CODEX Part 3: Between Heaven and Hell

Nothing happened. Luck was on his side because her grip loosened and he got pushed away, falling on the couch, his head snapping quickly back to see what happened.

“Eneizar?” Ezekiel couldn’t believe it; the demon he hated the most just saved his life.

Going back a bit, Chen was helplessly trapped outside, watching Ezekiel as he entered the bathroom. He tried a few times to kick and punch his way in but no matter how much force he would use –which wasn’t very strong since he wasn’t a big fit guy- Terrance wouldn’t budge.

“Look, I know you’re still somewhere in there. I’m talking to your consciousness, Terry. Please, snap out of it. She’s not the real Zoe and doesn’t deserve your slavery.” Chen’s encouragement went right through the young man. Chen sighed and shook his hands and legs before he jumped over the older and taller man, “You little shit,” He mumbled as he tried his best to make Terry lose his balance.

“What the hell are you doing?” A whisper sent chills down Chen’s spine before he got grabbed from his shirt and pulled off the puppet, “Take a step back if you don’t want to get dirty,” Eneizar warned calmly.

“Why would I get dir-“ Chen didn’t even finish his sentence when Eneizar threw a small ball at Terrance, who caught if effortlessly. The object exploded; Terry exploded. Chen couldn’t believe his eyes, mostly because both he and Eneizar were covered in blood and body parts.

“That’s why. Now, take this and start reading from it when I tell you to. Only when I tell you to,” Eneizar ordered the human.

Chen nodded and grasped the object he got from the vanity demon. It was an old small book that resembled a register with biblical verses and parables.

The demon-turned-human took something from his pocket, something that seemed to glow in the light, and waited around the corner until Ezekiel was ready to get killed. He could already imagine what was going through Ezekiel’s mind and it was something stupid. Eneizar saw Zoe pull his brown hair and get ready to snap his neck; he knew that was his moment. Since he wasn’t a demon, Zoe couldn’t feel anything coming her way and he could easily take her by surprise and plunge the sharp stone in the middle of her spine. It happened exactly how he planned; how Abigor planned, actually.

When the stone hit her spine, Zoe’s eyes widened. She could feel something get into her body, something that stung and made her legs and arms feel like jelly. Zoe’s body fell down and started to shake like crazy; like she was having a seizure.

“Eneizar? What’s happening to her? How did you get here?” The puppy human had a lot of questions. One though, hit Eneizar straight into the pride. Ezekiel saw something that not many had the ability to, “Why is your energy gone?”

“You never cease to surprise, don’t you?” Eneizar was sarcastic, though there might have been a grain of truth, “Anyway, whatever happened to her, she will get out of it in a short time. We have to do it fast or else we’ll get killed,” He changed the subject.

“What happened to her?” Ezekiel asked as he slowly got on his feet.

“I plunged a shungite stone, modified and sharpened, into her spine. It seems it has the capacity to purify the possessed bodies.” Eneizar answered as he wiped the stone off blood on his jeans.

“And how do you know that?” Ezekiel was genuinely impressed.

“Abigor told me.” Of course it wasn’t him.

Ezekiel should have known better since a stone like that would be dangerous against any demon, Eneizar being one of them.

While he was still in complete bewilderment of everything he witnessed, Chen walked closer to Zoe’s body and kicked it softly. Nothing really happened so he was content. He looked up at the rest and listened to what they were talking about. Eneizar was giving Ezekiel instructions to move the furniture and clean the middle of the apartment since they needed all the space for a seal.

While they were talking, none really had the inspiration to check from time to time if Zoe was in the same helpless state on the ground. The demon hasn’t been pushed away and was still in complete control. Abaddon wasn’t stupid and kept low until he knew for sure what their plan was.

“So, how come you’re awake?” Chen asked as he took one side of the couch while Eneizar took the other side. It was harder for the vanity entity with no super strength; he really wished he wouldn’t become human again.

“Abigor snatched me when you weren’t looking. You took incredible care of me and Iaosur, haven’t you?” Eneizar was sarcastic, partially, but now that he had feelings he couldn’t help but be worried for his friend, “I found him in front of the apartment building, with no one to defend him.” He added in a meaner tone.

Chen dropped his side of the couch and narrowed his eyes at the demon.

“Well excuse me but I had more important things to do,” The human responded in a sassy voice; like a high school girl, “Why don’t you move everything by yourself? We’re not your slaves,” Chen added, placing his hands on his waist.

Eneizar glanced at Ezekiel, who stopped and listened to the two bicker, before his eyes traveled back on Chen. He dropped the couch and ruffled his hair annoyed. He muttered something but the boys didn’t understand.

“Can you be more eloquent?” Chen was pushing his luck but for some reason Eneizar lost the authority he held before.

“I said I am human!” The former demon shouted in anger, “That’s how I woke up; Abigor changed me into a fucking human with no power and no darkness!” He was more than angry; he was offended, “You know what’s worse?! I am scared. I am freaking scared that I will die but at the same time I want someone to take a knife and stab me with it until I give my soul to the Devil, where it should be!”

“You don’t have to ask twice,” Ezekiel mumbled and got back to pushing the coffee table into the corner.

Eneizar huffed in annoyance and kicked the couch, which only led him to hurt himself and jump around, mumbling swears under his breath. That was a rare view for Chen and he took care to immortalize it by pushing the recording button on his phone. Even through his screen, he could see the innocence around the former demon, his energy being even lower than a normal human’s. Ezekiel got into the sight and his body looked like it had enough energy for the whole globe; actually, Ezekiel had a circle above his head from where the white energy was coming. Chen wasn’t even hiding the fact that he was recording his friend because he couldn’t take his eyes off the curtain that seemed to protect Ezekiel.

“What are you doing?” The culprit asked his best friend when he noticed the phone, “Are you recording me?”

Chen only nodded since he couldn’t find anything to say. Eneizar raised an eyebrow but ignored whatever Chen was doing. He had to draw the seal with human blood and truthfully, he couldn’t believe he had to use his. Abigor was very clear when he said Eneizar had to give blood for the seal because he was a demon at the core. The sacrifice wasn’t him, thankfully, but the sacrifice had to be holy. Eneizar didn’t know any holy personality.

While Eneizar was creating a seal and the rest were watching him curiously, Zoe was still in Hell, fighting Jasper.

Compared to before, Jasper found himself faced down more than once, with wounds bigger than he originally thought.

Zoe grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and raised him to her eye level, which wasn’t too high since she was average in height. Jasper’s darkness seemed to have a safety level where the power was drawn back into his body in order to handle the roughness of every hit. Zoe wasn’t strong, her punches and kicks having low power with no chance to actually throw him away or hurt him too bad, but the energy flowing through her body was amazing and it doubled her muscle mass.

On the other hand, Jasper was taller and bigger than Zoe and his muscle mass was also bigger than her normal one. He only needed an opportunity to get her kneeling before him, like before. He thought while she started to drag him around for her own sick pleasure. Zoe wasn’t in her right mind and that was probably the only difference between them; Jasper didn’t get the serpent because he already had the inheritor sign however, he didn’t get the chance to learn how to use it and only knew how to block his consciousness and act on impulses. Zoe had been trained by the former inheritor and she learned how to use her emotions in order to grow stronger. That was probably the only detail that mattered: emotions.

Jasper glanced at her right hand, where the endless knot was fighting against the serpent and the overflowing power that seemed to slowly erase it. He knew Beelzebub was very much aware of Zoe’s condition yet he wasn’t acting at all.

Zoe ended up taking Jasper in front of his master, throwing him like a piece of garbage at Lucifer’s feet. The vanity prince chuckled and swung his hand to the side, a demon getting the hint and throwing a knife into the ring. Zoe watched with blank eyes before she walked over and grabbed it with her right hand.

“Wait!” Jasper shouted suddenly, showing just how desperate he was, “You don’t have to do this, Zoe! I snapped out of it!” The boy continued, using everything he knew about her to make a plan.

“Have you really, Jasper?” Lucifer asked smugly as he knew and had seen Jasper act innocent before only to gain something from his victim.

Since everything was getting more and more interesting, Lucifer threw his own knife in front of Jasper.

The young man was surprised that his master gave him another chance at killing Zoe, whom he admitted he very much liked and wanted as his inheritor only a few moments ago. But, he couldn’t deny the survival instinct and grabbed onto the hilt tightly. As Zoe was making her way back to Jasper, he squeezed the knife and brought it close to his chest as he bent over, like he was in a cocoon.

“It’s time to die, Jasper,” Her voice was already completely changed, a few octaves lower which was the opposite of what the commander sounded like.

She was ready to slice Jasper’s neck before cutting apart his back, where the serpent was, when the mansion shook slightly. Lucifer ignored it and beckoned Zoe to finish the job.

“No, Zoe! You can’t do it. You’re not Lucifer’s inheritor, you’re Beelzebub’s!” He pleaded as he was trying his best to stand in his current position, “Beelzebub’s! Remember him! He gave you the sign, he saved you!”

Nothing really moved in Zoe’s being, but outside, on the skin, the endless knot was bleeding a lot while trying to induce some memories into her. She stopped and blinked twice before she grabbed his hair and pulled him back harshly. Jasper’s eyes narrowed at the commander and remembered a very important detail.

“Remember who you are, Zoe. Remember Ezekiel,” He whispered through gritted teeth.

The grasp on his hair didn’t waver but the yellow circle in the middle of her eye became bigger; actually, it pulsated like a heart. The corner of Jasper’s lips quirked for a moment, before he flinched when she pulled his hair again.

“Ezekiel Addams, the puppy human. Do you remember him, Zoe? He’s your best friend. He’s your family,” Jasper continued, moving his hand in order to have the knife closer to his right side, where she was standing, “What about Mehrdir? Do you remember him?” He whispered.

At the mention of Mehrdir, the yellow circle pulsated again, becoming bigger. She was having second thoughts and Lucifer knew exactly why; the serpent was being pushed on her back and her veins were coming back to normal. Zoe was fighting the serpent and it was Jasper’s fault.

“Kill him, Zoe!” Lucifer ordered, using his darkness to fight against the endless knot.

She was hesitating, which only gave Jasper the opportunity he has been looking for. Quicker than anyone would have imagined, the young man plunged Lucifer’s knife through her chest. Every demon inside that room caught themselves leaning closer in order to see if she was dead or not.

Lucifer got up and walked closer to them, as curious as the rest of the viewers. His eyes widened when he saw that, with extreme speed, Zoe blocked the knife with her hand, the blade going right through the middle of the endless knot. It didn’t even scratch her chest, as it seemed from afar. Jasper’s eyes widened and traveled up to Zoe’s, who looked blank like always. Her hand wrapped around the blade, making her wound bleed even more, as she stared deeply into his eyes. She leaned in and growled like a wild animal, making the demons gasp and mutter to each other.

Zoe leaned close to his ear and licked it lightly, making Jasper shudder.

“Bye, bye,” She whispered in a girly voice right before she pulled on his hair so hard that she took his whole head off.

The silence that followed that action was heavy and vanity demons started to back off in fear. Zoe Lestrade, the commander, Beelzebub’s apprentice, the girl who fought all this time for her soul just gave in to the dark side. Lucifer couldn’t contain his happiness anymore and he started to laugh loudly.

“Congratulations, Zoe! Congratulations, my inheritor!” Lucifer shouted as the demons still couldn’t believe what they witnessed. Those evil eyes of the Loved One stared at Zoe, who was looking down at her hands.

Even if she was going to succeed in fighting the serpent and its influence, she was never going to forget what she has done in Hell: killing Jasper and going against everything she ever believed in.

“My inheritor,” Lucifer found himself mumble.

He really liked the sound of that title connecting to Zoe. By blood, she didn’t have anything connecting her to him but he didn’t give a damn about blood. Zoe was his weapon and the Middle Earth was going to be destroyed by the one who tried the hardest to keep it safe.

“Master! Master!” An annoying voice echoed through the whole room, “Master!”

Lucifer rolled his eyes and let the demon come forward.

“Master! Beelzebub is attacking the domain!” The demon shouted for everyone to hear.

Lucifer narrowed his eyes at Zoe by reflex. Her master was coming to take her back.