Devil Ash Disarray (Devil Ash Saga Book 3)

by Mitchell Olson

The swimsuit competition was a shining beacon of utmost importance to the young death toucher. The reason why was simple. Aura had never seen such a large public display of bare female skin before in his life. With Hell’s usual cold climate, how could he? No one ever walked around in bikinis in Hell, not even on one of East Hell’s beaches. But that was before this game-changing hot weather rolled in. Now, for the first time in his young life, the death toucher would get to experience his first beach outing, complete with a bikini-clad competition.

  The boy was practically salivating as he approached the crowd of like-minded men gathering around the stage area. Aura had to distract himself with reminders that he was there to look for demons. He tried to think about how much danger he and his friends were in. He occasionally glanced at the people around him, wondering if they could be a demon in disguise. He couldn’t spot any odd behavior, since most of the crowd stood still in anticipation for the swimsuit competition to begin. Just like he was.

  Putting his cursed hand to his face, Aura activated his soul sight ability and scanned the crowd. He had worried this might happen, but with so many devils around it was difficult to make out one person’s soul from another. Everywhere he looked, he was surrounded by an array of colorful blobs. Telling which ones were the demons would not be easy. He kept his power activated for as long as he could before it started to be a drain on him, but eventually had to give it a rest.

  Aura felt confident that the demons would not spring a surprise attack on him if he kept to the crowd. He was relying on Ash’s theory that their enemies wanted to keep a low profile for now. The boy moved closer to the crowd, actually stepping in front of a few of the men. From his position he had a full view of the stage and most of the beach around him. In the water he could see people participating in what must be the Battle Boats game.

  Two wooden boats raced over the waves. Each boat held only one man, powering the boat forward by rowing two long oars. Their racecourse wrapped around a stretch of several giant boulders that stuck out of the water. Most of the rocks stood meters above the water, their bases eroded to thin stems over the years. Who knew how much longer they’d still be there for. The rowboats circled around the stones, the more daring racer deciding to try and cut through the grouping of rocks. The unfortunate soul’s boat slammed into one of the rocks and bounced, crippling the bow.

  In the time it took for his boat to sink, the other racer had rounded the rocks and returned to the starting point, winning the race. Aura scoffed at the idiot who tried to take a shortcut and found himself stuck on top of a rock watching his boat sink. The death toucher redirected his focus to the stage once more. A female staffer wearing a white tee shirt, her bikini-top barely visible underneath, took to the stage.

  The staffer bellowed into a megaphone addressing the crowd. “How y’all doing out there!” she said, more of a statement and less of a question. The crowd reacted with a thunderous cheer, erupting into hoots and hollers. Aura provided much of the noise himself, losing himself in the moment of hormone-fueled excitement.

  “We’ll be starting the swimsuit competition real soon, y’all! Who’s excited to see some beautiful people in skimpy bathing suits?” Again, everyone went berserk with elation. “We have a band providing music for us today, they’ll be taking the stage soon to keep y’all company while we finish up the preparations for the competition. We promise a festival for your eyes, so be patient and stay put!”

  The lady staffer climbed down off the stage as a few men took her place. The guys carried instruments, which they unpacked and set up off to the side of the stage. A guitarist was the first to start playing, adding a funky beat to the air. The others joined him in time, adding steel drums, xylophones, and several horns.

  As Aura stood there swaying to the beat with the rest of the crowd he felt a tapping on his shoulder. The boy went into surprise alert mode expecting a demon attack. He jumped aside, knocking another guy to the ground in the process. When Aura lifted his right hand and spun to face his attacker, he saw a man standing in a nonthreatening pose. His hand was raised, waving to the boy. A warm smile adorned his rough face.

  “Well, if it isn’t death toucher Aura Draxler!” the man said, sounding pleasantly surprised. “Long time, no see!”

  Aura did not recognize the man. He studied him head to toe and could not place his face or features. The man was tall, muscular, and older than Aura. His lower face was peppered with stubble, his hair short and curly. The guy stood staring at Aura with a dopey smile on his face while Aura tried placing him, but came up with nothing. Eventually Aura felt bad for forgetting the man and tried to hide this fact by playing friendly. He hoped a conversation with the man would reveal his identity.

  “Hey, you,” Aura replied, revealing his teeth with a false smile. “It really has been a long time. I barely remember you. What have you been up to lately, you old so-and-so?”

  “Still working the same old shifts,” the man replied with a smile. “Don’t see you around as much. I guess you’re busy with your little group now, huh?”

  “Ain’t that the truth,” Aura replied, wracking his brains to discover any clues that might be hidden in the man’s words. He was starting to think the guy worked in South Hell, Aura’s old stomping grounds. He could have been a shop owner or bartender in one of the many establishments Aura and his gang used to frequent.

  The two continued making small talk as the band played on.

  “So what are you doing here?” the death toucher asked. “Come to see the show, too?”

  “Oh, you bet!” the man said. “I love these events.”

  The female staffer from before climbed back onto the stage, gripping the megaphone to her mouth. “Ladies and, mostly, gentlemen! Today’s swimsuit competition is about to begin!”

  Aura’s undivided attention was on the stage. The band picked up their tempo and some staffers standing behind the stage conjured some cheap flame effects for show. After the dramatic display the music swelled to a climax as the contestants walked onto the stage. It was indeed more skin than Aura had ever seen in his life gathered in one place. His jaw dropped, along with the rest of the crowd’s.

  Instead of bikini-clad cuties there was a line of twenty men. Each man’s ‘bathing suit’, if it could even be called that, covered only the necessary parts. Many of the men were tall, muscular, and tan. Some of the less popular entries weren’t as good looking or fit. The lineup of men took over the stage, shaking and dancing to the band’s tropical music. The men gyrated and twisted and twerked until the crowd could bare no more.

  “What is this?” someone asked.

  “Where are the women?” someone else shouted.

  “I didn’t come here to see men!” Aura found himself adding to the complaints of disapproval.

  “The ladies competition is tomorrow, fellas!” the megaphone lady boomed. Her announcement was followed by a roar of frustration from the many male members of the mob. The gathering lost mass quickly as the disillusioned men abandoned the stage.

  Welp, there’s nothing for me here, thought Aura. I guess I’ll be moving on.

  Before taking his leave, Aura glanced at the mysterious man again. He was looking at the stage watching the men dance. The expression on his face was one of intrigued curiosity.

  “I’m taking off,” Aura said to the man. “It was nice seeing you again.” The death toucher turned to go. After taking a few steps he felt a hand on his shoulder stopping him. He turned around to find the familiar, yet somehow unfamiliar face of the mysterious man once again.

  “Hold up Aura,” the man said. Aura expected his next words to be I have you now, devil! But the man’s smile did not fade. He simply pointed out to the ocean. “What do you say? Feel like playing a game of Battle Boats?”

  Aura breathed a sigh of relief. The guy didn’t want to kill him. He only wanted to play a game. Challenging people to random games was part of the festival, after all. Aura almost chuckled to himself, turned the man down, and walk
ed away. But then the man said something that bothered the death toucher.

  “Come on, let’s settle the old score once and for all,” he said with a slight wink.

  The old score? thought Aura. We had an old score? Just who is this guy! I can’t believe I would forget an unsettled score. I usually make a point of settling all my scores. Except for those that I’m sure to lose. I wonder if this guy is someone I wanted to avoid at one point or another.

  “The… old score?” Aura asked. “Refresh my memory.”

  “You know,” the guy said. “You, Sars, Vadnais and Fry used to tangle with me and my team back in the day. Sometimes you guys would win; sometimes my guys would win. It was good times. That’s why I think we need to have a game of Battle Boats, for old times sake. Really determine the winner of all those years of rivalry between us.”

  Aura began to think that he was a more important figure in the man’s life than the man had been in his. If he was indeed someone that Aura and his gang used to fight, Aura didn’t have a clue as to who he was or which gang he was with. He’d beaten up a lot of rival gangs in the past, so the list of possible suspects was a long one.

  Guilt amassed in Aura’s conscience. The enthusiasm and excitement in the man’s eyes and his friendly demeanor got the better of the death toucher. He bargained with himself that he could use the time he was going to spend at the swimsuit competition partaking in a game of Battle Boats instead. He felt confident that if he couldn’t even remember who the dude was, he must not have been a very threatening opponent.

  “You’re on!” the death toucher replied.

  Aura and his mysterious acquaintance stood at the end of a pier. They hopped down to a smaller dock right on top of the water where the boats for the race were kept. Aura stepped into his small wooden rowboat and started to regret his decision. He’d forgotten just how much he disliked being in and around water. Especially the ocean. He looked over to see his mysterious new friend climbing into his own rowboat. He looked especially comfortable with his arms crossed, confident and calm.

  Aura started to feel the cold sweats coming on, but he gripped the ends of the oars in his hands and tried to ignore any anxiety he felt about the water. He could remember a time when he and Ash had been assigned the job of hunting colossal demon squid for the Nobles. He was definitely more confident in the water now than he had been back then, yet he still found his teeth chattering uncontrollably.

  “Where’re your sea legs?” his competitor called to him, joking. Aura forced a weak laugh in response and muttered something under his breath.

  “Competitors, ready!” blared a voice from someone with a megaphone still on top of the pier.

  “Start!”

  Aura thrust his arms forward, dipping the broad ends of the oars under the water. He pulled the oars back with all his power, sending his boat shooting out onto the water and further away from the pier. He could see the announcer now, and scores of people lined up along the edge of the pier to watch the races.

  His opponent followed relentlessly. For the first stretch of the race, Aura and the man were neck in neck. They went back and forth trading the lead as they raced past the first collection of tall rocks sticking out of the water. Aura had seen some of the more foolish boaters try to cut across at this point, but the death toucher knew it was still too dangerous.

  He continued powering forward, occasionally stealing glances over at his opponent. The man still looked calm and collected. He rowed his oars with great ease, not even breaking a sweat. Aura concentrated on his rowing and sped up. Eventually he managed to take back a significant lead as they approached the far end of the rocky outcropping.

  Aura felt confident cutting through one of the wider gaps between rocks. His oars scraped the sides of the thin rocky bases sticking out of the water as he tore through the water. He twisted his head to see what his opponent was doing, but the man disappeared from his sight. Taking that as a good sign, Aura continued on his chosen path heading for the other side of the rocks.

  He didn’t make it out. Before he could steer the boat out of the maze of rocks, his opponent’s boat appeared from around the corner of the next rock. He was right in the middle of Aura’s path. The death toucher had to swerve, sticking just his left oar into the water to change his direction. He was about to shout at the guy when something else unexpected happened.

  The man leapt from his own boat, landing in Aura’s small craft instead. He had his arms crossed with the same smug look on his face. He flashed a wicked smile to his devil opponent before opening his lips.

  “You sure are one stupid devil,” the man said with a cackle of laughter.

  “One of the greater demons after my head, I take it?” Aura asked.

  “However did you manage to figure it out?” the man said, his voice full of sarcasm. “I mean, you are just a stupid devil after all. But I never thought it’d be so easy to get close to you. Now I have you exactly where I want you!”

  “Uh huh,” Aura said, nodding his head unenthusiastically. “Or, maybe I tricked you into coming near me.”

  “Doubtful,” the demon man replied. “I’ve been watching you all morning. You’re here because I wanted you here. Isolated on the ocean, you will meet your demise.”

  “Here’s a tip pal,” said Aura. He loosened his grip on the oar his right hand was holding. His arms moved like blurs to remove his gauntlet as he launched himself from the boat’s hard wooden seat.

  “Never hop into a death toucher’s boat!”

  “Oh, please.”

  Before Aura’s cursed black hand could slam into the man’s chest, he opened his mouth. Something black and gaseous shot out. Or was it a liquid? Aura couldn’t tell. Whatever it was, the black cloud shot past Aura’s head. It splashed into the ocean as the possessed man collapsed to the floor of the boat.

  Aura dropped to cradle the man. The death toucher lightly rapped on the man’s face with his not-cursed hand, shaking him gently to try and wake him.

  “Come on guy, this is a bad time to go to sleep,” he said. “Wake up and tell me who you are!”

  None of Aura’s actions were having any effect on the man. The boy gazed back toward the shore, but only now did he see that he shoreline wasn’t visible. He was too deep in the rocky maze rising out of the water for anyone to see him. No one would be coming to check on him either, at least not for another ten minutes or so.

  The boy gripped his oars once again. He was going to make a break for it as fast as he could before the demon returned. He needed to get out of the rocks and back into sight of the other festivalgoers watching from the beach and pier. Before he could back away from the other man’s empty boat, something in the water gripped his right oar and pulled.

  Aura released the other oar and gripped the one that was being stolen with both his hands. After a second of tugging on it, he realized his mistake. Before he could grab the other oar again, it was snagged by the underwater demon and pulled into the ocean without effort. Aura’s grip slipped on the remaining oar, and soon he was left with nothing but an unconscious man.

  Great, thought Aura. This just keeps getting better and better.

  Behind him, a jagged black fin rose out of the water and started to circle his tiny boat.

  Chapter Twenty-Three: Shiva’s Festival Fun

  A warm breeze carried Shiva up and over the Kingdom heading north. She had memorized her event list and planned a route that would allow her to investigate each game area quick and efficiently. As she floated above the entrance to North Hell and looked down on all the busy foot traffic, the Royal Princess decided she’d need to be a part of it to really investigate thoroughly. She folded her wings and dive-bombed the ground, pulling up just in time to stick the landing in an unoccupied section of the street corner.

  Her wings tucked away as soon as she hit the ground and she started walking. The upper-class citizens of North Hell were out and about in full force today. Along the avenue, shops were so backed up that many of
the lines started to wrap around and through each other. Shiva inspected each face in line one by one searching for anyone who looked possessed. When she realized she had no idea what symptoms she should be looking for, she moved on to plan B.

  If finding the demons herself wasn’t going to work, she’d simply have to let the demons come to her. She moved past the bustling marketplace toward the first game area, where early crowds were already formed to watch the Evasion Ball competitors line up. Shiva spotted a festival employee speaking with a man and looking over some papers on a clipboard. A red megaphone hung from a strap on the man’s arm.

  “I’m going to borrow this for a sec,” Shiva said, reaching for the megaphone. The man struggled for a moment until he realized whom he was dealing with.

  “L-Lady Shiva?” he said in astonishment. “Yes, please, take whatever you need from me.” The man eagerly handed over his megaphone.

  Shiva grinned, holding the tool to her mouth. “Attention citizens!” she yelled, amplifying her already loud voice. “It’s me! Your beloved Royal Princess, Shiva Satan out patrolling the streets to ensure everyone’s safety! You can count on me, Shiva Satan, to protect the weak and defend the innocent! Never fear a demon attack with me, Shiva Satan, watching over you! That is the awesome dependability of your Royal Princess, Shiva Satan!”

  The girl handed the megaphone back to the festival worker, who stared at her with a look of confused awe. In fact, most of the crowd stared at the girl now. Shiva dismissed herself and left, whistling an upbeat tune as she went.

  She followed the cobblestone street encountering other gaming areas on her patrol route. She made a point of swiping any megaphone in sight and announcing her arrival, declaring her name and title as loud as she could. At first, the people were confused and unresponsive toward her unusual behavior. But as she made her way across North Hell, the responses she received from the masses turned to shouts of cheer and rounds of applause.

  It helped that her strange and friendly behavior came during the mid-morning happy hour. They raised their mugs to toast her as she interrupted the Drinking Contest. The nerds at the Math Board games covered their ears as she screamed her demon rousing shtick at them. She took to the chucker’s mound and threw the ceremonial first chuck at the Club Ball game. She even made a special appearance at the Beard Growing Competition just to remind everyone she was there.