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

Chapter Ten

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: