Devil Ash Deceit (Devil Ash Saga)

by Olson, Mitchell

  The throng walked steadily now, less agitated and just happy to be inside the castle. Many of them had never been inside the castle before. The citizens dressed in their most fancy clothing, which meant a lot of suits that looked like they were from the American 1800s. Ash felt out of place in his peacoat among all the frilly dresses and blouses. Aura wore his coat the traditional way, with his arms through the sleeves, out of respect to his captain.

  Their trip through the castle halls led the boys past the cafeteria and around to the back of the castle. Ash and Aura weren’t familiar with this section of the castle, as it had little to offer the boys. The only thing back there was a chapel, and neither of them had cared enough to check it out before. The wall of Royal Guards deposited everyone into the great chapel where they spread out and started filling the pews.

  After losing Yazma in the crowd, Ash and Aura waited in line to get up to the front row of pews. Their thinking was that Shiva reserved them front row seats, so that’s where they thought they should go. When they finally arrived at the front of the chapel they saw who was actually seated there.

  Nobles. Glebeck, Bliley, Machmann, and Rumbaugh. All dressed in frilly outfits and pale makeup. They shot the boys smug looks, clearly proud of their prime seating. Even Commander Stryd was seated in the front row, staring at the boys with a satisfied smirk. They didn’t recognize anyone else and assumed their seats must be back another row. When they searched the next row, they found it was also full. The boys continued to search every row of pews in reverse, fighting against the stray people desperately trying to cram into every small crack they could find.

  All the way in the back of the room, in the far corner of the very first pew, two small nametags sat saving the tiny space. Ash and Aura packed themselves into the tight opening. Right away Aura noticed the man seated directly in front of them was his father. Ash followed his friend’s gaze and at the sight of his teacher he instinctively tapped him on the shoulder to say hi.

  “You made it in,” Ash said.

  Amos turned around, surprised. “Oh, Ash, Aura” he said. “How’s that bathhouse? Swanky, right? Oh! I’m supposed to ask Aura how Frank the reporter is doing!”

  “Frank the… what are you talking about?” Ash asked, confused. He looked to his friend. Aura sat quietly, his eyes diverted and cheeks red with embarrassment.

  “Oh he knows what I mean!” Amos said with a grin. Seeing that he was embarrassing his son, the man turned his attention back to Ash. “Is this your first traditional devil wedding?”

  “Yeah,” Ash replied. “I hear they’re long and dull.”

  “Well you’ve certainly got the best spot if you wanted to sneak in a little nap during the ceremony,” Amos said with a childish smile.

  “I’ll keep that in mind,” Ash said. His eyes scoured the crowd around him and he discovered two of Phoenix’s friends, Dismas and Lionel, sitting in the opposite corner. Ash thought it odd that Phoenix wouldn’t even allow his closest friends to sit up front.

  * * * *

  Across the hall from the chapel was a series of private dressing rooms occupied by the wedding party. Goddard paced to and fro barking orders and giving time updates to the people inside.

  “Ten more minutes, groom!” he shouted while knocking on Phoenix’s door. “How do those slacks fit, My Lord?” he asked King Satan through his door.

  “This is nonsense!” Al Satan cried. Goddard poked his head into the room and saw the King struggling to stuff himself into a pair of dress slacks. “They fit me yesterday!” Al insisted.

  “Tailor!” Goddard shouted, and Gio came running.

  “Is it the slacks?” Gio asked, charging into the room without even knocking. “What the heck? Those things fit yesterday! We’re going to have to do some last minute tailoring!” Gio pulled a small sewing kit out from his suit pocket, and brandishing the thread and needle like a weapon, pounced on the King’s pants.

  Goddard ignored their struggle and moved onto Shiva’s room. “Ten minutes, bride!”

  Inside the room, Shiva did not feel like bride on her wedding day. She was nervous and uncomfortable staring at her reflection in the full-length mirror. The dress Gio had made for her was pretty, but it was not her style. She couldn’t wait to get back in her armor again. Her face had more makeup on it than she’d ever worn in her life, and even wearing her hair down and curled made her feel like a visitor in her own body.

  Staring at the unfamiliar sight of herself, she became lost in thought. Ash’s words kept replaying in her head, and now of all times she was starting to question if maybe Ash was right. She wondered if she would enjoy being married to Phoenix. A light knocking on her door snapped her out of her trance. “What, Goddard? I’m ready!” she shouted.

  “Hey girl,” Gio said, poking his head into the room. “Mind if I come in and chat?”

  “Weren’t you busy helping my father?” Shiva asked.

  “Oh I took care of him real quick,” Gio assured her ominously. “So how are you feeling? It’s always normal to experience some pre-wedding jitters.”

  “Gio, I’ve known you for a while now,” Shiva said. “Do you think I’m making the right decision here?”

  “I think as long as you’re happy, you are making the correct decision,” Gio said with a smile. Shiva replied with a weak smile, attempting to fool Gio into thinking that his advice had brought her some relief. “You are happy, aren’t you?”

  “I am, I mean I was, I mean I will be…” Shiva stammered. Gio raised a curious eyebrow, and she continued. “I’m definitely the happiest I’ve been in my life. I’m finally leading my own team, I’ve got a cool fiancé who’s an old buddy, it’s all good. It’s just…”

  “You have a crush on one of your teammates!” Gio said, his eyes wide with excited gossip. “Well who is it, Ash or Aura?”

  “No, Gio, that’s definitely not it,” Shiva insisted with a passion. “It’s just that I was perfectly happy before getting engaged to Phoenix. Now things are gonna go changing... What if I’ve ruined the best thing I ever had?”

  “Why don’t you do what I always do,” said Gio. “Picture the last time you were really happy. If you can recreate that moment or memories like it again in the future, then I think you’ll be okay,” he said. Gio then exited the room with a smile and a wave, leaving Shiva to give his advice a try.

  She shut her eyes and scanned her memories back through the last few months, certain the magical memory of happiness would be one that involved Phoenix. Shiva pulled memories like books off the shelves in her mind, flipping through each one, looking for the best parts, and finally putting it back to reach for another.

  Then a strange memory popped into her head. She thought back on a time just last week when she had been sparring with Ash. The boy had hit her with an unexpected punch to her jaw, which actually floored the girl. She dropped to the grass and gripped her chin in pain.

  “Oh my gosh, I really got you there! I’m sorry!” Ash said, dropping to his knees beside her to assess the damage.

  “It’s fine,” Shiva said. “It didn’t hurt.” The red patch of skin around her mouth indicated otherwise, and the girl itched with the urge to rub her aching face.

  “No, I totally hit you with almost all my strength! That had to hurt!” Ash insisted. He started laughing to himself. “You’re really going to pretend it didn’t hurt? Not even a little?”

  Shiva’s entire face turned red at having been found out, but the girl just looked away. “It really didn’t hurt.”

  “It totally hurt! Just admit it!”

  The two fought back and forth about it for a while, and eventually Aura joined the conversation. The memory stopped there, and to Shiva’s surprise she found herself smiling when she looked at her reflection in the mirror.

  “Groom! It’s time!” came more shouting from Goddard in the hall. “Let’s get this wedding started!”

  * * * *

  The sappy organ music came to an end as the priest took his
place at the front of the chapel. The entire crowd stood at his command “All rise!” A fresh round of music began courtesy of the organ player, but this time it was more upbeat and pleasant. Everyone’s head turned as Phoenix entered the chapel and slowly marched down the aisle. Ash was instantly jealous of his black long coat. Phoenix lumbered proudly to the altar, standing to the right of the priest.

  The music changed to a different, ‘here comes the bride’ kind of sound. Shiva was finally putting the ‘lady’ in Lady Shiva. As she entered the chapel there were gasps of awe and wonder all throughout the crowd. Ash and Aura were paralyzed in surprise. Shiva actually looked like a girl!

  She looked so good in fact, most people overlooked the sad sight of her flabby father clutching onto her. He was trying his hardest not to cry, but his twisted face was giving away his grief. The two of them pushed forward until they reached the altar and joined Phoenix and the priest. King Al Satan stood off to the side awkwardly, trying to stay involved.

  The priest began by allowing everyone to sit down. He thanked the people for coming and launched into a speech about what marriage meant. The speech led into a song when a choir of four men in white robes was brought in to sing. The priest continued talking, this time about Shiva. The poor bride was blushing, but it was from embarrassment.

  After her life-story was wrapped up, the choir then had to sing a traditional devil love song in her honor. They said the song was meant to bring her good luck in her marriage, but all it did was make her more uncomfortable. Worse yet was Phoenix standing right next to her looking as cool and composed as ever.

  The priest then went into a super awkward speech about how they give many thanks to God. Looking around the room, Ash saw mixed results. Some devils nodded along in agreement while others appeared stone faced. The nobles hated it, but put up with it because of their ‘traditional values’ they were so proud of.

  Ash couldn’t take much more of this, and they were only one hour in. The boy dug in his pockets looking for the hidden treasure he’d brought along. Tapping Aura on the shoulder, Ash handed his friend an earphone. “Put this in your ear,” Ash whispered. Aura wearily followed his instructions and mimicked his friend. Ash pushed ‘play’ on the mp3 player in his pocket, and Aura was blown away.

  “Whoa! This is awesome!” Aura shouted over the music in his ear. All eyes were on him suddenly, and Ash was the one who got embarrassed. “This wedding sure is awesome!” Aura said, sheepishly trying to save face. Everyone focused on the bride and groom again.

  “The music is only playing in our ears,” Ash whispered.

  “It’s like carrying around a little band in your pocket!” Aura said with admiration.

  “I never thought of it that way.”

  The next few hours would have been tough without the mp3 player. Although they couldn’t hear a word of what was being said, they could tell by the crowd’s dead expressions that it wasn’t anything spectacular. The choir sang several more songs throughout the morning and Ash had a bit of fun pretending they were singing whatever song was playing through his earphones.

  It was high noon when the bride and groom abruptly turned and walked out of the chapel. “Is that it?” Ash asked, turning his music off.

  “Intermission,” Amos said from in front of them. “Take the opportunity to grab a snack or use the bathrooms.”

  Ash and Aura hopped up and joined the crowd marching out of the chapel. The Royal Guards still formed a protective barrier around most of the castle, but they did leave the path to the cafeteria open. That’s where Ash and Aura found a buffet of delicious-looking food ready and waiting for them. They hopped in line with all the wedding guests and waited to get dished up.

  Ash spaced out, staring into the distant empty corner of the cafeteria. Aura studied his friend, trying his best to guess what he was thinking. The entire morning Ash had looked distant and bothered. When they picked up their trays and began scooping up items ala Carte, Aura inquired how Ash was feeling.

  “I’m fine,” Ash insisted. “I don’t think the battery on the mp3 player will last much longer, though. I kind of wanted to save it for as long as possible, too. So this next half will probably be even worse because we won’t have music.”

  The boys picked and chose various plates of food and found an open table. “It doesn’t have to get worse,” Aura said as they sat. “I’ve got an idea for us to get out of here and have some fun.”

  “And miss the rest of the wedding?”

  “Believe me, you won’t be missing anything. Everyone talks and/or sings for six more hours. There’s even an hour-long portion coming up where the bride and groom go into a different room and recite their private vows to one another while the crowd just sits there in silence!”

  “Wow, that does sound boring. What’s your idea then?”

  “With security all ramped up around the castle, they must have made cutbacks to certain lower-priority areas. I’m betting at this exact moment, we could sneak down into the castle basement and get a peek at what Goddard didn’t want us to see down there!”

  “No way,” Ash said. “We’ll get caught for sure.”

  “Not if we sneak in through the air ducts.”

  “What about the rebels?”

  “They’re not going to attack! That was all big talk meant to scare us. You saw how guarded this place is. Besides, if the rebels do show up and try something, we’ll just come running to shut them up!”

  The two finished their meals while Ash thought on Aura’s proposal. The plan sounded pretty good, actually. Skip a boring wedding ceremony that he was against anyway and snoop around the castle with his new best friend. He would have been a fool to say no, and so when their meals were gone Ash notified his friend. “I’m in.”

  They waited until they were the last ones to leave the cafeteria. In the hall, the boys saw the wedding party lining up to enter the chapel. At least, they thought it was the wedding party… Shiva was barely recognizable in a suit of golden armor. The silver suit of armor standing next to her must have been Phoenix in a full body suit. Two more people in suits of armor stood behind them.

  One of them was obviously Darko Satan, as the giant sword Infernos strapped to his back gave away his identity. The party marched forward, following the priest back down the chapel aisle. Ash and Aura ducked behind a corner in the hall as the doors were shut from inside.

  “Let’s get going to the prison!” Aura whispered excitedly. Ash couldn’t help but feel a rush of playful joy carry him off to take part in some shenanigans with Aura.

  * * * *

  Inside the chapel the wedding party stepped to the front of the altar. The priest began to explain the next phase of the ceremony. The bride and groom, joined by their ‘confidants’ Darko and Dismas, would be entering the sacred chamber. The chamber door was on the far wall and led down a small set of stairs to the sacred chamber, where the couple would exchange vows to be observed by only their most trusted confidants. For the crowd seated outside, it wouldn’t be much of a show.

  The bride and her brother were the first to enter the chamber, followed by Phoenix and Dismas. Once inside, the priest shut the chamber door and closed his eyes in concentration. Placing a hand on the door, the priest strained to muster up some soul power. When he removed his hand, there was a strange circular symbol of markings on the door.

  “A seal?” someone in the crowd whispered.

  “I don’t remember that part in the tradition…” someone else muttered.

  “Ladies and gentlemen, our valued guests,” the priest said to the room. “I’m afraid you’ve all been deceived. For we are not here to witness a wedding, but an entirely different show: the beginning of a new regime here in Hell!”

  With those words, several men jumped up from the audience clutching swords they must have smuggled in, hidden inside their festive robes. The weapons weren’t the only things smuggled in, as each rebel warrior covered their face with a colorful demon mask as well. People in the aud
ience became scared and panicky.

  “Very soon now, we will be taking control of the Kingdom,” the false priest said.

  “In your wildest dreams!” Commander Stryd barked, standing in opposition to the rebels. “Like my men and I would just sit back and watch!” The only men Stryd had were the two guards positioned in the rear of the chapel, by the door to the hallway. They were outnumbered by the rebels, who had at least ten men armed and on standby. “Let’s go boys! Just like we practiced!”

  Just like they practiced in their drills, one soldier remained at the door to keep any rebels from escaping while the other soldier joined his Commander. Stryd stood defiantly before the rebel priest, awaiting his enemy’s attack. When it came, it was from someone the Commander did not expect. The soldier he called to help him held a bloody dagger in his Commander’s side, a demonic mask attached to his face.

  “No…” Stryd gasped and choked out. “The rebels have… infiltrated the Royal Guard?”

  “Afraid so,” the priest said. “Sit tight and watch history unfold,” he said, pushing Stryd over. He stepped up to the King and gave him a quick once-over. “And as for you…”

  “You know you’re as good as dead already,” King Satan said with a grin. “As soon as my son comes back out, your little game is over!”

  “Oh yes, I’m sorry to inform you that your son and daughter will be encountering their own little trial inside. They’ll be lucky if they come out in one piece,” the rebel priest said, slapping the King with a movement seal. Al froze in place instantly, and just like that the rebels had captured the King of Hell.

  * * * *

  Inside the sacred chamber, immediately after being sealed in by the rebel priest, Shiva and Darko waited patiently to be joined by Phoenix and Dismas. The two lingered at the entrance for a moment, as Dismas placed a seal on the inside of the door as well. Darko made note of the small traces of soul power he felt as the two armored figures joined them.