"Disperse forthwith!" The command left my lips with an authority that silenced the chamber. Unexpected even for myself. Old bloody habits…
The Counselor nodded, still in a posture of deference, he released a sigh that carried the weight of unspoken fears. In that moment, the tumult of emotions within him ceased; anger, malice, and the dread of losing my beloved progeny were stilled. As the echo of the final footfall vanished behind the heavy door, the he rose, offering his hand to me.
Some might have deemed the gesture unseemly, yet I accepted, for the vigor of youth had long since fled my limbs.
"How many?" His whisper barely stirred the air.
"Just one," I confessed, a solitary truth amidst a sea of uncertainties.
"Why?" He hesitated, his hand suspended above the bed's drapery, as if unveiling the truth required a courage he was yet to muster.
I remained motionless, not in judgment but in contemplation, for he deserved to hear my thoughts before peering into the veiled abyss.
"She pursued her quarry here, to conclude the hunt she began." His disbelief was palpable.
"That's inconceivable!" He spun towards me, his gaze clouded once more with the storm of his emotions.
"Why is it inconceivable? It is entirely within the realm of possibility. A Shadow, once fixated upon its prey, is relentless, until it completely devastates its prey, absorbing all the essence, power and magic, if any, in the body."
Upon hearing me saying that, the Counselor's eyes betrayed a turmoil of indignation, his very being aflame with silent fury, yet his intellect fought to quell the disbelief my words wrought.
"But she never ventured beyond the inner sanctum, never set foot in Shamble," he protested, clinging to questions whose relevance had faded.
The true imperative was to prevent the Shadow from consuming what remained of the girl's vital spark. Yet, this crucial understanding eluded the Counselor—or perhaps he chose ignorance, or something more sinister was at play.
"I surmise she did leave her father's abode," I continued, "and it stands to reason she visited Greenwood, where she encountered the Shadow that would claim her." A pause lingered as I pondered the anomaly. "Something went awry, and the Shadow failed to consume her essence in entirety."
"Go on…" His entreaty was a testament to his resolve, though I harbored doubts about my own conjectures.
"Perhaps she never again left this sanctuary, paralyzed by fear. Yet, if her secret was known, a mere trinket taken beyond these walls could draw the Shadow forth, seeking its host anew. And it may well have been the venison, which you, Councelor, so hastily attribute to my doing." I mused.
"Do not halt your tale; speak until the end," the Counselor urged, his spirit unwavering as he listened to my speculations—or rather, the musings of a mere huntsman, distinguished only by my ability to perceive the Shadows.
"Yet, even if my theory holds merit, the Shadow I witnessed is no mere predator. Were it so, it would simply seek another vessel to sate its hunger. No, the Shadow journeyed here, drawn by your daughter's plight…"
A revelation struck, as vivid as the memory of my own demise. "It desires her form… as it might serve as a vessel for its dark essence to reborn."
"It seeks her body…" The Counselor's voice was a sore cry, a realization dawning as he rushed back to the bed.