Devil Ash Disarray (Devil Ash Saga Book 3) (48 page)

Chapter Thirty-Six: While You Were Asleep

When Ash’s head hit the pillow he wasn’t expecting to sleep for three straight days. Yet that’s exactly what happened. The boy was more tired than he’d even realized and it didn’t take long for his body to cash in on all the sweet slumber it desired. Time passed quickly, with the boy only waking long enough to reach for the phantom glass of water on his nightstand.

The curious thing was, he couldn’t remember how that glass of water got there. He never filled up a glass of water before heading off to bed. One of his roommates must have placed it there for him, he guessed. After drinking half the glass, Ash resumed his miserable nap, having no idea how much time had passed and trying not to think about it. The next time he awoke, his throat dry as a sandbar, he reached for the glass of water and discovered it had been mysteriously refilled.

Those three days flew by for Ash, but not for the others. Shiva and Aura had an eventful three days, and it all started not long after Ash barred himself in his room. There came a gentle knocking on the front door, and when Shiva went to open it she found two orphans lingering outside.

They were of course invited in. Uverstarr, with his sneaker hood covering his face, took a seat on the couch next to Aralia. The four of them sat in the living room, directly underneath where Ash’s bedroom was located, but he wouldn’t hear a thing. Shiva played the part of a polite host and served the two tea and cookies.

Aura updated the pair of orphans on the situation as they sipped and munched. “Ash isn’t holding up so well,” he said. “I think he took the people’s reaction a little hard. I guess he probably feels like even more of an outsider now. I know how that goes, though. It’s rough.”

Aralia nodded, her eyes glazed in understanding. She blew on her steaming cup of tea and sipped quietly. Uverstarr focused most of his efforts on the cookies, not showing much of a reaction to the news.

“I keep hoping he’ll wake up and come join us, but who knows how long he’ll stay in his room. In his current state, he might just stay cooped up in there right up until we have to leave.”

“Doesn’t his body need the rest?” Aralia asked after breaking a cookie in half. She handed the bigger chunk to Uverstarr and ate the smaller section.

“Not really,” Shiva replied. She sat in her own comfy throne-like chair, just as Aura had his own, opposite the couch. “His body’s in pretty good shape, aside from whatever sickness has him. But he’s got medicine to deal with that. The bigger problem is what’s going on in his warped little mind. He could use a day to sleep, but any longer than that is just a waste of his time.”

“So what will you do now, Miss Lady Shiva?”

Shiva smiled, weakly. “I think we’re way passed formalities now, Raley. You can just call me Shiva.” At this, Aralia glowed with a happy radiance. “We’re going to do the smart thing and spend our remaining days here in training. Which reminds me, Draxler, we should extend an invitation for your father to join us. We could use a refresher course with his weapons expertise.”

Aura nodded in agreement. “Not a bad idea, really. I’m sure he’d love to come help us out. I should really brush up on my swordplay too, just in case I end up getting to slice off that damn demon Prince’s tail.”

“Let’s get to it then,” said Shiva. She stood up from her throne. “We don’t have time to waste. We’ve got a lot of training to do if we’re going to make it there and back in one piece.”

“That’s my cue to leave then,” came the surly voice of the youngest in the room. Uverstarr hopped off the couch and bolted for the door. “Training is boring. I’ve got better things to do.”

“Hey you! This is important stuff we’re talking about here!” Aura was fed up with the immature boy’s behavior and finally snapped, jumping to his feet a little too fast. But the dismissive orphan was already out the door. “What is
wrong
with that little brat? Doesn’t he see how bad the situation is?”

“Please don’t misunderstand Uverstarr’s behavior,” Aralia said, setting her teacup down on the table. “He has a hard time of showing his true feelings, but I’m sure he understands everything that’s going on. I just think it’s a little difficult for him to see Ash this way…”

Shiva raised an eyebrow. “What are you talking about? That kid actually
cares
about Ash?”

“He may try to hide it, but Uverstarr actually admires Ash. You might even say he’s Ash’s biggest fan.”

Both Shiva and Aura cocked their heads in surprise, questioning what they’d just heard. Aralia went on to explain how ever since he first heard the rumors of a human living in Hell, Uverstarr had been obsessed with finding out more about Ash. His childish admiration came from a natural curiosity about the human race. The orphan had always wanted to know more about planet Earth and its inhabitants.

Uverstarr followed every update about Ash since his arrival in Hell. He heard rumors of the boy defending Lady Shiva against an overpowered nuisance named Crapsat. When Mr. Kurdis kept the children indoors during the rebels takeover of the city, Uverstarr rejoiced upon hearing how Ash had put an end to the rebel leader. His encounter with the human after the Devils Duel tournament happened by sheer luck, after Raley had gotten lucky enough to play against him.

He had been jealous then, and a little angry. Jealous at his childhood friend for getting to actually play a game with the famous human, and angry that he had the nerve to beat her. Aralia went on to explain that his childish behavior is the only way he knew how to approach his idol. And now, seeing Ash down for the count and unable to get back up, the boy chose to retreat back to his comfort zone.

With all of this information, it was easier for Aura to ignore the boy’s bratty behavior and just move on with his day. Shiva was still insistent on getting started with their training, and she wanted Aura to get moving to fetch his father. They didn’t get far as Aralia held their attention for just a moment longer.

“Actually, if you could spare a minute, I have a request…”

For three days Ash slept, on and off, cooped up alone in his bedroom. His friends left him be, hoping he’d find the courage to wake and join them in their training. On the morning of the fourth day, Ash was drifting in and out of his sad slumber when he heard a light knocking on his door.

He didn’t respond, thinking it would be Shiva or Aura come to stir him, to invite him to training. When his eyes opened he saw Aralia’s face poking in through the parted doorway.

“Hi,” she said simply.

Ash groaned lightly and closed his eyes.

Aralia took that as a welcoming sign and stepped inside the room. From the moment she laid eyes on him she could sense the boy’s deep depression had not abated. She wished with all her might that she might be the one to pull him out of it. So she made light small talk with him, drawing only the minimal response, usually in the form of a grunt or groan from the boy.

She didn’t like this new, miserable Ash. With the small talk not taking off, Aralia knew she had at least one bomb to drop on the boy that would likely not help his mood.

“Everyone’s decided to leave for the demon kingdom tomorrow morning,” she said. “I thought you might like to know.”

After a moment of silence, Ash sat up in bed and rubbed his eyes. “What time is it?” he asked.

“A little after noon,” Aralia replied. She moved to the window and parted the blinds a little, allowing some sunlight to creep in. “See?”

Ash swung his legs over the side of the bed and sat there a minute with his head down. He got up and went to the bathroom, while Aralia waited silently in his bedroom. When he returned, she asked him, “Do you want to go outside and see everyone?”

Ash promptly returned to his bed and laid back down. “No,” he replied. “I’d only be a distraction.”

Aralia, not sure what to make of his statement, said, “That’s not true. Everyone’s waiting for you. They’d all like to see you again.”

With a dismissive yawn, Ash rolled over onto his side. “I think I’ll use my remaining time to just sleep,” he said. “It would be better if you didn’t get too attached to me, anyway.”

“What do you mean?” Aralia asked, her voice riding the border between concern and frustration.

“I don’t think I have to spell it out for you,” Ash responded, keeping his back turned to her. “I probably won’t be around much longer…”

His words hung in the air like a poisonous cloud, stinging Aralia’s insides. “That’s not true,” she protested weakly. “You could-”

“What?” Ash interrupted. “I could fight off an entire kingdom of demons and somehow make it back alive? Not likely. Face it Raley. It’s
hopeless
. I’m as good as dead: demon food. That’s why you shouldn’t bother with me. The more you care about me, the sadder you’ll be when I don’t come back.”

Neither of them said anything for a while. Ash sulked in silence, waiting for the girl to leave him alone, while Aralia’s anger slowly came to a boil.

“So that’s it?” she asked. “You don’t care about your own life enough to get off your ass and do something about it? Everyone that cares about you is out there working their butts off preparing to save your life! The least you could do is go down there and cheer them on, but
no
, you’ve been cooped up in here all this time, laying around like you’re
already dead
! Well excuse me, I thought you had more life left in you.” Without another word she stormed out of the room, slamming the door shut behind her.

Ash tried to lay still, to go back to sleep and shut his mind off. He didn’t want to have to think about all the unpleasantries that would surely be coming his way tomorrow. But as he laid there and the minutes went by, his mind worked overtime replaying the girl’s words.

At last, he felt too bad about the situation. He couldn’t leave things like that. He knew he had to apologize, and so he climbed out of bed and hastily threw on some clothes to rush after her.

Downstairs he encountered Aura, standing in the kitchen downing a jug of water. “Aura!” Ash cried, shocked to see his friend. The death toucher was shirtless and drenched in sweat. His long hair was tied back into a ponytail. The cut from his wound was all closed up now, a light scar across his chest all that remained. “You’re all better!”

“Of course,” Aura replied with a smile, happy to see his friend out of bed. “Wilhelm fixed me up. It’s good to see you out of bed, buddy.” His face turned serious. “Aralia just ran out of here. I think she was crying. What’d you do?”

Ash said nothing to Aura on the matter, but left the house immediately to go find Aralia. He had no idea where she might be, but as he brought out his wings and took to the sky he headed east, thinking the orphanage would be the best place to start looking.

Flying felt nice. It had been a while since Ash really stretched out his wings. On the way all he could think about was how big a jerk he had been and how guilty he felt turning away the one person that clearly wanted to spend time with him. He just had to find her and make it up to her.

Setting down outside the orphanage, there was a mixture of children running around and playing on the yard equipment. Mr. Kurdis stood leaning against the wall of the building, reading a newspaper and occasionally glancing up to yell at the children when they misbehaved.

As Ash entered the yard, the first few children to spot him made a big deal and rushed over to greet him. It didn’t take long for Kurdis to spot the boy and wave him over. “Mr. Kaplan,” he said with a pleasant smile. “I don’t suppose you’ve stopped by to make a charitable donation?” he asked, wagging his donation cup.

“Hi Kurdis,” Ash said as he approached the man. “Actually, I’m here for Aralia. Have you seen her?”

Kurdis dropped the newspaper and frowned. “I thought she was with you,” he said.

“She
was
,” Ash replied, looking forlorn. “I may have said some things that set her off, and… I think I should apologize.”

“I see, I see,” said Kurdis. “Well come on in, you can wait for her inside. I’ll whip up some tea and-
Marcus I swear I will end you if you don’t put that down
!” Kurdis sighed heavily. “Come in, come in.”

Inside, Mr. Kurdis poured a dark and funny-smelling tea for Ash, which he served in a dingy stained cup. Ash sipped it slowly, finding the bitter drink anything but thirst quenching. Still he drank it all to not seem rude.