The Codex: An Angel's Guide To Seducing A Human (4 page)

Her smile widened. “Did mighty Lord Halfaya kick you out of Heaven?”

“No… No?”

“Liar,” she mumbled. “But you don’t have to tell me if you don’t—"

It was too late. I remembered. Channeling magic into my wings, I flapped them faster, trying to blow away the shameful memories of the fire that had engulfed the Great Library. With my efforts, the gentle breeze turned into a violent gale that whipped away at our hair.

Emily shrieked like a banshee, her screams occasionally breaking through the wind.

Eventually, by the time the painful memories subsided, she quieted and I spotted a massive dirt hill below us. Delighted at my success, I congratulated myself on shortening what would have been a long and grueling journey and slowed my wings. Descending carefully, I settled down on the grassy field that surrounded the mound.

Emily, with her face a little blue, tugged on my arm. “Let… me… go.”

I relaxed my hold on her, and she dropped like a stack of books onto the ground, crushing the grass with her weight.

She covered her mouth and stumbled a few steps forward. Then she bent over and spurted out a colorful stew-like substance onto the grass, nourishing the land.

Once the stream of fluids ended, Emily wiped her mouth and wobbled onto her feet to face me. She gritted her teeth and kicked at the shin guard of my armor.

Her boot struck with a dull thud.

Yelping, Emily clutched her wounded toe and hobbled backwards. She bit her lip and glared at me. She pointed her staff towards me and took a step back, ready to cast a spell, only to slip on the pool of sludge she had left on the ground.

Emily’s head splashed into the puddle, sending pieces of half-digested food flying in every direction with some of the gooey chunks lodging themselves in her hair.

Panic flashed on her face, and Emily sat up on the grass. She raised her hand and touched her dirty cheek then pulled off a sticky piece of bread and stared at it. Her cheeks turned scarlet, and her eyes shone brightly.

I inched back, fearing that she would kick me again.

Instead, she dropped her staff, covered her face, and sobbed. “G-go away.”

Stunned and not knowing what to do next, I searched through the Codex. 
What should I do?

Uhh.. umm… I don’t know. Try comforting her?

Closing the holy text, I knelt next to the blubbering human. I reached out and picked off the pieces of the food that clung to her hair. “It’s only food,” I whispered, trying to reassure her, but Emily continued to cry. "Delicious food? Amazing food?"

She kept crying.

With none of my helpful words working and with little else to do, I decided to clean her to remove the root of her despair. So, I flicked my wrist and conjured up a jug of glacial water along with a bit of manna.

Emily, still busy weeping, provided no resistance as I coated her head with manna by running my hand through her soft hair. Once her dark hair was thoroughly covered in the blue goo, I poured the glacial water over her head. Upon contact with the water, Emily jolted while the manna evaporated, taking away the pieces of half-digested food I had coated with it.

Emily squirmed as a small trickle of water rushed down her neck, but kept her face hidden.

With her hair free of foul materials, I pried her hands away from her soiled face, revealing her puffy red eyes. Before she could clam up again, I smeared more manna on her dirtied face and splashed the jug of water on her, erasing the taint.

She cried out, “What are you doing?” But, upon touching her face and hair, she stopped and stared at me with confusion in her eyes. “How?”

“I rubbed my manna over you.”

Emily sniffled and studied the ground.

I extended my hand towards her and felt the corners of my mouth rise on their own when her soft fingers closed around mine.

I lifted her to her feet. “Come on. Let’s go find your dragon.”

Just then, from the large mound of dirt, the sound of a giant creature snoring rumbled the earth in a steady rhythm. “Who knows," I said, glad we had come to the right place. "Maybe we can sort this whole thing out with words.”

Emily picked her staff off the ground. “No.”

My heart sank a little. “Why?”

“Because I am going to kill it.” Emily pulled her hand away and brushed past me. Her face was set, and her eyes focused, but her knuckles were white, and she trembled ever so slightly. “There is no other choice. I want to kill it.”

I watched her walk away. 
Liar.
 Closing my eyes for a moment, I sighed then reluctantly followed in her footsteps. 
Still, a promise is a promise.

Narius

We stood at the entrance of the hollowed-out hill. The air shimmered, and sweat trickled down my neck. The heat coming from the cavern was so fierce my wings felt like they were being roasted.

Inside, a snoring dragon the size of the inn slept, curled up in a tight ball. A jet of flames from the dragon's left nostril briefly illuminated the cavern, revealing a mountain of bones and his dingy, mud-coated blue scales. On his other nostril, a glowing red snot bubble, filled with liquid fire, expanded and contracted.

The bubble swayed like a flail until it popped, and lava-like mucus dripped to the ground, sizzling as it melted the rock beneath it, before hardening into an orange deposit.

Emily's eyes sagged as she stared at the pile of bones decorating the lair. “Where’s the heap of gold? Gems the size of my head? Where's my loot?” she whispered.

I shrugged then summoned a quill and quickly sketched the dragon into the Codex, taking care to draw his mace-like tail. When I returned my gaze to Emily, she was raising her staff at the sleeping dragon.

I placed my hand on the orb of her staff and lowered the weapon before she harmed the creature.

She glared at me. “What are you doing?”

“You can’t do that. He might get hurt.”

Emily gritted her teeth and yanked her staff from my hand. “That’s the point!”

The snoring stopped and two green slit eyes opened to focus on Emily.

“Not another one.” The dragon breathed out a long cloud of smoke, revealing the white hide of the cow stuck between his teeth. “All right, human. Let’s go outside. I’d hate to destroy my home.” Pannaxx yawned and drifted his gaze to me, then to the Codex. “Oh? What is this? A servant of Halfaya? Strange… I’ve never seen one from his flock as young as you.”

“I am old enough. Probably older than you!”

“Is that so?" he asked shaking his tail. "I did not expect angels to be such terrible liars.”

I flinched. “We are brilliant liars!”

Pannaxx's rumbling laughter shook the ground and knocked down flecks of dirt from the roof of the cave. “You amuse me, angel.” The dragon rose onto his massive legs and exited the cavern. Flinging mud from his scales and shaking the ground with every footstep, he stumbled out onto the plain.

As we trailed after the dragon, Emily grumbled, gripping her staff like she was trying to snap it in half. “Great, now he’s awake.”

Before I could tell her about the virtues of fighting fair, Pannaxx stopped, reared up on his hind legs, and raised himself high, just shorter than the four tallest bookshelves in the great library stacked on top of one another.

He spread his wings, blocking the sun, and roared, his breath sending a gust of hot and sticky wind, along with bits of grass, and cow hide hurtling towards us.

The orb on Emily’s staff glowed bright blue, and the wind passed us by without lifting a single strand of our hair. Still, wisps of Pannaxx’s breath drifted into my nose, and the rotten smell made me gag.

The dragon flashed his teeth at us again, smirking. “Sorry. Morning breath.”

Emily covered her nose, and once the smell dissipated, she pointed her staff at the dragon. "Cough up my money."

The air chilled, frosting my breath as dozens of frozen arrows materialized above us. The icy missiles were translucent and identical, but before I had the chance to admire their beauty, the arrows flew towards Pannaxx’s yawning mouth.

The dragon, noticing the shiny projectiles, blew out a puff of flame, vaporizing the arrows in an instant. “That’s it?”

Emily grunted. Her staff flashed, and hundreds of sharp arrows whistled towards the dragon.

This time, no flames came. Instead, Pannaxx kicked off the ground and launched himself into the heavens. His great leathery wings slapped away at the air, causing the arrows to waver and fall harmlessly to the ground.

Chuckling, Pannaxx sprayed spit across the grass, making the ground sizzle.

Emily fumed and turned crimson. She swiveled to face me. “Narius!”

Alarmed by her cranky attitude, I took a step back. “What?”

She marched up to me, pushed her back against my chest, and laid my hands on her stomach. “Get me up there!”

Suppressing the sudden and odd urge to stroke her stomach, I moved my hands away. “Why?”

Emily pressed my hands right back down against her waist. “Just do it!”

Annoyed by her tone, I tightened my grasp on her belly, flapped my wings, and took off.

Emily quivered as we rose, but soon stopped and aimed her staff at the dragon. The orb of her staff glowed bright blue, forming a volley of frozen missiles and sending them flying towards the dragon.

Pannaxx opened his mouth, sparks already forming at the back of his throat. But before the arrows could be melted away, they exploded, pelting the dragon with tiny shards of ice.

Pannaxx howled and flew backwards, the fire in his throat quenched.

Emily laughed, her excitement encouraging me to fly faster. “That’s it, Narius! Close in on him!”

Following her demand, I beat my wings in pursuit of the dragon. In return, Pannaxx spat smoldering balls of fire our way as he moved back.

I twisted and turned, just barely avoiding the flames and the inky smoke trails left behind. Still, the scorching breath charred my armor to such an extent that black spots danced in my vision from the heat.

Suffering through the unbearable heat with me, Emily cursed and fired off one icy volley after another, most of them missing the dragon completely while the rest only skimmed against his scales.

As I continued my flight, the gap from the dragon shortened with each passing moment, and fire and ice clashed against one another, surrounding us in a cloud of mist. I blinked to clear the vapor from my vision, but it was getting difficult to see and to evade the fiery balls while flying towards where I had last seen the dragon.

Then as quickly as it came, the mist disappeared, and the huge form of the dragon reared up immediately before us, his green eyes glinting.

Before I could veer away, Pannaxx opened his mouth, but instead of the scorching fire, he spewed a mouthful of burning ash into my face.

I closed my eyes just as the hot cinders reached me. Blind and unable to breathe, I flew straight through the burning fumes, coughing. When the air around me felt cool again, I opened my eyes.

Pannaxx was right on top of us. His blue scales reflected my own horrified face.

Everything around me stilled for a moment as Pannaxx opened his jaws and a stream of crimson fire flowed out.

Instinctively, I folded my wings, and we plunged, the wind whipping Emily’s hair against my cheeks.

An instant later, a pillar of flames shot right over me and singed my hair.

Emily screamed and clutched my hands.

Realizing we had escaped, Pannaxx closed his mouth and folded his wings. He fell, accelerating and looming towards us with every heartbeat. His talons stretched out, the dirty claws only a sliver away from plunging into my wings.

Left with the choice of escape or having my wings skewered, I opened my wings. Air slammed against them and dragged me to an abrupt halt. I jolted in pain, and my hands on Emily’s stomach slipped upwards until I got hold of her again.

Thankfully, Pannaxx fell past us, unable to halt his descent.

I sighed with relief and caught my breath.

Emily wiggled and shuddered, the backs of her ears turning crimson. “Stop groping me, you pervert!”

My, my. Narius you sly pigeon, you've grown bold,
 the Codex whispered.

Unsure on what I had done wrong, I wiggled my hands, trying not to drop her as I made my hands move down her body, but Emily kept squirming, forcing me to stop and hold on. “Don’t move. I am almost there—"

A blue tail came out of nowhere, headed straight for my face. I tried to jerk myself to the left, but it was too late. The mace-like tail lashed my right wing. The impact spun me out of control. We plummeted, the wind howling, my view of the ground flipping as I struggled to steady us.

Then with a stroke of luck, I righted myself and regained some of my bearing. The ground was still growing at an alarming rate, and I poured all my magic to slow our descent.

It wasn’t enough.

To keep Emily from scraping against the ground, I swiveled around to my back and crashed. We skidded across the grass. My wings screamed in pain as my back pushed them against the dirt. Then, something snapped and I saw nothing but darkness.

When my vision returned to me, we had come to a halt, but I couldn’t move. Pain grabbed hold of my wings and paralyzed the rest of my body. Everything hurt so much.

Emily untangled herself from my arms and rose to her feet. Clutching her staff, she faced the dragon hovering above us with the breeze from his beating wings lifting her hair.

Emily glanced back at me and bit her lip. “Come on, let’s get you out of here.”

“What… about your quest?”

“Later. I’ll deal with him later. I’m not going to have nightmares over you.” She put my arm around her shoulder and lifted me to my feet.

Agony stabbed through my wings and my useless legs dragged behind me. I looked at my broken wings twisted in parts and covered in dirt. "I... I can't fly."

“Quiet.” Emily's trembling fingers tightened around the staff. “If we can’t escape, we’ll just have to turn him into pulp.” But despite her courageous words, Emily’s legs quivered. Still, she began chanting a spell, every syllable visibly draining her strength, and sparks of excess magic flew from her staff like bolts of lightning.

“So this is how it ends. Pity,” Pannaxx said, touching down onto the ground and gathering his own magic into his maw.

Emily growled in response. "Not for me."

To my horror, each of them displayed an overwhelming amount of magic, enough to obliterate a small portion of the Great Library. 
This is crazy. One of them is going to die.

Then stop them,
 Codex said.

Summoning all my strength, I moved my hand to lower Emily’s staff, but my shoulder spasmed, and I smacked her face instead.

The magic in her staff died.

Pannaxx, seeing Emily’s spell break, halted his magic and watched us with amusement.

With blood dripping from her nose, Emily scowled. “What are you doing?” She tried to shake me off, but I leaned my weight against her, forcing her to plant her staff into the ground to keep her balance.

I wrapped my hands around her, and with my last remaining power, healed her nose. “No. This isn’t right. There has to be another way.”

“What?” she shouted without bothering to wipe her nose. “Do you know how much harm he’ll do if I don’t stop him? He’ll terrorize the village until everyone is dead!”

Pannaxx snorted a jet of flames. “I have not ‘terrorized’ any human village.”

“You wiped out their cattle!”

The dragon puffed out a cloud of smoke. “You humans wiped out the bison to make room for those gullible creatures you call ‘cows.’ I took what I required to survive, aside from those that I may have accidentally burnt.”

Emily glared at the dragon. “Even if you didn’t have much choice, this has to end. You think humans and dragons can live together?”

Knowing the answer to her question, I covered Emily’s mouth with my hand and said to the dragon. “Do you think she is pretty?”

“What?” Pannaxx tilted his head while Emily mumbled something against my hand.

“I think she is an attractive human,” I said.

Emily stopped mumbling and became still.

“So, would you consider her to be a treasure you’d keep in your lair?”

Pannaxx rested his head on the ground and narrowed his eyes. “No.”

“Excellent!” I summoned the Codex into my hand and flipped through the text until arriving at the section that described an aspect of human nature. “'Money is one of the foundations of human society. In many circumstances, money led not only to competition between races, but also to cooperation, even with historically hostile races like orcs, ogres and trolls.'"

Narius,
 Codex whispered. 
I don’t know what you are doing, but can you handle this on your own? I am going to try to make sure you don’t fall unconscious from the pain.

I will. Thank you.

The Codex disappeared from my mind, and immediately the pain simmered down enough for me to concentrate.

Emily licked my hand, making me shudder and move my hands to free her lips. “What does that have to do with anything?" she asked with an unflattering scowl. "And why did you ask him if I was pretty?”

I ignored her and spoke to the dragon. “Have you considered trading with the humans? If you bought the cows, they wouldn't have sent an ill-tempered looter to hurt you.”

Pannaxx tapped the ground with his claw and groaned. “I wish I could. I do not enjoy taking another’s hoard without a fair fight. But a month ago, a band of adventurers stole everything I had while I was away trying to lure a mate into my den. Perhaps your human knows more.”