The Codex: An Angel's Guide To Seducing A Human (35 page)

He yanked the weapon out, a breath of air escaping with it. He twirled the dagger before my eyes. The blade was now dark, its once-reflective white surface tainted black, but without a single drop of blood on it.

"You are absolutely... mad."

Heliose released my hair and kicked me to the side. "Not for you."

I crashed to the floor and coughed out what breath remained in me. My body refused to move. Everything hurt so much, but despite the pain, I couldn’t see any blood or a wound, just a hole in my clothes where the dagger had gone through. 
How is this possible?

“Look at what you made me do, making me play with sharp objects," he said, tossing the dagger back at Mafis. The elf caught the weapon, gave it a quick glance, and then grabbed the Grimoire off the ground. Then he resumed mumbling the unknown words, all the while shifting behind the altar and out of my view, probably to continue his drawing.

To me the chant no longer sounded beautiful. The syllables felt evil. The choppy and harsh words sent shivers through me. “What… did you do to me?”

“I merely drained your corruption into the dagger." He leaned forward and whispered into my ear. "Congratulations, Emily. You are a human again.”

Human? But Narius said I could never be...
 My vision blurred with tears. “I’m a human?”

Heliose summoned a bow into his hand, an ivory-white weapon radiant with power. An arrow materialized in his other hand. He nocked the arrow and aimed it straight at me. “For now. Anyway, I don't need you around anymore. So why don't you just tell me when Narius will be coming before I kill you? I look forward to seeing him cry over you."

"He won't be coming. I made sure of that. I told him to run. I love him too much to let him get involved in my own stupidity." A smile formed around my lips. "I win."

Heliose scowled back. "Then I will make sure to preserve your corpse and deliver it to him. No matter how long it takes."

He released the arrow.

I closed my eyes. A feeling of peace overwhelmed me as death approached. 
Narius, I’m sorry for everything.

A sound of metal clanging against metal rang through the hall.

I wasn't dead.

Slowly, I opened my eyes.

Narius stood in front of me, holding a blade covered in soft white light. On the ground next to him was the arrow destined for me, its tip bent.

Before I could react, the sword vanished and reappeared at his side, sheathed in a link of chain.

Narius, with both hands free, scooped me up in his arms. He held me tightly against him, and we flew to the other side of the cathedral. As we fluttered away, Heliose, to my surprise, lowered his bow and smiled. "Ah, love. So beautiful."

I regained some control of my body and looked up at Narius. “Wh-what are you doing here?”

Narius grinned but didn't answer. Landing on the opposite side of the temple, he placed me on a pew. He kept his eyes on Heliose, who watched us, his smile never disappearing.

Ignoring the insane Archangel for a moment, I grasped Narius's hand and returned his attention to me. “Listen. You are going to have to run away. I don't know how far along they are in summoning the demon, but they have what they need from me. It will be any moment now. You have to leave me to get help.”

The idiot shook his head. "I love you.”

You love me?
 Heat rushed to my face, and I fought the urge to say it back to him. This wasn't the time to tell him how much I loved him. Heliose could kill us at any moment.

I rose to my feet and raised my hand to slap him, to get him to think straight, to go away and be safe.

I swung my hand.

Narius caught my wrist and pulled me towards him. He leaned in and kissed me, his lips so soft and tender that I melted.

Despair, pain, horror-all washed away with that single act. Just like the first time he kissed me. My ability to think was brushed aside by a flood of sheer happiness.

He pulled back, his soft brown eyes staring into mine. They were so innocent, caring, and loving.

Tears flooded my eyes, and I couldn't stop them. "I'm sorry. Can you forgive me? I should have told you the truth. I just wanted to fix everything."

Narius placed his arms around my waist and hugged me. His body felt relaxing against mine, and I breathed in his pleasant scent of roasted chestnuts. “Emily, I still stand by what I said a week ago. I promise to do everything I can to make you happy. No matter what.”

My cheeks warmed, and I buried my face against his shoulder. "Y-you better keep your promise."

He held me, his breath stroking my neck. "When this is over, I... I’ll wait in your room with only some ribbons tied. Just… just be gentle.”

I nodded, pretending to understand his vague promise about some sort of a present. The warmth from his body mingled with mine, and I felt at peace. 
I wish we could stay like this forever and never let—

Heliose cackled, his gaudy laughter breaking the small paradise in my mind. “That’s adorable, Narius, but I am afraid you will not be able to mate with her.”

Narius pulled away from me and turned to face Heliose. “What? But the Codex said I had the stamina.”

Heliose sighed and shook his head. "Ah, the loving youth. It is always fascinating to watch. Now, because of respect for love I stopped myself from ruining such a touching moment, but playtime is over, kids. Being the angel of love, I would have let you go, but I can't have the two of you babbling about what happened here to Astreal. So...

"Just die together." He nocked and loosed an arrow of white magic that flew straight at me like a beam of light.

Narius leaped in front of me, raising his sword to deflect the projectile, but his arms were too slow. He wasn't going to make it.

No!
 I raised my staff and summoned a large wall of ice just in time.

The arrow exploded as it slammed into the icy barrier, sending chunks of frozen shards everywhere and collapsing the wall.

“You still have some magic left after all that?” Heliose said, nocking another arrow and sending it at us.

I summoned another barrier. "I have more magic than you have arrows!"

The arrow struck, quivering on impact, and vibrating the very air around us. There was a loud crack as the wall's foundations crumbled, followed by the wall of ice toppling over us like a falling tree.

Narius grabbed me by the waist and pulled me back before it could crush us.

Without pausing, Heliose loaded his bow and continued to fire one arrow after another, smiling throughout it all.

Narius, with his hands wrapped around my waist, flew us into the air and around the pillars of the cathedral, dodging the arrows and letting them crash into the stone behind us.

Meanwhile, I focused on Heliose by conjuring up some icy arrows of my own. I shot them with enough weight and strength, but they melted right before they could touch him. Still, they weren't useless. Every missile of mine had left a mist that obstructed Heliose's view for a few seconds after each volley.

For minutes, we kept at it, but soon, sweat fell from my brow. Every bolt I created drained my magic close to my limit. It was only a matter of time before we took an arrow.

I bit my lip. 
My spells won't work because they just disintegrate. But they worked the first time. Why? Was it because I was touching him? Yes, that must be it. I need some way to maintain the spell as it hits Heliose.
 "Narius, we can't keep this up."

"What can we do?" he asked, banking hard to the right to dodge an arrow.

Repeat what I did to you when we first met.
 "Fly directly over his head."

"No! We'll get shot down."

"We'll be skewered if we don't. Do it!"

Narius tightened his grip on me. Dodging the sharp wooden sticks, he flew above Heliose, and hovered just beneath the ceiling.

"Now dump me."

"What?"

"Let me go."

"But—"

With no time to explain, I jammed my elbow into his stomach. He grunted, and the firm grip of his hands vanished. Wind whipped at my hair up as I plummeted down to the archangel, who upon seeing my descent, pulled his bow back.

Using the split second I had, I turned the air in front of me into the largest pile of ice I could. Immediately, parts of it melted from Heliose's magic, and I hugged the block of ice as best I could and channeled all my magic to keep it preserved.

A moment later, an arrow broke through, close enough for me to feel the tip brush against my cheek.

But unlike before, the ice held its form, and before I could wonder if my half-baked plan would work, the ice I was holding slammed against the floor. The force of the impact flung me off to the side. I hit the floor, hard, and rolled a few times before coming to a stop.

Dust and chips of ice covered us in a white fog that hid everything around me under the misty blanket.

I sucked in a lungful of air. Nothing seemed broken, but it felt like I'd been hit by a runaway cart.

Heliose lay next to me, a chunk of crimson ice poking out of his thigh. He rose to his feet, faltering once before getting up. The angel drew his bow back, an arrow materializing in his hand. "Reckless, reckless, but you are going to pay for—"

Narius tackled the archangel from above. The force of his impact pushed Heliose to kiss the ground with a loud crack. Narius kicked Heliose's bow, sending it flying away. "It's over."

"What are you going to do now, cherub?" Heliose asked, pressed down against the floor under the weight of the ice. "You think you can keep me bound like this?"

"No," a female voice said. "But I will."

I glanced over my shoulder. Narius's mother hovered above us, the flap of her wings so quiet it was like a whisper in the wind. She gestured at me and Narius. "Have the two of you gone completely insane? This is too dangerous for you, Narius. Leave this to us."

"Us?" I asked.

Angels emerged from the shadows behind her, dressed much like Narius. A few of them looked at me and Narius and smirked, giggling or chuckling amongst themselves.

Heliose turned his head to see what was happening around him. "Ah, Astreal." His voice cracking with nervousness. "This is not what it looks like."

Astreal glared at him, her eyes glowing white with power. "Do you take me for a fool?"

"Shit."

Narius's mother brushed her golden hair over her ear and landed next to us. After a quick nod to Narius, she stared at me with such intensity I shrank a little from her gaze. “Do you really love him?”

Surprised by her question, I muttered the truth, “Yes. I love him.”

She rubbed the side of her head and sighed. “Why is life so complicated? I will deal with you love-struck fools later. Narius, move aside. This is a matter for an Archangel to handle.”

Narius moved away, and Heliose, who had wiggled himself from the ice, scrambled away like a crab missing a few of his legs until he had his back against a pillar. "Now, Astreal, I think you are mistaken here. I am an archangel of love. Why would I hurt these two?"

Spreading her wings, she growled and then spoke, “Traitor Heliose, you will come back to heaven to pay for Archangel Ghaster's death, and for whatever mischief you caused here."

"Mischief? I am trying to summon a demon."

"Do not lie. I know you do not have the necessary knowledge. Whatever summoning you have planned won't work."

I glanced at Narius, who seemed just as confused as I was. 
Wait... if Heliose can't summon the demon, then what was the point of sending Narius?

The mad angel laughed, his show of fear now gone. “Astreal, how little you know, Archangel of Knowledge. Palkeon will be summoned today, and I will kill him for Elena.”

“Your lover can stay cursed for all I care. You will come with me, even if I have to drag you back to heaven missing a wing.”

"No need to get so violent," Heliose said. “You know I don't stand a chance against you.” He took a step to the side of the pillar and began to limp away. "We should really talk about all of this. As my lady once said, violence does not solve anything."

“Good. Come peacefully. You will be tried before Lord Halfaya, then handed over to Lady Tristina for punishment.”

“No, no. No need to get my lady involved in this mess,” Heliose said with a glint of madness in his eyes. “You are right. I do lack the knowledge to pluck a demon from his cell, but the Grimoire doesn't.”

Astreal frowned, and her eyes became alert. "You spoke to the mad book?"

"Yes, and not a single feather blackened. Now... time's up."

The hall fell into quiet slumber, the incantation behind Heliose now silent. Heliose gave a short nod to Mafis, who had just crawled out from behind the altar. "Do it."

Mafis, reaching to his side, pulled out the dagger Heliose had stabbed me with and raised it over his head in front of the altar.

Blood drained from Astreal's face at the sight of the weapon, and she thrust her hand towards the elf. “Stop him!”