Chapter Ten

Ash dreamed of her father. She loved him dearly because she has more memories with him than with anyone.

"What? Six months in a boring old cave?" Ash asked her father. "No way."

Her father chuckled. "Yes it's true, my father was crazy man. Smart, but crazy."

"How did he even survive that long?" Ash was twelve when she asked that. "Where did he get his supplies?"

"He wasn't there alone. He had three friends who brought supplies every two weeks."

"Hmm…" Ash rested her arms on the table. "Six months… I can't even live alone for two days, let alone six months."

Her father laughed. "Ash, you'll never be alone. You have me, the village residents and let's not forget your friends," he smiled.

The face of Ash's father faded as she was about to wake up. "Father…" a tear streaked down her cheek and she tightly clutched a sort of fabric.

"Glad to see that you're awake," Asura said.

"What?" Ash blinked and realized that she was being carried. "Asura, what happened?"

"I'm surprised you slept through it!" Asura exclaimed and turned around. "Look; someone set Uvryne in a blaze."

Ash followed Asura's gaze. "Was it an accident?" her mind turned to her grandfather's journal. "Wait the journal!"

"I took that with us," Asura assured Ash. "But… I hope you didn't want to take anything else because we aren't going back."

"Oh thank you Asura," Ash sighed in relief. "Why aren't we going back?"

"I just said why… someone started a fire. I don't know who but I woke up when I smelled smoke."

"I would have done the same," Ash pointed at a rocky cliff. "Go there."

"Why?"

"I need to figure out which way to go."

"What for?" Asura landed on the rocky cliff Ash pointed at.

Ash jumped out of Asura's arms and elegantly landed. "Where is the journal?"

Asura lifted his scarf which held the leather bound journal. "Here."

"Thank you," Ash flipped through it until she found the pages containing the ruin in Nevada. "This is where we are going next."

"A desert?"

"Well… we're going somewhere in the desert. A ruin to be exact."

"Why a ruin?"

"Two reasons," Ash lifted two fingers. "One, Death will never expect us to go an unpopulated area and two, I want to go there."

"How about if we don't go there?" Asura suggested.

"Hmm?" Ash looked at her friend. "Why not?"

"Every place we have gone to, Death himself or one of his guardians found us."

"Alright," Ash closed her journal. "Where do you want to go Asura?"

Asura looked at the clear blue sky. "There is a ruin in Nevada that I heard a lot about. That's where I want to go."

Ash face palmed. "Asura, can you read?"

"Yes I can. Why do you ask?"

Ash flipped to where she last was. "Read this," she showed the page to Asura.

"'Ruin found in Nevada desert, well-structured and appears to be ancient'," Asura realized what he read over Ash's shoulder. "Oh… you wish to go there as well."

"Yeah," Ash resumed reading. "Let's see," Ash found a folded map of the country. She whistled. "I'm impressed grandfather. We're here," Ash pointed a small rock area near Uvryne.

"And I'm assuming this is where the ruin is?" Asura pointed at a roughly drawn structure in what looks like a desert.

"Correct. That would be west," Ash folded the map and flipped through dates. "It took grandfather four months to get there by foot. He traveled about ten to fifteen miles every day. He rested at dusk and continued to move at dawn. Since we can fly and we are beyond human, I'd say we could travel fifty to one hundred at a time before we need to rest."

"What are you, some sort of mathematician?"

"I don't know," Ash closed the book. "Numbers just come to me."

"That would result in my intelligence being added to yours," Xavier said.

"So are you saying that I'm an idiot?" Ash asked Xavier angrily.

"No Ash. Why do you take everything I say the wrong way?"

"Just shut up and tell me which way is west."

"Turn ninety degrees left."

Ash obeyed.

"And now you are facing west. Enjoy your flight."

Ash groaned and grew out her wings. "Alright, let's go Asura."

Asura chuckled and followed Ash. "Glad I don't need to have those conversations with anyone."

"Madness will give you partner, don't you worry."

"Hasn't madness already given me a partner?"

"I meant one to have arguments with."

"I can start one with you," Asura smiled.

"Believe me when I say; you don't," Xavier warned.

Ash smiled evilly at Asura.

Death thought back to the battle he had with Asura. There is no way Asura could have gained so much power in such a small amount of time. Ash hid him well. If she hadn't followed him, Death would hound Asura until the kishin fell.

"Where could you have gone Asura?" Death thought. "With Ash at his side, he could be anywhere. Perhaps Xavier will know where she is. He has always been watchful of her."

"How are your wounds treating you?" Eibon, a genius wizard among Death's guard asked.

"I am almost fully recovered thank you Eibon," Death answered. "Have you any news about Asura or Ash's whereabouts?"

"No Lord Death," Eibon tilted his head down. "But I bring grave news."

"What is it?"

"The assassin, Nocturne…"

"What about him? Has he returned?"

"No he was killed."

"How? He was a shadow."

"Only a shadow may kill another shadow. The master huntress, Ash, she killed him."

"What? But… how? She is only a human."

"Perhaps I can answer," a feminine voice said.

"Eibon, who is this?" Death asked.

"Ah yes, forgive me," Eibon stepped aside to reveal a woman wearing a black cloak. "I forgot to mention that you have a visitor. She claims to have vital information about the kishin."

"Oh really?" Death inspected the woman. "Tell me, who might you be?"

"You may call me Lady M. But my name isn't important," the cloaked woman said. "What is important is searching for the two kishins running amok. Now then, I know that you are grieving Nocturne's death and you are wondering how a human can kill a guardian. You see, Ash isn't human anymore. She became a Demon Sword master."

"What do you mean?"

"The eagle, Xavier, he is a demon sword. As a result, he can't survive on his own. So to live, he fused with Ash. As a result, Ash gained his power."

"And she became a kishin."

"Only a partial one. Asura is the true kishin."

"Hmm… this is bad. If something isn't done soon, there will be two kishins. One I can handle at full strength but two… do you know where they are going?"

Lady M smiled under her cloak. "They are heading towards Nevada. There is an ancient ruin located there that Ash's grandfather visited. She is drawn there by curiosity and fascination given by the lectures of her father."

"Nevada…" Death was puzzled. "I will make haste," Death wandered past Eibon and Lady M.

"What do you plan on doing?" Eibon asked.

"I will go to Nevada. There, I will have no risk in harming any innocent lives and I will kill Asura, along with his partners, Ash and Xavier."