The Seer (89 page)

‘How did you
do it Mistral?’  Phantasm asked.  ‘You’ve never even met Gemma! 
How could you See her without having read her aura?’

‘That is
something I would be interested to know too.’  Fabian said walking up with
a bundle of chewed arrows under one arm and a half-impressed, half-exasperated
look on his face. 

Mistral looked
down at her boots to avoid his searching look, uncomfortable at being forced to
confess on spying on Samson’s private thoughts,  ‘Um, well … I Saw so much
of her in Samson’s mind that I felt like I knew her, and then I just let my
mind sort of wander over the Isle listening for her thoughts, until I
eventually heard her.’

‘Just like
that?’

‘It wasn’t
easy Phantom!  It took me nearly two months to find her, and then I wasn’t
sure what to do once I had!’

‘But you did
find her Mistral.’  Fabian broke in quietly.  ‘Without ever having
met her, or read her aura.  That’s quite an achievement in itself, but
more than that, it clearly shows that your gift is growing in power.’

‘Oh!’
 Mistral looked surprised.  ‘I suppose it does!  I didn’t think
of it like that, I was just pleased to have finally found her!’

‘Was that why
you were leaping up and down in your chair shouting “yes!” during the Isle’s
most boring meeting?’  Phantom asked.

Mistral gave
him a disparaging look, ‘I didn’t leap up and down brother, and I only said
“yes” once!  Stop making out that I’m some kind of freak!’

‘No need for
that.’  Phantom replied promptly and took Gemma’s reins from her
hands.  ‘You do that all by yourself.’

‘Yes, just by
hanging around with you two!’

Fabian watched
them bicker all the way to the stableblock with Phantom leading Gemma’s horse
and Mistral leading the pony.

‘She’s nearly
as powerful as the Divinus was … already.’  Phantasm said quietly.

Fabian nodded,
‘And she has absolutely no idea of the depth of her ability.’

‘Let’s hope
that others don’t either.’  Phantasm murmured.

Dinner at the
twins’ house turned into a crowded affair with Xerxes, Brutus and Cain all
turning up, full of stories of the Contract they’d just returned from and the
news that Samson had been seen holding hands in The Cloak with a mysterious
elven woman.

‘That was
Gemma.’  Phantom said loftily.

‘No! 
Really?  The Gemma from that poem?  She’s real?’  Cain
exclaimed.

‘Alive and well,
and ripping off unsuspecting customers at the Brintor horse fair.’
 Mistral said, leaning back on her chair and resting a hand contentedly
over her full belly.

‘Come on
Mistral, you paid a fair price for your son’s pony and you know it!’ 
Phantasm chided her.

‘You bought
him a pony?’  Xerxes looked crestfallen.  ‘I was going to buy him
one!’

‘So was
Samson, apparently.’  Phantasm mused.  ‘Which is annoying really
because we’d already asked the Equus to keep an eye out for a good pony for
him, something with mountain blood, sturdy and reliable –’

‘No! 
No!  Mountain ponies are all very well but terribly slow!  What he’s
going to need is something with desert blood in it, or maybe Emerald Forest –’

Mistral gave
Fabian an “I told you so” look and he laughed.  Their son was clearly
going to be spoiled stupid by his army of uncles.

The debate of
what type of pony would be best for the as yet unborn nephew of the five
warriors gathered around the table ran on until Mistral yawned and began to
cast longing looks at the sofa.

‘Oh no! 
Don’t you dare fall asleep!’  Phantom cried, leaping from his chair and
moving swiftly around the table to stand over her.  ‘You promised to read
Malachi!  I
need
to know what’s going on!’

‘I’ll do it
tomorrow.’  Mistral promised with a weary sigh.

‘You’d better,
because we’ve got an important meeting tomorrow and an update is essential if
we’re going to make an effective counter-plan.’  Phantasm reminded her
with a Leo-ish look on his face.

‘Whatever you
say brother.’

Mistral took
Fabian’s hand to be led towards the door and out into the balmy summer night.

‘D’you reckon
Samson’ll stuff it up this time too?’  She asked sleepily from beneath the
arm he placed around her.

‘I do hope
not.’  Fabian said.  ‘Second chances are even rarer than first ones,
I should know.’

‘Oh, I’m no
second chance Fabian.  You were always going to be with me; you just had
to wait around for a while until I arrived.’  Mistral tilted her head to
smile up at him and promptly stumbled on the uneven cobbles.

Swinging her
up into his arms with a sigh, Fabian looked at her, his dark eyes so black
beneath the grey moonlight that there seemed to be almost no white surrounding
them at all, ‘I would wait for an entire lifetime if I knew I was going to find
you at the end of it.’

‘Less of the
end bit please.’  Mistral murmured sleepily.  ‘Ours is just
beginning.’

A storm brewed
up during the night, stilling the air in their bedroom to a sultry
heaviness.  Mistral tossed and turned in her sleep, disturbed by
nightmares of a white-skinned vampire that crouched in the shadowy corner of
their room and stared at her with glowing red eyes.

‘You will
pay for what you have done to my tribe!’
  the vampire hissed and
raised a long finger to point at her. 
‘Your blood will flow Seer! 
The child you carry will never be born!’

Mistral moaned
in her sleep and threw off the tangle of sheets to let what little air there
was cool the sweat from her skin.  The red-eyed vampire of her dream
laughed and backed away into the deeper shadows until she could no longer see
its pale body, only hear its cold laughter mocking her.

‘I want the
Seer!’

The laughter
changed to speak in curt tones.  Mistral twisted her head around in her
sleep but couldn’t see the speaker, only hear his voice.

‘
Don’t we
all?’

A drawling
voice she didn’t recognise spoke, she turned her head blindly towards the sound
and a face shimmered into her mind, the features distorted and unclear, like
something seen through running water.  She frowned, her eyes moving
rapidly beneath her eyelids as she tried to See more clearly.  Then her
eyebrows lifted in recognition of the fair hair carefully swept back from a
high forehead and the blue eyes that were staring at her with lazy
disdain.  The almost girlish lips were curved up in a cruel smile while a
long-fingered hand, soft and unused to work, toyed idly with the blonde hair of
the woman sat on a chair slightly lower than his.  Mistral frowned in her
sleep; she knew
that hair … then the woman turned to look at the speaker
with an expression of naked jealousy. 

Golden! 
She was Seeing Christophe Rochforte and Golden through Malachi’s eyes.

‘Run along
now mon D’or, Malachi and I have business to discuss that does not concern
you.’

Mistral saw
resentment flash in Golden’s eyes at being dismissed like a child, but she left
without saying a word.

Christophe
yawned pointedly, showing off perfectly even white teeth,
‘And just why do
you insist of having this conversation in the middle of the night
Malachi?  It may be the way of your kind, but I assure you I prefer to be
in bed at such an hour.’

Mistral felt
Malachi’s anger at Christophe’s jibe but he kept his temper and began to pace
the floor in long sweeping strides,
‘The Seer will be asleep now; it is safe
to talk.’

‘She can
hear your thoughts?’
  Christophe’s voice was suddenly sharp.

Malachi paused
in his pacing to sneer at Christophe,
‘She can hear all our thoughts. 
But not when she is asleep.’

‘And how do
you know this?’

‘It is how
I evaded her gift to plan the uprising with Bellicose.’

‘Evaded? 
I think not.  Your plan failed!  She must have heard you!’

‘She heard
Bellicose not me!’
  Malachi snapped. 
‘He made the error of
believing that his blood gave him immunity from her gift!  A mistake I will
not be making!  If our plans are to succeed we must be careful with our
thoughts.’

‘Our plans
… our thoughts?
’  Christophe gave Malachi a sceptical look. 
‘You
and I have no plans Malachi!  It was you that came crawling to me,
destitute and begging for help –’

Malachi’s face
twisted furiously,
‘Beg?  I am not a dog Christophe!  And far from
destitute!  I have gold!’

‘Good.’
 
Christophe gave a satisfied smirk. 
‘Because the name of Rochforte does
not come cheap, if at all.’

‘Everyone
has a price.’
 Malachi snarled. 
‘And you are no
different!  Name your price Mage!  It shall be met!’

Christophe
stretched his legs out lazily in front of him and yawned rudely,
‘Later,
right now I would like to hear how these grand plans of yours can further our
cause.’

Thunder
rumbled in the distance, heavy and ominous.  A sudden flash of lightening
illuminated the dark bedroom, showing Fabian looking anxiously into Mistral’s
unblinking stare while she Saw not the storm gathering above the Valley, but a
cool mountain night hundreds of miles away. 

‘I can give
you the Ri.’

‘What do I
want with a Valley of degenerate half-breeds?’
  Christophe demanded
disdainfully. 

‘Do not
underestimate the Ri!  They are highly skilled warriors in need of a
leader!’

‘They have
a newly elected leader, who is not you, Malachi!  I fail to see how you
have any influence over the Ri now!’

Malachi’s lip
curled,
‘The election was won by one vote!’

Christophe
suddenly sat up straight,
‘One vote?’

Malachi nodded
and remained silent while Christophe’s expression became calculating. 
Mistral could feel Malachi’s tension and knew that all of his plans hinged on
Christophe’s next words.

‘I did not
realise it had been so close!  This changes everything.’ 

Hiding a
triumphant smile, Malachi bowed his head and resumed his pacing,
‘We must
act swiftly!  We must instruct your supporters in the Council to refute
the upstart’s claim to be the next Divinus in favour of me!  In view of
the closeness of the vote Mage Grapple cannot deny that I have a valid
case!  With the help of a few coins in some well-placed palms I shall
easily be officially approved as the next Divinus!’

Christophe
frowned sharply and held up a hand to silence Malachi,
‘You are getting
ahead of yourself there, my bloodthirsty friend!  You speak too much of
“we” for my liking!  You have yet to give me reason to support your
efforts!’

‘I’ve told
you!’
  Malachi hissed.
 ‘I can give you the Ri!’

‘I have no
use for half-breeds!’
 Christophe snapped dismissively. 

Malachi gave
him a contemptuous look,
‘Yet you share your bed with one.’

‘Some serve
a purpose.’
 Christophe shrugged. 
‘You, however, have yet to
prove yours to me.  Tell me why you expect me to offer you the backing of
the Rochfortes at the Council?’

‘I can give
you the Seer.’  

Christophe was
suddenly still, but his face wore a greedy look that he quickly fought to
conceal,
‘And just how can you achieve that?’
 he asked in a
deliberately casual tone.

Deep within
her trance-like state, Mistral felt Malachi’s fierce burst of victory. 
Christophe was unaware of her condition and how the baby she would have could
be used to control her.

‘You expect
me to provide you with such valuable information and offer nothing in return?’
 
Malachi jeered.

Christophe’s
eyes narrowed to slits, his expression showing plainly the loathing he felt for
Malachi,
‘You dare to try and bribe the head of the tribe of Rochforte?’

‘
No, there
is no bribery here.  This is business, pure and simple.  I am
offering something you desire, and in return you will provide me with what I
want.’

Christophe
continued to regard Malachi suspiciously,
‘Tell me what you want, but speak
plainly!  I am done with your riddles, vampire!’ 

‘I want to
be the next Divinus.’

‘Why?’

‘I want the
power!’

Mistral
instantly knew he was lying.  His ambitions went far beyond just assuming
control of the Ri, however Christophe appeared satisfied with his explanation
and gave him a cold smile. 

‘Ah, good
old-fashioned lust for power.  Now, that I understand.’
  Rising
to his feet, Christophe stretched and yawned again.
 ‘I think we can do
business after all.  Give me the Seer and I shall give you support at the
Council –’

In a deafening
crack of thunder the storm broke over the Valley.  Raindrops large as
hailstones fell from the heavy purple sky, bouncing off the cobbles and
hammering against the window panes with a force that threatened to break the
glass.  Lightening split the blackness, filling the bedroom with lurid
flashes of light, jerking Mistral from her trance with a startled cry.

Fabian’s hands
were instantly on her shoulders, his dark eyes seeking hers while he murmured
softly to her, ‘I’m here, you’re safe Mistral, see me.’

She stared
wildly at him until the sound of his voice pierced through her confusion,
quelling her panic, ‘Oh Fabian!  I dreamt, no – I Saw –’

‘I heard
everything.’  Fabian hushed her.  ‘Be still now, just breathe
Mistral, everything is fine.’

Nodding
mutely, Mistral closed her eyes and leaned her forehead against his chest,
listening to his voice murmuring to her while her breathing slowed from rapid
shallow gasps to a more controlled rhythm.  She stayed there, listening to
his soothing voice and the quieter beat of his heart until she was finally able
to lift her head and meet his gaze calmly.