Story of Kings

Chapter 16

Evelyn and Amelia dashed through the streets as they ran from the Angel barracks, neither having known of the alarm before it was too late. The Angel Alarm would be sure to have several angels on their trail quickly and Evelyn did not want that confrontation, she did not want to have to make that decision. They needed to get as far away as possible before-

A second, piercing alarm sounded out, one much worse than the white alarm they had triggered. The sound alone was enough to drive a chill of fear through her. Stopping the two of them in their tracks, Evelyn pulled Amelia aside in a dark spot in an alleyway before looking for the second signal. An ancient dread filled her when she spotted the eerie red light hanging in the air, multiple city blocks away, a signal reserved for extermination orders. But- it was in the opposite direction her and Amelia had gone and no angel over there could have known of them. What was happening?

Evelyn shook free of her thoughts; at that moment it didn't matter. It was good timing and a distraction they sorely needed. "Come on, let's go," Evelyn said in a soft whisper.

"But that red light, what's happening?" Amelia said back at an octave that made Evelyn wince. She had poked her head around, too, to see what was happening.

The older angel dragged smaller along. "Doesn't matter, it's good timing. Another god-king's angel causing havoc." It wasn't. Red angel lights were not used so lightly, but in that moment, she just needed the younger angel to get moving.

The two of them dashed from cover to cover but it very quickly became unnecessary. The first few teams of angels to pass them might have seen them if they hadn't hidden but as more and more angel lights went up further and further away, any angel to pass them were flying high up in the air with their attention focused on their destination. After a dozen angels flew overhead without so much as a glance down, Evelyn became more belligerent with their escape, practically dragging the smaller girl behind.

"What's- what's happening?" Amelia said between ragged breaths. "What do the lights mean?"

Evelyn furrowed her brow as she continued to look ahead. "It's a distraction and we need to keep moving," she said back. Did Amelia really not know? She could understand some ignorance from the younger angel, but had she really not been told what the angel lights meant?

"But I've never seen everyone freak out like this!" The younger angel said in a gasp and pulled back with her arm to slow them down. "Why are we running like this? I- I can't breathe."

Growling to herself, Evelyn pulled the smaller girl down and hid behind some crates stacked by a back door. "You lived at an angelic barracks, how are you out of breath?"

Amelia seemed to shrink at the question. "They didn't want me strong enough to run," she said in nearly a whisper.

Evelyn winced and chastised herself, her panic was getting to her. "Sorry, I didn't mean that." She then exhaled deeply, reigning in her emotions and focusing on the other girl. "I'm surprised you don't know what the angel lights mean, all the god-kings use them. They send different signals via light and sometimes sound."

"And what does a red light mean?" The younger angel said between breaths, leaning up against the wall to steady herself.

Evelyn just shook her head and glanced around the corner of the crates. She couldn't see the lights where they were, but they continued to go up, their piercing screams continuing to sound out further and further away. "It doesn't really have a set meaning, other than kill at all costs. It's a signal not used lightly, a red light goes up and it demands that all angels do everything they can to kill the target, no matter their allegiance."

Amelia's brow furrowed, "that doesn't make sense," she said as she looked to Evelyn. "God-kings only fight other god-kings, angels fight angels."

Evelyn looked upon Amelia for a short moment before she responded. "Not always. The origins of the signals are ancient, back in a time where there were races that could challenge us angels and even the god-kings. Red angel lights were reserved for threats so terrifying that when used, it was a matter of survival to kill the target. Even for the god-kings."