Devil Ash Deceit (Devil Ash Saga) (23 page)

On the castle steps, before a packed courtyard, Goddard mediated a formal appearance of the Royal couple. Prince Darko stood next to the couple, his arms crossed in boredom. The King stood a few steps above them all to look taller. With King Al’s smug face looming over them, Shiva and Phoenix stood taking questions from the gathered mob of Royal wedding enthusiasts. The castle courtyard nearly filled to capacity, as more and more curious citizens wandered in. Of the many hands raised in the crowd, Phoenix called on one man near the front to speak up.

“We hear you’re a very promising scholar, Mr. Dawnfall,” the man said. Phoenix nodded politely and flashed a modest smile. “Is it true you’re also a close friend of Prince Darko?” All eyes in the crowd focused in on the bored Prince.

“Darko and I go way back,” replied Phoenix. “I consider him a dear friend. He gave me his personal blessings for marrying his sister.”

The crowd roared with delight and applause. Darko stuck his fingertip inside his ear to clean it out. Phoenix pointed to the next person for their question.

“This question is for the Royal Advisor,” the gray-haired noble Glebeck said. “Is it true there’s been a spike in rebel activity recently?”

King Al became flustered. Darko smirked, no longer bored. Shiva looked at the ground, angry with herself for failing to capture the rebels she’d already encountered.

“That’s preposterous!” Goddard replied. “The Royal Guard takes all matters of rebellion very seriously, and works tirelessly every day to stomp out any chance of an insurgent attack. Need I remind everyone the penalty for treason is death? Next question!”

“Shiva! Pick me!” came a familiar voice from the crowd.

“Yes, Gio?” Shiva asked with a sigh, pointing to the tailor.

“Has Ash asked you about your dress yet?”

“No.”

“Can I make your dress then?”

“Knock yourself out.”

“Woohoo!”

“So when’s the big day?” someone else shouted.

“Somebody already asked that!” Shiva snapped. “Pay attention!”

“We haven’t set a date yet,” said Phoenix.

“
Please let it be soon
,” Shiva whispered under her breath. She didn’t actually mean it, but Phoenix heard the comment and decided to make a snap decision.

“I’ve just made up my mind on the matter. We will be wed by the end of the month,” he announced. The crowd exploded into a frenzy, with more people shouting out their questions. Goddard groaned, not pleased with this new information as it meant he’d have to work overtime throwing together the security and a boatload of other details.

“That’s one short engagement,” said Aura.

“I’ll say,” Ash replied. “I wonder what the rush is.” Ash turned to leave, but hesitated. Wilhelm was watching the scene from one of the castle windows. It looked like he’d reverted back to gloomy Wil. When he noticed Ash staring at him, the man put on another smile and waved for Ash to return to the private yard.

The boys left the mad crowd scene, returning to the private yard where they’d spend the rest of their day swatting at Wilhelm to no avail. Shiva showed up later, but by that time the boys were pooped and ready to call it a day.

* * * *

Over the next week Ash noticed a change in the Kingdom of Hell. The buzz about the Royal wedding grew every day. Extravagant banners hung on nearly every building in North Hell with messages of congratulations for the Royal couple. Crimson and dark blue became the most popular colors, for crimson was the apparently the official color of the Royal family and dark blue the color of the Dawnfalls.

Though the boys saw less and less of Shiva, her likeness was now everywhere. Street vendors and merchants seemed to carry only Royal wedding-related items. While weapons vendors boasted their ‘spears were the preferred weapon of Lady Shiva’ or ‘Master Dawnfall trusts only our blades’ others took the Royal wedding buzz much further.

Shiva’s face was plastered all over the merchant’s carts and on every kind of souvenir you could find. Plates, clothing, jewelry, signs, key chains, even dolls! Some of the artwork was rather tasteful and looked exactly like her; others tried but failed to capture the real Shiva, taking many different artistic liberties. Armor merchants designed cheap knock-offs of her armor, which came in several different sizes.

When Aura saw a set of her armor with a ‘large’ sized breastplate, the boy cursed. “Damn it! Why can’t Shiva wear this one!” he said.

Another form of decoration went up around the Kingdom, except this kind was not wanted. It started out with words or phrases painted across vacant buildings. Words like ‘REBEL’ and ‘RISE UP’ and ‘DOWN WITH SATANS’ and so on. The fad spread quickly across the Kingdom. Within days the graffiti could be found in each of the four sections of the Kingdom. Ash and Aura weren’t thrilled to arrive for training one morning only to be tasked with removing the rebel artwork from around the Kingdom.

Shiva didn’t join the boys for morning sparring anymore. She tried to schedule all her wedding planning for the morning to mid afternoon, but it always ended up going later than expected. She only showed up for the last half hour of training every day, and Phoenix didn’t appear anymore at all. On one occasion, Shiva put in a request to Goddard to spend the day on a rebel hunt with the team.

She surprised everyone by showing up in the morning and bailing the boys out of training with Wilhelm, who was beginning to look more and more tired as the days went on. When the team attempted to leave the castle for their search, they hit an expected snag. Walking the streets proved to be a difficult task with all her newfound popularity, as citizens crowded around the girl in mobs trying to get her to sign things or shake her hand. She did the best she could to ignore them, but it eventually became so bad that even flying away from people wouldn’t work, as they’d chase after her. When people started waiting for her to make an appearance outside the castle every day, Shiva decided not to leave home for a while. At least until after the wedding.

After a few days, the first rebel tagger was caught. A man was brought in, busted painting another rebel message on a merchant window. He’d gotten as far as “WE WILL RIS” when they caught him. When interrogated, the man claimed to know nothing about the rebels and was only doing it for attention. He was sentenced to life in prison with no possibility for release.

Sparring daily with the boys began to take its toll on Wilhelm’s body. The old Satan may have been skilled at using soul power, but his body was simply too old to keep up with two boys in their prime. Wilhelm started taking longer and longer breaks between bouts. He’d order the boys to go on sparring without him during that time. Ash and Aura complied, but gave it significantly less energy and a great deal more friendly chatter.

Occasionally during these breaks, Wilhelm would ask them to meditate with him. Once they were fortunate enough to have the geezer fall asleep on them. They skipped out early and had a long evening that night. Daily training was becoming such a breeze that the boys forgot all about one tiny scheduling detail.

“Knock knock,” Amos Draxler said as he pried his head in through the door to the private courtyard. “Are we still on for today?”

“Oh crap,” Aura whispered. “Is it a weapons day already?”

“Do any of you even pay attention to the schedule?” Amos asked as he joined the group in the center of the courtyard. As always, he carried an enormous barrel on his back filled with many varieties of weapons. “Hello, son.”

Aura nodded.

“Please forgive me Amos,” Wilhelm said. “I was put in charge of the team so suddenly, the schedule never even entered my mind. But please, join us for today.”

“Thank you, my Lord,” Amos said and bowed his head. “Will you stick around this time, for once?” he asked his son.

Aura hesitated. Ash was at his side with a comforting head nod. Shiva and Phoenix were MIA again. This would normally be another painful waste of a day chasing Wilhelm around the yard with wooden swords.

Aura nodded. “Yeah, okay.”

“Great,” said Amos. The old man smiled and patted Aura on the shoulder. “Why don’t we start out with some basic sword sparring?” Amos dropped the barrel from his back and started picking through the weapons, searching for four blades. “We can pair up,” he said.

“Wilhelm, I have to get you back for yesterday,” Aura said. He grabbed the two swords Amos dug out and marched towards the Great Satan.

“Oh, I thought we could spar today,” said Amos.

“Sure, we can,” Aura replied. “Maybe after lunch or something. Wilhelm really kicked our butts yesterday and I seriously want to get him back for it.”

“Um, I don’t really care who I get my butt kicked by today,” Ash said.

“Aura, why don’t you spar with your father?” Wilhelm asked. “He came all the way here today for this.”

“Okay, fine, I’ll fight my dad! Jeez!”

“No,” said Amos. “If you don’t think you can keep up with me yet, that’s fine. We can wait as long as you need to before you’re at my level again.”

“
Psh
!” said Aura. “I could take you when I was a little kid and I can still take you!”

“You weren’t half-bad as a child, but you can’t honestly tell me you’ve been keeping up with your practice! I haven’t gone a day of my life without holding a sword in my hand for no less than an hour. Don’t think you’ll be able to keep up with me for long.”

“Ohh this is going to be good,” Ash said to Wilhelm. “Can we just watch them for a few minutes?”

The father and son faced each other, their wooden blades drawn and ready to attack. They started by circling one another, their eyes locked. Amos held his sword with perfect form like the expert he was. Aura clutched his own blade with his left hand, leaving his gauntlet-hand free.

“I know what your plan is,” said Amos. “You’re going to wait for me to attack, then grab my sword with your gauntlet. But it won’t work.”

“You think I haven’t learned any new tricks?” asked Aura.

“Let’s see!” Amos said, charging in. He swung his wooden blade at his son, and instead of catching the sword with an open palm the boy smacked at it with the back of his gloved-fist. Amos’s sword deflected, Aura swung his own blade aiming for his father’s neck. But Amos was ready for such an attack, and spun backwards with his blade. He avoided Aura’s sword and launched forward again.

This time Amos tossed his sword high into the air as he charged towards the boy. He reached behind his back and pulled another weapon out of the back-barrel. Aura wasn’t prepared for the assault with a long wooden staff. He dodged as Amos shoved the tip of the staff at the boy’s face. Over and over, the man stabbed at the boy who could only dodge. Amos ended his combo with a big swing towards Aura’s legs.

Aura jumped. So did Amos, catching his falling sword in mid-air. He came down slashing at his son, who managed a weak block but still ended up knocked to the ground. He jumped to his feet quick and drew his sword once more.

“Cheap shot,” he said.

“No, you’ve just gotten lazy and overconfident,” said Amos.

“
Burn
,” Ash whispered to Wilhelm on the sideline. “
That’s a burn.
”

“You don’t think it has anything to do with your giant barrel of weapons?” asked Aura, brimming with sarcasm.

“I can beat you without the extra weapons,” Amos said. He dropped the barrel from his back and moved forward with a single sword. Without giving Aura any more time, the man rushed forward and started swinging. Aura traded blows, keeping up with his old man.

“Is that why you never came looking for me?” Aura asked, swinging his sword more frantically and coming dangerously close to Amos’s body. “Too busy playing with your weapons?”

“Actually I’ve been busy taking care of your sister, whom
you
blinded,” replied Amos.

“So you do blame me!” Aura said, going on the attack once more. “I knew it!”

“I’m just stating the facts,” said Amos. He was surprised to see Aura actually succeeding in pushing him back. “There’s nothing that your sister and I want more than for you to come home. I may have blamed you for the accident, but Nora never did.”

“I ruined Nora’s life,” said Aura. “Even if she forgives me, I can’t forgive myself.” The boy slowed with his advances. Amos deflected his son’s attack and slashed forward, catching Aura off guard. The wooden blade smacked the boy upside his head. He stumbled back, clutching at his reddening face.

“I’m going to do what I should have done years ago,” said Amos. “Beat the crap out of you and
drag
you home!”

His words lit a fire in his son. Aura became enraged and snatched his weapon back up. The boy jumped to his feet, a new passion driving him. He charged at his father with a war cry and the two began trading blows anew.

“We should probably leave them alone and start our own sparring,” said Wilhelm to Ash. The boy nodded, and they left the family to quarrel.

By the end of the day, both Aura and Amos were drenched in sweat. The two lay in the grass of the private yard, totally exhausted and breathing heavily. Their weapons were so chipped and damaged from their battle that they would have to be thrown away. Amos craned his head and looked over at his son. He took a slip of paper out of his pocket and handed it over.

“What’s this?” Aura asked.

“It’s our new address. You’re welcome to come over anytime and see your sister.”

Aura clutched the paper and read the address. He knew exactly where the house was. It wasn’t even that far from his and Ash’s flat.

“Thanks,” Aura said. “Maybe I’ll drop by unannounced sometime.”

“You’d better.”

“Uh, you ready to go home?” Ash asked. He and Wilhelm had finished sparring an hour ago, but the boy waited out of kindness for his friend.

“Yeah,” said Aura. “Let’s get out of here.”

* * * *

Ash pushed his way through the door of his flat, but Aura waited outside. Ash turned around and shot a confused look at his friend.

“I’m going to go for a little walk,” Aura said. “Clear my head.”

Ash smirked. “You’re going to see your sister, aren’t you?”

“Am I that transparent?” Aura said with a sigh. “Yes. You wanna come along?”

“Nah man, I’ll meet her next time. You should spend some time alone with her first.”

“Right,” said Aura. He pulled the slip of paper with his family’s address written on it from his pocket. “I’ll be back later.”

Leaving his friend behind, Aura continued on. He took his time meandering through the busy streets of North Hell, pausing to inspect the occasional silly trinket of merchandise for the upcoming Royal wedding. As badly as he wanted to see his sister, the boy was in no hurry. By the time Aura worked his way over to his family’s neighborhood the sun was starting to dim.

He’d never visited this particular block of the Kingdom before. Aura was deep in Noble territory where his relatives lived. He scanned the numbers on the sides of the huge manors, homes that put his tiny flat to shame. He was getting closer. Two more mansions down and he’d be there. He took a deep breath as he stepped in front of his family’s home.

It was easily the smallest house on the block. Whereas all the other homes were two stories each and wide enough to fit several small families inside, the Draxler’s homestead was a simple one-story home. It looked to be the oldest building on the block as well, with crumbling bricks and stones lining the front wall. Aura moved around the house to the back to size up the rest of it.

In the rear was a spacious backyard with a tall, wiry steel fence to keep out intruders. There was a big oak tree in the center of the yard. Its long, lush branches acted like a roof to the yard. Aura’s heart skipped a beat when he noticed someone sitting in the grass below the tree. Though he knew the girl could not see him, his first instinct was to hide from her. It had been years since he last saw her. He moved in closer slowly to get a better look.

Nora Draxler sat in the shade of the oak tree holding a large sketchpad in her lap. Each stroke she made with her pencil was slow and delicate, every movement precise. Though Aura could not see what she was drawing, he could tell she was putting a great amount of effort into it.

So she hasn’t given up on her art,
thought Aura. A smile crossed his face. The boy stepped closer to the iron bars of the fence, trying to get a better look at his sister’s drawing. The girl stopped sketching and set down her pencil. She picked up a nearby eraser, and to Aura’s amazement she chucked it straight at him! The eraser smacked him in the center of his forehead, and Aura let out a squeal of surprise.

“Are you just going to sit there and stare at me all day?” Nora asked. “You’ve been standing there for five minutes now.”

“I’m sorry,” Aura said. “I mean you no disrespect.” So far his reunion was off to a shaky start.

“Who are you and what do you want?” Nora asked. “Come to gawk at the blind girl?”

“No, not at all!” said Aura. The boy leaned down and picked up his sister’s eraser. “You hit me dead on with this. How’d you do that?”

“You’re wearing something smelly,” she said. “Cologne?”

“Hair gel.”

“Ah. Well there was a breeze, and I just happen to be downwind. Plus I could hear you breathing through your nose.”

“That’s an impressive talent,” said Aura.

“Thank you. Now tell me what your name is and why you’re spying on me.”

“My name…” The boy froze. Though his sister lacked eyes, her glare still felt like daggers to him. “My name is… Frank.” The boy lost his courage at the last moment, and decided to do a little investigating under a false identity first. “I’m a writer for the paper. You ever read the paper?” As soon as the question slipped out of his mouth, Aura realized how stupid it was. He cringed, hoping she wouldn’t get upset.

Nora laughed. “You do know I’m blind, right?”

“Y-yes,” Aura replied. “I’m so sorry!”

“It’s okay. Unfortunately, I don’t do a lot of reading myself these days. But I have servants who read the paper for me whenever I ask them to.”

“That’s nice.”
It sounds like she’s pretty well taken care of,
Aura thought.

“I wouldn’t mind continuing this conversation, if you’d like to come in and entertain me for a while,” Nora offered. “I can go get a servant or my dad to let you in.”

“Don’t worry about it!” Aura said. He brought out his wings and with a quick powerful flap the boy leaped over the fence with no problems. He landed just feet away from Nora and quickly tucked his wings back inside his body. “See? No problems. I’m in.” Again, the boy cringed at his use of the word ‘see’.

“May I touch your face, Frank?”

“Um, I suppose… what for?”

“It’s how I see people,” said Nora as she climbed to her feet. Aura took her hand and helped the girl up. “This might make you uncomfortable, and if it does just tell me to stop.”

“Sure.”

Nora put both her hands on Aura’s face. She felt around his cheeks, his chin, up to his nose, and then the boy’s eyebrows. She groped all over his face and even ran her hands through his long hair. Just this once, Aura didn’t raise an objection to someone messing up his hair. He just hoped she wouldn’t recognize him somehow.

“You’re quite handsome, Frank,” said Nora. “Maybe even my type.”