Devil Ash Deceit (Devil Ash Saga)

by Olson, Mitchell

  Shakti never wanted to Marry Al!

  Darko realized he only saw his parents together when it was for some special event. Only when they were in front of the crowds did they appear affectionate towards each other. Behind the scenes, in the privacy of their family life, the vibe was totally different. His mother would always stand so far away from him... Darko didn’t yet know how parents made babies, but he imagined it couldn’t of been much fun for mommy if she didn’t like daddy.

  That baby presented another problem. What if what the men were saying was true? What if the people end up liking the new Prince more, and people wanted him to be the King next instead? Darko knew that would mean being cast aside. He grew fearful that a future son would replace him by the people’s demand.

  The next day, Darko launched a new initiative: to change people’s minds about how they viewed the Prince. He wandered the halls in the early hours when the Royal Guard members were changing shifts. The young Prince would pat each of them on the back and say pleasant things like “good work out there boys” and “the future King of Hell appreciates your hard work!”

  He moved on to another part of the castle where a group of servants were walking. The Prince started running towards them, but the adults caught on and sped away. He called out that he only wanted to help them, but they didn’t even turn around to look at him. His next attempt at helping someone would be his last.

  He saw a Royal Guard drop his sword and bend over in pain. Darko took the opportunity to rush over and pick up the sword, handing it back to the guard. “Here you go!” Darko said, forcing a childish smile. The soldier locked eyes with the Prince, and the boy realized he knew this man. The hundreds of tiny cuts on the man’s face were what gave it away. It was the Prince’s sharp sand victim from the other day.

  “Little demon!” he shouted, snatching his sword from the Prince. The soldier leaned in close to Darko and whispered. “I hope they have a new Prince to replace you.” He forced himself to stand up and storm away, leaving Darko on the verge of tears.

  The Prince spent the next few hours in his room crying. It was then that he was struck with a genius idea. If another boy is born, all I have to do is kill him while he’s still a baby! If he never grows up, they won’t like him better than me!

  Darko harbored these feelings for the remaining months of his mother’s pregnancy. At last, the day came when he was informed: his mother went into labor in the middle of the night. His new sibling had been born! All those feelings of paranoia and hatred came rushing back to him, and Darko remembered his vow to kill the baby if it turned out to be a boy.

  The King and Queen kept the gender of the baby a tight-lipped secret in those first few hours. Only two servants and the King were allowed in the room during the birth, and those two servants were sworn to secrecy under penalty of death. The only way Darko was going to figure out the gender was by going straight to the source. He took off towards the private birthing room to find out if he would have to murder his new brother.

  A lone servant stood outside the room, keeping anyone who would try to peek in and get a glimpse of the new royalty out. He was told to allow Darko to enter, however, and the boy slipped right past him. In the dim room, his mom lay on a small bed, covered up to her waist with blankets. Cradled in her arms was the tiny new sibling.

  So small, Darko thought. So weak!

  Shakti told her son to enter and sit on the bed with her. The boy crawled up next to his mom and hugged her, staring down at the new baby. He hadn’t seen many babies before, and could not tell by the face if it were a boy or girl.

  “What is it?” he asked, confused. “Boy or girl?”

  “I can’t tell you, sweetie,” Shakti said. “When people find out, it’s going to cause a commotion. I’m not ready to deal with that just yet. But I will tell you your new sibling’s name if you promise not to repeat it to anyone.”

  “I promise! Please tell me!”

  “Shiva,” Shakti said, her voice full of love as she stared down at the red-haired baby cradled in her arms.

  * * * *

  Darko had no idea what gender the name Shiva belonged to. He went to bed that night still wondering, hoping it wouldn’t take long to find out. While he was in bed pondering it over, a different sort of evil was making its way undetected through the castle halls. The creature in question climbed along the walls and ceiling, avoiding any guards positioned on the ground.

  How did such an odd sight pass by hundreds of guards undetected? There was no sight to be seen. The demon was equipped with a unique ability called camouflage. It could change the colors of its body to blend in with anything, even the walls and ceiling. This sneaky demon made its way toward the private birthing room, where it could smell the delicious scent of newborn devil. The creature’s forked tongue flicked out of its mouth, tasting the late night air. Its tongue was the only thing that wasn’t camouflaged, and could be seen if anyone were around to see it.

  Darko decided he could wait no longer to find out the baby’s gender. The thoughts of murder were eating away at him now, and he just had to go peek in on his mom and the new baby. He hoped he could catch them while they slept. The Prince got out of bed and left his room, trembling with nervous excitement.

  On the opposite side of the castle, outside the Queen’s private room, a pair of toothy jaws appeared floating above the lone servant standing there. The servant was beginning to nod off, completely unaware as the jaws clamped down around his head. He struggled, but made no sounds besides stomping his feet. His body was pulled up and disappeared into thin air.

  Darko walked through the castle lobby, noticing the guards posted there looked tired and groggy. He walked around the staircase to the unguarded pedestal were Infernos was displayed. With a wicked smile, Darko repeated his plan to pull the sword out. Stepping on the base of the pedestal gave him an extra inch of height, and he managed to slide the sword out with no problems…almost.

  The sword was heavy, and would have crashed to the floor and created a racket if not for Darko’s quick thinking. The Prince gripped the hilt as tight as he could and fell back with it. His body absorbed all the force of the fall, and the blade didn’t crash down on the floor or make a single sound. The boy counted his luck as a positive sign and continued to creep silently towards his mother’s room, struggling to carry with him the giant weapon.

  There was no longer anyone standing watch in front of the Queen’s room. The demon snuck in through the door completely unnoticed as the Queen slept. The baby cradled in her arms was silently sleeping as well. It was almost too easy. The pair of jaws became visible, opening right next to the little baby’s head. The demon was only seconds away from biting down on the child, but a sound coming from the hallway gave it pause.

  It sounded like metal being dragged across stone. The demon froze in place as the sound came nearer. It was right outside the room when it stopped. A second later, the door creaked open and little Darko’s head popped into the room. In the dim light, the little boy saw the large set of jaws hovering close to his mom. The Prince paused.

  “Teeth?” he said, confused.

  Before the boy could make any more noise to ruin the moment, the demon sprang forward. All Darko saw was an open mouth flying at him, with rows of sharp teeth about to bite down. That didn’t happen, as the demon was blasted from behind with a fireball. The demon fell to the stone floor in front of Darko, it’s camouflage ability turning off to reveal the monster.

  The creature looked like an enormous lizard, but its head resembled a snake. Darko turned his attention to his mom, the one who threw the fireball. She cradled baby Shiva in her arms, who was beginning to stir and whine.

  “Darko, run!” Shakti shouted. But the boy was frozen in terror. He’d never seen a demon up close before. The creature shot back up on its feet and evaluated the situation. The boy was nothing more than a pest, it decided. It would need to deal with the mother, who acted as the protector and only true threat.

&n
bsp; The demon flipped around and faced Shakti. She readied another fireball in her hands. “Go, now!” she shouted at her son. Darko heeded her call and closed the door. Shakti lobbed fireballs at the creature, but once it activated its camouflage again she lost sight of it. Still in bed gripping baby Shiva, who was now crying, Shakti tossed flames all over the room looking to get a lucky hit on the invisible demon.

  In the hall, Darko panicked. He managed to calm himself down and think. This could work out perfectly for him if his new brother died in a demon attack… And he could bust in just in time to help save his mom! He’d be a hero! Everyone would love him! It was a crazy, terrible plan but it worked in his childish mind. Gripping the massive sword that he couldn’t even properly lift, Darko flung the door open and entered the room again.

  What he saw didn’t make any sense. His mother sat in bed peacefully, still gripping his shrieking sibling. Half of her head was missing though. Everything above her mouth appeared to have turned invisible. Streams of blood trickled down her cheeks and mixed with tears. She could no longer move her body.

  “Darko, is that you…?” Shakti asked, her voice only a dying whisper.

  “It’s me mom!” Darko shouted. “Don’t die!”

  “You have to be strong, Darko,” Shakti whispered. The demon chomped down further on her, and her mouth disappeared before leaving one last cryptic message. “Become strong enough to…-” her words ended there as her entire head disappeared. Shakti’s body went limp, and the crying baby in her arms fell to the stone floor.

  The demon let go of the woman. Now dead, she would cause no more problems. The baby was noisy, but he would take care of the boy first. If he ran, he might cause problems. The baby would have to wait to be eaten in a minute.

  The Prince felt a jolt of something he had never felt before. It was a stabbing sharp pain to his heart, similar to how he felt when those men had talked about his father. It was the pain of witnessing his mother die right in front of him, her last words burned into his mind. Somewhere in his subconscious, his body tapped into the hidden power of the Satan bloodline.

  Those with Satan blood flowing through them are always mighty warriors, even from birth. For King Al Satan, that power had never awoken. But for Darko, that time came now. With the hero’s sword in his hands, the boy overflowed with wild soul power. As the demon lunged forward, the boy swung the sword with all his might. He kept his eyes closed the whole time, and when next he opened them he saw the demon impaled on the end of his blade.

  It appeared dead for a moment, and then sprang back to life snarling at the Prince and trying to grab him with its long claws. Another ability of Darko’s activated abruptly, and a huge burst of flames escaped from Darko’s hands. The flame was channeled through the tiny holes in the hilt of Infernos, through the sword and out several vents along the edge of the blade. The demon burned alive from the inside out.

  The young Prince’s soul power vanished in an instant and he dropped the heavy blade. Everything was eerily quiet, save for the sound of the baby crying and several voices from far off outside the room. Darko wiped the tears from his face and tried not to look at his mother’s unmoving body.

  The boy could no longer ignore the horrid sounds coming from the crying baby on the floor. It was that sound that snapped him back into reality. At once, he remembered his plan. Now might be his only shot at eliminating the newborn Prince that would replace him. He had to move quickly and carry out his plan.

  The Prince went to the baby. Pulling the crying child off the floor, he held it up and allowed the blankets to fall off. The mystery was finally solved, and the Prince was overcome with joy at what he saw (or rather didn’t see).

  A girl! he thought. Baby Shiva stopped crying at the sight of her big brother, standing over her and gripping the baby like a football. She looked up at him and knew she was safe, and that subconscious instinct imprinted on her for the rest of her life.

  As the servants and guards poured into the room, the horror of the scene sunk in. People screamed and cried out for their dead Queen. The King arrived on the scene later, breaking down and crying like the little baby Shiva. Darko sat in the corner while a team of servants covered the Queen’s body with a large sheet.

  It’s a girl. That means I win. From this day on, it doesn’t matter what happens to her. As long as I can become King… That surge of power I felt, was it…rage? It felt nice. Maybe I should take up training, so I can feel that again. After all, I never want to get killed by a demon like that…

  As a team of servants carried out the dead bodies of the demon and the Queen, Darko caught a final glimpse of his mother’s remains. His eyes watered up again and the tears began flowing anew. A servant came by and placed the baby Shiva in Darko’s arms, thinking maybe holding his new sister would calm him down. Darko looked on her with wicked new eyes.

  Mother died because of you, he thought. She was strong and you were weak. You should have been the one to die here tonight! Not mom… The boy let his tears fall onto his baby sister. The Prince cradled the baby in his arms, pulling Shiva’s head close to his.

  “Shiva, my dear sister,” he whispered softly to her. “Don’t expect me to save your life ever again.”

  * * * *

  Back to the present.

  Swords clashed as Darko and Phoenix continued trading blows. Even with both their soul powers active, Phoenix simply could not keep up with the Prince’s extraordinary speed. Darko would appear to be right next to Phoenix, and then in a flash he’d disappear and attack from behind instead. Any moment now Phoenix knew he’d slip up.

  “Strength and power are good to have, but only when they’re used to help people!” Phoenix shouted. He had to get his message out, no matter what.

  “Only the weak need help, and they do not deserve it,” Darko replied lowering his blade at last. “I have no more to discuss with you.” He strapped his sword to the holder on his back and walked away.

  Phoenix left the yard alive, but his mission had failed. He was there that night to see if there was any shred of decency left in the Prince. If so, he might have changed his plans. But the short walk down memory lane he’d just experienced proved beyond a shadow of a doubt: Phoenix knew there was just no way to save the Prince of Hell.

  Part Three

  Chapter Twenty-Nine: The Royal Wedding

  Minutes before the morning sun was formed, a knocking on his door stirred Ash from bed. Flinging open the door in his underwear, the boy was greeted by a package laying on the ground and a courier boy already speeding off to his next destination. Ash scooped up the package and disappeared back into his flat, leaving a small fireball outside the door to become part of the morning sun.

  Ash dressed and made use of the bathroom before his snoozing roommate could bogart it from him. When he emerged from the bathroom he was once again wearing his black peacoat, which had been repaired and improved by Gio. He took a moment to pin his flame-wing badge back on the lapel of the coat before going to Aura’s bedside and shoving his friend to the floor.

  The two boys moved quickly through the streets of North Hell. When they arrived at the castle courtyard gates they hit a traffic jam. Hundreds of people were gathered around the gates, all vying for admittance to the Royal wedding. It was so hectic the Royal Guard had to get involved, stationing more soldiers than ever in the castle. The boys waited in a line, which was really more of a chaotic mob, for nearly an hour before reaching the gate.

  Inside the courtyard, the situation did not improve. More people were gathered here, apparently waiting for the truly invited guests to be allowed inside the castle. Ash and Aura scanned the crowd for familiar faces, but they were too far back to see any. They tried pressing forward through the throng of people but made little progress. The boys became held up behind a large couple of loud Nobles.

  Ash heard his name being called and turned to the left to see Yazma Bethilda, his flame teacher, not far away. Ash smiled at the lovely-looking woman, and she made
her way over to join them.

  “Yo, Yazma!” Aura shouted in a surprised, joyous tone. “You look beautiful!”

  In keeping with her gothic appearance, Yazma wore a very low-cut, lacy black dress. Her long black hair was even tied up neatly with a big red bow. Lastly she wore black lipstick, which was the first application of lipstick Ash had seen since coming to Hell.

  “Nice to see you, Ash,” Yazma said, ignoring Aura as always.

  “Hi Yazma,” Ash greeted her. “I’ve gotten a lot better with my flames.”

  “We all have!” Aura added. “Me especially.”

  “Oh look,” Yazma said and pointed to the castle. “It’s Goddard.”

  The Royal Advisor stood at the top of the steps near the gate into the castle. Holding a megaphone, Goddard addressed the crowd. “Friends and family, thank you for being with us on this adjective day. In just a short moment we’re going to open the castle gates and allow you all in. Once inside, you will walk at a brisk pace in whatever direction doesn’t have an armed guard blocking the way. Understood?”

  There was a mild response from the crowd, but mostly just blank stares. Goddard took that to mean that no one had any questions. He began to pace the wall heading back to the stairs but remembered something and spun around to address the people again. “Oh, and my gang,” he said, scouring the crowd for Ash and Aura. “Ah, there you are. You’ll have assigned seats inside, so just look for your names.”

  “I guess we just make our way inside then,” Ash said while watching Goddard walk away.

  When the guards moved to open the castle gates, the monstrous crowd took on a more demonic presence. Everyone pushed forward and people got knocked over. Ash thought at one point he was standing on top of someone as he was being pressed into the backside of a large smelly man in front of him. Inside the castle, the familiar spacious lobby now felt like a single small hallway. The walls were made out of Royal Guards.