The Codex: An Angel's Guide To Seducing A Human (13 page)

I pouted. To prove her wrong, I cracked open the Codex and read a passage. “Just like the ever consistent patterns of the sun, the giant sparrows migrate to the Great Tree during the summer to mate. There, they actively hunt down any winged creatures to eliminate competition for their young when they hatch.” My hand shook a little as I pointed to my wing. “I am a winged creature.”

The Codex snickered. 
A winged creature? Your intelligence astonishes me, Narius. But forget about the sparrows. There are far more interesting items near the Great Tree, like the enchanted fruit of—

Emily placed her hands on her hips, threw her head back, and laughed. She slapped me on the back and tapped her staff against my wing. “If giant sparrows do exist, I’ll protect you.”

"But I thought you didn't want to fly with me."

"I'll make an exception this time. It is the princess's wish after all." She placed her hands behind her back and grinned. "Besides, you'd end up eating something strange off the ground if I'm not around."

My heart warmed that she would be willing to do that. 
She is so brave to offer her help against such monsters. Maybe I had her all wrong.

Narius

“Faster, damn it! Narius! They're catching up!” Emily hollered as she clung to my arms, awkwardly hugging me as she stared at our pursuers.

Stealing a glance behind me, I saw the flock of terrifying monsters with brown and white feathers crying out for my blood.

Emily waved her staff and cast a volley of frozen arrows at the birds. The arrows flew to the flock, but the birds rolled around the hail and closed the gap between us.

“What happened to you taking care of the birds?” I shouted back.

“I was kidding! Who in their right mind expects to see a giant sparrow, let alone a dozen of them?”

Betrayed, and with fear gripping hold of me, I flapped my wings as hard as I could, but the sparrows gained on us, ready to take a bite out of me.

Then I felt their long yellow beaks touch the tips of my wings.

I panicked and dove into the forest, brushing past the foliage and crashing through branches.

Emily screamed as leaves whipped past us.

Desperate to keep our distance, I closed my wings and dived. I tried my best to avoid the larger branches and focused on smashing into the smaller ones that could slow our fall. I looked up. Thankfully, the giant sparrows circled over the foliage, chirping in outrage, before breaking off to find some other poor creature to hunt.

With the deadly predators gone, I glanced back down and found ourselves hurling towards the ground at an alarming rate. Before I could repeat my mistake from earlier today, I furiously beat my wings and slammed my feet onto the ground then immediately lost my balance. I wobbled a few steps before collapsing, squishing Emily under my weight and deflowering a bed of lilies below her.

The human groaned and kicked me off her, then struggled upwards. “We are walking the rest of the way," she said, smoothing the wrinkles on her skirt. "You can forget about flying.”

I opened my mouth to tell her how long it would take, but Emily marched away, pushing through the bushes and heading towards the Great Tree whose silhouette could be glimpsed at a distance.

I scurried after her. “Wait!”

Emily stopped for a moment and glared back at me before walking away.

For an hour we travelled through the forest in silence until Emily glanced back at me, the anger in her eyes softened. “So, what exactly is Mafis planning?”

“He’s going to summon a Demon through a ritual.”

"Ritual? Does he sacrifice a goat or something?"

I raised three fingers and listed off the items he would need. “Sort of. First, he will need to have a sharpened bone of a dragon hatchling, which can be used to hold the corruption gained from the sacrifice.”

The Codex shook in annoyance. 
Which he took from Varian while you were knocked up.

“Then he would need the Grimoire. And, finally, he would need a source of concentrated corruption to power the spell.”

Emily raised her hand. “Wait. What does the Grimoire do if it doesn't provide the energy? Why is it important? Also, I thought it was ripped in half. Do we really need to worry about it?”

I tsked at her ignorance. “Who says it will stay that way? If the book is completed, it will provide some of the corruption needed for the ritual. And…” I placed a finger against my chin. "Hmm... I'm not so sure if your simple mind will be able to wrap itself around this, but to put it in a few words..." I lifted the Codex and placed it against my head. "A Grimoire or a Codex is a book that bonds with his or her owner—"

The Codex vibrated, shaking my head. 
Really? You think you are my 'owner?' What is this? Slavery?

Quiet. You know what I mean.

Make me.

Emily tapped me on the shoulder. "I hate to interrupt your internal debate, but let me guess. That connection can be exploited to summon a demon, just like how you summon random crap, but the other way around."

Oh, look: someone who managed to learn something that took you four sun cycles to learn.

I flinched and took a step back. "How did you figure it out?"

"Maybe it's because my mind is so 'simple' that I can figure out something so vastly complicated."

"Huh?"

Emily closed her eyes and sighed. "Never mind, idiot."

I scratched my head and frowned, trying to understand how I had explained such a complicated concept so easily to her.
Maybe I am too brilliant to realize my own wit.

Oh, yes. I'm sure that's the reason why. That would explain everything that has happened in your life thus far.

I munched on the Codex's words until an empty feeling assaulted me as my stomach growled. “Do you have anything to eat?”

Emily raised an eyebrow. “Is your stomach an endless pit? Just wait until dinner. We need to save our supplies now that I’m basically a traveling beggar. Food doesn't grow on—” She closed her eyes and sighed. “Hold on. Better for you to eat something I carried in here rather than some gods-know-what growing in this forest. I think I’ve got a bit of chocolate somewhere around here…” she said, rummaging through her pouches.

She searched for several minutes and, as I waited, my eyes wandered in search of anything I could feast on. Then, to my delight, I spotted a lone tree with red fruits growing directly above us. After flipping through the Codex, but finding no mention of them, and figuring that they were probably delicious, I flapped my wings and rose to the tree bristling with delicious snacks. There, I found a sturdy branch, nestled myself on top of it, and plucked a round, smooth, red fruit.

The shiny red surface reflected my face as I stared at it. Saliva pooled at the bottom of my mouth, and I opened it to taste the fruit of my labor.

“Hey! What are you doing?” Emily shouted, moving her hands out of her pouches.

Figuring she was as hungry as me, I tossed the fruit in my hand to her.

She responded by yelping and swiping away the fruit with her staff, sending the red delight crashing into the trunk of a tree and bleeding its juice.

Feeling slightly disturbed that she would waste perfectly good food, I picked another one. “You are not getting another one.”

“Stop! Don’t eat that!”

I glanced down at Emily, whose eyes had widened in terror. “Why?”

Isn't it obvious?
 the Codex cooed. 
She wants you to lick her boot again so that you can beg for food…. Only this time it might not be her boot.

Her toes?

Somewhere above that, a very sensitive place where thick nectars flow.

Her eyes?

The Codex sighed. 
Sure, why not. She really wants you to lick her eyes.

The human, who wanted her eyeballs licked, kicked the tree. “Toss that away. Everything near the Great Tree can be enchanted!”

I looked at the fruit. It didn't seem magical in any way. My stomach growled again and tugged at me to take the bite. So, I bit into it, the juicy sap splashing into my mouth as I crunched it apart.

Emily paled and waved her hands. “Stop! Stop eating!”

I laughed at her. “You won’t be able to make me lick your eyes now!”

“What?”

I snorted. "Do I look like an idiot? I am smarter than you! I can see through your tricks,” I said as the juicy taste filled my mouth. Gulping down the sweetness, I giggled, my voice a higher pitch than normal.

"N-Narius? What's wrong with you?"

"I am just enjoying the fruit of my labor..." My voice sounded too light. I scratched my neck wondering what was wrong, only to feel my hair get in the way. It had grown all the way down to my waist. I tugged a strand. It was much longer than I had ever seen, much longer than Emily's hair. "Huh?"

My chest began to ache as if the armor was slowly smothering me. The fruit slipped from my hands and fell. It bounced against the ground before rolling in front of Emily. I clutched my chest and, unable to keep my balance, I toppled forward and fell towards Emily.

Instead of catching me, she sidestepped me, and I crashed to the ground. A small moan escaped my lips as I lay there dazed. My chest felt like it would burst through the ever-shrinking chest plate.

Emily knelt next to me. She lifted my head and her jaw dropped. "Narius. Y-you... Why are you a girl?"

Narius

Emily dropped her staff. Her hand grasped my hair and pulled me up to meet her eyes. “N-Narius?”

"Owww," I moaned. A few paces away, the fruit rested amidst the grass with my teeth marks imprinted on it. “Help meeee."

Emily released me and smacked her palm against her forehead.

The pain in my chest grew as the armor squeezed the remaining air out of my lungs. The pressure intensified, and my now tiny hands fumbled at the straps, unable to undo them.

Emily grunted as she lifted me by my armpits to a sitting position.

I grasped the straps of my armor and tugged away at it until I managed to loosen one. Immediately, the pressure against my chest diminished, and I focused on undoing the rest of the straps until the chest plate popped off and slid down to the grass.

As I lay on my side, I let out a breath of relief, the pain now gone. Without the breastplate to keep everything in place, the rest of the armor came tumbling off until I was down to my linen clothes.

“Impossible,” Emily muttered.

I looked at the human, who stared at me with wide eyes.

“Th-this is ridiculous.” She grabbed a twig and poked my chest. "No. This must be an illusion."

The stick pressed into me and made me squirm. "Ow." Grabbing the Codex, I inched away as Emily poked me again. "Stop!"

“This can’t be happening.” Emily threw down the twig and lunged at me. Her hands touched my chest, and the softness of her palms made me feel uneasy yet a little excited at the same time.

"How can this be real?" she mumbled. Taking her hands off me, she placed them on her own chest. Her face turned crimson. “Damn it all. This isn't fair."

With Emily occupied with her insane rambling, I crawled towards the fruit. 
I can't be a girl. But just in case I am wrong, I need to eat that again. Then everything—

No!
 The Codex's voice boomed in my head and made me flinch. 
Narius, don't you want to be a woman a bit longer? This is a chance of a lifetime. Let's not be so hasty. There is so much you could do. Sure, giving is fun, but you should try receiving as well. Don’t let them go! You can now open doors that were closed to you before! Like peaking multiple times during—

No! I just need to eat the fruit again.

It won’t work.

"Lies!" I screamed, drowning out every feminine voice inside and outside my head. I grasped the magic fruit and sank my teeth into it.

Nothing happened, even after several moments of waiting and chewing. Soon the silence was filled by a sparrow's cries echoing from somewhere near the Great Tree.

I took another bite, then another, until nothing was left of the fruit.

It didn’t help.

Dread clouded my mind.

Then the obvious truth hit me. I smiled, relieved that I hadn't gone crazy. “Wait! This is all a dream. So, if I know this isn't real, then it's not true!” I clasped the side of my head and laughed. "It's so simple. Nothing here is real!"

Emily picked up her staff from the ground and sighed. "Get a hold of yourself, lunatic." She waved her wooden stick, creating a flat pillar of reflective ice before me. "Now, Narius, you're going to need a fresh set of clothing. You can’t wear..."

Her words became meaningless as I gazed into the ice and saw a brown-eyed female angel staring back at me, her baggy and padded clothes dangerously close to sliding off her. I tugged at my hair, grown all the way down to my waist, and watched the startled angel in front of me pull her brown hair as well.

“No!" I stood up and pushed the ice, toppling it over. Moments later, my pants followed suit and slid down to my ankles.

Emily raised any eyebrow and stared at my bare waist and legs then at my naked crotch. "So, this is really happening. And why aren't you wearing any underwear?"

"Codex told me they get in the way in the heat of battle."

"No. Bad angel. Bad." Emily smacked me on the head, then slapped the Codex. "Stop listening to your book."

Don't believe her. Doesn't it feel great when the wind blows?

Hurt and unsure of what to do, I pulled up my pants and sank to the ground. Hugging my knees, I covered myself with my wings and rocked back and forth. 
This is just a dream. This is just a dream. This is just a dream. This is just a dream.

But no matter how many times I told myself, the dream didn't end, and my mind slowly fell into despair. 
What... what am I going to do now? What am I going to tell Lord Halfaya and my mother? That I just became a female?

Well, then there is the other bit. Do you like men now?

What? What do you mean?

Before the book answered, the grass before me rustled as Emily squatted before me and parted my wings. “Narius, do you remember what you said when we first met?"

"No?"

"I believe it was 'Strip off your clothes.'”

I lifted my head. “Huh?”

She grabbed my shirt and tried to yank it off me. “Look! The shirt is too big for you. It's going to slip off at any moment. Take off your clothes, you perverted angel and let me give you something else to wear. You can’t just go around flashing people like a succubus!”

Figuring out her evil plan, I yelped and sprung to my feet, but immediately tripped on my pants. Unwilling to give up, I flipped myself onto my back and tried to fight her off. "I am not letting you draw me! Not when I'm like this!"

“Why would I draw you?” Emily tugged at my shirt with both of her hands. “Relax, Narius. It will all be over soon.”

I held on to the shirt as tightly as I could. "No! I’ll wake up soon!"

Emily pulled again, and my clothes stretched with our combined strength. Then with a loud rip, my shirt tore apart, revealing my naked breasts.

I froze at the sight of them. Unable to move my eyes away, I watched as they rose and fell every time I breathed in and out.

I placed my hands against my chest. They felt soft. I pressed into them and watched my hand sink a little. My cheeks warmed as a wave of pleasure tingled through me.

Emily slapped my hands away. “Stop touching yourself. That’s all fat, you cow. Don’t get so excited.”

“I... I am not.”

"You’re blushing."

“Angels... Angels don't blush,” I said, glancing at my chest. 
They are so big compared to Emily's. Why?

Because if everyone was the same, the world would be a dull place. There needs to be variety. Some never blossom, while others are more ripe.

Emily glanced at my clothes and sighed. Reaching into her pouch, she pulled out a small, square piece of brown dirt wrapped in paper and handed it to me.

I frowned at her tribute. “Mud?"

"No. Chocolate."

I scratched my head. "What do you want me to do with this? Rub it over myself?"

"No. Eat it."

The fruit flashed in my mind, and I pushed her hand away. "Never."

Emily leaned forward and shoved the bar into my mouth before I could put up a fight.

I grimaced, preparing myself for the taste of dirt. It never came. Instead, the bar melted inside my mouth, wrapping me in its sweet embrace. The taste was amazing. My body relaxed as if I was getting ready to read a book written by Lord Halfaya himself. The delicious nectar flowed down my throat, and my body jolted at the unbelievable wave of delight that washed over me. I let out a moan and licked my lips. "How... how can dirt taste so good? What is it made out of?"

Emily waved her hand dismissively. "Enough sugar to keep you awake all night and imported beans from the Misty Isles. Now, keep yourself busy and stop touching yourself while I try to figure out what you can wear."

I looked to the ground next to me and saw my tattered clothes. "Couldn't I just wear my armor again?"

Emily poked my chest and made me wince. "Not with all that fat," she said, handing me a brick like object wrapped in paper.

Curious, I unraveled the oiled paper and found even more of the amazing treat hidden inside. I licked my lips and nibbled away at the delicious bar of dirt, letting the taste whisk me away on a wonderful journey.

For some time I took delight in the treat. By the time I had finally finished savoring the sugary miracle, Emily handed me a white dress from her pouch.

I shook my head. “I am not a girl.”

“Look at yourself, idiot.” Emily sniggered. “Or if you want, you could fly around and let people leer at you.”

I hesitated and held the one piece over my head, weighing my choices. I glanced back at my armor lying on the grass.
Maybe if I loosen the straps I—

Emily tapped her staff against the dress. The clothing glowed for a moment and became translucent. Before I could understand what had happened, she grabbed it off my hands and rammed it down on me.

I waved my hands to resist the attack, but my hands flew through the fabric. Meanwhile Emily shifted behind me and tied the laces behind my back, trapping me, yet somehow leaving my wings untouched.

"There. Now you’re pretty,” Emily said with a broad grin as the dress returned to its original state. “Don’t drool on it. I want that back.”

She’s right, you know. With your new body and looks, you can seduce anyone.

I am not wearing this.
 I pushed the Codex out of my mind. Flapping my wings, I rose into the air just as my pants slid off my body and onto the ground.

But as I moved my hands to take off the dress, a gentle breeze brushed the fabric against my legs with a sensation of soft silk.

It felt great, and I exhaled a breath of awe, my body trembling.

I folded my wings and descended back to the ground. Feeling the soft touch of the grass beneath me, I took a stroll around my discarded armor, each step better than the last. The wind felt refreshing and my legs felt free.

Emily smiled, forcing me to look away in shame for my ignorance.

"So? How does it feel?"

“I can see why you wouldn't wear pants... it feels amazing. It's like walking around naked.”

Emily twitched and tugged at her skirt.

Emily

After Narius had somehow made his armor disappear, like he did to his halberd, to a place called "the Armory" in heaven, the two of us made our way through the forest.

The heavy foliage kept our progress slow, but eventually we pushed through the dense vegetation and reached a clearing near the Great Tree just as the forest around us became engulfed in twilight.

The Great Tree itself was massive, even bigger now that we were right in front of it. The heart of the forest was far taller than any tower in the capital, and larger than any castle I had ever seen.

Furthermore, at the base of the giant was a small house, where small trees had sprouted from the ground beside one another, their branches and trunks bent in such a way that they acted as the roof and the walls of the dwelling. "That must be where we need to go," I said.

Narius didn't answer.

I glanced back at the angel, who appeared just a tiny bit more beautiful than I was. I sighed. It was still difficult to believe she was Narius.

Our eyes met, and she clutched the Codex against her chest. Her eyes flickered between me and the giant sparrows nested at the top of the Great Tree, the latter preoccupied with feeding their crying new-borns.

Narius moaned. “We should go back. If they notice us, they will tear me apart.”

“No, they won't,” a girl's voice said from a bush. "They don't attack anyone near the heart of the forest."

Alarmed, I spun and pointed my staff at the moving leaves, ready to freeze the bush and whoever was behind it. “Come forward slowly.”

Moments later, a small girl, no older than ten, emerged from the shrubs. Her short ash-brown hair and ears were mostly covered by a straw hat that was too big for her and partially obscured her eyes.

The girl, wearing a black skirt and a yellow shirt with a small red vest over it, stared at us with her big brown eyes.

The naive angel, unaware of the danger, stepped towards the girl.

I laid my hand on Narius's shoulder and whispered, “Stop. A little girl coming out of an enchanted forest? This is how all horror stories start.” With my staff pointed at her, I readied myself. "I'm going to cast a small spell at her and see if she is more than meets the eye."

"No." Narius turned, stretching her hands and wings and blocking my view. "If you are going to have your way with a defenseless little girl, you will need to have your way with me first!"

I placed the palm against my face. "You don't even know what you are saying half the time, do you?"

"Of course I do."

I lowered my staff and raised an eyebrow. "Really? So, you wouldn't mind me having my way with you?"

Narius’s body stiffened and her wings drooped low. “Only if you use your hands. No staff or magic.”

I sighed. If the girl was anything aside from a human and wished us harm, it would have already occurred while we were bickering. “Fine. Talk to the girl.”