The Seer (41 page)

‘I had nothing
to do with this!’  She cried, waving an angry hand in the direction of her
stomach.

Phantasm
laughed, ‘Oh come on Mistral!  You don’t think the miracle of life is a
solo act do you?’

‘Don’t laugh
at me!’  She snapped.  ‘And no, of course I don’t!  But I didn’t
know I could even have children!’

‘And neither
did he, so just how is he solely to blame?’

Mistral glared
at him but said nothing.

‘And if you had
known you could have children, would it have made any difference?’ 
Phantasm asked reasonably.

Mistral
frowned and fidgeted with her wet sleeve again before she finally sighed, ‘No,
of course not.’

‘Then, please,
tell me why you are fighting so hard against the most wonderful, natural thing
that can happen to a couple who love each other as much as you two!’ 

‘Because …
oh!  Because!’  Mistral flared then faltered, her shoulders dropping
in defeat.  ‘Oh, I don’t know … it was just a shock!  I’ve never known
what blood I had, but I always assumed I was a half-breed of some sort and
could never have children.  And then to find out I was … was, oh you
know!’  She screwed her face up, unable to pronounce the word.

‘Pregnant?’ 
Phantasm offered with an amused smile. 

‘Yes …
that.’ 

‘So, you’re
not too shocked about being centaur born then?’ 

‘Not really.’
 Mistral shrugged.  ‘I was born to be a Seer.  It didn’t matter
whether my parents were centaurs or spriggans.  I’d have been me no matter
what.’

‘I really
can’t believe that you’re struggling to come to terms with being pregnant but
seem to have accepted the truth about your blood without too much
trouble!  You’re so contrary Mistral!’  Phantasm gave a short laugh
and then sighed, hugging her closely again.  ‘But I can’t begin to tell
you how worried we’ve been about you!  We’ve searched everywhere for you,
and then you just turn up, looking like a drowned cat!’

‘I really am
sorry.’  Mistral looked forlornly at him.  ‘I never meant to cause so
much trouble, but when Serenity told me what was wrong with me, I just panicked
... I got lost in the forests, then I fell … and the centaurs found me and took
me back to the tribe and Imperato told me the truth, and, well, it just took me
a bit of time to adjust I suppose.’

‘Yes, I can
see now that you probably did have a bit to think about.’  Phantasm
agreed.  ‘My brother and I knew you’d come back when you were ready.’

‘I’m so lucky
to have you two.’  Mistral sighed and then looked up at him
anxiously.  ‘I know I never say how much you mean to me, but you do know,
don’t you?’ 

‘Of course we
do Mistral.’  Phantasm gave her a bemused look.  ‘But I do think that
pregnancy has made you a bit over-emotional.  It certainly explains some
of your recent behaviour, the kittens for a start.’

‘Oh, don’t
remind me of those damned kittens!  Or honey –’ Mistral closed her eyes
and shuddered.

Phantasm
laughed softly and leaned his head back against the padded back of the sofa,
his arm curled loosely around Mistral.  For a while there was only the
sound of raindrops striking the windows and the comforting crackle of the fire
burning in the grate.

‘Brother?’ 
Mistral asked, suddenly sitting up and looking at him.

‘Yes?’

‘Would you,
and Phantom of course … would you be … godfathers?’ 

Phantasm’s
face split into a jubilant grin, ‘We would be honoured.’

‘Good.’
 Mistral muttered, curling up against him again.  ‘Because I dread to
think what reprobate Fabian would ask.’

‘Does this
mean you’re coming around to the idea of motherhood then?’ 

‘I don’t
really think I have a choice do I?’  She sighed resignedly and plucked at
the loose material covering her belly. 

‘Now that’s
the spirit.’  Phantasm smiled fondly.

By the time
Phantom returned Mistral was fast asleep on the sofa.  Closing the door
quietly behind him he walked softly over to where his brother was sat at the
kitchen table.  ‘How is she?’

‘Getting
there.  She almost said the word “pregnant” earlier.’

‘That is
progress.’  Phantom murmured approvingly. 

‘Oh, and she asked
us to be godfathers.’

‘Really? 
That’s fantastic!’

‘Shh! 
Don’t wake her please!  I’ve had enough tears for one night!’

Phantom
grimaced, ‘Oh dear, are we at the crying stage then?’ 

‘It would
appear so … she even tried to tell me how much you and I mean to her.’

‘Ugh! 
When does she get to the angry stage?’ 

‘Knowing
Mistral, that one will be no doubt be happening very soon and probably last for
the rest of her pregnancy, but hopefully by then we’ll have managed to reunite
her with Mage De Winter and it’ll be his problem.’

They both
turned and regarded Mistral’s sleeping form in silence for a few moments.

‘Why is she
wearing my clothes?’  Phantom finally asked.

‘Sorry
brother, first that came to hand.  Apparently her own don’t fit so well
anymore.’

‘Never did
anyway.’  Phantom muttered disdainfully. 

‘Hmm, I think
we might need to draft in the help of someone more qualified in that area than
us.’

‘Not
Eudora!’ 

‘No,
brother.  Worse than Eudora.’

‘No!  You
can’t mean what I think you mean?  You do don’t you?’  Phantom stared
at his brother in horror.  ‘Mistral will never forgive us!’

‘Well it’s
either that or she’s going to be wearing Grendel’s clothes before too
long.’  Phantasm pointed out practically.  ‘Do you really want to see
that?’

Phantom pulled
a face, ‘Not really!  The turn-ups she’d have to put in the trousers would
probably be big enough to carry the child in when it’s born!’

‘Quite,’ said
Phantasm.  ‘So, if you’re agreed, we should probably make a subtle
suggestion to a certain someone that they need to come and visit.’

‘Oh, the
things I do for that girl!’  Phantom exclaimed softly and turned to face
his brother with a grim look.  ‘I suppose it is time she saw our house
anyway.’

Mistral awoke
to the sound of the twins arguing quietly over a game of knuckle bones.

‘Is there any
chance of something to drink?’  She asked, sitting up and stretching.

‘Water? 
Of course.’  Phantasm said solicitously, rising to his feet and moving
gracefully into the kitchen.

‘No.’ Mistral
frowned.  ‘I need a drink.’

‘You can have
a small cup of wine, but only if you have something to eat as well.’
 Phantasm said in a firm voice.

‘Forget it
then.  I’m not hungry.’  Mistral looked moodily out of the black,
rain-spattered window.  ‘What time is it anyway?’

‘Late –’

They all
jumped as someone banged loudly on the door.

‘She can’t
have been that quick!’  Phantom hissed with a terrified glance at the
closed door.

‘No brother, I
think not,’ said Phantasm quietly and strode over to the door, opening it
cautiously.  ‘Mage De Winter,’ he murmured softly and opened the door
wider to allow Fabian to enter. 

Fabian gazed
at Mistral across the room, his face drawn into a tortured mask of agony.

‘I think we
should go for a drink in The Cloak brother.’  Phantasm suggested pointedly. 

The twins
slipped out of the door, closing it quietly behind them to leave Fabian and
Mistral alone.  A long silence fell while they stared at each other across
the room.  All of the inexplicable resentment and anger she had felt
towards him evaporated under the searing heat of his black gaze, his name
finally escaping her lips in sigh of longing.

‘Fabian –’

He crossed the
room in three strides to sweep her into his arms, holding her so tightly she
could hear every beat of his heart and feel the long drawn out sigh leave his
body.  They did not speak or move for a long moment until Fabian slowly
released his arms from around her to gaze down at her with eyes ringed with
exhaustion.

‘Oh
Fabian!’  Mistral whispered brokenly.  ‘I’m so sorry!  I’ve put
you through hell haven’t I?’ 

He smiled
faintly, ‘Hell.  Yes, I may have been there this week.  But only
because I thought I had driven you away.  I never wanted to trap you
Mistral, I’m sorry … I’m so sorry –’

Unable to bear
the anguish in his eyes any longer she reached up to wind her fingers through
his dark, tangled hair, pulling him to her, kissing him with fierce need, ‘I
love you, I love you so much!  How could I have been so cruel to
you?’  She whispered despairingly, her hands cradling the face of the man
she adored, gazing at her now with eyes eloquent with emotion.  ‘Oh please
forgive me!  I never wanted to hurt you.  I was just so shocked – I
never knew I could bear a child, I thought I was a barren half-breed! 
But, I know now Fabian.  I know who and what I am.’

Fabian led her
silently to the sofa.  Sitting down he pulled her onto his lap and held
her close against him again before speaking.  ‘Imperato told me.’ 

Mistral held
her breath and waited for his reaction.

‘You were
always complete to me Mistral.  I never cared what blood you had, only
that you wanted to share your life with me.’

She smiled and
touched his face gently, slowly tracing the gaunt hollow of his cheek, ‘And I
do, always.  You are all I have ever wanted from life.  And now we
are complete … the three of us.’

Fabian’s eyes
softened at her words, glowing with a depth of love that made her marvel at her
own blind stupidity.  What had she been running from?  Closing her
eyes and revelling in the warmth of his embrace, Mistral reflected that she
really was her own worst enemy.  Fabian loved her, and she loved him;
implicitly.  What had she been afraid of?  They remained wrapped in
each other’s arms for a long time, speaking a language that needed no words,
listening to the sound of each other’s breathing and the beat of three hearts
in two bodies. 

‘Oh!’ 
Mistral abruptly sat up with and looked at him guiltily.  ‘I nearly
forgot!  I hope you don’t mind, but I asked the twins to be godfathers.’

‘They will be
perfect.’  Fabian smiled and then looked apprehensive.  ‘I was
thinking of Samson just now, but perhaps he would be a bad influence.’

‘Oh no! 
I think balance is needed!  I don’t want our son to grow up obsessed with
being neat and tidy!’

‘Son?’ 

Mistral made
an apologetic face, ‘Sorry, would you rather it had been a surprise?’

‘But –’ Fabian
frowned in confusion and laid a hand on the barely perceivable swell that was
their son.  ‘How do you know?’

Mistral
grinned at him and laid a hand over his, pressing it tighter against the curve
of her abdomen,   ‘I can hear his thoughts, or rather his wants … and
they are definitely male … food and sleep, that’s all he thinks about.’

Fabian’s face
dropped in astonishment, ‘You can hear him?’  

She nodded
indulgently, ‘I think that’s when I started to accept the truth ... that I had
a living, thinking being inside me and not a prison sentence.’

‘Oh
Mistral!’  Fabian exclaimed; his expression desperate again.  ‘I
swear I never desired to trap you!  I only ever wanted you to be happy ...
Mistral, please … please tell me this makes you happy!’

‘More than I
can put into words.’  Mistral smiled with sudden realisation of the
truth.  ‘And I know I’m not trapped.  In fact, I think it could be
the opposite.  I’m free!  Free of not knowing who or what I am, of
the fear of my destiny.  And it’s because of you; not in spite of you …
because of how much I love you.’

He gazed at
her, his black eyes filled again with a yearning so acute it made her heart
ache, ‘Are you ready to come home now?’  He asked softly.

‘I never
left.  Just … travelled for a short while –’

He closed his
eyes and held her tightly, ‘I thought I had lost you.’

‘But I thought
you didn’t believe in luck,’ she laughed and reached up to kiss him again.

They crept quietly
from the twins’ house in the early hours of the morning and were already
half-way across the meadows before the sun had broken over the Eastern
Range.  Mistral knew she was running away again; but this time she was
running home with her Mage. 

The sight of
their small honey-coloured house instantly filled Mistral with joy.  She
slid from Cirrus’ back and led him to the stables, settling him in his stall
next to Spirit she took Fabian’s hand and walked with him across the courtyard
and up the stone steps to the door of their house.  Waiting while he
unlocked the door she gazed happily at the familiar view of dark wooded slopes
nestling beneath the shadow of the Western Range; she was home.  Fabian
opened the door and Prospero immediately padded over and sat in front of the
cold stove, looking expectant.  Mistral laughed and ran across the room to
fling open the narrow balcony doors, stepping out she leaned against the heavy
wooden rail to admire the view, breathing in the scent of pine trees and cold air
she gave a long sigh of contentment. 

‘It’s good to
be home.’ 

Fabian walked
quietly up behind her, his soft voice almost hesitant, ‘Even though you have a
family now … another home?’  He placed his arms around her, gently laying
his hands over her stomach. 

Mistral sighed
and leaned back against him, ‘You are all the family I ever need or want. 
The twins, even my brothers; they’re closer to me than the tribe ever could be,
and this house was home to me the first time I ever stepped foot over the threshold. 
Nothing can ever replace that.’

‘Not even
having a mother?’   

Mistral made a
dismissive sound, ‘Alyssa may have given birth to me, but she’s not my
mother.  I’ve lived my entire life free from the constraints of parents
and I’m certainly not going to start letting some Melsina or Diannah type
figure start trying to control me now!’