Devil Ash Disarray (Devil Ash Saga Book 3)

by Mitchell Olson

  A yo-yo? thought Ash, since that’s what the object clearly resembled. It seemed even without his skateboard the kid still had a few unexpected tricks. He watched his friend swing the yo-yo in small circles, tracing brilliant flame streaks across the air.

  “You see Ash,” Uverstarr said. “I can handle myself. Or maybe you need to see what else I can do before you’ll believe me.”

  Never before had Ash felt so inclined to smack the kid. He wanted to stand up and shout at how stupid Uverstarr was acting and warn him of the great danger they were in. They needed to escape while they still could, before the rest of the demons got sick of waiting patiently. But of course, his body would not allow it.

  “That’s twice now you’ve caused me pain,” said Otozek. “Now, you die.”

  “We’ll see about that,” Uverstarr said with a cocky sneer. The boy raised his yo-yo hand and started swinging the flaming object. He made slow circles with it, creating a streak of fire that became more and more solid the faster he sped up.

  Otozek took a tentative step forward, unimpressed with the boy’s antics. But as Uverstarr sped up swinging the yo-yo, the flames eventually connected and formed into one solid wheel of fire above his head. The boy closed his eyes and put his head down in concentration. He swung the item faster still, the flames growing even wilder.

  Otozek paused. The intense heat of the flames was starting to singe his host body’s skin again. The demon prince was forced to take a cautious step back. He weighed his options and considered abandoning the baker’s body. He could swallow the child whole in an instant with his real body.

  His moment of indecision cost him.

  Without warning, Uverstarr jerked his hand down and took a step back. The giant spinning wheel of flames stayed put in the air, and even more flames followed the yo-yo down, creating a small cyclone of fire. Uverstarr looked up at his creation with proud eyes.

  “Check this out.”

  Uverstarr kicked his flame cyclone. It sped forward. The demons stepped back. The boy did not stop there. He continued feeding more flames into the burning tornado, growing it larger until it barely fit inside the alley. There was no way to advance past the flames for the demons without getting severely burnt. Uverstarr smiled a cocky smile.

  “See?” he said to Ash. “No problems here.”

  “That won’t… keep them away… forever,” said Ash. “We have… to run… while we can.”

  “Run?” Uverstarr replied in surprised disgust. “But I’m winning!”

  Beyond the cyclone of flames, Ash could see Otozek and his team. They stood with arms crossed, clearly agitated. Otozek had a look of pure fury at the continued embarrassment Uverstarr put him through.

  “Ash?” came a voice from behind them. “Over here! I found them!”

  Ash continued to watch his enemies. He could hear the familiar voices of his other friends approaching, but he could not remove his eyes from the demon prince. Otozek stared with murderous malice at the boy. His mouth moved, issuing an inaudible command to his team. They all turned to go, leaping up onto the rooftops and disappearing from sight. Otozek was the last to go, offering Ash a sadistic smile before turning his back.

  “We’ll be watching you,” the demon prince mouthed to Ash. He turned and leapt away with the rest of his companions.

  “See that! I’ve got them on the run!” Uverstarr shouted with glee, thinking himself the victor.

  “Uverstarr! Stop it with the flames already!” said Aralia as she ran up to join them. She dropped to her knees next to Ash as Shiva and Aura caught up. “You okay? Was it the sickness again?”

  Ash trembled weakly trying to find the strength to explain everything. He found that with the greater demons gone his strength was actually returning. Partially, at least. His body still felt like a lead weight and his head was still pounding.

  “I’m okay… thanks to… Uverstarr…”

  “Careful, don’t let him know that,” Aralia replied with a smile, trying her hardest not to cry. “Save your breath. Just take a few minutes and rest. You’re safe now that we’re here.”

  “What exactly happened?” Aura asked. “They said you missed your leg of the race cause you went to the bathroom. Were you yakking or something?”

  “I saw the whole thing,” said Uverstarr. He extinguished his flaming yo-yo and stuck it into his pocket. “Sicko-bro was getting mugged by some crazy old geezer and his pals, but I saved him.”

  “I find that hard to believe,” Shiva replied with a skeptical look.

  “It’s true!” replied Uverstarr. “He said he was going to eat us, yo! And his mouth was like super wide!” The boy waved his arms enthusiastically, demonstrating with his hands how wide his foes jaw stretched.

  “Hey kid,” said Aura, staring at Uverstarr’s pocket with a curious look. “Let me see that weapon you were just using.”

  Uverstarr placed a cautious hand over his pocket. “Why?”

  “I just want to see that thing you used,” the death toucher replied innocently. “It looked cool.”

  Believing Aura’s act, Uverstarr reached into his pocket and pulled out the yo-yo. He held it up for Aura to look at, but wouldn’t offer to let him hold it. Aura took only seconds to identify the item.

  “Where’d you get that?” he asked the boy.

  “Pinched it off some old guy,” Uverstarr replied proudly. “He didn’t even try to stop me.”

  Aura’s head sagged in disappointment. He put a palm on his forehead and sighed heavily. “He wasn’t a big bearded guy with a barrel of weapons strapped to his back, was he?”

  “Yep! That’s him!”

  “That was my dad,” Aura replied. “He told me some obnoxious kid swiped a weapon from him a while back. I never thought it’d turn out to be you though.”

  “Do we need to take it back to Amos?” Shiva asked.

  “No,” replied Aura. “My dad’s weird. When I asked him why he didn’t just take it back from the kid, he said he wanted him to have it. He told me he was ‘interested in the kid’s choice of weapon’. He wanted to see if Uverstarr could learn to use it properly, so he said the kid should just keep it. Judging by that flaming tornado, I think he’ll be pretty happy with the results.”

  “That settles that then,” said Shiva. “But I wonder what those guys wanted from Ash.”

  Everyone turned to the downed human boy, still panting heavily while he regained his senses. Aralia provided comfort rubbing his back while everyone tried not to crowd him too much. With enough of his strength to speak finally returned, Ash cut straight to the chase.

  “Guys,” he said. “We’ve got ourselves a major problem.”

  Chapter Twenty: Secret Mission Go!

  Later that same night Ash awoke in his bed drenched in cold sweat. He sat up and faced the window, his face twisted in fright.

  “Relax,” said Shiva. She sat on the floor across the room with her back against the wall. “They won’t get you here.”

  Ash eased with relief. Knowing he had Shiva watching out for him made everything somehow… better.

  “Where’s everyone else?” he asked.

  “The idiot took the orphans back home,” Shiva replied. “We considered the possibility that your attackers might come back and target them. That’s why Draxler insisted on escorting them himself.”

  Ash relaxed and sunk back in his bed. He felt a sting of guilt at having dragged Uverstarr into a deadly dispute with greater demons. More than that though, he was grateful the boy showed up when he did. If Uverstarr hadn’t intervened, Ash would have been a goner. He decided then that he’d protect the boy no matter what.

  Ash felt a slight discomfort underneath his sheets. He lifted the blanket to get a look at whatever it was that felt off to him. What he saw made his eyes go wide.

  “Hey Shiva,” Ash said. “Why am I totally naked below the waist?”

  “You passed out on the trip back home,” Shiva replied, shifting uncomfortably. “Your pants were… unclean.�
��

  “Hey, I’m sick!” Ash replied, turning red. “I can’t be expected to control all of my various bodily fluids exactly one hundred percent of the time!”

  Shiva climbed to her feet, choosing not to respond to the boy’s embarrassed ramblings. Instead she turned to face the door.

  “Put some clothes on. Maybe grab a quick shower… then come downstairs. Goddard’s on his way over. Use this time to collect your thoughts. You can tell us everything when he gets here.”

  Shiva left the room. Ash waited only a minute, testing his joints and muscles to determine how achy he was going to feel as soon as he stepped foot outside his bed. He got up and put clothes on without feeling too crappy. His muscles seemed to be back to normal, but his head was still pounding. Organizing his thoughts was not going to be easy.

  Ash left his bedroom and joined Shiva downstairs. To his surprise, he found the girl in the kitchen. She had her back turned to him as she stood at the stove. She grabbed a large pot off the burner and turned to grab a cup. That’s when she noticed Ash standing in the kitchen entrance. She ignored the boy as she poured some steaming hot coffee into a big mug.

  “Here,” she said. She picked up the mug and held it out for Ash. “Coffee. Drink.”

  Ash graciously accepted the gift, perplexed as he was. “Thanks. Did you make this just for me?” he asked her.

  Shiva looked away. “Yeah, so what?” she replied. “I just don’t want you giving us a half-assed report because you’re too sick and tired. So wake the heck up and get ready to spill every little tedious detail!”

  Shiva hung upside-down from a bar on the wall doing sit-ups while Ash laid motionless on the couch waiting for Goddard. After long Aura came home. He walked straight into the living room and sat down on his favorite chair, right next to the couch.

  “I hate greater demons,” said Aura. The boy normally spoke with a non-threatening, playful tone. Not this time. “They’ve already taken so much from us. And now they’re back to do it all again. You said they were greater demons, right?”

  Ash finished sipping slowly on his coffee before answering. “Yeah,” he said quietly. “Definitely.”

  Aura remained quiet for the rest of their waiting period, fuming silently to himself. Shiva continued her workout regiment, preparing for the inevitable battle to come. Ash replayed the scene over and over in his head, recalling every agonizing detail of what happened. By the time Goddard showed up he was ready to stop thinking about it altogether.

  “Where is he?” Goddard asked Shiva as he barged into their house without even knocking, collapsing his black umbrella he used to block the extra sunlight. Shiva paused hanging upside-down, pointed to the living room. Goddard spotted Ash on the couch and moved in to examine the boy at once.

  “Report time,” he said. The Royal Advisor started blurting out questions faster than Ash could even provide the answers. “First, let’s start with how you’re currently feeling. Is anything swollen? Are you experiencing headaches, nausea, or heart burn? How about vomiting or diarrhea? How many fingers am I holding up? Have you had any suicidal thoughts, insomnia, or depression? Any unusual discharges? What color was the discharge?”

  The mad scientist descended upon the seated boy, much to his discomfort. Goddard poked and prodded the boy in his initial examinations, already prioritizing his studies.

  “Goddard,” Ash said, cutting him off. “I’m fine. Let’s just get this over with already and let me tell my story.”

  Ten action-packed minutes later…

  “…And the last thing I remember before passing out was a warm sensation spreading across my legs,” Ash said. His friends stared at him blankly, unsure of what to tell him. That’s when Ash realized exactly what the sensation he described was. “You know what? Let’s just go ahead and strike that last detail off the official record.”

  “Done,” Goddard remarked, crossing out the last line of notes he’d been taking in his notepad. “So… greater demons. I don’t think I have to explain to you all how bad this situation is.”

  Goddard put his notepad down and turned to Ash. “You did a good job to get all the information you could. Because of you, we know there are at least five greater demons in hiding. We know their targets; you and Aura. I think it’s safe to assume anyone bearing the family name ‘Satan’ will also be a target. Furthermore, I’ve just solved the mystery of the sudden flood of disappearing persons reports. But more reports are going to keep coming in unless we stop the demons,” he said.

  “Awww yeah,” Shiva said, grinning like a fool. “It’s a good old fashioned demon hunt! I’m going to get my brother and an entire platoon of Royal Guards and form a posse!”

  “Shiva, use your brain,” said Goddard, staring coldly at the girl. “You know what would happen if word got out that five greater demons were already inside the kingdom walls, lurking in the shadows and picking off unsuspecting citizens? It would be pandemonium. People would begin to accuse each other of being demons in disguise. Crimes would break out all across the kingdom. And guess who gets to clean up the mess: us. Honestly, they’re probably counting on us to report them. Broadcast far and wide that ‘the demons are here, everyone panic!’ Let’s try to avoid causing kingdomwide hysteria instead.”

  “So we hunt’em down in secret,” said Shiva. “Fine by me.”

  “That would be best,” Goddard replied. “If you don’t find them, I’m sure they’ll find you. Just try to keep the collateral damage to a minimum this time, okay? And try not to challenge them in crowded areas. Remember: it’s a secret mission.”

  “I’m worried about Uverstarr and Aralia,” said Ash. “Like it or not, those two are probably already on the demon’s radar too. Uverstarr especially pissed off their leader, Demon Prince Otozek.”

  “Just what we needed,” said Aura. “Another psychopathic prince.”

  “That’s another thing that’s been troubling me,” said Goddard. “Prince Otozek said his father, Demon Lord Jirosek, is still alive. That beast must be ancient by now.”

  “Who is Demon Lord Jirosek and why would he want to eat me?” Ash asked.

  Aura surprised everyone by answering before Goddard. “Jirosek led the demons to war against the devils back when Wilhelm was a young King. The great hero Aster kicked all their assess though. As far as his obsession with eating you goes, your guess is as good as mine. Demons just love the taste of exotic flesh, I guess.”

  “If the Demon Lord is still alive and gathering his forces, we could see another full-scale war with the demons in our lifetime,” said Goddard. “They must be gathering intelligence on us and gauging our current strength. They could pick off our best fighters one by one, then bring in an army and overpower us. This is exactly why its so dangerous when greater demons actually work together.”

  “I think you’re forgetting about your secret weapon,” said Aura. “This guy. With my power I’ll mop the kingdom floor with those demons. No way I’m letting them feed my friend to their wrinkly old King!”

  “I’m looking forward to testing my strength against a greater demon,” said Shiva. “You know, since I missed that first one…”

  “What am I supposed to do though?” said Ash, looking forlorn. “I can’t even move when I’m around them. It’s like I’m gripped by sickness. How can I fight? I’ll just be a burden to you all.”

  “That might not have to be the case,” said Goddard. He pulled a small tin case out of his pocket and tossed it to Ash. “I saved the best news for last. I told you I’d come up with something to help you. Well, here it is.”

  Ash opened the tin box to find it full of small, black ovular pellets. He picked one up and squeezed it between his fingers, feeling the rubbery texture.

  “This is medicine?” Ash asked. “Where I come from, medicine isn’t usually black. What’s in it?”

  “Ash, you and I both know that you know you don’t want to know the answer to that question. Wouldn’t you agree?”

  “I, uhh, yeah,” A
sh replied, still partially thinking it through. “Yeah, good call. Thanks.”

  “Bear in mind it’s my own formula and has never been tested before, but I have no reason to believe it won’t work,” Goddard said, somewhat reassuringly. “Please, go ahead and take one now. I want to see if it helps.”

  Ash held the tiny black pellet between his forefinger and thumb contemplating his options. After coming to the conclusion that he didn’t really have any, he shrugged and popped the pill into his mouth. He didn’t wait to taste it. He just swallowed it in one quick gulp.

  “Kind of sweet, actually,” he said as he felt the pill dissolve in his throat, leaving behind a decent after-taste.

  “Well?” Goddard asked. “Feel anything yet?”

  “Yeah, I’m feeling something,” Ash replied.

  “Well what is it!”

  “I’m feeling the overpowering realization that I’m going to be demon food.”

  “Anything else?”

  “Uh. I guess my headache has cleared up a bit too.”

  “Excellent,” Goddard replied smugly. “I knew it’d help. I’ll work on making you a more powerful stash, but for right now don’t go through those too quickly. I have no idea if you can overdose and die on them.”

  Any momentary relief Ash felt slowly slipped away.

  “I have learned at least one crucial piece of information from my studies on your condition. It seems your body is breaking down in the presence of the greater demons. It may have something to do with how I created you. You know, consuming devil’s blood and all that. It may have messed up your body more than I initially estimated… It could be that in doing so you’ve acquired some sort of allergen to the greater demons. Your symptoms started after you encountered your first, and persist each time you’ve met them since. So for you, avoiding them is probably your best option.”

  “Gee, you think?”

  “We could use that to your advantage,” said Shiva. “Ash can be our ‘demon detector’. Whenever he feels like he’s dying, we’ll know a demons nearby.”