The Seer (4 page)

‘Why are you
in my bedroom?’  She retorted, pulling the blanket up higher. 

‘Get up now!’

‘Not with you
in here!’

‘Oh, for
crying out loud!’  Phantasm spun around and called out to his
brother.  ‘Is that bath run for her yet?’

‘Yes.’  Phantom’s
muffled response came from the bathroom.

‘Right
you!  In that bath and out as quickly as you can.  And please wash
your hair,’ he added in disdainful tone, walking out and slamming the door
behind him.

‘Bossy pants.’
 Mistral muttered and rolled over.

‘I heard that
too!’

A short while
later Mistral was sat on a stool in Phantasm’s bedroom, eating warm bread and
honey whilst submitting to have her hair cut again, ‘I really can’t see what
all the fuss is about,’ she said through a mouthful of bread.  ‘And I
really am not enjoying a repeat of you attacking me with a comb and
scissors!  It’s not my wedding again you know!’

‘No Mistral,
for once, it’s an event that’s not all about you,’ said Phantasm, tugging a
comb through a knot in her hair.

‘What do you
mean by that?’  she demanded angrily. 

‘My brother
and I have waited two years for you to master your gift Mistral.  Two
years!  Now we can finally embrace all of the potential we share between
us.  The Divinus has passed.  It’s our time now.  We are going
to be under the scrutiny of every single Arcane, warrior and Council member
present today and you owe it to us to look the part for once!’

‘You want me
to be some kind of ornament?’  She spluttered furiously.  ‘Please
tell me we’re not going to be wearing matching outfits!’

‘You could
hardly be described as an ornament.’  Phantasm said crisply, yanking the
comb more savagely at the knot.  ‘And don’t be facetious!’

‘Ow!  You
did that on purpose!’  Mistral leapt off the stool. 

‘Sit
down!’  Phantasm ordered, giving her a look so reminiscent of Melsina that
Mistral instantly sank back down onto the stool and continued with her
breakfast in silence.

Phantom
appeared at the doorway and Mistral mouthed desperate pleas at him, he regarded
her silently, his green eyes sympathetic but he shook his head at her
requests.  Mistral widened her eyes and mouthed something a lot less
pleasant but Phantom simply grinned and strolled into the room, opening the
wardrobe doors and casting an appraising eye across the row of dresses. 

‘You do
realise brother that any ladies you bring back here are going to think you
already have a woman in your life.’

‘Why would
they be looking in his wardrobe?’  Mistral frowned.

‘Don’t women
do that?  Check in the wardrobe for evidence of any other females … or
room for their own clothes?’ 

‘Er?’ 
Mistral looked blank.  She and Fabian didn’t even own a wardrobe. 
Her few shirts and trousers were either scattered around their bedroom or
draped on the back of the chair.

‘Don’t ask
Mistral questions like that.’  Phantasm said scathingly.  ‘She would
only look in a wardrobe if it presented a suitable place to surprise an enemy
from.’

Mistral
laughed and looked down at her empty plate, ‘Is there any more bread?  I’m
starving!’

Phantom gave
her an odd look and collected her plate, slipping quietly out of the room and
returning a few minutes later with more warm bread, dripping with butter and
honey. 

‘Thanks!’

‘Easy though,
or you won’t be able to fit into those dresses.’  Phantom chided as she
bit hungrily into one of the pieces of bread.

‘Good reason
to stuff my face then.’  Mistral promptly rammed more breath into her
mouth.

‘Please don’t
eat like that tonight.’  Phantasm gave her a disgusted look when she wiped
her hands on Fabian’s shirt. 

‘What are we
meant to be doing again?’  she asked with a sigh, running a finger around
her empty plate to catch the last of the warm honey and putting it in her
mouth.

‘I’m sure you
know that better than either of us,’ murmured Phantasm, now tugging her hair
into a plait.

Mistral
sighed, ‘I know, but it’s more normal to talk about things instead of just
knowing
them.  Otherwise conversation becomes a fairly pointless exercise.’

‘Well, you put
this on and then we’ll have a pointless conversation,’ said Phantasm, passing
her a dress.

Mistral took
it from him with a resigned sigh, ‘See you in a minute.’

The dress was
a soft grey that she supposed Eudora would have described as “dove grey” or
something equally simpering, but it reminded Mistral of the colour of the
harpies they had hunted at The Festival of the Arcane.  It was made of a
fine wool and had long sleeves and a high neck; quite unlike her wedding dress,
for which she was grateful.  She undid the long row of pearl buttons that
ran the entire length of the back and stepped in.  It fitted perfectly; of
course.  She smiled to herself.  Phantasm probably even knew her
precise measurements whereas she didn’t even know her own height. 

‘Ready!’

The door
opened to reveal the twins looking breathtakingly handsome in dark grey shirts
and black trousers, the austere colours only serving to emphasise their bright
green eyes and white blonde hair.  Phantom immediately walked around to
button up the back of her dress.  She met her own gaze in the huge mirror
and tried to hide a smile as images of the gold satin ribbons on her wedding
dress filled her mind.  Her reflection grinned back and she was suddenly
very grateful the twins were not the ones with the ability to hear thoughts.

‘Boots.’
 Phantasm said shortly, passing her a pair of long leather boots. 
‘Like them?’  he enquired when she sat down to pull them on.  ‘I had
something extra added to the sides.’

Mistral held
one up and looked more closely at the soft black leather, her eyes widening
with delight when she saw that each boot had a perfectly disguised holder
stitched into the side, just the right size for a dagger.  ‘They’re the
best present you’ve ever given me!’  Mistral cried, grabbing her dagger
from her abandoned trousers and slipping it into the holder.  ‘Now I just
need to buy another dagger,’ she smiled happily.

‘Hmm, well I
think it would be best if we all went into this banquet armed, after all, you
are going to be there.’

‘Yes, yes, we
all know that I’m some kind of a natural disaster.’  Mistral muttered
while she finished lacing up her boots.  Standing up she walked over to
the window to look out and stumbled slightly, unused to the long skirt. 
She peered out of the frost-coated window at the view down over the
valley.  The snow that had been falling all week lay thickly across the
village square.  It would be cold stood out there all day in just a
dress.  She turned around with a frown to rebuke the twins for overlooking
this fact to see them smiling smugly at her.

‘We know.’
 Phantasm said, holding a folded cloak out to her.

‘Sometimes I
swear you have the Sight.’  Mistral scowled, reaching out to take the long
black cloak from him and shaking it out.  It was made of heavy velvet and
lined with soft grey fur.  ‘It’s gorgeous!’  She exclaimed in
surprise.

‘And I don’t
want to see you hunting in it either.’  Phantom warned.  ‘It cost a
fortune.’

‘Brother!’ 
Mistral cried looking at him aghast.  ‘I’ll pay for all of this!  I’m
so ungrateful!  I’ll speak to Fabian as soon as he gets here, I promise!’

‘Relax
Mistral.’  Phantom sighed.  ‘What my brother meant to say was that it
would
have cost a fortune if he had paid for any of it,’ he flicked a
hand dismissively at the row of dresses.

Phantasm
immediately turned and walked out of the room, ‘I would be grateful if you
could refrain from listening to my thoughts for the next few minutes,’ he
called back in a strained voice.

Mistral
groaned, ‘Not Eudora again.’

Phantom
shrugged and wandered over to the mirror, examining his immaculate reflection
with a critical eye, ‘Hmm, perfect.  Right, let’s practise!’  He
dragged her over to stand beside him.  ‘You will be between us, of course,
but on my left and my brother’s right, understand?’

Mistral gazed
at the pair in the mirror while he began to talk about the day and couldn’t
help but smile.  He was so utterly flawless that no woman with an ounce of
vanity would want to be stood next to him, much less stuck between him and his
equally perfect twin.  Forcing herself reluctantly to inspect her own
reflection she noted with dismay that Phantasm had pulled her hair back into a
neat plait, leaving her face feeling uncomfortably exposed without its usual
mass of dark hair.  Her dress was more fitted than she would have liked,
but at least it actually covered her up this time. 

‘Do you
remember that scruffy girl we met at the North Gate two years ago?’ 
Phantasm enquired with a smile, ghosting silently up silently beside her to
slip an arm around her shoulders.

Mistral
scowled at his reflection in the mirror, ‘Yes, it’ll be the same one you’ll see
back again tomorrow morning.’ 

‘Ah maybe, but
today you actually look like you possess one of the most rare and powerful
gifts of all our kind.’

‘What? 
The ability to attract trouble whilst wearing a dress?’

‘Yes, you do
possess that one too, which reminds me,’ he knelt down and slipped a knife into
the side of each of his boots.

‘Now, we
really do need to talk about today.’  Phantom reminded them
impatiently. 

But Mistral
didn’t hear him.  She was gazing out of the window with a blank look on
her face.  ‘He’s here,’ she sighed a split-second before a single knock
sounded on the front door.  Turning to run out of the room she immediately
tripped over her dress and fell flat on her face. 

Phantom
laughed and bent to pick her up, ‘I think that running should be off the agenda
today.’

‘For once, I
agree with you brother.’

By the time
she had negotiated the stairs Fabian was already waiting for her at the bottom,
reaching out to swing her into his arms.

‘You look
beautifully appropriate,’ he murmured, holding her in his arms.

Mistral gazed
into his eyes and smiled, wondering how anything could ever be described as
beautiful compared to the way he was looking at her, ‘Please tell me we’re
going home tonight.’

Fabian sighed
and set her down, ‘I’m afraid the Tribute Banquet will probably go on too
long.  If the twins have no objections, we may have to impose on their
hospitality again.’

‘You are both
always welcome in our home.’  Phantasm replied solicitously. 
‘Anyway, I think the opportunity to discuss what we hear … and See during the
banquet would be most welcome.’

Fabian nodded
and looked intently at Mistral, ‘We need to prepare.’  He led her over to
the sofa, waiting politely until she was seated before sitting down beside her.
 ‘The funeral procession will begin from the Main Hall.  Leo,
Malachi, Mycroft and Nereus will be the pall bearers –’

‘That’ll be
Mycroft’s exercise for the year then.’  Mistral remarked sourly.

‘The pyre will
be lit at noon.  Mycroft will speak first.’  Fabian continued.

‘And put us
all to sleep.’

Phantasm gave
her an icy look and Mistral stuck her tongue out at him.

‘Followed by
Malachi, Leo and finally Eximius.’  Fabian concluded then turned to look
at Mistral.  ‘Focus on reading Malachi and, if you can, Bellicose La
Monte.  We need to know what Malachi’s plans are and how Bellicose fits
into them.’

‘Huh, I think
we can guess!  Malachi is going to bribe the Council officials with a big
bag of gold and any that don’t take his coin will probably get a visit from his
daddy the vampire!’ 

‘You may not
be too far from the mark there Mistral, but it would still be useful to have
some indication of what his scheme to become the next Divinus entails.’

‘Does he know
that Mistral has mastered Sight yet?’  Phantasm asked.

Fabian shook
his head, ‘Not officially.  However, the fact that Xerxes rather loudly
forbade Mistral from joining any card games in The Cloak may have run one or
two alarm bells with him.’

‘How do you
know about that?’  Mistral asked with a surprised look.

Fabian smiled
ruefully at her, ‘Malachi is not the only one with his spies in The Cloak
keeping an eye on you.’

Mistral looked
appalled, ‘I’m being
watched
?’

‘Relax
Mistral, it’s only by us.’  Phantom threw himself down into one of the
armchairs by the fire.

‘You’ve been
spying on me?’ 

‘Oh, come on,
not in a creepy way!  Master Sphinx just wanted to prevent any trouble
from coming your way.’

‘I don’t
believe I’m hearing this!  I thought we were done with the baby-sitting
routine now!  Putreo and Columbine are dead and I’ve finally mastered the
Sight!  Everything is fine now!’

‘No Mistral,
everything is not fine and it’s not going to be until a new Divinus is
elected!’  Phantasm leapt to his feet and began pacing the room. 
‘And until that time we are a key factor in any plans!  The Rochfortes are
still seeking a position at the Council and I’m sure they would still love to
have a pet Seer with a couple of mind control experts to assist them!’

Mistral
flinched, remembering the torture she had endured in the Rochfortes’ last
efforts to make her submit to their will.

‘And I think
we can be fairly certain that having Malachi as a Divinus would feature quite
highly in their plans.’  Fabian added darkly. 

‘Why doesn’t
Leo just do away with Malachi and have you two influence the Council into
electing him as the new Divinus?’  Mistral demanded petulantly. 

‘Because
Mistral!’  Phantasm snapped angrily.  ‘The Isle was created to be a
sanctuary from bigotry and persecution, not a haven!  Despite the
self-serving actions of some of the members, the Council actually exists to
enforce that ideal and to use our gift to achieve our desired outcome would
only make us as corrupt as the Rochfortes!’