The Codex: An Angel's Guide To Seducing A Human (8 page)

Narius

Music filled the streets, thanks to a band of humans slicing, stroking, or blowing their instruments. Humans of all shapes and sizes danced, sang, and drank. The atmosphere was merry and exciting as so many people moved about with life.

Occasionally, dark figures appeared, concealed under hooded cloaks that masked them from head to toe. They lugged on carts things that smelled of sulfur and colorful sticks that humans shot into the sky through the streets. It was impossible to see their faces, but the way they carried themselves with purpose made it clear they weren’t as happy as the humans around them. I turned to ask Emily why, but she still seemed depressed, her lips turned upside down.

Why is she so sad when everyone around her is happy?
 I asked.

I’d say you just need to grope her a few times and make her feel appreciated,
 the Codex answered.

Make her feel appreciated?
 I glanced at Emily, and felt something warm in my chest. 
What's a grope? Wait. Can I give her something instead?

By all means. Giving her a piece of your body for her to admire won't hurt at all.

Emily glanced at me and our eyes met. She looked away and twirled her hair.

I stepped in front of her and squeezed her hand. "Emily."

Color rushed to her cheeks. "What?"

I closed my eyes and grabbed a feather from my wing. Clenching my teeth, I pulled it out, struggling not to yelp.

Clutching the feather tightly, I offered it to her.

She poked at it. “What's this?”

I frowned. “It’s my feather. I just pulled it out in front of you.”

“I know that, but why did you pull it out? That looked painful.”

“Because I want you to have it and admire it.”

"Admire it?" She raised an eyebrow. “Why would I want your feather?”

I tilted my head up and grinned. “Because my feather is worth its weight in gold.”

“So it's worthless.”

“Huh? No! Wait! I am not done yet! Umm ... I can make it more pretty and valuable.” Remembering how she was looking at the trinkets earlier today, I focused on the feather and released my power into it. In response, the feather glowed with a warm, golden light. Once a sufficient amount of power was stored, I removed a part of the chain that held the Codex. I strung the piece of chain through the feather and made it into a necklace.

I inspected my handiwork and handed the necklace to Emily. "There.”

“There what?”

“This is an artifact now. When I heal, I freeze the part of the body I touch so I can do a proper job of healing. This is a cruder version in that it stops an entire body, but as long as you provide the magic, you can anchor someone’s soul, freezing them in time. Well, you still won't be able to heal them like I do, but you could stop someone who is trying to attack you.”

Emily narrowed her eyes, but upon touching my feather, the sadness in her face vanished. She smiled and put on the necklace, letting the feather dangle against her neck. Then, she pointed the feather at me with a mischievous grin. “So, if I use this and take your armor off... you would just stand there naked?”

"Yes. Wait! But… but! But you can only use it once. After that, the feather will disintegrate… and I am not going to let you pluck another feather from me."

“What if I use the spell and then pluck your feathers while you're motionless then put a bit of my own magic into them?”

I tried to say something, but her logic made too much sense.

Emily laughed and grabbed my hand. “Don’t worry, you idiot. I'm kidding.”

Happy to see that she was back to her usual self, I let her take me to the middle of the road where the humans danced, stepping around with rhythmic footwork. She pulled me closer, clasped her hand over mine, and spun me around in a tight circle. "Come on, Narius. Don't you know how to dance?"

I shook my head, trying my best not to step on her feet as she led me through a complicated series of movements.

“Really? What have you been doing all this time? Aren’t you supposed to be at least a dozen centuries old?”

I chuckled at her ignorance. “I am twenty years old.”

Emily stumbled and almost brought me down. "What? I mean, sure, you look twenty, but you're just a year older than me?"

"Why are you so surprised? I have looked this way since I was born."

"What? How were you born? I mean, your mother, she would've had to... did she die giving birth to you?"

I tilted my head. "Why would she be dead?"

"But how? I mean if she gave birth to you and you didn't grow at all..."

"What? I grew up. Newly-born angels are placed under a protective shield for a year and grown until maturity where our bodies stay the same forever.” I grinned, glad that she didn’t know something for once. “How do you not know?"

Emily spun me around in a tight circle and stepped on my feet, almost making me lose my balance. "Quiet, you."

I pressed my lips shut, and we danced without a word. The world spun around me in a colorful blur as the music slowly took hold of me, and the clanking of my armor provided the steady rhythm that matched the symphony of instruments.

Emily led me through a pattern of footwork that grew more enjoyable with every moment as I learned the steps.

I smiled.

She smiled back, but it withered as quickly as it came. "You know, Narius, tonight is probably the last time we are going to see each other."

I missed a step and brought us to a halt.

Emily stared at the pavement, studying a crack. "The temple has decided to pay me for your debt. Once I get my money, I'm going to return to the capital. You’ll finally be free of me."

A chilly breeze brushed across my skin, the cheerful music and the laughter of humans now distant. The thought of her leaving me pulled at my heart.

Just ask her, you idiot,
 the Codex whispered. 
Ask her to stay.

But she says her business is done. I can't make her do something she doesn’t want to.

Don't be so indecisive. Ask.

I clenched my hands, squeezing hers. "Emily."

"What?"

Words failed me, but my heart still pounded. Unable to express myself, I lifted Emily off her feet and swung her around, causing the nearby humans to scatter to avoid my outstretched wings and Emily's flying feet.

Emily screamed. “What are you doing? Stop!”

I ignored her and found my words. "If… if you want, we don't have to part ways just yet. I… I mean you could stay with me and help—" I hesitated and lost my grip.

Emily flew away from my hands and landed on her butt.

Unable to stop a smile that crept onto my lips, I offered the glaring human my hand. But before she could take it, a light flashed before my eyes, followed by an explosion that knocked me off my feet.

Panicked cries replaced the sound of music. I looked up. Fire roared on the decorated houses and explosions rippled across the city.

I struggled to my feet just as a pair of strong hands grabbed me. I looked over my shoulder and found two priests with alarmed looks. Everywhere else, humans ran. Even the vegetable vendor who had held his ground during all of the dancing was pushing his cart to safety.

"Your Holiness, the town is under attack. We must get you back to the temple now."

I looked back at where I had dropped Emily, but she was gone, lost in the crowd of screaming humans. "But, Emily—"

One of them gripped my hand. "Your Holiness, we need to get you to safety. Please come with us. Other members of our order have already secured your companion."

"Really?"

"Yes, yes, just come with us."

The priests pulled me away. The night had vanished, replaced by an orange sky fueled by a blazing city.

Dazed and confused, I let them.

Emily

I reeled back from the flames, sweat drenching my clothes.

Men, women, and children ran frantically through the streets, screaming for their loved ones. A few town guards formed a bucket line to try and control the blaze while others kicked in the doors of burning buildings. They dragged out people from the inside, some of whom had already passed out from the thick smoke.

I joined in their struggle and cast a few spells to coat buildings with ice. But even with my magic, the fire was spreading faster than spilled milk.

It was hopeless.

Still, I battled the blaze for over an hour, standing right next to the end of the bucket line as they threw in more water. But the fire showed no sign of stopping and now covered more than half of the city. Exhausted, I clutched the necklace Narius had given me, and remembered.

Narius.

I had to find him and make sure he was safe.

I couldn't save the town, and knowing that the angel would have been swept up in the disaster, I wondered if anyone had taken advantage of him.

My gaze fell upon a group of priests carrying away a small, crying child with a burnt teddy bear, and I kicked myself for not thinking of it sooner. 
Of course. If I haven't seen him flying around, the priests must have taken him.

Hastily casting a final spell to encase a brewery in a thin layer of frost, I charged into the center of the city toward the cathedral of Arudi. I ran through deserted streets crackling with flame and pillars of embers flying up into the night sky.

Hot air breathed down my neck. Buildings around me buckled and collapsed, spewing smoke onto the street. I cooled the air around me with a spell, but even then tears formed around my eyes as smoke reached them. Squinting, I coughed as I rushed towards what I hoped was the right direction.

After a few minutes of running blindly, the smoke cleared, and I found myself before the towering cathedral. To my surprise, the holy building had been untouched by the flames or the mysterious explosions.

It was as if the fire had been carefully planned.

That's ridiculous. How could the priests benefit from this much destruction? 
But before I could spend a bit more time thinking about it, I arrived at the main entrance of the temple. A sole priest stood guard, his weary eyes shifting from building to building.

With no time to waste, I approached the priest and thrust my staff toward the door. The radiant glow from the orb of my staff shone on him, casting a beam of light that brightened his face even more than the flames from the neighboring building.

He paled and backed away, his lips quivering with silent murmurs. Seeing the man's horrified face, I hesitated and lowered my staff. "Open the door!"

"I-I can’t do that,” he said, his hand trembling against the pommel of his sheathed long sword. He glanced at the burning city, then at me. "I was told to guard the premises from the elven terrorists behind this minor attack.”

I thrust a finger towards the raging inferno. “Minor? The city is a bonfire, and do I look like an elf? Let me through!”

“N-no. I can’t. But hey, maybe you could stay with me? I mean, we are quite safe here, and I could really use—”

I don’t have time for this.
 I folded my arms and glared. “Let me talk to Varian, then. I'm not leaving until I do.”

The priest hesitated. He met my stare, and flinched. Muttering a curse, he turned and knocked on the door in a strange pattern. “The High Priest will be here soon.”

After what seemed like an eternity, the door creaked open. The priest stepped aside and Varian emerged scowling, escorted by a pair of terrified cooks gripping kitchen knives as if they were swords.

Ignoring the poorly-armed bodyguards, I flashed my most flattering smile at the fat man. “High Priest Varian, I would like a moment to speak with Narius.”

Varian waved his hand dismissively. “There is no need for that. His Holiness is quite safe.”

“I just want to tell him goodbye while you go collect my reward.”

“That won't be necessary. It just happens I have your reward right here.” Varian reached to the side of his robe towards a jeweled, ivory-bladed dagger.

I gripped my staff and thought of a few choice spells to send the High Priest and his friends flying away.

But just as I was about to cast a spell, Varian’s hand drifted past the dagger and tossed a brown coin purse to the ground, the coins inside jingling on impact.

“What’s this?” I asked.

“Your reward.” Varian turned around and headed back inside. “That should be more than enough to satisfy your greedy little soul. Consider yourself lucky that I didn’t dump your body in a ditch.” He stopped and glanced back at me with a smug look on his lips. “Now, be gone. His Holiness cannot be bothered by the likes of you.”

"Wait!" I stepped towards the door, but it slammed shut, and the priest guarding it stepped sideways to block my path.

The lock clicked, followed by the sound of a bar being lowered, blocking my chances of getting inside with it.

The frightened priest grasped the handle of his sword. “G-go away now. Th-the High Priest doesn’t want you around.”

I gritted my teeth. “Fine!” I picked up the heavy pouch and opened it.

The bag was filled with golden crowns and jewels, worth more than what I would have made selling the page, more than enough to pay the guild’s debt and quite a bit still left for myself.

I turned my back on the temple and walked towards the area of the city with the least number of burning buildings, readying myself to brave the flames. 
Well? Isn’t this what I wanted? I have the gold now. I can leave that stupid angel behind.

A fine layer of soot crunched beneath my feet as I walked away. 
That fat bastard. How dare he talk to me like that?
 I looked back. The temple stood behind me like a mountain, tall and imposing. Its large stained-glass windows depicted an image of an angel with a halo and a flaming sword in his hand. Directly over the panel was the spire that contained Varian's office, a sliver of light escaping from its window. 
Screw the priests. Narius must be there. I’ll just talk to him before I go.

I stole a glance at the lone guard, flinching at the sound of every explosion. His eyes darted to and fro, watching the shadows in front of him, ready to draw his sword at any moment. 
I need to find another way in. I’m not getting past him and a locked door anytime soon. Even with my charming personality.

My gaze drifted across the temple. To my delight, there was an open window on the second floor and around the corner from the guard, its curtains flapping out like dirty laundry. I walked out of the view of the guard, then approached the side of the temple. Hugging the wall of the temple, I snuck along to the window where a steaming pie had been left on the edge to cool. Praying that my luck would hold, I jumped, but my fingers failed to even graze the sill of the window.

I looked back at the entrance. Thankfully, the guard still had his back turned to me, busy watching the burning city. Hoping that he would stay that way, I focused my thoughts and wove a spell.

A surge of energy flowed from my body and fueled the spell. Ice sprouted from the ground to create a solid block that came up to my chest. My vision wavered for a second as the magic taxed my strength. Once my moment of weakness passed, I grabbed hold of the top of the ice and pulled myself up. After I wiggled my belly on top, I struggled to my feet without slipping. Then I grasped the edge of the open window and pulled myself through it, parting the curtains and taking care not to knock over the sour-smelling apple pie.

Once I crawled halfway through the curtains, my weight tipped forward, and unable to balance myself, I tumbled through the window and landed on my face with a thud.

Stars flew before me for a moment, and I groaned. After massaging my face, I sprang to my feet, ready to fight off a group of angry priests, only to be greeted by half-peeled potatoes resting on top of the abandoned kitchen tables.

Unattended pots bubbled over with boiling soup, and the scent of burning bread seeped from the ovens.

I made my way through the hastily-abandoned kitchen towards the door, but came to a stop when I saw a piece of paper tied to a long string hanging over a table. “Deliver the pie as soon as it cools and the smell is masked. The thought of escape must never enter His Holiness’s mind. Extra doses to keep him sedated.”

Escape? Drugged pie? What the hell is going on?
 I crumpled the paper and tossed it away. Eyeing what I assumed was the extra special pie, I pushed it out the window and watched it spill its guts to the ground.

Something definitely isn't right here.
 With a sense of urgency creeping up my spine, I opened the door a little to peek out.

Dozens of priests and temple guards armed with brooms and rakes charged down the hall past me, heading towards the entrance of the temple. 
Must be going to help with the fire, but why are they armed?

I shook my head. 
Not now. I just have to find the angel.
 Poking my head out the door again, I glanced both ways. The hallway was clear.

After making sure no one was coming my way, I slipped out to the hall and sprinted through the deserted temple. There was only one secure place Narius could be: Varian's office. 
Narius, I hope you are all right.

Emily

The long climb up the staircase to Varian’s office was maddening. The sound of my footsteps echoed throughout the stairwell and made me glance over my shoulder every so often. But there was never anything behind me. 
Why am I so paranoid? No one is going up this long flight of stairs when there's a big fire outside.

I nodded to myself and trudged up the stairs. 
Once I get up there, I’m going to smack Narius for making me worry, then take him with me.

But with each step I took, my concern for Narius and my fear of being discovered disappeared, replaced by annoyance from climbing this ridiculously tall tower. When I finally reached the top, I wiped the sweat from my brow and kicked in the door to vent my fury on the naïve angel for following strangers. “Narius!”

The angel wasn’t here.

Instead, I caught the High Priest alone with a thick red book in his left hand, his pupils contracted with surprise. On the desk behind him, a sack overflowing with paper and valuables urged me to come and rescue them.

"You're not supposed to be here." He glanced at the treasure-filled bag and backed towards it. "How did you get in here? Are you working with those terrorists? How much do you know?"

“Enough.” 
Enough to guess that you aren’t helping that naïve angel for his own good.
 I narrowed my eyes. "What's that book in your hand?"

Varian, still holding onto his book, answered by grabbing a letter opener from the table and charging at me, the small knife aimed for my throat. "Die!"

I waved my staff and conjured a large block of ice above his head. It smashed into him, and the priest collapsed to the floor.

The letter opener flew out of his hand and skidded across the room until I pressed my foot down on the handle. “So, care to explain why—"

“You’ll never break me!” The High Priest threw the book towards the fireplace.

I pointed my staff and froze the book in midair. The added weight crashed the book onto the floor, far from reaching its destructive end. Kicking the knife back towards the door, I approached the book. “Let’s see—"

“No!” Varian screamed. He jumped to his feet and charged at me again.

I swung my staff and struck him in the head, dropping the priest to the ground.

Praying that Varian was done for good this time, I jabbed at the prone body with my staff. He didn’t stir, except for his chest rising and falling. After a dozen pokes, I encased his hands and legs in ice just in case, then picked up the book he was so desperate to destroy.

Already, the cover had defrosted and was a bit soggy. I flipped through it, reading some uninteresting entries about the priest’s personal life and his obsession with cheese. Disinterested in how long milk should rot in order to imitate the export cheese from the Republic, I skipped to the last entry where the ink was still fresh, hoping that I wasn’t wasting my time.

“An angel came to the temple today. This one was also interested in the Grimoire and its pages. Nine years ago, I was ignorant, naive. Following orders blindly, asking for nothing in return. But I know better now. Fortunately for me, this holy servant doesn’t seem too bright. He ate up my lie. He actually believes I have one of those blasted pages. If all goes according to plan, and I succeed in keeping this fool with me, I will be the leader of a holy city, and everyone will bow at my feet.”

My face twisted at the troubling words. 
’This one?’ ‘Nine years?’

I leafed back and searched for any relevant entries from nine years ago, finally finding one from the summer of that year:

"I fear this will be the last summer solstice for our small town. The gold mine has run dry. The town is falling apart. Honest men and women have turned into criminals with no way to support themselves. Entire families are leaving to seek work in the cities. In the next few months, everything I've built—orphanages, soup kitchens, everything—will be meaningless. I pray every day to Lord Arudi to guide and provide me with the strength to weather this crisis, but I fear he is too busy to hear my prayers. If only those stubborn elves would just let us mine beneath their blasted trees. Talking to them hasn't worked at all. Every time those pointy-eared fools open their mouths, they complain about purifying the withered forest from some vague source of pollution as if they aren't the ones responsible for the whole disaster. They treat us like children. If only they knew how patient and caring I am. If only they knew that the voice of the mother tree whispers to me every time I visit her, urging me to strike down the elves to save my people. But I cannot. They have not done anything to break our lord’s order."