When the four reunited in a small coffee shop, Ash bought coffee for himself and Aralia, as well as an ice cream cone for Amalia and a coffee for his exhausted friend. They had only been walking around for an hour, but Aura was already drained. It took more energy than he was used to exerting to look after the hyper child. He thanked Ash sincerely for the coffee as he lit the cup on fire to activate the rich flavor of the beverage.
Before leaving, Aralia and her sister found a bag to store their new prized possessions won by their dates. The group stepped outside and Aura grew concerned that they’d be splitting up once more. He tried swaying Ash to swap partners for a while, or at the very least to stick together this time. Lucky for him, Aralia spotted a new game that intrigued her and her sister. She took Ash by the hand and led him across the narrow street to one of the larger game booths at the end of The Fire Arcade.
The human boy looked up at the big sign on the booth. “Tap Ball?” he read aloud. “Never heard of it.”
“It looks fun!” Aralia led her sister over to a large steel fence next to the booth. On the other side there were several people already playing, and the group gathered around to see how it was done.
Each player carried a long, wooden club. On the end of each club was a rounded flat section. The players would use the flattened section to tap a small ball around the game course, avoiding any obstacles in the way. The goal seemed to be to reach the end of the course before anyone else and to get the ball into a small hole in the ground.
After a few minutes of watching the other players demonstrate, Ash turned to his friends and said, “Oh, I do know this game. We just call it something different on Earth.”
Everyone agreed to give Tap Ball a shot, and they hopped in the short line to play.
Across the street, standing behind a large mailbox, out of sight from anyone who may recognize or acknowledge her, stood the red-haired woman. She poked her head out from behind her hiding spot, observing the group on their date, incognito. She herself had never been on a date and was curious to see what all the fuss was about.
Shiva decided to leave her armor at home, choosing a lightweight robe with a hood to conceal her identity better. She had no desire to be discovered by the group she was watching so she hung back until they were given their clubs and balls and admitted inside the game area. Once they were beyond the steel fence, Shiva jumped out from behind her hiding place and moved across the street.
There she watched from behind the fence as her friends laughed and played Tap Ball. They looked to be enjoying themselves. Shiva watched them play through the first few rounds until they disappeared from sight behind an obstruction on the course. In a brief moment of reflection she wondered exactly what was so fun about the activity, which to her looked tedious and pointless.
With her guard dropped she failed to notice the presence of a small person standing next to her, leaning against the fence. When the boy spoke, she snapped from her trance.
“Doing a little spying, are we?” the sneaker asked playfully, his hood covering his eyes, his grin concealed underneath a demon-toothed bandana.
Shiva spun to face him, annoyed at the boy’s incredible evasiveness. “It’s none of your business.” She turned and walked back across the street.
“Hey! I’m just bored and curious, too!” he called after her, following. “Or maybe that’s not why you’re here. Maybe you’re following them around because you’re-”
“Don’t say it,” Shiva warned.
Uverstarr did not listen. “Jealous,” he teased, relishing the irritated expression on the girl’s face.
“Why would I, a member of the Royal Family, be jealous of a couple of idiots and orphans? I could play that stupid game whenever I want, if I so cared to. But I don’t.”
“You were staring at Ash, yo,” the bratty boy said with a sneer. “I think you wish you were on the date with him instead!”
Shiva resisted the urge to snap at the boy as she normally would. By now she knew that was what the boy wanted. Instead of playing his little games, she stayed calm and explained, “I am watching Ash, but only to make sure he doesn’t break down again. He’s been under a lot of stress lately. A leader needs to be aware of her teammate’s status at all times. Not that you would know anything about being a leader.”
Uverstarr stopped his erratic, animated movements and held still finally. “If anyone can pick him up, its Ral, yo.” The boy surprised Shiva by lifting his hood and pulling down his bandana. For once he didn’t look bored, or have a bratty smirk on his face. “She’s got a real talent for fixing broken people.”
“We’ll see about that,” Shiva said, turning her attention back to the Tap Ball course beyond the fence. The group was just finishing up their game and heading back to the booth entrance. “What are you doing here, anyway? Don’t tell me you’re going to follow me around now.”
“I always spy on Ral’s dates,” the boy replied, undeterred.
“Does she go on a lot?” Shiva asked, sounding the slightest bit concerned.
Uverstarr shrugged. “Eh.”
“I didn’t realize she was so… experienced.”
The pair stayed hidden as the date group left the Tap Ball course and continued moving down the gravel street, leaving The Fire Arcade behind.
The excited and energetic girls dragged their stiff and anxious dates deeper into West Hell, an area of the kingdom they were least familiar with. When Ash inquired as to where Aralia wanted to go next, the girl’s eyes drifted above the horizon. Dead ahead was one of the tallest rock formations in all of West Hell. The girl smiled as she laid eyes on it.
“Race me to the top of that ridge,” she said with a playful shove. “And no flying! That’s cheating!”
Ash put on a frown. “Ohhh, I don’t think so…”
“Come on,” Aralia begged. “It’ll be fun!”
“I’m still pretty tired,” Ash replied. “I really don’t think I could-” Without finishing his thought, the boy took off running, giving only a moment’s notice with a fast “three-two-one-go!”
The orphan girl wasn’t expecting such a sinister playful move. She broke into a dead sprint right behind him. The pair dashed down the main drag, zooming in and out of traffic as they chased each other. Ash held back as much as he could to stay even with the girl. If he were the showing-off type, he could have easily passed her by to win the race to the top of the peak.
But Ash was more of a gentleman and wanted to make a fair game of it. It turned out Aralia was a much better sprinter than she was at playing Devil’s Duel. Ash cast a quick glance behind him to see her right on his heels, with Aura lagging far behind, the toddler Amalia riding atop his shoulders. He didn’t look interested in joining the footrace. The boy turned his head in time to narrowly avoid a collision with a merchant pulling a cart full of squawking demon chickens.
Dodging that little setback put Aralia in the lead, which she held onto right up until they reached the base of the slope. A narrow path ran up the side of the mountain all the way to the top. There were vendor carts of all varieties, but mostly food stands along the way. More busy foot traffic clogged the pathway, with a rancher trying to move a small herd of demon sheep down the narrow path.
Aralia waded through the herd of livestock, slowing her progress up the steep hill significantly. Being slightly more capable, Ash took a small shortcut by leaping over the entire herd. He landed with a spin, took a little bow, then with a smile and a wink at his date, continued on his way.
Taking a page from his book, Aralia broke free from the livestock and jumped to her next destination on a higher part of the path. Their footrace evolved into a jumping competition as they scaled the tall peak in record time. This being the most strenuous thing Ash had done in a while, he relished the challenge and let all his stored-up energy out.
The girl had only made it eighty-percent up the mountain and had to pull over for a breather when Ash reached the top. Like his left-behind date, he too was w
inded and needed a few minutes to catch his breath. Aura was still lagging behind closer to the base of the hill with his little date. The pair had stopped to pet the herd of sheep for a while.
After a little time examining his surroundings, Ash realized that this was the same peak he’d once come to with Aura over a year ago. Close to the time he first arrived in Hell. There was a small restaurant up here, along with more merchant carts. There was also a small park with some playground equipment, including a jungle gym, some swings, and a tall slide he imagined the young Amalia would enjoy.
The view from the top was one of Ash’s favorites: from there he could see the entirety of the Kingdom of Hell, from the rocky gorges of West Hell all the way to the oceanic coastline of East Hell. The Royal Satan Castle divided the kingdom like a giant spike through its center.
With a few minutes to spare before his date reached the summit, Ash took it upon himself to make some romantic-like preparations. When at last Aralia arrived, climbing the last slope to the top, sucking air like a vacuum, she rested a moment while she looked around for Ash.
The boy sat on the ground over by the edge of the mountain lookout, gazing out over the beautiful scenery. He turned and waved her over, to which she could only smile. She started walking his way. “I guess you win the race,” she said, putting on a fake pouting face. “What do you want for winning?”
“I’ll think of something later,” Ash said, motioning for her to sit down on the blanket next to him. He bought the large blanket from one of the merchant’s, figuring it would be more comfortable than the rough and rocky mountain landscape. There were two new cups of coffee there as well to replace their first cups that were abandoned during their playful contest.
She took her seat next to Ash, scooting in close to the boy. There the pair sat for a while in silence, staring out at the vast kingdom landscape as the artificial sun shrank across from the Helio Star. Eventually Aralia launched into a monologue about how much fun she’d been having lately with Ash and his friends. She thanked him sincerely for so many great memories, and then went on to dominate the conversation.
Ash didn’t mean to space out and ignore her, but he found himself lost in contemplation. Looking out over the kingdom, watching all the devil inhabitants scurry around on their individual business, the boy couldn’t help but feel lost in life. The fun he’d just had with his pretty date was only a mild distraction to the real problem he faced. Watching the sun rapidly deplete from the sky only reminded him that in a few short hours, he’d be once again facing an all-but-certain death.
He recalled how Prince Killian had handled the tough situation he was in, boldly appearing before the entire kingdom and proclaiming his inevitable victory over the demon royalty. With only his words and reputation, the mad Prince had easily swayed the devil populace into blindly believing in him. He did this all while not actually caring what anyone thought, a trick that Ash still had yet to learn.
The whole event had left a stain in Ash’s mind. He was unable to wrap his head around how an obvious madman like Killian could gain the people’s trust so easily, while a nice guy like him was made out to be public enemy number one because of the bias’s of a few. The incident changed Ash’s mindset at a time when he was finally becoming settled in Hell.
“You haven’t said anything for a while,” Aralia told him, when that was the case. “I’m not losing you here, am I?”
Ash inhaled a deep breath and sighed slowly. “Not at all,” he replied. “I’m just lost in my head. Sorry.”
“Maybe talking about it a little will help.”
“I doubt it,” Ash said. “But here goes. I just feel… hopeless. Like none of this matters anymore, since I’m most likely going to die soon anyway. You’ve all been so hopeful and confident that we’ll somehow make it out of there alive, but I just can’t realistically see that working out. It’s us four against an entire kingdom of greater demons. I don’t have to do the math to know just how boned I am.
“But that’s not even the worst of my problems. Even if by some miracle I do come back, it’s going to be because of that whackjob Prince. He gets the credit. I’m just a footnote. A measly bargaining chip to retrieving a rotten King. I’ll spend the rest of my short life a social pariah, hooked on Goddard’s medicine till my body finally gives into this disease.
“So if I seem a bit distracted, it’s only because all of that is on my mind.”
Aralia frowned, squinting her eyes that were on the verge of tears. Before a reply from her could be uttered, Ash spotted an exhausted Aura, hauling two big bags of toys on his back, the little devil dancing excited circles around him.
The tired young man took his first step onto level ground and paused, gasping for air while. “Not… cool… you… guys,” he said between long breaths. He found a patch of grass and plopped down in exhaustion. Mal tried her best to pull him back up to his feet, cheering him on the whole time, to which Aura replied, “Mr. Princess needs a power nap.”
Eventually Amalia discovered her sister and Ash standing nearby and wondered closer. Raley wiped her eyes and wrapped her arms around the little tyke that was latched onto her thigh. “I’m sorry to hear all that,” she said. “Life can be tough sometimes, believe me, I know.”
“I guess that’s why we get along so well,” Ash said. “We’ve both had rough lives.”
Ash though back on what Kurdis told him about Aralia, how she was bullied. Made to be an outcast, just like him. His date fidgeted with her clingy sister until little Mal spotted the playground equipment and took off.
“You know what I think?” Aralia asked, once again giving Ash her undivided attention. “I know how you feel. You think it’s pointless to go on, that things won’t get any better, so why bother? You’re as good as dead already, right?”
Ash said nothing, because she was right.
“But the truth is, you’re not dead yet. Not even close. For the time being you have your health. You’ve got your friends, two of the toughest and most dependable people around. And as much as you dislike him, you’ve got the strongest devil in Hell on your side.
Ash rolled his eyes, trying to find some amount of comfort in the thought of a partnership with Prince Killian. Aralia gave him a playful shove in retaliation.
“That’s why I think you’ll be alright,” she continued. “You’ve got more than enough going for you right now. You’re not dead; you’ve just been pushed around a lot. You may have fallen down, but I think you know what to do when you fall down.” She paused, staring at Ash expectantly.
With a shrug and a casual smile, Ash said, “I get back up.”
“Now you’re starting to get it,” Aralia said, slapping him playfully. Sliding in close she rested her head on his shoulder. “Everyone’s fighting their own battle. Mr. Aura’s under a lot of pressure, being the first death toucher to travel to the demon Kingdom. Big things are expected from him. And Lady Shiva’s just lost her father. It’s amazing she’s keeping herself together as well as she has.”
Ash knew what it was like to lose a father. He considered the problems of his friends for the first time, realizing just how selfish he was acting in the midst of everything. Taking a step back from his own problems, he could see there was much more at stake here, including the lives of his friends.
“You won’t hear any more complaints from me.” Ash slipped his arm around the girl’s waist. “The last thing anyone needs right now is to hear me whine. So like you said, I’ll just quietly get back up, and be thankful I’ve got some friends that have my back.”
Nuzzling the boy’s collar, Aralia said, “I know you can do it. I hear you’re pretty tough.”
The pair cuddled closely, watching Mal climb on a structure made of metal bars while Aura dozed. From the rooftop of a close by café, Shiva and Uverstarr continued their spy operation.
When the artificial sun depleted, a shooting star streaked across the night sky. Behind it, a torrent of bright burning satellites soared across the
horizon like snow falling on a winter day. The couple pried their eyes away from each other’s and looked up at the magnificent display decorating the nighttime sky. Never before had either of them ever seen such an amazing astral show as this.
Aura let out an audible “Whoa.” Apparently his nap was over.
Ash remembered something and said, “That must be the cat’s asteroid belt.”
“Summer’s already half over,” Aralia said. “It really does go way by way too fast.”
Amalia became distracted by all the pretty stars dancing in the sky and wandered back to her sister. Aura got up and wandered over too, not wanting to kill the romantic mood he put a little distance between him and the couple. Mal had burrowed her way in-between Ash and Aralia, so there wasn’t much of a mood to kill anymore anyway.
For the most part, everyone sat in silence for a long while and watched the Sidus Asteroid Belt fly by.
Up on the cafe roof, Shiva divided her attention between studying the group date and tilting her head to the sky. She eventually became distracted by Uverstarr’s snoring. The young boy looked cold, so she removed her cloak-like robe and spread it over him like a blanket.
Everyone enjoyed the tranquility of the night. Most of all Ash. If it was to be his last night of peace in Hell, then he was happy with the way it turned out. Talking to Aralia had given him the awakening he needed to pull himself out of his rut. He decided he would do everything he could to make it back to her alive.
And then he’d keep working on finding a way back to Earth.
Their perfect evening was ruined when the demon invasion siren blared to life, stirring everyone from their most peaceful moment. Ash and Raley released each other, and Amalia instinctively clung to her sister, now tired and cranky. Aura climbed to his feet and slapped his face a few times to wake himself.
Devil Ash Disarray (Devil Ash Saga Book 3) Page 43
