Devil Ash Deceit (Devil Ash Saga) (35 page)

Ash took a step towards the door on the right. “I think I’m gonna go with this one,” he said. “I keep getting this weird vibe from over here, like… I don’t know, it just kinda feels
familiar
.”

“It could be those rebels we fought in the Hellwood,” Aura suggested. His eyes lit up excitedly at a thought. “Oh snap! It could be that smokin’ hot lady rebel! I gotta go.”

The two boys bumped fists.

“Come back alive,” said Ash.

“Oh please! We’re gonna mop the floor with these rebel shmucks!” Aura declared.

The boys parted ways. With one last determined look at each other, Ash and Aura pushed through their different doors, entering the stone walled hallway beyond. Aura turned around for another look at Ash with something on his mind.

Maybe I should have mentioned that the soul behind that door was much more powerful
, thought Aura.
But if I told him and he changed his mind, that means
I’d
have to go fight that guy. Well, it’s too late to do anything about it now. Ash is tough, he’ll manage I’m sure. Now if I’m lucky, I just might have a date with a lovely lady rebel
!

Aura charged anxiously down a dim stone hallway towards danger. On the other side, Ash’s stone hallway deposited him in what looked the start of a mineshaft. Unlike the perfectly carved walls of the spiral prison, the rough walls here were carved in a hurry. As the tunnel narrowed, Ash had some trouble avoiding the deep potholes and stony structures in his path.

Lighting a fire on his fingertip, Ash saw that there weren’t any more wall-torches to light his way. He continued forward with only his small flame to light the way. The cave had started out the size of a hallway, and was easy to navigate despite those occasional obstacles on the floor. But the more Ash pressed on, the tighter and rockier the path became. One part even had him squeezing through two rock faces that were only inches apart. He wasn’t claustrophobic, but he was beginning to understand why some people are.

The boy eventually arrived at an open portion of the cave where the only way to go was up. Unfortunately, that meant crawling through a gap in the ceiling and scaling the rocks while navigating through even more tiny gaps. He wouldn’t even be able to use his wings in such tiny confines. He moved below the first gap and pulled himself up.

Once inside the next rock gap, Ash could see a faint light coming from above. His heartbeat increased drastically the higher he climbed. As he drew closer to the light above, he could feel an ominous drop in temperature. He had expected it to get warmer, since he was going up. When Ash finally put his hands on the last rock and pulled himself up, he didn’t know what to expect.

What he did
not
expect, however, was exactly what he saw. The boy emerged in a large cavern that looked like a construction site. There were lanterns rigged on poles all around the room, every one lit and illuminating the entire room. Ash’s eyes were drawn to the rear of the cavern where a lone structure stood.

It looked like a storage shed, except it was made out of long thin logs. The structure stood only ten feet tall and had only one door on the front of it.  Standing before the building was a single man. Even though he had his back to Ash, the boy could tell who it was. Ash walked forward to join his teacher.

“You came,” Phoenix said as the boy approached. A tired grin spread across his face. “This must be fate.”

* * * *

Outside the castle on the front steps, Amos paused momentarily to observe the status of the Kingdom beyond the castle walls. Royal Guards scrambled on foot and in the air to pursue and defeat the invading rebel forces, but they had other problems. Demons were somehow loose in the Kingdom as well, attacking rebel and Royal Guard indiscriminately.

“Hold the yard,” Amos told the mob of able-bodied wedding guests. “I’ll be back soon!”

The old weapons master brought out his wings and took to the sky. From a hundred yards in the air he could see the cause of all the demon trouble: the southern gate was left wide open. A small batch of Royal Guards was more than preoccupied with the demons pouring in to be able to close the gate, and Amos thought this was the best place to start his task of reclaiming the Kingdom.

First things first though, he needed some weapons. Turning away from the South, Amos pointed his head towards his home in North Hell and dropped from the sky like a speeding bullet. In just a few minutes he landed outside his house and ran to the door. As he had hoped, when he tried the doorknob he found it locked.

Amos knocked a specific beat on the door, letting his servants know he had arrived. An older man opened up at once and Amos charged in without a word. As he dashed to his workshop area, Nora appeared from her bedroom with her caretaker guiding her.

“What’s going on out there?” she asked her father.

“The rebels infiltrated the Royal wedding,” Amos said as he filled a barrel with his various favorite weapons. “Now they’re invading the Kingdom.”

“Oh no…” Nora said.

“Stay inside with the doors locked,” said Amos. He turned around and put his arms through the straps attached to the barrel of weapons. Focusing his strength into his legs, Amos stood up with the heavy barrel strapped to his back. “I’m going out now.”

“What about Aura? Where is he?”

“I don’t know,” said Amos as he stepped up to the front door and opened it. Standing just outside was a man-shaped grey demon, who flung himself at Amos as soon as he saw the tasty-looking devil. Amos reached behind his back, pulled a sword out of the barrel and cut the creature from head to toe. The demon fell to the ground dead. “You know your brother though, he’ll be fine! I’ll see you later tonight for supper!”

With that, Amos left his daughter behind in the care of the two house-servants. The weapons master headed for the south gate, anxious to get in a good workout with his beloved weapons.

“
Phoenix
?” Ash said in a confused daze. “What are
you
doing down here?”

“Terrifying, isn’t it?” Phoenix said, ignoring the question. “I’ve been here for nearly ten minutes just staring at it, too afraid to go in. And I consider myself a very brave man.”

Ash couldn’t resist taking the bait. “What is it?” he asked, following Phoenix’s gaze toward the log hut.

“It’s the true reason I’m here. Why we’re
all
here, in fact. But now’s not a good time to get into all that. I believe you have some questions for me?”

“That’s right,” Ash said, snapping out of his trance. He couldn’t help staring at that freaky log hut. “Goddard says the rebels invaded and warned us they might try sneaking down here. Then we find you here, when you should be upstairs getting hitched. You gotta admit; this doesn’t look good for you.”

“To tell you the truth, I’m the leader of the rebels you’ve been chasing for so long,” Phoenix said without a trace of guilt.

“
What
!” Ash couldn’t believe his teacher’s words. Suddenly everything started making sense. This was why Phoenix agreed to take them on as students, keeping a watchful eye on their strengths and weaknesses. Worst of all that meant his engagement to Shiva had all been a plot to use the girl to overthrow the King.

“So Shiva was just a pawn in your plan,” Ash said, lowering his head in anger. He couldn’t bear to look at the man anymore. “You used her?”

“I
helped
her,” Phoenix insisted. “By removing her brother and father, I will be freeing her, as well as all of the Kingdom, from their tyrannical and cruel leadership.”

“You weaseled your way back into her life only to use her just like that stupid King and Prince have been doing all this time! That doesn’t sound like help to me!”

“I’m not proud of my methods, but I saw my opportunity and seized it. I seduced her into marrying me using the power of nostalgia. But believe me, I never wanted to hurt her. She’s a great girl. When our new Kingdom is established, I will see to it that she is not killed, so long as she cooperates.”

“
Asshole
…” Ash whispered, clutching the first few flames of a fireball in his trembling fingers. “I’m gonna beat your face in, and then drag you up to where Shiva is and let
her
bash your head in too!”

Phoenix laughed. “Yes, I suppose it’s about time we settled this. I honestly didn’t expect you to show up down here, I thought I’d have to deal with you later. We should have full control of the castle by now, so I think I have some time to spare. If you insist on getting in my way, I’ll just have to end your life here and now.”

“
You talk too much
!” Ash shouted as he dashed forward. The boy jumped, balling his hand into a fist and throwing a wild punch at his mentor. Phoenix jumped back and avoided the punch with ease. He wasn’t expecting the ball of flames that shot forward like a bullet from the boy’s fist though. The blast hit Phoenix in the face, resulting in a small explosion.

Ash grinned, feeling somewhat relieved. He never thought it’d be so easy to hit his teacher. The boy’s grin faded quickly as the smoke cleared to reveal his teacher still standing in the exact same spot. His face was scorch-free and he looked unphased.

“Not bad,” Phoenix said. “I wasn’t expecting a fireball masked with a punch. All this time and you’re still surprising me. There’s no telling what else you’re capable of.
That’s
why you gotta go.” A bright steamy glow surrounding him. Phoenix flickered forward and was on Ash before the boy even knew it. The man reached forward and flicked Ash on the forehead, and it was strong enough to send the boy hurling to the other side of the cavern.

That knocked the wind out of me,
Ash thought as he rolled to a stop.
He’s way faster than me. And stronger. And more experienced… Crap!

“Why don’t you use your soul power?” Phoenix paused to ask. “You used it in the Hellwood. Lionel and Dismas were very impressed by you and Aura.”

“Those guys…!” Ash said in shock, struggling to get up to his feet. “Those are the guys who attacked us that time!?”

“I notice that Aura isn’t with you. Did you send him down the other hall?”

“Why? Who’s down the other hall? What other secret is there that’s weirder than this one?”

“Lionel went that way to investigate a rumor. Truth is, I’m not sure what he’ll find there. You remember him, the fighter with two swords? You gave him quite an annoying time, I heard. He’s actually very strong; I’m not sure how well Aura will do against him.”

“I can’t worry about him now. I have to focus on kicking your ass!”

“Very well. Let’s get this over with,” Phoenix said, drawing his sword. “I’ve wasted too much time as it is. I’m sorry Ash, but this time we fight for real.”

“Bring it!” Ash said, charging another fireball in his hands.

* * * *

Aura’s trek through the cave was significantly easier than Ash’s cavern-spelunking trip. Aura had a short walk through a winding stone tunnel that eventually opened into a large crystal cavern. The boy would have almost thought it looked beautiful if it wasn’t so creepy. Inside, a few well-placed torches managed to provide a little light to the room.

Most of the cavern was submerged in about a foot of water that had a white calcium-sandy bottom. The lights from the torches made the crystals reflect off the water, filling the room with a beautiful and eerie sort of twinkle. On the far end of the crystal cave stood a man with two swords staring at the ground in silence. Aura approached him, disappointed.

“You gotta be kidding me,” Aura said. “I came all the way down here hoping to find that buxom babe from the Hellwood and all I get is a dude. Worst mission
ever
.”

“I wouldn’t say that,” the man replied. “You could be on
my
mission instead.”

Aura stood next to the man, who looked vaguely familiar. The boy had seen him somewhere before, but couldn’t place his face. He followed the man’s gaze across the cavern, looking for whatever secret this room held.

“So what exactly is worth all this trouble?” Aura asked.

“There. Across the cave, by the far wall,” the man said, motioning with his eyes. Aura could see a big stone well in the back of the cave. The crumbling rocks looked like they were about to fall apart, and a giant steel lid sat over the top of it.

“Is that a well? What’s in it, the fountain of youth?”

“Why don’t you go stick your head inside and find out for me?”

“Sorry pal. Tempting as that sounds, that’s not really a major concern for me at the moment,” said Aura, placing his hands on the back of his head. “My mission is to stop the rebels from finding out what’s hidden down here. So go ahead and clue me in; what exactly are
you
doing down here?”

“If it’s a rebel you’re looking for, you came to the right place,” the rebel said. “My name’s Lionel.”

“So you’re one of the rebels we’re after, huh? Just my luck… I always miss out on the babes, like that lady rebel from the Hellwood. The one with the nice…” Aura made an obscene gesture with his hands fondling an imaginary chest as he giggled to himself. “You wouldn’t happen to know her, would you?”

Lionel shuddered at the thought. “Hey, watch it with the details! That’s my sister you’re talking about!”

Aura’s eyes lit up with excitement. “Then you do know her! So is she as hot as my imagination depicts her? Exactly
how big
is her chest? What’s her name?”

“You’re a weird guy,” Lionel said with a sigh. “But, I’ll tell you who she is and even introduce you to her if you do one simple little thing for me.”

“That sounds too good to be true,” Aura said, cocking an eyebrow. “What do you want from me?”

“We’d like you to join us.”

“You must be kidding.”

“Not at all,” said Lionel. “We’ve come to realize you have certain
talents
that could be useful to our organization in the future. If possible, we’d rather recruit you than fight you.”

“Tell me the name of the hottie from the Hellwood and I’ll think about it.”

Lionel groaned. “It was Leona, okay? Phoenix’s ‘servant’ and my sister, Leona.”

“
Leona
! The other mysterious cutie!” Aura said with a smile, before realizing what this meant. The grin slipped off his face and disappeared. “So Leona was the one who attacked Shiva. That’s why she’s always so tense around her…”

“Leona and I owe our lives to Phoenix,” said Lionel. “Now he’s entrusted his life to us. That’s how strong our bonds are!” Lionel removed the two swords from his sheaths and turned to face Aura.

“Ah man, I don’t suppose we could settle this without a fight?” Aura asked. “Why don’t you just surrender and we can talk about your sister some more?”

“Not unless you’d like to seriously discuss joining us,” Lionel said. “I’m under orders to examine that scary well and report back to Phoenix. If you’re going to insist on stopping me, I’m afraid we’ll have to fight.” The rebel took a hostile stance to make his point even clearer.

Aura grinned and braced himself, preparing for a difficult fight against a foe with two blades. As if demonstrating his ability for the boy, Lionel started glowing as his soul power billowed off him. Drawing his swords, he disappeared in the blink of an eye. Aura had only microseconds to react as Lionel reappeared just inches away, coming at him from the left. Aura jumped back to safety, or so he thought.

Lionel did not attack. Instead, he jumped up and sliced an enormous stalactite hanging right above the death toucher. Aura was so caught up in watching how Lionel moved to react to the danger. The boy could only fall over and roll out of the way as the stalactite dropped. When he came to a stop, Aura saw the giant stone spike pierced into the ground where he was just standing. The boy quickly climbed to his feet, feeling less than confident.

The rebel sighed. “I don’t know if I can do this,” Lionel said, lowering his weapons unexpectedly. “It’s not fair if I fight you like this.”

“What are you talking about?” Aura shouted.

“Catch.”
The enemy rebel tossed one of his swords over to the death toucher, who caught it with a fearful look of surprise.

“Wait a minute! Are you seriously giving me this? Why would you do that!?”

“Because the thought of slicing up an unarmed man gives me the willies,” Lionel said, ashamed. “I don’t want to beat you that way. It just doesn’t sit right with me.”

"I gotta say I'm impressed," Aura said. "And here I thought you rebels were just a bunch of stupid dreamers with a bad case of bloodlust.
But it seems like you might actually have a conscious!"

"
We’re not
that
different, you and I. I have my reasons for being here, too. I believe in Phoenix. I’m entrusting my life to him. Can you say you’d be willing to do the same for Ash? If you sent him down the other path, he should be fighting against Phoenix right now. He can’t beat him, so why don’t you just join us? I promise we’re more fun to work with than the Royal Family.”

Lionel leapt forward, slashing madly at Aura. The death toucher parried the attack, matching blows with his opponent. Their swords clanked loudly against one another and the echoes filled the crystal cavern. Their blades locked and the two pushed at each other for a moment, then backed away.

"Well? What do you say? Should we call this fight a draw and both walk away with our lives? Or do you insist on following your friend’s lead and getting yourself killed?”

A bead of sweat trickled down Aura’s face. He could already tell Lionel was more practiced in swordplay than he was. Who could have guessed that all those years of hanging around South Hell drinking and womanizing with his gang instead of practicing with a sword would come back to bite the boy in the ass? He’d have to rely on more than just his sword skills for this fight, and that included his wit.

“Here’s the thing,” said Aura. “I know right now Ash is over there beating the crap out of your leader. How do I know that? Because I know Ash wouldn’t let him get away with taking advantage of and humiliating Shiva. Even if Phoenix pulls the same stupid ‘join us or die’ spiel you’re trying to pull on me, it won’t work on Ash.”

“So you’ve got as much faith in the boy as I do in Phoenix? Well then I suppose I’m wasting my time trying to recruit you. Oh well, after talking with you I can tell you’re not the type of person who works well with others. We were really just interested in your ability anyway.”

"That’s right, shouldn’t you be pissing your pants in fear that I might use my death touch on you?” Aura asked, taking the offensive. The boy shot forward a small fireball, which Lionel easily dodged. Aura tried taking him by surprise, making the fireball arc back around to strike Lionel from behind. The rebel warrior was too smart for that though, and easily spun around to cut the fireball apart before it hit him.