“Give me a moment to think,” Ash replied. Sitting down on the ground Ash started running through his options. Out of everyone present, Ash looked human as long as his wings were out of sight. The other problem was that he didn’t have a clear idea of how to get around the city. He could take Henry with him, but it would only take one outcry from Henry to cause everything to collapse. It was a huge risk.
Ash knew that if he got captured then it would be a harsh hit on the demon forces, but if he didn’t even try to get rid of the illusion stones it would cost a great deal more lives on both sides to take the city. No matter how he looked at it, it was a no win situation. The real question to him was if it was worth it. After giving it a great deal of thought, Ash had his answer.
“Fay can you get the items to the storage building with the soldiers in it?”
“I can have it there in a few hours. Why? Do you have an idea?”
“I told you I have a hostage here that is very knowledgeable. If I can use him then we should be able to sabotage the illusion stones,” Ash replied.
“Do you think we can trust him?” Fay asked. “He could ruin everything. It would be better to go with the second option than to risk everything on an unknown.”
“I think we can trust him,” Ash responded keeping his plan to use himself as well out of her ears otherwise he knew that she would refuse.
“If you think so then I will have the devices brought over. Give it about three to four hours before you send the man over to the storage buildings. I will inform our men about his impending arrival so things don’t go wrong on our end.”
“Understood. I will contact you after everything is finished,” Ash said.
“Talk to you then.”
Putting the ring away, Ash took a deep breath and looked at the ceiling. Ash always found it hard to lie to people. He didn’t know why but it always caused his stomach to cramp whenever he lied or tried to hold something back from people. The whole conversation with Fay had left him feeling as if he had taken a dip in an ice cold river while being punched in the stomach. It wasn’t a good feeling.
After he had settled himself, Ash walked back into the main room where Henry was still sitting. Taking a deep breath Ash started to speak. “Henry, I am going to require a bit of your help.”
Henry furrowed his brow as his lips formed a thin line. “How?”
Ash explained what he would need Henry to do. Henry was not dumb and he instantly knew the dangers that were affixed with walking around town with a demon. If he was caught it wouldn’t just end with light punishment. Even if the army believed that he was forced, it would still end with his head on the chopping block. Looking at Ash’s calm face and from listening to his words, he could also tell that Ash wasn’t planning on giving him a chance to refuse. “When will we leave?”
“About three hours before nightfall,” Ash replied.
With Henry’s agreement, Ash called his wives together and started explaining the plan. Before he was half way finished with explaining he was interrupted by Eun who quickly refused to allow him to leave unescorted. After Eun voiced her refusal the others quickly added in their own voice and Ash was quickly drowned out. His ire quickly rising, Ash couldn’t contain himself anymore and yelled, “Stop.”
Not used to hearing Ash’s angered tone, everyone quickly quietened down. Once the room was once again cloaked in silence, Ash continued talking. “I know it is dangerous but all you would draw too much attention. There are a number of soldiers out there and I am sure there is no few number of them who wouldn’t mind dragging a young maiden off for a little fun. If that happened you would be bringing more danger than safety. It would be best if only I and Henry do this mission alone.”
“What if he betrays you?” Eun asked looking at Henry with threatening eyes.
“I will kill him,” Ash replied coldly causing both Henry and Anabel to shiver as if they were hit by a blast of cold wind.
“I will agree as long as there is a way for us to stay in contact while you are gone,” Seia said after a few moments of silence. “Otherwise none of us will be able to be at ease.”
“I don’t have anything like that,” Ash said frowning. “If I had more rings like the one Fay gave me it would be great, but I only have the one and it is linked with the one Fay is carrying.”
“Then how about another way,” Li said calmly. “I am sure that we can come up with something.”
Ash sat down with the others working his mind as hard as he could but no matter how hard he thought nothing came to mind. In the end it was Mia who broke the silence that had started to hang gloomily over the group. “How far is the storage building from this house?”
“You know the large road outside of the top floor master bedroom?” Henry said after a few moments. “It is up one road and to east four streets.”
“If it is that close then it would be easy for us to see a signal like Ash used the other day from here,” Li said happily.
“Yes, but what about the illusion stones. There is no way that we will be able to see the signal from all over the city,” Eun said crossing her arms angrily.
“That is true but as long as Ash can shoot a fireball in the direction of the road then we could see it,” Li said as her face lit up. Her round eyes staring up at Ash as if she was wishing to be praised.
“I think that is the best we can hope for,” Ash said nodding his head as he lightly rubbed Li’s soft hair with his hand. “If anything happens where we require help I will use a bright yellow fire ball to let everyone know. If that happens I hope that everyone can respond quickly.”
“You have our word my lord,” Tolarea said standing and giving her normal military salute.
“I guess it would be too much to ask for you to have a map of the city,” Ash said as he started to think through the second stage of the plan.
“I don’t have a map, but I can draw you a rough sketch of the city and where the illusion stones are located. I am guessing that is what you are after,” Henry said.
Ash pulled parchment, ink, and a quill from his inventory. Without another word Henry began to draw on the parchment and within a few moments a small outline of the city was sitting before Ash. After the outline Henry started putting in the main roads. Once he was finished with the roads he added in large circles for the locations of the illusion stones.
“Is that all of the stones?” Ash asked once Henry sat done the quill.
“I believe so, though I can’t be completely sure. There are some places that I haven’t been too but that should at least be most of them,” Henry admitted.
“Then that will have to do,” Ash said with a deep sigh. “We will start with the ones nearest the storehouse then more in a large circle until we return back to the house for safety. If anything happens, we will all meet as soon as possible, then make for the warehouse where our troops are stationed and attempt to leave the city. Everyone clear on the plan?”
“Understood,” Everyone said in unison.
12-12
It didn’t take long for Ash to prepare everything that he needed. Luckily thanks to his inventory he had a lot of things at the ready. The most important was the colored powder that allowed him to change the color of his fireball for signaling and clothes that could cover his wings. As Ash folded his wings in and pulled over the large shirt, he felt a twinge of pain. Though it had not been that long since Ash had to hide his wings it felt like eons ago. After the spirit link with the demon clans, Ash had felt his wings grow bigger and now the act of hiding them caused him a fair amount of pain. Trying to relax his back, Ash slung a long cloak over his shoulders and clipped it around his neck while pulling the hood over his head. Ash doubted that most the rank and file soldiers knew what he looked like, but he knew that the leaders did and it would be bad if he was recognized.
While Ash was getting dressed, it looked like Henry was pumping himself up as he walked back and forth across the floor talking to himself. Ash felt slightly bad watchi
ng Henry, knowing that the men had no real tie to this war and it was only a series of bad luck that had brought him to his current point in life. Ash pushed the thought aside when he remembered the twists and turns in his own life that had led him to this current point in his life.
Ash could almost laugh at the absurdity of it all. He had once lived in a different world and was brought over due to a god’s joke or at least that was how it felt. After he had arrived in this world, he had explored it a bit and through luck had run across Emelia’s group while they were being attacked and helped her and was heavily injured as a result. Emelia had learned about the black demon wings on his back but didn’t care and treated him as a friend. Over time they turned from friends into lovers which caused a whole new set of troubles once the news was out that Ash had demon blood. As war broke out, Ash fought against the enemies of the duchy. When death was shining down upon him an army of demons flew in and saved his life. It was shortly after that he became the demon king or Maoh. After that there were more battles and in the end Ash had found himself in the current situation. It had been a constant set of actions that one by one was unbelievable enough but when he looked at them together Ash started to believe that maybe the god that had sent him over had more than a small hand in the situation. Thinking this, Ash started to tell himself that once he returned home and this was all over he would spend the next ten years relaxing as he watched his child grow up.
Once enough time had passed, Ash walked out the front door of the house with Henry following right behind him. “Lead the way,” Ash said knowing that his superficial knowledge of the cities layout wouldn’t do him much good in actually finding anything. Henry didn’t respond but he walked past Ash and started walking in the direction of the major road that was just down the street.
Ash didn’t pay much attention to where they were walking but instead kept a close eye on any movement. The sun was still in the air but it was an overcast day making the sky a gloomy grey color. Few people were out and most of those that were moving were soldiers still no one gave them as much as a second look as they walked down the street. Ash was glad that he didn’t have his sword strapped to his waist as he was sure that he would be griping its hilt tightly right about now.
After they moved off the main road, the number of people visibly dropped and soon the only person Ash could see was a single soldier who was walking ahead of them by about fifty feet. Ash was slightly worried that Henry would call out to him. He thought that after a few steps his fears would calm down but from the loud sound of his heartbeat in his ears, that didn’t seem to be the case.
Ash didn’t know how much time passed until Henry turned down one of the small streets and stopped in front of the doors belonging to one of the large storage buildings. Henry knocked five times on the door to the building before a rough voice called out. “Who is it?”
“Henry,” Henry said his voice slightly in a panic as they had not talked about any codes or what to say if asked. Henry’s nervous attitude was contagious as Ash also grew a little antsy with each passing second. Then the door opened and a voice rang out. “Get in here.”
Henry and Ash rushed through the open door and as the door shut behind them they were engulfed in darkness. Unlike the house there were no windows to let in natural light and even if there were it was overcast outside so the inside of the building was so dark Ash couldn’t see his hand in front of his face.
Suddenly the area was lightened by a large globe of white light. More than a few dozen people stood in front of Ash and Henry, each with a weapon drawn. “We were only told that one person would be arriving. You better explain yourself.”
Ash’s eyes flashed red as his voice roared through the large building. “Put your weapons down, I don’t have time to play with you fools.”
“My lord,” one of the demons said, his face turning white as he dropped his weapon so fast it made a loud clang that reverberated throughout the building.
The person who Ash believed was the leader of the advanced party came forward carrying a large bad handing it to Ash. “My lord, we were not aware that you would be coming as well,” the demon quickly explained.
Ash stuck the contents of the bag in his inventory and gave the man a quick toothy smile. “Don’t worry about it. Just be ready. If things go wrong we will have to retreat back here and escape.”
“We shall stand guard in case such an event comes to pass my lord,” the demon said deeply bowing.
Without drawing it out any more, Ash moved back toward the door and both he and Henry quickly left. Once they were outside Henry moved in the direction of their next goal but he didn’t walk as fast as he had earlier. Walking behind him, Ash could tell that the man was still unnerved after the last encounter so he thought it would be best to talk to help ease some of the building tension.
“Henry, you doing alright?” Ash asked as he moved up next to the man.
“Just a little flustered,” Henry admitted. “I thought they were going to cut me up for a midday snack,” he added laughing to himself.
“Sorry… I didn’t want the demon command outside the city to know that I would be personally participating in the mission so they were only expecting you,” Ash said explaining what had happened.
“From the way your wives acted I figured it would be a big deal if you were captured,” Henry said nodding his head. “Don’t know how high you are up on the ladder but I am guessing that you have to be at least a duke if not a prince.”
Hearing Henry’s words, Ash couldn’t help but laugh. “I guess there is no real harm in telling you. If we are captured the leaders of the army already know my face so it’s not like it would stay hidden. First though, demons don’t have nobles. We are a collection of clans so what you call dukes would be around clan leaders but at the same time they can easily be replaced and only hold real power within their own clans. Standing at the head of the country is the Maoh or demon lord. You can also consider the Maoh the king of the demons.”
“So you would be a clan leader?” Henry asked his shoulders slightly trembling.
“No. I would be the Maoh,” Ash said watching Henry closely.
Henry looked as if all the blood had rushed out of his body. His face was so white he could have easily passed as a ghost. Nothing was said until they turned down a long side street. “The first illusion stone is just down the street sat between two houses,” Henry said in a shaky voice.
Ash slapped Henry on the back lightly causing him to jump nearly three feet in the air. “Calm down, otherwise you raise the risk of us getting caught,” Ash said in a slightly teasing tone. Ash knew that it was mean for him to act so lightly but he couldn’t help but draw some small amount of entertainment from Henry’s reactions.
“Yes sir,” Henry said, his voice so faint Ash could barely hear it.
Laughing Ash continued to follow Henry until they reached a stone that looked like a two foot tall egg with strange carvings all over it. Pulling one of the orange globes from his inventory Ash placed it behind the stone egg. “Onto the next one.”
Henry continued to act jumpy until they had located seven of the illusion stones. Ash didn’t know why, but he was slowly returning to how he normally acted. Ash kept watching him still slightly worried that he may act out and draw the soldiers’ attention but so far his fears had been unfounded.
“So back at the house when you said you could promise me a meeting with the demon king, you were speaking about yourself,” Henry asked just as Ash placed the eighth orb behind one of the illusion stones.
“Yes. At the time I didn’t know if I should let you know who I was, but I will keep my promise. After everything is over I will do my best to help you increase trade between the demon and human countries. In fact it is one of my goals to do just that so if you could help, it would be much appreciated,” Ash said as they continued onto the next stone.
“I don’t know if I am lucky or cursed at the moment,” Henry said with a laugh that seemed more
ironic that jovial. “I hated my teacher but one thing he said has always been my guiding moto when doing business. Take any opportunity that presents itself as soon as it does, otherwise you might not get a second chance.”
“Sounds like good advice,” Ash said nodding his head.
“Almost done, only three more to go,” Henry said after they had placed more than twenty of the orbs behind the illusion stones. As if hearing their words a voice called out to them. “Hold it.”
Both Ash and Henry turned their heads to see two soldiers walking in their direction. “Stay calm,” Ash said though he himself felt as if his heart was about to burst from his chest. They were so close to finishing, it would be a shame if they were caught now.
“What are you doing out?” One of the soldiers asked eyeing them dangerously.
“We were eating with a few friends,” Henry said his voice showing his fear. “Didn’t have any food left in the house. We are headed back right now good sirs.”
“Hump, it’s almost dark. You know the curfew. If I see you out again so close to sundown, I will have you hung up a whipped,” the soldier said before turning around and walking in the opposite direction with the other soldier.
“We better hurry,” Henry said as he let out a deep breath that he had been holding in. Ash nodded his head and the two quickly took off in the direction of the next illusion stone.
Thankfully the last few illusion stones were not that far apart and they were back in the house before the sun had completely set. Once they were inside both Ash and Henry were surrounded by Li, Anabel and the other women who all were asking questions so fast that it made Ash’s head spin.
Reborn: War's Nightmare Page 9