Of all the events she was to visit that day, Shiva finally encountered the game she wanted to see most. She tried to look inconspicuous as she approached the enormous tent on a conjoined street. There were no walls; only an enormous red canopy to shield players from the sun. Under the massive awning stretched row after row of tables. Each table had room for just two competitors.
The sign above the giant tent read Devil’s Duel in a large, fiery font. There was a list of tournament start times and a free-play schedule posted as well. Shiva subdued her excitement as she casually strolled into the gaming area, trying to look more like she was on patrol and less like she cared about what card strategies people were demonstrating.
Though the first official Devil’s Duel tournament of the day hadn’t started yet, most of the tables were already full with free-play competitors. The popularity of the card game’s sky-rocketed after stories that an actual demonic possession happened during the last tournament started circulating through the kingdom. Players and fans alike waited with bated breath to see if the Noble Vashi Tansa would return to compete in the tournament again.
They were all about to be disappointed.
Shiva moved down the first row of tables observing the various strategies in use at the games around her. She marveled at every super-rare holographic card she saw. She tut-tutted inexperienced players when they made bad moves. When she saw a player win, she added insult to the loser’s defeat by telling them what they should have done instead. She was becoming quite the annoying back-seat dueler.
It was after pausing to watch a duel between two zombie decks that Shiva turned to leave, bumping into an armored figure behind her. She recognized the tall thin man with a mustache at once as the Captain of the Royal Guard, North Division.
“Ah, Captain Pace,” said Shiva. “They’ve got you patrolling this lame card game event too, huh?”
“Yes,” said the Captain. “Call me crazy but I don’t see the point in fighting with cards when you could be fighting with fists and feet instead.”
“Well said,” Shiva replied, masking her true feelings. “I’ve got this whole area covered, so you don’t need to worry about hanging out around here.”
“Oh, that’s-”
“Lady Shiva!” came a velvety voice from across the tent. The girl’s conversation with the Captain interrupted, Shiva turned to spot the tattooed Marni Narnya heading her way, her loyal servant Lorin in tow. The Captain put his hands up to show he was done talking and slinked away with a nervous smile, leaving the women to talk.
“What an honor it is to see you at my illustrious gaming tent,” said Marni as she curtsied politely for the Princess. “Of course my actual establishment is still in a state of disrepair after, well, I’m sure you heard all about the little incident that occurred.”
“I probably know more about it than you do,” Shiva replied. “Such a shame I had to miss all the fun.”
“That fun cost me. A lot.”
“My condolences,” Shiva replied. She turned and started pacing the aisles of gaming tables once more, but the Devil’s Duel creator followed.
“The possessed person in that case was a Noble known as Vashi Tansa,” Marni said.
Shiva froze. “So?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.
“According to the Satan Family law, any substantial property damage inflicted on another party by a demonically-possessed individual is the sole responsibility of said demonically-possessed individual to repay or replace, depending on the scale of the damage.”
Shiva exhaled a sigh of relief. “You want to press charges on Vashi Tansa?”
“Absolutely,” Marni replied. “But here’s where I run into some difficulty. My employees have scoured all of North Hell, but found not one trace of any Noble named Vashi Tansa. Apparently, he doesn’t exist!”
“Welp, too bad,” said Shiva, turning her face to hide a smirk.
“That is why I thought you might consider tracking him down, my lady. I’ve spoken with several Nobles on the matter, including Glebeck Lowdly, and they all insist this imposter masquerading as a Noble must be punished for his transgressions. Paying for the damages on my gaming parlor is the minimum sentence he deserves!”
Shiva took a deep breath. “He’s probably just some petty thug, albeit a genius at Devil’s Duel. He’ll slip up and get caught eventually. I’m afraid I’ve got more important things to deal with right now.”
“But the law is on my side,” Marni replied, not backing down. “Impersonating a Noble is a crime punishable by up to a year in prison. Don’t you want to make this scumbag pay?”
“Not particularly.”
Marni tried to keep calm, but her impatience started to show. Behind her Lorin kept her mouth shut, content to let her master handle the situation.
Marni tried a different route. “Miss Shiva, what exactly would you say is your main function around here?”
“Fighting demons.”
“Close,” Marni said. “But I would say a more detailed job description would be that you protect the lives and interests of the people, correct?”
“I see what you’re getting at,” Shiva replied, growing impatient. “Look, if it’ll get you off my back, fine, I’ll look into it when I can.”
“You mean it? You’ll track down Vashi Tansa and bring that crook to justice?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Thank you, My Lady,” Marni said with a courteous bow. “Then I’ll leave you to enjoy the festivities. I am honored to see you so enticed by my game.”
“I’m not!”
Shiva turned up her nose at the notion, but Marni was already gone. Still, Shiva didn’t want others to think she looked enticed by the children’s card game she so enjoyed, so she decided to leave the gaming tent.
That’s when she saw Uverstarr wander in.
Damn brat, she thought, ducking out of sight behind one of the wider players sitting on a bench. She crouched there, waiting till the boy found a seat and turned his back to her. It was the perfect opportunity for her to get out of there unseen.
Curiosity got the better of the girl. Shiva instead crossed the tent to get closer to Uverstarr. She was merely curious as to what cards the boy was using. She decided she wouldn’t speak to him, or even let him see her. She would have to watch him in secret, in case the demons were watching her. Like Ash, she didn’t want Uverstarr, or even Aralia, to become targets to the demons.
Uverstarr sat at one of the seats for open challengers, waiting for an opponent. As he waited, he pulled out a stack of cards and started flipping through them with a pleased smile on his face.
Little idiot, Shiva thought. Doesn’t even know he could be targeted by demons.
An opponent sat at Uverstarr’s table, eager to challenge the boy. The two shook hands, shuffled their decks, and started a new game. Uverstarr looked optimistic gazing at the cards in his hand, smiling as he plotted strategy. When he laid down his first combatant card, Archdevil Beelzebub, Shiva’s suspicions were confirmed. The boy was playing with her deck.
When she was close enough to see the game from behind Uverstarr, Shiva paused and watched the first few rounds. The scrappy orphan had a hand full of Shiva’s old cards. She also saw cards that he must have added himself. Cards he probably stole off someone else. There were cards Shiva would have never added to her deck willingly, seeing no use for them amongst her various strategies.
Though she was interested in seeing what new surprises the deck she’d worked so hard on and become so familiar with now held, she subdued her curiosity for the time being. When Uverstarr’s opponent played a greater demon card, it reminded the girl of her important mission at hand. She backtracked across the Devil’s Duel tent, moving away from the games.
With a stone-faced expression of determination, Shiva marched up and down the block several times. Her eyes darted back and forth more than the spectators at a tennis match as she considered her situation. With all the attention she’d drawn to herself earlier that morni
ng, it was likely the demons were already watching her. They could be anywhere, anyone.
Adding to the paranoia was the fact that no one looked particularly normal, at least as far as devils go. With the change in weather and the added chaos of the Soulstice Festival, Hell was transformed; and so was its people. Instead of quiet and cautious, the devils were rowdy and carefree. The summer was a time of peace, when demons were supposed to be mostly inactive and the devils could finally feel safe. It was the first time Shiva had experienced such a different tone in the kingdom, and it made it that much more difficult for her to detect any ‘odd’ behavior.
Everyone’s behavior was odd today.
The only relief came from knowing that the demons likely wouldn’t attack her in public. She saw several dark and cut-off alleys that she was sure the demons would just love for her to walk down. But she avoided them like a sinkhole, keeping to the busy and bright, albeit chaotic, streets of North Hell. After nearly an hour of pacing the festival in the hot sun, Shiva decided a little shade might be a good thing.
She knew exactly where to find suitable shade too. The Royal devil Princess made a beeline for the Devil’s Duel tent one more time. Once she was under the sun-shaded covering Shiva looked around for her former teammate. She still wanted to avoid him, not just to keep the demons off his trail but also because she hadn’t spoken to him since yesterday’s snafu and their team’s loss at the relay race. She’d given Aura instructions to tell Uverstarr and Aralia that they wouldn’t be competing in any more games together for the time being. She let the death toucher make up an excuse as to why.
Shiva spotted Uverstarr almost right away. A torrent of boisterous expletives made it easy to locate the boy. He was sitting at a different table now, but still in the rear of the tent. He was incredibly animated, waving his arms and wiggling around in his seat. Shiva smiled, thinking he must be doing well. Since he was playing with her deck, a victory for him was technically a victory for her as well. Though she had little else to do with it, she still felt proud knowing that her deck would at least go on to find some victory in the boy’s hands.
After draining the small canteen she brought with her, Shiva went in search of a water faucet to refill it. She was met with good luck, as there was a groundwater pump right outside of the tent. The line for the pump was long enough that it wrapped almost all the way around the tent. People stood baking in the hot sun as they waited, like Shiva, to fill their water bottles, jugs, coolers, or just to take a drink straight from the faucet.
After almost a half hour of waiting, Shiva found herself still standing in the backed-up water line. She looked at the crowded Devil’s Duel tent beside her just in time to realize she was now within direct eyesight of Uverstarr. The boy was too absorbed in his game to notice the girl though. Shiva felt confident she wouldn’t be spotted watching him from her gradually shifting vantage point.
Despite the dire situation she, and the whole kingdom, were currently in, Shiva felt momentarily at peace. She’d begun to doubt the demons were even onto her yet. They did mention wanting to target Ash and Aura first, after all. But with all the festival calamity going on, Shiva became doubtful the demons would make an appearance here at all. Her mind turned to thoughts of leading a night patrol, which is when she betted the demons would prefer to show themselves.
Just as she was about to finally reach the water faucet, Shiva broke from her thoughts and checked in on Uverstarr again. The boy was on his feet now, throwing his arms in the air in celebration of another victory. Again, Shiva cracked a pleased smile knowing her deck was in good hands. She was vaguely aware of Captain Pace standing right behind the boy.
In a second the Captain moved like a red blur, whipping his leg and nailing Uverstarr in the chest. The child went soaring off his chair and fell to the ground on his back. The people nearby all shot up to their feet, their faces frozen in terror thinking they might be next. Nobody else seemed to notice the scene.
“Uverstarr!” Shiva abandoned her place in the water line and dashed under the tent again. She was at the boy’s side in seconds as he lay on the ground in pain.
“Why?” Shiva asked, looking at the boy’s injury. The skin below his neck was already turning a dark shade of purplish-black. She looked to the Captain who kicked him, barely able to hold back the anger she felt. “What’d he do?”
The Captain smirked defiantly. With a shrug he said, “cheating.”
The boy sat up and strained his eyes looking at Shiva. “Prin-sis?” he said, still feeling dazed from the kick.
“Cheating?” Shiva repeated. “No…”
“I wasn’t cheating, yo!” Uverstarr said. His voice was hoarse and devoid of amusement as he tried to pick himself up.
“That’s not what I saw,” the Captain replied. He and Shiva locked eyes. “Who are you going to believe? Me, or the runt?”
It was a tricky situation. Shiva didn’t know whether to apologize for the kid or stand up for him. She knew that given the boy’s general attitude and personality, he probably wasn’t above cheating. Heck, he was already a thief. Cheating kind of went hand-in-hand with thievery. On top of that, her feelings were dashed at the possibility that perhaps her deck wasn’t perfect, that maybe Uverstarr was only able to win because of his cheating.
“Maybe…” Shiva started but stopped, lost in thought. “Maybe you just don’t understand the game entirely and got confused,” she said to the Captain, hopeful that a mistake had occurred.
“I know what I saw,” the Captain replied. “He was cheating for sure. I’ll have to remove him from the game. Maybe take him to go see the Commander. He loves cheaters.”
Shiva’s expression changed. She avoided the Captain’s gaze and climbed to her feet. “Uverstarr,” she said, more calm now. “Tell me the truth. Were you cheating?”
“I didn’t cheat, yo!”
“I’m afraid I have to take the Captain’s word for it,” said Shiva. “There’s no way a Captain of the Royal Guard would lie about something like this, right Meeter?”
“Absolutely not,” the Captain replied, crossing his arms smugly. “We Captains don’t lie! We’re here to serve the people, so you can absolutely trust-”
A metal ball flew at the Captain, almost colliding with his face. He leapt back in time and kicked the attack aside. Shiva’s bolas recoiled, shook, and fell to the ground. The girl lifted her weapon and held it at the ready as Uverstarr leapt to his feet beside her, confused but overjoyed.
The Captain looked steely-eyed at first, but his stoic expression slipped into another baffling grin as his eyes narrowed.
“What gave me away?” he asked.
“The Captain of North Hell is named Pace,” said Shiva, lighting a flame inside one of the metal balls of her bolas. “You just answered to Meeter. It must be difficult keeping track of so many insignificant devil names.”
A devious smile spread across the face of Captain Pace.
“What’s going on?” asked Uverstarr.
The throng of people around them stared in confused disbelief. Why did Lady Shiva just attack a Captain of the Royal Guard? Had she finally flipped her lid?
“Am I still in trouble?” Uverstarr asked.
“You’re all in trouble, kid,” the thing in the Captain’s body said. Shiva moved to strike, but not fast enough. The Captain opened his mouth and something black shot out. The dark substance landed on the ground several feet behind Shiva and Uverstarr. The Captain’s body fell to the ground, limp.
As the dark figure grew and took shape, the spectators of the gaming tent fled screaming. Only Shiva stayed put, brandishing her flaming bolas with the unwavering Uverstarr by her side. The pair stared down the greater demon forming in front of them, growing to a tremendous size until the creature towered over the pair of devils.
“W-what… what is it?” Uverstarr stammered in bewildered fright.
“A pest,” Shiva replied, undeterred. “Time to exterminate.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
: Ash’s Discovery
Though Ash had left the house that morning in top shape, his mosey through West Hell proved the boy still had some teeny tiny health concerns to ponder. Not ten minutes after the team split up Ash’s eyes started to leak like buckets, slowly overflowing. The half-human boy avoided staring directly at the artificial sun or the Helio Star and moved away from his dusty neighborhood-in-development.
The first event on his list was something called The Fire Arcade. Ash didn’t have a clue what that meant, but thought it sounded cool. His spirits lifted, despite the minor inconvenience of looking at the world through watery eyes. He stuck to the ground, since flying even semi-blind is a major pain, and trudged down the gravel walkway toward the festival grounds.
Though his own neighborhood was empty, Ash found the main streets of West Hell to be anything but. People flooded the streets for the festival here just as they did everywhere else around the kingdom. Seeing other people out and about reminded the boy that his enemies could be anyone, and he’d have to be on guard constantly. The best strategy would be to try and avoid contact and lay low so as not to draw any extra attention.
There was one thing the boy was not taking into consideration though. He passed merchants preparing their various booths for the day. Most were too busy to even notice him. The first festival spectator he encountered, however, recognized the boy immediately. An older woman across the street, she gazed at Ash in disbelief. Then a smile covered her face and she waved at him.
Ash, feeling slightly awkward about his newfound fame, replied with a slight head nod and weak wave back. The lady moved on to join another woman. She must have mentioned the human boy to her friend, because they both stared at Ash again. The boy quickly looked away, hoping he wouldn’t have to wave to her friend too.
Devil Ash Disarray (Devil Ash Saga Book 3) Page 25
