The Seer (36 page)

‘But that’s
how life here is Fabian,’ she said simply.  ‘For my part I intend to enjoy
my time with you and when it’s done, all that can be someone else’s problem.’

Fabian gazed
at her for a moment then laughed, his face abruptly losing all of its stress,
making him look younger and so handsome it made her heart ache with acute
longing.  Had she really just spent two weeks alone with him?  It
felt like she hadn’t seen him for two months.  She reached up to kiss his
laughing lips, losing herself in the warmth of his love until an impatient
cough made them break apart.  They turned to see Leo standing in the
alleyway with the rest of her brothers grouped sheepishly behind him.

‘If you are
quite ready Fabian, I think we should begin our journey.’  Leo snapped
curtly and strode on ahead, naturally assuming the lead.

Fabian watched
him go then turned to offer Mistral his arm, ‘Lady De Winter?  I believe
The Cloak beckons this evening.’

Mistral
grinned up at him and accepted his arm for the walk back to the stables,
listening in amusement to the deluge of silent questions from her brothers,
‘The twins want to know what you meant by that,’ she laughed quietly.

‘I’m sure they
do,’ he smiled then turned to look at her again, his eyes suddenly
serious.  ‘You are right in what you said.  The Isle is not a natural
collection of like-minded beings, such as the human nations we spend our lives
hiding from.  We live in enforced captivity for our own safety.  Such
an unnatural environment will always create problems.  I am guilty of
sometimes failing to see that inevitability.’

‘Then it’s
lucky you have me to show you the lighter side of life isn’t it?’

‘You know I
don’t believe in luck,’ he gave her a wry smile.  ‘Only destiny.’

Mistral!! 
Please stop making doe eyes at your Mage and answer my questions!  I know
you can hear me and I’m not going to shut up until you answer me!

‘Oh alright
Phantom.’  Mistral gave in with a sigh.  ‘Mage Grapple’s going to
cast an Expediency spell on us.  We’ll be back in the Valley by
nightfall.’

Leo turned
sharply to look at Fabian, ‘Is this fact?’

Fabian nodded,
‘Needs must.  The heavy snow would make our journey longer than normal and
Mistral has not been well.  It would have been a matter of foolish pride
to refuse Eximius’ offer.’

Leo raised an
eyebrow coldly, ‘I would prefer to travel without the assistance of Mage
Grapple.’

‘You are
welcome to.’

Leo’s eyes
narrowed slightly but he said nothing and Mistral listened to the muffled
sniggers from behind her, the laughter ringing in her mind was far less
reserved.  She listened in on each of her brothers’ thoughts with a smile.

Ah, The
Cloak tonight …

My flat …

Marietta …

I wonder if
the kittens are still alive …

Mistral
immediately stopped smiling, ‘Tell me you got someone to feed those kittens
brother!’  She turned to glare accusingly at Phantom. 

‘Oh, you heard
that did you?’  Phantom said, trying to look innocent.  ‘Well, er,
Xerxes took one … what did you do with it brother?’

‘Gave it to thingybob
from the saddlery.’  Xerxes replied shamelessly.  ‘She really liked
it,’ he added with a smirk.

‘Fine, and the
other two?’  Mistral demanded.

Phantom looked
shifty, ‘I think Phantasm gave one to someone –’

Mistral gave
Phantasm a sharp look, ‘Who?’

‘Eudora.’
 Phantasm replied flatly.

Mistral gave
him a repulsed look then glared at Phantom again, ‘And the last one?’

‘Well,
hopefully Floris remembered to feed it, or there’s going to be a terrible smell
when we open the door tonight –’

‘It?’ 
Mistral spluttered.  ‘You mean that not only haven’t you named the poor
thing, but you couldn’t even be bothered to find out whether it’s a boy or a
girl?’

‘Didn’t seem
important.’  Phantom shrugged, looking supremely unrepentant. 

‘Oh Mistral,
when will you learn?’  Phantasm cut in before Mistral exploded. 
‘He’s winding you up! 
She
is with Serenity and has been named
Eloise.’

Mistral looked
slightly mollified, ‘Oh ... well I suppose that’s alright then – hang
on!’  She looked at Phantom again.  ‘You called her Eloise?  As
in Eloise Lacey?’

‘No.’ Phantom
replied promptly.

Catching sight
of his reddening cheeks, Mistral started laughing and didn’t stop until they
reached the stables.

‘We will ride
out of the city under our own volition.’  Fabian began to explain in a low
voice.  ‘The spell that Eximius has cast will take effect once we leave
the protection of the warlocks at the city gates.  Travelling by
Expediency can be an unsettling experience, it is perfectly normal to feel
nauseous –’

‘Especially
for you sister.’  Brutus murmured.

‘Do one
brother.’  Mistral hissed back.  ‘If you don’t shut up about that
I’ll tell everyone what I found in the wardrobe in your old bedroom.’

Brutus gave
her a wide-eyed look and promptly moved away.

‘What was in
the wardrobe?’  Phantom promptly whispered.

‘No
idea.’  Mistral shrugged.  ‘But you’ve got to admit it was a pretty
good guess!’  She turned her attention back to Fabian, listening to him
finish explaining how the spell would work.

‘We should
reach the Valley by nightfall.  We will be unable to stop until the spell
has run its course, so please don’t fall or you will have to run the rest of
the way back to the Valley.  Your horses will be unaware of the spell, as
will Prospero.’  Fabian paused to glance down at the half-wolf sat beside
Mistral.  ‘If there are no questions we should leave immediately.’

The warriors
turned away and began to mount their horses.  Before long they were riding
out of the stableyard with slightly apprehensive expressions.  Leo and
Fabian began to talk quietly together once they entered the wide avenue of
houses, giving Mistral the opportunity to hold a whispered conversation with
Cain. 

‘Where did you
find Leo?’

‘He was
already in the tavern.’  Cain whispered back with a grimace. 
‘Courtesy of the twins.’

Mistral gave
him a sympathetic look, ‘Did you manage to get a drink in?’

‘No,’ he
muttered sourly.  ‘Lord Leo promptly demanded a full account of the dragon
hunt.  We were spitting feathers by the time we’d answered all his
questions!  We thought he’d let us get a round in then but he insisted we
left immediately ... that’s when we bumped into you and Mage De Winter kissing
in the alleyway like love-sick teenagers.’

‘No we
weren’t!’  Mistral snapped, trying to hide the blush she could feel
creeping over her face.

Cain gave her
a sidelong look, ‘Weren’t what?  Kissing?  Because you definitely
were!  Or the love-sick teenagers bit?  Honestly Mistral, you
wouldn’t think you’d just spent two weeks stuck in each other’s company! 
Xerxes would’ve been secretly seeing at least six other girls just to break the
monotony!’

‘Well that’s
Xerxes all over isn’t it?’  Mistral replied.  ‘Monogamy is monotony
to him.’

Cain laughed,
‘Fair point.  It’s just a shame –’ he stopped and instantly looked
contrite.  An expression Mistral had never seen on his face before.

‘What?’

‘Sorry
sister.  I guess you heard that in my thoughts.  It was completely
unfair,’ he gave her an apologetic look.

‘I heard
nothing Cain.  I’ve been blocking all of your thoughts since Xerxes
started imagining Marietta wearing nothing but a smile – so you can explain
yourself the boring way by using that gaping cavern in your face you call a
mouth.’

Cain laughed
ruefully, ‘I suppose I deserved that.  Oh, listen; it was just a stupid,
random thought.  My mother was a midwife, as you know, and I’ve seen more
unwanted half-breeds brought into this world to unwilling mothers and absent
fathers than I care to remember.  I suppose I’m old fashioned,’ he
shrugged, ‘but it would make a welcome change to see two people who share so
much love to be able to have a family.  Sorry.’

Mistral gave
short laugh, ‘Come on Cain!  What kind of mother would I be?  I’m
hardly bursting with maternal instincts am I?  It’s a blessing I’m a
half-breed!  Anyway, we’ve got Prospero,’ she added flippantly, tried to
laugh off his words.  ‘He’s like a son.’

Cain shook his
head, ‘Don’t belittle the love you have Mistral.  Most of us live an
entire lifetime and never know half of what you have.  Some would kill for
it.  I only meant that any child born to parents who love each other so
much would be truly blessed.’

Mistral was
about to snort with laughter again but the wistful look on Cain’s usually
impish face made her stop.  Cain had been raised by his mother and Mistral
had never asked about his father.  Parentage was a taboo subject in the
Ri.  Bitter tales of abandonment, the shame of mixed-blood, and
occasionally even worse, as in Grendel’s case, were often the reason for
seeking out the Valley. 

‘I’m the one
to be blessed Cain,’ she said quietly.  ‘I would be the greediest person
in the universe to ask for more than what I already have.’

Cain looked
down at the reins bunched in his hand and smiled, ‘You’ve got a good way of
looking at things sometimes Mistral; which is a relief because the rest of the
time you’re a complete nightmare.  Take that dragon-diving incident as a
case in point –’

‘Oh
please!  Not that again!’

‘Yes, that
again!  Just what were you thinking?’

They bickered
all of the way along the busy market street with Xerxes joining in to deliver
lively impersonations of Mistral’s leap into nothingness, pretending to fall
from his saddle each time until Mistral shoved him and he really fell, swearing
loudly when he landed heavily onto the cobbles.  By the time Xerxes was
back in the saddle and had recovered some of his considerable pride they had
left the city and were halted outside the gates, waiting tensely for Mage
Grapple’s spell to take effect.

Mistral
watched Fabian’s face, looking for any sign of the spell coming.  He was
staring into the distance, looking calm and controlled.  A breeze rippled
over him, lifting his dark hair to expose the pale skin of his neck.  He
drew in a sharp breath and turned to look at her with fathomless black eyes.

‘It is cast.’

She breathed
in the tell-tale scent of ozone and felt the knot of fear tighten in her
stomach; the Craft, that inexplicable force that governed all of their lives
and the reason the Isle existed at all.

Fabian kicked
Spirit into a canter, heading towards the open expanse of the High Moors. 
They immediately followed, matching his pace and watching him closely, waiting
to see the spell’s effect.  Mistral frowned as they cantered through the
snow.  Nothing seemed to be happening.  She looked down at Cirrus’
legs, moving rhythmically in the steady rocking motion of his canter.  He
didn’t seem to be moving any faster than he normally did.  Prospero was
running by her side, he too seemed to be moving at his normal pace –

This is
just too weird!!

Mistral looked
up in response to Phantom’s thought and suddenly realised the snow-covered
moors were flashing past in a dizzying white blur.  She looked down at
Cirrus’ steadily cantering legs again and let out a slight gasp.  His dark
hooves were visible above the glittering crust of snow when he should have been
ploughing through, knee-deep.

Damn Mages
for getting all the good stuff.

Mistral heard
Xerxes’ bitter thought and smiled.  He had a point though; how much easier
would their work be if they could get to their destinations with the aid of
Expediency?  Travel on mercenary Contracts would be a mere card game in
length; treks back and forth to the Council completed within a day … the ease
of life would be … just that.  Too easy.  They would become as complacent
as the over-privileged Mages they so detested.

The cliffside
path bordering the west coast flashed by in a blur of blue sea and grey
rocks.  The Velvet Forests were on their left, a green, pine-scented
streak too bewildering to look at.  Mistral concentrated on the unmoving
pommel of her saddle in an effort to control the nausea Fabian had spoken
of.  The speed at which the landscape was flying past her was making her
feel very ill again. 

‘You know what
this journey needs don’t you brother?’  She heard Brutus shout to Xerxes
over the rushing air that whipped past them.

‘No, what’s
that?’  Xerxes had overcome his initial disdain and was grinning,
obviously revelling in the thrill of Expediency.

‘A good tavern
as a mid-way point!’

Xerxes’ grin
morphed into a surprised look, ‘That’s a damned good idea brother!’  He
pulled his horse alongside to discuss a plan that rapidly expanded from one
tavern into a chain of taverns, dotted at convenient points across the Isle.

By the time
they reached the wide meadows outside the Valley night had fallen and the spell
had begun to lose power, bringing their horses through the North Gate at a
weary trot.  Mistral kicked Cirrus on to catch up with Fabian, riding at
the head with Leo. 

‘Are we going
home tonight?’  She asked once she had drawn alongside.

Fabian shook
his head, avoiding her eyes, ‘It’s too late.  The snow is too deep to risk
riding out in the dark.  Phantasm has already offered the hospitality of
their house tonight.’

Mistral said
nothing and let Cirrus drop back to ride alongside Cain.  She didn’t need
to hear Fabian’s thoughts to know what he really meant ...
‘We are staying
in the Valley tonight because first thing tomorrow morning I want you to suffer
the interminable embarrassment of Serenity’s questions.’
  Mistral
cringed inwardly, already dreading the ordeal.