Prince was used to hearing anymore. He stared in disbelief at the younger boy as he hopped past his Prince, falling to his knees by Shiva.

“You’re going to be alright,” he said to her. The boy looked up at the Prince with anger in his eyes. “I can’t believe you’d do that to your own sister! What is
wrong
with you? I heard about what happened to your mom, and I’m very sorry about all that, but it’s no excuse to act this way!

“She’s your little sister. You should treasure her life! Not try to end it! You should treat her better than your best friend even. It shouldn’t be hard. Shiva’s great! I think if you actually spent time with her you’d see that. Maybe we could all hang out together some time. Who knows, maybe some day you and I could even become friends.”

Prince Darko could listen no more. As Dekko hovered next to Shiva trying to help lift her up, the Prince conjured a fireball in both of his hands. The recovering Shiva saw, and tried to warn her friend but Darko was too fast. The Prince slammed his fiery palms into Dekko’s head, igniting a small explosion that knocked Shiva back down to the ground.

When the girl rolled to a stop, she looked up to see her brother still holding Dekko up by his head. The young man’s face was no longer recognizable, burnt and blackened and hairless. A spattering of the boy’s blood landed across the Prince’s face, but Darko was staring down at Shiva.

“This boy was the
problem
,” the mad Prince said. “He’s been filling your mind with all this friendship nonsense. No wonder you’re so weak! Well now, do you see where friendship gets you?”

Darko dropped his victim, who fell to the ground in a pile without even trying to stand on his own. Tears streamed down Shiva’s face as she stared in shock at the ruined body of her friend. She looked up to her brother as he took another step closer.

“I’ve just done you a great favor,” he said. “That boy would have ruined you. With someone like him in the way, you’d always be held back. Because that’s what ‘friends’ do – they hold you back from achieving your greatest potential. Imagine how much weaker I’d be if I actually
cared
about hurting Phoenix!”

“But…he’s your friend…”

“He is my
tool
and nothing more. I simply use him to make myself stronger. I thought you’d finally found yourself a tool as well, but then the boy started spouting that friendship drivel. You’ll be much better off just fighting demons from now on.”

At this point, Darko noticed his sister’s fists clenched tightly. She’d lowered her head to stare at her friend’s lifeless body while Darko talked, but he could see her teeth grinding as tears flowed by. Finally she stared up at him with bloodshot eyes full of rage.

“
You’re a monster
.”

“Still think I’m wrong?” Darko asked. “I could kill you right now with no effort. Your life is in my hands, and you
insult
me? ‘Friendship’ makes you act stupid like that. The fact that you’re even still thinking about fighting with me instead of just saying “thanks for the lesson” proves I’m right. So what’ll it be? You want to take out your anger on me here and die? Or would you rather say thank you and live?”

“
I’ll never say thank you
.”

“Then I guess you’re too far gone,” said Darko. “The boy has already broken you. I might as well put you out of your misery now.”

Shiva froze in terror, too weak to even move as her brother took another step closer. He stood next to her poised to strike, but he did not move another inch. The Prince also froze, a look of confused panic spread over his face. Appearing behind the Prince, another man stepped into Shiva’s sight.

“It’s a good thing my prior engagement ran short and I was able to come after all,” said Phoenix.

“You…” Darko gasped. “You used a…”

“A movement seal, yes,” Phoenix confirmed. “I’ve been studying seals lately. It seems they’re incredibly useful, even against you.”

This is when Shiva passed out. The last thing she remembered was hearing her brother’s screams of anger, and seeing Phoenix scramble to carry her away.

* * * *

Shiva awoke much later to the sound of two familiar voices and some blurry figures standing over her. She was in her own bed, thank goodness, and the fuzzy dim outlines of the two men were becoming clearer. The girl kept her eyes shut and pretended to be asleep while she listened to the voices talk.

“There’s no doubt in my mind,” Phoenix said. “Darko would have killed her if I hadn’t stepped in. What’s worse is that I had to hide there, watching and waiting until he dropped his guard enough for me to sneak up on him. If I hadn’t gotten that movement seal on him, I don’t think I could have stopped him.”

“You’re a good man, Phoenix Dawnfall,” the old Satan said. “You have strength and courage. You are the role model Shiva deserves.”

A loud and sudden sneeze jolted both men. Turning their attention to the bedridden girl, they found Shiva with her eyes open staring blankly at the ceiling.

“You awake now, Shiva?” Wilhelm asked.

Shiva nodded.

“How are you feeling, Shiva?” Phoenix asked.

“I’m fine.”

“You probably have a lot of questions for us,” Wilhelm said. “But don’t worry, we’re here for as long as you need us. We’ll tell you anything you want to know.”