Reaper's Heart

Chapter 1

Kaiethious Lucian and his battalion had been stationed in the Twisted Brook Forest for a little more than two months now. His father, King Richard, had sent him and his men on a stakeout mission to keep an eye on a demon camp that was said to be set up at the heart of the forest. Everything had been quiet so far, but that could easily change in the blink of an eye.

     It was around midnight when the peaceful silence of the sleeping forest finally broke. Kai was inside his tent enjoying a deep sleep when the demons finally decided to attack the angel's camp. He was awoken by the sounds of battle and the smell of burning cloth. 

     He quickly jumped off his cot and hastily put on his armor. He rushed towards the tent opening and hurriedly grabbed his sheathed sword on his way out. As he tore through the flaps of his tent, his eyes were greeted with the sight of his men clashing with the demonic forces. Bodies from both sides littered the bloodstained grass. Flaming arrows were flying through the starry sky, setting fire to the tents and piercing the armor of his men. 

     He quickly snapped out of his trance and drew his sword, ready to throw himself into battle. He raced through the clearing, slashing his blade. Every swing took another life and his armor quickly became saturated with the oozing blood of his enemies, but there were far too many to handle. It seemed as if for every demon he killed, two more took its place. He was quickly running out of steam.

     An enemy archer caught sight of the tired prince and fired an arrow in his direction. The archer's aim was true, and the projectile found its mark. The weary prince screamed in pain and dropped his blade. He fell to his knees, clutching his arm. He pulled his hand away to see that it was covered in hot, sticky blood. The dart had penetrated his armor and was deeply embedded into his shoulder.

     Kai's vision began to get blur, and his breathing became labored. He was on the verge of passing out when a hand suddenly gripped his uninjured shoulder. He looked up to see the terrified face of his second in command, Fin. Fin seemed to be frantically saying something, but Kai couldn't hear a word of it. He was tired, and the growing darkness at the edges of his vision seemed so inviting. He wanted so badly to give in to the temptation of sleep. However, a hard slap gave him a rude awakening.

     "Sir..... Sir!.... SIR! Can you hear me now sir?" yelled Fin.

     "W-what? Oh, its you Fin. Yes I can hear you now." replied the loopy prince.

     "Listen to me, we are severely outnumbered! We can't hold them back any longer, I need you to get out of here, now! Find a place to hide in the trees, I'll come back for you as soon as I can!" said Fin while pushing Kai to his feet and shoving him forward.    

     Kai stood still for a moment, confused at what was just asked of him, but it didn't last long. He quickly collected himself and ran towards the thick trees to his right. He paused at the edge and took one last look at his burning camp before disappearing into the brush.

     He ran for several minutes before collapsing. His shoulder was throbbing as the arrow was still nestled in his muscle. He was getting dizzier and the blurry vision had returned. Darkness creeped up from the edges of his view and threatened to consume him. He looked up at the inky night sky, lost in thought as the stars began to fade away. He waited a moment more, then gave in to the relief of unconsciousness.