Page 78 of Midnight Shadow

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 concentrate. 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.