Devil Ash Deceit (Devil Ash Saga) (43 page)

Next up was revealed to be Lionel after the guard removed the bag from his head. The man, never failing to put on a show, immediately forced a nervous smile and started scanning the crowd. “
Draxler
! I hope you’re watching, cause I’m about to show you how a real man dies!” Lionel threw himself down on the guillotine to everyone’s surprise.

Ash checked to see how Aura was doing. With tears forming in his eyes, the death toucher managed a weak smile.

“Give me your best shot, you bastards!” Lionel screamed. “Let’s see what you got!” With those words, the guillotine blade came crashing down. The resourceful rebel surprised everyone by releasing his soul power, concentrating its powerful shielding ability around his neck. The blade came to a halt just as it touched his skin, a slight trickle of blood dripped down.

“
Is that the best you got
!?”

Commander Stryd’s foot came crashing down on the blade, giving it all the force it needed to slice clean through the defeated man. Lionel’s smiling head dropped, and a lone tear ran down Aura’s cheek before he wiped his whole face.

Lionel’s last words ran through Ash’s head, and he knew he had to get everything off his chest. While the Royal Guards were carting Lionel’s body off the platform and tossing his head in the sack, Ash finally spoke up.

“I have a lot to tell you,” he said. Aura glanced at his friend, giving him his attention. “I don’t know when I can, but… I promise, we’ll get through this.”

The final rebel was led up the stairs of the platform. Even with a bag over his head, Phoenix walked proudly and bravely straight up to the top. When Stryd ripped the bag off his head, Phoenix’s eyes struggled to adjust to the light of the sun. When his vision finally cleared, he saw an entire Kingdom cheering for his death.

Directly below was his family, crying in disgrace for their son’s terrible actions. Surrounding them were the rest of the Nobles, all with their chins turned up at the man. Everyone he had ever known or cared about was there to watch him die, and all of them truly believed he had done something to deserve it.

Phoenix turned to face Shiva. The girl looked him straight in the eyes, refusing to look away in his final moments.

“I’m sorry,” he said.

Shiva stood shaking her head. She tried to respond, but no words came out. She struggled to hold back the tears.

Phoenix gave her one last smile. It was time to atone. He stole one last glance at Wilhelm, who was trying his hardest to remain stone faced as well. The scars left behind by this day would stay with the old man until his final days.  The sad thing was, this was all going according to plan. The
worst-case scenario
plan.

Phoenix scanned the crowd for someone else. He stood idly gazing out into the sea of faces, all shouting and booing at him, until a guard grabbed him by the shoulders. The guard kicked at his legs and pushed him down to the floor. Phoenix never stopped scouring the crowd, but he was looking too low.

As they pushed his head forward and locked him in place, Phoenix finally found the face he was looking for high above the crowd on a rooftop patio. There he locked eyes with Ash, who already had tears running down his face.

“Phoenix Dawnfall,” Goddard addressed him. “You are hereby to be executed for the crime of treason against the Royal Family. It does not matter how you plea, you’re dead either way.”

Phoenix wasn’t paying attention to Goddard’s ramblings. He had his eyes fixed on Ash still, a moment that felt like forever. Ash considered charging the stage and demanding a fair trial. He knew it would accomplish nothing other than making him look silly, so of course he didn’t move. He only stared into his friend’s eyes, his lip quivering.

Phoenix mouthed something to Ash. The blade dropped. Although he did not hear his former mentor’s last words, the boy felt them in his heart and soul. As the glowing shroud of life arose from the man’s body and disappeared into the afternoon sky, Ash felt as if his own soul’s weight had doubled.

The citizens of Hell filed out of the town square immediately following the execution. With no more people to kill, the collective consciousness of the crowd dissolved and the denizens dispersed. Ash and Aura flew home, avoiding the foot traffic as much as possible. At home, with tears in his eyes Ash finally disclosed to Aura the details about Wilhelm taking him to see Phoenix.

“Whoa,” Aura said after his friend was done explaining everything. “That’s a lot to take in.”

“I’ll say! Think about it from my perspective!”

“So what are you gonna do? Go along with Goddard and try to revive Lucifer, or team up with Wilhelm and try to destroy Lucifer?”

“Neither, man! I told you before; I never want to see that creepy thing ever again! Just standing near it made me feel like I was dying.” 

“I hear you, pal. I don’t think we should get involved with that Nemo guy in the well, either. I feel bad about Wilhelm losing his memories. I already liked him, but finding out he’s the rebel leader makes me like him even more! But that’s his problem, not ours. We accomplished our goal and figured out what was hidden down there, and now we know to stay away from
them
. Let’s get back to our original plan of getting strong enough to bump off Prince Darko and escape from Hell.”

“I like that plan. I guess the best thing to come out of all of this is how much stronger we’ve gotten,” Ash said, and to demonstrate his point the boy successfully managed to squeeze out some of his soul power. The steamy glow billowed off his body and even illuminated the room a little. The power stopped abruptly when someone knocking on the door interrupted Ash’s concentration.

Without any other warnings Shiva pushed her way into the room. “Everything you own. Have it packed and ready to go in five minutes,” she commanded. The boys scurried around the room throwing all their clothing into two large trunks. The boys had no other possessions, so they were done packing in less than five minutes. “Let’s go!” Shiva barked.

Outside, the boys must have looked funny to the people below as they flew overheard hauling their enormous trunks through the sky. Shiva led the way, but would not slow down even a little bit for them. She always took small opportunities like this one to give the boys that little extra bit of training that could (but probably won’t) one day save their lives.

Their journey to the West concluded as Shiva landed in front of a large condo in an area that was currently being developed. The boys landed so quickly they didn’t have time to get a good look at the building. They were just happy to set their enormous trunks down and rest their arms. When at last they got around to inspecting the building before them, both the boy’s jaws nearly fell off.

The condo was so big it made their flat look like a broom closet. Besides the obvious bigness of the unit, they noticed the surrounding neighborhood was rather barren and unoccupied, meaning they’d have some privacy finally. The big front door (with a lock!) opened and Goddard stepped out to greet them.

“Well, what do you think?” the Royal Advisor asked.

“It’s big,” Ash said.

“Wait till you see the inside,” Goddard said.

Everyone stepped inside to a spacious tiled entryway surrounded by a fully furnished living room and dining area. The boys left their trunks and rushed around excitedly taking in their new living space. There was a large staircase straight ahead of the entry, and both boys raced upstairs to claim bedrooms. There were three bedrooms, all stocked with beds and dressers, all of equal size except one that had its own bathroom.

Ash was the one who found the room with the attached bathroom. Aura wandered in after him. “Well, I guess you get this room. You deserve it the most, anyway.”

“You can have it,” Ash said.

“You mean it?” the death toucher asked with hope in his eyes.

“Yeah. I know you’ll use it more than I would,” Ash said with a smile. Aura thanked him, and the boys returned to where they’d left Goddard and Shiva waiting for them in the entry. “We love it,” Ash said. “Thank you, Goddard.”

“Yeah, it’s
okay
,” Shiva said. “But it’s no castle.”

“I’m sorry you feel that way,” Goddard said with a grin. “Perhaps living here will change your mind.”

“
What
!!” they all shouted in unison.

“Now Shiva, before you blow up, hear me out,” Goddard begged. “Those two boys snuck out of your wedding! That’s how they avoided getting captured by the rebels in the chapel! Clearly they need to be watched more carefully.”

This was new information to Shiva. For some reason, knowing that her teammates had ditched her wedding didn’t sit so well with the girl. She looked to the boys, who only stood there with dopey looks on their faces. “
Clearly
,” she said.

“That’s why I’m entrusting you with the task, Shiva.”

“By making me live with them? That’s so… so…
uncool
!”

“I could ask your brother to move in with them instead,” Goddard offered. “I know
he
could handle the job.”

Here it was, another classic attempt by Goddard at getting Shiva to comply with his wishes. He knew all he had to do was mention her father or brother and she was putty in his hands. Shiva paused, thinking it over for a moment.

“Please live with us,” Ash said. “I don’t want to live with Darko,” he added.

“I just want to mention, my room is the one upstairs with the bathroom attached,” Aura said.

Shiva sighed. She knew what to say. She would cave to Goddard again, but this time there was a key difference. This time she knew she was being baited. In the future, she would not let him use her family honor against her.

“My brother’s not dependable enough for the job,” Shiva said. “He gets bored way too easily, and he’d probably kill them in their sleep anyway.”

A shiver ran down both the boy’s spines.

“Fine, I’m in,” Shiva said. “By the way, I just wanted to mention, my room is the one upstairs with the bathroom attached.”

“Over my dead body it is!” Aura said.

Shiva responded by removing her headband with the team pin on it. “Whoever gets their belongings there first wins it,” she said.

Aura dashed out the front door at top speed and snatched his belongings. By the time he got back inside and lugged the heavy trunk up the stairs, Shiva was already standing in the room. She pointed at the little hair band lying on the floor with a smirk on her face.

“My stuff’s already here. You lose,” she said.

“You have to leave to get your stuff sometime!” Aura shot back. “And when you do, this room is mine!”

“Goddard’s getting some servants to pack up all my stuff and move it here. I can wait in here until they come,” Shiva challenged him.

“Just let her have it,” Ash said poking his head in. “Girls need their privacy, I’ve heard.”

Aura walked out grumbling, clearly very disappointed at not getting his own bathroom. Ash followed him out, leaving Shiva staring at his back as he went.

Did he just treat me like a lady… and I liked it?
Shiva thought.
I must be losing my mind.

Downstairs, Goddard decided it was time to bid his team adieu. He promised Shiva the servants would bring over all her belongings immediately. He told them from now on they could do their morning training at home in the spacious backyard. If he needed his team for a job or mission, he’d send for them with a messenger. As they said goodbye, Ash couldn’t help but wonder what the man’s true motivations were and if he could be trusted in the future.

Everyone split up to explore the condo further. Ash found himself in his bedroom, trying to imagine it like his bedroom back on Earth. He decided to try and make this room look as much like that room as possible. The boy hoped he could find a television and some video games somewhere, even if he couldn’t plug them in. Just having them to look at would make him feel more at home.

A short while later the servants arrived with multiple trunks belonging to Shiva. The boys watched from the living room couch as man after man brought the girl’s stuff in. Aura sniggered. “I bet those trunks are full of spare armor. She can’t possibly have any
real
clothes, can she?”

As the servants were finishing unpacking for the girl, Wilhelm Satan appeared in the doorway. After giving Ash a silent nod, the old man entered their home and greeted his granddaughter. “There’s my little girl, all grown up and moving away from home!” he said.

“Oh shut up gramps,” Shiva said turning red in the face. She booted out the last of the servants, who in only a few minutes transformed her bedroom into a room fit for a Princess. Ash and Aura would never see it, though. They were strictly forbidden from entering her room.

“I’m happy you’re moving in with your friends,” Wilhelm said.

“
Subordinates
,” Shiva corrected him.

“Either way, I think you’ll be much happier here away from your father and brother,” Wilhelm said with a weak smile. “I came to say goodbye to all of you.”

Shiva frowned. Ash and Aura had mixed feelings.

“I’m sorry, but I’m going to be extremely busy with the new developments in West Hell,” Wilhelm said. That could have really been his reasoning, but Ash and Aura had a feeling it might also have to do with the rebels that were still out there. Would they plot another rebellion, or disperse and rejoin society? They had no way of knowing without joining Wilhelm.

“Wait a minute,” Shiva stopped him. “We have to have a party tonight!”

“You’re joking,” Aura said. “
You
want to have a party?”

“It’s a miracle, Aura!” Ash chimed in.

“Not really,” Shiva replied very business-like. “I think it’s very appropriate to have a house warming party and invite our colleagues.”

“Colleagues?” Aura repeated.

“I think she means
friends
,” said Ash.

“It’s a splendid idea,” Wilhelm agreed. “You can bet I’ll come.”

“Can you bring someone with you?” Ash asked.

“I can bring whomever you want!” Wilhelm said.

“I’d like to see Archen again, if you think he’d want to come…”

Wilhelm looked surprised for a moment at Ash’s request. “I think he would love to come,” the old man said with a grin. “I’ll bring him with me tonight.”

Wilhelm left them alone once again. Shiva confined herself to her bedroom while the boys unpacked their clothes and got their closets situated. Eager to start filling their rooms up with personal belongings, the boys first had to purchase some belongings. They got all geared up to go out shopping when another knocking came on their front door.

Ash opened the door to find Amos Draxler carrying a large sack that looked pretty heavy. “Hi Ash, nice place you got here,” he said stepping into the entryway. “I have a gift for you, if you’re interested.” Amos reached into his bag and what he pulled out almost gave Ash a heart attack.

It was a brand new shiny sword. Amos handed it to the boy, who felt like a child on Christmas morning. Ash inspected the broadsword, which had a very special custom-made hilt guard that looked like their flame-wing symbol. It was a beautiful sword, and knowing that Amos made is specifically for him made it even more special.

“Thank you so much Amos, I love it!” Ash said.

“Is Shiva here? I have something for her too.”

Ash called upstairs for Shiva and informed her of their guest. Aura popped his head out of his room curiously.

“I have something for you too Aura,” he told his son.

“Goodies? For me? You shouldn’t have!” Aura said, waltzing in to see his gift.

“I just thought it was time for an upgrade,” Amos said as he dug into his bag again. This time he pulled out a shiny new metal gauntlet and tossed it to his son.

“Whoa,” Aura said as he admired the masterful craftsmanship that went into the gauntlet. His father’s work always managed to impress the boy, and this time Amos had really outdone himself by even carving the flame-wing symbol into the back of the gauntlet. There was a small hole along the bottom of the wrist area that confused Aura.

“That’s so you can clip it to your belt loop whenever you take it off,” Amos informed him. “Since there’s no point in trying to stop you from taking it off anymore, I thought I’d try to make it easier. Now you don’t have to hold it when you’re fighting.”

“That’s so awesome it’s brilliant,” Aura said. “I would have never thought of that. Thanks dad.”

“Did you bring what I asked you to?” Shiva called down to Amos from upstairs as she treaded down to join them.

“Here you go,” Amos said tossing the entire bag at Shiva. She reached in and pulled out the last item, the same weapon that Leona once used against her. Shiva whipped the ball and chain bolas around a few times like a pair of nunchuks with a satisfied smile.

“Perfect,” she said.

“You asked him to make that for you?” Ash said. “What about my sword and Aura’s new gauntlet?”