Wilhelm moved towards the door and beckoned Ash to follow. The boy jumped up and threw on some clothes and his coat, trying not to wake his conked out roommate. Stepping outside it was pitch dark now. Torches lit the main walkways, but Wilhelm led Ash through the shadowy side streets instead.
“What’s up?” Ash asked, trying not to yawn.
“Phoenix needs to speak with you,” Wilhelm whispered. “One last time.”
Chapter Thirty-Nine: Watch Me Die
Ash followed Wilhelm through the back alleys of North Hell towards the castle. The boy could not understand what the old man meant. How did he know Phoenix needed to talk to him? Had he already been down to the bottom floor of the prison to visit with him? And most importantly, why him?
When Ash tried to make conversation, Wilhelm would only shush him. The Old Satan apparently wasn’t in the mood to elaborate on their trip. Once they arrived at the gates to the castle courtyard, their little game of stealth was over. They walked briskly across the courtyard and up to the castle entrance. Waiting patiently there for them was Archen.
“Thank you old friend for making this possible,” Wilhelm said in a hushed voice.
“Anything for you, Great Satan. But we must hurry and be out of there by the next shift change,” Archen said. The group entered the deserted castle lobby and headed for the basement.
No one spoke on the walk downstairs. Ash was lost in thought about his upcoming confrontation with the convict he himself had condemned. Common sense told the boy that Phoenix would be furious. Ash had ruined his former teacher’s well-constructed plans and cost him his life. If his movement seal wasn’t properly in place, he might even attack the boy.
Ash started to worry. Wilhelm and Phoenix were very close, and it wasn’t impossible to believe that the old man might even remove his pupil’s seal. Paranoia took hold of him, gripping his heart and feeding his suspicions. Would Wilhelm set Phoenix free? They would find out soon.
The walk to the bottom of the spiral prison used to last ten minutes. This time it felt to Ash like ten seconds. Going back down there was about the last thing he ever wanted to do, yet there he was. The boy was cold and sweaty as they approached the final two cells of the prison. In the distance at the end of the slope Ash could see the two doors that housed terrible secrets. He wouldn’t go back there again, even if Wilhelm tried to make him.
The trio passed by the cell containing Lionel. The man sat with his back against the wall, head drooped and focused on the floor. Ash felt a cold shiver run down his spine, imaging these last few hours of Lionel’s life spent knowing he was soon to die. Not surprisingly, the prisoner said nothing as Ash went by.
Next up was the cell that contained Phoenix. The once well-respected scholar sat with legs folded meditating in the center of the cell. His eyes were closed, and he didn’t seem to notice they’d arrived. After opening the cell door for them, Archen excused himself to go keep watch up top. Old Satan thanked him and directed Ash inside the cell. The terrified boy stood silently in front of his disgraced teacher.
“Thank you for coming,” Phoenix said politely. He exhaled deeply and opened his eyes. “I will be blunt with you, since we have much to discuss and very little time to do so. We believe Goddard intends on using you to achieve his own evil plot.”
There was still some leftover aggression towards the man, and his statement struck a chord with Ash. “Oh, kind of you like what you did to Shiva?” Ash replied, regretting the words as soon as they left his lips.
Phoenix sighed. “Look, I am not proud of my tactics, but I saw an opportunity and I took it. As I will explain, I believe my actions can be justified so long as you’re willing to listen. Will you please listen to me, just one last time?”
Ash hesitated. He turned back to Wilhelm and addressed the Old Satan instead. “What about you old man? Were you in on their plot the whole time too? Did you sell out your own granddaughter?”
Wilhelm had his back turned on the two and didn’t budge. “You should speak with Phoenix while you still can,” was all he said. So Ash turned back to Phoenix, attempting to listen with an open mind.
“Okay, you have my attention. Convince me you’re not crazy.”
“Goddard von Gosick must not be trusted. He brought you to Hell for a very specific purpose, as our spies discovered. Forgive me for not being able to show you the proof at this moment.”
“Okay,” Ash said. “So Goddard brought me here to help fight demons. I knew that.”
“There is so much more to it then that. Thanks to Lord Wilhelm, I was able to gain access to the Royal library in the castle. The books there are very old; some of them are even written by the original Lucifer Satan.”
“Whoa. That is old.”
“Wilhelm and I have been studying his works for a long time, and we’ve noticed one term in particular mentioned several times: The Hand of God,” said Phoenix. “He mentions it more and more in the days leading up to his rebellion against God. Some scholars have speculated that he meant the literal hand of God, as in one of God’s hands. But Wilhelm and I believe it to be a metaphor for something else. God does not have a physical body like us, so He wouldn’t have need for physical hands. We think the Hand of God that Lucifer was so concerned about is a person.”
“Uh… Why?”
“In the days when God was a little more interactive with your kind, He’d sometimes tap certain humans to do His work or spread His messages. We believe the Hand of God will be a human like that, but with a different kind of purpose.”
“What purpose?”
“In his final tome, Lucifer’s last words written were: I will go to stop them now. If I fail here, the Hand of God will destroy everything. After writing those words, Lucifer led his armies into war with all of Heaven, even going so far as to take his fight to God, knowing he would not win. We think Lucifer may have feared the Hand of God would be a human capable of destroying everything, even Heaven and Earth.”
“Wait, so Lucifer wanted to exterminate humanity because he feared us?”
“Clearly, he knew something we do not. In all his writings Lucifer was always careful to be as vague as possible on the matter. He had us all stumped for a very long time, until Goddard figured it out.”
“Wait a minute… you think I’m this Hand of God, don’t you?” Ash asked, puzzled.
“Goddard has access to the same information we do. Our spies have confirmed that he brought you to Hell because he suspects you are the Hand of God. That is reason enough for us to be cautious. We have no way to know for sure if you are the Hand of God or not, but based on my time spent with you I have changed my mind.”
“That’s a really big ‘if’ to go condemning someone on,” Ash said. “Wait, what do you mean you changed your mind?”
“Master Wilhelm was against including you in our plans from the very beginning. He wanted to leave you out of our affairs for now, until we could remove Goddard from the equation and analyze your potential. He wanted to deduce if you could help us, or inversely, if you would be a threat to us. I am sorry to admit I was of the opinion that we should have ended your life immediately. I was convinced we didn’t need you; that the world would be better off if we eliminated the Hand of God as soon as possible. Now I am sorry for that.”
“That’s crazy,” Ash said in a daze. “How could I destroy everything? I’m just… some kid.”
“During our battle, I sensed there is something very different about you. I believe you have a great amount of power, and could become much stronger than you are now. It’s up to you whether or not you want to ‘destroy everything’ with that power. However I would suggest using your power for good instead. I’d like you to pick up my mission where I am unfortunately leaving off. I want you to save Hell, Ash.”
“Save Hell?!” Ash erupted. “What does that even mean! I’m already fighting demons on the daily, what more could I do?”
“You must never allow Goddard to free the man you saw in that room today
.”
“That man…” Ash shuddered just thinking of him. “He was an angel, right?”
“You saw him. That means you must of felt him, just like I did. Just being in his presence was like experiencing a waking death.”
“Why would Goddard want to free him then? Who is he?”
“What I’m about to tell you, not a lot of devils know. It’s information that was primarily kept within the Royal Family, and not recorded in any of our history books. I bet Goddard failed to mention to you the real reason the first generation of devils picked this exact place to build their castle: this is where Lucifer landed when God banished him!”
“But the book I read said Lucifer was sent into the Negative Divide!” Ash countered, still utterly confused.
“Yes, his soul was sent to the Negative Divide. Everyone knows that. But what most devils don’t know is what happened to his body. For some reason we’ll probably never find out, God didn’t just simply kill Lucifer. Instead He split apart his body and soul, imprisoning the body inside of an indestructible substance. Lucifer’s body landed in Hell with so much force it split the ground and kept going. That is why they built the castle here! To search for their fallen leader, Lucifer!”
“Wait a minute, so that angel down there was…”
“Yes. That is the body of the original Lucifer Satan. After years of searching, Goddard finally found him!”
Ash dropped to his knees dripping with sweat. Just thinking about the way he felt back then in Lucifer’s presence made the boy tremble with fear. “W-why would he w-want to break him out?” Ash stammered.
“I don’t know, but I believe Goddard von Gosick is the man capable of finding a way to do it. After all, he found you, and you’re the Hand of God.”
“Stop calling me that! I don’t even know what it means! I don’t get it, you think Goddard wants me to somehow crack open that indestructible shell that’s containing Lucifer? That’ll never happen. I’m getting stronger, yeah, but I’m not that strong. He’d have a better shot with that raging psychopath Prince.”
“Darko is strong, but he is not the Hand of God. You will surpass even him in strength one day, just like you surpassed me.” Phoenix smiled and climbed to his feet, extending a hand to help pull Ash up. “I am happy my death will not be in vain. I can trust you with my mission, right?”
“Hey, you’re not really going to let them kill you, are you?” Ash said, growing concerned. If Phoenix could stand, that meant he could move. “The cell door is wide open, why don’t you just escape? I’ll even let you go if you promise to stop acting crazy and apologize to Shiva!”
“I cannot leave, we all agreed when we started,” Phoenix said.
“We? You mean you and Wilhelm?” Ash said, turning to face the Old Satan. “What are you anyway, old man? The new leader of the rebels or something? So that’s it: you want him dead so you can take his place! You want to overthrow and kill off your own family!?”
“Ash, please-” Phoenix began.
“It’s okay, Phoenix,” Wilhelm said, keeping his back turned to Ash. “Boy! Who do you think brought the rebels together? How are they all able to live outside of the Kingdom and not be consumed by demons? Who is the only person capable of making it all work out?”
“Wait a minute. You’re not saying…”
“The answer is..” Wilhelm turned around, jamming his thumb into his chest. “Me!”
“But why?”
“Because I know, better than anyone else, the Satan bloodline does not guarantee one will be a kind and just King. I saw it in my father before I took the throne, and now I see it in my own son and grandson. And if this whole situation with the Hand of God leads to the revival of Lucifer, we’ll have even more trouble on our plate. I just thought it was a good idea to have a backup plan and start an organization that wasn’t so loyal to the Satan bloodline.”
“That’s great and all, but you still allowed your crew to use your granddaughter like a pawn. I don’t think I can ever look at you the same way again. If Shiva ever found out…”
“You mustn’t tell Shiva!” Wilhelm said with passion. “I will bring her around to our cause when she’s ready to accept the truth, but that will take a while. In the meantime, you mustn’t mention any of this to her.” Wilhelm turned away once again, hiding his face. “I never wanted to use her. But Phoenix convinced me it was the only way.”
Ash remembered the argument he’d managed to catch a peek of. Wilhelm and Phoenix stood in the private courtyard just before they announced their trip to the Hellwood. Wilhelm was shouting at Phoenix. Ash remembered the look on Wilhelm’s face back then and he knew the old man meant what he said.
“Time out,” Ash said. “What’s the worst that could happen if Lucifer’s body is somehow freed? He’s just a corpse, so, what, will they just burry him or something?”
“Unfortunately, I don’t think that will be the case,” Phoenix said. “Some believe that if freed the body will call back his soul and return to life. Others say he doesn’t need a soul; that he will resurrect even without one. Our goal is to ensure that never happens.”
“Why? This is Hell… Isn’t Lucifer like a God to you people?”
“God is God. Lucifer is a detestable, evil man who ruined an entire civilization and damned us all to this awful world. If he could be revived, I fear not only for Hell but Earth as well.”
“Whoa! Why Earth too?”
“If you recall, Lucifer was upset with God over the creation of humanity. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that Earth and humanity would likely be among the list of targets for Lucifer’s revenge.”
“Well, none of that should matter because Lucifer is dead and I’m not the Hand of God,” Ash said. Trying to switch gears, and remembering Aura’s story about the man in the well, Ash posed a new question. “What’s in the other room? Aura said he saw someone sealed inside a well.”
“That may be a question best answered by Master Wilhelm,” Phoenix said.
“The identity of the man in the well is a mystery to us as well,” Wilhelm replied. “But it wasn’t always. At one point in time, it seems I knew who he was.”
“Um… what?”
“Sometimes I have strange dreams, in which I am standing over the well in the crystal cavern. The inscription on the lid says ‘Nemo’ in my dream.”
“That’s what Aura said it said,” Ash noted.
“There are other dreams where I seem to wake up with my grandson standing over me. He tries to put his hands on my head, and I jump up to fight him but several Royal Guards burst into my room and hold me down. In the struggle I catch my reflection in my bedroom mirror, and I look at least ten years younger. The last thing I remember is Darko moving in on me and touching my forehead, then I always wake up.”
“Sounds like some pretty terrifying night terrors. You should probably talk to a shrink about your fear of your own grandson.”
“I believe my son and grandson stole my memories of the man in the well’s identity.”
“Why would they do that to you?”
“Save for Shiva, my family did not turn out to be so… honorable. I suspect they made a decision involving the man in the well that I did not agree with. I fear they have finally taken their shameful ways too far and have taken steps to phase out my opinions. Erasing my memories was the last straw!”
“Okay, this is too weird,” Ash said. “There’s a super strong crazy person trapped in a well and Goddard wants to use me to fulfill an ancient legend to awaken Lucifer Satan? Oh and the former King over there organized the rebels. Have I forgotten anything else?”
“Just be weary of Goddard and Darko,” Phoenix said. “Those two are up to something evil, I am sure of it. When the time comes, only you can stop them. Never allow them to awaken Lucifer!”
“I can’t do that! Not on my own, anyway! Get out of here while you still can,” said Ash. “You can help me! You still have to take me back to Earth, remember?”
“I’
m not leaving,” Phoenix repeated himself. “I must die. The Royal Family must believe they have succeeded in stopping our plans. They must watch me die to feel safe again. Besides, if we were to escape they would know there are still rebels within the castle.”
“You must go now,” Archen could be heard calling to them. “Time is almost up!”
“Go, Ash. Wilhelm will watch over you now. He’ll be there for you when you need him most. I hope to see you one last time before I die tomorrow.”
“I don’t want to watch,” Ash said as tears flowed. “I don’t want to see you die!”
“Do not cry for me,” Phoenix said. “I carried out this mission knowing that failure would mean death for me. My only regret is that I am bringing my best friends down with me. I wish we had more time together Ash, I really do. You were a fantastic student and will make an effective leader some day.”
“We should go,” Wilhelm said. Though his back was turned to Ash, the boy could tell from his voice that the Old Satan was also crying. Ash could do little else but give Phoenix one last look, one last goodbye. With trembling hands, Ash waved farewell and stepped out of the prison cell. Archen locked the cell quickly.
As Ash stood there feeling numb, Lionel finally spoke up in the next cell. “Aura Draxler…” he started. “Tell him something for me. Tell him I’m sorry I lost my mind back there. Turns out, I may have had a few more reservations about dying than I thought I did. But if he comes to watch me die tomorrow, I swear I won’t go out like some spineless criminal! I’ll own my death, just like he said.”
“Will do,” Ash said, wiping his face with his sleeve. Lionel broke eye contact, and it was time to go. Ash followed Archen and Wilhelm up and out of the spiral prison without looking back. He returned home that night with more questions than answers to his crazy ever-changing life.
Devil Ash Deceit (Devil Ash Saga) Page 41
