THE SHELTER OF HIS ARMS
Sybilla awakened, surprised by Guy’s whiskered cheek in the hollow of her neck. She’d no recollection of how she’d gotten into his bed. But he’d kicked off his covers, rolled onto his side, and thrown his arm across her chest. She’d lain there for hours, listening to him breathe, allowing herself the luxury of his warmth, his strength and the intimacy of his slumbering embrace. When at last she forced herself to rise, she did so with regret, the kind of regret one feels when one awakens too soon from a wonderful dream.
Praise for DARK RIDER,
also by Kathrynn Dennis
“Kathrynn Dennis’s debut romance, DARK RIDER, will dazzle readers with its beautifully crafted characters, vividly detailed medieval setting and captivating plot rife with passion and intrigue!”
—Chicago Tribune
“Dennis’s debut marks the entrance of a powerful voice into medieval romance. The era comes to life in fresh, vibrant expression as her strong, engaging characters tackle vicious enemies and engage in wild adventures. This hard-to-put-down novel will keep you up all night.”
—Romance Times (four-star review)
“An extraordinary debut! DARK RIDER is a spellbinding tale of sensuality, adventure, betrayal, and romance that I couldn’t put down. Kathrynn Dennis is a shining new talent.”
—Lorraine Heath, New York Times bestselling author
“DARK RIDER by Kathrynn Dennis is a story that transports the reader back in time with its passion and medieval action. It is a definite keeper that will be read again and again!”
—Romance Junkies (five-blue-ribbon review)
“Kathrynn Dennis’s DARK RIDER has everything I love in a medieval romance…Dennis will soon be a fly-away favorite for fans of the subgenre, if this well-written medieval romance is anything to go by!”
—Heartstrings Reviews
“DARK RIDER is an adventurous tale of two outsiders who must stop a powerful enemy. The fast pace of the story continues until the last page. Will Robert and Eldswythe survive and have the chance to love? You will need to read DARK RIDER to find out!”
—Romance Reviews Today
SHADOW RIDER
KATHRYNN DENNIS
ZEBRA BOOKS
Kensington Publishing Corp.
http://www.kensingtonbooks.com
To William and Annah.
I love you to the end of the universe and back.
contents
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Author’s Note
Prologue
Baldwin Forest, England
December 1390
If a man could sell his soul to the devil for an hour, Sir Guy of Warwick was prepared to strike the bargain.
Pray, let that hour be tonight.
Heedless of the icy wind that stung his eyes and cheeks, he spurred his destrier into the beckoning darkness. There he could lose the demons that raged inside him—or find them. There in the ancient woods, where the midnight air smelled of rotting leaves and death, Sir Guy of Warwick searched, as he had every night for weeks, driven by hatred and despair.
He kept his sword ready. Blue-black shadows moved through the moonlit forest, flickering through the snow-dusted trees like lost souls. He’d hunted them before to no avail, but tonight he would not give up. Instinct told him the killer would return, and Guy of Warwick would be ready when he did. Bargain with the devil or no, Guy would find the man he wanted and send him straight to hell.
From the corner of his eye he glimpsed a lurking shadow.
Wheeling his destrier around, he thundered toward the fleeing phantom. “Hold there!”
The racing figure stumbled, tripped by a fallen log. A man, skeletal and bent, but definitely human, scrambled to his feet. He cowered, cradling a rag-wrapped bundle in the crook of his arm.
Guy reined his horse to a halt. “Stay where you are.”
“Shadow Rider, hear me out!”
“Who are you?” Guy bellowed, his sword ready. No man ventured into this part of the woods alone at night. Not without a reason.
“James Cobbler, from Halvern village.”
“What’s in the bundle?”
The cobbler quaked. He held up a scrawny brown hare. “There’s no game left in any other wood. Folks won’t come here since…” He cast a worried glance into the forest.
Guy leaned forward. “Are you not afraid, cobbler? What if the killer who murdered my sister and her babe returned?”
“I should hope the Shadow Rider finds him first, sir, and lets me be.”
A freezing wind whirled around the little man. His face turned ghostly white. He ducked and shielded his head with the hare. “Don’t let them get me!”
Guy scanned the woods. He felt their presence as he always did, his sister’s and his nephew’s ghost. They were the reason he patrolled at night, waiting for the killer, searching. He felt no fear when they were near, only restlessness and regret.
He took a deep breath. “Go home, cobbler. Keep the hare for your supper. No more poaching.”
Wasting no time, the cobbler tucked the hare beneath his arm. “The hare is not for me. I’ll trade her to the seer for the potion that will cure my sickly wife. Bless you, Shadow Rider. You’ve saved a life tonight.” Without another word, he slipped into the darkness, weaving his way through the trees.
Guy sat perfectly still, his gut burning, the words spoken by the cobbler ripping through his heart. If he’d been here in the woods just a month ago, he could have saved more lives, his sister Roselynn’s and his nephew’s, a newborn babe named John.
Rage swelled inside him. Night after night he’d come here seeking, waiting for a sign, searching for their killer. He’d turned up nothing. What more could he do?
He clenched his fists. He’d seek the counsel of the seer, the Lady Morna, just like the desperate cobbler, though intuition told him ’t was better to bargain with the devil than with her. She had a way of throwing salt on old wounds and bringing back memories he’d