Devil Ash Disarray (Devil Ash Saga Book 3) (20 page)

They slammed into Aralia first, who instinctively clung to Ash’s arm as she went down. Ash stumbled and dropped to his knees with the throng. Seeing their only opportunity to score, the proud Dunger and Vadnais summoned the last of their strength and stole the ball. They quickly rolled it around the build-up of people and pushed with all their might.

Fry clung to Shiva’s legs as tightly as he could, holding her back from helping. Bora did his best to stay on top of everyone, pinning them down for as many precious seconds as he could manage. The pile lasted long enough for their pushers to get the ball across center field and moving at an alarming rate towards the napping Uverstarr.

The little boy still lay unmoving on his back in the goal zone. Everyone’s eyes were on him suddenly. Shiva screamed at him to wake up. Ash and Aura scrambled to release themselves from Bora’s full-body grasp. No one could do anything in time to help Uverstarr. The boy would be trampled in seconds.

As the giant boulder ball came within feet of the goal zone and the snoozing boy, it rapidly decreased speed. The pushers behind it felt a force working against them. Suddenly the ball stopped completely, mere inches shy of the goal. Uverstarr jumped to his feet with a devious smile on his face.

“
Finally
,” he said. “It’s my turn to play!”

The ball started spinning in the opposite direction. Now the pushers were being pushed back. Tiny flames the size and shape of marbles lined the ground all over the area in front of the goal zone. Uverstarr had planted a perfect trap to keep the ball from ever getting anywhere. Try as the enemy pushers did, the ball continued pushing back until they could no longer stand in front of it. They dove out of the way as the ball flew across the field, Uverstarr’s tiny flames carrying it back to Ash and the gang.

The team scored their last point of the game. Sars’s team conceded defeat as they were all too tired and beaten to continue playing. Ash’s team was crowned the winners and continued to advance through the push ball tournament. Their next game would be in an hour and they had a lot of recuperating to do. Using soul power so frequently was draining.

Winning their first match made their spirits soar. Everyone finally saw the value of having Uverstarr on the team. They chatted happily and complimented each other as they waited for their next matchup.

As good as they all felt, they were unaware of a demonic threat making its way through the Kingdom, edging ever closer.

The Great Calm was about to come to an end.

Chapter Thirteen: Otozek’s Infiltration

Walking along the sidelines of the push ball competition, detached from the crowd and trying to act natural was the dirty rag-cloaked body of Apsat Glumb. Piled inside his skin was the team of greater demons, with Otozek in charge of piloting the body. They’d managed to re-sculpt most of their host body’s skin to look normal again, save for a few isolated body parts. They fashioned some tattered cloth into a cloak to hide their pale infested dead body and hopefully not draw too much attention.

In his new devil suit the demon Prince had no troubles getting over the kingdom wall. Using Moskazek’s gossamer wings, the blob of devil flesh soared over the wall with ease and blended into the morning crowd of devil activity.

The creatures could communicate telepathically inside their devil host container, and one of the first things Moskazek asked his prince was, “
Did you find any useful memories attached to this vessel
?”

“This creature’s brain is fried,” the demon prince replied. “There is not enough solid matter left to reconstruct any memories. All I can see are brief flashes of a face.”

“What kind of face?”

“Some devil brat. I don’t know what it could mean, but it’s not at all helpful.”

The demon team spent most of the morning walking around North Hell observing the devils in their society. Prince Otozek wanted to locate the source of the human scent immediately, but searching for one human smell in an entire kingdom of devils was like looking for a single pea in a gravel pit. Everywhere they went devil stench filled the air. Other times they’d hit clouds of demon odor.
Slaughtered
demon odor.

Damn devils
, Otozek thought.
They cultivate more demon livestock than I ever imagined. Where is the fun of the hunt? The thrill of the chase?

The demon team passed by the push ball tournament within a hundred yards of Ash and his friends. At one point they even stood in direct eyesight of the human boy. Unfortunately for the demons, the air was thick with the musky scent of sweating devils, cooked demon meat, and tasty spilled blood.

Our search will not be easy with so many pungent aromas littering the air
, Prince Otozek informed his team.

Perhaps we should find separate host bodies,
said Moskazek, his wisest advisor.
We could split up and search individually.

The people standing closest to the raggy stranger started staring with disgusted looks on their faces. Not only was Apsat’s body unpleasant to look at it in the dirty stained shroud, but the smell of hot garbage and rotting flesh wafted through the air wherever he went. Otozek noticed the sickened stares he was getting and realized they would need to find new bodies pronto.

Good thinking, Moskazek. Let’s acquire some new hosts first. We can’t search for the human or the death toucher if we look and smell out of place. We’ll need fresh bodies. Bodies that can move around without standing out or drawing attention. And we’ll need to acquire them someplace out of sight.

The demon team departed from the push ball field, unknowingly leaving behind the two individuals they were searching for. The Apsat suit migrated slowly through the crowd leaving a trail of stink in his path. He searched for somewhere private that they could find some new bodies. With so many devils gathered around outdoors, Otozek knew they’d likely have to find somewhere inside to locate their new hosts.

He scoured the nearest buildings as he paced the busy streets. It looked like most of the buildings were closed and locked up, save for the shops that were open for business and packed with people. It looked like finding privacy would not be an easy task. They could simply break in to one of the buildings, but had no clear way of knowing how many people were inside or if they’d be risking exposing themselves. Otozek moved on until he was on the opposite end of the field.

Here he found a building that was not like all the rest. It was small. Isolated. No windows, and only one entrance. He stood patiently observing the building for a few minutes and saw no one enter or leave it. With peaked curiosity Otozek and his demon team moved closer to the small structure. As they scoped out the building from a closer perspective a loud group of female devils approached.

“Like I said, it’s not my fault!” the female in the lead said. She stuck a key in the door and unlocked the building. “I already said sorry for being late, and I even went to pick up the key for the locker rooms! What more do you want me to say?” The team of females moved through the door as the late woman held it open for them.

“Just say you’ll
play
better than you
plan
,” one of the women said as she passed through the door. With a sarcastic roll of her eyes, the late woman followed her team into the locker rooms. The door slowly pulled shut behind her.

A long black tube blocked the door from closing. The tube-like tail stretched all the way back to the demon infested body of Apsat Glumb as it was ducked behind a large tank that smelled like sewage.

He got up and made sure that no one was looking. Everyone’s attention was either on the game field or the shops that were actually open. No one bothered to watch the boring old locker rooms. Otozek stood up and followed his tail to the door as it retracted inside the malleable corpse. When he reached the entrance he did one last quick look around to make sure no one was looking before pulling the door open.

Inside Otozek and his team discovered the stuffy women’s locker room. There were six rows of tall lockers spread throughout the center of the building. On the far side was a large open showering area. The women they were stalking were on the opposite side of the lockers, hidden from view but chatting loudly.

“Did any of you just hear something?” one of the women asked.

“Like what?” another woman replied.

“I don’t know. It sounded like the door, maybe.”

“Uh oh, I hope it’s not some perv trying to get a look at us changing.”

“I’m already changed. I’ll go check it out.”

It was the woman that had arrived late, disappointing her team. As she turned the corner of lockers heading for the door she saw something move in the shadows towards the opposite end.

“Hello? Is someone in here? We’re using the locker room right now, so you’re not supposed to be-”

From the darkness something struck. A black, barb-like tendril pierced her chest. The woman gasped in shock, then screamed in terror as the shrouded corpse stepped out of the dark. The black tendril was coming from the body’s pointer finger. Within seconds the other women were rushing to their friend’s side, making a lot of noises. They were concerned for their friend’s safety. They were terrified of the extra person in the room. They barked their threats at the man, but he did not leave. Instead he held up his other hand. Four more sharp black tendrils shot out of the fingers, all plunging into the other women’s chests.

Everyone became silent. The paralysis caused by Otozek’s barbs made it easier to possess creatures. Less resistance. Less noise. The women struggled to move their bodies, to pull the stinging barb out of their chests and resist the bizarre man before them. They were powerless and their struggle was in vain. The corpse of Apsat started to pulsate, and then each of his five extended tendrils swelled.

It looked like an air hose pumping a large gust of air. Except the bulges in the tendrils were demons, moving from one host body to another. The greater demon team abandoned the body of Apsat, which collapsed into a big puddle of skin once again as the demons entered their new hosts. The poor women felt the demons enter their bodies, to take control of every single nerve and muscle, and finally to black out as the demons took over.

It was suddenly very quiet in the locker room. All five women stopped struggling as the barbs fell out of their chests, their wounds closed instantly. Now that each greater demon had control of an individual body, there was a lot of excitement as they got accustomed to owning their own devil suits.

The giant wildebeest-like Gnusek grunted in disappointment at being confined to such a small body with no horns to spin. The mysterious Orkazek examined her host lady’s body. “
This body doesn’t like to swim
,” she said, disappointed.

“Yes, these live bodies aren’t much better than that dead one,” Prince Otozek said in his strange female voice. “Still, they will work for getting us around unnoticed.”

“I’ve always wanted to try out devil wings,” the demon known as Moskazek said. His own gossamer mosquito wings were perfect for flight, he expected the devil wings to be inferior.

“
Only
four
limbs
?” said the demon known as Podavek with a sickened look. “
I hate being trapped in such a disgusting body
.”

“Everyone should search their host bodies for useful memories pertaining to the human,” Moskazek reminded everyone.

With their heads down lost in contemplation, the demons took a moment to mine for memories. Just like typing the word ‘human’ into a search engine on the internet, different ‘sites’ popped up, each one a memory attached to that particular keyword. Within seconds, each of the demons realized their host bodies each held a crucial piece of information.

“The human…”

“…he has a name!”

“It’s
Ash
!”

“Ash Kraplan!”

“But none of our hosts have actually
seen
the human,” Moskazek pointed out, his host’s voice revealing some disappointment. “So we have no idea what this one looks like.” Performing the same type of search within their host body’s minds for the death toucher yielded similar results. “The death toucher calls himself Aura Draxler. But more importantly, there are currently only four
Satan’s
left in Hell!”

“Their prince is called Killian!”

“The old Satan is called Wilhelm!”

“The girl Satan calls herself Shiva!”

“And the king is called Al.”

Otozek’s host body smiled. “A name is more than enough information,” Otozek said, pleased. “From here we will spread out. Move around the Kingdom. Finding the human –
Ash Kraplan
- and the death toucher –
Aura Draxler
, is our top priority.”

After shoving the pile of Apsat flesh into an open locker, the team headed for the door. They stepped outside and felt the warm sun on their skin. The uniforms their new bodies were wearing left most of their skin exposed. Demons hated the light, but they put up with it the best they could by holding their hands over their eyes to block the rays.

“
I did not expect it to be so unbearable out here without that smelly shroud of clothe we were wearing
,” said Otozek. The young prince had never been in such heat or light before. There was a reason most demons went dormant whenever the Helio Star showed up. It would be a real disadvantage for them all. “
Remember not to eat anyone yet
.
I’m looking at
you,
Gnusek
.
No killing devils until we’ve scoped things out.
”

Before the team could split and go their separate ways another devil man rushed over to them. He was a little overweight and sweating profusely, but he looked relieved when he laid eyes upon the team of women now possessed by demons.

“There you are!” the man cried. “What took you so long? Never mind, I don’t want to know. Just get your finely tuned assess over to the field already! You’re two minutes late and about to be disqualified!”

Prince Otozek glared through devil eyes at the man. “You
do not give
me
orders
.” With a quick thrust, the woman’s hand was embedded in the man’s chest. Otozek clenched a fist on the man’s still-beating heart and pulled. He choked and gasped a few last confused, panicked gurgles and died.

“
Now look what you’ve made me do
.”

His team moved quickly to cover up their master’s mistake. Moskazek grabbed the body and took it back inside the locker room. Orkazek and Podavek stuffed the remains inside the locker adjacent to the one Apsat’s body sat in. The whole event happened so quickly that no one saw.

“
Now
what should we do
?” Moskazek asked, as the rest of the team looked to their Prince.

“
These host bodies appear to have a prior obligation
,” Otozek replied. “
It would be considered rude to the devils if we canceled their plans
.
This could be an excellent learning experience. Let’s go find out what the devil’s festival is all about.
”

This was an answer that pleased his team.

The demon women smiled and nodded their heads. They headed toward where they saw the man come from, toward more devils. Cutting through the crowd of devil spectators, the demons worked their way closer to the field. Being surrounded by so many devils was a new experience for most of them. They could barely stand being near
one
devil without killing it. People kept slapping them on their backsides, screaming encouraging phrases at them, telling them to
murder the other team
.