Raising Hell

[Ash]

Phantoms of fog dance across her path, vanishing into wisps as the demoness stubbornly marches through a nearby forest. The wisps turn into haunting shapes behind her. All of which she ignores as well as she did walking through the ghosts. Shifting shadows under the darkened clouds play tricks on the tired and weary travelers, but Ash had focus.

She found a beaten path and decided it was as good as any. Either she'd wind up in the fabled Darkshire or the infamous Silent Hill. Only until now did it occur to her how fitting Diablo unload his burden on Pale Moors. If anyone else had been in her way upon falling, she might be doing something incredibly different than waltzing with whispers of thick fog.

The dark grey cotton candy above rumbled in frustration as life lit up the folds. A storm threatened to rain down on her and end her determination. Arguably it only bolded her. She was the storm demon and the thunder was just the drums of war at her back. Lightning sparked across the background and landed on something far into the east. She continued forward, north.

The world around her vaguely reminded her of another deadly forest covered in fog. She even thought she saw bodies swinging from the limbs. A memory swaying into her mind made her smile a wicked grin as she remembered Desman stuttering a question in the Underverse about what it was he saw moving about in the wind. His look of horror when she'd drying delivered the message that they were corpses satisfied her to no end. As she originally thought, he was too soft. Merely another pawn on her table and not a very strong one at that.

He had been plenty useful, of course. He had been a saving grace for her in the Gauntlet of Fire but fell short of any expectations she might have normally encouraged. Spineless as well. He cowered and pleaded, cried for mercy at the first sign of disturbance when the ultramarine dropped down. Before that even. He had paid off his debt to her by showing her the power of fusion, she'd have to put some effort into learning that trick later.

She slid The Red Devil's Quill out of her long slender sock, letting the light of another random bolt catch in the metal.

Without Desman she wasn't sure if she would have been able to collect so much data or even resources. Would she have gotten out of there so quickly? Who can say? She would have had ten times more fun if he'd kept his nose out of her business. So what was the trade? Memories, or experience?

No use in playing with the choices now.

Ash twirled The Quill about in her fingers as she considered what to do with all her knowledge? Cause complete chaos in the mind of those who feared the banishing circles? "It was so easy to escape a man-child could do it with the right straws drawn." She said to herself, practicing for her made-up speech. Then she laughed to herself. The likelihood that anyone would ask her any details were laughable. The only people who knew had been the Empire and his men.

...And Desman.

She was now curious how he'd managed that. He had never told her. Now's a bit late for those questions, isn't it?

Not like that information was worth much.



Or was it?

".... it's coming..."

Ash twisted around in the fog, her skirt and coat tails lift and sweep across the air while her tail curled closer. She was already gripping the dagger in her left hand and charging lightning in the palm of her right. She is met only with made-up faces she could faintly see in the remanence of fog.  That and a single bouncing light. Very quickly she heard the hoof prints of a horse and the clattering of an old carriage. She stared a moment longer, the horse-drawn carriage coming ever closer and rather quickly.

Where she'd been barely able to find a path through the tree-littered forest, a full sized cab drawn by a single black horse pulled to a stop. At the reigns, a tall figure with his coat collar popped up high and his elongated tall top hat pulled down over his ears so that it was impossible to see his face. Ash could feel his eyes staring into her though, and absently she put her hand over her heart where the mark of Diablo had been bare before.

Never the shy type, Ash smiled sweetly. "Hey there. Got room for a passenger in there?" Her natural charm appeared as smoothly as ever.

She was met with silence, or at least as much silence as the weather was willing to give them. A crack of thunder sounded, so close it vibrated her diaphragm. A moment later lightning lit up the area behind the driver, casting darker shadows around his form. It was poetic and exhilarating.

The driver, without a sound, motioned with his gloved hand to get in as the first specks of water began to fall from the sky.

Not to be rude, especially after he asked, The Storm Demon moved towards the cab. It was as black as the horse, maybe even darker. It was smooth and shiny, cold to her touch. It was metal like a car, but without rivets in the folds. She went to grab the handle of the door when the fancy silver arm dipped down and unlatched from the frame. Slowly it creaked open. She looked up expecting someone, but there was no one.

Of course, there wasn't.

The inside was detailed in a rich beautiful dark blue. Instantly she thought of her own blood. Ash couldn't remember when it no longer flowed in the usual deep crimson she'd seen all her life, but it was one of the last things that set her apart from her sister. Along with the rest of the world.

The seats were two long benches that stretched from end to end of the interior. They had a matching back, dark wood frames, clawed feet balancing on clear crystal spheres sat on soft, lush grey carpet. The buttons that pierced the seats were silver and looked like different seals from very distant worlds. She looked over at the waving lantern on the side of the cab, back at the driver. Curious about who he was and what this was about, but before she could say anything heavier raindrops smacked against her horns.

Rain didn't bother her if anything it only made things harder to grab. Even now that was such a silly reason to dislike it because she had The Red Devil's Claw also. However, something told her she couldn't ask too many questions while the driver waited in the rain. Ash climbed onto the first step before trying to shake off dirt from the bottom of her shoes, not wanting to dirty up the impeccable interior any more than she needed to. The bruised colored woman climbed in and slid into the back seat. Behind her the door already came to a soft close.

Ash heard the leather beat snap and slowly the horse began to pull its burden onward.