Midnight Shadow

by Laurel O'Donnell

  In the dull light from the distant candle, Bria saw Kenric open a cell door.

  She tried to pull away from him, tried to free her wrist, but his grip was relentless.

  “And keep in mind you wear only a chemise now,” Kenric propelled her into the dark dungeon with a tug of his wrist. “It will be a short discussion.”

  Bria landed on the floor, her hand skidding in some grime. A bolt of pain seared through the wound in her shoulder.

  “I want the name of the Midnight Shadow,” he called, slamming the door shut behind her.

  Bria rose and raced for the cell door. Through a small barred window, she could see the candlelight flickering on the table. Bria grabbed the bars and shook them frantically. He couldn’t leave her in here! He couldn’t leave her alone in the dungeon!

  Then Kenric bent near the candle. The light disappeared with a quick puff of his foul breath. Blackness surrounded her. It was so complete and so thick she couldn’t see her own hands on the bars before her face. Utter despair swept through her. How had this happened? How had it come to this point? Overcome by fear, she began to tremble.

  Something shifted behind her. Bria turned slowly, eyeing the darkness.

  She wasn’t alone.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Bria stared at the darkness, listening intently. Had she heard rats?

  Another shuffle. No, rats didn’t shuffle.

  “Is someone there?” she called, pressing her back to the door.

  “Did he say the Midnight Shadow?” a hoarse voice called from the darkness.

  Bria peered into the blackness, trying desperately to see the owner of the voice, to make out a shape. Was this one of Kenric’s traps? “Who’s there?” Bria demanded. The blackness was so thick she couldn’t see anything.

  Another shuffle, the sound now louder, nearer. Whoever was in the darkness moved closer to her.

  “Are they looking for the Midnight Shadow?” The female voice, now a little stronger, sounded strangely familiar.

  “Yes,” Bria replied quietly, confused. Trepidation ran along her spine to her neck, sending tingles of apprehension along her shoulders.

  There was a long moment of silence, a moment as quiet as the cell was dark. Bria thought she heard a moan from somewhere down the hall, but she couldn’t be sure it wasn’t from the person before her.

  “Who are you?” the voice asked.

  “My name is Bria.”

  “Bria?” the voice queried in disbelief. “Bria?”

  Bria stared into the darkness. She knew that voice. But it couldn’t be! She could barely form the name on her trembling lips. “Mary?”

  Suddenly, something knocked into her, pressing against her. Arms wrapped around her shoulders. “Oh, Bria, Bria,” the small form sobbed.

  Bria lifted trembling hands to her friend’s face, touched her hair. Mary was alive! She touched Mary’s wet cheeks, her forehead, trying to convince herself this was real, that Mary was alive and this wasn’t some wonderful dream. But as Bria stroked Mary’s hair, feeling thick knots in the strands, she realized this might very well be a nightmare.

  Bria held her close, putting her face against Mary’s wet, tear-streaked cheek. “Oh, Mary!” Bria gasped. “Mary.”

  She was alive! And Bria had left her. She had abandoned Mary to Kenric as surely as Terran had abandoned her. “I’m so sorry,” Bria sobbed over and over.

  The two women collapsed onto the ground, crying and holding each other.

  ***

  Terran shifted in his seat, staring at the fire. Its flickering tongues snapped like whips. With a sigh, he hung his head forward into his hands. How had everything gone so wrong? He should be enjoying his wife, kissing those delectable lips, spreading her thighs, teaching her how to make love slowly and thoroughly. Instead, he’d handed her over to Kenric to question. Terran knew his cousin had a penchant for cruelty.

  He rose and took a step toward the dungeon. Then he came up short, his back straightening. Bria had brought this on herself. He’d been willing to make the marriage work, but she’d refused. With those wide eyes and full lips, she’d denied him. And if she wouldn’t tell him the Midnight Shadow’s identity, then Kenric was his only hope. After what had happened with Odella, Terran could never allow any man to come between him and his wife, especially a criminal who was stealing from him.

  Terran groaned softly and threw himself back into his chair. Was this only about his pride? No. It was a matter of trust. How could she take the criminal’s side against his? How could she think he’d treat his people cruelly and unjustly? He was certain they were fine. Kenric took care of that for him. It had freed up his time for tournaments and jousting, what he really loved, what he was really interested in -- until now.

  “Darling.”

  Terran stiffened at Kathryn’s voice. He hadn’t thought of her the entire day. His mind had been occupied by Bria.

  “You look terrible,” Kathryn said, resting her hand on his shoulder. “Why haven’t you come to see me?”

  “I have a wife,” Terran replied gruffly.

  Kathryn laughed huskily. “Most men do. That doesn’t stop them.”

  Terran slowly turned to face her. “I am not most men.”

  Kathryn straightened. “You love her?” she asked in surprise.

  “It doesn’t matter if I love her or not,” Terran replied. “She is my wife.”

  “But I can offer you so much more!”

  Terran stared at Kathryn. Her eyes had once been the most brilliant blue he’d ever seen, until he’d seen Bria’s. Kathryn’s hair was lush and golden and combed to glittering perfection. But he preferred the way Bria’s dark hair shone with streaks of red, as if her inner fire permeated her entire being. And the lock that curled down over her soft, smooth cheek in innocent beauty. And her boldness, her vibrancy, her passion for justice.

  All the qualities a lord should despise in a wife. Terran liked them. He liked Bria. Very much.

  Mistaking his regard, Kathryn licked her lips and ran a hand down her side to her hip.

  Terran rose to tower over her.

  Kathryn accomplished a practiced swoon against him.

  Terran’s arms came up to capture her. He knew he was not mistaking the victory in Kathryn’s half-closed eyes. But this time, the victory spoils were nothing he had any desire to claim. Terran set her aside and stepped past her.

  “Where are you going?” Kathryn demanded.

  “Where I should have gone from the beginning.” He paused and turned to her. “Pack your things, Kathryn. I’m sending you back to your father.” He whirled away quickly so as not to hear her pleadings.

  Terran stalked down the steps to the dungeon. I’m just going down to see how the questioning is proceeding, he told himself. Kenric liked no one, including himself, to interrupt his interrogations. It was one of Kenric’s favorite pastimes, that and counting gold in the treasure room.

  Terran stepped into the first guard’s room. The man on duty quickly straightened out of his chair at seeing him. “Lord Knowles,” he said stiffly, trying to hide the dice he’d been rolling.

  “Where is Sheriff Kenric?” Terran asked.

  The guard’s brows lowered over clear brown eyes. “He left hours ago, m’lord, and hasn’t been back.”

  Terran frowned. “Did he take Lady Bria with him?”

  “No, m’lord,” the man answered. “She’s in the first cell.”

  Outrage speared through Terran like a lance. Bria in a cell?

  “Open it,” he commanded. As the guard moved to obey, Terran realized he shouldn’t be surprised. He had given Kenric free rein to question her. He supposed throwing her in the dungeon for a night wasn’t going to hurt her any. Then why was he clenching his fists so tightly they hurt?

  The guard grabbed a torch from the wall and led the way. Terran followed the man deeper into the dungeon. The creeping darkness was held at bay by the light of the torch. With each step, the stillness of the dungeon surrounded
Terran in an eerie silence.

  The guard led him down a flight of steps and past the second, deserted guard post. If they’d held an important person, someone who might inspire a rescue attempt, this post would be manned.

  The guard moved to the first cell. He paused once to glance at Terran before sliding the bolt aside and swinging open the door. Terran stepped past him into the cell. He could see nothing until the guard shoved the torch forward and the light seeped into the dank, small room. The dirt floor was partly mud, damp from a continuous drip falling from the stone ceiling above. The cold stone walls were slick with mold and fungus.

  Something erupted from the darkness, hitting Terran in the back, shoving him into the darkness. A wild demon attacked him, hitting his back with a rain of blows, screeching madly like some wild beast. Terran whirled on the witch, but received a blow to his face. He grabbed the thin arms striking at him, holding them back. The small hands were curved into claws. He tried to see into the wild thing’s face, but the darkness was too thick. It took all his effort to hold her away from him.

  Fear knotted Terran’s stomach. Was this Bria? Had Kenric changed her so much in but a few hours? He’d seen it happen before.

  But as the guard stepped forward to pull the woman from Terran, the light washed over her face. Through the thick, knotted hair, Terran saw she wasn’t Bria. He shoved her away from him. His eyes quickly scanned the cell and came upon another woman. She was curled up in a far corner, long brown hair splayed out around her head, and had obviously just been awakened.

  Terran recognized her immediately. Bria. His heart surged with concern as she began to lift herself up onto her elbows. Had the wild woman harmed her? Terran wondered frantically. Bria was in her chemise, the white garment now stained with mud and grime.

  Terran lurched forward to kneel at her side. The light around him flickered, and the guard uttered a curse before a slap sounded.

  “Bria?” he whispered. His knee sank into the mud as he scooped her up into his arms.

  “No,” she muttered tiredly as he headed with her for the door. “Mary. Mary!”

  Terran ignored her continued cries, contributing them to hallucinations. Who knew what that wild thing had done to her? He continued out into the darkness and moved up the spiral stairway until he came to the first guard’s post. The light washed over the struggling Bria in his arms. She squirmed in his grasp, pushing away from his chest.

  Terran set her feet on the ground. His eyes perused her face, her body, for any wounds. “Are you all right?” he demanded.

  Bria stepped toward the darkness, calling, “Mary.”

  “Bria,” Terran said, stepping into her path. He cupped her face in his hands. “Did Kenric hurt you? Are you all right?”

  Bria seemed to focus on Terran’s face for the first time. “Oh, Terran,” she whispered and leaned heavily against him, exhaustion overwhelming her.

  Instinctively, Terran’s arms went around her, crushing her to him. Relief flooded through him. He brushed a kiss against the top of her head.

  Bria looked up at him, her eyes clear despite her fatigue. “Terran, she’s my friend. I can’t leave her in there.”

  “Your friend?” Terran echoed.

  “Please. You have to let her go.”

  Terran held her at arm’s length, searching her face. “She attacked me. I can’t let her go.”

  “She thought you were Kenric,” Bria said defensively.

  Why was she always taking someone else’s side over his? Anger simmered his blood. “She’s a criminal, or she wouldn’t be in the dungeon. I will not let her go.”

  “What did she do?” Bria demanded.

  “She murdered a woman,” Terran replied tightly.

  “What?” Bria asked in confusion.

  “She murdered Widow Anderson, the village herbalist.”

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Bria’s mouth dropped open at Terran’s accusation. Mary hadn’t killed that woman, Kenric had. But she’d tried to tell Terran that before and he hadn’t listened. She shut her mouth and gritted her teeth.

  “She’s a danger to me and to my people. I couldn’t let her roam the streets. She’s lucky to be alive. Only at Kenric’s insistence did I allow her to be locked up instead of beheaded.”

  Beheaded? The word sent chills through her body. And why would Kenric save Mary? Why not just kill her and be done with it?

  The soft sound of footsteps reached her ears and Bria lifted her head to see the guard moving into the room from the dark hallway. She turned her gaze to Terran, her chin lifted slightly in defiance. “Now what? Do you plan to have me beheaded?”

  “You mock me thus after I have saved you?” Terran growled.

  “Saved me?” Bria retorted hotly. The fatigue she’d felt burned away. She was very much awake now. “You sent me here!”

  Terran opened his mouth as if to argue with her, but then shut it. The muscle of his jaw clenched. “For that I am sorry,” he managed to grind out.

  Surprise rocked Bria. Was that an apology from the tyrant? Had she heard him correctly? She stared hard at Terran, trying to see past his closed expression, but his eyes mirrored the flickering torchlight back at her.

  Suddenly and unexpectedly, Bria felt a strange stirring in the pit of her stomach. Flustered, she glanced away and found herself looking at the guard. He was staring at her breasts. Bria glanced down, realizing she was still in her chemise. Mortified, she did her best to cover herself, crossing her arms over her chest and leaning toward Terran for cover.

  Terran stepped in front of her, his gaze burning into the guard. The guard backed away from Terran, finally turning his back. Terran whirled to Bria, placing his hand on her lower back, and ushered her up the stairs.

  They moved quickly through the hallways and Bria kept her head lowered to avoid the curious gazes of the peasants. Terran ushered her into the room she’d occupied before -- their room. Just as she stepped over the threshold, someone called, “Lord Terran!”

  Kenric approached them with quick steps. Bria straightened slightly, defiance and hatred sizzling through her.

  Terran urged her into the room with a gentle shove and closed the door behind her.

  Bria stood in the dark room alone. At first, she didn’t know what to do. She had the strangest impulse to rush out of the room and into Terran’s arms or to plant herself before him and protect him from Kenric. It didn’t seem Terran truly knew just how evil Kenric was.

  And then she heard the voices.

  “Why have you removed her from the dungeon?” It was Kenric.

  “She is lady of this castle now. A dungeon is not the place for her.”

  Again, surprise made Bria’s heart jump.

  “You told me to do what I must to find out who the Midnight Shadow is,” Kenric defended himself.

  “And did that include stripping her of her dress?” Even behind the wooden door, Bria could feel Terran’s anger.

  Bria reached out and ran her fingers over the wood of the door, wanting to touch Terran, to thank him for defending her.

  There was a pause before Kenric replied, “I did what I thought I must.”

  “You’ve humiliated her for the last time, Randolph. I will not tolerate it again.”

  “Cousin, what’s come over you? This Midnight Shadow is a threat to you and your lands! We must find out who he is, and she is the only one who can tell us.”

  “We’ll find another way,” Terran said.

  “But I’m certain I can make her talk.”

  “I said we’ll find another way!”

  Bria whirled in joy and leaned her back against the door, smiling. Her heart bloomed with pride. Terran was defending her! She was so overcome with joy she didn’t hear the handle being turned until it was too late. She barely had a chance to step away from the door when it opened, smacking her in the shoulders and propelling her to the floor.

  Terran stood over her, the torchlight from the hallway flickering behind him, ca
sting his face in shadows. He reached out a hand to Bria.

  After a brief moment of hesitation, Bria lifted her hand and placed it in his outstretched palm. His fingers closed over hers and he pulled her up, bringing her tight against his chest with a tug.

  His eyes danced with curiosity. “Were you spying on me?”

  Bria was too startled and embarrassed to offer any explanation.

  “You were,” Terran said.

  A flash of white shone in the darkness and Bria realized it was the first true smile she’d seen on his face. She liked it. “No, I wasn’t,” she countered half-heartedly. She looked down at her hands splayed on his wide, broad chest. She could feel the muscles beneath his black tunic, the beat of his heart.

  Bria lifted her gaze to his dark, midnight eyes. She could barely see his features in the dark room, but she could feel his breath on her lips as he drew her closer. He smelled faintly of sweet ale and leather. She half closed her eyes. She loved the scent of leather.

  “Bria,” he whispered, his lips nearly touching hers. “I know we could be happy together. Just tell me who the Midnight Shadow is.”

  “I cannot tell you that, but I promise you he is not my lover,” she replied in a soft whisper, lifting her mouth to his.

  Terran shoved her away from him. “You are as great a liar as Kathryn,” he snarled, “and as great a whore. Wife or not, I cannot accept you as long as the Midnight Shadow stands between us.” He whirled away from her and stalked to the door.

  “Terran!” Bria called out desperately. “There has been no one,” she pleaded. “What can I do to prove it to you?”

  Terran turned to look over his shoulder at her. The light from the candles reflected in his black eyes. “There is one thing.” He shut the door, sealing them in the dark room. “Show me your virgin’s blood.”

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Terran watched Bria’s mouth drop slightly. In a stray beam of moonlight from an open window, he saw the uncertainty in her bright blue eyes. Then resolution passed across her face as she pursed her lips, followed quickly by determination. She lifted her chin. “All right,” she said.