Demonheart Boxset 1: Book 1-3

by J. J. Egosi

  “It’s not like it’s his fault,” Ursula began. “He learned about this just as we did.”

  “Assuming that’s even true, that doesn’t explain where he got that titan,” Julianna said.

  The squelching of the swamp under their feet attracted the attention of a denizen—far larger than an alligator—lurking in the muddy swamp. Its yellow eyes glared at the oblivious girls as a jagged grin formed across its face.

  “How do you think he got it, though?” Isabella asked.

  “It’s possible he stole the ring and just forgot about it,” said Alexa.

  “Normally, I’d scoff at such a suggestion, but he is a pretty heavy drinker. Maybe it’s true that he forgot,” Isabella said.

  “What I know is he’s the last person who’d ever hurt us.” Julianna recounted his battles with Ursula and Alexa. “He makes enough mistakes for any lifetime, but he isn’t a bad person and you know that.”

  Alexa took a deep breath. “I know. It was just a lot to take in.”

  “So, you’re not mad at him?” Ursula’s eyes glowed with hope.

  Alexa recalled the night prior when dinner came to a close, then she and the girls got to their share of work on the dishes.

  “I can’t believe how many servings this one guy can finish,” she groaned.

  She looked over her shoulder, turning to where she last saw him.

  “Hey, if it’s not too much trouble for the archangel, do you mind cleaning your damn dishes”—

  She saw him sleeping on the ground with a blanket wrapped around him. He rolled back and forth, mumbling under his breath. He said her name and the rest of his friends’ with a smile on his face. The frustration she felt melted with the warmth of his simple words. Like watching a child rest, Alexa smiled too.

  “A little, still, but I’ll get over it.” Alexa smiled. “As you all said, he’s not a bad person. He’s just a dumbass.”

  “Wait, when did any of us say that last part?” Ursula asked.

  Alexa dismissed the question with a smirk. “Let’s say we gather a few provisions—meat and wood, perhaps—and make a nice dinner as a way of apologizing and for thanking him for dinner last night.”

  “That’s a great idea,” Ursula exclaimed.

  They all nodded in agreement, and then walked in opposite directions, scouring the swamplands for branches and wild boars.

  Ursula strayed away from the group with a certainty that she heard a squeal. “Come on, little piggy. Where are you?” She followed the roots of a tree and tripped over one of them.

  The rest of the girls heard the thump in the distance and ran in her direction.

  “Ursula, are you alright?” Alexa asked.

  “I’ll be fine.” Sore from the fall, Ursula rose to her feet and noticed a scrape on her knee.

  “You’re injured. Let me help.” Isabella walked towards her with a healing spell prepared in her hands.

  “Thanks.” Alexa and Julianna held her up as Isabella performed the remedy.

  “How did you fall, anyway?” Alexa asked.

  “This tree root just came out of nowhere,” Ursula said.

  “Why does that excuse sound familiar?” Alexa said with a dim eyed glare.

  “I’m serious. Look down.”

  Puzzled, she and the others looked at the web of roots on the ground. They noticed a sickly pink one among the earthy shades.

  Alexa nervously gulped as she watched it squirm.

  “Ursula.”

  “Yes?”

  “That’s not a fucking root!”

  They all dispersed with panic and confusion, but it was too late. The deceptive vein among the tree roots had captured them.

  Their screams bulleted across the forest and Michael received them. His heart thundered with terror.

  “Shit! That was them!”

  He ran with haste, following the sounds of their cries, jumping over ponds and ducking below the rotting logs.

  They’re in danger. Something got them. I know it!

  He dove through the vines and trees. Over the many scum-covered ponds and mossy stones, along with a wooden sign that said: “Beware of the jagged distortion that resides here. In the wetlands of Mgla, all shall be consumed.”

  As Michael ran, he noticed his surroundings change. The trees grew emaciated and caves emerged from the weeping shadows, all splattered with blood that trickled into the mud-ridden waters.

  His heart beat faster. He hardly noticed the bloodstains or the mounds of animal and human remains hanging and laid around him.

  Making his way deeper, the sound of a roar left him frozen in place. He peered into the water and saw an alligator rise. It stared in his direction with glowing yellow eyes. His heart pounded as the alligator’s jaws slowly opened.

  Why do I always have to run into wild animals? Why can’t I just walk into a forest in peace for once?

  Michael panted as the alligator slithered towards him. He prepared himself to summon his scepter as a defense when he felt a tugging at his feet. Frightened, he looked down. The mud grew so thick and potent; it pulled him down like sticky quicksand.

  He attempted to break free with his lightning, but the mud absorbed his strikes. “Damn it!”

  He gritted his teeth as he reached for the branches around him, but they were too far away now that he was sinking deeper.

  More than halfway into the ground, he looked up at the menacing glare of the beast just a few feet away. He saw the carcass of the last animal it ate. Its bones hung from its jaw.

  “Nice alligator. I promise I’ll get out of your swamp and be on my way. As soon I can figure a way out of here.”

  Michael sank deeper into the swamp’s depths as the alligator grew closer. Wisps of its fiery breath flared from its nostrils onto Michael’s face. He looked away in despair.

  I need to get out of here fast. Even if they don’t want my help or even want to see me again, I owe them that much. And I owe it to myself, too, to get back the only people that have ever been there for me!

  With a vicious grunt, he took one last chance at grabbing one of the vines nearest to him. Before he could, the alligator lunged at it and broke it with its jaws.

  “Of course you just did that. Fantastic!”

  Michael closed his eyes as the alligator prepared to pounce when only his head was left sticking out from the ground. Michael expected the alligator to eat him alive right then, but instead, the roar of another beast met him. He creaked one eye open to the sight of a massive tentacle clutching alligator.

  “What the fuck was that?!”

  Michael looked around and only registered now he was stuck in a bog of rotting flesh. Countless boars, rabbits, cattle, and many other beasts hanged from the trees and scattered through the ponds and grounds—mutilated, as the buzzards picked at their remains. He concluded that whatever yanked him out was the culprit behind all the carcasses.

  The last of him began to sink into the mud. He closed his eyes, accepting fate when a massive hand suddenly pulled him straight out.

  He gasping for air, turned around with bewilderment. He was thankful to be alive but still wondered what just grabbed him.

  He looked down at the furry pink slug-like exterior, gazing into its horrific golden stare, knowing he was better off underground.

  The beast mightily threw him towards the ground and he landed in a very open region of the swamp. He then looked forward, seeing an abomination of jagged clawed arms on either side, with tendril tongues pouring from its gaping jaws. It had the most hideous face he’d ever seen. Distorted past his understanding, its jaws spread nearly throughout across what resembled a head.

  Its teeth glistened like a bottomless chasm of spikes. The trees corroded as it salivated all around the swamp like the savage slob it was. The tentacles emerging from its mouth and arms were especially deplorable. With antler-like horns and a single eye to top off its grotesque appearance, it was like something from another world.

  As if broken from the tra
nce placed by the creature’s revolting appearance, Michael heard the screams of his friends. His eyes immediately widened as he saw the beast carrying them in its tentacles.

  “Ursula, Isabella, Julianna, and Alexa.”

  “What the hell are you doing here?” Isabella asked, struggling to break the creature’s grip.

  “Saving you. Even if you don’t want my help, you’ve got it. Always.”

  Julianna looked at the others with a smile, knowing the decision to trust him all along was right.

  “In that case, hurry your ass up.”

  “Our weapons fell when this beast grabbed us.” Isabella eyed the pile of swords, a mallet, and an ax laying by the tree.

  “And this beast’s grip is too tight for us to use our magic,” Ursula said, feeling her arms tightened under the coiling grip of the swamp beast.

  The tentacle holding her craned towards the beast’s jaws as they slowly opened. Alexa watched in defeat as a screaming Ursula inched towards its mouth.

  “Ursula!”

  Michael’s rage grew from the very sight.

  “That’s it. This ugly fucker’s finished!”

  He immediately transformed into his etherial state. He cast his scepter by his side and released his wings. In the blink of an eye, he rushed towards the four of them and slashed through the tentacles holding them, releasing them from the beast’s grip. They safely thudded onto the ground before the bleeding creature sprayed them with its puss.

  “Michael, you saved us!” Ursula hugged him tightly with a smile.

  “Not yet,” Michael replied, catching his breath. He looked up at the hulking creature. It roared with fury as its tentacles slowly grew back. “I still need to make sure this beast is over with.”

  The girls nervously gulped, stepping back. Michael spread his feet apart and raised his staff in a horizontal position, and then voltage emanated from his fingertips. It shocked and lit up brighter until he could no longer contain it.

  “Go! Electric burst!”

  Bolts of lightning rushed from his scepter and into the water, electrocuting the beast. The beast roared as it blackened to ash. With a final groan, it collapsed into the water, unleashing a tidal wave that soaked them all.

  Michael watched the creature sink in the swamp. He took a deep breath, preparing to approach his friends.

  When he walked over to them, he saw wandering gazes of embarrassment on their faces.

  “We could have done that ourselves, you know,” Alexa said, pouting.

  “I know you could. I did it to say thanks.”

  The girls looked at him, confused.

  “Thanks for what?” Isabella asked.

  “We’re the ones that left you behind,” said Ursula.

  “Thanks for being my friend. Even if you don’t know if you can trust me yet, I’ll do everything in my power to earn it.”

  “Michael. We”—Alexa began.

  “I know my still missing memories will be a pain for us all as I learn more of who I used to be, and how I got that titan in the first place. But I won’t let that get in the way of who I want to be right now: someone who cares deeply for his friends. So, if you’d be alright giving me another chance”—

  “Yes, Michael.”

  Julianna’s swift response took him by surprise. “Wait, you mean that?”

  “Don’t get it twisted. I think we’re all pretty annoyed you didn’t tell us about meeting Lucifer before,” Alexa said.

  “Right.” Michael looked down, downhearted.

  “And we still don’t know how you summoned or got that titan in the first place,” Isabella added.

  “Yeah. That, too. Look, I”—

  “But, you’re nothing like your brother outside of his face. Your selflessness proves that much,” said Alexa.

  “No matter what you learn about yourself, you’ll still be you. And well, we like you a lot,” Ursula said with a smile.

  Their smiles and sincere words they brought stunned him. He shook in place and succumbed to emotions.

  “I don’t know what to say. Just thank you so much.”

  “Don’t cry.” Ursula wiped his tears away.

  “And don’t keep secret from us, either. Understand?” Alexa said.

  “Yes.” Michael nodded with a smile. He then remembered the vision he had back in the estate. “Now that you mention it, there is something really important I’d like to tell you all if that’s alright.”

  “Please do, Michael,” Julianna said.

  Michael smiled and nodded, then recounted his vision during the battle with Lucifer. From the very beginning, when he walked through the bazaars like a ghost, to the strong bond he felt in the estate. He told them about the darkened figures he saw—how they seemed rather familiar and how they appeared to be watching him, the understanding during the fall he had that everything he saw and felt were fragments of who he was, waiting to be put together.

  “What do you think?” Michael asked.

  The four of them looked at one another in silence before smiling.

  “You have an interesting imagination.” Julianna laughed. They joined her in laughter.

  “But it sounds like you’ve made some major progress in figuring out who you were. For that, I’m proud of you.” Isabella smiled.

  “And for the first time in a while, I actually can’t wait to have another dream,” Michael said.

  “Just be sure not to go drinking before bed—or at all, if you can help it,” said Alexa. They all laughed and nodded.

  “I’ll do my best.”

  “Good. Now, let’s get the hell out of this swamp before another beast appears and tries to consume us,” said Julianna. “It’s still a while before sundown, but I don’t want to take my chances.”

  “Speaking of which, how about the four of us make dinner tonight?” Alexa said.

  Michael’s eyes widened. “Really? You don’t have to if”—

  “We’d be happy to,” Julianna insisted.

  “But you have to clean up,” Ursula said.

  “That hardly seems fair.” Michael sighed before smiling. “Even so, I’d be happy to.”

  “Then, let’s go. I’m starving for some boar,” said Alexa.

  The others nodded.

  Together, the five of them released their wings and took to the sky, flying over the swamplands. They were bound for their campsite, ready to celebrate their evening of reconciliation with a freshly roasted meal.

  Chapter 10

  The Mechanical Witch

  T

  he following morning, Michael creaked open his eyes to the rays of the morning sun beaming into his tent, flustered by the staining sensation. He wondered how early it was, feeling a slight aching in his head.

  This ordeal of being sober and not sleeping through the mornings won’t be easy, he thought.

  He looked down, thinking he was in some sort of dream. He found the girls gathered in his tent, all wrapped around him—barely dressed, with smiles on their faces.

  What the hell are they all doing here?

  Michael’s eyes scanned every corner of the tent in search of their clothes.

  I know we made up and everything during dinner last night.

  Michael recalled the night laughter they all shared during dinner: from cooking together to telling many stories. They all wore elated smiles as they basked one another’s company.

  I was so relieved to be back with them again. My friends.

  Their grip around him tightened. His face turning blue, he inched his fingers out from under them. The clinginess seemed a bit too much to him.

  As he tried to get up, Julianna and Alexa dragged him back onto the floor.

  Michael realized that even in their sleep, they wouldn’t let go, feeling their collective grip tighten. He looked for another way out.

  I know. I’ll slowly slide through.

  He tried to slip through the girls, slithering like a caterpillar. After a few inches of progress, a tugging on his pants stopped h
im. It was Isabella pulling his pants off with a wide grin and a giggle.

  Well, I knew I wouldn’t make it out of here with my clothes, but as long as I can make it out at all, I should be fine.

  Michael persisted in trying to slip past them. He then felt a kissing sensation on his leg. He looked down, found out it was Ursula’s touch this time. She grabbed on, moving farther up his leg than he could keep up.

  What’s come over them? Not that I mind. Embarrassment filled Michael. He drooled from the many hands and lips latching on.

  He could feel his heart pounding out of his chest and his blood rushing when Alexa dragged him down, burying his face between her breasts.

  “You’re not going anywhere,” Alexa said with a playful smile.

  “You’re awake?” Michael’s face turned blue from the suffocating grip.

  “Of course. We all are. We just like watching you squirm a bit,” Alexa said, holding tighter.

  The others opened their eyes. They wiped out their smiles and gasped at Michael’s face going from blue to purple.

  “Hey, you’re hurting him,” Julianna said, mulled at his arms.

  “No, I wasn’t. If he had a problem with getting a face full of breasts in the morning, then he wouldn’t be pitching a second tent by Ursula’s face,” said Alexa.

  “I think she means he can’t breathe,” Ursula said, who noticed his tent drooping.

  Alexa looked down at Michael’s face, which had now gone completely purple. “Oh, no. You’re right!” She swiftly released her grip on him.

  “I’m so sorry. Are you alright?” she continued, shaking him back and forth.

  “Just peachy,” Michael said, as he felt his head spin across the room with four sets of eyes staring back at him.

  He caught his breath as his face returned to form and then looked over at their nervous faces with a groan.

  “I appreciate the affection in the morning, but do you mind not sneaking into my tent when I’m still asleep?” Michael suggested.

  “Sorry. It was Alexa’s idea,” Ursula said.