The Codex: An Angel's Guide To Seducing A Human (28 page)

Something that will make you win.

Emily

After Nathen left to deliver his potion, I blew out a sigh and slumped against the chair.
 So, I can get my hand on the page, but what then? What should I do?
 Sitting there, listening to the crowd, I tried to think of a plan. I bit my thumb, when a familiar, intoxicating scent reached my nose. It was the Grimoire.

"Why the long face, human?" Mafis asked. "Are you worried about your corruption coming to the surface?"

I turned around.

The elf stood with his back against the door and stared at me with contempt. His tattered clothes had multiple colorful patches sewn on them, giving him the semblance of vomit splattered on the sidewalk.

“Don’t worry, human.” He poked at his half of the Grimoire strapped to his side. “I just happened to be nearby with my trusty book when the little birdies told me the good news.”

I scowled at him. Yet a part of me, somewhere in the deepest part of my mind, wanted nothing more than to rip the Grimoire off him and read it. "Get out of here. I don't want to see you or Heliose."

He tilted his head towards the ceiling and laughed before letting out a long breath. "Me neither, demonspawn. Do you think I like working for him? He’s about as honest as a drunken goblin. But 
you
will do what the bastard says and carry out your part. After all, how else am I going to save my daughter?" He strolled towards me with hands behind his back. “Speaking of which... I heard you decided to sell your body to the prince."

My lips twitched before I could stop them. "How did you know?" I tried to keep a straight face, but the book smelled so good, and I smiled.

He shrugged and placed the tip of his finger against his chin. “I hear the funniest things. Just remember to hand over the book to us and not to your angel. Oh, and remember to hide your red eyes from Narius, or he'll get a little upset and run you through with his halberd."

Before I could tell him otherwise, he gave me a curt nod and slipped out of the room, taking with him the wonderful scent of the book. My heart ached. If only he'd leave the book behind, then I could read it uninterrupted. 
That would feel amazing.

No! What is wrong with me? That book is evil.
 I closed my eyes and pushed down the unnatural urge. Then the elf's words came back to me. 
Red eyes?

Alarmed, I studied the reflective blue orb on my staff. Inside it, a small image of me stared back with crimson eyes—the same color I had when I strangled Narius with glee. 
No.
 I dropped the staff and clutched at Narius’s feather hanging around my neck.
 I’m not a demon. I’m not a demon. I’m not a demon.

Eventually the reassuring feeling of Narius's feather calmed me. Letting out a stuttered breath, I glanced at the feather to remind myself of Narius.

The feather was no longer white.

It was pitch black, like the dark smoke that had escaped from my fingers on that fateful day. Everything stilled as I tried to take the information in. But it was too much, and my world collapsed around me. I sank to the floor. 
No, no, no, no, no. This can’t be happening.

The announcer spoke a few words and roused up the crowd for the last game of the season. None of the words made any sense, but it could only be the final round.

A loud, clear voice announced the entrance of Prince Kale. The crowd rumbled with excitement. I closed my eyes, unwilling to open them for the duration of the fight. 
Narius won’t notice that my eyes are red or that his feather darkened, right? Was that why Nathen was staring at me? Am I really a monster?
 I touched the black feather, the softness of it still comforting. 
But maybe this isn't such a bad thing. I mean, I can't change who I am. Maybe this is a good thing. Why should I hand over the book to Heliose? Maybe I should just kill him. Yes... keep the book and have Narius all to myself... Narius would never figure it out. 
A smile crept onto my lips. 
Now, once Narius loses to the prince, I will take the book from the pervert's dying hands. Then I'll deal with Mafis to get his half before killing Heliose.

As my moment of clarity brought everything together for what I needed to do, the announcer spoke again. "And now... the lucky contestant who has yet to participate in a single fight... His Holiness, Narius of Lord Halfaya's flock!"

The crowd went silent. Then they started to whisper and mumble amongst themselves. The announcer cleared his voice. "My apologies. 
Lady
 Narius!"

What?
 I opened my eyes and looked down.

Narius stood next to the glass dome that held the Grimoire, halberd in hand, his wings folded and armor shining in the sun. He looked exactly the way he should have. Except he was a girl. His brown hair now extended all the way to his shoulders, and every other part of his body looked extremely feminine, just as he had appeared when he took the bite of the magic apple.

Narius

I looked down at myself, then at my wings. To my relief, I hadn't changed at all. 
Why did that voice call me a lady?

It's just a clever way of calling you a girl. It's an insult.

I... I knew that! But wait... why is calling someone a girl an insult?

Because in human culture, women are seen to be weaker than men in physical strength.

So? What’s so bad about it?

It’s a cultural thing.
 The Codex coughed. 
They are just trying to anger you into making a hasty mistake.

I nodded at her sound logic. 
They won't trick me. I can't be relying on Emily for everything. I need to be able to do things on my own.

"Fascinating," the human prince said, standing a few paces away from me, his snow-white clothes spattered with blood. He flashed his teeth and strolled towards me, his hand far away from his blade. "Well, hello there, beautiful. My spies are rarely wrong, but in this instance... I am glad that they are. It would be a pleasure to slide my hands up your legs."

I flinched and took a step back. 
What’s wrong with him?

I recommend aiming between his legs and cutting off his family jewels.

He keeps gems in his pants?

"Haha! Don't worry. I'll be gentle. Though, I must say, I am pleasantly surprised by your appearance. I expected another angel.”

What’s he talking about?

He’s calling you a coward.

I pointed my halberd towards him. "I am not a coward!"

The prince brushed his hair back. "Of course not, but why do we need to fight? There's plenty of room for a beautiful angel like you in my harem."

What's a harem?

An agreement where he keeps you awake all night by constantly poking you in bed without any books.

I flinched, horrified. "No! You can sleep by yourself!"

The prince rested his hand on the hilt of his sword and smiled. "Come, now. You should see me in action before you decide. If you don’t believe me, I’ll let your friend, Emily, vouch for me. After all, she'll soon be spending a few restless nights with me, moaning and crying out my name."

What does that mean?
 I asked.

It means he wants to force himself on Emily so he can kiss and hug her.

"No! She’s mine!"

The prince blinked, seemingly taken aback, before smiling at me again. "Fascinating. I thought you were just her friend. Perhaps the two of you should pleasure me together."

"No! She'll be my mate once I prove to her I am worthy!"

"Oh? Is that how it is?"

He drew his sword and leveled it at me. The pristine blade in his hand looked oddly familiar. An image of an archangel proudly polishing it on a table flickered into my mind, but I couldn't recall who it was or where.

A flash of light engulfed the sword, and my hands shot up reflexively to shield my eyes.

Before I could back away, the prince charged at me and kicked me in the chest.

The blow sent me to the ground, and I crashed onto my back with my legs spread out.

The prince pointed his sword at my neck and grinned at my thighs. "Well, isn't this a lovely sight."

I swept my halberd at him, forcing him to jump back.

"Don't worry, pretty angel. I am not going to kill you. I merely wish to hear you cry out my name instead of Halfaya's."

My blood boiled at his disrespectful tone. Getting back to my feet, I flapped my wings, sending out a ring of dust, and hovered over the ground. I aimed my halberd and flew straight at the arrogant human.

The prince jumped to the side, and I flew right past him. "You are a little slow, aren’t you?" he said, rubbing his groin.

I spun around and sliced away at him. Metal clashed against metal, sending sparks out with each blow, but the human blocked my strikes with ease. He smirked. "My darling angel, don't be so angry. It just makes me want to mount you even more."

Irritated by his attempt to call me a horse, I made the mistake of swinging my weapon too far, and before I could pull my weapon back to me, the human closed the gap and thrust his sword.

The blade came straight for my chest.

I twisted aside.

The blade skimmed harmlessly against my armor, only scraping the edge of it.

I flapped my wings in reverse, showering him with sand as I flew back to safety.

The crowd screamed, some with joy, others with outrage. I tuned them out and focused. “Where did you get a blade carried by Lord Arudi’s flock?"

Kale shrugged. “It fell from the sky a decade ago.” Twirling his sword, the prince smiled. "But enough about my sword. You know, I dislike hurting a beautiful creature. So, why don't you kiss me? Then I'll be generous enough to let you get out of here without a scratch."

I kicked off the ground and flew towards the human again, thrusting my halberd at him. "The only person I can kiss is Emily!"

This time, he didn't dodge my attack. Instead, his glowing sword struck my halberd. The impact forced me to a halt just as a bright light blinded me again. When my sight returned to me, I found my halberd shattered. Unable to believe what had happened, I stood there as his sword plunged itself through my armor and into my stomach.

Time froze. I felt nothing. Then my wings stopped beating, and I heard the sword's voice—a young, feminine, high-pitched voice—giggling. 
I can hear your heartbeat. Hehe. Oops. Sorry, old habits. Hey... Narius, was it? Listen, I am sorry I am inside you, but could you do me a favor? I need—

The prince pulled his sword out, the blood on it hissing. I let my breath out with a wheeze and fell to my knees.

"Don't worry; that missed all of your vital organs. Still, it'll hurt," he said, holding the bloodied sword as it absorbed my blood and became spotlessly clean.

The world tilted upwards, and I crashed onto my back, the pain in my stomach excruciating.

I glared at the prince and struggled to rise, but Kale stuck his foot into my wound and kicked me back down.

"Haha! I like the defiance in your eyes. Why don’t you surrender yourself to me? I would hate to force myself on such a gorgeous body when it can be willing."

Blood flowed through my hands as I clutched at my wound. "You’ll have to kill me first!"

"Hmm. Taming you is going to be a bit of a challenge."

Ignoring the pain, I turned over on my stomach and crawled away.

The prince stepped on my right hand. With a smile on his face, he shifted his weight onto it.

My bones snapped, and I screamed.

“What a beautiful sound.” His boot lifted from my hand and struck the side of my armor, flipping me onto my back. The human stepped on my chest and tapped his foot against the armor, each tap sending a pulse of pain. “Why don’t you take this off and moan for me?”

I gasped for breath and closed my left hand, crushing and scooping the grains of sand into my hand. “No…”

The prince leaned towards me with glee in his eyes. “Or should we take this to the bedchamber—”

I threw the fistful of sand at his face.

He screamed in rage, rubbing at his eyes.

Taking advantage of the distraction, I grabbed his foot on my chest and pushed, lifting it into the air.

Unable to keep his balance, the prince fell back, flailing his arms. He dropped his sword and rubbed at his eyes, cursing at me as I rose to my feet.

I summoned another halberd into my left hand and thrust it, halting the weapon just short of piercing the distracted human’s throat. Struggling to hide how tired I was, I mustered the strength to speak. “Surrender.”

The prince wiped the last of the sand and blinked his eyes. “You are not going to kill me?”

“I refuse to play this murderous game.”

“Am I supposed to be impressed?”

“Don’t make me hurt you—" Pain racked my body. I coughed blood all over his face. My vision blurred, and my legs slumped, forcing me to kneel in front of the human and drop the halberd.