The Codex: An Angel's Guide To Seducing A Human (31 page)

Narius coughed blood onto her armor. “Mother… Archangel Astreal, why are you here?"

"I was hoping to do your job for you, but that doesn't matter. You are hurt."

Narius shook his head. "Wait... an elf named Mafis escaped while I was trying to protect Emily.” He turned his head to me and offered me a weak smile. “Emily is safe. So, you can go now. If you hurry, you can catch him.”

“And leave you in the presence of a Demonspawn? Never.”

My heart stopped, and I held my breath as I watched confusion flash in Narius's face. “What…? Presence of what?”

“Demonspawn.”

Narius shook his head slowly. "A what? I can't understand you. You… are not making any sense.”

Astreal's eyes narrowed. “Demonspawn, monster, abomination... Something that is created from tainted blood. She is not a human.”

Narius grasped her hand. "No… Emily's a human."

Astreal's brows knitted together, wrinkling her ageless face. "What are you talking about? She is not a human. Do you not remember her escape?"

"Escape? What escape?"

Narius's mother grasped his head with both of her hands. Anger simmered in her eyes, and the radiant warm light from her halo turned to scorching heat. The air around her burned and sweat trickled down my back. "Who placed a seal on my son?" she roared. At the sound of her voice, my head felt like it would split open. Around me, the ground shook, tossing loose books down to the floor and splintering the wall.

Narius spoke to her, but his words were muffled, too quiet to hear. He closed his eyes, and his hand went limp before dropping to the floor. 
Narius! No!

Astreal froze. Then with panic in her eyes, she placed her hand against his chest. A flash of light blinded me for a moment as massive amounts of magic flowed from her fingers and into Narius, whose skin and wings glowed golden.

Once the light from her hand faded away, the wounds on his body had healed. Astreal bent over and kissed Narius on his forehead. She gently brushed his hair, gazing at his sleeping face. “You will remember everything now.” The anger in her eyes faded, replaced with concern.

My heart skipped a beat. 
Remember? Remember what I did? Back at that ancient temple? 
Despair engulfed me. “No!”

She tilted her head and gazed at me. The hatred in her eyes returned, reminding me of Heliose and his words of manipulation. Desperation and anger overcame me. I wasn't going to be a helpless damsel in distress, waiting for someone else to solve my problems, all the while being blackmailed. I needed to be strong. I needed to rescue Narius from my mistakes.

I gritted my teeth and reached for the unclean part of me. Dark smoke erupted out of my hands, and whatever magic surrounding my body weakened. Exploiting my sudden release, I screamed and raised my staff, ready to unleash several spells.

The angel flicked her wrist.

An invisible force grabbed me and threw me back, interrupting the magic that fueled my spell. I crashed against the wooden wall, my breath knocked out of me, but instead of falling down, I was held in place by a power even stronger than the one before.

"So this is what happened. How could I have been so foolish? I should have noticed the signs earlier." Astreal gently laid Narius on the ground, strode up to me, and slapped me. My face stung, the force of her blow turning my head. “Demonspawn, do you know what you have done?”

"Everything I could to save him."

The angel backhanded me, drawing blood from my lips. “You are not doing this for my son. Now, answer the question, Demonspawn, before I purify your worthless husk beyond recognition. Where is the Grimoire now?”

I'd had it. No more. No more manipulation. No more lies. No more dealings with angels or elves. I would make my life better with my two hands. I would protect Narius and be happy. “He's mine! He belongs to me!” Gathering every bit of magic I had left, I let out a long piercing cry. Astreal's invisible bond overloaded and exploded, sending fragments of crystallized magic flying everywhere.

Before I could recover, Astreal reached forward, caught my hand, and broke my incantation. Her hands burned against mine as if I was being branded. “You are the only one who is hurting him. Now tell me where you are holding the ritual.”

"I'm hurting him?" I let out a long breath. "You were the one who almost killed him by breaking the glass! You are the one who is hurting him!" Anger consumed my mind and dark smoke wafted out of me until the entire room was darkened by it. “Stay away from Narius!” I screamed, forming the smoke into a dozen sharp knives and sending them hurtling towards her.

Ignoring the cutlery, Astreal grabbed my throat and lifted me into the air. The knives plunged into her, but instead of drawing blood, they vanished without a trace. She snorted. “You think a mere spawn of corruption can harm me?”

Her hand glowed white and grew hotter every moment.

It became unbearable. My skin felt like it was melting away, and my vision wavered as the darkness took over.

"Narius.... no." 
Please, don't remember. It wasn't my fault.

Astreal scowled. “Though I hate to do so, I shall spare your life, 
Emily
. Narius deserves to kill you himself after all you did to him in heaven.”

Heaven?

Narius—ten years ago

Emily leaned over the marble balustrade of the great library to look at the sky below us. The little human's hair whipped against her cheeks. "Narius, look! We're on top of all the clouds."

I grabbed her tiny arm and tugged her back. "Careful. You could fall."

The human locked her hands behind her back and smiled. "I'm sure a kind angel would catch me even if I did."

I lowered my gaze, feeling my cheeks warm. "Still, you shouldn't do that. It's not safe."

"Don't worry. I won't do anything dangerous.” She stroked my wings and grinned. “Where should we go next? Could we go to see something valuable? I mean, angels probably have lots of golden stuff, right? Like golden statues, golden necklaces, or golden dolls? I promise I won't touch anything."

"Well..." I scratched my neck. "If you want, we can go see Lord Halfaya. Mother told me that he's wounded, but I am sure a short visit wouldn't bother him."

Emily tilted her head, curiosity gleaming in her eyes. "Why’s he hurt?"

"He fought in a battle against an elven goddess. If we hurry—"

"No," boomed a voice from the sky. "The two of you will stay right there."

I looked up.

Archangel Heliose descended to us, his white robe flapping in the wind and a stale-smelling black book in his hand. He landed in front of us and stared at Emily, smiling like he had read a good novel.

Emily cowered behind me and clutched at my left wing, her hands trembling.

I knelt and lowered my head to pay my respects. "Archangel, has the meeting finished?"

"No need to be so formal, Narius," he said, smiling at Emily. "I just want to have some time with the little demonspawn."

She flinched, tightening her grip on my wing. "Narius," she whispered. "He's the one who kidnapped me."

Kidnapped?
 I rose to my feet and bowed. "Sorry, I will take her back to the confinement wing right away, Archangel. I just thought she could use some fresh air."

“I see.” Heliose placed his index finger on my forehead. His green eyes glowed white with magic. "Stay."

My body froze. "What? Archangel, I was taught that in heaven we shouldn't overpower another being's mind like this. Lord Halfaya—"

"Shut up, boy."

My lips pursed and my tongue stilled.

The archangel reached behind my wings. He grabbed Emily's arm and dragged her away from me.

"Narius! Help!"

I yearned to go to her aid but could not disobey the holy commandment that bound me.

Emily punched Heliose and kicked at his legs. "Stay away, you overgrown pigeon!"

Heliose knelt in front of Emily and opened the dark book. "Read."

"No! I don't want to!" She struggled and tried to push the book away, but Heliose held it in front of her. He gripped her cheeks, forcing her to stare at the page.

"You can't force me to do anything!" She threw her small hands up and punched the archangel in his throat.

Heliose coughed and tightened his grip on her.

Emily kicked harder and harder, but quickly her struggle weakened. Soon, she stopped, and her eyes drifted to the book.

Heliose released his grip. "Read." Emily sank to her knees, her eyes fixed on the pages and her mouth open.

The archangel patted her head. "Good girl. Why don't you keep on reading? We need to awaken the awful power in you."

She nodded absently, the blue of her eyes slowly turning red as the book overpowered her mind. With every turn of the page, the change became more apparent. A thin line of dark smoke radiated out from her skin, and the air around her smelled foul. After a dozen pages, but before the transformation could be completed, Heliose snatched the Grimoire away.

Emily raised her hand towards the book with a hungry look.

The archangel waved the book and pointed at me. "Do you see that angel in front of you?"

Emily nodded, her scarlet eyes soulless.

"I want you to hurt him. Badly,” Heliose said, thumbing through the pages. “Astreal needs to be outraged enough to be convinced that creatures like you are only good for being exploited. She needs to be convinced that using you is a perfectly acceptable solution to dealing with Palkeon and his crumbling prison. Then you can finish reading this."

He shoved Emily towards me. She stumbled, but grasped my leg at the last moment to steady herself.

Dark smoke arose from her hands, tainting the very air around us with its uncontrollable power. The little human looked up and studied my eyes as if she wanted to see something.

Emily smiled, and tiptoed, just short of reaching my chest. "Don't worry," she whispered. "No angel can command me. I'm not going to do what he says. "

The worry in my mind eased. I relaxed, relieved she had somehow shaken off the corruption.

"Let's start." Her hand shot out, dug deep into my thigh and ripped out a chunk of flesh.

My world froze for a moment before the agonizing pain hit me. I screamed inside my head, but couldn’t make a sound. Emily dropped the bloody meat. She then reached into the gaping wound and tugged at my thigh muscle. Blood squirted out and some of it landed on her face. The smile on her lips broadened as she looked into my eyes. "Are you having fun yet?"

I tried to move my fingers, to flap my wings, but my body refused to move. Drifting her eyes away from my left leg, Emily turned her attention to my right wing. She pulled on the wing and brought the tip to her eye level. Then, she formed a fist and punched. Her hand broke through the center of my wing and a loud snap broke the silence. Emily's fingers exited through the other side. Intense, burning pain infused my entire wing from the tip to my back. I could do nothing while agony coursed through me. Blood rushed out from my wounds and stained the marble stonework below. My body refused to budge as I stood there, engulfed in pain.

Tiny hands pushed me down onto the stone floor. My body crumpled onto it, the side of my head striking the marble like a poorly stacked tower of books crashing to the ground. The demonspawn, now crawling next to me, brushed my cheeks with her bloodied hand, a mad look in her eyes. "Isn't this fun?"

She laughed, and I saw the evil inside the little creature I so foolishly wanted to protect. Fear gripped my mind. All I wanted was to run away, to be safe, to be free.

Emily grabbed my hair and pulled my head up. It hurt so much. It felt like my head was about to be ripped off.

Her crimson eyes gazed into my soul with glee, hungry to kill me.

She leaned over me, her little lips buried against mine. It felt strange, a little odd, but before I could understand what I was feeling, her fangs skewered my flesh and ripped the skin from my lips.

Blood poured into my mouth, flooding it with the bitter, metallic taste of death.

Chewing on my lips, she smiled at me, her teeth red with blood. "You taste a little too innocent."

Within the prison of my mind, I screamed. 
Stop! Please... Just stop.

"Still not talking?" The smile on her face withered as she climbed on top of my stomach and thrust her hand into it. The armor whined for a moment under the pressure before breaking off, and she scratched away at my body, each strike ripping away a chunk of my flesh. Blood sprayed out everywhere along with broken pieces of my armor as my body was ripped away.

The demonspawn shrieked, thrusting deep into me with every word. "Why! Don't! You! Scream!"

The commandment around my eyes weakened, letting tears flow down my cheeks. 
No. Please, stop. Please, stop. It hurts so much. Mother... I should have listened.

But she wasn't satisfied. The monster crawled over my bloodied body. Without a hint of kindness or mercy in her red eyes, she stroked the back of my ear. "See? You can cry. Why not scream? Pretty please?"

My mind recoiled at the touch of her sticky, wet hand. I wanted to close my eyes, but the commandment kept them open and forced me to see the abomination's gleeful face.

Blood oozed out of her mouth and onto my neck. "Come on. I said the magic word. Let me hear you beg...." She leaned down and whispered into my ear, her warm breath chilling my bones. "If it helps, I don't care what that other angel says... I am going to kill you here, devouring one chunk of your flesh at a time. You will die, angel. So cry out for your mother or I—"

A flash of light erupted behind her and momentarily blinded me.

The demonic creature slumped against me. The weight of her body on top of me felt unnatural, and I wanted to push her away before she could violate me any further, but the holy words continued to bind me.

"Heliose!" A voice shouted. From the corner of my eye, I saw archangel Ghaster standing a few paces away, his hand gripped on his sheathed sword. "What is the meaning of this?"

Heliose raised both of his hands and smiled. “Ghaster! I was just about to stop them. It’s a good thing you arrived to save poor Narius from the demonspawn. I don't know how she got out of control, but this proves that we must use her to—"

Ghaster scowled at Heliose, his face filled with rage. "Silence! Do you take me for a fool? You were smiling and watching."

Heliose took a step back, his face feigning surprise and horror. "I am an angel of love. Why would I harm little Narius? The only monster here is that spawn of the fallen. She must have somehow found the Grimoire while Narius was distracted."

Ghaster took his hand off his sword and pushed Heliose aside. "Get out of my way."

The archangel of order stomped towards me and kicked the demonspawn aside.

The monster flew off and crashed against the marble railing, where she lay still, much to my relief.

"Narius, you will be all right. Just hold on." Archangel Ghaster knelt next to me. He held both of his hands over me to heal my wounds.

The holy power entered me like ink staining a parchment, and my muscles knitted themselves together, driving away the ravaging pain.

Heliose walked behind him as Ghaster maintained his spell. "What do you say? My dear old friend, you've seen what happened. It is quite clear the demonspawn should be used to summon Palkeon from his cell to undo the curse. After all, she has broken the code by attacking an angel. And look at the harm she can do! We will use her first, of course. Then we'll dispose of her for harming Narius."

Ghaster, without bothering to look back, shook his head. "No. You will stay put. I expect a full explanation about how you managed to get the Grimoire out of Lord Halfaya's library. I saw you take it."

Heloise's smile turned into a scowl. He summoned an arrow into his hand and gripped it tightly. "Is that so?"

No!
 I tried to open my mouth to cry out a warning, but the words of power held me in their clutches.

Heliose drove the arrow into Ghaster's neck. The arrowhead burst out of Ghaster’s throat, glistening with blood.

The archangel of order opened his mouth to speak, but crimson liquid gurgled down onto his armor. Ghaster sank to the ground and clawed at his wound before falling over. His head hit the stones with a dull thump, the life in his eyes flickered out. With it, the effects of the healing spell ended, bringing back the pain.

"Now, why did you make me do that, Ghaster? I thought we were friends." Heliose pushed the arrow through until it was free. He took the dead archangel’s blood-covered hand and smiled. “Look. It's so red. Aren’t you going to wash your hand? You compulsive freak!"

Heliose let go of the lifeless hand and laughed. He kicked the unmoving body in the head and tossed the bloody arrow off the balcony.

Ghaster's sword vibrated, glowing red with power. Maintaining his smile, Heliose grabbed the sword and dangled the weapon over the edge of the balcony. "Sorry. He’s dead. And, thanks to him, I am going to have to think on my feet. Now, I know you would like to be here and tell everyone what I did... but..." His hand glowed white, overpowering the red glow. Once the sword was subdued with his might, Heliose threw it off the edge and into the clouds below. "Enjoy your new life as an amnesiac!"

He watched the sword fall for a few moments before turning around. “And now for some final touches.” Prying off a marble piece of the balcony, Heliose repeatedly struck the dead archangel with the block until his face and throat were a mush of bloodied meat, hiding the arrow wound.

Apparently unaffected by his evil acts, Heliose opened the Grimoire in his hands. Grasping the covers, he tore the book in half. Corruption billowed forth with the act and loose pages were carried off in the wind, scattered to the world below.

Heliose tossed the two halves over the balcony and with it the foulness, already halved by the destruction, grew fainter until it could no longer be sensed.

Heliose smirked. "Don't worry, you little whore!" he shouted at the pages. "Once the angels stop searching, I'll send a gullible fool to look for you."

Dusting his hands, Heliose strode to the demonspawn and slung her over his shoulder. He stretched his wings and got ready to leave. The archangel began to rise when he turned around at the last moment to look at me.