“And they need to neutralise Arondight to succeed,” I added.
“It would seem so. They believe it’s resurfaced. With it in our grasp, they would be powerless to stop Light from winning the war, even with their advances.”
“So, what will you do now?”
“Every day I do what I must to atone,” she murmured, placing her hand on the glass. “I’ve been entrusted to protect the Codex.” She glanced at me, her eyes brimming with sadness. It took me a moment to realise she was asking for my forgiveness.
I shook my head. “If your intentions weren’t pure, the Codex would have outed you. I know I’m still new here, and I’ve got a long way to go, but that’s enough for me. The Codex already decided, and as a Natural, I will abide by its choice.”
“Yes,” she said, her lips curving into a smile, “you are a Natural.”
I smiled, a surge of something that felt a lot like belonging pumped through my veins. This was home—the Sanctum, the people within it, the things we fought for… I belonged to them now. They were my burdens, too. Being a Natural was my calling.
“Will you explain something to me?” I asked, tucking my hair behind my ear.
Greer nodded.
“Where did the Balan go? I thought Infernals were the only kind of demon who were made of smoke.”
“No, they’re not the only kind,” she explained. “The Balan can possess, but it can also construct its own body. Their kind is arrogant, so it’s likely hiding someplace, reconstructing what you took from it, so we have time before it resurfaces.”
“Reconstuct from what?”
“Corpses.”
“That’s kind of gross.” I shuddered, regretting that I’d even asked.
Greer smiled. “Yes, it is.”
The Balan didn’t look like a mouldy corpse, so I assumed it used its version of Light to hold himself together. I didn’t want to know more about Frankenstein, so I shoved away the repulsive image and focused on more lingering problems.
Glancing at the Codex, I asked, “Was it harmed?”
Greer shook her head. “No.”
“Were you?”
“The Infernal didn’t alter me,” she confirmed. “If it had—”
“You wouldn’t have been able to touch it.”
“No.” She glanced at me. “But you and I know the Codex wasn’t their main target.”
“The cat is out of the bag, I guess,” I drawled. “I hate to break it to you, Greer, but I know less about my funky Light than you do.”
“You’ve been touched by Arondight,” she declared.
“You sound so sure about it.”
“It’s the only logical conclusion. Your parents died to protect you, and the whereabouts of the blade.”
I sighed, the weight of all the revelations pressing down on my shoulders like a tonne of bricks. Where did it all end? Would it end? The Naturals had been fighting a war that was over a thousand years old. It was likely I’d never in my lifetime see its end. The thought was rather depressing, but if Wilder and Greer were right and I had come into contact with Arondight, then maybe I could help end the violence and banish demon-kind forever.
“What now?” I asked, glancing at Greer.
“We need to destroy the Human Convergence Project, find Arondight, then put an end to this war once and for all.”
I made a face. “That’s a tall order.”
“Small steps, Scarlett,” she said. “Wars aren’t won in a day.”
“No,” I murmured, glancing at the Codex, “no, they aren’t.”
* * *
The Sanctum was a hive of activity as I made my way from the conservatory to the infirmary.
Naturals and tradesmen were busy cleaning up the mess—thankfully the demon corpses were removed before the builders came in with their crews—and repairs were slowly being made. I wasn’t sure how letting in outside people worked, but I assumed Light had something to do with it. That alteration thing would be getting a hammering at the end of the workday, though.
The infirmary was buzzing when I walked in. The medical staff was a skeleton crew as it was, and they rushed back and forth, tending to everything from small lacerations and broken bones, to full-blown possession checks. It was a sight, that was for sure, and it didn’t even include the Light-enhanced antibiotics for cuts that’d been infected with lesser demon gore.
All the Naturals who’d been present in the library were enduring scans and blood tests to make sure they hadn’t been possessed, and everyone else had turned up to make sure they weren’t infected, either. After Jackson’s mutation, no one was taking any chances.
Ramona waved at me as I made my way down the row of beds.
“Scarlett,” she said, “how are you?”
“Fine. Thank you for the…” I rubbed my neck, grateful the bruising from the Balan’s choke hold had faded. “Whatever it was that you did.”
She nodded and gestured to the end of the room where a blue curtain surrounded a bed. “He’s still there. Or at least I think he is. He’s got a terrible habit of defying doctor’s orders.”
“I think it’s just orders in general,” I said with a smile.
I made my way towards the back, surprised to find I was slightly nervous. After all we’d been through? Nerves were the last thing I should be feeling.
Peeking around the curtain, my gaze locked with Wilder’s. He was lying on the bed, his shirt off and a thick white bandage wrapped around his middle.
“You can come in,” he said with a rasp to his voice.
Sliding through the curtains, I stood beside his bed, staring at the bandages.
“I’ll be fine,” Wilder said. “Ramona stitched me up.”
“How many?”
He shrugged. “Fifteen.”
“Cool. Chicks dig scars.”
His lips quirked.
“I see they washed you,” I declared with a pout.
“I got a sponge bath,” he retorted with a sly wink.
“I brought you a present,” I declared, ignoring the reemergence of his sharp wit. “Ramona said you’ll have to stay in bed a while, so I thought you might need some company.”
Wilder narrowed his eyes as I tugged the toy out of my pocket. I set the troll doll down
