Demonheart Boxset 1: Book 1-3

by J. J. Egosi

  “That’s rather arrogant,” said Alexa.

  “Like you have any room to talk,” Isabella said.

  “Just get your infinity bags ready, everyone,” Michael said with finality.

  The girls looked at him in confusion, shrugging his comment off. Michael transformed into his angel form. He materialized his scepter in his hands, bringing a burst of wind with him. The girls watched him in awe and shock.

  “You realize magic is outlawed in the twilight realm now because of recent bans placed from the village we destroyed, right?” Alexa said.

  “A quick spell won’t hurt anyone, right?” said Michael.

  The skies filled with lightning strikes. The winds grew intense as the animals flocked for safety.

  “Why not? Fuck the church, I suppose,” Alexa said. The others nodded.

  With a smile, he held up his scepter and pointed it at the trees. “Light beam slash!”

  With outward curve-like slashes, he cut every tree in front of himself and the girls down to size, leaving the logs laid out in neat stacks.

  Michael then turned around. “There. Now, it’s time for the hunt.”

  The girls marveled at the neat stack of logs before watching Michael fly into a part of the woods that was unaffected by his spell. He rustled past the trees as he disappeared into the thicket, leaving the girls waiting eagerly. The sound of roars and squeals from the direction he went stopped before Michael returned with slaughtered bears and hogs in his hands.

  “Alright, this should be enough food and wood for a few months. Let’s say we get this all in those bags of yours and head out!” said Michael.

  His display left the girls lost for words. They simply nodded in acknowledgment.

  As the five of them walked over to their campsite, Alexa looked around at the group. “So, with the five of us teamed up now, does anyone have any plans on how to defeat the Legion of Morningstar?”

  “A battle between two titans could prove dangerous. And we have no clue what the demon king is capable of,” said Isabella.

  “Indeed. And let’s not forget that their leader has business with Michael,” said Julianna, looking at Michael.

  Michael nervously laughed with a nod.

  “Well, their leader will never take us down!” said Ursula.

  “Hey, I’ve been meaning to ask you something…” Isabella started.

  “Yeah, what?” Ursula wondered as everyone looked at her with curiosity.

  “That day you fought Michael. Your eyes. They turned black. What was that all about?” said Isabella.

  Ursula looked at her. Her cheeks turned rosy in embarrassment. “Oh, right. I’ve been trying to reach this thing called ‘etheria’. Something about conquering your inner demons. I don’t know. The whole idea seems really offensive to our kind. It hasn’t been going too well so far.”

  “Oh, I see. I ask because I recently reached a similar state, only I had horns and a tail.” Her response earned her stunned looks.

  “Sounds like you fully reached the form. Very impressive. I can see how you won your titan ring now,” said Alexa. “Perhaps once I trounce Michael and his army of cub scouts, I’ll see you on the battlefield.”

  “Maybe you will,” Isabella said with a proud smile.

  “Etheria? Interesting. So, you know of it in other dimensions?” Michael asked.

  “We sure do. It’s the legendary state of demonkind,” Ursula said.

  “What else do you guys know about it?” Michael asked.

  “I think everyone interprets the form a bit differently but I believe etheria is a state achieved by reaching inner peace with oneself…”

  Peace with oneself? Michael thought.

  “…that’s only a part of it. Knowing your purpose and focusing on your endeavors is another part—qualities that Ursula lacks, which is why she still can’t power up,” Alexa said, looking at a saddened Ursula.

  Michael flashed a comforting smile at Ursula and said, “Cheer up. I’m sure you’ll get there soon.”

  “And what is the significance of this state, if you don’t mind my asking?” asked Julianna.

  “I would think a fellow demon would know that. Maybe the form isn’t so well known here in the dark ages, but if you’re a dimension walker, everyone knows it as the ultimate prestige of a demon. Only the greatest can reach this form,” said Alexa.

  Isabella blushed, before meeting the frustrated and envious look on Julianna’s face.

  “Oh, don’t feel so bad, Julianna. You’re plenty strong,” Michael said, placing his hand on her shoulder.

  “Yes, but I want to be stronger. A demon never settles for anything below the highest tier. That’s how we’ve evolved to the highest echelons of beauty, power, and wealth over the years. We strive for perfection and if we can’t reach it, then we’re failures,” said Julianna.

  “That’s pretty harsh. Well, this probably doesn’t mean much, but I don’t think you’re a failure,” Michael assured.

  “You don’t?” Julianna asked with an expectant look.

  “Of course not! You have an incredibly successful sword business and a great job as an assassin, to boot. You’re great at what you do and, if I may be so bold, you surround yourself with equally great people. You’re a total success, as far as I’m concerned,” said Michael.

  Julianna took a moment to absorb the compliments. She blushed before kissing him on the cheek. Michael returned the sentiment with a smile.

  “Now, let’s hurry. It’s getting dark and we’ve hardly enough time before the bears I didn’t kill come back out,” Michael said.

  The girls snickered, leaving him groaning with the very thought as they all continued walking with their wood and their bounty of food.

  The group returned to the campsite and immediately got to work, constructing a fire pit out of stray stones. The atmosphere brimmed with laughter and smiles as they teamed up to build the bonfire. Once they ignited the fire, they gathered around it and watched the mesmerizing glow of the dancing inferno in the night.

  “Hey, Michael…” started Alexa.

  “Yeah?” he replied.

  “…how’d you do it?”

  “How’d I do what?”

  “From everything I’ve heard; you came from nothing. You were beaten to near-death every day and drove yourself into heavy drinking, and yet you have such a positive outlook on life and the people around you. How do you do something like that?” she asked, as the other girls looked at him, curious for an answer as well.

  “I don’t know. I guess I never got a lot from life but wanted to change that, one day. Life hasn’t been very kind to me, but it hasn’t stopped me from striving for more. And you know, some days are better. I’d often get depressed until I’d drink myself into a coma,” said Michael.

  The girls looked at him with frowns and tears forming in their eyes.

  “But even on my darkest days, I never lost sight of the light waiting for me. I knew I’d achieve something one day. I didn’t know how, but I just knew. And with the four of you, well, I see people who have made something of themselves. Billion-gold empires in a world that discriminates against your kind. That sense of feeling like a pariah is something I share in. And seeing your success makes me think anything can happen for me if I work hard enough. You’re all so inspiring. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

  “Oh, Michael.” Isabella smiled.

  “Maybe it’s childish envy or whatever. I just know there are great things out there and that no matter what my mind tells me, my heart says it’s out there waiting for me,” Michael said with a wholesome smile.

  The girls smiled in response to his words. “All the money we could ask for, and I think it’s you who could teach us a lesson,” said Julianna.

  “Well, I don’t know about that. I think there’s plenty I could learn from you. Making money, for one. But, also caring a bit more about myself,” Michael said with an awkward laugh.

  “Which is what I think you need,�
�� said Ursula.

  “Making money is easy. Being happy isn’t. I know you’re used to throwing your health down the drain, but there are people who care about you now, so you’ll need to pay attention to the way you treat yourself,” said Isabella.

  “In other words, you have something to live for. Something to drive you towards that extravagant life of purpose and opportunity you desire so much,” said Julianna.

  Alexa commented, “Well, if that isn’t the truth, I don’t know what is,” wrapping her arm around his.

  Michael smiled. “Thanks, guys.”

  “Don’t thank us. Thank you for your honesty,” Ursula said, matching Alexa’s grip on Michael’s other arm.

  “My pleasure,” Michael said, blushing.

  Michael and the girls watched the fire lose its vigor as dinner ended.

  He stared with wonder in his eyes and a smile across his face, imagining the world ahead of him—a life of wealth and opportunity with his friends all by his side.

  A goal for me to strive for, he thought. I’ll make that dream a reality and wash away the nightmares.

  A strong wind snuffed the hypnotic flame. Everyone looked up and around the campsite, looking for the source of the unusual weather. As the winds grew aggressive, the group’s collective confusion turned into panic.

  “What’s going on?” Ursula asked.

  “Your guess is as good as mine,” said Julianna.

  A thick blanket of shadows slowly enfolded the moon, twisting and turning as the screaming winds echoed from every corner.

  “Some kind of freak storm, you think?” said Isabella.

  “I think not,” a strange voice responded.

  “Who’s there?” Alexa said, scanning her surroundings for the source of the voice.

  “That voice? It can’t be,” said Michael.

  “Oh, it is,” the voice replied, as a great crow circled the tree line, descending gracefully towards them.

  “A bird?” Isabella said, confused.

  “That’s not a bird,” said Michael.

  “How right, you are!” the voice replied.

  The crow landed before them, staring with a chilling set of crimson eyes, before transforming into the masked demon of Michael’s nightmares: an imposing man whose blackened aura chilled the once warm air, plaguing it with his dark miasma.

  “Who are you?” Julianna said, panicking.

  “You don’t recognize me? My feelings are hurt. I thought a demon such as myself would be known across all the omniverse, especially to those seeking my titan rings,” said the man.

  “Omniverse? Titan rings? Are you?”

  “That’s right,” the man said in response to Alexa’s questions. “I am the leader of the Legion of Morningstar and I have come for your titan rings, and the man you harbor.”

  “Yeah, well, you can’t have them,” Isabella refuted. “Not the rings and not him.”

  Julianna lowered her voice to say, “Isabella, I don’t think you want to mess with this guy; this is the demon king we’re talking about. Legend says he’s wielded the strongest armies the world has ever known. Some say he’s the only demon the church truly fears.”

  Michael looked at the man, completely mortified, as all color left his face. The girls directed their looks at him.

  “Michael, are you alright? You looked incredibly pale,” said Julianna.

  Alexa waved her hand in his face and nudged him. “Michael? Michael?!” Said Alexa. He simply stared on, fixated by the figure before him.

  He thought, the demon king in my nightmares. Lucifer.

  “I’ll take your collective cluelessness as a sign that he hasn’t told you about me,” said the man.

  “Wait, what? Are you saying Michael knows you?” said Julianna.

  “That could explain why he’s after you if you had a previous run-in,” Alexa suggested, gazing at the man’s strange mask.

  “That’s preposterous!” Isabella said. “Michael had never even left the dark realm before the past week or so. There’s no way he could have met someone like you without my knowledge about it.”

  “Though he is the archangel, they are said to know each other well … And be bitter rivals,” said Ursula.

  “I know all that. I’m asking if Michael can recognize this plague doctor looking freak right now,” Isabella said.

  “There’s one way to answer that.” A devious smiled formed across the man’s face. “Ask him if he knows my name.”

  Isabella gulped as she turned towards Michael. The rest of the girls stared at him tensely.

  “Well?” Ursula asked. “Do you remember his name at all?”

  Sweat rolled down his face. The grin on the demon king’s face trapped him just as those faces did in his nightmares. There was nowhere to go. He had to confess what he’d been hiding right there and now.

  “It’s true,” said Michael, trembling. “He’s the demon that’s been haunting my nightmares. His name is Lucifer.”

  The girls gasped.

  “You’re joking! You mean you’ve met him in your nightmares?” Julianna asked.

  “Why the fuck didn’t you tell us this before?” Alexa demanded.

  “I’m sorry. I just”—

  “A pity,” Lucifer began, “to think your own species would bring such horror to the same man you love. Oh, how you all must be drowning in self-doubt, wondering if you can trust him any longer. He is a liar, after all.”

  “I didn’t lie,” Michael appealed. “I just didn’t tell.”

  He looked over at them with a nervous smile. Their stony gazes silently communicated a loss of trust and disbelief in what they had just found out.

  “I’m curious if he ever has nightmares about any of you ladies,” Lucifer said. “It’s not good for an angel to spend so much time with demons after all. In fact, it’s rather bad for their health!”

  “Do we scare you, Michael? Tell us,” Isabella said, trembling with worry, as the other girls looked at him, painfully awaiting his response.

  “What’s going on? Of course, you don’t. You’re my”—

  He saw their faces contort to those he saw in his nightmares. Gasping, he trembled back. The four of them looked with despair.

  “So, you are afraid?” Ursula whimpered, on the verge of tears.

  Michael gritted his teeth. To his right, he heard Lucifer’s chuckling filling the forest. His blood boiled at the sound as he darted his head towards them.

  “That’s enough! Stop trying to poison their minds. You know all my recent nightmares were your doing.”

  “I suppose some tragedies are inevitable. And some nightmares won’t go away,” Lucifer said.

  “And what does that mean?” Michael asked.

  “Tell me. What are you most afraid of?” Lucifer asked.

  Michael gulped. He trembled in the wake of a grin more terrifying than any he’d ever seen as the hideous miasma spread under Lucifer’s mask.

  “It’s solitude, isn’t it?” Lucifer asked.

  “How did you”—

  “You can’t stand the thought of being abandoned. Forgotten by the world. Or as I might say, being left all alone.”

  Michael’s eyes widened. The uncertainty he felt during his prior encounter with Lucifer became clearer, leaving him mortified.

  “Your voice. I know where I’ve heard it.” He pieced together the fact that the voice he heard in the twilight forest, haunting his mind, and Lucifer’s were the same. “This can’t be. This must be a mistake.”

  “Oh, but it isn’t,” Lucifer said. “I’ve been in your mind all along. Watching. Observing what it is you admire most. And what leaves your nightmares running amok? And when it comes to being left behind, that’s a nightmare you can’t outrun.”

  “Shut your mouth. I’m”—

  “Don’t believe me? Look at your friends,” Lucifer said.

  Michael turned towards the girls and met their wary gazes as they struggled to maintain eye contact with him.

  “You w
ant nothing more than to be revered. Loved. Surrounded by those you cherish. Yet, you drive those same people away. How serendipitous.”

  “That is not true.” Michael shivered as he stumbled back. He nearly tripped over his ankle as the dread in his mind took a strangling hold.

  Lucifer snickered. “Your dreams were more than just dreams. They were visions. Visions of the future.”

  “The future?” Michael said, confused.

  “Yes, vague as they were, each dream tells a story. Would you care to know a dream of mine?” Lucifer asked.

  “As a matter of fact, I wouldn’t,” Michael said with a scornful glare.

  “Well, I’ll tell you, anyway, since I’m feeling chatty.” Lucifer grinned. “The dream I had was quite real, for it told of something that took place long ago.”

  “I didn’t ask for a history lesson, either,” Michael snapped.

  “Oh, but it’s such a delightful story, Michael,” he insisted. “A story depicting the great struggle between two beings that fought against one another for this omniverse countless eons ago. The creator god, Michael, and the destroyer god, Lucifer.”

  The beating of Michael’s heart sped up at the mention of his name. He was certain the association with divinity was a mistake. He was anything but.

  Lucifer stared into his panic-induced eyes with a smile. “That was no mistake. You’re that creator and I am that destroyer.”

  “Did you just say I’m a god? And an archangel?”

  “Yes. You were born a god, as I was, and earned the title of archangel through your divine abilities. Just as I earned the title of demon king with my diabolic persuasion,” Lucifer replied with a grin.

  Michael’s head swirled with confusion. His mind overloaded with images he couldn’t recognize—eras he’d never experienced, where creatures he’d never witnessed took form, and civilizations he had no recollection of rose and fell. Many worlds dawned and set before his eyes. An immediate bond he couldn’t comprehend took hold of him. He couldn’t see anything else. All he could see were those visions. And all he could feel was his heart pounding out of his chest.

  “That’s correct.” Lucifer grinned. “The god of creation. The man who birthed this world. And I, the god of destruction, will be the one to take it away.”