CODEX Part 2: The Secret Child of the Devil
All the Pretty Little Horses

“We’re done!” Zoe exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air.

Iaosur and Eneizar were not as happy as she was.

“Why are you sulking?” She asked the boys.

“You might have had fun but we just messed around with women. It wasn’t fun. I didn’t feel any thrill." Iaosur was the first to respond.

“That’s because they were too shy and bland,” Eneizar’s statement was simply rude.

“I’m curious, what do you think is pretty?”

The demons smirked and walked closer to her.

“Can you get it for us?”

Zoe chuckled, “Depends on what that is.”

The demons became instantly excited. She was very curious since that was something not many knew about evil entities.

“I never imagined I'd see two demons drinking chocolate bubble tea and eating strawberry ice cream with such gusto.”

They were taking a stroll in the park. Eneizar was happily sipping from his bubble tea while Iaosur was licking his ice cream away. Zoe’s whole image of demonic entities altered that day.

“When you’re living as we do, these are very rare.” Iaosur started, shaking his cone in front of her.

“Besides, how can you not replace it pretty? It makes you feel all bubbly inside and they have such bright colours~” Eneizar continued.

Zoe couldn't help but smile at the sight. Two demons looked as innocent as two children during a sunny day in the park with their older sister. She had to remember that her recent state was very different and she needed to return to her real life.

“I learn something new every day with you two,” Zoe muttered to herself, feeling an odd sense of comfort.

“That's because Eneizar can't lie. You would get to know a lot more if you just ask,” Iaosur answered, having heard her comment. "I don't know what you did during that year you were away but practice is more important for someone like you than theory. And the best practice is with us,"

Eneizar rolled his eyes and made shook his finger at Zoe as a negative answer since he was busy sucking the tapioca pearls from his drink, thus finishing it.

"Why can't he lie anyway?" Zoe asked feeling like it was the best time to replace the real answer to her curiosity.

Eneizar glared at Iaosur but it didn't have any effect.

"He lied a lot during his lifetime as a ballerina. Even when he died and fell into Hell, he lied to everyone he met including Mammon. That's why when Eneizar reached his current status, Lucifer took that away from him. Nobody knows how but from that moment on, Eneizar could never lie anymore." Iaosur explained, his eyes sparkling with mischief.

"Is that what you did while you were human? Ballet?" Zoe asked seeing how that was probably the most poignant information she had received on the blond demon.

"Excuse you but I was one of the first ballet dancers in the world. I danced for the Sun King himself! What did you do instead, hm? Kill Jews?" Eneizar defended himself and attacked at the same time.

Zoe's eyes widened in shock and she expected Iaosur to say something, but he didn't.

"Not very nice sharing information about others, is it?" Eneizar added knowing he hit the angst demon really deep.

Trying to change the atmosphere and the subject, Zoe decided to ask another important thing.

"How do we return home?"

Eneizar and Iaosur turned to her, their little fight already in the back of their minds.

"I only had to get the demon back to Hell, although I shouldn't have. Now I'm free to go back, correct?" Zoe asked staring at Eneizar in particular.

Iaosur glanced at the vanity demon, curious about what his answer would be.

"Correct. You are free to do anything you want, Zoe. You don't have to ask us for permission. Especially not him," Eneizar replied, pointing at Iaosur.

"Oh,"

She turned around and took a few steps before she remembered something, “So then, how do I do it?”

The demons chuckled and nudged each other bemusedly.

"Just close your eyes and imagine the place you want to appear in. It has to be very specific and well-contoured in your mind so that you don't happen to land somewhere else," Iaosur explained.

"Sound like Harry Potter but sure," she whispered and did as instructed.

When she opened her eyes, Zoe was in front of her apartment door. She caressed it with a smile on her face and walked forward, hitting her forehead against the metal while doing so.

"Although we can walk through walls and doors, that doesn't apply to your apartment," commented Iasour with a chuckle. It just so happened that they appeared behind her just in time to witness the sight.

"Why not? Both of you literally appeared out of nowhere,"

"We didn't actually. Mehrdir let us in." Iaosur replied before he grabbed her hand and in one fast movement, they got inside her apartment.

"Of course he did," she muttered once Iaosur let go of her hand. "He did everything except tell me the truth."

Eneizar raised an eyebrow and both demons glanced at each other with a knowing glance. It was time for them to leave. However, Eneizar had one last piece of wisdom to share with the commander.

"You know Zoe, none of us is forced to be here. Just because you understand now what your role is, it doesn't make you stronger. You saw glimpses of Hell so you should know that nobody is truly here for human Zoe but for the demon that you are supposed to become. Keep that in mind,"

Well, that little speech did not discourage Zoe and made her feel alone. Not at all...

Night and day were not relevant for ghosts and dark entities and whatever Zoe was at the moment. But it was dark outside and she was sitting on her couch in complete silence. She had almost forgotten how it felt to be alone in a room, with nothing supernatural lurking in the shadows. And yet all this empty space reminded her of the times she spent in the psychiatry ward. It was just...painful.

Zoe closed her eyes and imagined a normal day in her home. She could already see Ezekiel walking out of her room looking for something he lost, Rowan bickering with Iaosur and Chen on the couch, Eneizar shaking his head yet watching everything with amusement while Mehrdir stood near the window, waiting or watching something to come. And there was her ghost friend whom she saved yet hadn't seen in a long time. He would always nag her about the smallest things.

Zoe opened her eyes and felt something drop down her cheeks: she was crying. She bit her lip and tried to stop it from trembling but instead, her whole body started to shake.

After she calmed down, she went to the hospital. Zoe was still not good at appearing but she managed to get in front of the hospital. She didn't have to search for long granted to the pact Ezekiel signed. It was easy to feel his energy and let it lead her to him.

She opened the door slowly and frowned when she saw her best friend connected to an IV machine. She approached him carefully and smiled as soon as she saw his sleeping form.

"I'm sorry, Ezekiel," Zoe whispered, reaching to caress his forehead, "It's my fault. Everything is just my fault."

Her hand moved on his chest and she placed her head down where his heart was. His heartbeat was a sound she never thought would mean so much. Being alive was the most precious thing a human had. Life, be it rich and healthy or poor and sad, was better than death. It was better than anything; the treasure of humanity.

Out of nowhere, she started to sing a lullaby for him, the one she used to listen to when she was young whenever she would sleep over at her grandparents' house. Ezekiel couldn't see or feel her but at least, she could protect him.

Her eyes travelled to his hand and she stopped singing. He cut his right wrist in order to get enough blood for the pact. She turned it around and saw the signature: it was on his forearm. He was going to such lengths just because he wanted to see the dark world so much.

Well, sometimes wishes do come true.

Zoe traced his cut with her finger, healing it to the point it disappeared completely. But she knew she did more than just heal. Ezekiel frowned but didn't wake up while she gave him the worst and best gift of his life.

The next morning, Ezekiel woke up in a very good mood. He moved around while trying to sit up and realized something heavy was on his sheets. For a moment, he had the impression that it was Zoe, but after he rubbed his eyes, she disappeared. He realized he only saw what he wanted to see, probably from the pills.

However, while rubbing his face he noticed something on his forearm. His eyes widened and he jumped off the bed. Right then, Chen entered his room with a bright smile.

"I got the deal!" / "She woke up!" They exclaimed at the same time.

Ezekiel frowned.

"What?"

Chen nodded excitedly. Ezekiel pushed him aside and ran to her room. When he opened the door, he saw a Zoe that had colour in her cheeks and life in her eyes.

"Zoe?" he asked, tearing up at the sight of his best friend standing there with a disgruntled face.

The problem was that Ezekiel came too soon. Zoe couldn't be happy to see him because her mother was there.

"My god, Zoe, what happened to you?" Mrs. Lestrade asked, looking both worried but also an annoyance that had followed Zoe throughout her childhood.

"Doesn't she look happy?" Chen asked, right behind Ezekiel. "I swear, they've been like this ever since Zoe opened her eyes."

"When was that?" Ezekiel asked, his voice low enough so that Mrs. Lestrade wouldn't hear.

"A few hours ago, just as the morning sunrays gleamed into the room," Chen explained, not taking this miraculous awakening of his friends too seriously. "I knew you two will wake up. You always do,"

Ezekiel chuckled and patted his friend on the back before he returned to Zoe.

"Uh, Mrs Lestrade, can I talk to Zoe for a moment?" The brown-haired puppy interfered politely.

"Ah, of course, of course. I need to make a phone call anyway. Always making trouble, this one," Mrs. Lestrade mumbled as she left the room. Chen closed the door behind the older woman and turned to Zoe with wide eyes.

"I can understand you a lot better now," the boy said as he went to her side.

Zoe laughed, her whole demeanour changing immediately. Just seeing Ezekiel safe and well was enough for her.

"You look good," She said as soon as Ezekiel came closer.

"You...scared me," was his answer before he struggled to wrap his arms around her. "I can't really move my arm. It feels heavy for some reason. Maybe I lost too much blood,"

"...not really. If you take the bandage off, you'll see that it's already healed." she decided it was better, to be honest with him from the get-go. "You cut yourself to make a pact with a Prince."

"About that," he let go of her and chuckled nervously, "I thought that if you by any chance died, that was the only way to still see you,"

She sighed and rubbed her forehead, "Zek, I was going to come back anyway. I have to replace the inheritor."

He was still very happy that she returned.

"What about my cut then? Why did it heal? How do you even know?" Ezekiel asked.

"I did it," Zoe replied, not giving much detail.

"So, how was it?" Chen interfered seeing how the chat was growing awkward. "You know, the world down there. How was it?" Chen continued.

She rubbed her chin and tried to remember. Most of her memories became distorted after she got back in her body.

"Quite dark and blurry," She answered thoughtfully. "I don't remember it clearly. It's like this weird part in my mind that my brain can't comprehend. But I know for sure that I felt scared." She said, a brief memory of Lucifer's eyes zooming in her mind.

Ezekiel and Chen glanced at each other before turning to her.

"Why did it take you so long to sign the contract?"

Zoe clicked her tongue and tried to remember but she got a monstrous headache and stopped.

"I don't really remember. We should ask Iaosur and Eneizar." she said.

"What about Mehrdir? Did you see him?" Ezekiel asked a very good question.

Zoe scoffed, having this feeling that Mehrdir was definitely not there during her short trip to Hell. It was disappointing.

"Well, he is not important right now. You are." She said with a wide smile, but something was visibly bothering her.

"Zoe, are you alright?”

It was the second day of her hospitalization as a living patient and she was overwhelmed. Except for her mother, who spent way too much time and money on her, there were her friends who had their own curiosities and ghosts.

“My title doesn’t seem to help me at all,” she muttered as she shifted in complete discomfort.

Ezekiel raised an eyebrow and leaned back. They still didn’t get rid of what they brought in her room. All the games and furniture made the VIP room look very small.

“Why?”

She looked to the side, at the kid playing on Chen’s phone. That was the main reason why he couldn’t finish the level. On the other side, there was this cute guy who was waiting patiently for her to get him to Hell because he sinned. If being handsome was a sin, then-

“Dammit! Why can’t I finish this level? This game is stupid! I swear it’s broken!”

Her eyes moved to the kid. He didn’t seem to have any problem with explaining to Chen what he was doing wrong...if only Chen could hear him.

“You have a kid nagging you. It seems you have to push the buttons faster and incline the phone to the side to get to the higher diamonds.” She raised a questioning eyebrow before continuing, “You’re playing Cookie Monster.”

Chen narrowed his eyes at her and brought the phone close to his chest.

“Don’t judge what you can’t understand.” He said warily.

She sighed and turned to the handsome guy, “I’m not an angel and your sin is not too grave. Go look for an angel somewhere.”

The handsome ghost disappeared, thankfully. She sighed heavily and laid her head back.

“This is even worse than before,” she groaned.

“Oh, by the way. Isn’t it very silent?”

Ezekiel and Zoe looked curiously at Chen.

“In what way silent? There are hundreds of ghosts in this hospital.”

“But where is Andy? You had him around, right? And where are the demons? They haven’t appeared in six months.”

That was a good question. Ezekiel was wondering the same thing.

“Eneizar’s deal ended. He can come and go as he wants. Iaosur doesn’t seem to have a reason to come by anymore since he doesn’t have a contractor anymore. Mehrdir’s been missed in action and I don’t know anything about Andrew.” Zoe barely finished her explanation when the door to her room barged open.

“Excuse me but who are you?” Ezekiel asked politely, just in case it was someone from the Lestrade family.

The man smirked and looked at Zoe from across the room. His eyes were familiar, the hatred in them seemed to trigger both fear and worry in Zoe's being. Her eyes widened and she straightened her position on the bed when she figured out who that man resembled.

“No way,”

The man raised an eyebrow and entered the room as if he were the next Louis XIV.