The Codex: An Angel's Guide To Seducing A Human (32 page)

“Oops. I almost forgot about you.” The archangel dumped the demonspawn on the ground. "Narius, I would love to put you out of your misery. But I'm afraid if I do, then her crime would be too great. Killing Ghaster was a big enough risk. No need to anger two flocks beyond reason. Don’t you agree?” He snapped his fingers, and the magic that bound me disappeared.

I opened my mouth and coughed out the blood that had gathered inside. "Why… did… you… do… this?"

"All for love. Anything for love. Everything for love."

I shook my head. Despite the healing I received, it was difficult to breathe. “You are insane. Your plan is going to fail. We will find the Grimoire and destroy it.”

"Why do you think I ripped it in half? The book is going to be undetectable and unconscious for at least a decade." He tsked. "Besides, if you were a little older, then you would understand. You know, I don't know how everything went out of control so quickly. I was hoping for a small incident with you bloodied and Astreal furious. Now I will just have to seal away the abomination's memories, get out while I can and cover my tracks to start all over..."

My vision blackened. When I opened my eyes again, Heliose stood only a breath away, his green eyes staring into mine. For the first time, I saw the madness in them, so obvious now. 
Why didn't I notice before?

"Before I take this disgusting creature to be nurtured by some humans, there is one last thing I need to do." He placed his hand on my head and smiled. "I am going to put a seal on you, a special one. At first, you will only remember the demonspawn and the horrible things she's done to you so you can tell Astreal what has happened. But as the seasons pass, you will gradually forget. Eventually, you won't be able to remember her. Consider this last bit as my own generosity. You shouldn't be traumatized over this little incident."

A flash of light exploded out of his hand. My mind screamed as pieces of my memory drifted away, replaced by walls that blocked them out.

Narius—present day

I gasped for breath. My heart thumped as I opened my eyes. Mother held me in her arms, her tears dripping onto my cheeks. The warm light from her halo reassured me of my safety.

“Do you remember everything now?” she asked.

My hand cupped her cheek tenderly, her tears hot under my palm. "Don't cry, Mother. I am fine. But you have to hurry... it's Heliose. He’s the one trying to summon the demon. He killed Archangel Ghaster.”

She breathed in heavily, probably exhausted by the spell. "I know, Narius. I saw your memories, the pain you felt. Even the parts I wish I had not seen.”

The horrific torture flashed through my mind. My hand shivered from the memory. The world felt cold despite the warm air in the room.

I glanced down at the blade on my side. 
Do you remember as well?

Castilia didn't answer. She simply cried and mumbled her archangel's name, over and over.

I’m sorry for your loss,
 Codex said for me.

The sword kept crying. The sound of her sorrow made me squeeze my hand tightly until it hurt. It was my fault she was so sad.

Mother wiped her eyes and embraced me. “You did well. Leave the rest to me. I will gather my comrades and prepare a hunt for Heliose before he can summon the fallen.”

I hugged her back, and we held each other for a long time. Nothing else seemed more important to me. I felt safe, like nothing in the world could harm me. "Go. I will be fine."

"Will you be safe?"

"You need to go. Mafis needs—"

Something stirred next to us, and I tilted my head towards it.

A demonspawn was sprawled on the floor, immobilized by the spell mother had placed on it. However, despite being helpless, the creature's red eyes smirked at me.

My stomach twisted and rage swept through me. Mother glanced at the unholy creature then at me. "Narius, do what you must. Then return home. We will talk more when this is all over.”

She let go of me and, after one last glance, flew off into the red sky, illuminated by the dying sun. "See you soon, Narius. I will make everything right for you."

I was now alone with the creature.

It was the one who had tormented me and wanted to kill me.

The monster flickered its eyes at me. Its crimson irises had turned blue, hiding its true identity.

I struggled to my feet and walked towards it, rage and fear building with every step. 
It’s time to purify that creature. Before it can hurt another soul. Before it can hurt me.

Wait! Stop! That's Emily!
 the Codex shouted.

No. That's a demonspawn,
 I said with my hand on the pommel of the weeping sword. 
And the only way to deal with demons and their offspring is to cleanse them.

Let her explain herself. Wait! Hold on, let me weaken the spell that's binding her!

To my disbelief, the Codex unbound the spell mother had placed on the creature.

What do you think you are doing? Demonspawns are known for their cunning manipulation and savagery. I need to end her. 

Get a hold of yourself. This is wrong!

"Narius." The demonspawn managed to stand by leaning against her staff. "Narius, you are all right. I was so worried!"

She wrapped her arms around me before I could resist, and placed her lips against mine. They tasted foul, dirty and unclean. Images of her ripping my lip flashed in my mind. 
No!
 I threw her to the ground and gagged, remembering the touch of her lips.

"No, not again, demonspawn. That is the last time you will touch me." I drew Castilia. Red flames flickered. The holy metal burned with my molten anger. I glared at the creature in front of me, shivering at the sight of my righteousness. The weight of the sword gave me courage, and I gathered my thoughts for the blessing of my task as I began muttering a short prayer. 
I stand today to wipe the taint before me.

“Narius? I-I’m sorry!”

“Silence, demonspawn.” 
This evil must be purged for its sins.

“Demonspawn?” She shrank from my righteous gaze. Panic flashed through her eyes as I took another step towards her. “Narius? No! Stop!” The foul creature raised her staff and summoned a block of ice between us. "I-I can explain."

Empowered by my determination and hatred, Castilia glowed white, and I sliced through the block of ice, toppling it with one stroke. I took another step forward, finishing my prayer. 
Lord Halfaya, guide my weapon into the heart of this creature of darkness and let your will be carried out through me this day.

He didn't answer back, but it didn't matter. I was doing the right thing.

The demonspawn tripped and fell to the ground. She scrambled backwards like a crab. She waved her staff wildly, summoning walls of ice between us. I cut each one with ease, imagining it was the monster that hid behind it.

Cornering her against the wall, I kicked the staff out of her hand, and raised my blade to smite her.

Narius! Stop. This is Emily! Listen to me or you are going to regret this for the rest of your life.

Images of the creature being with Heliose for the second time in the temple's ruined hall came back to me. Then, I remembered the tranquil moment with Emily on the grassy hill overlooking a city and the warm feelings I felt for her when I kissed her. 
Emily? Why is she here?

It was impossible, but the monster in front of me was Emily. I shook my head. 
No, no. Emily isn’t a demonspawn. But... but this is the demonspawn.
 My hand lowered, and I gritted my teeth to steady the shaking arm.

She was just manipulated,
 the Codex whispered. 
Heliose is responsible. You know that. Emily was manipulated back at whatever temple Heliose wiped your memory.

You... you are right, Emily would never betray—
 The image of Emily speaking with Mafis in this very room came to mind. Until now, I had assumed she was being threatened to hand over the book. But the more I thought about it, the more of my guilt and hesitation transformed into anger as the truth surfaced. 
No, she planned to betray me all along.
 I pushed the Codex out of my mind. "Emily, why did you give Mafis our half of the book?"

Tears of lies dripped down her cheeks. "T-to save you."

"So you stole the book from me and gave it to the elf?" I asked again, unable to believe her.

"N-no, no." She started to cry, tears staining her white blouse. "…yes."

"Why did you betray me?"

"It was to save you! When we met Heliose I made a deal to—"

I shook my head. “I know now, but why didn't you tell me?”

Her eyes turned puffy and red. “I didn’t have a choice! It was the only way. He was going to let you die.”

“You could have talked to me. You could have trusted me.”

Her trembling hands grasped my leg, her face pale. "I just wanted to be with you. It was all for you. I did it all for you."

Something wet fell from my eyes. “Emily, do you know what I have to do to a demonspawn?"

She looked at me, confused.

I pushed her hands away from mine. “I have to purify you. I have to kill you to stop the corruption.”

She trembled, her eyes pleading for me to stop. "Wh-what? No!”

“Why? Why didn't you tell me? We could have done something. We could have fixed it. Found some way to drain the corruption out of you. But now everyone will know you tried to summon a demon... now it's too late." My heart ached. It was as if someone was squeezing it, harder, and harder as I realized what I had to do. "Emily, I... I..."

“No, no." She backed against the wall. "There has to be another way.”

Tears dripped down my face. "No. Angels can resist the effect, but only two humans ever freed themselves from the corruption."

Hope rekindled in her eyes. "Then I can do the same!"

I wiped my tears away, but they kept on flowing. "They killed themselves."

What little strength left in her body disappeared, and she sagged to the floor. "Narius, no. No. I don't want to die. Don't kill me."

I raised my sword.

Fear and sadness consumed Emily’s eyes. "Narius, I-I was wrong! I should have been truthful. It's all my fault. I wanted you and the book. I didn't want to let any of it go. I-I just wanted everything."

"Emily..."

She reached for her neck and pulled out her necklace, the feather on it dark with corruption. "B-but I can change. I promise that I will be different! Please. Don't do this Narius, Please."

It was too late for her. "I... I... can't." I tried to look at her one last time, but my blurry eyes made it difficult. "Good bye, Emily." I swung the sword down.

I love you.

Emily

The cold blade quivered against my neck, just breaking the skin and letting a trickle of blood drip down my blouse.

Narius dropped his sword then wiped the tears streaming down his grief-stricken face. "I... I... can't do it."

I reached out to wipe away his sadness, but he moved back and gently pushed my hand down.

"Stay away from me." He picked up the blade and walked towards a jagged opening in the demolished wall.

I wanted to go after him. I stood up, but my knees buckled, and I slumped down like jelly. "Narius? Narius? Narius! Don't go!"

He glanced back at me, fresh tears wetting his cheeks. He turned away and flapped his wings, sending wind to slap my face.

I closed my eyes against the hail of wind and dust.

Then as quickly as it had come, the tempest stopped, and silence filled the room.

When I opened my eyes again, all that remained were the tattered curtains swaying from his departure.

I sat there, alone.

The sun disappeared over the horizon, and the room plunged into darkness.

He didn't come back. No matter how long I waited. He wasn't coming back. He was never coming back.

I hugged my knees and buried my face in them. I couldn’t stop the tears. 
Come back.

Emily

Rain poured down and bounced off the street. The cold water chilled my bones and wrapped me in its icy hug. The princess, despite her offer to feed Narius every day, hadn't seen him since the day I walked out on the two of them. Turning away from the palace, I headed into the commercial district, searching for the elusive angel. 
Where could he be? He knows no one here. How could he stay hidden for days?

Behind me, a horse-drawn cart clattered over the cobblestones. As it passed, the wheels rolled through a puddle, splashing me with muddy water. Now drenched and miserable, I staggered back to the guild, a throbbing pain in my head growing worse with each tortured step.

A block away from me, a city guard in a grey overcoat stood watch. Raindrops pelted his blue cap and ricocheted off in all directions. He paced in circles in front of a building that had been cordoned off with a rope, eyeing everyone who passed with a less than friendly expression. His hand gripped the handle of his blackjack, the baton seemingly challenging anyone who doubted his authority.

Curious, I walked a little closer to investigate. Placing my back against the wall of an alleyway, I snuck into the cordon while the guard screamed at a carriage that had raced past him and soaked him from a nearby puddle. After glancing back to make sure the grumpy guard behind me was still focused on screaming at the now absent carriage, I looked ahead and found myself staring at the Last Delight, the bar where Prince Kale was staying. Poking my head out around the corner, I saw another guard, this one with the insignia of a captain, questioning an old beggar who shivered in the rain.

The Captain's ragged face wrinkled. “Have you gone completely out of your mind!”

“No, no. I swear it was an angel. I saw an angel enter then leave the building.”

The guard shoved the beggar against the wall. “Listen, you old fool. Lady Narius would never do such a thing. She is the pride of Lodina for what she did, beating the shit out of that loose prince. If I hear you blab about her murdering that bastard, I will dump you in a cell and toss away the key.”

The beggar’s face paled like milk. “Well, I’m not saying it was Lady Narius. By the gods, no. I think I might be mistaken.”

“That’s what I thought, you drunk hobo," the guard said, smirking and tipping his cap. "No one that beautiful and pure can do any harm. Now, tell me what you saw.”

“Well it was a winged creature. Maybe it was a harpy, or a dragon like Pannaxx, but much smaller...”

The beggar went on explaining, now blaming fairies for his trouble.

I walked away, knowing that the conversation had run its course. Slipping past the carriage-hating guard at the edge of the cordon, I turned another corner and found myself in a narrow alleyway, its walls covered with moss. 
Prince Kale is dead?

A sudden pain erupted inside my head. My vision wavered, and I placed my hand against the wet, mossy wall to support myself while I caught my breath. 
Could Narius be the one who killed the prince? After all, he did have Kale’s sword.

I shook my head. 
No, Narius would never do that. Someone else must have done it.
 I looked up at the rainy sky. The drops struck my cheeks, mixing with my tears, and I wondered if any of these raindrops were his tears.

I stood there, staring up at Narius's home, somewhere beyond the dark clouds. 
Narius. I'm sorry. Where did you go?

Leaning back on the mossy wall, I looked far into the distance. I surveyed the city, hoping to see Narius fly by. But the rain veiled almost everything, the only thing in sight was a large bank—the city's central bank, a domed building where, according to Nathen, Pannaxx now worked.

It couldn't hurt to check.

Emily

By the time I had reached the bank and stepped into the vault, something was wrong with me. The walk through the wet streets must have given me a headache. 
Better not be a cold. Not now.

Before me, the vault overflowed with treasure from all across the city: coins, gems, and priceless works of art formed a mountain of wealth more spectacular than I had ever seen in my life. On top of it, Pannaxx sat, baring his teeth, his blue scales shining like sapphire.

I couldn't begin to guess the treasure's value. Nor how much Pannaxx was being paid to guard it.

Only a week ago, I would have been tempted to run my hands through it, reveling in the mass of wealth.

Just few days ago, I would have thought about how I could sweat talk Pannaxx into giving me a few coins.

Today all of it just looked like junk.

While studying the treasure, I explained my situation to Pannaxx. "And that's why I'm here. To look for Narius," I said, concluding my story.

The blue dragon's green eyes fixated on me as he coiled his tail around a golden statue of Princess Yuriana. “You lied, betrayed him, and broke his heart.” Pannaxx sighed, blowing a puff of smoke at me. “Emily, you are not exactly a quality mate. If some dragon tried to do that to me, I would snap her wings off and steal half of her treasure.” He shifted his weight, and a stream of gold coins jingled down the hill.

I grasped the side of my head and massaged it, trying to dull the sharp, throbbing pain. “I only want to know where he is.” 
I know what I did was wrong.

Nearby, a group of workmen poured gravy onto a silver platter the size of a small fishing boat. It held an entire cow, skinned and easily the biggest "steak" I'd ever seen.

Pannaxx watched the meat, running his tongue across his teeth. “Well, he isn’t here,” he said, pushing towards me a slightly smaller silver platter that carried a roasted pig with an apple on its mouth.

I looked down at the dish, my reflection staring back at me with damning blue eyes. 
Why couldn't they stay blue? Why couldn't I control myself before?
 “I know that, but—”

“Then we don’t have to talk about him,” Pannaxx said as the workers brought him his dinner. The dragon sniffed once then snapped at the carcass and chewed noisily, gravy oozing out of his mouth. “Why not enjoy the meal and rest here? You do not look so well—a bit warmer than the last time we met. Something wrong?”

“It’s nothing. I’m just a little tired.”

Pannaxx pushed a mountain of coins towards me, covering my boots in gold. “There. That should help.”

I raised my eyebrow.

Pannaxx ran his claw through the mound of coins and purred. “I heard humans who are surrounded by gold live much longer than those who have none,” he said, gravy dripping down from his mouth and onto the platter like a small waterfall. “Now, eat. You look hungry enough to eat a small herd of buffalo.”

I poked at the hunk of meat before me, getting the thick goo of the gravy stuck to my finger in the process. I sucked on it. It tasted sweet. The feel of my tongue on my finger reminded me of Narius trying to seduce me back in the forest. Those times seemed so simple and innocent. 
He would have loved this.

The agonizing headache returned. The strength in my legs disappeared, and I sat down on a nearby bench plastered with gold and precious stones.

I pulled out Narius's feather. It was still dark. But even then, even amongst all this treasure, the feather around my neck stood out. Wrapping my finger around Narius’s gift, I fought back the sadness that threatened to overwhelm me and turn me into a useless sobbing mess. "If you ever see him, could you let me know? I just want to make sure he's doing well."

Pannaxx licked his talons and settled his head on his paws. “He is doing fine. Narius was here a few days ago.”

Startled, I looked up at the dragon. “He was?”

Pannaxx yawned, revealing his sharp teeth. “He was crying and babbling like an idiot. Something about how he was a fool. So, I fed him and let him rest here as long as he liked.”

“Is he coming back?” I asked, hope rising in me. 
If I can talk to him... maybe, maybe he will forgive me.

“No.”

My heart sank, and I found it difficult to breathe. Leaning against my staff, I stood up to see if it would help me. It didn't. “Why?”

“I assumed he left to avoid meeting you.”

"Oh. Do you know where he went?”

The dragon shook his head. “He seemed troubled, though.”

"Troubled?" My pulse quickened. “Was he hurt?”

“No, but he cringed every so often and grasped his head like he was trying to pull it off.”

Cringe? Head-pulling? What?
 Still, this was more news than I had heard since the day he left. I patted Pannaxx's paw. “Thanks, you’ve been a lot of help. It means a lot to me to know he's safe. I'll see you around.”

Pannaxx craned his neck and licked his gravy covered platter. “Wait! Are you not going to finish your pig?”

I smiled and tried to push the plate away with all my strength, but it didn't budge. “Maybe next time. Goodbye, Pannaxx.”

The dragon flashed me his gravy-coated teeth, revealing bits of cooked meat stuck between them. He skewered the pig with his talon and swallowed it in a single gulp. “Take care, Emily. May your nest be warm tonight.”

Narius

Pannaxx stacked the empty platters on top of each other then curled his body into a circle like a dog about to take a nap. "I did as you asked, little one," he said. "But, are you going to let her go?"

I hovered near the window at the ceiling of the vault and looked outside at the puddle-filled street.

Emily walked towards the guild, arms wrapped tightly around herself, shivering. I wanted nothing more than to be there with her. I wanted to wrap my wings around her and tell her everything would be all right.

Well? Answer the dragon!
 the Codex screamed. 
Or, even better, go after Emily! Who cares what she is? She's still Emily!

Yes,
 Castilia replied. 
She's a demonspawn, even if she is mostly tame. We must go out there and drive me through her. It's the only way to be sure.

The Codex vibrated, rattling the chains wrapped around the sword. 
Is that the only thing you think about, you violent little rod? Huh? Thrusting and penetrating yourself into people?

Don't bring me down to your perverted level,
 Castilia said. 
Besides, it is better than thinking about humping everything in sight. At least I have some dignity and self-respect!

"Well?" Pannaxx asked again, his eyes sleepy. "You could stay with me for a few days if you are not ready to confront her about your territory."

“I... I don't know.” I placed my hand against the window and banged my head against it to quiet the voices. "I want to be with her."

Just go, you idiot!
 the Codex yelled. 
I’ll keep this bitch silent!

The sword grew hot against my side. 
Bitch? How dare you call me names, you nameless—

The Codex warmed as well, and they battled in a distant corner of my mind, flinging insults like mud.

Paying little attention to their curses, I looked out the window at Emily, her image distorted by the greasy stain my palm had left on the glass. Just seeing her again made me want to go up to her and pretend none of this had ever happened. 
But Mother won't be too happy, and being with Emily would be wrong.

As if hearing my thoughts, Emily came to a halt and glanced back at the bank. She looked up at the window, and I ducked. A heartbeat later, I raised my head to peek at her, and I watched her wobble from side to side before falling to her knees.