“Think the greater demons are back?” Ash said, half serious.
“I doubt it,” Aura replied. “I heard the asteroid belt freaks out some of the local lesser demons. Guess I should go check that out,” he said, doing some stretches to prepare himself. “Why don’t you make sure the ladies get home safely,” he said to Ash with a wink and brought out his wings. With a smile and a wave to everyone, he flew away following the sound of sirens.
“I’d love to walk you home,” Ash said, staring into Aralia’s eyes.
The couple walked to East Hell, a long journey by foot but neither cared. With Amalia sleeping peacefully in her sister’s arms the whole way, the pair delighted in the extra alone time.
With everyone gone from the West Hell peak, Shiva and Uverstarr were finally able to get down from the restaurant roof without being spotted. Shiva was anxious to get going to fight some demons, but the orphan boy was slow and sluggish. The hot-headed Princess didn’t want to leave him alone in that state.
Before the café closed for the night, Shiva bought two cups of coffee. One for her, and one for Uverstarr. She lit the containers on fire for a few seconds to pull out all the flavor, then handed the drink to the boy. He sniffed it a few times, unimpressed.
Uverstarr plugged his nose and took a swig of the steaming hot brown liquid. It did the trick for him, jolting the boy awake in an instant. Wide-eyed and smiling, he asked, “What’s in this?”
“Liquid energy,” Shiva told him. “Now go straight home. I’ve got some demons need fighting.”
“No way, yo!” the boy replied, flipping his hood down over his eyes and pulling his bandana up over his face. “I wanna go see the demons! Demons, yo!” Lowering the bandana, he took another sip of coffee.
Shiva turned away and groaned. “Okay kid. But don’t you dare die on me!”
She brought out her wings and Uverstarr followed suit. With a final order, “Let’s go!” the pair took off into the night.
Ash bid Aralia goodnight at the front gates of the orphanage. The light on inside meant that a worried Mr. Kurdis was probably waiting inside. The two said their goodbyes, and Raley leaned in close and shut her eyes.
Ash leaned forward slowly, his heart racing, and kissed her soft lips. After a few seconds he pulled away. Satisfied, they shared a smile.
“There’s more of that when you come back alive,” she said with a playful wink.
“Now there’s the motivation I’ve been needing,” Ash replied happily.
After another short embrace, the two parted for the evening as Aralia disappeared back into the orphanage. Ash traveled home by flight, feeling much stronger now.
Amidst a backdrop of faintly glowing asteroids tumbling by the lonely planet Hell, the half-human half-devil felt, for the first time in months, strangely at ease.
Tomorrow, that would surely change.
###
Epilogue: Blood of a Satan
Scores of demons, some greater and some lesser, gathered near the entrance to Jirosek’s palace in the heart of the demon kingdom. The scent of the Prince and his companion Moskazek was on the wind, meaning the demon infiltration team would be returning soon. More importantly, the addition of another scent sent most of the amassing demons into a frenzy.
The scent of a devil.
When Prince Otozek returned sporting a devil body with only one of his most trusted minions in tow, most demons didn’t know what to think. As the pair approached their home, the demons waited on edge, prepared to lash out at the approaching devil.
When he was close enough to feel their malicious intent, Prince Otozek called out, “Your Prince has returned!” He paused, letting his demonic aura flow from the devil’s body before proceeding. The gathered masses trembled and parted to allow their demon royalty through.
No one asked about the missing members of his team.
Otozek returned at once to his father’s side. The familiar and delicious smelling devil flesh was enough to stir the slumbering demon, if only slightly. Otozek used his host body’s fingernails to tear a cut across his flesh. He held the wound over his father’s mouth.
After a few drips, Lord Jirosek smiled wide. His massive eyes snapped open.
“The blood…” he whispered, his voice dry and raspy. “… of a Satan!”
The color started to return in Jirosek’s face. The ancient demon gripped the devil and pulled the wound closer to his mouth, sucking the blood from him like a juice box.
Otozek had to pull away. “Not too much, father,” he said, taking a cautionary step back. King Al’s eyes went white and his lips parted. The thin black tip of Prince Otozek’s tail emerged, followed shortly by the rest of the demon royalty’s expanding body. When the familiar blue shape of Otozek solidified, standing before his father, and the limp unconscious body of King Satan dropped to the floor like dead weight, Prince Otozek approached his reeling father.
“We must bleed this one slowly so we don’t kill it,” he said, referring to the devil King. Lesser demons moved in on the unconscious devil, but Moskazek kept them away.
Jirosek thrashed madly, so much so that a few demons lurking nearby had to step in to restrain him. After a few minutes of his blood-fueled rampage he finally lost power and cooled down. Already his skin turned a darker shade of purple.
“Do not worry, father,” said Otozek. “We will have even more Satan blood soon, and something even better.”
“More Satan blood would be good,” the demon King said dreamily, turning over onto his side to return to slumber. “But… what could be better than blood of a Satan?”
Prince Otozek put his hand on his father’s shoulder. “A very special guest is coming to meet you. His name is Ash Kaplan.”
About the Author
Mitchell Olson is the author of the Devil Ash Saga and the Devil Aster Days prequel series. He is also a blogger, podcaster and avid fan of all things geek. Mitchell lives in the cold-as-Hell state of Minnesota with his wife and three little animals that sometimes act like demons.
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Devil Ash Disarray (Devil Ash Saga Book 3) Page 44
