The Seer (107 page)

Sighing
deeply, Mistral slipped her hands from the twins’ and reached out to touch
Fabian lightly on his raised arm, ‘It is done.’

Slowly
lowering his arms Fabian turned to face her.  They did not embrace or even
speak, but stared at each other with an intensity that rivalled the flames
encircling them.  

‘How did you
do that?’  Phantom demanded in an awed whisper, staring through the veil
of flames at the cataclysmic scene before him.

‘We cast.’
 Leo replied shortly.

‘No … I meant
Mistral.’  Phantom said, switching his shocked green eyes to stare at
her.  ‘How did you get us to See with you?’

‘I didn’t.’
 Mistral responded quietly, her eyes not leaving Fabian’s.

Phantom
frowned, ‘But –’

‘It was our
son.’

Fabian’s eyes
registered no surprise or fear, but continued to hold her own with his deep
unwavering stare, ‘He is gifted.’ 

She nodded
slowly, ‘More than any of us.’

‘Then that
wind that blew through the chamber … that was him too?’  Phantasm asked.

‘Yes, he can
control the elements; fire, water, air, earth –’

Phantasm’s
eyes widened, ‘And See?’

‘Yes … and
enable others to See.’

‘Looks like
you’ll be retiring early then.’  Phantom said and looked at the rings of
fire still rising up around them.  ‘Any chance of dropping the spell
now?  Only the smell of ozone is getting a bit overpowering.’

Leo lowered
his arms and at once the spell was broken.  Released from their shield the
sight that met their eyes was nothing short of apocalyptic.  Broken glass
and chunks of fallen marble littered the floor.  Some were lodged into the
network of deep cracks emanating out from the point where the spells had
collided.  The floor of the chamber itself was no longer gleaming white
but scorched black and spattered with blood; the coppery reek mixing with the
lingering scent of ozone and singed clothing.

‘I think it is
best I check Christophe.’  Leo said abruptly and strode across the chamber
to where Christophe lay unmoving in a pool of blood.  ‘Would one of you
please ensure that we have managed not to kill the Head of the Isle?’  he
added crisply.  Kneeling beside Christophe’s motionless body Leo gazed
down at the unnaturally pale face, seeing instantly a long shard of glass
protruding from his neck he pressed a finger against his throat, feeling for a
pulse.  ‘He’s dead,’ he announced flatly.

‘Good.’ 
Taking hold of Mistral’s hand Fabian walked with her towards Mage Grapple.

‘I’ll check
him.’  Mistral murmured and knelt awkwardly onto the charred floor of the
chamber.  She reached a hand out towards his neck then quickly drew it
back again when his eyes opened to regard her with his unnerving cold stare.

‘Trouble?’ 
he growled, echoing her words from the banquet while he slowly sat up.  ‘I
think that you have severely underestimated the reactions you have the ability
to evoke, Lady De Winter.  Now,’ he turned to fix Fabian with a steely glare,
‘would you please tell me why all of my Councillors are unconscious and my
chamber looks like a battlefield?’

Mistral awoke
to bright early morning sunlight pouring in through a curtainless window. 
She groaned and opened her eyes a fraction, taking in the unfamiliar room while
the events of the night seeped into her mind.  

Shielding her
eyes against the unwelcome glare she took in the carnage of the room; a white
shirt lay discarded on the floor with half the buttons missing, a pair of black
trousers were tossed over the back of a fallen chair, two satin slippers and a
pair of polished black boots had been flung carelessly against the far wall,
and just near the bed lay the crumpled remains of an expensive white gown, now
being used as a bed by Prospero.

‘Good boy,’ she
murmured with a smile, eliciting a deep rumble of laughter from the warm body
she was lying against.

‘That’s a
pity.  I was hoping I could persuade you to wear that again.’

‘Why?’ 
Mistral lifted herself up on one elbow to frown at Fabian.  ‘We’re not going
to another gala are we?’

‘No.’ Fabian
looked at her through half-open eyes.  ‘I think that we may have
permanently removed ourselves from the invite list after last night.’  He
smiled and lifted a lock of her hair, twining it lazily through his fingers. 

‘Then why
would you want me to wear it again?’

‘To present me
with another opportunity to take it off you.’

The sound of
cupboard doors banging and the clattering of pans woke them later. 
Rolling over with a sigh to meet the eager gaze of her dog resting his head
onto the bed beside her, Mistral yawned and inhaled the delicious smell of
cooking bacon. 

She was
instantly wide awake, ‘Time to get up Fabian!  The twins are cooking
breakfast!’

They ate
together around the table in the huge kitchen of the house Fabian and Mistral
now owned; the twins tousled haired but bright-eyed, dressed again in the
familiar black shirts and trousers of the Ri. 

‘I still can’t
believe I Saw!’  Phantom exclaimed between forkfuls of scrambled
eggs.  ‘It was amazing!’

‘The novelty
wears off really quickly brother.’  Mistral replied, not lifting her eyes
from the plate of food in front of her.

‘Can you do
that all the time now?’  he persisted eagerly.

Mistral shook
her head, ‘It’s not me that has that gift.  I’m only sharing it while I’m
pregnant.’

Phantom’s eyes
narrowed while he performed some swift calculations, ‘Still got the best part
of a month to take advantage though –’

‘Can’t you
just wait until he’s born and not bother me in the meantime?’  Mistral leaned
back with a sigh, pushing her empty plate away. 

Phantom
frowned, ‘Not really Mistral, well … maybe while he’s still a small boy, but I
don’t really want to be holding hands with him when he’s older!’

Mistral
laughed, ‘No, it wouldn’t do your reputation much good, besides, he won’t be a
small boy for very long.’

‘Oh?’ 
Fabian looked up sharply. 

Mistral
dropped her gaze to study the empty plate in front of her, trying to find the
words to explain.  She hadn’t yet told Fabian what had been revealed to
her about their son, in fact they hadn’t discussed the events of the night
before at all; the few words they had spoken to each other since returning to
their house were definitely unrepeatable in company.  

‘Sight showed
me our son’s future last night, or rather, he showed me,’ she began
slowly.  ‘He’s going to grow at the same rate as the centaurs do, so in
just three years he’ll be a man … and he’s going to look just like you.’

Fabian gazed
at her wordlessly, the dramatically accelerated growth of their son instantly
raising a series of concerns in his mind.

‘Oh don’t
worry Fabian, he’ll grow fast, but that’s just to protect him.  Once he’s
full grown his lifespan will be in line with what you’d expect, providing he
doesn’t inherit my stupid ability to attract trouble that is.’

‘Yes, you did
rather excel yourself last night didn’t you?’  Phantasm remarked while he
buttered another bread roll.  ‘Poor Golden is a widow again, Malachi was
double-crossed then murdered, and we managed to destroy the Council chamber in
the process!’

‘That’s just
another plus point to last night as far as I see it.’  Phantom said
brightly.  ‘No more meetings for a while!’

‘Is Leo
officially our Divinus now?’  Mistral asked Fabian while the twins
laughed.  ‘Only we never did get to the voting part, did we?’

Fabian smiled
humourlessly, ‘Well, considering that the only other contender died, I would
say a vote would have been fairly pointless.  However we will have to wait
until Leo returns and formally confirms his appointment before we can make that
assumption.’

‘Where is
Master Sphinx anyway?’  Phantasm looked at Mistral pointedly.  ‘He
didn’t stay here last night.’

‘I’m not
reading him brother.’  Mistral said firmly.  ‘He’s entitled to some
privacy.  He and Mage Grapple probably had a few things to discuss.’

‘Yes, family
reunions can be a touch trying.’  Phantom sighed.  ‘Our mother made
us promise to visit her before we left today.  I’m dreading it already.’

‘Er, she
doesn’t want that dress back does she?’  Mistral asked in a worried voice,
thinking about the crumpled pile of material on their bedroom floor.

‘Of course
not!’  Phantom exclaimed in shocked tones.  ‘Mother wear something
twice?  That would be unthinkable!’

‘Although it
would be nice if you wore it again Mistral, you actually looked quite elegant
for once.’  Phantasm said, giving her a condescending look over the top of
his glass of water.

‘Mage Grapple
obviously thought so!’  Phantom grinned.  ‘And Master Sphinx … I’ve
never seen him dance before!  Come to think of it, you danced with pretty
much all of your family last night–’

‘The truth
about Leo’s parentage is not something that can ever become common knowledge!’
 Fabian interrupted in a sharp voice.

‘Mage De
Winter, I appreciate that you consider my brother and I to be incorrigible
gossips, but please let me assure you of our absolute discretion in this
matter.’  Phantasm responded smoothly.  He paused suddenly before
continuing in a voice that held more genuine emotion.  ‘Last night we were
afforded the privilege of Sight and, despite my brother’s apparent casual
attitude, it was not something either of us took lightly.  It was … a
revelation, and one that has helped me begin to comprehend why Mistral is so
completely unenthused by intrigue.’

‘Overdose of
private devices and desires was it?’  Mistral asked, offering him a jaded
smile.

‘Something
like that.’  Phantasm replied lightly.  ‘But more than that, I know
now that the power we share is something to be treated with the greatest of
respect.’

‘Ah. 
But, it was something else.’  Phantom sighed with a misty-eyed look. 
‘We Saw everyone … and could have made them do absolutely anything we wanted –’

‘You could
have prevented the Rochfortes from Casting?’  Fabian asked sharply.

The twins
instantly fell silent. 

Mistral smiled
softly and reached out to take his hand, ‘Of course we could.  But it was
not for us to stop them, that was your destiny.’

Leo returned
after breakfast, his perpetually icy demeanour uninviting of any questions as to
what conversations had ensued between him and Mage Grapple.  Taking the
hint, the twins left him and Fabian alone and dragged Mistral up to her
bedroom.  Sitting down on either side of her on the unmade bed they gazed
at her with familiar impatience.

‘So?’

‘What’re they
talking about?’

‘Can we do
this some other time?’  Mistral muttered, casting an embarrassed glance at
the disarray of last night’s clothing lying scattered across the floor, forming
an obvious trail from the door to the four-poster bed they were now sat upon.

‘Look Mistral,
we need to know!’

‘I’m sure you
do.  But maybe later?’

‘No.’

‘Now.’

Their double
green stares bored into hers with an irrefutable force, commanding her to their
will.

‘Oh alright
then,’ she sighed in defeat.  ‘But you owe me!’

‘Anything you
want.’  Phantom breathed, watching her eyes slide out of focus he reached
for her hand with a hungry gleam in his eye.

Silently
taking hold of her other hand, Phantasm completed the triangle their gifted
godson created and shared in the thoughts of the two brothers talking in the
kitchen two floors below.

‘Tell me
brother; has Eximius confirmed your appointment?’

‘He
has.  I am the Divinus of the Ri.’

In the bedroom
above their eyes rolled as one at the obvious note of self-satisfaction in
Leo’s voice. 

‘This is
well.  But tell me, what of the Rochfortes?’
  Fabian asked.

‘Apart from
Christophe, none of the party were seriously injured.  They left for their
ship at dawn with an escort of fifty warlocks and Mage Grapple’s Captain of the
Guard.’

‘And …
Golden?’

The twins and
Mistral shared in Leo’s spasm of contempt at Fabian’s mention of the
half-nymph.

‘She
petitioned Mage Grapple for sanctuary on the Isle.’

A silence
fell, Mistral’s hands tightened around the twins’.

‘And?’ 

‘He refused
her.  She appealed her case, but no-one would support her.  She’s too
tarnished by the Rochforte name to appeal to any of the Councillors here …
despite her efforts.’

‘She
pleaded her case to you?’

A sudden image
flashed into all of their minds of Golden on her knees, her tearful face
beseeching.

‘I was not
the only one she attempted to seduce with her lies … but she is gone, returned
with the Rochfortes.  She is fallen, her fate is sealed.’

The inference
in Leo’s voice was clear.  Golden would return to France destitute and be
forced to align herself once again with any Rochforte willing to accept the
affections of a thrice widowed half-breed.  Mistral felt the twins’
gratification at knowing what Golden had become, but she did not share in their
victory.  She felt only pity for the creature that had begged Leo on her
knees, knowing that her anguish had been genuine. 

‘And of the
other matter?’

The twins
stiffened fractionally in response to the question Fabian was asking Leo.

‘Fortunately
none of the Councillors were sober enough to comprehend Christophe’s hints and,
aside from Mistral and the Gemini; you, I and Mage Grapple are the only ones to
know that I am his son.  We agree that it should remain so.  My
position as Divinus would be irreparably damaged by such information becoming
public knowledge.’

‘I agree,
the Ri would instantly reject your authority if the truth were revealed.’

‘With that
in mind I would appreciate you reminding Mistral and the Gemini that their silence
on this matter is vital.’

‘I am sure
they already know –’

Oops …
looks like your Mage knows we’re eavesdropping!

Best back
off now Mistral …

Phantom heaved
a deep sigh of contentment when Mistral severed the connection with Fabian and
Leo. 

‘I could
definitely get used to having access to that gift!’

‘Hmm, it is
rather useful.’  Phantasm agreed then frowned as his eyes re-focussed and
took in the messy bedroom.  ‘Is our Divinus absolutely certain that the
Rochfortes left at dawn?  Only it looks like a party of them have
ransacked this room!’

Mistral said
nothing and dipped her head to let her hair swing down and hide a smile. 

‘Mistral! 
Should you really have been doing that in your condition?’ 

Startled out
of her private musings she looked around to meet Phantom’s reproving
look.  Realising that he still had access to her thoughts through their
joined hands she snatched hers away and blushed bright red. 

‘Really!’ 
Phantasm chided her.  ‘Look at the state of that dress!  It looks
like Prospero slept on it!  Couldn’t you have just hung it up after Mage
De Winter took it off you?’

‘Er, not
really, and can we change the subject please?’  Mistral muttered, still
blushing. 

‘Of course we
can Mistral.’  Phantasm said, leaving the bed to walk over and pick up the
dress.  ‘What would you like to talk about?’

‘Er?’

‘How about
Golden’s fall from grace?’  Phantom suggested.  ‘Bet that makes you
feel all warm and fuzzy doesn’t it?’ 

‘Not
particularly.’

‘Oh?’ 

Mistral
shrugged and looked out of the window, ‘She really loves Leo.’

‘Surely that
only makes your revenge sweeter!’  Phantom exclaimed.

‘No brother.’
 Phantasm paused from shaking out the dress to look at his twin. 
‘Think of what Sight revealed to us.’