CODEX Part 2: The Secret Child of the Devil

“Are we finally going home?” The shorter human asked.

Chen was acting like himself again. He got over every suspicious thing that happened in the last two days with no regrets.

Ezekiel was a different story, though. He’s been staring at Zoe for long periods of time on the way back but it didn’t seem like she was aware of it.

Chen took the passenger seat and let the two culprits in the back, not realizing how uncomfortable Ezekiel was.

“Hey, Zek. You’re too obvious,” Chen mumbled as he was staring at his friend through review mirror.

She was sleeping peacefully and coincidentally, leaned on his shoulder. Ezekiel flinched but didn’t move further to the right.

“Just pretend I didn’t say anything. You act suspiciously,” Chen continued, his eyes following every twitch of his friend.

Iaosur moved the review mirror so he could see the human too. He drove them there and he was the one driving them back.

“What did you two talk about that affected you so badly?” Iaosur interfered, his hand still tingling on the wheel.

Chen sighed, “I kind of asked him if he likes Zoe as more than a friend. He’s been thinking about it ever since.”

Iaosur laughed, “Human emotions are so annoying,” Next to his bemused expression, his statement was rather cold, “So? Do you like her, Zek? You have the highest chance to stay by her side anyway.”

Ezekiel narrowed his eyes at the two males who were making fun of him.

“I don’t like her like that. Besides, she made it clear that she loves Mehrdir.” The human boy mumbled, glancing at her from the corner of his eye.

“Mehrdir doesn't know how to give and receive love. He doesn't know what love is in the first place,” Iaosur explained.

"Why not?" Chen asked growing curious. Mehrdir never shared anything about his life.

"Because he never felt it. But that's a story for another time," Iaosur decided to end the subject, knowing how angry Mehrdir was every time his life was mentioned.

But it didn't help Ezekiel feel better. Zoe was breathing on his neck and her hand was twitching on his lap from whatever she was dreaming of and unconsciously he grabbed it and caressed it softly.

“What about Alice? She’s your girlfriend.” Chen teased.

Ezekiel threw a pack of gum at Chen’s head, making the younger human whine.

“I don’t like Zoe like that. Stop messing with my head.”

Chen and Iaosur glanced at each other and smirked.

“Whatever you say,”

Iaosur got hit by a roll of plastic bags, as well.

The rest of the ride to London was silent. Chen fell asleep too and Ezekiel was staring out the window silently. Iaosur glanced at him through the mirror and chuckled.

“You shouldn’t be afraid,” The demon started, “Loving her is not a sin. It won’t get you in Hell.”

“But being her legacy might,” He responded without taking his eyes off the scenery.

“That depends on you. The former inheritors didn’t get to Hell, they lived their lives peacefully. But just because they didn’t face the problems doesn’t mean the problems were never there. Zoe is braver than all commanders before her.”

Ezekiel glanced at Iaosur’s seat smiling softly.

“You respect her a lot more than I imagined.”

Iaosur nodded. Unlike some other demons, mostly Mehrdir, he knew when to accept the reality of his situation.

“She made all of you stay by her side without a single spell.” Ezekiel was still not sure if that was good or not but he was amazed nonetheless.

“That’s because she doesn’t only protect the inheritor. She protects everyone around her, including the demons. Being under her natural spell is better than being in the wild.”

Ezekiel moved Zoe a bit, trying not to wake her and leaned closer to the back of Iaosur’s seat.

“Demons feel lonely too, huh?”

Iaosur gripped the wheel tighter, that was a touchy subject.

“Demons are not evil by default, because evil does not exist outside human beings. Some demons tempt, some demons punish, and some demons have clear purposes that help Hell work. Hell was created to punish, it's a direct reaction to humans' actions. We are not evil and angels are not good, those are human terms.” Iaosur explained, “Mehrdir is a feared demon in Hell because he never felt goodness, his life was pretty shitty from the beginning until the end. Demons do feel, but the intensity of our feelings is a bit like tunnel vision for stubborn humans. Mehrdir felt hatred, envy, and greed his whole life, and those emotions only amplified after he became a demon. His feelings for Zoe are hard for him because he doesn't know how love feels and what to expect or how to receive it. But he knows how obsession and possessiveness feel so he tries to explain his feelings for Zoe through that.”

"He's a really pitiful demon, isn't he?" Ezekiel asked, understanding a bit more about Mehrdir's personality.

"Yes, but he belongs in Hell. Mehrdir made choices that eventually led him to hell," Iaosur explained glancing at Ezekiel, "One affair, one fraud, a few little sins here and there are not enough to send you to hell. It's more complex than that, it's also about intention, thought, and heart. And much like in Heaven, status is important in Hell,"

“Status does seem to be very important, huh?” Ezekiel asked, finally having a chance to explore their world more.

“You see, demons are by default very greedy and proud, some more than others. There is a line that must be kept so we won’t rebel, well, the lower grades not me.”

“How do levels come in this matter? Is A the highest level?”

“For demons of a sort yes. Then some demons exceeded that sort and became Level F. They became Fearless in front of the Princes.”

“F comes from fearless. So they are above normal standards because they are brave?” Ezekiel added trying to make sense.

“Most of them are individualists who place themselves above everyone. Naturally, Level F was born under Mammon who could never control his demons.”

“Then Level A is…?”

“Abnormal. Both I and Eneizar are demons that have an abnormal relationship with the Princes. I changed two and still going strong. Eneizar, let’s say he belonged in Hell even when he was alive.” Iaosur added, glancing around in case the blond demon would suddenly pop out.

“What other levels are there? B? C? D?” Ezekiel chuckled, taking the ranks in Hell as very amusing and humane.

“Ha, ha, ha. No. There’s Fearless, Abnormal, Betrothed and Vain. There’s also one that rarely occurs, which is called a Rebel. There’s only one I know of and he’s been lost for centuries.”

“Betrothed and Vain make no sense.” Ezekiel pitched in, confused. “Demons of level B are what, soul mates that ended up in Hell together?”

“No! That’s stupid. There’s no such thing as a soul mate!” Iaosur complained, glowering at the human, “It means they are loyal to the Prince they follow. Satan’s whole domain is full of Bs. They are demons who wouldn’t go against their master’s word and are ready to sacrifice for their Lord.”

Ezekiel couldn’t help but smile at the scornful tone of the demon that changed two masters. He was more humane than Mehrdir and Eneizar in both thinking and behaviour. Iaosur was also mediocre compared to the older demons in looks and power and there was no ounce of respect between the three demons. So then, was Iaosur really a Level A demon or did he forget what level he is?

“I don’t like how you look at me,” The demon threatened the student. It was strange but Ezekiel was not feeling threatened even if Iaosur was serious.

“What about Vain demons?” Ezekiel changed the subject quickly.

“Every other demon outside the premises. They are just like wild dogs hunting for a title and of course, they rip each other apart for eternity thinking they are worth something. They’re not.” Iaosur ended his explanation nicely, “Do you understand now?”

“Yes. The levels were made by Lucifer to make himself more valuable. There are the princes at the peak of the pyramid then there are demons like Mehrdir who are brave enough to stand up in front of their masters. A levels are the demons in whom their masters invest power and manipulate however they want thus making them feel more important than they are. Bs are loyal servants and Level V is the plebe. Am I right?”

Iaosur blinked, taken aback by how childish it sounded coming from a human’s point of view.

“Maybe we should change the ranks…” The angst demon muttered to himself, genuinely thinking about it.

"How did you become Level A?" Ezekiel asked curiously.

“Some demons were humans before they got sentenced to an eternity of screams. Against what you believe, I never did anything bad in my life. I ended up in Hell because I committed suicide.”

If that wasn’t surprising, Ezekiel didn’t know what was. An angst demon who never sinned, except in the moment he died was never heard of.

“But that happened a long time ago when we didn’t have computers and internet, when we didn’t even have freedom.” The demon chuckled, using his witty attitude to make it sound nicer than it was.

“When did you die?” Ezekiel asked, curiosity getting the best of him.

Iaosur’s eyes softened a little bit as the melancholy of his past life surfaced.

“Second World War,” Iaosur said with melancholy. Ezekiel’s eyes widened, “I was so scared that I took my life before anyone else could. I saw...too much and I couldn't sleep at night. To be honest, it was worse than Hell.”

That was definitely interesting and a little confusing for the human. Was Iaosur fighting for the Nazis while alive? Or was he Jewish?

“Why are you being so chatty?”

“Because it’s better to know rather than live in ignorance. Take Zoe as your best example. She gets strength out of knowledge."

He gave two thumbs up in the mirror and turned back to driving. Moreover, he turned on the radio hinting that the conversation was over.

When Zoe woke up, she was in her bed. Ezekiel was next to her, looking out the window. She leaned on her elbows and stared at him.

“You have a nice profile,”

That didn’t even sound like a compliment, it sounded like an artist's statement.

Ezekiel was deeply thinking about what both Chen and Iaosur said. Having a kid with Zoe was out of the question since he couldn’t even imagine that friction happening between them but that would save them a lot of trouble, wouldn’t it?

He turned his head to her and blinked.

“Let’s have a baby.”

Zoe blinked twice before she registered what he said. She got up and clicked her tongue.

“Who gave you this crazy idea? Eneizar? Iaosur? Gakhas? It's something that Gakhas would probably say. Look, Zek. I love you and I’d give everything for you, but not to the point where I’d do that with you,” Zoe said watching him blush in embarrassment.

“But wouldn’t having a baby make everything easier? Besides, you already made me your legacy. A baby would-“

“It would only complicate everything. If you want to have that kid become my legacy because he would be blood from my blood, that is not even for sure. That’s not how it works.” Zoe explained.

Ezekiel sighed and moved closer to her.

“Then how does it work?”

She sighed heavily and rubbed her eyes, feeling a slight pressure on the back of her head. She was about to have a rough time now that she actually asked Leviathan for help.

“I don’t know. The kid has to be born on a full moon but not any kid can become the commander. Beelzebub decides that, he just picks whomever he likes, I don't know.”

“Then, why you? Why not someone else?” Ezekiel asked with a frown but Zoe shrugged, having no idea.

“I don’t know. But your child won’t become the commander. I’ll make sure of it, just in case.” She watched as Ezekiel sighed in relief, “You thought about it for the whole ride back, didn’t you?”

“I’m happy we don’t have to do anything weird,” He said and sighed in relief a second time, “But it would be a pity not to have a kid.”

“For you or me?” She asked bemusedly.

“Both of us. But not with each other.”

She watched him assure and reassure himself of that idea. It was funny to see him so messed up.

Of course, that wasn’t Iaosur’s opinion when he started to feel a burning sensation in his hand, crawling up his arm and to his body. It wasn’t something that would hurt for a long time but it was just like he had been struck by lightning. It was happening fast but hurt like nothing he felt before.

The thing was, he was getting punished when he genuinely advised Ezekiel.

The next day was Saturday. She had a few amends made for that day. James called just in case she forgot and needed a reminder but going and picking up the possible inheritor from the airport was hard to forget.

She stayed in bed for most of the day, thinking about the time she was a demon. Everything was blurry but she knew she met the inheritor at some point. She couldn’t remember him but she was curious if he would remember her.

“Where are you going?”

Eneizar just appeared that morning with a guitar. He was strumming it peacefully when he saw her walking out of her room, all dressed up.

“The question is where did you go when I needed your help?” That shut him up quickly, “That’s what I thought. Oh and, we might get some uninvited guests later today. Prepare yourself mentally,” Zoe announced before she left.

She knew she had demons sniffing her around and she didn’t want to get James in danger so she took the bus to the airport alone.

When she arrived, she surveyed the entry before walking towards the meeting spot. Familiar and ghosts already figured out who she was since the dark world was always whispering about the commander.

“Did you miss me?” Elijah blew in her ear.

She closed her eyes in annoyance, her hand twitching.

“Not at all.”

He chuckled and grabbed a hand through his hair. She stopped in front of the Arrivals gate and he followed her. He looked like an old lady, standing with one hand on his waist while he was scratching his head with the other.

“Levi wants me to stick around you for a while. He wants you to teach me some things,”

First was Gakhas and now, she had Elijah. She was slowly growing annoyed with the forced babysitting.

“Levi?” She asked, bemused by the lack of respect.

Elijah shrugged.

“Leviathan is too long. I don’t like to waste my breath,”

That was quite the irony since he was dead already.

However, he continued, “You know, I figured out why he wanted my soul so badly,” She had no choice but to listen to his life story, “It seems the commander and the inheritor can be different demons, not only glutton and vanity. For instance, you are definitely a vanity demon with a little bit of greed and that's no Beelzebub territory. The only thing that connects you to him is the title, actually. I heard he originally wanted you dead as soon as you were born,” He chuckled, “But, the inheritor is not vanity. He’s anything but vanity, as a matter of fact. He has wrath and sloth all over his soul. Isn’t that just interesting? He’s a lazy ass that fights for what he believes in. Quite a contradictory man, I may say,”

Well, that was indeed interesting but it wasn’t very important for the so-called cause.

“So?”

Elijah rolled his eyes and took a step closer to her, “You know how you have Andrew? Well, the inheritor will get me.” She froze which made him add, “Don’t look so disappointed. I’m quite an ideal demon/ghost. I am smart.” He finished, pointing at his head with a genuine expression.

That wasn’t necessarily something good. He was also good at lying and manipulating, he was a psychopath, in the end.

“You’re dangerous,” She added a characteristic to his extremely modest personality.

He gave her two thumbs up with the most stoic face she had ever seen.

“You betcha!”

She rubbed her forehead and sighed, the pressure on the back of her head growing even stronger.

James walked towards Zoe as soon as he got into the airport. He found her fast thanks to the familiars. They pointed towards the place she was in which wasn’t good since they were supposed to hide her from everyone, even him.

“These familiars are way too polite. I only had to ask nicely and they pointed to you,” He whispered once he got next to her.

She glared over her shoulder but the ghosts were acting innocent.

James's eyes moved to the tall guy sitting next to her, “Who’s he?”

“Your brother’s new friend,” James was confused so she continued, “He’s the ghost that will tag along everywhere he goes like an unwanted yet needed ghostly guardian.” James was still very confused. She sighed and clicked her tongue, “Like Andy is to me.”

“Won’t that be troublesome?”

She stared at him blankly. Of course, it was going to be troublesome, Elijah was not Andy. The difference between the two was Heaven-Hell-like.

They waited for an hour before his plane landed. For that entire hour, Elijah spoke about his life before he got into the Cane Hill Asylum. Of course, James found out the back story and wasn’t happy at all.

“He is a freaking psychopath!” He hissed.

She became immune to his whining over the past hour.

“Excuse you, but I am a genius undercover. I got there because I let my guard down but that won’t happen again.” Elijah explained, offended by James's words.

“Of course not. You’re dead.” Zoe mumbled, rubbing her forehead.

Elijah scoffed and turned his back on them, noticing something and leaving.

“Did he go to report to his Master?” James asked ironically.

Zoe looked after him and saw him a few feet in the back.

“He went to steal a bento from a Japanese tourist,” She stated.

James and Zoe glanced at each other before they sighed heavily. Elijah was going to provoke so many problems.

“I’m starting to question his genius,” She mumbled under her hand.

Plane 3245, coming from Tokyo-Japan to London-United Kingdom landing right now at Gate 3.

She sighed in relief when she saw the announcement.

Both James and Zoe were waiting for the younger brother with a knot in their stomachs. James gulped when he saw the familiar head of his brother poking above the rest.

Zoe and Elijah were staring ahead with blank expressions. Zoe’s eyes became yellow and her hands were trembling in anticipation. Her mark was glowing but not enough to grab attention.

Through Zoe’s eyes, the inheritor looked normal as much as it applied to his body. His soul, on the other hand, was glowing and she could see a serpent crawling around in excitement.

When he got in front of them, James didn’t act like a lovely older brother, instead, he swallowed nervously and stared worriedly at him.

“Is that how you greet your younger brother?”

“I’m sorry, Jasper,” James's voice cracked before he pulled him into a tight hug.

“You’re forgiven for whatever you have done. Don’t have to act so dramatic,” Jasper laughed it off once he let go of James.

His head instinctively turned towards Zoe, whose face was somewhat familiar but he couldn’t understand why.

“Do I know you?” He asked, furrowing his eyebrows in concentration.

Zoe was trembling from head to toe, licking her lips nervously. She didn’t even know if she was excited or scared.

“She’s Zoe Lestrade. She is the commander, Jaz,” James started on the way to the cab.

The boy tilted his head to the side, confused.

“That’s why father sent you to Japan. But it seems I couldn’t take that burden off your shoulders. No matter how much I try, I cannot be the inheritor.” James admitted.

Jasper stared at Zoe before turning to his older brother. The difference between James and the new face was only one: her right hand was glowing.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Jasper questioned further.

James took a deep breath and thought about how to break the news. He didn’t get the chance, though.

“He means you’re the inheritor.”

Jasper frowned. That guy wasn’t there before, was he? He was really tall and strange-looking, his eyes were black and scary, he was pale and his bones were visible through his skin. He looked like a nicer zombie.

Elijah raised an eyebrow, already figuring out what Jasper was thinking about.

“I am your new best friend forever. My name is Elijah,”

Jasper shook his hand absentmindedly, not realizing that no one could see Elijah except him, James, and Zoe.

He leaned back and turned to James, “What is he talking about?”

“Remember the story grandpa used to tell us when we were kids?”

Jasper nodded, “About the secret child of the devil. He used to say it wasn’t just a fairy tale and that this kid was called the inheritor. He also said he kind of surfaces in a random kid every 50 years or something,”

“That’s you. The inheritor.” James replied seeing how confused his brother was.

“...what?”

The ride in the cab was excruciating. Zoe was lost in space while James tried to make his brother understand what was happening.

“So, you’re telling me that I’m the newest reincarnation of the Devil’s secret child? Also, he hates my guts,”

“He doesn't hate you, he just didn't care much about the inheritor until now,” Zoe corrected feeling guilty.

Jasper furrowed his eyebrows at his brother, “How is that possible?”

“Well, in the first place, you can’t see the sun. There's always a dark mist that covers it and you can't see colours at the same intensity as everyone else. And secondly, you have the serpent mark on your left arm,” James explained.

“I thought you had it too.” Jasper trailed but James shook his head, “So, if I’m the inheritor, who’s she?” He asked and pointed at Zoe.

“She’s the commander. Practically, you and her have a deep bond, deeper than soul mates. You live to protect each other and right now, she’s so deep into this business that she’s the only one who can help you,”

Jasper frowned and glanced at her from the corner of his eye, “Is that why we’re not going home?”

“You’re going to live at her place. Believe me, you’ll like it.” James assured his brother.

Jasper doubted that.