The Chronicles of Protan (Book 1): The Shadowed Man

Chapter 29

A minute flicker of light spun at the end of the stone hallway of the catacomb beneath the dungeons of Sar’s palace. The twinkle’s spin rotated rapidly, expanding gradually, the ball growing larger with its signature colour of red shimmering and lighting up the pitch black hallway.The archway progressively formed replacing the ever expanding ball of vibrant, scarlet light. Once it reached its full form, it hummed and swayed in place. A second after, a tied up and gagged body was thrown through the vortex, landing with a grunt and painful thud on his left shoulder.

Krush came stalking through, surveying the stone hallway with lowered eyes, his armourpatched with blood from chest to toe. He stood silently for a moment, and said in an undertone over his shoulder, “Obey. Follow.”

His accomplice maneuvered through the portal obediently, its unnerving expressionless gaze and empty eyesa contrast to Krush’s concentration. The captive Sergeant Guard wriggled before them, and Krush knelt reaching down speaking first, “You saw what we did to your colleagues. I am going to remove this gag, and I swear on my master’s life, that I will remove your tongue with my bare hands if you make any sound that is not in response to my questions. Do you understand?”

The Guard grimaced, much to his surprise, but he nodded after a moment submitting. As Krush removed the gag, the solider immediately spat under his breath: “When the emperor finally gets his hands on you—“

He was cut off with a single punch to the throat, a blow solid enough to slam the back of his head to the stone and loosen a molar, but most reflexively, his mouth hung wide open. Krush slammed a hand to his jaw to keep it open, and proceeded to shove his fingers into the orifice, gripped firmly on the muscle as the soldier grunted and fought, and ripped the organ free from his mouth in a tearing, blood spraying motion. The soldier grunted and coughed in agony, and communicated in no more than inaudible moans.  Krush’s glare was cold and callous, a light grin visible.“I have no need for this,” he said gesturing to the oozing tongue in his hand toward him. He threw it to his right, the organ hitting the wall in a wet slap before he continued. “You will lead me to the Archive Chamber.”

Krushstood and pulled him to his feet, mouth spilling blood as he walked, the pain still clearly visible on his expression. Behind them, the portal was gradually swallowed by the very atmosphere that created it, allowing Krush and the accomplice’s visual ability to take full effect once more.

The catacomb was unnervingly still, the type of silence that crept beneath one’s skin, eerie cracks and whistling breezes that would send chills through most. Its stairs ascended to the second lower levelof the dungeons, the stench of death and fecal matter filling the air, and weakened prisoners moaning quietly, hawking, grunting, and others consuming their own bodily excretions. Krush’s rage triggered at the memory of being locked in the very hallway not days ago, and slammed a boot into soldier ahead in attempt to hurry him.

Krush’s enhanced eyes wandered his surroundings in the dark seeing the silhouettes of the half dead prisoners and rodents, but it was the dungeons corners and loose stone that interested him most. He saw the dull glow of the stashed items he had left during his original search of the Archive Chamber, and nodded in satisfaction as they reached the open grassy courtyard at ground level, his eyes searching for the same hidden stockpiles from ground to wall, the thick darkness a testament to the late hour.

They were lead to the rear entrance of the throne room, and it was here that Krush caught movement in the corner of his eye. He gagged the soldier from behind with one hand and pulled his companion with the other to a collection of barrels close to the stone wall. As they crouched, he whispered to the soldier, “Make a sound, and this time I rip your throat from you.”

Once the soldier nodded warily, Krush quietly cursed, perturbed by the fact that bodies still moved around the area after he calculated with such accuracy as to when the patrols eased at the palace. He remained quiet and listened intently.