CODEX Part 3: Between Heaven and Hell

What happened that night was difficult to explain in words. The demons felt a wave of energy rise off the ground and fall heavily on them- just like when a big guy gets off the bed and a few seconds later, jumps back on it.

"What just happened?" Ezekiel asked feeling nauseous after the tremor.

The humans hurried to Zoe and Mehrdir in worry. What they felt was more than an earthquake, it was just like a bomb exploded underground and it affected them deeper than just their bodies.

"Someone opened another hole," Gakhas announced nonchalantly, his face set in the usual scowl.

Chen glanced at the lazy demon with concern.

"Why does it sound so common coming from you? Shouldn't you also be worried?" Chen asked, visibly not feeling great but not as sick as Ezekiel.

Gakhas stared at Chen for a few minutes before he cracked a sarcastic smile.

“I would be worried if I were human. But I'm not,” The demon replied.

The human didn't seem pleased with that answer and had more to say but Ezekiel grabbed onto his arm tightly. His brown puppy eyes were wide and alarmed and it only worried Chen even more.

"Another hole means a lot more troubles than we have already," Ezekiel said, leaning onto his friend.

Chen frowned as he noticed the sweat dripping down Ezekiel's temples and the way his eyes seemed to lose focus briefly.

"Are you alright, mate?" Chen asked but Ezekiel didn't even hear him.

Ezekiel had his eyes set on Zoe who looked like nothing big happened. Then again, she's already seen enough to not be impressed by a mere earthquake.

"Demons are crawling up to Earth as we speak. This isn't about us anymore, it's about the war." Eneizar explained crossing his arms in front of his chest. "It's gonna get ugly from now on,"

Zoe glanced at everyone in the room and sighed heavily.

"Not a break, not even on Christmas," she mumbled with disappointment, making Mehrdir chuckle next to her.

Moreover, Zoe could already see demons invading her personal space all over again.

A majority of the guests left as soon as they calmed down but the little hell group remained. Ezekiel was still holding onto Chen, although he didn't look as sick as before.

"What should we do? We can't leave or your parents will become suspicious," Ezekiel whispered grabbing her hand like a kid.

"There is someone I want you to meet," Zoe said, grabbing Mehrdir's hand and turning to her grandmother.

The old woman was glancing around warily, feeling like something bad happened but it was really hard to figure out what exactly.

Mehrdir raised an eyebrow, confused about what this elderly woman meant to their situation but they all followed Zoe silently.

"This is my grandmother," Zoe started her explanation. "She was chosen to be the commander in my family but she obviously used some tricks and I ended up being punished for her audacity," Zoe announced coldly with a sarcastic smile.

"But the commander is chosen randomly, it doesn't go along the bloodline," Mehrdir added sensing that the older woman didn't even do her research right.

Mehrdir was right. Mrs. Lestrade gasped in surprise, almost suffering a minor heart attack as the realization settled in.

"But it is a curse, why would he choose you if not for my bloodline? The man I spoke with said-"

Mrs. Lestrade was interrupted by Eneizar who started to laugh loudly.

"I see, so it's you. I heard a while ago that there was someone who made a pact with Asmodeus. He erased the endless knot and Beelzebub had no other choice but to mark someone else," The vanity demon started, a grin erupting on his lips. "So you had no idea who helped you, hm?"

Zoe's expression was really hard to decipher. Mehrdir flinched as he felt Zoe plunging her nails into his skin.

"You made a deal with Asmodeus of all people?" Zoe asked, a vein throbbing on her forehead. She tried to remain calm but her grandmother was testing her nerves.

"I didn't ask for his name, truthfully, I just accepted the first option I found," the elder explained, growing scared of her actions' aftermath.

Zo's eyes were changing which drew some quizzical stares from the remaining guests. Ezekiel's eyes widened and quickly covered her, dragging Chen along.

"Asmodeus is the prince of lust. He is a deceiver, he lies through his teeth and uses his dashing good looks to manipulate people. He is one of the worst, grandma. If anything, you should have just lived with it." Her tone was cold and strict, especially because her family deceived her in the most hurtful way possible.

But changes began once Zoe's control started to slip away and anger overwhelmed her heart.

"Zoe, your face," Mrs. Lestrade whispered, taking a step back from her granddaughter.

Zoe's whole face seemed to become darker, her jaw looked longer and sharper, and her eyes...a yellow circle formed in the middle of her irises, looking like it was pulsating. The elder Lestrade leaned in unconsciously but Eneizar pulled her back quickly.

"Let's not die yet, Grandma." He mumbled after he got her far enough from Zoe’s eyes.

The older woman froze when the demon touched her.

"These hands are so cold," she said before she realized one more detail, "Zoe, are these people actually demons?" She pointed at everyone.

Zoe shook her head and grabbed Jasper's hand, startling him.

"This is the young inheritor."

Mrs. Lestrade's eyes widened before staring at him intently.

"He doesn't look like one," she muttered.

"He doesn't have to. Only I can see what the inheritor looks like. The watch you gave me, was a present from Beelzebub to his lover, wasn't it?" Zoe asked, remembering the gift.

Eneizar's eyes widened in amusement and snorted. The night was getting fun, in his point of view.

"Yes. It was a present for her and the baby. I don't know much about it. Your grandfather got it from an old lady when he was young."

Of course, her grandfather knew about the mark as well.

"Why did you give it to me?"

The older woman opened her mouth but Eneizar interrupted right before she could get a word out.

"The tale speaks of Beelzebub coming to the Upworld for a woman. He fell in love with her innocence and impregnated her. Knowing that villagers will not be welcoming the baby, Beelzebub gave the woman a pocket watch, just in case the baby will be in danger. One night, when his daughter was ten, the pocket watch was used and hell rose to earth," Eneizar explained looking satisfied with himself.

"What you need to take from that tale is that the commander is Beelzebub's daughter, for whom he left an emergency alarm, in case something bad happens," Gakhas explained even simpler.

"Daughter?" Both Lestrade women asked in sync.

Mehrdir sighed heavily and pointed at the stairs.

"We should find a room and talk about it."

Everyone agreed.

They chose Zoe’s room since it was the furthest from the stairs. Ezekiel touched the door frame and flinched, feeling nauseous and anxious. His eyes moved around and he realized the room was almost empty. There was nothing to identify who lived there if anyone ever did, the furniture was all white and the walls were a very pale pink colour. It looked nothing like he imagined.

Zoe turned to Eneizar as soon as they entered.

“Why didn't you ever tell me about the tale?” She dived straight into business.

The vanity demon chuckled and patted her head like she was a puppy.

“Because you never asked." Eneizar replied, unconsciously glancing at Mehrdir, “But of course, it doesn't matter because with or without the knowledge of such a story existing, you still opened up to hell,”

“What exactly does this pocket watch do?” Chen asked, changing the subject off of Zoe.

“Depends. I don’t know for sure, it was only used once and I was not alive nor dead back then.”

Zoe remembered the inscription on the inside lid.

“What about the angels?” She mumbled to herself.

Eneizar raised an eyebrow and glanced at Iaosur and Mehrdir, some kind of silent discussion taking place between them.

The greed demon got on his feet and walked towards her, “I doubt angels would come and rescue a demon.”

Zoe stared ahead and thought carefully of everything she went through. She woke up from what was a cocoon state and now that she grasped the title and the responsibilities brought along, her sight was darker than ever.

And there was the issue at hand, concerning Belial and Beelzebub. If war was indeed on the verge of starting, then why did Belial visit her? Why was it so important that he doesn't take a side but she does?

“I’m not even a demon yet,” Zoe stated firmly.

Eneizar scoffed and looked down at her, “Uh, yes you are. Just because you’re not dead yet doesn’t mean anything. You already embraced your fate. You are one of us.”

Iaosur glanced between Eneizar and Mehrdir. They weren’t telling her something very important and it was bugging him.

The elder sighed and rubbed her eyes nervously, “It’s my fault, isn’t it?” It was hard to sink in so much information but she got the overall image, “I cursed you with this title and now you can’t-“

Zoe shook her head and stopped her.

“No. It is your fault that I’ve been cursed but nothing more.” Zoe sighed and rubbed her eyes, “Look, Grandma, most commanders live peacefully and die peacefully if they don’t acknowledge their title. I didn’t do that. I killed, I have already been to Hell several times and I’m not exactly ignoring the weird things around me. These demons-“She pointed and each of them, “-they are mine. Except for Gakhas, I marked all of them. They are my demons and I’m going to lead them towards whatever awaits me on the other side.”

The elder got up quickly and grabbed her niece’s hands.

“But you will die, Zoe. You will be doomed to live this unfortunate life forever!”

Zoe noticed the fear in those brown eyes of her grandmother and realized it was so uncomfortable to look at them.

“I'm well aware. I’m not afraid to die,” Zoe said with a sigh.

Ezekiel felt pressure on his chest when she stated that and he could only guess it was guilt and worry. But it wasn't, it was something he couldn't control and couldn't stop. His eyes widened and he stumbled back, his vision getting blurry and his head pounding harder and harder. He leaned against the door and swallowed back what he felt like gastric juice coming into his mouth.

Chen glanced at Ezekiel over his shoulder and noticed his friend trembling while holding tightly onto his waist.

“Ezekiel?” Chen barely got to say his name when the puppy human fell unconscious.

Zoe’s head turned towards her best friend as soon as she heard the sound of a falling body. She would have done something if she wouldn't have blacked out that instant.

“What the heck is going on? They both fainted!” Chen exclaimed, his head moving from one friend to the other.

The demons stared at each other in confusion. They had no idea what was going on.