The Seer (80 page)

‘Then I must
wake the others and ensure we have left before that happens.’  Fabian
turned away and began walking back to the cave.

‘And when she
does awake, what then?’  Phantasm called quietly. 

Fabian halted,
his back still towards Phantasm, ‘Keep her out of this fight.  By any
means necessary.  I will not question your means.’ 

‘We may have
to restrain her –’

‘So be it.’
 Fabian began to walk back to the camp before abruptly stopping.  He
remained still for a moment then turned around and strode back to stand before
Phantasm once more, fixing him with his deep black stare.  ‘I ask this of
you now, and your absolute honesty is what I seek.’  

‘Ask.’
Phantasm responded quietly.  ‘My reply shall be truthful.’

‘Should I not
return from today’s fight, will you embrace the full responsibilities of your
role as godfather?’

‘Without
hesitation.’

Fabian’s voice
was tense, ‘And … Mistral?’

Phantasm gazed
calmly back at Fabian, ‘We will always be there for Mistral.’

Fabian closed
his eyes and let out a low sigh, ‘Then I am satisfied that should I die today,
they will be assured of a steadying influence in their lives.’  He opened
his eyes to stare forcefully at Phantasm, his hands reflexively curling into
fists by his side.  ‘Should she meet another –’

Phantasm cut
across him in a flat voice, ‘She will not.’ 

‘You
misunderstand.’  Fabian continued in a softer voice.  ‘I would not
wish a life of loneliness for her.  I would want her to love again.’

‘She is not
capable of loving again the way she does you, Mage De Winter, I am certain of
that.’

Fabian
regarded Phantasm closely, understanding stirring in the black depths of his
eyes, ‘You share a bond through your gifts that I am unable comprehend. 
An affinity ... but also, I think, a love?’

‘Yes.’
 Phantasm admitted quietly.  ‘But she is, and always has been,
yours.  There cannot be another for her.’  A short silence fell while
Phantasm lifted his eyes up to contemplate the night sky.  He drew in a
long breath and let it out slowly before lowering his gaze back to meet
Fabian’s again.  ‘I am bound to my brother through more than our gift; we
are but one soul, eternally joined and forever incomplete without the other. 
Such is our destiny … and it will never permit either of us to find love or
share in a life without the other,’ he paused and smiled.  ‘We are to be
your son’s godfathers and Mistral is our sister.  That is more love than
we could ever have expected to know.  She would be well cared for Mage De
Winter, I promise.’

Fabian
continued to hold his gaze for a long moment before turning and striding back
to the camp.  He woke Samson first then moved quickly amongst the others,
signalling to each as he woke them to prepare silently for immediate departure.

Phantom stole
soundlessly to his brother’s side to murmur in his ear, ‘What was that
about?’ 

‘Just Mage De
Winter requesting that we physically restrain Mistral while he goes off to die,
oh and then look after her and their son for the rest of our lives.’

‘Oh, is that
all.’  Phantom muttered sourly.  ‘Don’t suppose he left any specific
instructions on just how to restrain her did he?’

Cain and
Grendel muffled the horses’ hooves with spare shirts while the rest of the
warriors quietly broke camp.  The twins sat completely still, staring
unwaveringly at Mistral; concentrating all of their power into influencing her
to remain asleep while all around silent preparations for the day’s fight were
being made.  At a wordless signal from Samson the warriors mounted and
rode in single file after him, one by one they vanished into the wind-torn
darkness until only Fabian was left.

He walked
quietly across the cave to stare silently down at Mistral.  His hands
flexed involuntarily, as though he were about to reach out to touch her, and
then he was gone, striding quickly over to saddle his fidgeting mare and ride
away into the dark.  

The muted
sound of Spirit’s hoof beats gradually faded away to leave the twins sat in
absolute silence, continuing to force their will into Mistral’s mind, waging
their own private battle against the powerful gift she possessed.  She
stirred faintly and murmured Fabian’s name but did not wake.

Deep within
her dream Mistral was standing in the meadows near the Valley.  She was
alone and surrounded by a thick swirling mist that seemed to press in on her
from every side, preventing her from moving and causing her to panic.  But
oh!  To her unutterable joy Fabian was suddenly there, appearing through
the fog to stand before her, the sight of him instantly filling her with
bliss.  She felt his lips brush hers in a lingering caress and
smiled.  Breathing in the warm scent of his skin with a sigh of pleasure
she closed her eyes and listened to his velvet voice whispering his love to
her.  Each murmured word sweeter than the last until she heard the one he
never said, jarring like a false note in a song.

Goodbye …

Her eyes flew
open as he turned and walked away from her.  She was suddenly confused; he
was going away?  Where?  Inexplicably powerless to follow, she could
only watch him leave with the same easy strides she had matched countless
times.  She called out to him, asking him to wait, telling him that she
would come with him … but he didn’t halt, and his tall figure was quickly lost
in the dense fog.  She struggled against the invisible restraints binding
her, but they resisted and held her still, preventing her from following after
him.  Flooded with the terrifying certainty that she would never seem him
again she began to scream his name until her voice ripped from her throat in a
hoarse rasp.  Fabian was gone, leaving her alone and frightened, unable to
shake off the heavy weight that was smothering her, resolutely holding her back
from following her Mage.  Panic filled her; she began to hyperventilate,
staring around frantically for something familiar to reassure her.

A spark of
green light flared in the murk and darted towards her, splitting into two
smaller flecks of bright opulence, each no bigger than a firefly.  The
twin orbs began to move around her in dizzying circles, demanding her attention
with their erratic movements.  Her breathing slowed and calmed as her eyes
followed the mesmerising green lights, shining jewel-bright in the gloom, like
emeralds …

Ah
–

Mistral sat
bolt upright and stared around wildly until she locked gazes with the calm
green eyes she had seen in her dream, ‘What the hell are you playing at?’ 
She exploded.  ‘Bored with waiting for me to wake up were you? 
Thought you’d give me a nice little nightmare to drag me screaming into
wakefulness?’

‘Now brother.’
 Phantasm murmured softly. 

‘Well, are you
going to explain what that was all about?  Or am I going to have to beat
it out of you?’  Mistral demanded, still glaring at them both while she
fought to free herself from the heavy Wolverine skins.

‘Let me help
you.’  Phantom offered and started to wrap the Wolverine skin more tightly
around her. 

‘I’m really
not in the mood for your stupid antics brother!’  Mistral fumed. 
Throwing the skin off again, she leapt to her feet.

Phantom
immediately grabbed her arms and pinned them by her sides, ‘Sorry about this –’

‘What the
hell
are you doing?’  she howled.

‘Orders
Mistral.’  Phantom grunted as he tried to hold her still.  ‘Will ...
you ... just ... calm down –’

‘What?’ 
Mistral froze, noticing the deserted campsite for the first time.  ‘Where
are they?  Oh no, no, NO!  I do
not
believe that man!’ 
She became completely still in his hold, staring off into the darkness while
she reached out for Fabian, listening to his thoughts.  ‘Oh!  I bet
you’re sorry De Winter!’  She growled, her eyes sliding sharply back into
focus.  ‘But nowhere near as sorry as you’re going to be, I promise
you!’  She immediately began to struggle against Phantom’s grip, cursing
him with every missed kick and attempted stamp.  Prospero growled, his
pale eyes fixed on Phantom.

‘Oh damn, not
you too Prospero!  Rope brother!  NOW!’  Phantom yelled
urgently, nimbly dodging Mistral’s well-aimed boot. 

‘You dare tie
me up and I
swear
I will kill you both!’  Mistral jerked her body
sharply to the side and rammed an elbow hard into Phantom’s solar plexus,
forcing the air from his lungs with a satisfying gasp.  Feeling his grip
slacken fractionally, she twisted free of his grasp and sprinted away. 
 

‘What the hell
did you let her go for?’  Phantasm shouted, flinging the coil of rope at
his brother’s feet as Mistral galloped away on Cirrus.

‘Well, it’s a
bit difficult to know where to hang on to her these days.’  Phantom
panted, doubled-over with pain. 

‘Her hair,
damn it!’  Phantasm yelled, throwing his hands up in exasperation.

Phantasm
groaned, ‘Didn’t think of that one–’ 

Away from the
shelter of the cave mouth the wind blew with wildly, whipping Mistral’s hair across
her face and obstructing her vision, forcing her to slow Cirrus to a steadier
pace or risk riding off the edge of the steep-sided mountain path.  Her
anger quickly abated, cooled by the need to concentrate fully on steering
Cirrus safely along the rough path in the pre-dawn darkness.  By the time
she heard the sound of the twins’ horses catching her up, she was completely
calm.  Greeting them both with a curt nod, she gestured down to her
right. 

‘Mind out for
Prospero.’

‘I think you
broke my rib!’  Phantom complained loudly.

‘It’s no more
than you deserved!  Now please shut up, I’m thinking!’

Phantom
snorted and said something derogatory that was lost in the noise of the wind.
 Mistral ignored him.  She was weighing up her options. 
Tempting as it was to catch up with Fabian and confront him, Mistral knew that
would only result in neither of them fighting as he would no doubt insist on
keeping her out of the battle, leaving the other warriors facing insurmountable
odds.  Even if she waited until they were in position and then joined
them, she would only serve to distract him, possibly fatally.  No, he
needed to focus on the fight, and the only way he would do that was if he
thought she was still safely back at the camp.  The only answer would be
for her to fight without him knowing.

‘Right, I need
you two to inform Samson that we’re going to be shooting crossbow from above,
but he’s not to let Fabian know.’

‘Mistral,
please, don’t be so stubborn about this.  Think rationally!  You’ve
no armour, no swords and no knife belt!  You couldn’t be less prepared if
you tried!’

‘We’ll stay up
high, out of the fray, and pick off the vampires from above.’  Mistral
continued in a determined voice.  ‘I know Brutus and Xerxes too
well.  They won’t stay out of the fight for long even, if Samson has
ordered them to shoot longbow from above.  It’s personal for them
now.  They’ll want to be in the thick of it.  We’ll be providing the
cover they should be.’

‘Is there no
way I can persuade you not to do this?’  Phantasm’s voice was barely
audible above the moaning wind.  ‘It’s going to be a fight to the death
today.  I don’t want it to be yours.’

Mistral’s
brows knitted together in a deep frown, ‘Did you not hear Bellicose’s plans
last night brother?  He doesn’t just want to clear a path for his son to
become the next Divinus so that he can gain more power at the Council , he
wants to rule the Isle and turn it into some sort of private hunting ground for
the vampire tribes of the world!  Whether I survive today or not isn’t
really important compared to that!’

‘All the more
reason to inform Mage Grapple of his intentions and enlist the help of the
warlocks.’  Phantasm argued stubbornly.

‘No time
brother!’  Mistral snapped, turning back to concentrate on the path. 
‘The vampire tribe are on the move.’

‘Already?’ 
Phantasm couldn’t disguise the note of alarm in his voice.

Mistral
nodded, her eyes misting over for the briefest of moments to See, ‘Bellicose is
running, Malachi is beside him … his lieutenant now … the ground beneath his
feet is white –’

‘Snow! 
They are still up high.’  Phantasm exhaled in relief.  ‘Time is on
our side.’

‘For now
brother, but please do as I ask you for a change!  Let Samson know our
plan then we can prepare.’

They halted the
horses while the twins stared silently at one another, joining their gazes to
become one and harness the power of their gift; the Gemini.

‘It is
done.’  Phantasm said quietly and dropped his gaze from his brother’s.

At the sound
of his voice Mistral’s eyes slipped back into focus, leaving Samson’s mind, ‘He
understood.  Good.  Now we can get ready.’ 

While the
twins checked their crossbows Mistral tied her hair back and removed her cloak,
rolling it up and securing it on the back of her saddle.  She was cold
without its protection but it would be too restrictive to wear whilst
shooting.  The bitter wind tugged at the fabric of her shirt as she
quickly pulled on the leather jerkin of Leo’s she’d forgotten to return. 

‘Gloves
–’  Mistral passed each of the twins a pair of leather fingerless gloves,
ideal of keeping hands warm when shooting longbow or crossbow but leaving the
fingers free. 

Phantasm
frowned down in surprise at the new gloves.

‘Yes, I bought
you both a present in a fit of misplaced gratitude for agreeing to be
godfathers!  Now for crying out loud put them on, because believe you me,
I have
so
changed my mind over the last few days!  No need for
thanks, you can buy me a drink, when I can drink again that is –’

Without
looking at them Mistral abruptly kicked Cirrus on to continue riding up the
path.  The mountains to the east were already starting to lighten from
black to dull grey.  Narrow bands of inky black clouds stretched across
the dawn sky.  They rode in silence, making themselves heard over the
increasing noise of the wind was impossible without shouting, and they were too
near the gorge where Samson planned to ambush the vampire tribe to risk
anything but silent communication. 

Mistral
listened instead to the twins’ thoughts, replying when necessary with their own
version of the Ri’s code.  For the most part their thoughts revolved
around the coldness of the wind and the discomfort of the journey but the
nearer they drew to their destination the more their minds gradually emptied,
becoming cold and detached, focussed on the forthcoming fight. 

She listened
continually to her Mage but his thoughts were even fewer than the twins’. 
He didn’t think once of her, for which she was glad.  He would be able to
focus completely on the fight and not be distracted by her.

How close
are we to the gorge?

To answer
Phantasm’s unspoken question Mistral slipped deeper into Fabian’s mind, going
beyond the occasional murmur of his thoughts to See out of his eyes. 

High walls of
rugged rock reared up on either side.  Xerxes and Brutus were crouched on
rocky ledges above her, black silhouettes beneath the lightening sky.  Her
eyes raked the rocky skyline, memorising the shape of mountain peaks just
visible beyond the top of the gorge.  Drawing her gaze back, Mistral
watched the dark figures of her brothers melting into the shadows along the
rocky sides.  She felt Fabian’s hands tense around his sword hilt in
preparation.  They were ready.  

Withdrawing
from Fabian’s mind, Mistral turned to study the mountains around her until she
recognised the same range she had Seen through his eyes, but the angle was
wrong.  They were heading too far north; the sun had been rising behind
Fabian.  Raising a finger to point wordlessly to their left she pulled Cirrus
off the rough path and urged him up the scree at the side.  They climbed
quickly, pushing their horses through banks of prickly gorse and scrambling up
rocky outcrops.  Twice they had to dismount to lead the horses over small
slides of loose earth and stone, their hooves slipping to dislodge more and
send them rattling down onto the path, now an unnervingly long way below
them.  The wind grew stronger the higher they climbed, blasting Mistral
mercilessly until she was obliged to lean low over Cirrus’ neck to avoid the
worst of its cold bite. 

The twins were
heedless to the cold wind.  They rode with straight-backed rigidity,
narrowing their eyes to cat-like slits against the wind’s onslaught to
constantly scan the mountainside around them.  If they had any fears about
the fight then they were not thinking about them, all Mistral could hear in
their thoughts was purpose.

There!

She followed
Phantom’s pointing finger to see the others’ horses tucked in the shelter of
cliff-face.  Her heart quickened at the sight of Fabian’s bright mare,
hunched miserably against the stone with her back towards the wind. 
Slipping down from Cirrus, Mistral led him over to Spirit.  The mare gave
him a soft whicker of greeting as he pressed his bulk protectively against her,
shielding her from the wind.  Laying her hand briefly against Cirrus’
shoulder, Mistral glanced down at her dog.  He would be safer here with
the horses, but she wanted the comfort of having him by her side. 

Prospero
must stay.  It will be too dangerous for him, plus, he can’t climb …

Phantasm’s
curt thought made her realise how apparent her indecision must have been,
making her smile humourlessly at the stark contrast between her character and
her gift.  She could conceal nothing, yet by the same token no-one could
conceal anything from her.   

Except
Malachi. 

He had
successfully evaded her gift long enough to put into action a plan to murder
half the warriors in the Valley, including all of her brothers.  Unbidden images
flickered in her mind; the village square running with blood; Phantom’s
lifeless body, his mouth open in a frozen scream.  The fact that Malachi
wanted her alive gave her no consolation.  She would rather have Seen her
own slain body in his dark fantasy than be a part of any twisted plans he and
Bellicose had made.  Pushing aside the horror of Malachi’s vision, Mistral
slung her crossbow across her back and turned to face the twins.  They
were waiting for her in silence; statues carved from finest marble could not
have been stiller or more perfect.  Both were possessed of a faultless
beauty capable of melting the hardest of hearts but Mistral could hear their
thoughts, and there was no beauty in them at all.  They echoed her own
savage determination to make Malachi’s bloody revenge their own.  She
nodded once to them and turned to look out across the sky, slipping
effortlessly into Fabian’s mind and orientating herself through his eyes. 

The dawn
colours had faded to leave a watery blue strip of sky streaked with long shreds
of cloud.  The sun was not yet high enough to shed any rays down into the
gloomy gorge, leaving it heavy with shadow.  Deep within the shelter of
its high sides the wind was a distant moan, eerie and unsettling.  Mistral
stared out at Fabian’s surroundings, following the curving walls of the gorge
around to the west where it tapered away into blackness, knowing from his
thoughts that would be the direction the vampire tribe should enter from. 
She heard a faint scratching sound through Fabian’s ears and felt his
responding tension, she strained her ears to hear the sound repeat and knew for
certain what it was.  The rasp of claws running over rock. 

The vampires
were coming.

‘Damn
it!’  Her eyes snapped back into focus to stare urgently at the
twins.  ‘The tribe are in the gorge!  We have to hurry!’  The
wind tore the words from her lips but the twins nodded quickly, reading her
expression more than her lips.  She turned her head to gaze up at the sky
and spun around until the clouds above her matched exactly the image she Seen
through Fabian’s eyes.  ‘This way!’

Mistral
scrambled up the rock where the horses were tethered and slid down the other
side.  The twins followed her, leaping down lightly where she had been
forced to slide.  Frustration engulfed Mistral as she began to run with
heavy slowness, battling against the force of the wind and encumbered by her
pregnant body.  The short distance of ground between them and the start of
the gorge seemed to take a lifetime to cover.  She gave a low cry of
relief when the entrance to the gorge finally appeared, a long dark split in
the rocks rising up around them. 

We can’t go
in!  We’ll ruin the ambush!

Mistral nodded
and veered away from the entrance, forcing her leaden legs to keep running and
carry her to the base of the rock wall on their right.  She skidded to a
halt, breathing heavily while her eyes roved over the rough surface for
suitable holds.  Finding one she immediately began to climb, digging her
fingers in the hard rock and hauling her inflexible body up, inching up the
rugged face.  The twins climbed faster, overtaking her to reach a narrow
ledge and vault onto it with enviable ease.  Phantasm instantly knelt down
and reached out to pull her up; she accepted his help gratefully and knelt on
the ledge, ignoring the pain of the sharp stones digging into her knees while
she recovered.  The twins were already on their feet waiting patiently for
her, neither showing the slightest sign of exertion.  Giving a faint smile
at the look of resentment he saw on her face, Phantom extended a hand to pull
her upright. 

You’ll
outrun us all again soon Mistral …

Mistral raised
an eyebrow in a silent promise to do just that then followed Phantasm, already
sidestepping carefully along the exposed ledge into the gorge.  They crept
along, keeping their backs pressed to the rock for protection from the wind
rushing past them.  Growing impatient for her first sight of the gorge
where Fabian was concealed, Mistral leaned out to peer over the edge when a
sudden gust of wind caught her and sent her staggering forwards.  She
corrected herself hastily then stumbled again as another blast of wind buffeted
her.  Panicking, she tried to push her heels into the rock and resist the
force of the wind but her boots slipped on the loose stones and suddenly she
was falling, her eyes widening with fear at the sight of the distant rocks
below abruptly coming into view.