Stroke of Midnight (Nightcreature #1.5)(38)

She was afraid, so afraid. Her head throbbed with every breath. She could feel the sticky warmth of her own blood trickling down the back of her neck. She glanced from side to side, though there was nothing to see but blackness. She had no idea who had struck her or where she was now. She knew she was lying on her side. There was dirt beneath her cheek. When she tried to lift a hand to her head, she discovered that her hands were tied behind her back. When she tried to sit up, she realized her feet were also bound.

Willing herself to be calm, she began to twist her hands back and forth in an effort to loosen the ropes that bound her wrists. She had to get out of here, wherever here was. Tears burned her eyes and she blinked them back. She would cry later. Shaking off her self-pity, she thought of Alyce, the lying wench. It was Alyce who had done this to her. But why?

Because of Reyes, of course. The girl had declared she was in love with the lord of the keep. Had Alyce thought that by getting rid of her lord's intended bride, she might be able to win his love?

Shanara frowned. There had been no need for Alyce to do her harm. She had told the maid she didn't want to marry Reyes, that all she wanted was to return to her father. Either Alyce had not believed her, or she had decided to make certain that Shanara would never return to Black Dragon Keep. Deep in her heart, Shanara knew that should Fate decree that she never see Reyes again, she would miss him far more than she would ever admit to herself or anyone else.

Shanara winced as the thick rope cut into the tender skin of her wrists. There was no time to worry about the maid's motives now. She had to get away before it was too late. Had to find her way home…

Home. She thought of her father's keep and the people in it. His knights were taciturn and sullen. The servants were the same. Her brothers spent their days honing their battle skills and their nights whoring, seemingly happy only when they were on the battlefield, or preparing for war. Her sisters had little time for her, preferring to spend their days pampering themselves behind closed doors or gossiping about their neighbors when they weren't simpering over one man or another. Shanara had spent most of her days in her chambers learning the fine arts from her old nursemaid. She saw her father only at meals, considered herself fortunate if he deigned to notice her presence at the table.

As she did so often, she wished her mother was still alive. Her mother had been the only one who cared what happened to her youngest daughter, the only one who took time to speak to Shanara, to cheer her when she was down, to assure her that in spite of her father's indifference, he loved her. Shanara had never believed it, but she had loved her mother the more for trying to spare her feelings.

A sound from above drew her attention. Looking up, she saw a narrow bit of moonlight shining through the clouds. She froze as she heard movement overhead again, a low snuffling sound followed by a low growl.

Panic surged through her. With a grunt, she freed one hand and then the other. A million pinpricks rushed through her fingers as blood flowed into her hands again. Sitting up, she massaged her wrists for several moments and then reached for the rope that bound her ankles. As she did so, her hand brushed against something cold and slippery. At first she couldn't tell what it was, and then she realized it was a chunk of raw meat.

Terror clogged her throat as she scrambled to her feet. She knew where she was now.

She was out in the woods, in one of the pits that were used to trap wild animals. And she was now part of the bait.





CHAPTER 9


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Lifting his head, Reyes sniffed the air, sorting Shanara's scent from the hundreds of others that assailed him—the scent of damp earth and trees and rotting foliage. He detected the fear rising from rabbits and mice and other small creatures that cowered in their dens and holes, hiding from the fierce predator that stalked the night.

He howled as he honed in on Shanara's scent, growled when her spoor led him to a wolf trap. Anger twisted through him. Fearful that he might accidentally stumble into one of the pits some dark night, he had long ago declared that all such traps be filled in.

Hackles raised, he padded closer to the edge of the pit. In spite of the depth and the darkness, he had no trouble seeing the bottom of the chasm, or the woman who crouched there, looking up at him through frightened green eyes.

Giving what he hoped was a reassuring bark, Reyes backed away from the edge of the pit. Sitting on his haunches, he closed his eyes and pictured his human image in his mind, visualizing the transformation. He howled in protest as his body began to change, the man overtaking the wolf, humanity overtaking the wildness.

When the change was complete, he crawled back to the pit and peered over the side. "Shanara?"

"Reyes!"

"I will have you out of there soon."

Rising, he cast around for something he could use to pull her out of the pit. Spying several long vines, he twisted them together, then tossed one end over the side.

"Catch hold," he said. "I will pull you up."

Moments later, she was standing beside him brushing dirt from her gown and her hands. "How did you find me?"

"I followed your scent. There was a man with you. Where is he?"

She shook her head. "I know not. He dumped me in the pit and…" She shrugged.

"And Alyce?" he asked curtly. "What part did she have in all this?"

Shanara stared at him, mute.