Free Devil Ash Deceit (Devil Ash Saga) by Mitchell Olson Page B

compliment, certain she’d have to acknowledge him now.
    “Let’s see what you can do, Ash,” Yazma said, clearly unimpressed with Aura’s display. The boy deflated as Shiva scowled and Wilhelm clapped.
    It was Ash’s turn at last. The nervous boy stepped before his friends, unsure of how this was going to go down. He seriously doubted he could outperform Aura, who had clearly shown that he was more capable than anyone expected. Ash held his hands out like Shiva did to form one fireball between them.
    With a determined grunt Ash began emitting flames from his palms, feeding it all into one collective globe. The ball grew quickly with no signs of slowing down. It only took seconds for his flame to reach a size so large that he could no longer hold it between his hands. Instead he had to thrust his hands upward, holding the enormous fireball above his head.
    His company was impressed. There were equal parts confusion and admiration among them. The admiration came from Yazma and Wilhelm, while Ash’s teammates supplied the confusion. The fireball continued to grow. It was nearly as large as Ash himself, and he wasn’t even tired yet.
    “That’s great Ash, you can stop now!” Yazma’s voice rang out.
    The teen’s fireball was far too large to hold on to anymore. The boy wasn’t sure what to do with the giant ball of flames now. He thought about letting it dissolve, but that might be dangerous. Instead, he came up with a more practical solution: he aimed toward the artificial sun and fired it off. Only after he let it go did he think about the safety of anyone who might be flying directly above him.
    Ash’s big ball of flame traveled slowly and safely through the sky, making it to the artificial sun to be absorbed. The sun shined a little brighter that afternoon, bathing the Kingdom in a beautiful, hot, sunny day.
    “Again,” Wilhelm ordered.
    “Excuse me?” Ash said.
    “Quickly now, again!” The old Satan barked at the boy.
    Ash obeyed. This time he stuck out his arms up and began forming another fireball. It took only a few seconds longer this time, but still his fireball reached a size he could not hold on to for very long. Yazma and Wilhelm watched in silent admiration. It could have just been Ash’s imagination, but he could have sworn Aura looked jealous. Shiva definitely looked jealous.
    “Now separate it into two fireballs,” old Satan ordered.
    Ash tried pulling the fireball apart by separating his arms, but the two halves quickly sputtered out of control and burnt out. Ash dropped his arms to his sides, disappointed at failing.
    “His refresh rate is incredible, and I’ve never seen such a flame stock for a beginner,” Yazma said to Wilhelm.
    “Is that good?” Ash asked. “That sounds good…”
    “Indeed,” Wilhelm confirmed. “The boy could become a master if he learned some control.”
    “ What!” Shiva exclaimed. Aura grinned pleasantly, suddenly okay with his best friend being better than him at something, as long as it annoyed Shiva.
    “I could be a flame master …?” Ash repeated, loving the sound of it.
    “Yes, but it will take a long time and a lot of effort,” Yazma said. “Lady Shiva, Aura, please create another fireball using as much of your fire power as you can.”
    Shiva and Aura obeyed and created more flames, but neither was comparable to Ash’s. The two admittedly felt inferior now, and their flames showed it. Neither could manage to create a fireball larger than their previous attempts. But there was another reason their flames were weaker, as they were about to find out.
    “Our next exercise is to work on our flame refresh rates,” Yazma explained. “That is, how long it takes to create more flames at your maximum output.”
    “I don’t get it,” Ash said.
    “ Figures, ” Shiva scoffed, fed up with his stupidity and natural talent.
    “Lady Shiva, would you like to explain?” Yazma asked.
    With determination in the presence of her family, Shiva