Devil Ash Disarray (Devil Ash Saga Book 3) (26 page)

He did not
like the look of the twisted smile on the old man’s face.

“
I thought we’d never find you
,” he said. The old man advanced without ever taking his eyes off of Ash. “
But you came right to us
.
A real, live human
.”

“
Damn my inferior bladder
…” Ash said.
My body may be breaking down, but at least my mouth still works
. “It’s always nice to meet a fan… Mind helping me up to my feet?”

“This is our second meeting, human,” said the man. “My form may have changed but I assure you we have met before.”

“
Half
-human,” Ash replied. His head was still foggy, or else he might have picked up on the man’s other words more quickly. But because his head was pounding and his vision still going bonkers, he didn’t quite piece things together yet. He stared at the ground and spat up more blood.

“Half human, half devil?” the old baker said. “
Interesting
. You will make an exquisite meal for my father.”

Though Ash was still reeling, one doesn’t tend to let the word
meal
go unnoticed. Especially not when it’s used in reference to
him
. Ash looked up again. The look on the old bakers face. He’d seen it before. On the face of the woman he played push ball against. The one that frightened him to his core and first made him feel sick.

Matters to settle
?
My host
?
Form changed
?
Met before
?
Meal
? These words flashed across Ash’s mind. The look on the old baker’s face and the destruction of his body were the last clues he needed.

“
You
,” Ash gasped. He locked eyes with the old man. “You’re a
demon
.”

“
Demon Prince Otozek
,” he replied with an evil smile. “Tell me: if the rumors of your strength are true, then why do you cower at my feet every time we meet?”

This was not good. This was really,
really
not good. Ash knew at once he was completely and utterly
boned
. The demon prince was closing in on him and he couldn’t even stand up to run away. Furthermore, he was entirely on his own. Everyone around him was focused on the relay race that he was
supposed to
be running in. All he could do was try to buy himself time and hope someone found him in time.

“What did you do to the woman you were using before?” Ash asked, stalling.

“We’ve enjoyed snacking on
several
devil delicacies over the last couple days,” replied Otozek. “You dodged my question. So there
is
something wrong with you. You’re starting to smell rotten to us.”

“You keep saying
we
and
us
,” said Ash. In an attempt to test his strength he tried his hardest to stand up. “So there’re more of you here?” He dropped back onto his knees. Using his jello-like legs was a no-go. “And that plant-like demon that possessed Shiva at the card tournament. That was one of your guys too?”

“So you were present for Goblotek’s demise?” asked Otozek, taking a step closer. Something clicked in the demon prince’s head. “Of course, you’re friends with the death toucher. He’s
next
on our list.”

Ash gulped. “What are you going to do…
eat me
?”

Otozek smirked. “You will be taken alive to my father. He’s always wanted to taste a live human. We were planning on having one of us ride inside your body out of here, but after smelling the
rot
on you I think I’ll ride in another host and just take you prisoner instead.”

Guess I should be thankful for that
, Ash thought dismally.

Ash willed his body to move, to get up and run far from there, but he could not. Instead he had to stall more. “Why target Aura?” he asked.

“It’s no concern of yours. But since you’ll be sitting inside one of my father’s stomachs soon, I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to tell you we plan on eradicating the devils once and for all. That’s the mission I came here for, anyway. You were just a pleasant surprise.”

“
Why
? What good will conquering the devils accomplish?”

“It’s all to make the dreams of my father, Demon Lord Jirosek, a reality. That is why you and the rest of the devils must be sacrificed.”

“Look, I’m all for supporting family activities, but this is a little much. Even
I
know you draw the line at genocide…”

Ash’s tongue went numb and he froze. Otozek stood silently watching. That or Ash’s ears may have no longer been working properly. He could swear the crowd was going nuts in the distance, but it all sounded muffled. Through blurred, distorted eyesight Ash saw a few more men enter the alley behind Otozek. There were four of them, all different ages.

His initial thought was that of hope and salvation. But when he saw the look on Otozek’s face still frozen in agitation and the similar moods on the approaching men, Ash just knew.

He knew they were really going to take him. To drag him away, across the darkness that lies outside the safety of the devil’s kingdom. They’d drag him away to some hole in the ground and feed him to some old demon. In his current condition, there was absolutely nothing he could do about it.

Desperate, he tried summoning his soul power. None would flow. More blood oozed out of Ash’s mouth and nose. The pain intensified the closer they got. He could see Otozek direct the others to wait behind him. He would not need their help. He saw Otozek take his final step forward. The demon in a devil’s body was within reaching distance, his arm grasping out for Ash. Grasping out to end his life.

A beam of brilliant color shot over Ash’s head.

The warmth of the flames brought unforeseen comfort to Ash as they collided with the unsuspecting Otozek. The fiery blast struck the old baker’s chest, knocking him backward. The four other demon-men there moved to catch their shocked master. Their attention turned to another figure beyond Ash. Even the sickly boy found the strength to turn his head enough to see his savior.

“
Yo
!” said the short kid at the end of the alley.

Chapter Nineteen: Uverstarr’s Intervention

“
Uverstarr
…”

Ash’s mouth felt dry and unresponsive, but he managed to choke out the boy’s name. He tried spitting out more words as the boy strutted down the alley to join the scene. Just twisting his head to see his friend was difficult. Try as he did, he couldn’t warn the boy to stay away.

“What gives, yo?” said Uverstarr. “We were in the lead until I show up to find you missing. Everyone pointed me to the bathroom, and here I find you about to get your butt whooped by some old guy. How pathetic!”

“
Escape
…” Ash said, trying his hardest to summon the strength to move. It was like he was trapped in concrete, just a spectator in the events happening around him. Uverstarr didn’t pay any attention to Ash’s warning. He kept his eyes on the old baker, who was still in the grip of his team. He held his hands out, ready to produce more flames if need be.

“Hey, I recognize you!” Uverstarr said, lighting up. “You’re the old guy we bought food from. I really liked your cocoa scone. What’s your beef with this idiot?”

Otozek remained in utter shock at the pain he felt from Uverstarr’s fire blast. With his head down he pulled away from the other demons. When he at last looked up to face Uverstarr he was enraged.

“
You have caused me pain
,” said Prince Otozek. “It is such an
unusual
sensation to me. I
do not
like it.”

“If we weren’t limited by these pathetic bodies it never would have happened, master!” Moskazek said, trying his best to comfort his Prince.

“Yes, it is unfortunate being dragged down by such a weak body,” Otozek said, gazing down as the searing wound to his chest. The baker’s clothes were even scorched open, revealing a charred, oozing burn. The demon prince appeared to be unaffected by the gore. He locked eyes with Ash instead. “I’ll enjoy eating this boy in front of you,
human
.”

“Whoa!” Uverstarr said. His voice filled with sarcasm. “First you want to feed me, now you want to feed
on
me? You musta’ gone mental old man! Well I ain’t scared, bring it on, geezer!” The boy put his hands together and started charging another fire blast.

In the time it took Ash to crane his head around to look at Otozek again, the demon prince was already standing next to the cocky boy. Before Uverstarr could pop off another shot the fight was over. Otozek disabled the boy with a chop to the back of his neck. Any gathered flames in the boy’s hand died out in an instant as the boy fell forward, paralyzed by pain.

“
Uverstarr
!”

Ash sat watching, begging his body to just move, as the demon prince gripped the boy by the top of his head. He held onto Uverstarr’s hood and hair as he lifted the boy off the ground. Uverstarr clutched at his captor’s arm, crying out in pain. He was used to the brief and fleeting pain from one of Kurdis’s light smacks. This was true pain, pain that would not stop.

Uverstarr kicked his legs and squirmed, trying to free himself from the demon’s grip. Nothing worked. He screamed in terror as the rest of the demon team watched, laughing their sadistic demon laughter at the boy’s helplessness. Otozek opened his host body’s mouth as wide as it would go. Even wider than any normal mouth should be. Ash could see a second set of teeth behind the old man’s. It was the demon’s mouth, frothing and salivating as it waited to feed on Uverstarr.

Another couple of seconds and Uverstarr would have been a goner. Suspiciously, the boy stopped his screaming and a satisfied smirk crossed his pain-stricken face.

“
Psych
!”

Something small and fiery struck the bottom of the demon man’s still-expanding jaw. Caught off guard once again, Otozek took the hit fully unguarded. His hand loosened in the shock and he dropped the boy. Uverstarr quickly hopped backward closer to Ash. From his vantage point on the ground Ash couldn’t see what happened to make Otozek drop his prey.

But the boy couldn’t resist showing off his new toy. Uverstarr swung the object around in front of him, giving Ash a better view of what just saved him. It was a small, rounded wheel-like object that appeared to be metallic. It was connected to a string or wire, the other side of which ended in a small ring that was attached to Uverstarr’s finger.

A yo-yo
? thought Ash, since that’s what the object clearly resembled. It seemed even without his skateboard the kid still had a few unexpected tricks. He watched his friend swing the yo-yo in small circles, tracing brilliant flame streaks across the air.

“You see Ash,” Uverstarr said. “I can handle myself. Or maybe you need to see what else I can do before you’ll believe me.”

Never before had Ash felt so inclined to smack the kid. He wanted to stand up and shout at how stupid Uverstarr was acting and warn him of the great danger they were in. They needed to escape while they still could, before the rest of the demons got sick of waiting patiently. But of course, his body would not allow it.

“That’s twice now you’ve caused me pain,” said Otozek. “Now,
you die
.”

“We’ll see about that,” Uverstarr said with a cocky sneer. The boy raised his yo-yo hand and started swinging the flaming object. He made slow circles with it, creating a streak of fire that became more and more solid the faster he sped up.

Otozek took a tentative step forward, unimpressed with the boy’s antics. But as Uverstarr sped up swinging the yo-yo, the flames eventually connected and formed into one solid wheel of fire above his head. The boy closed his eyes and put his head down in concentration. He swung the item faster still, the flames growing even wilder.

Otozek paused. The intense heat of the flames was starting to singe his host body’s skin again. The demon prince was forced to take a cautious step back. He weighed his options and considered abandoning the baker’s body. He could swallow the child whole in an instant with his real body.

His moment of indecision cost him.

Without warning, Uverstarr jerked his hand down and took a step back. The giant spinning wheel of flames stayed put in the air, and even more flames followed the yo-yo down, creating a small cyclone of fire. Uverstarr looked up at his creation with proud eyes.

“Check
this
out.”

Uverstarr kicked his flame cyclone. It sped forward. The demons stepped back. The boy did not stop there. He continued feeding more flames into the burning tornado, growing it larger until it barely fit inside the alley. There was no way to advance past the flames for the demons without getting severely burnt. Uverstarr smiled a cocky smile.

“See?” he said to Ash. “No problems here.”

“
That won’t… keep them away… forever
,” said Ash. “
We have… to run…
while we can
.”

“
Run
?” Uverstarr replied in surprised disgust. “But I’m winning!”

Beyond the cyclone of flames, Ash could see Otozek and his team. They stood with arms crossed, clearly agitated. Otozek had a look of pure fury at the continued embarrassment Uverstarr put him through.

“
Ash
?” came a voice from behind them. “Over here! I found them!”

Ash continued to watch his enemies. He could hear the familiar voices of his other friends approaching, but he could not remove his eyes from the demon prince. Otozek stared with murderous malice at the boy. His mouth moved, issuing an inaudible command to his team. They all turned to go, leaping up onto the rooftops and disappearing from sight. Otozek was the last to go, offering Ash a sadistic smile before turning his back.

“
We’ll be watching you
,” the demon prince mouthed to Ash. He turned and leapt away with the rest of his companions.

“See that! I’ve got them on the run!” Uverstarr shouted with glee, thinking himself the victor.

“Uverstarr! Stop it with the flames already!” said Aralia as she ran up to join them. She dropped to her knees next to Ash as Shiva and Aura caught up. “You okay? Was it the sickness again?”

Ash trembled weakly trying to find the strength to explain everything. He found that with the greater demons gone his strength was actually returning. Partially, at least. His body still felt like a lead weight and his head was still pounding.

“
I’m okay… thanks to… Uverstarr…
”

“Careful, don’t let
him
know that,” Aralia replied with a smile, trying her hardest not to cry. “Save your breath. Just take a few minutes and rest. You’re safe now that we’re here.”

“What exactly happened?” Aura asked. “They said you missed your leg of the race cause you went to the bathroom. Were you yakking or something?”

“I saw the whole thing,” said Uverstarr. He extinguished his flaming yo-yo and stuck it into his pocket. “Sicko-bro was getting mugged by some crazy old geezer and his pals, but I saved him.”

“I find that hard to believe,” Shiva replied with a skeptical look.

“It’s
true
!” replied Uverstarr. “He said he was going to eat us, yo! And his mouth was like
super
wide!” The boy waved his arms enthusiastically, demonstrating with his hands how wide his foes jaw stretched.

“Hey kid,” said Aura, staring at Uverstarr’s pocket with a curious look. “Let me see that weapon you were just using.”

Uverstarr placed a cautious hand over his pocket. “
Why
?”

“I just want to see that thing you used,” the death toucher replied innocently. “It looked cool.”

Believing Aura’s act, Uverstarr reached into his pocket and pulled out the yo-yo. He held it up for Aura to look at, but wouldn’t offer to let him hold it. Aura took only seconds to identify the item.

“Where’d you get that?” he asked the boy.

“Pinched it off some old guy,” Uverstarr replied proudly. “He didn’t even try to stop me.”

Aura’s head sagged in disappointment. He put a palm on his forehead and sighed heavily. “He wasn’t a big bearded guy with a barrel of weapons strapped to his back, was he?”

“Yep! That’s him!”

“That was my
dad
,” Aura replied. “He told me some obnoxious kid swiped a weapon from him a while back. I never thought it’d turn out to be
you
though.”

“Do we need to take it back to Amos?” Shiva asked.

“No,” replied Aura. “My dad’s weird. When I asked him why he didn’t just take it back from the kid, he said he
wanted
him to have it. He told me he was ‘interested in the kid’s choice of weapon’. He wanted to see if Uverstarr could learn to use it properly, so he said the kid should just keep it. Judging by that flaming tornado, I think he’ll be pretty happy with the results.”

“That settles that then,” said Shiva. “But I wonder what those guys wanted from Ash.”

Everyone turned to the downed human boy, still panting heavily while he regained his senses. Aralia provided comfort rubbing his back while everyone tried not to crowd him too much. With enough of his strength to speak finally returned, Ash cut straight to the chase.

“Guys,” he said. “We’ve got ourselves a
major
problem.”