Read Devil Ash Disarray (Devil Ash Saga Book 3) for Free Online Page A

haired boy protested.
    “I’m mugging you! Both of you! Now give me your rare cards!”
    Finally, the boy looked up from his cards. He recognized her, she could tell. She saw it in his eyes. Then he said, “Hey, aren’t you that girl I saw talking to Marni?”
    Not good. She couldn’t let him trace this back to Marni. Not yet anyway. Instead she focused on the situation at hand. Scare the boys. Get some cards. Keep it simple.
    She waved the knife. “Give me the cards or I’ll cut you.” Nice and straight forward. That outta do the trick.
    The boy made a face. “Seriously? What are you, a thug?”
    “She’s a street punk,” the other guy said without opening an eye. “Just give her a crappy card and make her feel like she accomplished something so she’ll leave us alone.”
    “Listen up, boys!” Aralia said, sliding onto the leather bench opposite them. “I want cards. Rare ones. Strong ones. Your best ones. Give’em to me, now!”
    To illustrate her point, Aralia decided to show off her knife handling skills. She tossed the butterfly knife from hand to hand in a showy manner, flipping it open and closed repeatedly, her hands a blur. For the grand finale she tossed the knife up in the air, the gleaming sharp blade spinning erratically.
    It came down and landed clenched in her hand, an expert grab. Except that she was once again gripping the blade. Her already-bandaged hand slowly dripped blood from a fresh new cut, the girl cried out in pain. She quickly pocketed the knife and took out her extra bandages, wrapping over the old ones. She tied the bandage off and acted like nothing happened.
    “So, have I made my point? Are you ready to cough up the cards yet?”
    “Um, no .” Ash removed his cards from the table. “I don’t really have any cards to spare at the moment. Why don’t you move along and try your intimidation routine on someone else. I’m not in the habit of giving out hand-outs.”
    “ Hand-outs ?” Aralia repeated, offended. Like she was some common beggar on the street. Her pride damaged, she lost her cool and slammed her hands down on the table.  “I don’t want any hand-outs from some loser kid!”
    A low clearing of someone’s throat signaled the group to turn their heads. Behind Aralia, an official looking girl in a striped dress appeared, glaring at them.
    “ Problems ?” she asked, cocking her head suspiciously.
    “N-no ma’am,” Aralia replied.
    Ash turned to the ref and forced a smile. “There’s no problem here.”
    “Good,” the lady ref replied, replacing her icy glare with a bright smile. “I’m Hakusho, the referee. We’ve got the bracket all set up and we’re ready to begin, so-”
    Hakusho cast a curious glance at Aralia, eyeing her up and down. “Are you a competitor? If so, where’s your number?”
    Aralia’s heart skipped a beat, thinking she’d done something wrong and wouldn’t be allowed to compete. But then she remembered the small sticker Marni’s goon had given her and pulled it from her bra. She held it up for the ref to see.
    “See? I’m legit.” She beamed, placing the sticker on her shirt.
    “ Excellent .” Hakusho beamed with positive energy. “Let’s get this tournament started then, shall we?”
    Without waiting for a reply from either of them, Hakusho walked through the competitor’s area and up into the main gaming arena. Aralia flashed the boys one last look, a glare of malice to signal that their beef was not over yet. She’d fight tooth and nail to take them both out. She would do it, and become one of Marni’s hired thugs. Only then would she start making some real skorch.
     
    “Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls! Thank you all for joining us today for the first ever Devil’s Duel tournament! I’m your adorable referee Hakusho! Let’s all have a great time watching some Devil’s Duel!” The referee girl warmed up the crowd as Ash and Aura sat on one of the competitor’s benches.
    “Without further ado,