Walking with Shadows: Part II, Chapter Seven
The safest room in Ythoriss is no longer safe. As Captain Meydoka fights to break into the tower, a mysterious stranger calmly carries out a plan no one saw coming.
The Capture
The Senator had not moved since the stranger appeared.
The chamber had been empty.
He was certain of it.
Now a man stood between him and the only door, wrapped in a cloak so black it seemed to drink the torchlight. Beneath the broad brim of his hat, a pair of pale spectacles reflected the room, concealing everything behind them.
Outside, boots thundered up the tower stairs.
Captain Meydoka.
Relief washed over the old Senator.
“You won’t leave this tower alive,” he said, forcing confidence into a voice that no longer believed its own words.
The Shagal regarded him for a long moment.
“You should have listened to him.”
A heavy plank slid quietly into place across the door.
The Senator’s heart lurched.
He stumbled backward.
“Guards!”
His shout echoed through the chamber.
Almost immediately came the pounding of fists against the other side of the door.
“Senator!”
The latch rattled violently.
“Stand clear!”
The Shagal paid the commotion no attention.
Instead, he reached calmly into his cloak and withdrew a small black cube no larger than his palm.
Ancient markings shimmered faintly across its surface.
His fingers traced a slow pattern over the stone.
The cube unfolded.
A faint hiss escaped from within.
Then another.
The sound became a buzz.
Hundreds of tiny wings filled the room.
The swarm poured into the air like living smoke.
The Senator barely had time to raise an arm before the insects settled across his skin.
One sting.
Then another.
His legs buckled.
His voice failed him before another cry could escape.
Beyond the barricaded door, wood splintered beneath repeated blows.
“Again!” Meydoka shouted.
“Break it down!”
Inside the chamber, the swarm hovered silently around its victim.
The Senator remained fully conscious.
Unable to move.
Unable even to blink.
The Shagal stepped forward, studying him with clinical precision.
Satisfied.
He raised two fingers to his lips.
A single clear whistle drifted through the room.
Every insect froze.
A second note followed.
The swarm collapsed.
Thousands of tiny bodies struck the stone floor together, lifeless.
Silence returned.
The Shagal caught the Senator before he struck the ground, lifting him effortlessly across one shoulder.
At that precise moment—
The door exploded inward.
Captain Meydoka was first through the opening.
Crossbows rose instinctively.
“Hold!” Meydoka roared.
“You’ll hit the Senator!”
The guards hesitated.
That heartbeat was enough.
The Shagal was already moving.
He crossed the chamber faster than any man should have been able to.
“Window!” Meydoka shouted.
But he already knew.
Too late.
The cloaked figure reached the open archway without slowing, the Senator draped over his shoulder as though he weighed nothing at all.
Then both vanished into the night.
Meydoka reached the window only seconds later.
He looked down into darkness.
No body.
No rope.
No grappling hook.
No sound.
Nothing.
The Senator…
was gone.
Next: Read Part II, Chapter Eight
