Devil Ash Deceit (Devil Ash Saga) (34 page)

“Wait a minute, I just heard something,” Goddard said, trying to locate the source of the sounds. More sneezing could be heard coming from the vent, and the Royal Advisor dropped to his knees and called through the vent. “Who’s down there?”

The two boys froze. Their first thought was that a guard down below had caught them. Thinking that were the case, they knew they’d be in big trouble. But the more the voice continued calling to them, Ash realized it was coming from above, not below. He tilted an ear to the pipe above him and listened to the familiar voice as it called out some more.

“Goddard?” Ash replied hesitantly. “Where are you?”

“Ash?” Goddard said into the vent, surprised. “Is that you?”

“Hang on, you’re all far-off sounding,” said the boy. He reached up, plunging his hand into the clod of crud gumming up the pipe. He wrestled around with the dirt, pulling down as much as he could. When he pulled out another demon rat nest, the boy shrieked like a girl and instinctively shot a tiny flame up the pipe. The fire spread fast, incinerating everything in its path up the pipe and almost took out Goddard’s eyebrows.

“What was that?” Goddard shouted.

Ash stopped shrieking finally. “Okay, I think I can hear you better now,” he said.

“Where are
you!?” Goddard bellowed.

“
Shhh
!” Gio tried to hush him, fearful of any nearby rebels.

“Oh, right,” said Goddard. The man concentrated a moment and then put his hand on the door to the closet. With a flash of soul power that illuminated their tiny sanctuary, the markings of a seal appeared on the door. “That should buy us all the time we need,” he said to Gio. He then turned his attention back to the vent. “Now Ash, I want you to listen closely because we don’t have a lot of time. The rebels have invaded and they’ve got the chapel on lockdown. The Royal Family is in danger!”

“What!” said Ash.

“Aw, crap!” said Aura.

“Where are you boys right now?”

“We’re hanging out… in the Royal Guard barracks.”

“That’s perfect! I want you both to get down to the bottom of the prison! There are two rooms that you absolutely must not allow anyone to enter, even yourselves! Do you understand me? Nobody goes inside those rooms! If the rebels reach even one of them, we’re going to have a lot more problems to deal with!”

“What’s the situation like in the chapel?” Ash asked.

“I don’t know. I heard a lot of yelling coming from inside, then the rebels started invading the Kingdom. The chapel door is sealed, so its anyone’s guess what’s going on in there.”

“So you want us to get out of these dirty vents and head down to the bottom of the prison?” Aura asked just to verify.

“Yes! Go now!” Goddard ordered. “The fate of the Kingdom depends on you two now!”

“Okay Ash,” Aura said, feeling for the next vent hatch. “Let’s get the heck out of this dirt-shaft!” Locating the nearest hatch, Aura punched it with his gauntlet hand. The huge square-shaped door dropped open and the boys emerged like newborns.

They took a moment to dust themselves off, even helping to remove the crap from each other’s backs. While they stood there brushing themselves off the prisoners in the cells nearby all clamored to their cell doors and started calling out to the boys.

“Please! Let me out!” one haggard looking man called out to them.

“Get the keys and let us out!” shouted another bone-thin man.

“This place is depressing,” Aura said.

“I’ll say,” Ash said. “Let’s get this over with quickly. I don’t like being down here.”

“Mission: start, then!” Aura declared, taking off down the spiraling hall of the prison. Ash jogged behind, trying his hardest to ignore all the prisoners calling out to him.

So the rebels really did have an invasion planned,
Ash thought.
I hope Shiva’s okay.

“This is an outrage!” the Noble Rumbaugh cried. “I have to use the bathroom!”

“Like I said, no one is going anywhere!” the rebel priest replied. The Nobles were becoming more and more annoying by the minute, and so far none of them had complied with the rebel’s orders.

“Mr. Rebel! Mr. Rebel!” Machmann called out. “Can we get the inside story on what’s happening in the ceremonial chamber?”

“Headline!” Glebeck shouted. “Rebels defeated by Prince Darko!”

That last quip pushed the rebel priest over the edge. “Shut up shut up!” he yelled. “Someone, shut them up for me!”

Several of the armed rebels came forward with smiles, all too eager to pound one of the infamous Nobles. Seeing the savage men move in on them the Nobles began to sweat.

“Stop this at once!” Wilhelm shouted. “You said you wouldn’t hurt anyone!”

“No,” the priest said. “We said we wouldn’t
kill
anyone. It’ll be okay if my men just beat them unconscious.”

“That was not part of the deal! Stop!” Wilhelm shouted as he readied a fireball in his hands.

“If you try to interrupt, I’ll order my men to slaughter everyone here! I mean it old man! Don’t move!”

Wilhelm stood idly, conflicted about what to do. He watched as the rebels moved in on the quivering nobles, now begging for their lives. One of the guards approached Glebeck and drew his sword.

“I’ll knock this old fart out in one hit,” the rebel boasted. He raised the hilt of his sword up to slam it down on the noble’s head. Gasps of horror and screams from the audience filled the chapel. Glebeck closed his eyes and clutched his ears expecting to die.

The rebel paused, then fell forward on top of the noble. Glebeck panicked, thinking he was being attacked, and ended up hugging the rebel as he fell forward. Hearing gasps from all around him and feeling very little resistance, Glebeck opened his eyes. The rebel went limp in his clutches, and even slumped down far enough that the noble could see the reason for his odd behavior: a throwing knife was stuck in his back.

“Who is responsible for this!?” the rebel priest shouted, as the rest of the rebels scoured the crowd for anyone suspicious. The sound of laughter drew everyone’s focus to the back of the chapel where the laughing man was seated.

“Hehehe,” Amos Draxler laughed. “I have to admit, I threw that knife. I always make a point to carry one on me for just such an occasion.” Amos stood up and stepped into the aisle. Locking eyes with the rebel in front of him, he stepped forward.

“That’s Amos Draxler, the guy who provides the King with all the weapons! Stop him!” the rebel leader commanded. The soldier nearest to Amos charged in at once.

“You’re making a big mistake,” said Amos. “If you come at me, I’m going to take your weapon.”

“Shut up old man!” the masked rebel said. “I’m the one with the sword!”

“Fine,” Amos said, folding his hands together. “Let’s see your skills, then.”

The rebel stepped forward with a broad swing of his blade. Amos pivoted on his heel, turning sideways and avoiding the blade completely. His hands, clasped together tight, slammed into the man’s masked face like a wrecking ball. He fell to the ground, his mask shattered, and dropped his blade. Cheers erupted from the crowd.

“Someone else stop him!” the false priest cried. Amos took the opportunity to scoop up the rebel’s sword. Two more enemies moved in on him. He was surrounded, unless he wanted to jump over the pews of people’s heads. He wouldn’t do that however, because he didn’t need to escape. The man was more than competent enough at swordplay to defend from two opponents at once.

He traded blows with the man in front of him first. When the other rebel snuck up from behind, Amos spun around and took the rebel by surprise instead. With a low swing of his sword, Amos toppled the man while the other rebel advanced. Without even turning around, Amos sidestepped the rebel’s sword and elbowed the man to the floor.

“I think what you meant was ‘I’m the guy who supplied the Kingdom with enough weapons to keep everyone safe from demons.’ Yes, I
am
that guy.”

The rebel priest grinded his teeth in agitation. Counting him, the rebels only had three more men to work with. One of those men still had a blade to King Satan’s throat, the other two stood at the door blocking everyone’s escape.

“Hold it right there!” the rebel leader said. “The King is still our prisoner! If you think we won’t execute him right here and now, you’ll be sorry!” The priest grinned, thinking he still had the upper hand.
All we have to do is hold them here until reinforcements arrive,
he thought.
As long as King Satan is our prisoner, we can win here
!

A fireball collided with the rebel holding his blade to the King’s throat, knocking the man onto his face. The sword slid across the room, where a group of wedding guests scurried to claim it. The priest looked around to find the source of the flames. A light chuckle could be heard coming from the downed Commander.

Stryd stared the priest in the eyes and laughed. “If you think… a little flesh wound would put the Commander of the Royal Guard out of commission… you were wrong!”

“But how?!” the rebel priest cried. “You were nowhere near him!” Then the man realized Stryd must have created the fireball and moved it very subtly around the room without anyone noticing, until it was behind the rebel he hit. He had little time to ponder it before another throwing knife collided with his chest.

“It’s nice to see the Commander stop spilling his blood all over the chapel floor for a moment and help us out,” Amos said, lowering his borrowed blade. “Nice timing, too. That was my last throwing knife.”

“Shut up… Amos!” Stryd gasped with a grin just before passing out.

“We can’t lose…
Damn it
,” the priest said, collapsing to his knees. He felt a hand on the back of his head and Wilhelm spoke, “
sleep
”. With a gentle nudge of soul power, the priest dropped to the floor unconscious. Great Satan stood over him, observing the cheers of triumph from the people inside the chapel. The remaining two rebel warriors turned tail and ran. After releasing the door seal, the men bolted out of the chapel. The pissed off wedding guests collected the remaining weapons from the other fallen rebels and gave chase.

“There may be more enemies out there,” Wilhelm said. “We should try to take back the rest of the castle first, but remember: these rebels are devils just like us. I want as few casualties as possible!”

“That’s very noble of you, my Lord,” Amos said. “But in case you’ve forgotten, the rebels are currently attempting to murder your grandchildren inside the ceremonial chamber.”

“I haven’t forgotten, and I will wait here until the seal is broken from the inside. I have faith in the strength of my grandchildren.”

“Very well, then I’ll be heading out,” Amos said.

“What will you do?” Wilhelm asked as the weapons dealer walked down the aisle to leave the chapel.

“I’m going home first to get my weapons. Then I’m going to take back the city,” Amos said matter-of-factly.

The weapons master joined the angry mob in the hall just as the movement seal on King Satan expired. The King unfroze in mid-shriek, and the Nobles (who were the only men to not leave with the angry mob) surrounded him at once, offering their hands to help the King up. Upon hearing the sound of the angry mob of wedding guests storming down the hall, Goddard and Gio poked their heads out of the closet.

“What’s going on here?” Goddard asked the men as they went by.

“We’re going to take back the Kingdom!” the crowd cheered.

“Royal Advisor von Gosick!” Amos called to him. “The King and Lord Wilhelm are still in the chapel waiting for the kids to emerge from the ceremonial chamber. You’re in charge here now!”

Amos charged onward, leading his angry mob to the castle lobby and beyond, taking out any rebels they encountered on the way. Gio tagged along with Goddard, just to be safe, and they both entered the chapel. Inside they reunited with King Satan.

“Goddard!” the pudgy King cried in excitement at seeing his most trusted Advisor. “It was awful! The rebels were here and they used violence!
Against me
!”

“Everything is going to be okay now that I’m here,” said Goddard with a dependable smile. “Is that Stryd bleeding on the floor there?”

“I’m fine!” Stryd barked, snapping awake from his blood-loss coma. “I just needed a little nap.” The Commander slowly rose to his feet, still significantly weakened. “Can I get a flame on this?” Goddard came forward with a groan, offering a flame to cauterize the wound. The Commander bit his tongue to keep from making any pained sounds as the flames burned his wound closed.

“As soon as you’re up and moving I need you to get out there and annihilate the rest of the rebels,” Goddard ordered. He checked to see that King Satan was alright, surrounded by the elderly Nobles. The pudgy King recounted the ordeal from his perspective while the Nobles pretended to listen empathetically. Goddard ignored them and addressed the Great Satan. “Lord Wilhelm, what’s going on in the ceremonial chamber?”

“They’re sealed inside. As of right now, we don’t know why or who did it.”

“Then we’ll set up a temporary base here and wait for someone to emerge. You don’t have to worry if Prince Darko is in there. You can bet he’ll take care of any problems.”

“I’m sure he will,” Wilhelm said with a grim look slipping onto his face. “Did you happen to see your boys anywhere? They weren’t in the chapel when the rebels invaded.”

“Ash and Aura must have gotten bored and left the ceremony. I can’t really blame them, but I
will
punish them later for it. Anyway, I ordered them to head down into the basement prison.”

“Is that so…” Wilhelm muttered. “Whatever for?”

“There are secrets down there, as I’m sure you’re well aware of, that must not be discovered by any of the rebels. The boys are going to make sure no one gets through.”

“Do you guys mind if I hang out here for a while?” Gio piped up, leaning in from the chapel door. “I don’t really feel like heading back to my shop at the moment…”

* * * *

Multiple stories underneath the castle, Ash and Aura were making their way down the large spiral slope of the prison. Cell after cell, the inmates all stumbled forward to peer out their cell doors, calling after the boys.

“More people!” one man said.

“You guys will let us out, right?” another man said.

“Come on! Don’t be like those first guys that came through here!”

Ash stopped jogging beside his friend and pulled over next to a jail cell with a particularly lively looking prisoner inside. “Some people already came this way? Were they Royal Guards?”

“I ain’t tellin’ ya nothin’, unless you let me out first!” the inmate cackled. The other inmates responded with a round of cheers. Apparently, they all shared the same demands.

“Forget them,” Aura said. “We already know everything we need to know. There
are
rebels down here. We’ve wasted enough time, we have to go!”

“Right!” Ash said. The boys continued booking it down the sloping corkscrew of a prison. The further they went, the less lively the prisoners were. Eventually the inmates stopped reacting to the boy’s presence all together. “These guys are different,” said Ash. “Less lively.”

“It’s because they have no more hope,” said Aura. “They know they’re going to die down here, and nothing is going to change that. Even if we did unlock their cell doors, most of them have movement seals placed on them. They’re not going anywhere,
ever
, and they know it.”

“Sad…”

“I’m sure you wouldn’t feel that way if you knew what their crimes were.”

The boys hustled on and before long reached the bottom of the spiral prison. They stopped at a small room that branched off in two different directions. At opposite sides of the room were two conspicuous doors. Unlike the metal bars of the prison cell doors, these were made out of old wood and oddly shaped to fit the rocky walls. Ash and Aura paused to determine their next move.

“Oh yeah, there’s two doors down here,” Ash said. “How do we know which way they went?”

“I got this covered,” said Aura. Holding his gauntlet hand up to his eyes, the boy readied his power. Ash cleared his throat, concerned.

“You’re gonna use your soul sight? What if you go blind again?”

“I’m just going to do it real quick,” Aura said. With a flash of electric blue current, his death touch power leapt from his hand to his eyes. In a second he saw two glowing clouds beyond the doors that could only be the souls of two devils. “Bad news,” he said, releasing the power before he went blind again.

“We have company?”

“Two of them,” Aura confirmed. “Looks like they split up here.”

“Then we should do the same. It’ll save us time, and we can get a good look at what’s behind both doors.”

“You crafty devil, I was just thinking the same thing! So which door do you want? I’ll give you first picksies.”