CODEX Part 3: Between Heaven and Hell

Zoe didn't go back to the theater. In Hiset's arms she couldn't feel the same warmth as in Mehrdir’s, or maybe it wasn't even about warmth -since they were cold creatures- but it wasn't the same feeling; her skin wasn't burning and she wasn't happy.

"You look disappointed," Hiset was a blunt demon. He didn't want to hide what he was thinking, unlike others.

"I am. I guess my prince will never come when I need him," She responded in a common tone.

Hiset chuckled, remembering just who he was speaking about, "Yes. He is like that but he is not a coward. When you will stand on the edge between death and life, he will run over and jump with you,"

Truthfully, Hiset couldn't believe how close Mehrdir got to her in such a short time, even if he never really acted on his impulses before he became her guardian.

Hiset wasn't a good looking demon like Eneizar but he wasn't ugly either; he was soft and wise. Zoe was intrigued by her former guardian now that she could look at him and admit to herself that he was real.

"You don't act like a demon at all," She remarked, looking at him closely.

The demon laughed, "I used to be an angel before I got sentenced to Hell. I got sent to protect you. When you were born, they pushed me down,"

That explained a lot, actually.

"But you finished. Why not go back?"

He raised an eyebrow and stared at her with a smirk, "I've been perverted to the dark side already. I can't go back even if I'd want to. I'm stuck."

Zoe stared at Hiset for a few minutes before she scoffed, "It's because of Mehrdir, isn't it? He is trouble,"

He nodded, "Yet you fell for him. A demon with a lot of pride and no shame; a demon with more greed than any." He started, "You know, Zoe, the demons around you are demons who work directly under the princes. Gakhas is Bel's favorite; Eneizar was one of Lucifer's most treasured demons and you may not know it but more demons look up to you."

"Why? I only bring sorrow and pain-" She realized she gave the answer herself and sighed, "Right. That's what demons do. Sorrow and pain."

"You shouldn't look at it like that. Even if it seems like everything around you is darkness, you have to search for the light,"

She raised an eyebrow, completely unimpressed by his comment.

He chuckled and pointed at the school, "Light can be found in the most common places,"

Zoe wasn't sure she understood what he was talking about but she followed the direction where he was pointing at nonetheless. Her eyes widened when she saw Robin's face; she wasn't looking outside but she seemed very interested in what someone else was telling her.

"Is this your way of telling me to go back and play with an ouija board?"

Hiset blinked, his face changing quickly into something really hard to decipher.

"Your spiritual life is a mess. Try and keep a low profile for the moment. Stay in Essex for a few days," He disappeared right after he told her that.

It was her turn to stare blankly into space.

She didn't go back to her former classmates but she did send a message to Robin. They were going to meet the next day for lunch; all of them.

Zoe didn't expect to stay for another day in her hometown. She didn't want to go home and find her mother with her friends nor respond to uncomfortable questions for hours therefore, Zoe chose the next best thing.

"This is a huge favor, Zoe,"

She blinked innocently at her former best friend.

Terrance was a nice guy, he really was, but when she suddenly showed up in front of his apartment, he couldn't help but feel like he was getting into something very bad.

"You won't die if I stay here for two days," She reasoned.

He understood that but he had one question, "Why me?"

Zoe stopped and glanced at him, her face softening while looking into his big brown eyes.

"Because you have nothing to do with me,"

That response wasn't making any sense for him so he dropped it. How hard could it be, in the end?

Well, except the sudden paranoia and nightmares, it was pretty easy but as hours were piling up, he couldn't go out without looking twice over his shoulder.

On the other hand, she was doing great. His house was comfortable and she could finally experience a little bit of normality in her life.

On the other side, in Hell things were heating up. Beelzebub was nowhere to be found and Mammon's patience level was decreasing with every minute.

"Where the heck is he?" The short demon prince asked through gritted teeth.

He was alone with Belphegor after he sent Mepalham away to gather information. Mammon knew that Zoe was the only lead to her master.

"He's acting on his own again. Besides, he is the one who rose against Lucifer," Belphegor responded leisurely from his seat in the back; he looked ready to fall asleep if it wasn't for the minion pacing around, complaining.

Mammon glanced at the blonde prince, his eye twitching, "The angels will eat us alive if we don't stop that asshole. His timing is always bad!"

The greed prince knew that the best. Lucifer never knew when to act and how; he was always doing things on his own, driven by selfish desires. That was the main reason he fell first.

"We should clean up the purgatory. Izmedus are eating souls that we might as well use,"

Belphegor was a lazy scum but he knew when to be selfish and when to place his desires aside. But he wasn't the one with less to no army.

"That can be done later. I have my own problems," Mammon grumbled, sitting down.

Belphegor's green eyes turned red and the 666 sign appeared on his forehead like a long lost scar, "Set up your priorities, Mammon," The blonde demon spat out angrily.

"I have only 100 demons left on my domain. Lucifer's been manipulating them to change masters," The greed demon prince whined like a child, "You tell me what my priorities are!" He screamed in anger.

Bel's eyes turned back to green and he became nonchalant again,"Fine. I will take care of that. You can whine like a baby and rot in your own misery. It seems you forgot what this war is for,"

Mammon's eyes changed quickly, becoming completely white at Bel's offending tone. As the sloth demon disappeared, the greed demon huffed; he missed his castle and gold.

Leviathan was leaning against the gate of Hell, eyeing two demons that were fussing around. At some point they launched at each other, the stronger one eating the other one alive. The gatekeeper chuckled and closed his eyes.

Those moments of silence made a big difference. It was rarely so silent on his domain since Satan was right next door and their demons would often fight against each other.

"They're out,"

Leviathan opened his eyes only to meet the snake features of Satan,"Lucifer opened the back doors,"

Satan raised an eyebrow bemusedly, "Did he? Are you sure that your enemy is indeed Lucifer?"

Leviathan scoffed and walked closer to the snake, "Who if not him? Who wants to disrupt the balance so badly if not him?"

Satan chuckled and leaned closer to the dragon, "Did Lucifer fall on his own desire or did someone else nudge him?" The envy prince frowned as Satan continued, "Just because I like to fight doesn't meant I have no aim, Leviathan. We both know who is using Lucifer and Asmodeus,"

"He doesn't have any right to interfere,"

"Let me ask you something. Who did Jasper choose to fight for? Lucifer? So fast? I don't think so," The dragon's eyes were scrunching with every word spoken by the snake, "He can't interfere in your business but Jasper is not a demon, is he now? Besides, where did your newest acquisition disappear to?"

The envy prince could feel his anger building in his being.

After he gave his words of wisdom, the angst prince left with a smirk on his face.

Somewhere, over the rainbow,

Way up high

And the dreams that you dreamed of

Once in a lullaby

Zoe couldn't believe it; she was somewhere sunny where birds were flying around and nature was at its best.

She turned in circles a few times, to fully take in the place she was in: the sky was a vibrant blue and the sand was bathing in sunlight, the ocean was calm and the low waves were reaching her feet; it was cold.

It felt real.

Zoe closed her eyes and smiled. Seeing the surroundings without the usual mist around was beautiful.

"Wait-" She opened her eyes quickly. “No mist. This is not real,” She mumbled disappointingly.

When she realized the truth, she felt something fall on her nose. She looked up at the sky and saw clouds hovering over the island before the sky enlightened for a second; a storm was coming.

When Zoe turned towards the jungle, she saw nothing but white; it wasn’t snowing yet the whole ground was covered in snow. She saw something in the distance, something that wasn’t moving. Being a curious person, she started to walk towards that static figure and as she was getting closer, the lightning begun striking the ground close to her yet not enough to hit her; if anything, it looked like the lightning was following her.

She narrowed her eyes at the figure; only a few feet away and she could see what was there.

It wasn’t a person or a demon. It was a tree; a willow to be more specific. She frowned but continued to walk until she got under the corolla. Zoe touched the trunk and caressed it softly, feeling weird. When she got her hand off, she saw some sticky substance coming out of it.

She wiped her hand and scrunched her face; it smelled like burned skin. Her eyes widened when she looked closely at her palm, seeing the sign burning into her skin; she winced when the pain started to go up her arm. The young woman fell on her knees and plunged her hand into the snow; surprisingly, the pain ameliorated.

Unfortunately, something else happened. She froze as she noticed blood slipping into the snow and it wasn’t just a drop or two; it was a lot. It looked like her blood was going through some tubes as the wind picked up and scratched her face. She tried to get her hand out of snow but she couldn’t move it; it felt numb.

“This is a dream,” Zoe mumbled; that was the only thought that could calm her down, “Only a dream,” She continued, “It’s my dream so I can take control of it. I can,” She closed her eyes and continued to mumble the same lines over and over again.

At some point, the wind stopped and the whole place became silent. Zoe heard someone whistle but she didn’t open her eyes just yet. It begun from far away but in a few seconds it got very close.

Zoe opened her eyes slowly and saw Alice,“What-“

Alice’s eyes narrowed at her before she pushed harshly.

“Wait, what-“

“It’s your fault,” The pretty woman started, “He liked me but he never came when I called him. Even if I had a problem, he wouldn’t come. You know why?”

Zoe had no idea what was in her head so she decided to play the game, “Why?” She asked her former friend.

Alice’s eyes became black and she growled,“Because of you!”

Zoe's eyes widened at that kind of assumption. The young commander was aware that Alice made some kind of deal and became a host but she had no idea what Alice was talking about. However, Alice was dangerous so Zoe tugged on her hand harder, hoping she could take it from the snow.

Alice bent in front of her and grabbed her chin, “He chose you; always you. Even when we were together, he would call and text you. It pissed me off,”

“I’m sure it did,” In Alice's ears, it sounded like Zoe was mocking her but Zoe realized that too late, “I mean it. I mean it, Alice but there’s nothing going on between us,”

Alice raised an eyebrow, her eyes softening, “Then leave him. Leave Ezekiel. You have enough slaves. Let him come to me,”

So the subject was Ezekiel. Zoe opened her mouth but nothing came out.

“That’s-I mean-I-“ She sighed and looked at her hand, “I can’t. I signed him. I made him my legacy. Besides, no matter how much I try, he always comes back to me,”

Now that she said it out loud, it sounded very selfish and wrong. She took Ezekiel for granted all this time; Zoe was aware of that but she couldn’t change it.

Alice glared at her and screamed;it was high pitched and Zoe’s ears started to bleed.

Zoe closed her eyes but nothing happened to her. She heard a splashing sound and opened her eyes, seeing a sight she hoped will never become real: a hand was coming from Alice’s chest, the limp body falling aside into the snow.

It was a peculiar sight.

“But not weirder than this,” Zoe mumbled as she finally noticed what supposedly saved her. She gulped and felt fear crawl up her spine, “W-What are you?”

Whatever was in front of her was stranger than anything she had seen and Zoe saw a lot of things in her life –from demons to Izmedu and to things she wanted to forget- but that was above everything.

It was a man, his whole body was white and he had a long face but no hair; he didn’t have a nose but his eyes and mouth were black; his eyes looked like two circles while his mouth was a thin straight line and his fingers and toes were black, as well. He wasn’t blinking; he was staring at her with his buttons-like eyes.

It was chilling; those eyes were not as horrifying as Lucifer's but they were so strange.

As she they staring at each other, the numbness from her hand in the snow went up into her body. The white thing grabbed her by the neck and pulled her up. He was very tall.

“You lost,” The thing was talking but his mouth didn’t move an inch, “Heaven has given up on you,” He continued. His voice was really low but the interesting fact was the language he was speaking in; it was Hebrew.

“What does that mean?” She was curious how she could understand him. She could only wonder if it was because she could understand demon language –which was a bunch of antique languages- so she could probably understand everything rare or dead.

The white thing opened his mouth, her eyes widening as she moved her head back out of reflex. She winced when his grasp tightened around her neck. That thin line opened twice as big as his head, showing the inside of his mouth; he didn’t have teeth but he had two tongues. Zoe closed her eyes tightly and waited for whatever that was to eat her.

Something pinched her and out of surprise, she opened her eyes. Zoe could see the inside of his mouth and she started to hear the whistling again but this time, it started to sing too.

It was only one word.

“Shehehreet,” Zoe repeated the word she was hearing before noticing something down his neck. It was coming up and she was scared to ask what that was. Her lips started to tremble and she took a deep breath; if that was gastric juice, she was dead.

Suddenly, the gastric juice went back down, his grasp on her neck disappeared and he burst.

That was the moment Zoe woke up. She touched her face and felt some kind of substance on it. She looked to the side and saw Terrance with an empty glass in his hand; he probably splashed water on her face to wake her up.

It was water, thank God.

"What did you dream?" Terrance asked Zoe after she calmed down.

Truthfully, Zoe really scared him. She was sweating and talking in some gibberish language, pointing with one hand at the ceiling while the other hand was bleeding. He tried to help but he got burned in the process. Terrance couldn’t wake her up in any normal way so he went into the kitchen and grabbed a glass of water but even then, she took a few more minutes before she woke up.

She was still trembling. In the dream, she couldn’t move at all but in real world, she was trying to escape. He has never seen her like that; he has never seen anything like that.

"I have no idea," She continued to speak, if not for him for herself, "His body is white like snow. He has long head with no hair. He doesn't have a nose but his eyes and mouth are black. His fingers and toes are black too,” She took a sip from her tea and looked down at her lap.

Terrance frowned, "You're not making fun of me, are you?"

She shook her head, staring at him with those big blue eyes.

Terrance sighed heavily and grabbed a hand through his hair, "What happened to him?"

“He burst. For the first time in my life, I couldn’t move. The sign on my hand became numb,” She looked up at him with the most scared and innocent eyes he had ever seen, “The sign worked against me. That was the scariest thing,”

"Did that man tell you something?"

Zoe’s body froze, looking to the side as she remembered that moment.

“You lost,” The thing was talking but his mouth didn’t move an inch, “Heaven has given up on you,” He continued. His voice was really low but the interesting fact was the language he was speaking in; it was Hebrew.

“No,” She couldn’t get Terry into her mess; not like she did to Chen and Ezekiel, “He didn’t say anything,” She looked up at her friend and lied without regret; besides, she didn’t want to admit it.

Heaven has never been on her side before so whatever they decided, it didn’t matter.