Dark Descent: The Arondight Codex - Book One, R Nicole [best feel good books TXT] 📗

that invaded Earth, and those battles were the basis of the Arthurian legends, but the enemy wasn’t gone for good. When the demons inevitably rose again, they caught the Naturals unawares. The scourge overran Camelot, and all those within were wiped off the map. Excalibur was shattered, the Naturals were splintered, and the demonic horde has been on Earth ever since.”

Greer had told me about the delicate balance between the two forces when I’d first arrived at the Sanctum. Over a thousand years had passed, and the Naturals had never been able to fully recover their power. I gathered they needed Excalibur and Arondight, and since the former was supposedly shattered, I understood why they wanted to find Arondight so badly.

“The Holy Grail?” I asked, thinking about the stories I knew.

“They were searching for Arondight, not the Grail.”

“Oh… What about before?” I wondered. “Where did the Naturals come from?”

Wilder shrugged. “This is all we know. Our origins are lost.”

I frowned as a wave of sadness washed over me. To not know where your people came from must be awful. I knew all about that and knowing that the history of the Naturals before me was just as hazy didn’t fill me with the reassurance I was craving.

Instead of wallowing, I changed the subject. “Where does the Codex come in? I asked Greer about it the first time I was here, but she didn’t say much.”

“The Codex was created in the ashes of Camelot,” Wilder explained. “It’s the only record we have of our faith, history, and origins. It contains all our secrets, our triumphs… and our failures.” He gestured to a third painting that depicted men and women overlooking an ornate tome on a table. Rays of light shone from its pages, marking it as a holy relic. “It is protected here, under the care of Greer. She was appointed to decipher and govern its power so we might live to fight another day.”

“What’s with you and Greer?” I asked.

“There’s nothing with me and Greer.”

I rolled my eyes and glanced away, studying the sword in the Lady of the Lake painting. He challenged her at every turn, was abrasive as hell, and if I wasn’t mistaken, she secretly liked it. The notion of a forbidden affair popped into my mind, and I was taken aback by the pang of jealousy that stabbed me in the heart.

“We like to push each other’s buttons, Purples,” he shot back. “Challenging authority gets me off.”

Yeah, got him off inside her.

I swallowed hard, brushing away my stupid hormones and turned to face him. “So what now, boss? Do I have to write an essay about the history of the Naturals?”

Wilder smirked and walked away, gesturing for me to follow. “In these rooms are paintings of notable Naturals and the battles fought over the last thousand years. This is our past, and it shouldn’t be forgotten, but we have the future to worry about. Things are changing, the balance is tipping, and we need to be ready.”

I clenched my fists and nodded, though a twist of dread tightened my stomach. I’d seen some confronting things in my journey to the Sanctum, but something told me those were nothing compared to what else was lurking out there.

Wilder led me downstairs to the gym, my footsteps dogged by images of demons and burning castles. Were things really that dire? I didn’t understand how demons could exist while no one knew about them.

As I weaved past a weight machine, I was suddenly aware that I was being watched. Forced to cross the room and bear the brunt of curious stares from a few early risers, I focused on Wilder’s back. I didn’t like being the anomaly, and I especially bristled at the thought of being the subject of the Sanctum’s gossip. I wished Romy had kept that tidbit to herself.

Before I panicked and broke into a full-on sprint, Wilder closed us in a private room, cutting off my escape route. At least we were alone. There were so many questions I wanted to ask him—like why my Light was a funky colour, whose side was the right side, and was I in some kind of danger from within the Sanctum. The mention of conspiracies and secrets hidden in my past were burning a hole in my ‘need-to-know’ pocket.

Blowing out a sigh of relief, I studied the room. Racks of weapons lined one wall, and I approached them, all the pointy bits intimidating as hell.

“These are the basic tools of a Natural,” Wilder said, gesturing to the array. “While we have few specialised weapons that mortally wound demons, it’s beneficial to learn how to fight with everything and anything.”

I stood in front of a display of ornate hilts. Some were pure metal while others were wrapped with leather, but all of them had a cross guard and pommel like a traditional sword would.

“These are arondight blades?”

He nodded. “There are several styles. While any Natural can activate one, hilts are forged to fit the grip of their owners. They are a very personal weapon.”

“So, I’ll get my own?” I asked, running my fingers across the hilts.

“In time.” He nodded to the next rack. “These daggers are made out of cold iron. When pierced in the correct fashion, demons are forced out of the possessed.”

“Cold iron? What’s that? You refrigerate it first?”

“No, it means it’s iron mined from a meteorite that fell to Earth.”

“Why is it cold then?”

Wilder pinched the bridge of his nose. “It’s not literally cold, Scarlett.”

I snorted and picked up a dagger, feeling the weight of it in my palm. Wilder must’ve used one of these on Blond Tips that fateful night outside 8-bit.

“When do I get to learn how to use them?”

“Not today.” Wilder snatched the dagger out of my hand. “So far, you’ve proven yourself to be nothing but a Mary Sue, and quite frankly, I call bullshit.”

“That’s insulting,” I said. “I’m pretty sure I can’t do everything, thank you very much. If anything, I’m Scully and