“Sounds like a lot of fun for me,” Ash replied, rolling his eyes.
Goddard crossed the living room and made for the entryway to leave, preparing his black umbrella.
“I have to return to the castle now,” the Royal Advisor said. “I’ve got a lot of work to do securing the place. I’m leaving you three in charge of tracking the demons and exterminating them discreetly. Guys, this is your most crucial mission yet. Failure is not an option here. Work together. If Ash still can’t fight, I want you both giving him the backup he needs. Keep him alive and out of the demon’s hands at all costs!
“And one more thing… those two orphans you’ve befriended. They may be swept up in all of this as well. If the demons decide to take vengeance upon that boy, I expect you to use that to your advantage. Remember; your priority is not the protection of those children, but the destruction of the demons. Do I make myself clear?”
Everyone nodded. Ash said, “I guess so.”
Goddard opened the front door and unfurled his sun-blocking umbrella. Standing outside were two Royal Guards, ready and waiting. They escorted the Royal Advisor over and waited patiently outside the entire time Goddard was in conference. They stood on either side of the Royal Advisor and marched with the man away from Ash’s home. Once they were out in the open, the three men brought out their wings and took to the sky with great haste.
“He didn’t have to add that last part,” Ash muttered when it was just him and his friends again. The boy stared at the small tin box of pills in his hand.
I sure hope these things keep me alive, the boy thought as he slunk off to bed. Secret mission go… yaaaay.
Chapter Twenty-One: Ash Bounces Back
When Shiva Satan awoke the next morning, silently slipping out of her bed and stealthily strapping on her armor, she did not expect to hear sounds coming from the kitchen. Someone had woken up before her for once. That, or some criminal was breaking in. The girl hoped for the latter as she grabbed her bolas, exited her room and headed downstairs.
To her disappointment, she only found Ash in the kitchen. The human boy wore an apron and bounced around the kitchen floor like a pinball, moving from one area to the next in a hurry. He turned away from the stovetop where he was frying something loud and sizzling in a pan to chop some fruit when he spotted Shiva.
“Oh, hey!” he said. “Good morning! So this is what it feels like to be the first one up, huh? It’s kind of nice. Peaceful, you know? Anyway, take a seat. I’ve got breakfast coming up.”
The boy moved on from chopping fruit to a nearby crockpot where he stirred a gray gravy-like substance. When it was good and mixed, the boy turned his focus to the oven where a loaf of bread was slowly rising, emitting a mouth-watering aroma throughout the kitchen.
“Uh… morning?” said Shiva in utter shock. “Looks like someone slept well last night.” The royal girl took a seat at the formal dining table next to the kitchen where she could still converse with Ash.
“Didn’t sleep a wink,” Ash replied, moving from the bread over to flip the strips of meat in a fry pan on the stove. “I felt way too good to sleep. Those pills Goddard gave me really did the trick. I can’t even believe how good I feel, it’s… hang on.”
Ash lifted the fry pan as a grease fire raged on the stovetop. He pointed his index finger at the flames and conjured a BB-sized fireball, firing it like a bullet at the stove. Within seconds the grease fire was contained. The stove flames shrunk down to the usual size, and Ash set the fry pan down once more.
“How did you do that?” asked Shiva in astonishment at the boy’s technique.
“Oh, that? It’s a simple trick once you get the hang of it. I learned it from Uverstarr, actually.”
“That kid actually taught you something?” Shiva asked, raising her eyebrow.
“Well, not directly, no,” Ash admitted. “I did ask him about it, but I couldn’t really make any sense of his instructions. But I thought about it all last night and I think I’ve finally worked it out. Watch.”
Ash held his palms close together a conjured another fireball. It started small, but the boy took it from tennis ball sized to basketball sized in a flash.
“You can practice by starting with a big fireball,” Ash explained. “I realized that in order to snuff out flames like Uverstarr does, all you have to do is figure out how to suck out all the air from it. So I started doing this.”
Shiva stared at the big glowing orb of flames under Ash’s control. The boy rotated the orb as he worked his new technique, showing Shiva exactly what he was doing. As the boy spun the fireball, Shiva noticed small indents forming all over the flames. Those indents grew deeper as the seconds dragged on, and eventually the flame snuffed out all together.
“See that?” Ash asked. “All I did was create gaps in the flames and push out all the oxygen. Took me all night to figure out how to do it, too. I started with a big fireball like I just showed you, but kept shrinking it until I got it down to the tiny size that Uverstarr enjoys using so much. I just kept thinking, “If he can do it, so can I!”
“So you stayed up all night working on a new trick and just decided to cook breakfast for us?” the girl asked, still in amazement of the boy’s odd behavior. “Have you by any chance been drinking coffee this whole time?”
“Haven’t had a drop,” said Ash. The coffee pot on the other stovetop burner squealed, spraying excess steam into the room. “Oh, speaking of! There it is.” The boy spun around and removed the coffee pot from the heat.
Shiva sat in stunned silence observing the boy’s unusual pep. Just last night he’d been dreading the day ahead of him and fearing for his life. To see him now, one would have a hard time believing it was the same boy. She gazed in wonder as he casually chatted away with her. The boy tore apart the kitchen cupboards and drawers as he prepared the plates of food for the team.
“I suppose I should wake up Draxler,” said Shiva.
“Oh wait, let me,” said Ash as he removed his apron and tossed it down on the countertop. “I have one more to the trick to show you.”
Ash lifted his pointer finger and again formed a small fireball, no larger than a marble. He concentrated on floating the small flame into the air and navigating it through the living room. Without so much as moving from his spot in the kitchen, Ash was able to steer the flame across the condo, up the stairs and over the railing, through the small crack in the door to Aura’s bedroom.
“This is the best part,” Ash said with a wink. As if in sync with the boy’s wink, Shiva heard a loud POP come from Aura’s room. The next sounds were of the death toucher screaming, and then flopping around on the floor.
“Guys!” came Aura’s voice, full of dazed concern. “I think we’re under attack!”
“You just had a bad dream,” Ash called up to him. “Come get some breakfast. I made your favorite.”
“Fried slabs of meat?”
“Yep.”
“I’m there!”
The boy faced Shiva with a smug look of accomplishment plastered all over his mug. Shiva surprised even herself when she found she was smiling back at him.
“So… how does it work?” she asked, still not quite understanding the process.
“All I do is create a bunch of hollowed out channels of air through the flames. Those channels vent out all the oxygen, which causes the flames to rapidly suffocate and die out. Doing it really fast makes the loud popping sound that Uverstarr’s so fond of.”
“Really?” Shiva said, still baffled. “How do you know that’s what you’re doing when it gets so small?”
“I’m not really sure,” Ash admitted, scratching his arm with a sheepish grin. “I can’t really tell what’s going on when it’s so small. It just works.”
After stuffing their faces and downing their own weight in coffee, the team completed the morning ritual of adding flames to the morning sun, which looked puny compared to the Helio Star. They stood in their backyard watching the flames dance through the sky wh
en Ash cleared his throat and turned to face his friends.
“So, I guess we’re going to go wrangle up some demons now, huh?” the boy said, running a nervous hand through the hair on the back of his head.
“That’s right,” said Shiva. “We should plan out our strategy.”
“Actually…” Ash interjected. “I gave that a lot of thought last night too. I think I’ve got a solid plan figured out.”
“If my main man has a solid plan, I’d love to be its number one fan,” said Aura in a singsong fashion.
“Let’s hear it, then,” said Shiva.
Ash proceeded. “I think we should all split up and search the Kingdom separately.”
“Are you crazy?” Shiva replied instinctively.
“I’ll admit,” said Aura. “I’m a skeptic of your plan. Goddard told us to stick together, especially in your case. I kind of thought we’d spend the day together, patrolling the streets and hanging out. Like old times, you know?”
“As fun as that sounds Aura, I think I need to do this on my own,” Ash replied, locking unwavering eyes with his best friend.
“But we’re supposed to be protecting you,” Shiva protested.
“That’s one reason I want to do it on my own,” Ash admitted. “I hate the feeling of being such a burden on you guys. I’m capable of keeping myself alive, after all. But those are just my personal feelings. I have better reasons for wanting to split up too.”
“Go on,” said Shiva.
“Every time that demon Prince Otozek came to me I was alone and defenseless. He’s had plenty of opportunities to kill me, yet he hasn’t. It’s like he’s just toying with me. He wants to keep me alive to feed to his father anyway. Until that happens, I don’t think I’m in as much danger as you guys think I am. Actually, its just the opposite; I’m more worried about you.”
Shiva scoffed. “You can’t even stand up when the demons are around. I’d say that tops the danger chart.”
Without delay, Ash set out to disprove Shiva. He crouched low to the ground and faced the house. Before anyone could question him Ash sprung like a frog, launching over ten feet into the air. He landed on the roof of their condo and spun around to look down on Shiva.
Aura whistled, impressed. “That’s a ten foot vertical leap without wings or soul power. Impressive, even for someone who isn’t sick.”
“Still not convinced?” Ash asked. He turned towards to the artificial sun, which was still only a fraction of its full size. The boy put his palms together, aiming at the big burning ball of flames in the sky. In seconds he gathered an enormous fireball and shot it at the sun. The temperature increased by a few degrees and the day got a lot brighter.
“I feel better than ever,” said Ash. “The pills worked. I can fight now.”
“I don’t like the idea of leaving you alone with a pack of greater demons out to get you,” said Shiva. “I can’t allow it. Draxler or I will accompany you for the day.”
“If we try to play the numbers game with them, we’ll lose!” replied Ash. “We’re three against five. Maybe even more. They could overpower us at any time. I’m sorry to say, but I don’t feel confident of our odds if we try to go up against all five at once. I think our best shot is to play along with their little game and take them on, one-on-one.”
“So even if I go with you, they could still attack us with five or more of their guys,” Aura muttered to himself, working out the logic. “Yeah, I agree, I’d rather not have that happen. I’m one hundred percent confident in my abilities in a one-on-one fight, but demons are sneaky. Face more than one at a time and who knows what freaky powers they’ll use on you. Hate to say it, but I find myself agreeing with Ash here.”
“He’s your friend!” Shiva said, taking issue with Aura’s new opinion. “Shouldn’t you of all people want to keep him out of danger?”
“You’ve seen him this morning,” said Aura. He motioned to Ash, still standing up on the roof. “He does look great. I think he could take this demon prince in a fair fight.”
Shiva turned red, flustered with irritation. “No, no!” she screamed. “You can’t go by yourself! It’s not safe! I don’t care how great you feel! I’m the boss here and I say no!” Shiva literally put her foot down on the matter, by stomping her feet on the ground.
“If you want him to be escorted so badly why don’t you just go with him yourself?” Aura asked, folding his arms together and cocking his head at the girl with a scandalous smile.
Shiva looked at the ground and fumed, mumbling incoherently to herself. Ash took this moment to hop down off the roof and approached the girl.
“Shiva,” he said, tapping the girl on her shoulder. “I’ll be alright. Goddard came through. He really delivered. I swear I can fight again. Otozek thinks I’m as weak as a human. I’ll surprise him with my real strength before he can even do anything. This plan could really work.”
The girl stopped brooding and looked up. She stared into the boys sparkling hazel eyes and saw his determination.
“I promise,” he added with finality.
Shiva’s balled up fist trembled. Then she sighed, and with a shrug she loosened up. “Fine, we’ll all split up.”
Aura cracked a triumphant smile and punched Ash lightly on the shoulder.
“But,” Shiva was quick to add, “I want you to stay in populated areas. There’s less a chance of another fight breaking out if there are people all around. And if you get into trouble and need help, for Satan’s sake shoot a flare into the air!”
“Assuming the demons still care about being secretive,” said Aura.
“Don’t worry,” Ash replied. “I won’t be straying off into any more abandoned alleyways where they can get the jump on me again. Plus, who knows if my newfound power to become deathly ill whenever a demons around is still active. That could bail me out of trouble too.”
“That would be well-advised,” Shiva said. She cracked a weak smile and tried to act casual.
Ash couldn’t shake the feeling that she was more worried about him than she would ever admit. He felt genuinely happy knowing that he was perhaps starting to finally grow on the girl. He filed the good feelings away for another time when his life wasn’t on the line.
“So how do we decide where we’re all going to patrol today?” asked Aura. “I have no trouble covering the ladies swimsuit competition in East Hell.”
“That’s a thing?” Ash asked.
“Oh yeah,” Aura said with a pleased grin and a far-off look.
“Unfortunately,” said Shiva, in response to Ash’s question. She took a piece of paper out of her armor and tore it in thirds. She then handed each of them a strip of the paper. “I was up for a while last night too, and managed to come up with this.”
Ash stared at his paper. It was a list of several of the festival games that were scheduled for the day. There didn’t seem to be a common theme to the lists. Before Ash or Aura could raise a question, Shiva explained.
“These game lists are organized by what section of the Kingdom they’re held in,” she explained. “I figured each of us could take a slice. I’ll start with North Hell.”
“I got East Hell, then,” Aura said with a pleased snort of excitement.
“Looks like I got West Hell,” said Ash.
“We can all meet up here for lunch, providing we’re still alive at that point,” said Shiva. “If we haven’t encountered the demons by that time, we can all search South Hell together. For now, just stick to checking out the games on your list. Watch for anything suspicious, and remember: the enemy could be anyone!”
“Don’t worry,” said Aura. “I’ll be using soul sight to watch for anything demonic. No way a demon’s gonna sneak up on me.”
Ash and Aura stuck their hands together and stared at Shiva expectantly. When they’d first attempted to start this team tradition, Shiva was adamantly against it. She thought it was below her as their leader. Over time they wore her down, and eventually she gave in. Now, she didn’t ev
en question it anymore.
The girl put her hand down on top of Ash’s. Before anyone could feel awkward about it, their hands all dropped and then shot back up as they cheered.
“Go KISS!”
Chapter Twenty-Two: Aura’s Bizarre Adventure
Aura Draxler took to the sky in an eager effort to get to East Hell as fast as possible. Never before had he tackled a mission with such enthusiasm, such gusto. The young man had been waiting for this day since the beginning of the festival. His trip across the kingdom took no more than fifteen minutes, the boy flying at top speed. He set down in East Hell and tucked away his wings. He’d want to be on the ground for this one, up close and personal.
The young death toucher found himself on a stretch of sandy beach. All around him people scurried about. Some were still setting up their merchant booths, pedaling various products like food and beach supplies. There were festival officials still setting up their game areas. Aura saw signs for games like Crab-Shoe Toss, Sand-Net Ball, Competitive Sand Sculpting, and Battle Boats.
He pulled out the list of games Shiva gave him and checked to make sure he was in the right area. He was. All of those games and a few more events were on his list. Not on his list was the only event that Aura truly cared about for that day. Shiva left it out on purpose, knowing the death toucher could not be trusted in that particular situation. Unfortunately for her, Aura already knew about the event and had planned on sneaking off to see it somehow. Now he wouldn’t have to.
The boy walked down the beach until he came to a large stage constructed right on the sand. People, men in particular, were already showing up in droves to get as close as possible to the stage. Aura’s heart beat faster with every step. He read the sign above the stage, written in much larger text than any of the other event signs on the beach.
Swimsuit Competition, the boy read. I’m finally here. I will remember this day for the rest of my life.
Devil Ash Disarray (Devil Ash Saga Book 3) Page 23
