Dimokre Chronicles Book 2: Sarah's Fate

Chapter 1 - The Fallen King and the Scared Children

"Michael...?"

The black and white world snapped to vivid color. Michael found himself swaying, sucking a metallic taste off his teeth. He stood over Kael, who stared up at him with wide, green eyes.

Michael counted all Kael's bruises and cuts, until his eyes landed on the dried tears smeared over Kael's face. His weak body looked hardly able to support itself. Anger burned inside Michael, recounting every time Kael's been hurt and scared lately. Kael's fairy certainly had her work cut out for her. She tried her best, but she only managed to finish healing his cuts enough to make sure he didn't bleed out.

"Michael, are you okay?" Kael scrambled to his feet, wincing as he did. His body leaned—perhaps, fell—into Michael's legs. His little hands grabbed Michael's.

Michael squeezed them, firm and supportive. He knelt down and hugged him tightly. "Who gives a shit about that; are you okay?"

Kael sniffled, burying his face in Michael's shoulder. Michael clutched him close and stood up, glancing around. Kael's chin pressed against Michael as he nodded. "I'm okay now, and I do."

Michael smiled and ruffled his hair. Kael still looked scared, but at least he was safe.

The only other person still conscious was a little angel girl. Her lavender dress stained with mud and blood, but she didn't look hurt herself. When Michael's eyes focused on her, she stood up suddenly, trembling. Michael eyed her.

With his legs around Michael's waist, Kael pulled his head away and looked down at her. "Ari, it's okay. He's okay now."

Ari shook her head, hugging her arms. She pointed to a bloody body further away from them. Michael set Kael down and went over by himself to investigate it, ignoring her protesting squeaks. His eyes widened.

At first, Michael thought it was a wild animal that a spirit decided to abandon without eating everything. Instead, it was a huge man with bloodied, torn wings sprawled around the body, bent and misshapen. The chest was ripped apart by... claws? teeth? The chest worked, somehow still supporting life.

Is this... the devil king?

He must've been seized and dragged down in mid-flight. Who... or what could've reached him from such a height that the wings would get mangled this way?

Ari whimpered, stumbling over to her father.

"Oh, I don't think you'll want to see—" Michael began, but she ignored him.

Ari collapsed next to the devil king, picking up his hand. His chest somehow moved, and his eyes snapped open. One look at Michael, and he yelled something in his language, and he flew off, followed by Ari and his soldiers, most of them also a bloody mess. Some even looked unconscious, with their head lulling around as their wings robotically flapped.

Michael watched them all fly up and away, squinting through the dust they stirred up. Kael clung tightly to his leg, clasping his hands over his ears to block out the clapping thunder the wings produced.

"Kael, what—" Michael swallowed. "—happened? What thing did that? Are you seriously okay?"

Kael pulled away, sniffling and looking into his eyes. He looked so scared. He still trembled.

Michael sighed. "Let's just get to the healing pond. We'll do questions later."

Kael nodded and buried his face into Michael's shoulder again. "I'm glad you're here."

Michael bit his lip, hugging his little brother tighter, and he carried Kael over to kneel down and check on the angel boy's pulse. Kael stood, wobbling and leaning against Michael's shoulder, and Michael put an arm around Kael to make sure he wouldn't fall. He barely felt the angel's pulse. Michael sighed, calculating how he'd carry two boys while feeling pretty weak and exhausted himself.