Demonheart Boxset 1: Book 1-3
Page 54
“It’s going insane!” Alexa said, wide-eyed.
“It gets worse. So much worse,” Ursula said, tearing up.
“What do you mean?” Michael said.
They watched as the ground below them began to shatter, separating further until they could no longer reconnect without taking on a different form
“Pangea. The reshaping of land. That god has the ability to twist the battlefield to its will,” said Ursula.
“No way!” Michael said.
“That’s not all.”
The group watched in disbelief as all the defeated lizardmen and merfolk returned, rising from the cracks of the earth.
“Unreal! Both armies fighting on the same side!” Alexa exclaimed.
“This,” Ursula spoke with a tremble, “is even worse than that day.”
“What was that?” Alexa asked.
Ursula’s mind was taken to a night long ago when she ran through the open fields, terrified as always, with dinosaurs roaring just behind her before they halted.
Huh? what’s going on? Are they no longer hungry? she asked herself.
She turned around and saw the cause of the silence. The lizardmen gathered around mount Ornox—a volcanic slab ready to erupt. A violent explosion sent her stumbling back. The ground shuddered as something began to rise. Something with three heads.
It’s far worse.
Tears fell from her face as it fully surfaced, flailing its limbs and beating its wings against the ember-filled air.
“No. No!”
The beast howled at the sky and then the lizards chanted in celebration of its arrival. They seemed hungrier than ever for the kill.
“I’m gonna die here. Please. Someone save me.”
The lizardmen turned their attention back on her. Proud to do so than ever with their god on their side.
She trembled as she ran as fast as she could and tripped several times. The fear fueled her desire to run, but her body couldn’t anymore.
Above her head, she saw blue feathers descend from the clouds.
“Those feathers? They came from a bird.”
The lizardmen and their god halted. They looked up, not with wonder, but with fear as a creature descended.
She looked back at the field before her now, remembering what appeared to come to her unlikely rescue.
“That’s what stopped them all these years ago.” With a smile, Ursula got up and walked forward. “Today will be the same.”
“Hey, just what do you think you’re doing?” Alexa grabbed her arm. “It’s not safe!”
She stood there silently for a moment before responding. “I know, but I have to do this. For me and for this dimension.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I need to conquer my fears. I can’t keep running. Right here and now. I either live having done so or die trying,” she said.
“Ursula…” Alexa said, slowly releasing her grip. “What’s come over you?”
“I just got the clarity I needed is all.”
Ursula marched out of the jungle with her trident in hand and a stern look on her face.
“Clarity?” Alexa asked.
“We need to stop her!” Michael demanded.
“No.” Alexa looked down at the ground. “It’s her battle. She needs to do this alone.”
“But”—
“But nothing,” Alexa cutting her off. “If she needed to do this, then so be it. Otherwise, she’ll be haunted by this dimension forever.”
The others reluctantly nodded in agreement as she approached the army of merfolk, lizardmen, and the ape king standing over them.
“I can’t allow myself to whimper in fear. Not in my own home. No beast or cult or god or treacherous land can make me their prey.”
Ursula looked at the chaotic landscape surrounding her: raining lava, armies of monsters marching forth, and the reshaping of land beneath her feet. She looked down at her trident and allowed rage to fuel her.
“I don’t know how a demon ended up in such an inhospitable region. I can’t remember my birth at all. Only finding myself in this eternal hell. I struggled for years to survive here. Being hunted down. Attacked. But this all ends today. I swear it on my demonic blood,” Ursula said as her aura grew.
“She’s doing it,” Alexa said with amazement. “She’s ascending.”
“From here on out”—Ursula’s eyes completely blackened. Welcoming a rush of power inside her—“I become the predator.”
A burst of shadows came crashing from behind her, smoldering the ground. Everyone screamed and shielded their eyes from the influx of dark magic energy. Opening their eyes, a shock.
“She reached etheria…” Alexa said, staring at the sadistic expression on Ursula’s face and her black sclera, her horns, and her barb-tipped tail.
“This is only the beginning.” Ursula grinned from ear to ear. “No longer will history repeat itself. This time, may it be I who controls my destiny. Rise, my servant; ultimate adversary of these beasts and breaker of primordial races. Tiamat!”
“Did she say Tiamat?” Alexa’s eyes winded. “It can’t be.”
The skies tore open. From it, those blue feathers dropped like all those years ago. The army trembled while she reveled—in laughter.
“It can, and it fucking is. Show yourself!”
The vulture broke through the sky with a heinous caw and a beating of wings. The group looked at her in wonder and fear.
“She’s summoned a titan. But will it be enough?” Julianna asked.
Ursula looked up at the sky and grinned.
“Destroy, my titan. Incinerate everything and leave no survivors!”
The beast cocked its head back, manifesting a burning assault. The vulture leaned forward and unfurled an inferno of blue flames on its opposite. The entire battlefield was swiftly incinerated. Every enemy in its wake met its fiery doom, melting to a blackened char.
Michael and the girls watched, utterly mystified, as Ursula stood beside her titan in her etherial form. Her maniacal laugh persisted as she looked in her reflection.
“Incredible. Her energy. Her power. It’s…”
“It’s what?” Michael asked Alexa.
“It’s in league with Lucifer’s,” Alexa said.
“Remind me never to cross her for any reason. Ever!” Isabella said.
The rest of the group nodded with the same sentiment, shuddering as they stepped back. Then Ursula collapsed face-first.
She slowly woke up at the sight of all of her friends looking at her. The ground no longer moved beneath her and the sun had risen.
“Hey, what happened to me? Last time I remembered I was walking toward the ape king and then everything went blank.”
Alexa smiled as tears rolled down her face. She held her tightly in her arms.
“You idiot. What were you thinking?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean you went etherial, summoned a titan, and destroyed everything in your path,” Alexa said.
“I did?” Ursula said, sitting up and looking all around at a now tranquil jungle. “That really doesn’t sound like me.”
“Hey, it’s ok. I don’t really remember my first time, either,” said Isabella.
“But, I wanted it to be special,” Ursula said, pouting.
“It’ll be alright. I’m sure you’ll remember the next time,” Alexa replied with a smile and a wink.
She helped her to her feet, and the others rose just after, with their eyes locked on the steamcraft.
“I think it’s about time we head home. For real.”
She brushed the few leaves and dirt she wasn’t able to remove while they waited for her to wake up.
“What do you say?”
Ursula was still disoriented and struggled to grapple with what she’d been told. She had a sense of confidence that she had never felt before that left her smiling.
“Let’s go.”
Alexa snickered under her breath.
&nb
sp; “What’s so funny? Ursula asked.
“As a bonus, while you were asleep, I snuck into that lizardman temple and robbed it utterly dry.”
“You didn’t?” Ursula looked in shock, then she smiled.
“That’s a gift from me to you. But mostly, to me.”
The others shook their heads. Still, they tried not to laugh as she opened a bag with coins and jewels worth billions.
“Pretty delicious haul, right?”
“I think the spoils of war are Ursula picking herself one hell of a familiar army now,” Julianna said.
“I did what?” Ursula said.
“Since you killed all those creatures with your titan, they’re all yours to keep. According to game rules,” Isabella said.
“You mean”—
“Both the lizardmen and merfolk are yours to wield? Along with their gods?” Julianna asked.
“And Tiamat,” Alexa said. “I think you’ve finally earned it.”
Alexa placed the titan ring in her hand. Ursula looked down with tears of joy, shaking as she closed it shut.
“Now, let’s go,” Alexa said. “We promised we’d make Michael dinner.”
“It’s pretty early for dinner,” he replied.
“It’ll be pretty late by the time we arrive,” Alexa said. “I’ve got plenty of snacks to keep you busy until we arrive.”
“I’ll hold you to that.” Michael’s stomach rumbled.
The five of them shared a moment of laughter. They all got in the steamcraft and were finally on their way home.
Shortly after breaking into the dimensional gap, Michael found himself staring at the many ships passing them as he got lost in thought.
“This was one hell of a journey, but a worthwhile one. Not just for the money, but for the additional forces we’ve gained.”
He took a deep breath and sat back, then looked up as the girls stared at him curiously.
This won’t be the same as before, he thought. I’m determined to finish what I started. Next time we fight Lucifer, it’ll be our victory. Not just mine, but that of all my friends and all our new familiars. So get ready, Demon King, the archangel’s coming for you.
The moon hung high outside his castle chamber. The shelves and tables in the chamber were cluttered with forgotten possessions of his former servant: from old clothes folded neatly to an old doll beginning to fade away with time. With a sinister smile, Lucifer watched Michael and the girls through a crystal ball. A chessboard with pieces laid before him on a table.
“That pleases me greatly.”
He moved his king piece across the board, capturing one of the pawns. It now stood one block closer to the opposing king.
“I look forward to when we meet again.”
Contents
Book 1
Chapter 1
Dark Medieval Times
Chapter 2
The Lady In White
Chapter 3
A Sudden Raging Of Spirits
Chapter 4
Calm Before The Storm
Chapter 5
Denizens Of The Deep
Chapter 6
Welcome Home
Chapter 7
Element Of Suprise
Chapter 8
Worlds Apart
Chapter 9
Angel Of Death
Chapter 10
Drinking From The Chalice Of Ether
Book 2
Chapter 1
Calls From A Restless Mind
Chapter 2
Unexpected Visitors
Chapter 3
Fangs Of The Crying Wolf
Chapter 4
Blind Leading The Blind
Chapter 5
The Face Of All Your Fears
Chapter 6
Dragged Down Memory Lane
Chapter 7
Secrets From The Shadows
Chapter 8
Star Crossed Rivals
Chapter 9
The Beast Of The Wetlands
Chapter 10
The Mechanical Witch
Book 3
Chapter 1
Old Talents And New Worlds
Chapter 2
Jurassic Excursion
Chapter 3
Could Blooded Brethren
Chapter 4
Blasphemy At The Golden Temple
Chapter 5
A Change Of Terrain
Chapter 6
Blackwater Cult
Chapter 7
Forbidden Treasures
Chapter 8
Call Of The Trident
Chapter 9
Eruption From The Surface
Chapter 10
Rise Of The Land Of The Ape King
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Copyright © 2021 by J.J. Egosi
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About the Author
J.J. Egosi is an emerging author of dark fantasy and the writer of the Demonheart series. This is the 3rd installment in that journey.
The concept was birthed from a very bleak and surreal dream I had long ago. Those dreams have been taking form between these pages been ever since.
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