Devil Ash Disarray (Devil Ash Saga Book 3) (41 page)

“What’s going on?” Shiva asked. “Are those
my
grapes?”

“
Miss Lady Shiva
!” Aralia said with a gasp, jumping to her feet and greeting the Princess with a polite curtsy. “It’s an honor to be in your presence once again!”

“Can it with the honoraries,” Shiva replied. “You don’t have to treat me any differently than any other girl. And I’ll treat you the same.”

“Yes, of course Miss Lady Shiva!” Aralia replied, turning red in the face. “I’m sorry I took your grapes. They were the only food in the fridge that wasn’t rotten or moldy, and Ash was hungry. I’ll replace them as soon as I can afford it.”

“Don’t worry about it,” she said, waving the girl off. “We need a moment alone. Will you two please wait downstairs?”

“Yes! Of course!”

“Whatever, yo.”

Once the orphans had left the room and Aura entered to replace them, Shiva glared to Ash, placing her hands on her hips. “
You. Report. Now.
”

Shiva and Aura listened patiently as Ash recanted his encounter with Prince Otozek. He’d regained most of the movement in his head, and could even do small gestures with his hands and arms. In just ten minutes he had them up to speed and fully informed.

“
Damn it
!” Shiva screamed, pounding her fist into her palm. “They got
all
the Captains
and
Stryd! They’re probably already inside the castle!” She grinded her teeth as her fist trembled, still clenched in her other hand. “We have to get over there and tell someone! Goddard, my brother or father:
anyone
. We need to raise the alert and squash the demons before they can hide from us again. We should go right now!”

“Hang on just a second,” said Ash. “In case you haven’t noticed, I’m not exactly in the best shape to continue the mission…”

“Oh I noticed,” said Shiva. “I warned you, didn’t I? I knew your strength wouldn’t hold out. Well, are you satisfied yet? Or do you need to push yourself any further? How long do you think your good luck streak is going to last, huh?”

Ash looked down, forlorn.

“Cut him some slack,” Aura said in his defense. “It sounds like this demon Prince is a cut above the demons we faced. As far as I’m concerned, Ash
did
kick ass just to make it out of there alive.”

“Aura,
don’t
,” said Ash, his head still hung low. “You don’t have to defend me anymore. I made a big claim that I was fine, but I definitely wasn’t. Goddard’s medicine helped alright, but it didn’t give me enough strength to even compete with that demon. Prince Otozek was…
seriously terrifying
.”

There were tears in Ash’s eyes, though he struggled to hold them back. He forced himself to keep talking, struggling to recall the traumatic encounter. “He played with me like I was just some cheap toy. I’ll never forget the carefree expression on his face. His relaxed posture, his crossed arms. He knew I wasn’t even a challenge for him. But I had no idea…”

“Let it go, Ash,” said Shiva. She looked like she was growing uncomfortable seeing the boy break down. “You’re alive and that’s all that matters. We still have a mission to discuss, and right now things are
bad
. What do you say? Can you get it together here or what?”

After taking a deep breath, Ash lifted his head. “Yes,” he said. “I agree with you. This is
real
bad.”

“As your leader, I say our next move is to storm the castle as soon as possible and flush out those demons before they get to my family!”

Shiva stomped her foot hoping to spur the others into action, but no one moved. Instead, Aura cleared his throat and put a defiant hand up.

“Actually, I think we should wait,” he said with confidence.

“I agree with Aura,” Ash said instantly.

“
What
!” Shiva replied. “My family is in direct danger and you two want to sit around here feeling sorry for yourselves? Man up and let’s go fight some more demons! Before anyone else gets eaten…”

“I understand how you feel Shiva,” Aura said, speaking with more compassion. “I’d hate to stand by and wait while my family might be in danger too. But if we rush in there without properly thinking things through, we’ll likely walk straight into a trap.”

“How do you figure?” Shiva barked in reluctance.

“The demons have had a lot longer to plan out their next move than us. If they’re interested in infiltrating the castle, we can assume they’ve probably already done so by now, given their choice of host bodies. Running over there now, unprepared, is a recipe for disaster. I say, since your brother can watch after your dad, we should look for Goddard first. He’ll know best what we should do from there on out.”

Shiva remained silent for a while, pondering it over. Though she was hesitant to come around, she eventually changed her mind. “Okay then, let’s do
that
. That’s our plan. So why don’t we go do that now?”

“First, I’d like to ask Ash something,” Aura said, stepping closer to his bedridden buddy. “You’ve lost all your medicine, haven’t you?” he asked.

Ash nodded.

“That’s a shame, if it was actually helping.”

“It was.”

“How about a way to defeat that demon?” Aura asked next. “Can you think of anything?”

“If he knew how to beat the demon he would have
beat the demon
,” Shiva said with a rude scoff.

“Actually, I’ve been thinking about it this whole time I’ve been paralyzed,” Ash said. This got their attention. “I just kept thinking it was all because of his stupid tail. All these stingers come out of the tip, and they’re like 99% unavoidable.
But
, I realized that the stinger would only come out of his
tail
. I just kept thinking, if I wasn’t so sick, maybe I could have cut his tail off.”

“Cut off the tail, huh?” Aura repeated with a smirk. “Sounds like the start of a plan. That’s what I’m talking about!”

“You should take my sword, Aura,” said Ash. “You could probably pull it off.”

“Thanks pal, I will,” Aura replied.

“
Okay
,” Shiva interjected. “We’ve got our plan: find Goddard and slice the demon Prince’s tail off! Easy as that!
Let’s go
!”

“There’s still the matter of our two little guests to discuss,” said Ash, looking more stern than usual. “We’ve really got them all tangled up in this mess now.”

“Should we send them home?” asked Aura. “Tell them to keep this all a secret?”

“I don’t think that’ll work this time,” said Ash. “Raley’s seen too much. So has Uverstarr. They’re both too stubborn to walk away from all this now.”

“We can’t make them go home,” said Shiva. “For all we know, the demons could still be out on the streets looking for us. It’s safe to assume those two are targets now as well. Instead of sending them home, we’ll let them stay here. Just until we get back from stomping the demons at the castle.
BOOM
! Mission:
planned
. Let’s go!”

Ash and Aura looked at each other and shrugged. With a smile, Ash said “That’s our
fearless leader
for you. Always antsy in the pantsy to go fight demons.”

“Don’t mention
ants
,” Shiva said, fighting back her gag reflex. “Or
centipedes.
Or any other bug with gross little stick legs that wiggle around and…
Urk
…”

“
Just what have you been through
?” Ash wondered aloud, cutting the tension in the room. For just a moment, everyone managed slight smiles. It felt like old times again, despite the awful situation they were in. Then Aura brought the mood right back down to dire.

“You don’t have to go with us, you know,” he said to his friend. “Given your condition, I think you’ve done enough already. No one would think any less of you if you sat this one out.”

“I hate to say it, but I’m with Draxler on this one,” said Shiva with a heavy sigh. “I don’t mind
protecting
you if you insist on tagging along, but I could just as easily do without all that. So just do whatever you want.”

The room went silent as they waited for Ash’s response with bated breath. After staring into the corner of the room for a moment, Ash straightened his face and looked at his friends. With the resolution sounding in his voice, he said, “I’m going with you guys.”

“I
knew
it,” Aura murmured to himself with a little elbow pump.

“You sure about that?” Shiva asked. “Can you even stand up?”

In response, Ash pulled the blankets back and exposed his legs. He was able to swing both legs over the side of the bed and move them around easily enough. He tested his ability to stand and found he could get up and on his feet with no problems. He was finally able to stretch his limbs again, moving as if he just awoke from the best night of sleep he ever had.

“He said I was injected with a toxin called Ultra Relax,” said Ash. “He said there was no cure, but that it was nonfatal. Whatever that means. I think he was only telling half the story though, because I feel just fine now.”

“
Maybe
…” said Aura. “Maybe, if this Ultra Relax is some sort of
ability
, it could have the same limitations the other demon’s abilities had. Like dosage, or
proximity
.”

“You mean the toxin only works if you’re close to the demon?” asked Shiva.

“Could be,” Aura replied. “Or we could be totally off. Who knows. Either way, we avoid his stingers like I avoid fat chicks.”

“You’re so
noble
,” Shiva said rolling her eyes in disgust.

“So does it kick back in the next time I get close to him?” asked Ash. “Add that to my list of problems already piling up. Going anywhere near those demons is practically a death sentence for me right now…”

He paused for dramatic effect.

“
Still
,” he went on. “They’re coming for me soon, and it won’t matter where
I am. I want my team by my side to back me up when they come. I’m really counting on you guys here…”

“You got nothing to fear, duder,” Aura said with a confident smile, clapping Ash on the shoulder. “I’ll slice, and maybe even dice, that demon Prince before I suck out his soul! Ain’t no demon gonna lay a hand on my
bro
!”

“Excuse me?” Shiva interjected. “I believe
I’ll
be the one who slays the Demon Prince! It only makes sense that the Royal Devil
Princess
be the one to bump off the
so-called
‘Demon royalty’, right?”

“I’d be okay with a
Prince versus Prince
outcome,” Ash said longingly.

As Shiva and Aura spent the next few minutes arguing about who would kill the most greater demons and who had the right to fight the Demon Prince, Ash was overcome by a warm sensation. Though his teammates appeared to be having a stubborn, selfish, and competitive argument, he saw that there was more to it than that. His teammates weren’t just fighting over something stupid like fighting demons.

His friends were arguing about how hard they were going to protect him. He realized they’d both encountered and defeated enemies that sounded just as powerful as the Demon Prince. With both of them there to defend him, Ash’s fear finally melted away.

“It’s just like Shiva said,” said Ash as he removed his dirty shirt and tossed it to the floor. He grabbed a white tanktop from his dresser drawer and threw it on. Then he put on his peacoat over it. He’d missed the protective layer of chainmail armor sewn into the jacket.

“I’ve just got to get it together long enough to get some more of that medicine from Goddard. I’m just hoping he’s figured out how to make a more powerful dosage. …
And that he’s not already been possessed by a demon
.”

“Don’t worry man,” said Aura. “We’re going to the castle and we’re not leaving until we’ve stomped each and every one of those demons. After they’re dead, we can have Goddard get back to working on a cure for you. It’ll all work out. Just you wait.”

Chapter Thirty: Goddard’s Last Resort

Much earlier that morning, before all the commotion caused by the greater demon attacks, the weary Royal Advisor toiled in his lab. He’d just spent the entire night exhausting his stock of supplies concocting a miracle cure for Ash’s condition. It was a tedious and tiresome task, taking Goddard hours just to produce a single concentrated pill.

But Goddard’s supplies were dwindling. His yield for all his troubles was a lousy four pills. That amount wouldn’t keep Ash alive for another four days, let alone cure him entirely. Goddard needed fresh supplies. He was depending on collecting the bodies of the greater demons for further research, hoping to discover the reason behind Ash’s mysterious illness. Orders went out to all Royal Guards to collect any remains of greater demons that may appear in the kingdom.

Another set of orders went out as well.

Goddard desperately needed to speak with the Captains of the Royal Guard, along with their hotheaded Commander, Sepultura Stryd. As much as Goddard disliked consorting with that man, it was absolutely vital he brief them on the current situation. Instead of track them all down individually, Goddard summoned the men as he always would.

He got other people to do it for him.

Orders were to direct the Captains and the Commander, should anyone see them, to report to Goddard’s lab for an urgent meeting
ASAP
.

The Commander would later scoff at this order, immediately preceding his possession by the demon Prince.

So Goddard spent all night and all morning working out a new cure for Ash in his lab. Waiting for his urgent meeting while working on important sciencey-stuff. Just the kind of morning the brainy Royal Advisor looked forward to in Hell.

He’d just grinded the remainder of his supplies down, blending and liquefying the so-called medicine and storing it in a vial. It wasn’t much, but it just might give Ash another extension on his sentence. The sudden blare of the invasion sirens in East Hell, followed shortly after by the sirens ringing out in North Hell, stirred the pooped man into agitation.

If the sirens were sounding, that could only mean the greater demons went public. This of course defied Goddard’s orders to his team to keep the greater demon invasion a private matter from the public. What effects this knowledge might have on the greater masses, Goddard could not predict. He knew one thing for sure though. Five greater demons breeching the Kingdom walls in such a short span of time, combined with the astronomical amount of missing persons reports filed recently would most definitely instill a sense of fear in the public.

This was quite possibly the worst situation the Royal Advisor had ever faced in his short career. Many lives depended on Goddard warning his senior staff. He happened to glance at a clock hanging on the stone wall and did a double take to confirm his worst fears.

It was late afternoon already! He had still not spoken with the Captains or Stryd. He’d lost track of time once again, distracted by his work. The lack of windows in the castle basement never worked in his favor, as he could never see if the artificial sun was out or not. He blamed his constant tardiness on the lack of basement windows. His stomach roared like a demon, alerting the man to the fact that he hadn’t eaten in over forty-eight hours.

Since it was critical he find out what was going on in the Kingdom he was trying to run, Goddard got up and got to work. His first stop was the castle cafeteria, a popular area to congregate for Royal Guards and castle staff. Surely someone there would be able to inform him of any updates on the demon invasion.

Goddard was disappointed to find the dining hall practically empty. Only the cafeteria staff and a pair of chamber maids were around. The Royal Advisor went to the food counter and pilled various kinds of cooked meat onto a plate. The women behind the counter weren’t talking. Goddard had to speak up first.

“Have you heard anything about what’s happening outside?” he asked the broad-shouldered lady stocking the buffet with more gravy.

“No sir,” the lady replied. “Only that it’s chaos out there since no one can find the Captains.”

“
Those idiots
…” Goddard wrinkled his face in frustration. He sat at a table by himself and munched on his meat, brooding over the lack of professionalism his colleagues displayed. He told himself he didn’t care, that he’d be happy if Stryd and his men got taken out by greater demons. He’d be happy to recruit some new, more
agreeable
men to fill the vacant positions.

But he also knew if this whole thing went south, he’d not only lose his job as Royal Advisor to the Satan family, but most likely his life as well.

When at last the demon invasions sirens all ceased, Goddard had only to wait a little longer before the cafeteria started to fill up with chatty soldiers fresh from a battle. He abandoned what little food was left on his plate and approached a small group of men in the line for food.

“
Report
?” Goddard said, as he was used to doing any time he needed to gather information from anyone. The soldiers stood upright and at full attention, spinning to face the Royal Advisor. The smiles on their faces and any remnants of the casual conversation they were just enjoying now gone.

“
Sir
,” the senior-most looking soldier replied instinctively. “Two demons spotted in East and North Hell, sir.”

“Greater or lesser?”

“That hasn’t been confirmed yet, sir.”

“And the outcome?”

“Both engaged and defeated, sir.”

“
By whom
?”

“Unconfirmed so far, sir,” the soldier replied. His eyes shifted around the room, looking for anyone he didn’t want to overhear the next part of his report. He leaned in closer to Goddard.

“But one of my most trustworthy friends said they saw the death toucher in East Hell. He was fighting some kind of sea demon. He ended up beating it. Another buddy of mine who was out in North Hell says the demon there got real messed up by a certain
Royal Princess
.”

The soldier leaned away from Goddard, his eyes once again scouring the room for any newcomers. “End of report, sir,” he said.

“And what about the…
enemy body recovery
?” Goddard asked, his eyes piercing the young soldier’s very soul with their intensity.

“I uh…” the soldier looked uncertain. “I’ve heard nothing, sir. But I can tell you the soldiers will follow orders, sir. They’ll do what they’ve been told to.”

“One last question, soldier. Where, in the
Kingdom of Hell,
are those brain-dead Captains and that good-for-nothing-”

“
Commander Stryd
, reporting in.”

Goddard spun toward the new voice that entered the cafeteria. The Commander stood in the doorway, two of his Captains behind him. Stryd had his arms crossed and a smug look on his face.

“
Dismissed
,” Goddard growled at the soldiers he’d been speaking with. The men took that as their cue to leave and abandoned their places in line, along with all the other Royal Guard soldiers present. They knew better than to linger around when the higher-ups needed to speak to each other. The young soldiers filed out of the cafeteria, some of the more brave and curious members sticking around just outside the doorway to eavesdrop.

Goddard crossed the room giving Stryd the stink eye. “Orders were to see me
immediately
. I know your schedule, you weren’t doing anything important this morning. So what took you so long?”

Stryd grinned, beaming with confidence. “In case you weren’t aware, the Kingdom is
overrun
with greater demons lately.”

“
That’s exactly what I needed to speak with you about
!” Goddard hissed, trying not to raise his voice too much. He was still tired and more prone to losing his temper. And he was at least half-certain there’d still be some lingering soldiers outside listening in.

“Relax,” said Stryd. “We had it all under control.”

“Well, what are you waiting for?
Report
!”

Stryd raised his hands, palms open. “We encountered more
unfriendlies
in West Hell, but we eliminated our targets without any problems.”

“And where are your other two lackies?” Goddard asked, taking notice of the two missing Captains.

“They fought bravely,” said Stryd, lowering his head. “Should they survive their injuries, they’ll be commended for their valor.”

“I see,” Goddard replied. “It pains me to have to ask you this, but have you heard anything about
my
guys?”

The Commander and his two Captains chuckled at some unheard joke. “Yeah, I heard something about the
human
,” the Commander replied, stepping closer. “I heard he was too busy
trembling in fear
to fight. That’s why
I
had to intervene and save his pathetic life!”

Goddard gulped. “You were out there with Ash?”

“The little shit would have died if not for me!”

“But he
is
alive?”

Stryd shrugged. “For now.”

“And what of the incidents in East and North Hell?”

“Officially, my men fought bravely and defeated the enemies. Though off the record, you may hear a few people spreading rumors that your little
cursed dog
and
royal brat
had something to do with our victories. Those reports are false, and should be ignored. Your little reject squad was ineffective as always.”

Typical Stryd,
thought Goddard.
Always trying to take the credit.

“Lock down the castle,” Goddard commanded, taking an authoritative tone. “No one gets in or out, except for
my guys
. Order all your men to be on the lookout for them, and to send them to my lab immediately.”

“Of course,
Royal Advisor
,” Stryd replied.

“There could still be more demons out there,” said Goddard, turning away from the Commander. “They could be hiding out there, impersonating anyone. They could even be
you
or
I
.” Goddard turned to take one last piercing stare at the Commander.

“You can rest easy there,” Stryd replied. “I already know what bodies the remaining demons are inhabiting.”

“You do?” Goddard asked.

“Yes,” Stryd replied. “A black-and-purple haired girl and a bratty little boy. I’ve already given orders to be on the lookout for anyone matching that description.”

That sounds like those two orphan children they teamed up with,
thought Goddard.
Wonderful
.

Now it was Stryd’s turn to turn his back. His Captains did an about-face as well and started marching out of the cafeteria.

“
Your guys
will be on their way to visit you shortly,” he said. “Soon my men will find the remaining enemies and eradicate them. Then the Kingdom can get back to enjoying our little festival.”

Stryd and his Captains exited the dining hall. They were halfway down the connecting hallway when Goddard stepped out of the cafeteria in an apparent rush to catch up.

“Hey Stryd!” he said, giving the Commander pause. “What are you going to do now?”

“What else?” Stryd said with a shrug. “I’m going to protect the King.”

With that, Commander Stryd and his Captains walked away from the Royal Advisor, leaving him with only his thoughts.

Going to protect the King, huh
?
He rarely volunteers to be anywhere near King Satan. Such unusual behavior is quite suspicious…
The Commander and Captains all turned the corner into a connecting hallway and disappeared from sight.
Prince Killian should be around to watch over the King for now, though. I shouldn’t have anything to fear so long as he’s in the castle.

The Royal Advisor realized he was now wasting time standing around in the castle halls. He raced back to his basement lab. Shiva’s team could be waiting for him already. Or, even better, he could have a fresh greater demon corpse waiting to be dissected and inspected. He took off speed walking toward the nearest stairwell, failing to notice a pair of eyes watching him from a distance in his haste.

It was the Commander and his men. Stryd watched the Royal Advisor disappear downstairs, then turned to one of the Captains.

“
Gnusek
,” he said. “
Eliminate him
. Search for the gate keys.”

The Captain from East Hell grunted in affirmation, then lumbered away.

Stryd and his remaining Captain marched up to the nearest Royal Guard grunt that happened to wander by and issued his latest command.

“Listen up! Orders are to keep looking for the orphan boy and girl!  I want them brought straight to me! Same goes for the
human,
the
death toucher
, and the
royal princess
. You understand?”