The Codex: An Angel's Guide To Seducing A Human

by Joe Duck

  Not appreciating the tone she was using, I let my eyes wander and noticed a cloud of smoke wafting out from the forest.

  "…What are we going to do for money? How are we going to eat? Don’t say Manna. I’d rather roast your wings than eat any more of…"

  A delightful aroma caught my nose, and I walked towards the smell coming from the direction of the smoky pillar.

  “Hey!” Emily shouted, the gravel beneath her feet crunching as she walked behind me. “Where are you going! Wait, is that smoke?”

  Emily rushed ahead of me and stopped at a bush. I caught up to her and peeked ahead. Beyond the line of bushes ran a long stretch of road where countless green tents and campfires inhabited the land. Soldiers drank and walked about. In the center of the camp, a skinless doe roasted on a spit. Everywhere, on the soldiers' clothes and on the flag that flew overhead, an image of an owl dominated the scene.

  However, as I watched the soldiers, a few of the trees at the edge of the clearing—oaks, maples, and others—uprooted themselves. The trees slithered across the landscape, using their many roots like legs. But before they could get far, they were spotted by the humans. They surrounded the trees and chopped them into tiny bits until they stopped moving.

  For several minutes, the sea of green continued its death march until no more trees emerged from the forest. Soon, the sound of axes striking the wood died down, and the humans returned to their camp.

  "Emily, what are they—"

  Emily grabbed my shoulder and pulled me into a bush. She squatted, and I followed her example, curious at what she was up to.

  Through the gaps in the foliage, I watched the humans go about their day. “What are we doing?”

  “Quiet. Let’s see what the Royal Army is doing camped in the middle of the road and chopping down trees.”

  “Royal army? They just seem like well-armed woodcutters.”

  “Well-armed woodcutters? What are you talking about? Judging by the crest, this is Princess Yuriana’s personal guard.”

  I pointed at the green banner with an owl embroidered in the center. “Princess Yuriana’s an owl?”

  Emily glared at me, her eyes rimmed with anger. “No, and watch what you say. The princess is my idol and a true hero. Without her, the kingdom wouldn't even be running.”

  I picked up a wooden stick from the ground and waved it around. “Idol? Like a wooden totem? Or a wand? Can you cast spells with her?”

  The idol-worshiping human struck me in the head. “The princess is a human, just five years older than me, and incredibly beautiful.”

  Interesting… ask her if it will be possible to engage in exciting physical activities with the princess.

  I translated. “Is she a magician like you?”

  “No, she’s a ranger.”

  I clapped my hands as the corners of my mouth lifted, delighted to talk about something I read about. “Like the ones in the adventurer books? The ones who help others without asking for anything? Something that you will never be because of your greedy mind?“

  She smacked me in the head again and made me squirm. “No, a forest ranger. The ones who care for the trees.”

  "Trees? If she cares for them then why did her men chop down the moving ones?" I asked, rubbing the back of my head to dull the pain. “And if that’s all, why are we watching them like a pair of gnome assassins? We could just ask them for a bit of gold for a horse.”

  Emily rolled her eyes. “Oh, I’m sure asking a group of soldiers to fork over a horse or any sum of money will be perfectly fine. Besides, I want to know why they are here. No army, let alone the Royal Army, would come into the Great Forest for nothing.”

  A rough voice whispered behind me. "And I would like to know why an angel and a magician are whispering behind a bush."

  I looked back.

  A rugged-looking, dark-haired human smiled at us, clad in odd clothes with leaves and twigs attached to them. “Did you honestly think that you would go unnoticed? Especially with the angel’s wings poking out?”

  Emily swiveled around and raised her staff, the blue orb glowing.

  The man raised his hand, and for the first time I saw the dozen humans behind him. They were also dressed like small bushes, and their swords were already drawn. “Today's your lucky day. How would you like to see a real princess?”

  Chapter Eight

  Narius

  The humans led us to the largest tent within their expansive camp and made us wait outside. Tired, I wobbled back and forth on the hard wooden bench that creaked under my weight.

  Emily moved to sit next to me, but was called up by a soldier sitting behind a table who wanted to hear why we were here.

  I leaned back on the bench. Soon my thoughts drifted to an imaginary table filled with all sorts of human delicacies that a princess would eat every day... like a really big loaf of bread, or a pie. But just as I imagined myself eating a slice of bread coated with manna, a noise from the tent jerked me out of my fantasy.

  I tried to ignore the sound of heated discussion and let my mind wonder back into my fantasy.

  The sound didn’t go away.

  Curious at how people could argue for so long, I peeked through the flaps.

  Inside, a blonde woman with clear blue eyes sat on a chair, her legs crossed, with a frown clouding her face. She wore exquisitely decorated white plate armor that had colorful stones embedded all around in it. In front of her was a large table covered with a map of the forest and the surrounding area, inhabited by miniature toy soldiers ready to be played with by whoever placed them there.

  Hmm... I don't like her. She reminds me of Astreal, the Codex said. Let's shout out profanities.

  Huh? Mother? Never mind. Let's talk later. I want to listen, I said, pushing the Codex out of my mind and focusing on the conversation.

  “What do you mean there is no other way, Prince Kale?” the woman asked. “If we cannot rely on our axes to cut down the ironbarks, then we will use our magicians and have them destroy the forest in a controlled manner.”

  The man, clad in well-trimmed clothes, who appeared completely out of place when compared to the rest of the camp, stood on the far side of the table. There was something wrong with the way he looked at the woman. But more importantly, the jeweled sword attached to his side seemed to radiate a gentle glow of light, much like the swords carried by those in Arudi’s flock.

  I tried to get a better look at the blade by pressing my face against the flap, but the sword carrier smiled and turned to his side, blocking my view. “Prince Kale? That sounds too formal, Yuriana. You will call me 'darling.' I believe that, as my future wife, you have the rare privilege of addressing me simply by name.”

  Yuriana’s hand lowered and rested on the handle of her sword. “Of course, Prince Kale.”

  The prince stepped around the table and stood behind the princess. “Now, no need to get your pretty little head worked up like that. With the vast majority of your magicians sent away to Arehan to provide relief and establish stability, it will be impossible to stop the trees here from blocking your kingdom’s trade route. I don’t see why you are arguing with me. Why don’t you just rest your charming body on my bed? Let me and the Empire’s finest magician worry about whether or not we should burn down the forest.”

  The princess gripped the edge of her seat. "I will not allow any use of fire."

  He lowered his lips to her ear and rested his hands on her shoulder. "That’s very brave of you, thinking you can tell me what to do."

  The princess clenched her hand. "I won't risk the fire getting out of hand and burning nearby villages and other inhabitants of the forest."

  “Yuriana, let’s be honest. Sure, you might care about your forests, but aren’t you trying to stay here as long as you can to avoid our marriage?"

  The man slid his hand down to her chest and sniffed her hair. “As much as I like to see you struggle, I will officially propose to you after my victory in the arena, and you will accept my reasona
ble gesture if you don’t want to see your kingdom burn like the forest.”

  The princess grabbed the man's wrist and pried it off her chest. “We don’t have anything else to say to one another, Prince Kale.”

  Kale turned and headed for the exit opposite from me. “All right, then,” he said as he lifted the flaps of the tent. “I look forward to bedding you in a few months, my beautiful princess! Don’t worry, it is all for the good of your kingdom and my empire.”

  When the man was gone, the princess let out a long breath, and she hugged herself with a shudder.

  The sight made me feel a little guilty for some reason, and I slapped the tent flap in an effort to knock.

  The princess jolted. She glanced at the flap of the tent and smiled. “You must be the angel spying on my camp. I am afraid I am not prepared to receive someone like you.”

  I pushed the flaps aside and entered.

  “Narius!" Emily shouted from behind. "We can’t go in there!” She rushed into the tent behind me, but froze. When she saw the princess, Emily began fidgeting, her hands shaking as if she had a cold. “P-princess? It is an honor to meet you, Princess Yuriana. I never thought the day would come. My name is Emily, Emily Bryant, from Lodina. I know you think we were spying, but really we weren't.” Her face reddened and the tone of her voice rose. “I just saw your crest, and I couldn't help myself. Truly, it is an absolute pleasure to meet you. I have always dreamed about this.”

  The princess nodded. “I am happy to meet you as well, Lady Bryant.” She walked up to me until her face was uncomfortably close. Her blue eyes flickered in delight as she studied my face and my wings. “Wings, brown hair, brown eyes and an innocent look on the face. You must be Narius. I have heard about your encounter with the dragon Pannaxx and your presence when Arehan’s destruction took place." She placed a finger against my chest. “But I doubt you had anything to do with that." She stepped away from me and grasped Emily's hand. At the touch Emily's face seemed to radiate joy, and appearing satisfied with what she had done to Emily, the princess spoke, “Lady Bryant, will you lend me your assistance as a citizen of this kingdom?”

  Emily bobbed her head, flailing her hair. “Yes, a thousand times yes.”

  Yuriana gave her a small smile, reminding me of Mother's happy face. "Excellent. Then I will need the help of your angel. I hear you can command him to your will? Something about a ritual where you charm him with your body?"

  “Bull—" Emily coughed. “I mean, pardon me, Your Highness. I did not catch that.”

  I scratched the top of my head. "Charm me? Ritual? The only way she can get me to do anything is with violence."

  Emily glared at me. "I am sorry, Your Highness, but I cannot command this over-sized pigeon."

  Yuriana bit her lip. She gazed at me, probably wondering if she could order me to do her bidding. To my surprise, she bowed her head to me. “Then as a princess of Lodina, I beg you for your assistance.”

  I shook my head. "No."

  The princess’s eyes narrowed, and Emily stepped on my foot. "What are you doing? You should be honored to help her!"

  “May I ask why, angel?” the Princess said as I put my uninjured foot over my wounded one.

  “Lord Halfaya gave me a commandment to prevent the summoning of a Demon.”

  "A Demon?” The princess placed her hands on her hips. “We have the finest army on the continent. A mere Demon would be no match for our troops."

  I shook my head again. "Not if he is free. Last time, three of the Demons under our watch escaped and wiped out half of all living things. All because they thought what they were doing was right.”

  Yuriana frowned. "Half of all living things? How come I have never heard of this?"

  "I don’t know. Even when we taught you how to make books so you could keep track, you humans seemed more interested in burning them."

  Emily snickered. "Aren’t you planning on doing the same to the Grimoire?"

  "That... that's different. My goal is noble."

  Yuriana crossed her arms and looked me straight in the eye. "So is mine. There is an entire forest bent on blocking up the kingdom’s trade route to the Misty Isles. Merchants are depending on this road to sell their potions. They need a quick passage."

  I tilted and scratched my head. “Couldn’t they just use a different road?”

  “That is true, but it would also take them longer. And this is where the problem lies—in the supply and demand of our potions.”

  "Supply and demand?"

  The princess's eyes brightened at my question. “Excellent question. You see, an invisible hand of the market determines the ratio of the two by having a group of people wanting something and another to provide for it. In this case, the demand is relatively small while the supply is high. Our kingdom produces the best medicine and luxury potions on the continent, and the people of the isles know that. If the supply was interrupted, however, they would be more than happy to settle for an inferior product from a different nation.”

  I bobbed my head, pretending that I understood everything she said. Meanwhile, my head screamed in pain, trying to figure out the words coming out of her mouth.

  “But because of the climate, ships can only enter and leave the island three consecutive days a year, a trio of dates that is coming up in two weeks. There isn't time for those merchants to find an alternative route.” She drifted her finger across the map and pointed to a road cutting through the forest. “Also, taking a longer path would mean that the merchants would either be late or be considerably less prepared, which in turn would allow those from the Legerement Empire and the Corrundum Republic to penetrate our monopoly. This would threaten our market share, one of my kingdom’s economic cornerstones, and that is why I require your assistance. In order to maintain the healthy economy of Lodina by protecting our—”

  My brain felt like it was going to explode. “No!" I gripped my hair. "You will not trick me with this. I feel bad for the invisible hand and the humans who will suffer, but the Demon is my priority."

  "I see." The princess gave a curt nod to me. “Then you will have no objection to spending some quality time within our jail.”

  “What?”

  Yuriana smirked, her eyes glowing with mischief. “Well, the city of Arehan was burned to the ground while you were there. We must investigate to see if you had anything to do with it, and that means we will be detaining you for a lengthy period of time.”

  "But that sounds like I can’t leave. How will I get out?"

  Emily sniggered. “You won’t, criminal.”

  “But all I did was break a window of a temple.”

  The princess tapped the table with a frown. “A window of a temple? That’s the destruction of public property. Enough for two years of penal service.”

  “Hold… hold on. What if I wasn’t there? Maybe it was another angel.”

  “You just admitted you were there.”

  The world spun a little as I tried to wrap my head around the princess’s words. “But… but…”

  Emily patted me on the back, seemingly amused by my peril. "Don't be so gloomy, terrorist. I’ll get you out once I talk to my brother."

  Yuriana tossed her hair. "And Lady Bryant shall be joining you in prison to keep you company."

  Emily gaped. She stared at me, then back at the princess. “But all I did was break and enter.”

  “Or…” The princess clapped her hands together and winked. “Narius can do me a small favor.”

  Emily, with a determined look, gripped my wing and made me wince. "He'll do whatever you need, Your Highness. Even if it's licking your boots."

  I broke free from her grasp, and turned to face her. "What? But I only did that because it was you. I won’t—"

  Emily covered my mouth and muffled my voice of reason. “Anything. He will do anything.”

  “Angel," the princess said. "I am not asking for much. All I want you to do is travel deep into the forest and find whoever is responsible for the
trees' sudden migration south during the past few weeks. We need to have an open line of communication with the party behind this. At the moment, the best I can do is to keep the situation contained. But without a solid solution, it is only a matter of time before we are overwhelmed and must rely on less... acceptable... answers involving a disgusting womanizer.”

  I took Emily's hand off my mouth. “Sounds like anyone can do this. Why do you need me?”

  The princess sighed. “The forest is constantly moving. Even our best scouts can't navigate it, let alone locate the Great Tree. In fact, any mark we leave behind to keep track of our progress is lost within the hour as the trees on the outer edge creep forward.” She gestured at my wings. “But for you, that's not a problem. It will be child’s play to reach the Great Tree."

  Blood drained from my face as images of giant sparrows came to me. “The Great Tree? But—"

  Emily tapped my shoulder and smirked. “What’s wrong? Did you suddenly get scared of a big tree?”

  “Angels don’t fear anything." I let out a high-pitched laugh, and then lowered my head and mumbled, "But… I am a little worried about the giant sparrows.”

  Emily scowled and ruined her pretty face. “Are you still harping about them? I thought I made it very clear that they do not exist. I think it went something like… 'Oh no! A giant bird is going to kill me for climbing a tree, save me!'”

  Somehow amused by her odd behavior, the princess covered her mouth and looked away.

  I pouted. To prove her wrong, I cracked open the Codex and read a passage. “Just like the ever consistent patterns of the sun, the giant sparrows migrate to the Great Tree during the summer to mate. There, they actively hunt down any winged creatures to eliminate competition for their young when they hatch.” My hand shook a little as I pointed to my wing. “I am a winged creature.”

  The Codex snickered. A winged creature? Your intelligence astonishes me, Narius. But forget about the sparrows. There are far more interesting items near the Great Tree, like the enchanted fruit of—

  Emily placed her hands on her hips, threw her head back, and laughed. She slapped me on the back and tapped her staff against my wing. “If giant sparrows do exist, I’ll protect you.”