Demonheart Boxset 1: Book 1-3

by J. J. Egosi

  With a smile, Ursula kicked back and forth a pair of leather boots Isabella had given her. They were slightly large for her but still held on.

  “I’m glad you like them. They’re a bit plain for me,” Isabella said.

  “What she’s saying is she didn’t want them anymore because she thinks they’re ugly,” Julianna said.

  “Wait, you mean you were just going to throw these out, otherwise? Am I just a garbage disposal?”

  “That’s a pretty aggressive conclusion.” Alexa dimmed her eyes.

  “That isn’t what I meant.” Isabella frantically waved her hands. “They aren’t really my style and I’m just glad they were able to be put to good use.”

  “Yeah, and if anything, we already have a garbage disposal,” Julianna said, grinning.

  The girls turned their attention toward Michael and stared in awe as he shoveled his steak and eggs down his throat. They were almost certain none of it was being swallowed.

  “Michael, slow down. You’ll choke,” Ursula said.

  “Whoops,” Michael said. He put down his knife and fork and gulped down his food. “Being sober puts up quite an appetite.”

  “I guess that’s you making up for all the liquid calories your diet is missing,” Alexa said, filling her statement with humor.

  “That’s right! You’re two weeks sober now. I’m very proud of you,” Isabella said with a warm smile.

  “Thanks. Fingers crossed I can make it to a whole month,” he said.

  “I’m certain you will.” Julianna nodded as she rummaged through her infinity bag.

  “What are you doing?” Ursula asked.

  “He was so busy with breakfast, it seems he forgot drinks.”

  “That explains why you girls barely touched your food,” Michael said, noticing their near full plates. “Sorry about that.”

  “Don’t be. I’m happy to pitch in.”

  Julianna took out a large metal container and five glasses. From the container came a stream of orange juice sloshing into the glasses.

  “These typically taste better with vodka, but this’ll do.”

  “Also, it would cancel the whole purpose of what we’re going for, right?” Alexa said.

  “Which is?” Michael asked.

  Julianna sighed and handed him his glass before raising hers.

  “To your sobriety.”

  “And to you achieving a month of it.” Isabella raised her glass as well.

  A flattering wave of surprise went through Michael as they all held their glasses high. Their absolute trust in him was far much more than he felt he deserved. He fought back his tears as he stared down at his orange reflection in his glass. The unfamiliar feeling of pride in himself bubbled up inside him.

  “To becoming a better man.” Michael joined the girls in raising a glass. “The person I know I can be.”

  They all shared smiles and laughter and clinked their glasses before taking drinking.

  The archangel, he thought, and the creator god.

  Jokes and laughter accompanied them as they carried on with their breakfast—with fresh orange juice this time to wash down their steak and eggs. The shoulder nudging and endless chatting distracted them as their plates all turned empty. They pushed their empty plates away and slouched over the table as their bellies ached from the fullness.

  “Why’d I have the second serving of eggs?” Ursula said.

  “I’m regretting that third steak too?” Michael said, enduring the sickening consequences.

  Isabella sighed and shook her head. “You both need some help in ration control, I swear.”

  “They’ll burn those calories during the training, I suppose,” Julianna said.

  “Assuming we can get up,” Michael said with a groan. He was so full he worried he’d tip over.

  Alexa rolled her eyes and dug into her infinity bag, minding her own business. She pulled out her steamdroid device and browsed the writings on its glowing glass top. Michael and the other girls had seen Alexa operate the steamdroid before, but every time she did, it looked more and more fascinating. It left one to wonder what sort of magic drove the mechanisms behind the display.

  “Hey, what are you reading?” Michael asked.

  “I’m looking for work. Unfortunately, it’s slim pickings.”

  “Yeah, a shame since we really need the money.” Julianna scowled.

  “I can’t believe that fucking prick Lucifer completely cleaned us out. I can’t wait until we beat his ass,” Isabella hissed between her teeth.

  “I’ve been meaning to ask what you call that fancy contraption of yours,” Michael shyly said.

  Alexa smiled, pride brimming on her face. She loved being the advanced one. Peasants. “It’s a steamdroid. It’s essential to a businesswoman.”

  “I see,” Michael said with a humble smile. Her response was short on details and left him still confused but embarrassed to ask further. He hoped someone else would carry on the questioning so she could clarify.

  “Yeah, she’s on it all the time—at least when she’s not working on her steamcraft,” Ursula said.

  “Steamcraft?” Michael looked at the golden aircraft now covered by a tarp near their training grounds. “Oh, that flying thing you used to fall through the sky?”

  “Yeah, how do you make it move without horses?” Isabella asked.

  Alexa went into silence with an eyebrow raised, waiting for her to reveal the joke. When the revelation didn’t come, she sighed. “Surely, you jest.”

  “I asked her the same thing before, but only with dinosaurs. She made the same expression,” Ursula said.

  “What in the world is a dinosaur?” Julianna asked.

  “Idiots. They’re all idiots.” Alexa said under her breath as she slammed her head on the table.

  Michael overheard her muttering. “What was that?”

  “Oh, nothing, my love.” She let out a suppressed chuckle as she quickly rose.

  “Is that right?” he said with a suspicious smile. “Anyway, have you found any decent jobs on there yet?”

  “Yeah, you and Julianna went on that elemental hunt a while back, so this is technically my first quest,” Isabella excitedly said.

  “I actually did find one,” Alexa said. “Seemed perfectly suited for us but, unfortunately, it’s in the first dimension which we can’t get to since my steamcraft is busted.”

  “The first dimension?” Michael asked. The puzzled look on his face drew a smile from Alexa.

  “Really? How’d you manage to find something all the way there?” Isabella asked.

  “Although they lack the technology, advanced dimensions like mine are able to journey through the dimensions and pick out the best quests from anywhere. Our home or otherwise,” Alexa said.

  “That’s quite impressive.” Michael’s eyes widened in wonder.

  “Well, none of it matters when we can’t get there. My steamcraft is still busted. We just have to keep looking and hope we don’t all have to work as merchants to get by.”

  “No way. I cannot work in menial labor,” Isabella said, shaking her head to emphasize her protest.

  “So, you’re telling me you can’t go home until your ship is fixed?” Michael asked Alexa.

  “Well, that’s an even bleaker way of looking at it,” Alexa said.

  “Good to know,” Michael said before he got up and headed toward the steamcraft. The girls watched him in visible confusion.

  “Where are you going?” Alexa asked.

  “I just want to take a look at that steamcraft of yours,” Michael said as he walked on.

  Alexa rushed him and the others reluctantly followed.

  “Fine, but don’t touch anything. Without our money, we can’t afford the additional repairs if you fuck anything up.”

  “Noted,” Michael said before pulling the tarp off to reveal the ship’s condition. There seemed to be an improvement since the last time he saw it. Some work seemed to have been done.

  “The dent
s are all gone, and it’s shiny.”

  “Yes, but the motor’s busted, and without it, I can’t get the ship to start,” Alexa said.

  “You know, I don’t think you should be playing around with stuff like this,” Isabella said. She hated to admit it but she felt rather daunted by the foreign contraptions.

  “…and she really doesn’t like it when you play with her things,” Ursula added.

  Michael smiled. “It’ll be fine. I won’t break anything.”

  Alexa was mystified, trying to understand the sudden curiosity in her ship and the unusual confidence in examining it. She shook her head, thinking she was imagining things.

  “I swear, if you bust my ship up any further, I’ll rip that pretty little head right off your body!” Alexa warned.

  “I won’t. I promise,” Michael said as he lifted the hood open. The girls grew nervous and fell deeper into confusion as he confidently studied the engine, muttering ideas to himself. He then walked over to the trunk of the steamcraft, scoured through junk and reserve tanks, and then picked out a toolbox.

  “Do you mind?” Michael asked.

  “What the hell do you know about tools?” Alexa asked.

  “A lot more than I realize, apparently,” Michael said.

  The mystery piqued Alexa. She hated not understanding things. “What the hell does that mean?”

  Michael smiled as he brought the toolbox back to the front. He then pulled out a variety of tools from the box and used them on the hood’s interior—as if in the hands of an expert. He tightened here, unscrewed there, twisted and turned parts, checked and replaced components, then the gears creaked before they got going. His hands became covered in green oil, which he wiped off on a cloth. After building up a sweat, he took his shirt off and threw it over his shoulder.

  The girls all looked at him with blushing cheeks while their hearts pounded.

  “Fuck me…” Ursula muttered, mesmerized by his half-naked body as the wind blew through his snow-white hair.

  “Let’s see if it worked!” Michael said, closing the hood of the ship.

  “Michael, I swear if you actually fixed it…” Alexa said, completely red in the face. “I”—

  Alexa got into the front seat of the steamcraft. Starting up the ignition, she was welcomed by the roar of the running machine. She could not believe it. She looked at Michael with a grateful expression on her face, and tears nearly formed in her eyes. The other girls looked at him, stunned.

  “You can fix steam vehicles, too?” Ursula wondered.

  “How is that possible? We don’t even have anything like this in our dimension,” Isabella said.

  “Seems you’ve regained a memory from slaying that witch android, as well,” Julianna said, holding up its core as she went through memories of the turbulent battle.

  “Yeah, I guess so,” Michael said with a smile as he wiped the sweat off his chest with his shirt.

  Alexa couldn’t even begin to imagine the amount of work and time he’d saved her. While she watched him in admiration, she noticed Ursula grip tightly on to him and caress her hand on his chest as she whispered something in his ear. Alexa would not have it—she stormed out of the steamcraft, shutting the door behind her, and knocked Ursula down before taking her place next to him.

  “Hey, what was that for?” Ursula said, rubbing her now sore back.

  “He’s mine!” said Alexa, crazed.

  She knocked him over and pinned him onto the ground and straddled him. She lifted her shirt and pressed her body against his.

  “Alexa, what the hell are you doing?” Michael said, trying her break her grip.

  “You, stupid! And we’re going to do it until you plant your seed in me. That way, we’ll have a child capable of ruling over an entire dimension. Maybe even multiple dimensions.” She leaned in even closer, taking in his scent from working on her ship.

  “All because I fixed your steamcraft?” he asked in a flustered tone.

  “She’s really passionate about her steam technology.” Ursula grabbed Alexa from the waist, attempting to peel her off with Isabella’s and Julianna’s help.

  “Not as passionate as we are about him,” Isabella said.

  “As if I’d lose to an heiress. He’s mine,” Julianna insisted.

  “Hey, I’ve known him the longest,” Isabella said.

  “Well, I know his scent better than any of you do,” Ursula said.

  “Who gives a shit?” Isabella said.

  “Right?” Julianna and Alexa exclaimed in unison.

  Michael rolled his eyes and smiled. Another day in life with demons, he thought, remembering how their many attempts to find work ended in being distracted by him.

  The girls pulled Alexa off him with a little help from Michael pushing her weight off him. With her weight and force, the four of them toppled onto one another on the ground, then picked themselves up.

  “I swear. The lot of you are incorrigible.” He dusted himself off as he rose, smiling.

  “How about we take on that first dimension quest, Alexa?”

  “Right, the quest,” said Alexa, quickly regaining her composure. “With my steamcraft fixed, we can go.”

  “You can also go home and leave Michael to us.” Isabella grinned.

  “Not even in your dreams!” Alexa shouted.

  She pulled out her steamdroid and opened the page she had on the quest. With her finger signature on the bottom of the virtual parchment sheet, the quest was officially assigned to her and the team.

  “There,” she said, “we’re officially on the job; which means no one else can snatch our bounty from out of us.”

  “And any who do will have to deal with the lot of us.” Julianna grinned.

  Michael nervously laughed and made his way toward the steamcraft’s nearest door. The others followed.

  The bickering between Isabella and Juliana came to a sudden end the moment they stepped into the steamcraft. It was like nothing they had seen before: the seats were clad in high-quality golden leather. The pristine buttons flashed in psychedelic beauty, illuminating upon levers and instruments.

  Isabella, Julianna, and Michael took their seats in the back row while Alexa and Ursula sat in the front.

  “Pretty cool, right? Alexa sometimes lets me drive it,” Ursula bragged.

  “Not since we crashed because you started pressing random buttons, like a fucking moron,” said Alexa.

  “Maybe if you gave me lessons, then”—Ursula said, slowing her rate of excessive button-pushing.

  “Under no”—Alexa interrupted before being interrupted.

  “You know, I’d love to learn how to drive something like this.” Michael’s voice instantly melted Alexa’s frustration.

  “Really?”

  “Hey, wait a minute,” Ursula interjected.

  “Yeah, I haven’t really had much experience traveling prior to a month or so ago when my journey began. And maybe doing so might help me better understand why I know my way around this technology.”

  Alexa’s eyes lit up. “An excellent point. We’ll begin lessons once we get back.”

  “How is that fair?” Ursula said with a pout.

  “Buckle up, everyone.”

  “Nicely up.” Julianna looked down at the leather belt hanging beside her seat with a metal piece at its end. She noticed Alexa connect the metal piece to a socket in the seat to wrap the belt over her chest.

  “You’re in for one hell of a ride!” Alexa said.

  “What should we expect?” Julianna said, attempting to work the seat belt as Alexa did.

  “Let’s put it this way: This isn’t going to be your horse-and-carriage or dinosaur-drawn sort of ride.”

  She turned the gear above her and pressed a series of buttons. Suddenly, the steamcraft lifted off the ground and began to hover. They looked out of their windows in awe as they ascended.

  “No way. We’re really flying,” Isabella said, impressed.

  “I still don’t know what a din
osaur is,” Julianna said, pouting as she looked out the window.

  “Wait until you see what else it can do,” Alexa said, pulling the lever below her. “Brace yourselves. We’re about to move pretty fast.”

  “Wait, how fast”—

  Isabella was interrupted by the steamcraft heaving forward. The burst of speed pressed Isabella, Michael, and Julianna into their seats. Their screams of terror sent Alexa into a fit of laughter. Meanwhile, Ursula relished the moment, cheering and waving her hands.

  “I hope the first dimension isn’t too far because I don’t think I can take much more of this,” Julianna said, feeling the breakfast buffet creep up her throat.

  “Calm yourself,” Alexa taunted. “You’ll survive. It’s not as far as you might think with a vehicle like this at your fingertips.”

  The speed of the steamcraft distorted the view of the clouds and trees. As the steamcraft climbed higher and higher, shooting past the atmosphere, the sky warped into an otherworldly form resembling a funnel at first and then a grid.

  “What the fuck is that?” Isabella said, horrified.

  “That’s the interdimensional gap!” Alexa said as they broke through the sky and into the gap.

  The ship cruised in the grid-like emptiness splashed in vast blue and green nebulas. There seemed to be no beginning or end to this realm; no ground and no signs of life—only a stunning vista of eternal iridescence rumbling like a muffled siren.

  “This place is marvelous!” Julianna said.

  “I’m glad you think so. We’ll be spending a lot of time here,” Alexa said.

  “So, what exactly is the interdimensional gap?” Michael asked, watching the view outside his window as the concept of direction was now lost in this grid-like world.

  “It’s sort of like a transitory phase between one dimensional and another. It’s difficult to visualize at first, but think of this as a giant airway that leads to all other dimensions,” Alexa said as she navigated around debris and other differently shaped steamcrafts posing by through what resembled the air.

  “Hey, look at that.” Isabella pointed. “It’s a whole pirate ship.”

  Isabella and Julianna stared in awe as a fifty-foot-long ship of pure steam and gold sealed passed them. The mechanical passenger with steel for skin—on intricate wirework around his body—and the captain in the ship smiled and waved back.