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

by Joe Duck

  Mafis gave me a sad smile, his eyes wary. "Then we have a deal." Clearing his throat, he leaned against the chair. "It all began nine years ago..."

  Mafis—nine years ago

  “Mafis!” Filia's shrill young voice shouted at me, her little fingers tugging at my robe, pulling me out of my nap. I pretended to be ignorant of her calls, but the strength of her hands started to rip apart the living plants that formed the fabric of my robe.

  I glanced down from a low-hanging branch of the tree I had been napping on and saw Filia, her pointy ears perked up. Stretching my arms, I yawned and rose from the comfortable wooden branch. I searched for any signs of trouble, but the only threat was the lush green vegetation basking in the warm glow of the late afternoon sun. “That’s 'Daddy' to you.”

  Filia jumped up and down, the summer sun glistening against her silver hair. “Daddy! Let’s go see the humans!”

  “Humans? They are back already? That was a fast four days." I rubbed my stomach. "Forget about 'em. They’re just traders here to buy some wine. Why don’t we visit the gnome village and watch them play their war games?”

  She shook her head. "I don't wanna."

  I scratched my chin and flashed her my dashing smile. “Let me guess. You want to see that trader’s boy again?"

  She nodded ferociously, her silvery eyes shining with hope. "He promised to bring me a flower.”

  I raised my eyebrow and drifted my gaze to the batch of lilies, daises, and other pollinating plants, waving at us from a clearing with the aid of the wind. “Really? A flower?”

  “But he said it was pretty and he said we should do something special under a tree.”

  “I bet it’s special. That little degenerate,” I whispered, wondering how I could step in and make sure that the human didn’t break Filia’s gentle heart. After brushing off the leaves that clung to my clothes, I dropped to the ground. Elaborate plans for scaring off the human boy began forming in my mind. One such plan involved a rose stem inserted into the boy's pants and having the little human scratch his crotch at crucial moments. No, too much effort. I'll just ask Shovelface to shoot a bolt there. With the pleasant image in mind, I smirked and grabbed Filia’s tiny hand. Then we skipped to the village, passing birds that chirped at us like we had gone mad.

  As we neared the outskirts of the village, the giant branches of the Mother Tree swayed with the wind, and yellow leaves the size of a small doe rustled, providing a nice cool shade for the animals of the forest.

  The same wind brushed my hair and I caught an odd scent of a creature I had never smelt before. It smelled ancient, yet still full of life somehow. I stopped in my tracks. Something wasn’t right. Off in the distance, I could not see any of the familiar faces of traders trying to haggle. Instead, the humans carried weapons, and their faces were covered by white cotton masks, designed to protect the wearer from the plague. To further my confusion, all of the villagers had been herded into the middle of the clearing in front of the Mother Tree.

  Filia, unaware of the disturbing scene, climbed on top of me and forced me to give her a piggyback ride. ”Forward!” she shouted.

  I took a hesitant step towards the tree, hoping that I was mistaken. Maybe the humans are going to give us yet another arrogant argument to try to get us to leave our land.

  In the distance, two human soldiers eyed us, talking to one another. “I know you don't feel right about this,” one of them whispered, “but damn it all, we've got to do this, for Arehan. Or do you want to see your wife and kids on the road somewhere, starving and looking for a new home?”

  I pretended not to hear their softly-spoken words and changed my direction.

  “Why are we going back to the house, Daddy?” Filia asked.

  “No reason to stay since the love of your life is not here today.”

  She pulled on my hair. “He’s not—"

  A heavy hand grabbed my arm from behind and stopped me.

  My heart slowed as I turned.

  The hand belonged to a human, wearing a cotton mask and a white tabard emblazoned with the balanced scales that represented their god of order. He stared at me with his green eyes. His other hand rested against a sheathed blade that had a hint of blood on the pommel. “There was a minor infection in the nearby village. For your safety, please join the others so that we can check for any signs of the plague.” He released my arm and pointed towards the roots of the Mother Tree where the whole village waited anxiously.

  Filia grabbed my head tightly, her hands unsteady. "The plague? Are people going to go away like Mommy?"

  “No. Everything is going to be fine,” I whispered. “No one from the village is sick, let alone with the plague. The humans are probably going to give us a lecture on some nonsense about their gods.”

  She nodded, but her hands kept shaking as we joined the others and sat in front of the Mother Tree. To reassure her and myself, I lifted her onto my lap, unable to shake off the uneasy feeling.

  After a few minutes, a bald human appeared before us, his other facial features indistinguishable beneath his cotton mask.

  “Thank you for gathering here today," he said, pulling off his mask. "My name is High Priest Varian, not that any of you will remember it. Now, some of you may have heard that there has been some sort of infection or a plague. I am afraid that’s a pile of orc shit.”

  Lindote, the tree whisperer, stood and mumbled a complaint, but he was immediately pushed down by a nearby human.

  The human druid laughed. “Of course, when we came to aid our pointed-eared friends..." He slowly waved his hand across us. "...all of you were driven mad by the plague. We had no choice but to put you all down gently. Leaving us, your kind and peaceful neighbors, to safeguard the rich mineral deposits during your absence and use them to support our town.”

  "What are you talking about?" Bruntwood, the ancient grove-keeper, rose to his feet, his green robe intertwined with plants swaying with him. He leaned on his cane and wobbled towards Varian. "I will not stand for this. You have been told countless times to leave. We are not allowing you to cut down—"

  Varian drew his sword. "It's different this time. Today, I am acting under divine authority."

  Bruntwood edged back, but the human druid stomped towards the elder and drove his sword through the old elf's throat.

  I buried Filia's eyes against my chest to hide the world from her.

  "Dirty little bastards,” Varian said, pulling out his blade and wiping it clean on the elder's robe.

  He flicked his finger at another human who quickly brought him an axe and exchanged his sword for it. “Now, then, for our second reason for this visit. Let’s see if this large husk has our treasure." Grasping the handle of the axe, he struck the Mother Tree.

  Crimson sap sprayed out, droplets brushing my cheeks. Dumbfounded, I watched the carnage with everyone else as the tree swayed her branches, moaning. She tried to swat away the offending human, but the damage was already done, and her branches failed to brush against a single human.

  The human dropped his axe, bent down and drank from the newly formed pool of sap. He smirked, his face covered in blood-like sap. "Wine! Haha! What a wonderful tree. Cut it down! After that we will pull up the stump and dig down."

  A few of the humans gleefully charged forward and chopped away at the tree. She screamed in pain, and our ears flinched as the wave of agony washed over us.

  I covered Filia's ears in a futile attempt to block out the screams, but she still cried out in pain as life around us was snuffed out. In a matter of moments, the lush forest had disappeared, replaced by withered plants and grass. Our once-green robes darkened. Even the trunks of the trees seemed to shrivel and twist themselves. The entire forest, once green and full of life, dulled into one of grey monotone.

  Several enraged clan members screamed and charged towards the offending humans. They grabbed the humans and tried to drag them away, only to be cut down like animals, their blood mixing with the essence of the tree.


  Filia stared at the massacre. I lifted her into my arms. "Close your eyes. This is just a bad dream."

  She did as she was told and clutched my robe, crying.

  I looked for a way to escape, but the ring of humans around us slowly closed in, and those foolish enough to head straight towards the armed soldiers were rewarded with swords driven through their guts.

  Everyone screamed and huddled closer to the center as the ring tightened. Others weren't so lucky and were quickly caught, their lifeless bodies littering the clearing.

  I held Filia closer to my chest. We need to get out of here. My eyes darted across the line of murderers closing in on us and saw an opening as a single human, his eyes stricken with guilt, hesitated to strike down a maiden.

  He stopped, dropped his sword, grabbed the maiden by her hand, and ran for the woods.

  Seeing the tiny gap in the net, my mind exploded with hope. I lifted Filia in my arms and ran for it.

  Others joined us, their desperate footsteps crunching behind me. I pushed through the gap before it could close while others slammed into the humans, knocking them down so that those behind them could escape.

  We ran, and once we reached the trees, those who had followed me scattered while the humans gave chase, shouting false promises of friendship and mercy.

  I dashed through the grey forest, ignoring the small cuts left by the deceased branches clawing at us. There was nowhere to hide, no leaves to shelter us from the humans. All around us, the sound of killing echoed, the cries of old and young becoming louder with every heartbeat. I need to get Filia somewhere safe.

  I closed my eyes, hoping that this was all a dream, and was rewarded for my foolishness when something caught my foot. I dropped to the ground with Filia in my arms. My ankle throbbed, sending surges of pain up my leg. I got to my feet, but my ankle was sprained, and I immediately fell back down to my knees.

  The sound of killing drew closer, and Filia looked at me with horror in her eyes. I smiled and patted her head. “Filia, listen carefully. Daddy's a little tired. Why don’t you run ahead for me? I’ll come find you soon.”

  “No!”

  She placed her head under my arm and tried to lift me. Somehow she succeeded, and we limped forward at a slow pace. "You're not leaving me like Mommy."

  But by the time we had traveled past a few trees, Filia's breathing became ragged and her arms unsteady.

  Up ahead was the maple tree I had napped in only half a sun-cycle earlier. Behind us, the forest had grown eerily silent.

  No one was screaming anymore.

  Tired from all of the running, I pointed to the tree. “Let’s stop there. The humans won’t be searching very hard.”

  Filia groaned in response and just barely managed to lower me against the tree. "Daddy? Are you okay?"

  "Never been better."

  Filia's eyes became watery. She burst into tears and buried herself in my arms. The unbearably loud sound of the heavy human steps echoed towards us.

  Shifting my back against the trunk for support, I resigned myself to my fate. With a calm hand, I stroked my daughter's hair and lied. "It’s okay. No one will hurt us."

  "Really?"

  "Yes."

  Filia wiped her tears away. She gave me a warm smile, and for that brief moment, I hoped we were safe.

  But it didn't last.

  A shadow stepped behind Filia, a human with a sword with blood dripping from its end. The man, without muttering a word, raised and plunged the sword, driving it through her back and into my chest.

  The pain from the cold steel was excruciating, and my body screamed silently.

  Fear appeared on Filia's face. She reached for me, but a moment before I could feel her hand, the life in her eyes vanished. Her small body slumped against me, and I felt my world end.

  The sword pulled out from my chest, and the human holding it kicked us over to the ground. "High Priest, sir, what should we do with the bodies?"

  "Dump them with the rest."

  Mafis—nine years ago

  A sharp pain in my chest stirred me awake. I lay somewhere dark, a ditch of some kind. On top of me was Elder Bruntwood, his grey, dead eyes gazing into mine.

  I pushed the elder off me.

  The sky was black, and the moon covered by clouds. All around me, a forest of arms and legs obstructed my view. Everyone lay still, some with emotionless faces, others with open mouths, but all with lifeless eyes. None of them appeared to be at peace, and the stench of blood was overpowering, threatening to make me vomit.

  In the sea of bodies, I clutched my bleeding chest and searched for Filia, but she was nowhere to be found. I screamed, stepping on the faces of friends and family to climb out of the nightmare.

  The hole was steep, but terrified to spend a second longer inside, I somehow crawled out onto the grass above and breathed in the fresh air. My stomach twisted and emptied itself. Looking back at the rotting mess behind me, I tried to find anyone else alive. But, I was alone. Still, to my relief, I didn't see Filia, and a small part of me expected to see her dropping down from a tree any moment to tell me she was fine.

  Maybe she is. Maybe it was all a dream. Maybe I'll wake up and see her again. I should be a better father. I should let her kiss that human boy.

  Then a faint sound of wings parting the air caught my ear. I looked up, half-hoping for Filia.

  Instead, a scantily-dressed winged creature with a bright ring of light on top of his scarlet head descended from the night sky. "Quite a slaughter, wasn't it?"

  "Why?"

  The angel laughed and his smile sickened me. "Is that really a question you should be asking your savior?"

  I looked back at the pit filled with the dead. The thought that Filia had to be in there crushed my heart. There was no point in anything. “Just kill me. I don’t want to live.”

  The angel placed his finger under my chin and lifted it up so that his green eyes, filled with madness, could gaze into mine. "Tell you what. Since I am a kind and caring soul, I'll give you this great book that will make you love the world again."

  I shook his finger off. "Why should I trust a servant of a human god?"

  "Because your daughter will be brought back to life," he said, snapping his fingers.

  Filia’s lifeless body appeared in front of me and dropped to the grass. Her dead silver eyes stared into mine, and I imagined her asking me questions still, even in death. Why can't I move? Why can't I talk to you anymore?

  Tears overwhelmed me, streaking down my cheeks. I held my head in my hands, my last hope of seeing her alive put to death.

  "Great deal, isn't it?" The angel tossed a black book onto the grass. Even from a distance, its coldness sent shivers through me and withered the grass beneath it. "All I want you to do is summon a demon."

  Emily—present day

  "Really? An angel wants to summon a demon?" I leaned back in my chair and raised an eyebrow. "That's a little hard to believe. And what does that have to do with me helping you?"

  Mafis removed a black book from his side and handed it to me. The dark, leather-bound tome felt soft against my hand and had a pleasing smell. "Because we need you to break Palkeon out of his cell, demonspawn."

  Chapter Thirteen

  Emily

  The torn half of the Grimoire felt cool against my hand, the cover as smooth as silk. "Demonspawn?" I asked Mafis, lowering the text to my side. "I'm a human. Not some fancy mythical creature. Stop playing tricks and tell me where you stowed Narius." So he can destroy this damn thing.

  But if you destroy me, then your angel will leave you, a silky female voice said inside my head.

  My eyes shifted to the book. How—

  I am a Codex, after all. Just with a different cover. Now, why don't we listen to what the handsome elf has to say? Palkeon is locked up because Lord Halfaya was lied to, and you are the key to his rightful salvation.

  Mafis sighed and leaned against the chair. "Tell you what. Why don't you just read the f
irst page? You can stop at any point you want, and I will tell you where your precious angel is."

  "Fine." I cracked open what remained of the book, and inhaled the pleasant fragrance of lavender that arose from it. "Anything to get this whole charade over with."

  The book quivered in my hand. Excellent. Let's see how much I can do with only half of myself. Little one, let me tell you a story...

  I focused on the first line of the book. Underneath it was a detailed illustration of an angel. His dark wings were spread apart as if in flight. Sitting cross-legged on a cot, his head was lowered, and dark curls obscured his face. I settled into my chair and read. This is too easy. If this is a trap, I can always hurl the book in his face. Then use it to beat the answer out of him. I tried to look back at the elf, to make sure he didn't do anything shifty, but I couldn't tear my eyes off the book. It was so... captivating.

  Narius

  On the other side of the mirror, Emily spoke to Mafis, her words muted. She sat back, appearing at ease in the chair, but the muscles in her jaw tightened.

  Then Mafis handed her the Grimoire.

  Unaware of the danger, she thumbed through the unholy text.

  My heart slowed, and my wings twitched as if an icy hand traced my spine. The Codex shook, unleashing her magic at me, and the cloud that had gathered in my mind dissipated. "No! Don't read that!" I spun to the archangel. "You have to send me there right now!”

  The archangel poured himself another glass. “Why the rush? No one is going to die.”

  Leaning over the table, I grabbed a fistful of his collar, spilling his drink and staining the hem of his robe. “Emily is only a human. She will go insane if she reads too much! I need to be there!”

  He brushed my hands away with ease and tsked. "Well, there goes the mood. All right, youngling.” He snapped his fingers. Magic burst forth from them and engulfed me. I relaxed and let the power take hold of me. An instant later, the view of the cave vanished.