It was a few hours after the sun formed when Shiva knocked on the door and poked her head into the room. Ash sat up at once to greet her, waving her in. Aura still slumbered in bed, drool dripping from the corners of his mouth as Shiva crept in quietly, keeping her voice low.
“Did you sleep?” she asked, taking a seat on the bed next to Ash.
“Not even a little bit.” Dark bags under his eyes showed he wasn’t kidding.
“Neither did I.” She stared daggers at Aura, sleeping peacefully across from them. “Come to think of it, I’m kind of pissed that the only one of us that did get a full night’s sleep is that slacker.”
“Well, he’s got a fresh wound to go with it.”
“I’d take his wounds and a nap over the night I just had.”
“What’s going on out there?”
“It was a mess, you know, right after…” Shiva shifted uncomfortably.
“Yeah.”
She went on. “A bunch of loud obnoxious people decided to hang around the gates for way too long. In the end we managed to convince them all to spend the night in their own homes instead of a jail cell. By the time that commotion died down we had all four Captains accounted for. They’re all resting in the basement barracks. Same goes for Stryd, that poor bastard…”
Shiva seemed to drift off into space for a moment. Ash was certain that in her mind she was recalling her own possession incident. No one else understood quite as well as Shiva what it felt like to have another creature steal your body, wear you like a suit, and parade you around like a puppet.
“How’s Goddard holding up?” Ash asked, hoping for good news. “Did he by chance get any work done on my medicine?”
Shiva managed a weak smile, one that faded so quickly it was like it was never there at all. She reached into a small pouch. “Actually, I came here to give you this.” She pulled her hand out of the pouch, between her pointer finger and thumb was a black marble. “The first of a new batch.”
“Give me that!” Ash lunged at first sight of the little black pill. Shiva almost drew her hand back in surprise, but Ash would not let the medicine elude him any longer, and so into his mouth and down his throat it went. “Why didn’t you give me the medicine first! You know how important it is to me!”
The boy stared, wide-eyed, teeth bared. He ended his rant there, choosing to breath deeply to himself instead. A wise decision. After a few seconds he bowed his head in disgrace.
“I’m sorry,” he said. In his tone was true sincerity. “Thank you.”
Shiva continued as if nothing had happened.
“Goddard looked like he was in rough shape, but he was surprisingly full of energy. Which was great, since we had so much on our plate all night. After we wrapped up our business outside the gates Goddard returned to his lab. He wanted to get right back to work on your medicine. I checked in on him just an hour ago, and that was all he had made at the moment.”
“I see,” Ash said, disappointed. “So what do we do now?”
Shiva shrugged. “Plan a trip to the demon kingdom. Duh.”
Ash smirked. Just like that, she’s ready to go. What a woman.
“Actually, there’s a bunch of other details we’ll have to address. Preferably sooner, rather than later. Time is our enemy now. So’s every citizen in Hell.”
“Excuse me?”
“I’m worried about how the Nobles might react to all of this,” Shiva said, averting her eyes. Staring off again. “The papers will be printed soon, you know. No way this story gets overlooked. Not when that brain-dead idiot Glebeck is in charge.”
“Right,” Ash said, new thoughts running amok in his mind. “That guy.”
“Anyway, we’ll know soon. The paper should be delivered within the next hour or so.”
“I’ll keep my fingers crossed for good news,” Ash said, crossing his fingers in gesture.
“For now, you got nothing to worry about.” Shiva stood up. “The castle will remain on lockdown. Almost every Royal Guard is stationed outside.”
“That’s supposed to be comforting?”
Shiva laughed. “I guess so.” Her face went somber once more, and she turned her back. “Anyway, in a couple of days you’ll have another full supply of that medicine. We all just need to rest our bodies and minds for a while. Recharge. Stay positive.”
“Right,” Ash said, mustering an insignificant amount of enthusiasm. “Will do.”
“Come up to the conference room when Draxler wakes up.”
Shiva left without another word spoken. Ash continued to lay there on his bed staring out the window, wishing he could just get away from all this craziness for once. He thought he’d adjusted to his new life in Hell. That he could build some sort of life here that would be, at best, temporary. His end goal being to get back to his homeworld of Earth somehow. He made a mental note to start researching gates, like the one he first saw Goddard summon over a year ago.
It seemed like so long ago, already. A different life.
After Aura awoke, the pair of defeated young men wandered the castle halls on their way to conference. Aura, with his shirt removed, his bloodstained black and blue jacket draped over his shoulders with a fresh bandage wrapped around his torso, strived to draw the attention of any young chambermaids they encountered.
They arrived at the familiar conference room. They met Goddard there regularly to receive small jobs. Usually crap work. Inside the room was a large wooden table that could seat a small army. The furniture was all made from skeletal remains of demons placed in elaborate designs, like some kind of demented art project. Even the chandelier was made from demon bones.
Shiva sat on one side of the table, tapping her fingers on the table. She stared at the pair as they entered, slowly crossed the room and pulled up seats across from her.
“Everyone else should be here soon,” she said.
“And a good morning to you to, Ms. Satan.” Aura cracked a smile.
“I’m not in the mood for pleasantries right now, Draxler. Unlike you, I was up all night. Doing helpful stuff.”
“You wouldn’t have wanted my help for any of that,” the death toucher reasoned. “Besides, now that I got some beauty sleep I can get back in the game. These wounds will heal in a few days, and when I’m back in top shape we’ll go straight to that demon kingdom and demolish it – along with that damned demon Prince!”
“You’re pretty confident about that?” Shiva said curiously. “Even though no one’s ever done it, including the hero Aster?”
“Aster didn’t have my power.”
“Your power still makes you sick to your stomach,” Shiva reminded him. “What’s your limit these days, huh? How many times can you even use it before you puke your brains out?”
Aura deflated a little. “I’m getting better,” he said. But the spark of argument was no longer present in his eyes.
No one said anything for a while. Then, the doors burst open and in walked a familiar batch of faces. Two of the men had to lean on the two others for support just to walk. Their leader, the man in black armor, lead them in as Ash and Aura craned their heads to get a look at them.
Commander Stryd and his Captains looked beaten. Despite their pitiful appearances, Stryd kept his chin up and marched straight over to the meeting table. He took a seat at one of the ends, his four men securing their spots closest to him. Ash, Shiva, and Aura sat on the opposite end of the table.
For a brief moment, no one spoke. What a wonderful moment it was. Then…
“What are you looking at?” Stryd glared at Ash. His eyes were bloodshot red and messy like a child’s finger painting. Admittedly, Ash had been stealing glances at the man. He felt sorry for the guy, after all.
“Just looking around,” Ash muttered lamely. He hoped Stryd would back off without a fight, but it looked like the Commander would not settle.
“What are you even doing here human? This whole thing is your fault! If you would have just died we would still have our king!”
/>
“That’s enough!” Shiva interjected.
But Stryd still had more to say. “He’s as good as vermin to us. We’ll gladly trade him away to the demons, you’ll see!”
Stryd stopped his rant as Shiva emitted a bright light, enveloped by her own tormented soul power. Her stare punctured the Commander’s psyche. “I won’t let you talk about someone on my team that way.”
That was enough to cause Stryd to back down. He stayed quiet after that. The Captains remained quiet too, for they had nothing to contribute. Their failures had been just as bad as everyone else’s, if not worse.
Was she saying that as my leader? Ash thought. Or, as something else…
His pondering was interrupted as the doors swung open once more. This time, they were surprised to see someone’s backside come into the room first. The backwards-man held the front of a stretcher, and he worked together with another able-bodied servant to lift the medical table into the room.
On the stretcher, wrapped from head to toe in raggy bandages, was the defeated Prince Killian. “Was that my little sister’s deadly aura I just felt? It gave me chills!” The servants stopped before the table. Everyone stood to greet the Prince. “Put me down over there! Yes, right there!”
The servants ended up setting Killian’s stretcher down on the bare table, then shuffled away to take care of business elsewhere. He lay there, surrounded by the others, content for the moment.
Ash shifted uncomfortably in his chair. Killian’s head was only feet away from him. He felt her soul power from all the way out in the hall? That’s some talent. One more thing I could learn. Ash avoided staring into the man’s eyes.
“Yeah, that was me,” Shiva said. She blushed from her brother’s compliment. Ash felt a little sicker again.
“Hey, human,” Prince Killian said. He was staring straight at Ash. “You’re as good as dead, you know. One way or another, time is running out on you.” He said this with a smile, the look of someone who’d just departed a little good news on one of his pals.
Ash grinned softly, mustering a little fervor. “Not if I have anything to say about it.”
“Me too!” Aura said, lifting a supportive fist.
“I know, why don’t you beg me for protection?” Killian smiled wide at the thought. “Yes, get down on your knees and gravel at my feet! That is, when I can stand on them again. Which will be very soon. Your best bet, if you want to make it out of this whole thing alive, is to gravel for mercy at my feet! Then go find a corner somewhere to cower in!”
The demented, disabled Prince laughed at his own suggestion while Shiva gawked, speechless. Where was her protection now? Ash wondered. Stryd looked pleased, no surprise there. Ash wanted to say something back, something reassuring or wise. Something positive.
Instead he sat in silence with the rest of them. They sat like that, Prince Killian still grinning to himself, until the doors swung open once again and the Royal Advisor finally walked in.
Goddard had changed clothes, back to his formal attire. A black suit, accented in crimson. His glasses, repaired and attached to his face once more. His long, silvery hair tied back, a surprisingly fashionable look for the man. Though he must have been tired, the man showed no signs of it on his determined face.
“Glad to see you’re all here,” he said. “Let’s get started.”
The Royal Advisor pulled a rolled-up newspaper out of his back pocket. Flattening it slightly, he held the paper high for all to see. The headline read:
Satan Family Curse Strikes Again!
King Alfred Satan Abducted By Demon Prince Otozek!
“You don’t need to read it to know it’s not good,” Goddard said, dropping the paper on the table by Killian’s head. “I’ll summarize. The Noble’s multiple sources have, of course, filled them in on every detail of the King’s untimely abduction yesterday. It’s all out in the open now, and the people are going to start demanding some action. There will be, as usual, those that say now is the time to abandon our ‘primitive’ monarchy.”
“Maybe that’s not a bad idea,” Ash said. “You could run for President, Goddard. Sounds good, right? President von Gosick.”
“Get serious,” Goddard replied. “No one would vote for me. Not right now. I’m the Royal Advisor that lost the King to a handful of demons. I cannot let that become my legacy.”
Shiva lifted her head. “None of us can.”
“Then we’ll just have to fight back,” said Killian, matter-of-factly.
“Before we can discuss our plans to retrieve the King, we must deal with the citizens,” Goddard said. “Our plans will mean nothing if we don’t have the support of the people.”
“What’s this bit about a family curse?” Ash asked. His eyes were focused on the bold newspaper headline.
Shiva groaned, while Killian chuckled softly. Goddard looked mildly annoyed.
“The Satan family curse…” The Royal Advisor turned his eyes to the Satan siblings around him. “There are those who believe the Satan bloodline to be cursed. I’ve heard some say that God may have decided to punish those in Lucifer’s lineage after he banished the rebel angel. After Lucifer’s rebellion, members of the family always seem to meet a most gruesome fate. There are only a handful of Satans that actually made it to the retirement years.”
“Its nonsense, really,” Shiva chimed in. “The Satan bloodline is also known for our strength, determination, and all-around ass-kickery!”
“I find myself agreeing with my sister for once.” Prince Killian looked bored, lying there on the table. He hadn’t moved an inch, except for his eyes. Occasionally his mouth.
Goddard looked like he remembered something. “Come to think of it, wasn’t the curse the reason for your father’s…” The Royal Advisor paused trying to choose his next words wisely. “Gentle nature?”
The Prince scoffed. “It’s no secret. You can say it. We all know father has never been a fighter. If he had any fighting power whatsoever, perhaps we wouldn’t be in this situation right now. With a stronger, more competent and capable father by my side, we could have easily defeated that demon prince.”
“Perhaps,” Goddard said. “But getting back to the curse. That was definitely the rumor I heard as to why he never came around to entering battle.”
“It wouldn’t surprise me if it were true.” Killian was done talking about the matter. “I don’t believe in the curse myself. I know I will never be killed by a demon. Not when they’re all so far below me.”
“That’s right!” Shiva looked desperate to agree with her brother some more. “This is brand new generation of Satan! The strongest yet!”
“What if…” Everyone’s heads craned to get a look at a voice that hadn’t spoken in a while. They all turned to look at the death toucher in the room. “…the curse is still affecting the Satan bloodline, its just working in different ways now?”
Goddard humored the boy’s hypothetical. “I’ll assume you have an example to back up that theory?”
“Do we really need to hear this?” Shiva asked. Her disapproval was written on her face.
Goddard paid the girl no mind though. “Go on.”
Aura continued. “I read that the Satan family tree used to be pretty thick, what with all the cousins and distant relatives. I know most of them married into other families, eventually watering themselves down into the lovely “Nobles” we have today. But the main family,” he gestured to the Prince and Princess, “these guys. In the span of just a few generations, the Satan head family numbers have dwindled to what you see before you.”
Goddard’s eyes lit up with understanding. “The curse has other methods of erasing the Satan bloodline, such as infertility, which has plagued the family for decades. There’s also a substantial amount of recorded incidents involving unusual demises suffered by anyone that weds a Satan.”
I guess Phoenix was even braver than I thought, Ash found himself thinking.
“Enough about the curse!” Shiva said, throwing h
er arms up. Ash could see it was really starting to get to her, even though she was trying to act tough. “Let’s talk about what our next move is.”
“Oh yes, before I forget…” Goddard stuck his hand into his pocket and pulled out a new pillbox. He tossed it to Ash, who fumbled the wood box in surprise. “That’s the first small batch. I’ll have more for you in a couple days.”
Ash smiled as he opened the pillbox. The sight of an uncountable amount of round black pills greeted him. There were probably twenty or so, Ash guessed. “Thanks a lot Goddard. I really needed this.” He popped one of the pills into his mouth and swallowed. It made him feel a little better already.
“Let’s discuss the only thing that needs discussion,” Killian said. “I’m going to the demon kingdom to erase it from existence. I don’t really care what any of you do.”
“I’m for declaring war on the demons as well!” Stryd slammed his fists on the table and jumped to his feet, suddenly fired up. “There’s no way I’m going to let those demon bastards get away with what they did to my men and I.” Ash could see his hands trembling on the table. “What they put us through… the things they made us do…” Stryd said no more and sat down. The Captains all hung their heads in shame and anguish.
“I’m siding with my brother once again,” said Shiva. “I’ll join him. Together, we’ll enter the demon kingdom and rescue our father.”
“Yes of course,” said Goddard. “You two are pretty much our only hope. You and Mr. Draxler.”
“I’m always down for exterminating some demons,” said the death toucher.
From outside the cracked window, the meeting party could no longer ignore the rising noise. The sound drew Goddard’s attention to the window, which he opened to allow the full volume in. What they heard sounded like last night’s crowd, only louder.
Devil Ash Disarray (Devil Ash Saga Book 3) Page 39
