by Joe Duck
Demonspawn? "Why? Why not?"
"Because it was you who did this to him." The angel flicked his wrist and summoned a mirror. Inside, it showed a series of images of a girl casting a spell. The girl was me, except that my eyes were red. Dark smoke escaped from the image, and I saw myself pull an ivory dagger from my belt. Wait. Why do I have that dagger? Did Mafis give it to me?
Narius grabbed my wrist and tried to shake away the weapon, but I watched in horror as a dark wisp of smoke exploded out of me again. It threw him to the floor, and before he could get back up, I mounted him and stabbed him again and again.
Narius tried to push me off, but eventually his arms became slack, and he lay there, unmoving.
Leaving the knife buried in his chest, the image of me placed her hands around his neck. I was choking the life out of him, grinning manically.
"No!" I pushed the mirror to the floor, shattering the glass.
The angel snapped his fingers, and the broken glass disappeared.
Tears rolled down my cheeks. "Th-that can't be true. This is a dream. I don't have dark clouds coming out of me, and my eyes are blue, damn it! I'm not a monster!"
"The mirror never lies." He jabbed his finger at me. "You are the one who stabbed him. You are the one who choked him.” He glared at me. “You are the one who killed him.”
His words dug deep into my heart. I clutched Narius and cried. I wanted to tell him that everything would be all right, but the words escaped me.
"Do you know what he said right before he lost consciousness?" The angel smiled and tapped his halo. "I believe it was 'Get this demonspawn away from me. Get this monster off me.'"
I held Narius against me as the warmth of his body slipped away. "Narius would never say that! He would never hurt me!"
The angel tsked. “You have it all wrong. A demonspawn like you—one who has tasted corruption and attacked an angel—is a threat to everyone. It is the duty of even the most lenient angel to kill you."
Guilt and fear paralyzed my body. "Just heal him! Please!"
The angel shook his head. "I am afraid I cannot just save him. You see, if I heal him then he will try to kill you."
“But if you don’t heal him—"
“It is rather unfortunate, but he will have to die, so that you can live. Say, were you ever in heaven?”
"Heaven? What? I-I don't understand. Please, help me. "
"Forget about him. I need your help, demonspawn. Personally, I would prefer to use the Grimoire and power the ritual myself, but I am afraid, as a holy creature, such evil activities will have an unfortunate effect on me."
I hugged Narius and buried my face against his neck, his familiar chestnut smell making my heart ache at the thought of losing him. “What? I don't understand. Please! You have to save him. I-I’ll do anything. I can give you money, pray every day, just tell me what you want from me!”
Heliose scratched his chin. “Well, I suppose there is one thing.”
Narius felt colder in my hands already. I couldn't stop crying; I sucked in my breath and wailed. “Please, just let him live. I-I'll even give you my soul.”
The angel scowled. “I wouldn’t touch your foul and twisted—" He coughed, and the smile returned to his face. "A few decades ago, a curse was placed on my wife by a despicable demon. Normally, the curse can be lifted by whoever cast it. But unfortunately, this demon would never do that, so the only plausible way is to kill the demon responsible."
"I'll do whatever you want. I'll kill the demon for you. Just-just give me back Narius."
He laughed. "No, no. No killing." He placed his finger on my cheek and stroked it. "I will heal Narius and place a seal on him and his Codex to make them forget everything that happened today. But, in exchange, I want you to get your hands on the half of the book being offered as a grand prize in Lodina's arena and make sure that Narius does not purify it."
"What? Why?"
"Well, you see, the Grimoire is really torn in half with a few missing pages that are floating around. And the half I am missing is in the arena. Mafis cannot steal the prize himself because of his bounty. And I cannot make a public appearance. So..." Heliose tapped his hand against Narius, and a sliver of light entered him, starting his breaths again but not healing any of his wounds. "The only possible solution is for you to acquire the other half of the book. I don't care if you participate in the fights and win it yourself, or if you hang back and simply steal it from the winner. Just acquire the half of the Grimoire and prevent Narius from destroying it. Then, once I have most of the book, I can drag Palkeon out of his cozy little cell. With, of course, a little bit of help from you to power the spell."
"B-but Narius told me that if a demon is free—"
"No," Heliose said as he walked to the Grimoire and picked it up with a silk cloth, holding it away from his body. He snapped his fingers, and the book disappeared. "Once the demon is summoned, I will take care of him personally. No one will be hurt."
"But I can't betray Narius like this!"
A smile appeared on Heliose's face. “Are you sure? At this rate, there will be no one to betray... all because you stubbornly refused to help a kind and caring archangel rid the world of one of its greatest threats." He shrugged and turned away. "I see that I have wasted my time here. Goodbye."
"No, no, please, that's not what I mean. Just heal him. You're an angel. You can't leave him like this."
"So, you want him to hate you when he wakes up and realizes he has been traveling with an abomination like you?"
I shook my head as tears gently slid down my cheeks. "N-no."
"Don't be so worried. Erasing his memories is perfectly safe." Heliose faced me again, his chin held up. "Oh, speaking of which, I wouldn't break our deal by telling Narius. If you do, then I fear he may decide to kill you himself, and that would be problematic. Do you understand?" he said, running his hand through my hair.
I shivered at the touch.
"Or, I could snuff out both of your miserable lives. I can't have anyone going around spreading made-up stories. But don't worry, my little spawn of evil. We honor our promises. Keep your mouth shut and everything will work out." He tilted his head and forced me to look into his eyes, shining with hints of insanity. "Do we have a deal?"
I nodded. Tears continued to flow down. They dripped upon Narius's face while his hand became colder with every passing moment. The life in his eyes was almost gone now. “I-I’ll do it.”
The angel clasped his hands together. "Good girl." He placed his hands on Narius and his Codex. A bright flash of light emanated from Heliose's palms.
Releasing his hand, the angel glanced at me and winked. “Relax. I am an archangel of love. Your twisted romance will continue as if nothing had happened.”
I buried myself against Narius and cried. I'm so sorry.
Narius
I stirred awake. My wings were spread out, and I basked in the heat of the afternoon sun. My head rested against something soft and warm. I turned and found myself resting my head on Emily's lap, her staff lying on the patch of grass next to her.
She stared off into the distance, her eyes drooping and lips quivering.
We were on a small hill that smelled of summer. Seagulls cried out, and the sound of the waves smashing against the rocks echoed from somewhere beneath us. This is nice, but where am I? How did I get here?
The Codex groaned. No idea. But it feels like a page was ripped out of me.
Off in the distance, a large city of massive stone buildings rested next to an ocean. There, a great number of wooden buildings floated to and fro. Unlike any other houses I had seen, these had large bed sheets hanging from rows of tall poles with tiny figures moving atop them. Some climbed large nets near the poles, while others scurried around on top of the houses.
"Wow. I didn't know humans could build houses on water."
"Those are ships, idiot." Emily's blue eyes looked down at me and widened. "Narius, you're awake!"
"Ships? They are
beautiful. Maybe we could ride in one." I reached up and brushed her cheeks, enjoying the sensation of resting on her tender legs. “I wish we could stay like this forever.”
She gave a half-hearted smile, much like the one she had shown me in Arehan when she told me she would leave me.
I wanted her to smile with her heart and blurted out the first thing that came to mind. "I really like you, and deep inside, I think you're one of the kindest souls I ever met."
Emily's eyes turned puffy, and she buried her face in her hands. "Why do you have to say things like that right now?"
I rose from her lap and sat next to her. "What’s wrong?" I tried to take her hands from her face, but she backed away. "You don't like me?"
She lowered her head. "I like you. It-it's nothing. Forget it."
"Does it have anything to do with how we ended up here?" I scratched the back of my head. "Wait, how did we get away from those gnomes? The last thing I remember is being shot by them. How did you rescue me? You aren't hurt, are you?"
Emily muffled some unintelligible words and started to cry.
The Codex screamed. What are you doing, you stupid angel?
I don’t know. She just started to—
Do something! Don’t just sit there.
I grabbed Emily's shoulders and gently shook her, studying her for any sign of injury. “Don’t cry, Emily. You did great, dealing with those dastardly gnomes while I was knocked out.”
She replied by sobbing uncontrollably.
My heart hurt as if someone was squeezing it. I needed to make her happy. What should I do? I asked the Codex.
Normally, Codex said, I'd say you would have to rub her chest, and massage her between the legs. But desperate times call for desperate measures. I think you should talk to her. Try to find out why she is crying.
I nodded at the wise advice. "Emily, are you sad because I won that bet against you, and now you have to give me all your gold?"
Emily twitched, betraying her true desires of wanting to keep her shiny coins.
I sighed. "You can keep your gold. I'd rather see you smiling like a goblin."
"That's not it, you idiot!" Emily screeched. She grabbed her staff and swung it to smack me in the head.
To my surprise, I moved my hand just in time to catch the wooden shaft before it could strike me.
The corners of my lips lifted. "Did you see that?"
Emily took her free hand off her face, revealing her flushed face. Tears rolled from her blue eyes as she swung her remaining hand.
I caught her wrist.
With both of Emily's hands disarmed, I brought her closer to me, taking in her minty scent. She was so beautiful, and my heart grew louder until it blocked out the sound of the birds and the waves. “There is something I should have done long ago. Thank you.”
"Wha—"
I placed my lips against hers. Emily's cheeks reddened. Her pupils expanded for a moment before she closed her eyes and pressed her lips against mine. It felt amazing, so soft and sweet. Happiness filled my heart, and the world around me brightened. So this is why humans thank each other like this.
We stayed together until I had to breathe. When our lips parted, tears still poured out from her eyes, even more than before.
How bad are you at kissing that a girl cries? Codex asked.
"Huh? I thought it was good."
Do it again. Better this time. Stick your tongue in her!
Emily mumbled. "Well, it was, I'm just surprised that my first kiss—"
I kissed Emily again, to see if I could suck away her sadness. To improve on my performance, I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her to me, holding her in a tight embrace.
Emily dropped her staff and flailed before shutting her eyes. I closed my eyes as well and enjoyed the wonderful sensation.
When we parted, Emily had stopped crying. "That was... umm... I didn't see that coming." She avoided my eyes and glanced down at her staff. "Narius, can you promise me something?"
I nodded, unable to suppress my happiness.
"Can you just kiss me and no one else? Not even Lord Halfaya?"
I smiled. Placing my hands on her cheeks, I wiped her tears away. "Only if you stop crying."
The sadness in her eyes vanished and was replaced with a hint of determination as she sniffed. "I promise."
After her tears had dried, I pointed to the city where ships floated together, forming a small forest of wooden beams. "Where are we?”
She brushed the blades of grass off her skirt and rose to her feet. "Lodina. The capital. My home. Where Mafis and his precious Grimoire is." Offering her hand, she smiled. The smile still looked a little sad, but she seemed to be in a better mood, ready to tackle any challenge.
I took her hand and rose to my feet. "You think he's here? Do you think I can find him?"
The grip of her hand tightened. "Yes, and I will help you every step of the way.”
Chapter Fourteen
Narius
The guild Emily worked for and resided in was a huge building that resembled a castle disguised as a mansion, complete with small, pointy towers. Once inside, we walked down corridors lined with white stone that stretched throughout the building, our dirt-caked shoes leaving footprints across the blue carpet.
"Wow. Do you really live here?" I asked.
"Why are you so surprised?" Emily answered, grabbing hold of my arm and resting her head against my shoulder. "Are you impressed by how rich I am?"
Blood rushed to my face at her touch. "Well... no. It's just that I am a little surprised. I thought you lived under a bridge."
She narrowed her eyes and loosened her grip a little. "Well, I'm sorry I'm not a troll."
"What? No. I... I mean, since you always try to find a way to get a lot of shiny coins. So, I thought you lived in a simple place." I looked away from her glaring eyes. We passed a number of doors, but no people. "So... ummm... where is everyone?"
Emily sighed and pulled away from me. "Probably working," she said, coming to a halt in front of a door with 'Alchemist' inscribed on it in golden letters. "There have been some guilds from the Empire trying to take control of the market, and we need to maintain our client base."
"Oh. Can I do anything to help?"
"Don't worry about it. That's not your concern." She smiled and placed a finger against my chest. "You know, maybe we should relax a little. I know a nice beach where we can walk in peace. Take our minds off things for a bit. You know... enjoy the scenery."
Yes... and we could also take off her clothes to further enjoy the view, The Codex whispered.
I shook my head. "Going after the Grimoire is my commandment. Everything else is just a distraction."
Emily raised an eyebrow. "Even me?"
"No? No!" I placed the tips of my index fingers together and lowered my gaze to her boots. "I mean, the mission is important, but I really like you, and you make the world seem better to me, and—" My head grew hotter with every word. "...and I think you are really pretty. And... and... and..."
Emily tapped my wing with the orb of her icy staff, making me twitch. "Stop babbling, you adorable idiot. Now come on." She grabbed the silver handle and opened the door.
Dozens of birds chirped as we entered, some trapped inside cages and others flying freely. A young, raven-haired man with glasses sat behind a desk with the sun streaming in from the window behind him. He wore a white shirt and blue-striped pants, similar to the patterns in Emily's clothes. In one of his hands he held a vial containing a purple liquid. In the other, he held a squirming pigeon as the man poured the contents of the vial into its beak. The human was completely absorbed in his work, muttering to himself quietly, and failed to see us.
Emily coughed into her hand. "Nathen, I'm home with a lot of money and a very exotic bird."
With his gaze focused down at the paper on his desk, the man waved his bird at us. "I'll sign for the delivery later. Just leave the power generator next to the other gadgets from the Republic."
Emily slammed her staff on the table, frosting the wooden surface.
Nathen yelped and shoved the vial into the pigeon's mouth, forcing down the purple liquid. The bird gagged, burping lavender bubbles every time it opened its beak.
The man's blue eyes looked up at her. "Emily?"
She ran around the table and hugged him. "I missed you, Nathen."
"I missed you, too," he said, returning her hug with the vial and the bird still in hand, his back facing me.
My wings twitched. I wanted to tell Emily to step away from him, but she seemed so happy, grinning like she had found a piece of chocolate lying on the ground.
"So I brought us enough gold to keep the guild on its feet for a while," Emily said. "What about you? Did you sort out the paperwork? Expand your bird collection? Do anything with..."
Feeling left out, I ignored the conversation and gazed at the rest of the room. Scraps of paper littered the wooden floor, and sour-smelling liquids dried on the metal tables. Hundreds of birdcages, vials, and fancy glass tubes filled with colorful liquids sat in disarray. In particular, a red vial labeled "illusion" caught my eye, the word reminding me of how Emily once tricked me with her fake fire.
I glanced at Emily. She was still having a great time. To distract myself further from the uneasy feeling that boiled in my heart, I reached for the vial.
What are you doing? Codex screamed, making me flinch. You are losing Emily to that handsome human!
I glanced back at the two humans. The smiles on their faces annoyed me. No, no. Emily said she liked me, so I don't need to worry.
Gah! Stop being so naive! I bet he is her lover.
That's ridiculous. But to my horror, as I continued to stare at them, they did seem very happy with each other. Emily beamed with delight like he was a long lost book she had just found. But... but Emily said she didn't have a mate!
She clearly lied. What, did you expect a pretty girl like her to be alone? She was just toying with you to pass the time. I'm sure she has lovers in every town.
Anxiety clawed its way into me. I grasped my head and squirmed. No! That's impossible!