The Seer (110 page)

Floris walked
over, raising an eyebrow questioningly, ‘That’ll buy a lot of wine.’

‘It’s not for
wine Floris, it’s for the village … to help pay for repairs.’

Floris nodded,
the fading bruises on his face crinkling into a rare smile, ‘I’ll make sure it
gets where it’s needed.’

At once the
tavern was full of the sound of chairs scraping the floor as warriors stood up
and made their way to the bar to drop their own Contract fees down next to
Brutus’.

Watching
Grendel lumber to his feet and shove his way to the bar, Mistral turned to give
Xerxes a reproachful look, ‘Aren’t you going to give yours to the village too?’

Xerxes pursed
his lips thoughtfully, ‘Don’t know.  It’d buy Marietta a lot of dresses
... and that’d buy me a lot of happy Marietta –’

‘Xerxes!’

‘Oh don’t be
so daft Mistral!’  He laughed.  ‘Of course I’m going to give it to
the village!  Can’t wait to see the back of it actually ... I might just
buy a cask of ale out of it before I give it away though, you know ... just to
keep us all amused for the afternoon.’

‘Come on, time
you were out.’  Mistral muttered to her swollen belly while Xerxes went to
the bar.  ‘I’m missing out on a load of free ale because of you!’

‘He can hear
you, you know.’  Cain said, dropping lightly onto a chair at their table.

‘Really?’ 
Mistral looked unconvinced.

‘Oh yes, every
word.’

‘What? 
Every
word?’      

‘Hmm, even the
swear words.’

Mistral nodded
vaguely.  She wasn’t too worried about those; it was some of the private
conversations, if they could even be termed as conversations, that she and
Fabian shared that bothered her more. 

‘Why’re you
here anyway?’  Cain asked after he’d taken a long drink from his
tankard.  ‘I thought you had some power meeting with Mage Grapple, or was
that just an excuse to avoid an examination?’

‘It wasn’t an
excuse but yes, I would do anything to avoid letting you put your cold hands on
me!  He does somersaults every time you do!’

‘I do not have
cold hands!  I resent the slight on my professional touch!’

‘Professional?’ 
Mistral scoffed.  ‘Like when you drugged the Lieutenants?’

‘That was
years ago!  Want me to bring up some of your finer moments?’

‘Not really –’

‘Sorry to
interrupt, but Mistral?  Shouldn’t you be somewhere else?’

‘I don’t think
so brother.’  Mistral frowned at Phantasm.  ‘I’m quite comfy here
thanks.’

‘I didn’t mean
physically.’

‘Oh
right!  You want me to listen in on the meeting?’

‘Of course I
do, and I think Mage Grapple does too!’

‘You think?’

‘Definitely.’
 Phantasm responded curtly.  ‘Now, please.’

‘What,
here?’  Mistral said doubtfully, looking around at the heaving tavern.

Phantasm
smiled, ‘Also definitely part of his plan.  Whatever is being said in that
meeting is for the ears of everyone here, in fact, I think I will arrange
precisely that –’ he broke off to leap onto the table in one fluid bound. 
‘Warriors!  Your attention please!’

Mistral and
Phantom shared a knowing look.

Ah, another
Divinus in the making …

‘Mage Grapple
has requested a meeting with our Divinus that I feel we should all be
attending, so if you could gather round and listen, we might just have missed
the boring preliminaries and have reached the interesting part!’

Mistral
suddenly found herself the centre of the tavern’s attention, ‘Oh thanks
brother,’ she muttered uncomfortably and lowered her gaze to stare into her
tankard.

‘Since when
does an audience bother you Lady De Winter?’  Samson called
cheerfully.  ‘You’re happy enough hurling abuse at those poor first years
in front of the whole village!  What’s a few warriors watching you
lip-read Mage Grapple?’    

Mistral
grinned at him, her expression quickly contorting to a scowl when she saw that
he had brought all of the “poor first years” along with him to watch the show,
‘Your doing, I suppose?’  she hissed under her breath to the twins who
didn’t reply but wore matching expressions of smugness that confirmed her
suspicions instantly.  ‘I hate you!’  She mouthed silently.

They both
smiled angelically back at her.

Mistral closed
her eyes and heaved a sigh of defeat.  Feeling more like a performing pet
than ever, she forced herself to ignore her audience and clear her mind,
focussing on the ever present voice in her mind, his velvet soft words
gradually becoming louder until it was the only sound she could hear. 
Opening her eyes to gaze mistily across the silent tavern, Mistral saw not a
sea of expectant faces but the disfigured features of Mage Grapple and the
haughty profile of Leo. 

Looking out
through Fabian’s eyes she noticed immediately that they were not in the third
floor meeting room, but sat around the parchment strewn table in Leo’s tower
room.  This was not a formal meeting.  Tilting her head, Mistral
listened for a moment before beginning to speak in a lifeless voice, repeating
the conversation she could hear through Fabian’s ears.  

‘ I see you
plan many changes, they are well thought.  However, I must extend my
commiserations on the loss of a Magnate member – ’

‘That’s Mage
Grapple.’  Phantom announced knowledgably.

‘Hush
brother!  We guessed!’

‘His
presence on the Magnate will be sorely missed –’

‘Not by me it
won’t,’ Phantom muttered to himself; then more clearly for the benefit of the
tavern, ‘that’s our Divinus, lying through his teeth.’

‘Have you
considered a replacement for Mycroft and of course, for yourself yet?’

‘Why does Leo
need replacing?  Apart from the obvious reasons of course.’  Xerxes
interrupted with a frown. 

‘He’s the
Divinus now, not a member of the Magnate.’  Phantasm whispered back, his
eyes not leaving Mistral’s vacant face. 

‘Mycroft’s
finally waddled off to the afterlife, and Leo’s royal rear is officially on the
throne, leaving two gaping holes in our Magnate.’  Xerxes mused
loudly.  ‘I wonder who he’ll appoint –’

‘I’d take one
of them, if the money was right.’  Cain said quickly.

‘The money’s
always right for the Magnate.’  Phantom muttered back.

‘Fabian,
Bryden and I have drawn up a shortlist –’

There was a
short pause while the entire tavern craned forwards.  Oblivious to the
sudden tension in the room, Mistral watched Leo unfold a piece of parchment
through Fabian’s eyes.

‘Chieftain
Greenoak … Fabian De Winter … Imperato … Chieftain Larch … and one more that I
am undecided about –’

‘Oh?’

‘That’s Mage
Grapple – ’

‘Shut up!’

‘The
Gemini.’

The tavern
erupted into exclamations of surprise and a few cheers.  Brutus gave a low
whistle while Xerxes grinned and lifted his eyebrows at the twins, who, for
once, were not their usual composed selves but staring at each other with
stunned looks on their faces.

‘I see, and
who do you favour?’

‘That’s Mage
Grapple again.’  Phantom managed in a dazed voice.

‘Fabian and
Imperato.’

‘That’s –’

‘We
know!  Shut-up!’  Cain hissed, leaning across the table to catch Mistral’s
quietly spoken words.

‘And you De
Winter?  Do you wish to hold a position on the Magnate?  I understand
it is the second time you have been made the offer.’

‘I am
committed to my role as Training Captain and I also hold a seat on the Council,
my becoming a member of the Magnate would be of no further benefit to the Ri.’

‘You can guess
who that is, turning down money and power as usual.’  Phantom muttered to
his twin.

In the sunlit
tower room across the Valley, Mage Grapple gave Fabian a long look before
nodding and returning his attention to Leo, ‘Inform me of your new Magnate
members once they have been appointed, they will be allocated a seat on the
Council.’

Leo raised an
eyebrow, only the role Divinus automatically came with a seat on the Council.

‘You are not
the only one to be making reforms.’  Mage Grapple said gravely. 
‘Recent events have revealed to me my own complacency, and I seek to rectify my
error with immediate effect.  The Isle was forged to be a haven for more
than just sorcerers, however this is not reflected in the balance of power at
the Council – but it shall be soon.

‘Each Magnate
member will be offered a seat on the Council, as will the Lady De Winter while
she fulfils the role of Seer and, whether they become a member of your Magnate
or not, the Gemini.  I shall also extend an invitation to sit at the
Council to each Arcane Chieftain, irrespective of the size of their tribe –’

‘Ow! 
Oh! 
Damn
!’

‘What is it?’

‘What’s
happened?’

Two pairs of
green eyes stared urgently at Mistral while her face creased with pain.

‘Nothing …
ow!  Just a really,
really
big kick.’  Mistral gasped and
clutched at the edge of the table with one hand, the other pressed over her
belly.

The twins
shared a look then glanced at Cain. 

He met their
double gaze and nodded briefly, ‘I think that once we’re done here, you and I
need to have a few moments Mistral.’

‘S’fine now,
it’s passed.’  Mistral drew in a deep breath and lifted her head up. 
‘Now, where were we?’

‘Mage
Grapple?’  Brutus prompted helpfully.

‘Oh yes,
right, just give me a moment –’

Mistral’s eyes
slid out of focus again while her mind returned to the tower room across the
Valley, ‘Ah, yes, Mage Grapple.  He has a Contract to offer –’ her voice
took on the strange toneless infliction as she slipped deeper into Fabian’s
mind again.

‘ … no
longer tolerate their persistent efforts to challenge my authority and
continual threat to the life of the Isle’s Seer.  The recent unwarranted
invasion of the Valley cannot be ignored either.  To that end I wish to
offer a Contract to eliminate the tribe of Rochforte.’

A savage hiss
swelled through the gathered warriors.

‘I do not
doubt that every warrior in the Valley will want to take the Contract; with
that in mind I am issuing the Contract directly to you to recruit for as you
see fit.  I have set the Contract value at 50,000 gold coins, to be
divided equally amongst the takers.’

‘Hell’s
teeth!’

‘Damn! 
I’d have gone for free!’

‘Shh!’

‘
I have one
further Contract that I wish to be fulfilled with a greater level of
discretion.’

‘You have
no need to doubt the discretion or professionalism of every warrior in the Ri
–’

‘Leo –’
Brutus, Xerxes and Cain chorused wearily without need of Phantom’s help.

‘Which is
precisely why I am issuing you with a Contract to exterminate the vampire
tribe.  Their continued existence on the Isle is no longer a viable
option.  They have flouted every statute agreed upon when they petitioned
me for sanctuary and I am left with no choice but to have them removed, permanently.’

‘Oh for pity’s
sake!  He’s going to pay?  I can’t believe that we cleaned a load of
them out for free!’

‘Still, it was
fun –’

‘A trip abroad
to kill some Rochfortes?  Or a trip to the Northern Range to clean up a
load of Malachi’s relatives?  I’m spoilt for choice!’

‘Take both
brother!  I know I will be!’

‘Wait!’ 
Mistral held her hand up to silence them while her eyes moved unseeingly over
the smoke-stained ceiling.  ‘Leo –’

‘Er, she means
the Divinus –’

‘He has
decided not to put the vampire Contract out to tender –’

An angry
murmur broke out.

‘Wait!’ 
Mistral called more insistently.  ‘He wants to issue it to the apprentices
... he feels they have earned the right to prove themselves … he is handing it
to Fabian to administer … Fabian … he is questioning the Contract value … Mage
Grapple has set it at 50 gold coins a warrior … Leo!  Ha!  Leo is
backed into a corner!  He does not want to appear grasping in front of
Mage Grapple … he has been forced to agree that the apprentices will be paid the
money instead of it going against their training fees –’

A chorus of
whoops broke out from the knot of apprentices around Samson.  He grinned
broadly in response to their excitement and his own, as stand-in Training
Lieutenant he would be going too.

Mistral fell
silent while she listened to the conversation in the tower room move away from
talk of Contracts to less interesting subjects.

‘What’s
happening now Mistral?’  Phantom hissed urgently. 

Mistral sighed
and reached for her tankard of ale, ‘Nothing interesting, they’re discussing
the proposed visit from a delegation of Burmese sorcerers.’

‘Really?’ 
Phantasm leaned forward eagerly.

‘Yes brother,
but if you don’t mind I’ve had enough of doing my party piece now.’

Realising that
the show was over, the crowd of warriors surrounding them dispersed with most
moving immediately to the bar to begin celebrating.  Suddenly the whole
tavern was buzzing with excited talk about the two forthcoming Contracts.

‘Come on
Mistral, they’ve all gone now, tell me when the Burmese delegation will be
arriving!’

‘Forget the
Burmese!  Are you going to take your seat at the Council or what?’ 
Brutus asked.

Mistral
lowered her tankard and gazed at the frothy dregs thoughtfully, ‘I’m not sure,
maybe … but definitely not yet,’ she sighed and rested a hand over her unborn
son.  ‘Travelling is a touch awkward at the moment … but it’ll get a lot
more pleasant when you and Xerxes open that tavern on the northern edge of The
Velvet Forests that you’re planning to.’