“Okay then,” Shiva said. “Good.”
“Yeah, all good, everything’s okay,” Ash added.
“Okay then, good. I’ll be going to bed now,” she said.
“Wait a minute,” Ash said. “Are you okay?”
“I don’t know…” Shiva admitted. Ash stepped back and allowed her inside his room. “I thought I was. When I heard you beat Phoenix I was ecstatic. I felt relieved, avenged even. But when I saw him die I realized I just lost a dear old friend, one of the only few people I cared for. It was a lot harder than I thought it’d be.”
“I know exactly what you mean,” Ash said. “I was so pissed at him for what he did, but…” Ash stopped. He knew he couldn’t tell Shiva about what really changed his mind about the man. “Well, I didn’t want him to die, that’s for sure. I just wish we could have worked out some other way.”
“Leona was his real love, you know.”
“Yeah, Aura told me. I’m sorry.”
“It’s alright. I should of seen it coming.”
“There’s no way you could have. Their relationship was a secret.”
“I heard you say that I’m a friend worth fighting for,” Shiva said.
“Oh,” Ash blushed. “Yeah, I said that. So what?”
“It was just nice, that’s all,” Shiva replied.
“Well its true. After all, I am your subordinate. I have to stand up for you.”
“You’re too kind,” Shiva said flipping back to her familiar sarcastic tone. “I’ve had enough girl talk for tonight. See you bright and early for training tomorrow, hang over or no hang over.” The girl left and went back to her room to sleep away the night.
Ash lay in bed once again, thinking more about his prayer. So far, praying had failed to do him any good at all. Maybe God couldn’t hear the boy from Hell, or maybe God just didn’t care. For all Ash knew, God could be trying to find him to ‘erase him from existence’, like Goddard had once warned. One thing was for certain though: praying wasn’t helping.
Maybe instead of clasping my hands together in prayer, I should put my hands to good use making my own wishes come true, thought Ash. After all, the only times I ever got what I wanted, I accomplished through my own strength and will. I’ve fought every day to survive here. All praying ever got me was a naïve dependency on an invisible, no-show savior.
As Ash lay there thinking, a dim light trickled in through his window. He realized he had forgot to shut the shades, and now the morning sun was forming. Ash tried to sleep, ignoring the beams of light flooding his room. A minute later the invasion sirens started sounding. Ash opened his eyes, knowing what would come next.
“Yahoo!” Shiva cried out in exhilaration. “What a great way to start off the morning!” The sounds of her noisy armor clanking as she strapped it on filled the house, waking both boys.
“Up and at’em!” Shiva said. “That means you too, Draxler!”
“Umm, I’m still blind from last night,” Aura lied.
“I don’t care! Man up and fight blind then!”
Ash sat up in his bed, laughing quietly to himself over his roommate’s childish bickering. “Right then. Better get going,” he said, sliding off the bed to his feet. He rushed to his closet and dressed himself, making sure to put on his peacoat and gloves. Lastly, he grabbed the sword that Amos gave him.
“My team needs me,” he said. The boy left his room and went downstairs to join Shiva, who was gripping her new bolas weapon as well. Aura came down moments later sporting his shiny new gauntlet, and the three devils left their new home in West Hell. Pulling out their wings and taking to the morning sky, the team moved on to their next challenge and the start of a brand new day.
# # # #
About the Author
Mitchell sits on a giant ice throne; the preferred choice of seating for Minnesotans.
Mitchell Olson lives in the cold-as-Hell state of Minnesota. Sometimes he writes articles for the website www.ReligionHurtsHumanity.com and sometimes he substitute teaches at an elementary school. Mitchell’s really into music, anime, and all things geeky. When trying to explain his Devil Ash saga of books to people, Mitchell describes it as “Supernatural meets Yu Yu Hakusho”, whatever that means.
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Devil Ash Deceit (Devil Ash Saga) Page 44
