by Joe Duck
Emily punched Heliose and kicked at his legs. "Stay away, you overgrown pigeon!"
Heliose knelt in front of Emily and opened the dark book. "Read."
"No! I don't want to!" She struggled and tried to push the book away, but Heliose held it in front of her. He gripped her cheeks, forcing her to stare at the page.
"You can't force me to do anything!" She threw her small hands up and punched the archangel in his throat.
Heliose coughed and tightened his grip on her.
Emily kicked harder and harder, but quickly her struggle weakened. Soon, she stopped, and her eyes drifted to the book.
Heliose released his grip. "Read." Emily sank to her knees, her eyes fixed on the pages and her mouth open.
The archangel patted her head. "Good girl. Why don't you keep on reading? We need to awaken the awful power in you."
She nodded absently, the blue of her eyes slowly turning red as the book overpowered her mind. With every turn of the page, the change became more apparent. A thin line of dark smoke radiated out from her skin, and the air around her smelled foul. After a dozen pages, but before the transformation could be completed, Heliose snatched the Grimoire away.
Emily raised her hand towards the book with a hungry look.
The archangel waved the book and pointed at me. "Do you see that angel in front of you?"
Emily nodded, her scarlet eyes soulless.
"I want you to hurt him. Badly,” Heliose said, thumbing through the pages. “Astreal needs to be outraged enough to be convinced that creatures like you are only good for being exploited. She needs to be convinced that using you is a perfectly acceptable solution to dealing with Palkeon and his crumbling prison. Then you can finish reading this."
He shoved Emily towards me. She stumbled, but grasped my leg at the last moment to steady herself.
Dark smoke arose from her hands, tainting the very air around us with its uncontrollable power. The little human looked up and studied my eyes as if she wanted to see something.
Emily smiled, and tiptoed, just short of reaching my chest. "Don't worry," she whispered. "No angel can command me. I'm not going to do what he says. "
The worry in my mind eased. I relaxed, relieved she had somehow shaken off the corruption.
"Let's start." Her hand shot out, dug deep into my thigh and ripped out a chunk of flesh.
My world froze for a moment before the agonizing pain hit me. I screamed inside my head, but couldn’t make a sound. Emily dropped the bloody meat. She then reached into the gaping wound and tugged at my thigh muscle. Blood squirted out and some of it landed on her face. The smile on her lips broadened as she looked into my eyes. "Are you having fun yet?"
I tried to move my fingers, to flap my wings, but my body refused to move. Drifting her eyes away from my left leg, Emily turned her attention to my right wing. She pulled on the wing and brought the tip to her eye level. Then, she formed a fist and punched. Her hand broke through the center of my wing and a loud snap broke the silence. Emily's fingers exited through the other side. Intense, burning pain infused my entire wing from the tip to my back. I could do nothing while agony coursed through me. Blood rushed out from my wounds and stained the marble stonework below. My body refused to budge as I stood there, engulfed in pain.
Tiny hands pushed me down onto the stone floor. My body crumpled onto it, the side of my head striking the marble like a poorly stacked tower of books crashing to the ground. The demonspawn, now crawling next to me, brushed my cheeks with her bloodied hand, a mad look in her eyes. "Isn't this fun?"
She laughed, and I saw the evil inside the little creature I so foolishly wanted to protect. Fear gripped my mind. All I wanted was to run away, to be safe, to be free.
Emily grabbed my hair and pulled my head up. It hurt so much. It felt like my head was about to be ripped off.
Her crimson eyes gazed into my soul with glee, hungry to kill me.
She leaned over me, her little lips buried against mine. It felt strange, a little odd, but before I could understand what I was feeling, her fangs skewered my flesh and ripped the skin from my lips.
Blood poured into my mouth, flooding it with the bitter, metallic taste of death.
Chewing on my lips, she smiled at me, her teeth red with blood. "You taste a little too innocent."
Within the prison of my mind, I screamed. Stop! Please... Just stop.
"Still not talking?" The smile on her face withered as she climbed on top of my stomach and thrust her hand into it. The armor whined for a moment under the pressure before breaking off, and she scratched away at my body, each strike ripping away a chunk of my flesh. Blood sprayed out everywhere along with broken pieces of my armor as my body was ripped away.
The demonspawn shrieked, thrusting deep into me with every word. "Why! Don't! You! Scream!"
The commandment around my eyes weakened, letting tears flow down my cheeks. No. Please, stop. Please, stop. It hurts so much. Mother... I should have listened.
But she wasn't satisfied. The monster crawled over my bloodied body. Without a hint of kindness or mercy in her red eyes, she stroked the back of my ear. "See? You can cry. Why not scream? Pretty please?"
My mind recoiled at the touch of her sticky, wet hand. I wanted to close my eyes, but the commandment kept them open and forced me to see the abomination's gleeful face.
Blood oozed out of her mouth and onto my neck. "Come on. I said the magic word. Let me hear you beg...." She leaned down and whispered into my ear, her warm breath chilling my bones. "If it helps, I don't care what that other angel says... I am going to kill you here, devouring one chunk of your flesh at a time. You will die, angel. So cry out for your mother or I—"
A flash of light erupted behind her and momentarily blinded me.
The demonic creature slumped against me. The weight of her body on top of me felt unnatural, and I wanted to push her away before she could violate me any further, but the holy words continued to bind me.
"Heliose!" A voice shouted. From the corner of my eye, I saw archangel Ghaster standing a few paces away, his hand gripped on his sheathed sword. "What is the meaning of this?"
Heliose raised both of his hands and smiled. “Ghaster! I was just about to stop them. It’s a good thing you arrived to save poor Narius from the demonspawn. I don't know how she got out of control, but this proves that we must use her to—"
Ghaster scowled at Heliose, his face filled with rage. "Silence! Do you take me for a fool? You were smiling and watching."
Heliose took a step back, his face feigning surprise and horror. "I am an angel of love. Why would I harm little Narius? The only monster here is that spawn of the fallen. She must have somehow found the Grimoire while Narius was distracted."
Ghaster took his hand off his sword and pushed Heliose aside. "Get out of my way."
The archangel of order stomped towards me and kicked the demonspawn aside.
The monster flew off and crashed against the marble railing, where she lay still, much to my relief.
"Narius, you will be all right. Just hold on." Archangel Ghaster knelt next to me. He held both of his hands over me to heal my wounds.
The holy power entered me like ink staining a parchment, and my muscles knitted themselves together, driving away the ravaging pain.
Heliose walked behind him as Ghaster maintained his spell. "What do you say? My dear old friend, you've seen what happened. It is quite clear the demonspawn should be used to summon Palkeon from his cell to undo the curse. After all, she has broken the code by attacking an angel. And look at the harm she can do! We will use her first, of course. Then we'll dispose of her for harming Narius."
Ghaster, without bothering to look back, shook his head. "No. You will stay put. I expect a full explanation about how you managed to get the Grimoire out of Lord Halfaya's library. I saw you take it."
Heloise's smile turned into a scowl. He summoned an arrow into his hand and gripped it tightly. "Is that so?"
No!
I tried to open my mouth to cry out a warning, but the words of power held me in their clutches.
Heliose drove the arrow into Ghaster's neck. The arrowhead burst out of Ghaster’s throat, glistening with blood.
The archangel of order opened his mouth to speak, but crimson liquid gurgled down onto his armor. Ghaster sank to the ground and clawed at his wound before falling over. His head hit the stones with a dull thump, the life in his eyes flickered out. With it, the effects of the healing spell ended, bringing back the pain.
"Now, why did you make me do that, Ghaster? I thought we were friends." Heliose pushed the arrow through until it was free. He took the dead archangel’s blood-covered hand and smiled. “Look. It's so red. Aren’t you going to wash your hand? You compulsive freak!"
Heliose let go of the lifeless hand and laughed. He kicked the unmoving body in the head and tossed the bloody arrow off the balcony.
Ghaster's sword vibrated, glowing red with power. Maintaining his smile, Heliose grabbed the sword and dangled the weapon over the edge of the balcony. "Sorry. He’s dead. And, thanks to him, I am going to have to think on my feet. Now, I know you would like to be here and tell everyone what I did... but..." His hand glowed white, overpowering the red glow. Once the sword was subdued with his might, Heliose threw it off the edge and into the clouds below. "Enjoy your new life as an amnesiac!"
He watched the sword fall for a few moments before turning around. “And now for some final touches.” Prying off a marble piece of the balcony, Heliose repeatedly struck the dead archangel with the block until his face and throat were a mush of bloodied meat, hiding the arrow wound.
Apparently unaffected by his evil acts, Heliose opened the Grimoire in his hands. Grasping the covers, he tore the book in half. Corruption billowed forth with the act and loose pages were carried off in the wind, scattered to the world below.
Heliose tossed the two halves over the balcony and with it the foulness, already halved by the destruction, grew fainter until it could no longer be sensed.
Heliose smirked. "Don't worry, you little whore!" he shouted at the pages. "Once the angels stop searching, I'll send a gullible fool to look for you."
Dusting his hands, Heliose strode to the demonspawn and slung her over his shoulder. He stretched his wings and got ready to leave. The archangel began to rise when he turned around at the last moment to look at me.
“Oops. I almost forgot about you.” The archangel dumped the demonspawn on the ground. "Narius, I would love to put you out of your misery. But I'm afraid if I do, then her crime would be too great. Killing Ghaster was a big enough risk. No need to anger two flocks beyond reason. Don’t you agree?” He snapped his fingers, and the magic that bound me disappeared.
I opened my mouth and coughed out the blood that had gathered inside. "Why… did… you… do… this?"
"All for love. Anything for love. Everything for love."
I shook my head. Despite the healing I received, it was difficult to breathe. “You are insane. Your plan is going to fail. We will find the Grimoire and destroy it.”
"Why do you think I ripped it in half? The book is going to be undetectable and unconscious for at least a decade." He tsked. "Besides, if you were a little older, then you would understand. You know, I don't know how everything went out of control so quickly. I was hoping for a small incident with you bloodied and Astreal furious. Now I will just have to seal away the abomination's memories, get out while I can and cover my tracks to start all over..."
My vision blackened. When I opened my eyes again, Heliose stood only a breath away, his green eyes staring into mine. For the first time, I saw the madness in them, so obvious now. Why didn't I notice before?
"Before I take this disgusting creature to be nurtured by some humans, there is one last thing I need to do." He placed his hand on my head and smiled. "I am going to put a seal on you, a special one. At first, you will only remember the demonspawn and the horrible things she's done to you so you can tell Astreal what has happened. But as the seasons pass, you will gradually forget. Eventually, you won't be able to remember her. Consider this last bit as my own generosity. You shouldn't be traumatized over this little incident."
A flash of light exploded out of his hand. My mind screamed as pieces of my memory drifted away, replaced by walls that blocked them out.
Narius—present day
I gasped for breath. My heart thumped as I opened my eyes. Mother held me in her arms, her tears dripping onto my cheeks. The warm light from her halo reassured me of my safety.
“Do you remember everything now?” she asked.
My hand cupped her cheek tenderly, her tears hot under my palm. "Don't cry, Mother. I am fine. But you have to hurry... it's Heliose. He’s the one trying to summon the demon. He killed Archangel Ghaster.”
She breathed in heavily, probably exhausted by the spell. "I know, Narius. I saw your memories, the pain you felt. Even the parts I wish I had not seen.”
The horrific torture flashed through my mind. My hand shivered from the memory. The world felt cold despite the warm air in the room.
I glanced down at the blade on my side. Do you remember as well?
Castilia didn't answer. She simply cried and mumbled her archangel's name, over and over.
I’m sorry for your loss, Codex said for me.
The sword kept crying. The sound of her sorrow made me squeeze my hand tightly until it hurt. It was my fault she was so sad.
Mother wiped her eyes and embraced me. “You did well. Leave the rest to me. I will gather my comrades and prepare a hunt for Heliose before he can summon the fallen.”
I hugged her back, and we held each other for a long time. Nothing else seemed more important to me. I felt safe, like nothing in the world could harm me. "Go. I will be fine."
"Will you be safe?"
"You need to go. Mafis needs—"
Something stirred next to us, and I tilted my head towards it.
A demonspawn was sprawled on the floor, immobilized by the spell mother had placed on it. However, despite being helpless, the creature's red eyes smirked at me.
My stomach twisted and rage swept through me. Mother glanced at the unholy creature then at me. "Narius, do what you must. Then return home. We will talk more when this is all over.”
She let go of me and, after one last glance, flew off into the red sky, illuminated by the dying sun. "See you soon, Narius. I will make everything right for you."
I was now alone with the creature.
It was the one who had tormented me and wanted to kill me.
The monster flickered its eyes at me. Its crimson irises had turned blue, hiding its true identity.
I struggled to my feet and walked towards it, rage and fear building with every step. It’s time to purify that creature. Before it can hurt another soul. Before it can hurt me.
Wait! Stop! That's Emily! the Codex shouted.
No. That's a demonspawn, I said with my hand on the pommel of the weeping sword. And the only way to deal with demons and their offspring is to cleanse them.
Let her explain herself. Wait! Hold on, let me weaken the spell that's binding her!
To my disbelief, the Codex unbound the spell mother had placed on the creature.
What do you think you are doing? Demonspawns are known for their cunning manipulation and savagery. I need to end her.
Get a hold of yourself. This is wrong!
"Narius." The demonspawn managed to stand by leaning against her staff. "Narius, you are all right. I was so worried!"
She wrapped her arms around me before I could resist, and placed her lips against mine. They tasted foul, dirty and unclean. Images of her ripping my lip flashed in my mind. No! I threw her to the ground and gagged, remembering the touch of her lips.
"No, not again, demonspawn. That is the last time you will touch me." I drew Castilia. Red flames flickered. The holy metal burned with my molten anger. I glared at the creature in front of me, shivering at the sight
of my righteousness. The weight of the sword gave me courage, and I gathered my thoughts for the blessing of my task as I began muttering a short prayer. I stand today to wipe the taint before me.
“Narius? I-I’m sorry!”
“Silence, demonspawn.” This evil must be purged for its sins.
“Demonspawn?” She shrank from my righteous gaze. Panic flashed through her eyes as I took another step towards her. “Narius? No! Stop!” The foul creature raised her staff and summoned a block of ice between us. "I-I can explain."
Empowered by my determination and hatred, Castilia glowed white, and I sliced through the block of ice, toppling it with one stroke. I took another step forward, finishing my prayer. Lord Halfaya, guide my weapon into the heart of this creature of darkness and let your will be carried out through me this day.
He didn't answer back, but it didn't matter. I was doing the right thing.
The demonspawn tripped and fell to the ground. She scrambled backwards like a crab. She waved her staff wildly, summoning walls of ice between us. I cut each one with ease, imagining it was the monster that hid behind it.
Cornering her against the wall, I kicked the staff out of her hand, and raised my blade to smite her.
Narius! Stop. This is Emily! Listen to me or you are going to regret this for the rest of your life.
Images of the creature being with Heliose for the second time in the temple's ruined hall came back to me. Then, I remembered the tranquil moment with Emily on the grassy hill overlooking a city and the warm feelings I felt for her when I kissed her. Emily? Why is she here?
It was impossible, but the monster in front of me was Emily. I shook my head. No, no. Emily isn’t a demonspawn. But... but this is the demonspawn. My hand lowered, and I gritted my teeth to steady the shaking arm.
She was just manipulated, the Codex whispered. Heliose is responsible. You know that. Emily was manipulated back at whatever temple Heliose wiped your memory.
You... you are right, Emily would never betray— The image of Emily speaking with Mafis in this very room came to mind. Until now, I had assumed she was being threatened to hand over the book. But the more I thought about it, the more of my guilt and hesitation transformed into anger as the truth surfaced. No, she planned to betray me all along. I pushed the Codex out of my mind. "Emily, why did you give Mafis our half of the book?"