Midnight Shadow

by Laurel O'Donnell

  Bria almost laughed. As if she cared about the dowry.

  Her father lifted a hand to stroke her wet hair. “Was it so horrible for you, darling?”

  “Horrible?” she asked quietly. “No, Father.” She blinked at the tears filling her eyes. “Curse me for a fool,” she said, and lifted a trembling hand to swipe at a lone tear that ran down her cheek. “I fell in love with him.”

  ***

  That night Bria slept a barren sleep, her mind empty of dreams, her soul more dead than alive. By the time she woke the next day, it was late afternoon. She moved through the halls like a specter, pale, hauntingly slow. Peasants stopped to look at her and shake their heads when they thought she wasn’t looking. She frowned. He had done this to her. Terran had made her an object of sympathy.

  But she knew she was stronger than that. Then why didn’t she have the strength of spirit to prove it? Why couldn’t she be better than this phantom who walked the halls?

  Without realizing where she was heading, Bria found herself sitting beneath the tree near the empty tilting yard. She pulled out stalks of grass one at a time, shredding each in her slender fingers, and then moving on to the next.

  She didn’t notice the passage of time, didn’t notice the sun dipping lower and lower in the distance.

  A sword dropped abruptly into her lap, as if falling from the heavens. She stared down at the leather handle for a long moment before lifting her gaze skyward to find her grandfather standing over her.

  “The people need the Midnight Shadow,” he said, “now more than ever.”

  Bria pushed the weapon from her lap. “I’m not worthy to be the Midnight Shadow.”

  “You’ve been wounded by your enemy and you just sit there, letting the wound kill you.”

  Bria shook her head. “It’s not like that.”

  “Isn’t it?” Harry knelt beside her.

  “I don’t have the spirit to be the Midnight Shadow.”

  “So he killed that, too, did he?” Harry shook his head. “And who will save those people? Do you think this is what Garret would have wanted? Or Mary?”

  “Mary.” Bria’s head came up sharply at the thought of her friend. How selfish I’ve been. While my friend rots away in Terran’s dungeon, all I can think about is myself! I have to save Mary! Bria quickly rose to her feet. “Grandfather, Mary is alive! I spoke with her. She’s in the dungeon at Castle Knowles!”

  Harry nodded grimly. “Then you have a lot to do, don’t you?”

  ***

  When Bria reached the clearing, the moon was high and bright in the night sky. She dismounted and moved to the pond, taking a moment to look down into the calm water. She was dismayed at her wretched expression, her swollen lids, her melancholy face. But there was a new resolve returning to her eyes.

  Let everyone think I am wasting away from a loveless marriage. Let everyone think Terran treated me horribly. Let everyone pity me, she thought. I’ll be safe from their suspicions. No one will expect me to be the Midnight Shadow.

  Bria looked around, watching the shadows, waiting, making sure Kenric hadn’t set a trap. When she finally moved to retrieve her costume and sword, dark clouds had obscured the moon and the night cloaked her in nearly complete darkness. The blackness of the forest gave her courage; the stars twinkling above gave her hope. But mostly, the reborn determination within her gave her a renewed strength of spirit.

  Bria took her sword, boots, and costume and mounted her horse, leaving the memories of her poisoning behind her. She decided to move her hiding place to the bramble patch. Once there, she again became the Midnight Shadow.

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  The Midnight Shadow hid in the trees near the dirt road leading to the gated entrance of Castle Knowles. She debated swimming the brackish waters of the moat surrounding the stone fortress, but quickly decided against it. She had no idea where the secret exits were built into the castle walls. She’d had no time to discover, or even ask about, their whereabouts in her few short days at the castle.

  She thought of waiting until morning, waiting until the castle gates opened to let in the flood of daily business, but there would be no shadows for her to conceal herself in, and the thought of Mary spending one more minute in that dark, horrible dungeon made her skin crawl and her heart ache.

  Bria cursed. She’d brought along a plain brown hooded cloak to disguise herself as a monk, which she now wore. But when she arrived at Castle Knowles, she was dismayed to see the portcullis lowered.

  There had to be another way in.

  Her answer came rumbling down the dirt road on four wobbly wheels, a merchant either returning very late or arriving very early. He sat atop his wagon, driving his tired horses forward with a feeble snap of their reins, pulling his covered cart behind him.

  The Midnight Shadow let the cart pass, then quickly moved behind it to push the flaps of the covering aside and clamber inside. The back of the wagon was filled with bags of spice and other foodstuffs, fabric, piles of clothing, boxes of jewelry. Two men snored softly at the front of the cart.

  Just then, the wagon hit a hole in the road and the cart bounced heavily, sending a box flying into the side of one of the sleeping men. The Midnight Shadow caught her balance and ducked down behind a pile of fabric, quickly pulling some material over her head. She heard the man curse and rustle about for a few moments before his snoring resumed. The air quickly turned hot beneath her shield of cloth, but she dared not move.

  To enter the castle thus was impetuous and dangerous. But it was the only way to free Mary.

  The wagon continued on its way, the journey seeming to take hours when only minutes had passed. The wooden wheels clattered across more wood, and she realized they’d reached the drawbridge. She heard voices, but couldn’t make out the words. The wagon stopped. She heard more voices, louder now, the words still indiscernible. Footsteps sounded nearby. Suddenly, the flaps whipped open and flickering torchlight rippled across the fabric above her head.

  One of the sleeping men grumbled, cursing the light in his eyes. Then the flaps were shut, returning her to the safety of darkness. A loud cranking sound signaled the portcullis was being raised. When the sound stopped, the wagon jerked forward, moving them into the castle. Eventually, the wagon slowed, then stopped. She started to rise, but quickly pulled the material over her head as she heard one of the sleeping men awake. The man stumbled through the wagon toward her, stepping a mere inch from her booted toes as he made his way outside.

  The driver and the newly awakened man talked outside the wagon, their voices fading into the distance as they headed away. The other man still slept, snoring quite loudly. Quickly, she slipped out of the wagon and moved to the dark shadows of a nearby wall. She scanned her surroundings, seeing she was already in the inner courtyard near the keep.

  The Midnight Shadow moved cautiously through the darkness. The moon was a sliver, its feeble light barely enough to illuminate an entire castle, let alone a disguised woman sneaking through the blackness. She pulled the monk’s hood up to hide her mask and cape as she moved slowly through the inner ward.

  At the doors of the keep, she silently eased inside. As she moved down the dark hallway, she pulled the cloak tight against her body, holding her weapon against her so when she moved it was lost in the folds of the cloak.

  Most of the castle’s occupants were asleep. She barely paused to glance inside as she passed the Great Hall. It was littered with sleeping bodies, most situated as close as possible to the hearth for the warmth it offered. Bria continued on.

  There was one other time she’d been up at this late hour at Castle Knowles -- her wedding night. She pushed the thought from her mind. She had to concentrate on Mary, not on her husband.

  She quickly found the stairway to the lower level and walked cautiously down the stairs. She remembered the route to the dungeons very well. She’d been brought this way when Kenric had interrogated her. She forced the anger and humiliation from her mind. She had to co
ncentrate. She was in her enemy’s home. If she were to be caught...

  She couldn’t think of that. She descended into the darkness. Torchlight wavered about her. She continued on until her feet hit the dank mud of the dungeon level. Fear and excitement mingled with the anticipation of seeing her friend again. She was so close to Mary, so close to finally freeing her.

  Adrenaline pumped through her veins, heightening every one of her senses. She heard the moan of a prisoner in the distance as if he were right beside her. The first guard’s post was empty, and she continued down the small, dark hallway to the second guard’s post. She peered around the corner.

  One guard sat at a small table. His back was to her, his head bent forward. For a moment, she thought he was sleeping. Then he straightened, spit something out, and bent his head again.

  She thought of sneaking up on the guard, knocking him out with a quick strike to the back of his head with the hilt of her sword, but then realized that wasn’t the way. Bria silently removed her brown monk’s cloak and tossed it to the ground. She wanted Terran to know who had rescued Mary. She wanted him to know his enemy had infiltrated his castle. She eased her weapon from its sheath. Then she stepped forward, moving noisily out of the shadows.

  The guard turned. When he saw her, his eyes widened and his hand immediately dropped to his sheath.

  But the Midnight Shadow had the tip of her weapon against his throat before he could draw his sword. “Remove your hand from your weapon, sir,” she ordered in her deep whisper.

  The guard hesitantly removed his hand from the hilt of his sword, and the Midnight Shadow removed his weapon, tossing it to a far corner.

  “Now open the cell Mary is in,” the Midnight Shadow commanded in a whisper.

  The guard nodded once, careful of the tip to his throat.

  She took a step back and allowed him to rise and move down the dark corridor. He paused before Mary’s door and then unlatched it, flinging it open. “Get her out,” she commanded.

  “The prisoner isn’t in here,” the guard told her.

  “Explain,” she insisted.

  “Sheriff Kenric moved her,” he said.

  She was moved? Bria’s heart pounded furiously in her chest. Anger and frustration speared through her. She had been so close! “Where?” she demanded.

  “I don’t know,” he said softly.

  The Midnight Shadow cursed silently and shoved the guard into the cell. She shut the door and latched it, sealing him in. She moved farther into the dark dungeon, ignoring the guard’s shouts, and unlatched the other cells, freeing the prisoners. She’d need a diversion to get out of the castle in one piece. Hopefully the escaped prisoners would provide enough of a distraction to the castle guards. She bolted up the stairway, grabbing the monk’s cloak on her way. As she moved, she shoved it into a bag at her side.

  She’d been so close! She could have freed Mary. If I’d only gotten to her sooner!

  She looked up the stairway and froze. It was the way toward the solar, toward Terran’s room. Would he be sleeping? Probably. Unwanted, the image of his powerful physique draped across the bed rose in her mind. She had to see him again. She wanted to look at him just once.

  Before she had the conscious thought, she was moving up the stairs toward the solar, unable to resist the overwhelming urge.

  She knew from experience that Bradley, Terran’s squire, slept in the stables, keeping a close eye on Terran’s treasured steed. Terran slept alone. Her foot landed on the second floor. The floor where Terran was.

  Am I mad? she wondered. What am I doing?

  To hesitate could cost her dearly. She would take only a quick peek in at him and then be gone.

  The Midnight Shadow moved as silently as the night, pressing her back to the wall and merging with the shadows as she crept down the hallway until she stood before Terran’s room. The wooden door stood as a barrier before her, a warning not to cross the threshold. She reached out to the handle, then let her hand drop to her side. This was madness. She had to get out of the castle.

  She turned to leave when suddenly she heard the sound of approaching footsteps from down the hallway. Her gaze darted about, but there was nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. She had no choice. She opened the door to Terran’s room and stepped inside. She stood with her back pressed to the door, listening as the footsteps drew closer. Would whoever it was knock on Terran’s door? She placed her hand on the hilt of her sword, preparing. She held her breath for a long moment...

  ... until the footsteps continued past the door, moving off down the hall.

  She breathed a soft, relieved sigh and looked around the room. It was very dark, except for a stray beam of pale moonlight shining in through the partially opened shutters. The light washed over the bed, illuminating a sleeping form.

  The Midnight Shadow stepped away from the door, moving through the familiar room until she stood just before the bed. She watched the form breathe, the slow rise and fall of the blanket. She reached out a hand to touch Terran, to touch his shoulder, his cheek, his lips, but the shape suddenly moved, rolling over onto its back into the light. She gasped, snatching her hand back.

  The face the beam of light illuminated wasn’t Terran’s. It was Kathryn who lay in his bed.

  The Midnight Shadow stumbled to the door, betrayal piercing her heart like an arrow. Tears blinded her vision for a savage moment and she wiped at them with her gloved hands, smearing her mask away from her eyes. She took a quick moment to right it so she could see.

  Then, she reached for the door and yanked it open, casting one last look back at Kathryn, cursing her husband. Seeing Kathryn in Terran’s bed made his betrayal more real. She turned and almost ran into a wall of flesh, but pulled back suddenly.

  Terran Knowles stood before her.

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  The Midnight Shadow! In my castle!

  “You!” Terran instinctively reached for his sword, but it wasn’t there. He wasn’t dressed for battle. He opened his mouth to shout for the guards, but the Midnight Shadow hit him in the chest, hard enough to choke his cry.

  “You cur,” the villain hissed. “How dare you betray your wife like this?”

  Again Terran opened his mouth to call for guards.

  The Midnight Shadow drew his weapon and pressed the edge of the blade to Terran’s throat, silencing him again. “I should run you through, vile betrayer.”

  Terran scowled. Who is this dog to speak to me thus?

  The Midnight Shadow stepped closer to him, forcing Terran to take a step back. “Do you know how you’ve made her feel?”

  The Midnight Shadow took another step closer, the tip pressing dangerously close to Terran’s adam’s apple, forcing his chin high.

  “She goes to bed crying every night. She thinks of you every cursed moment of every day. She can barely tolerate being away from you.”

  Terran’s scowl and confusion deepened. How did this stranger, this mysterious man in black, know so much about his wife? She’d proven to him they weren’t lovers.

  “You’ve all but destroyed her,” the masked man whispered grimly. “I should slit your throat for causing her so much pain.” He pressed the tip of the blade closer to Terran’s skin.

  Terran’s head was forced back as he lifted his chin, baring his throat to the Midnight Shadow. He awaited death. Expected it. But suddenly, the tip eased from his jugular. “But I won’t kill you... if you tell me where Mary is.”

  Terran’s gaze snapped up from the blade to lock with the Midnight Shadow’s. Mary? Oh, yes. Wasn’t she Bria’s friend? The girl Kenric said had murdered the herbalist. “I don’t know where the sheriff keeps my prisoners.”

  He saw fury flash in those blue eyes, the bluest eyes he had ever seen. “Who rules this castle, you or Kenric?” The whisper was full of disgust.

  Suddenly, the sound of footsteps echoed down the hall. The Midnight Shadow’s eyes shifted slightly in the direction of the sound.

  Blue eyes. The bluest
eyes he had ever seen. Why couldn’t he escape that thought?

  “You’ve much luck this day, Knowles,” the Midnight Shadow said. “But we’ll meet again. This I vow.” With a flurry of his black cape, he lurched toward Terran with the tip of his blade. Terran stumbled back, away from the sharp blade. Was this madman going to kill him? He put up his arm to ward off the attack. But no pain pierced his arm, his shoulder, his torso. Terran lowered his arm and quickly scanned the hallway around him. The Midnight Shadow was gone.

  Terran sprang into action, shouting for his guards. He barely took a step when his bedroom door swung open. Kathryn stepped into the hallway, clutching a blanket on her chest to cover her nakedness.

  Terran halted immediately, his gaze sweeping Kathryn. Betrayer. Suddenly, his enemy’s accusation made sense. What the hell was Kathryn doing in his room?

  “What’s happened?” Kathryn cried, clinging to his arm.

  As Terran disengaged his arm from Kathryn’s hold, two guards ran down the hall toward him. He had no time for her. His enemy was in the castle! He turned to the guards. “Search the castle. The Midnight Shadow was just here.”

  “The Midnight Shadow?” Kathryn gasped.

  “Close the portcullis. Raise the drawbridge,” Terran ordered. “We’ll trap him.”

  The guards moved to carry out their lord’s orders.

  Terran took a step away from his room, down the hallway. He had to get to the gatehouse. Hadn’t the guards seen anything?

  “Wait!”

  He stopped to look back at Kathryn. She let the blanket drop another inch.

  “What about me?” she asked with a sultry, if practiced, pout. “I’m so frightened.”

  “I suggest you dress and return to your own room,” Terran replied.

  “But...”