The Seer (96 page)

C'est
seulement mer maladie!  Manger quelque chose, il va vous guérir –

Mistral saw
Malachi through Christophe’s eyes, prostrate with his head over a bucket and
being violently ill; seasick again.  His degradation was small recompense
for what he was planning to do, but the knowledge that he would spend every
moment of the voyage on his hands and knees with his head over a bucket of his
own vomit afforded her some satisfaction. 

She had Seen
enough, with a mental jerk she pulled back the tentacles of her mind, one by
one.  With every tendril that coiled obediently back a voice vanished from
her mind, until there was only the ever present murmur of a voice so velvet
soft that she could never bear to be without its soothing presence; the sound
that had come to define her existence.

Fabian.

She tilted her
head, smiling indulgently while she listened to the thoughts of her Mage,
letting his thoughts flood her mind, filling every recess with their brooding
seriousness and a love so profound it never failed to astound her. 
Minutes passed like seconds until she heaved a reluctant sigh and withdrew
slightly from his mind to let it become background noise again.  It would
be too easy to spend an entire day there, an entire lifetime even.

Almost lazily,
Mistral uncoiled a tendril of her mind and sent it inwards, to reach down to
the life that grew within her.  She listened to the simplistic thought
processes of her unborn child, a tender smile lighting her face.  Absently
caressing her belly, she both heard and felt him respond to her touch and instantly
forgave him every moment of sickness, every kick and every second of the long
months of restriction she had endured. 

Damn it
Mistral!

She frowned at
the unwelcome intrusion and snapped her mind to listen in to the one that had
taken her name in vain.

‘Ah, sorry
brother – ’

Cain,
struggling alone to brew the Theriac and fulfil Gleacher’s order before
nightfall then pack ready for the mercenary Contract he’d taken.

Sighing
deeply, Mistral drew her gaze back to stare at herself reflected in the glass of
the window once again and was slightly shocked to see the sky stained with the
vibrant colours of sunset.  Muttering an oath under her breath, Mistral
turned away from the window and hurried to help her abandoned brother. 

They gathered
that night around their usual table in The Cloak and Dagger.  Floris had
propped the door of the tavern open to let in the warm night air, heavy with
the scent of jasmine that reminded Mistral of the first time she had ever seen
Fabian.  Seen Fabian?  Who was she kidding?  She had fallen in
love with him at first sight; the brooding Mage who had looked at her with eyes
of darkest night.  She smiled at the memory and stole a glance at him from
beneath her eyelashes; seeing his face, his aura and his thoughts all at
once.  Catching her look, he reached for her hand.  The simple touch
of his fingers entwined through hers held more meaning than a thousand murmured
endearments ever could.  Overcome with a rare sense of wellbeing, Mistral
turned to gaze fondly at the familiar faces gathered around the table.

‘Ah, brothers,
I’m going to miss you all.  Please try not to die on this Contract won’t
you?’

Brutus and
Xerxes laughed, but Cain gave her a sharp look, ‘Have you been drinking?’

‘I wish.’

Cain continued
to regard her with a slightly suspicious look, ‘So, where were you this
afternoon then?  You never did really explain why it took you three hours
to get back to my shop.’

Mistral
lowered her eyes, embarrassed by the fact that she’d let Cain down, but also slightly
unnerved by how much time had passed while she had let the Sight rule her, ‘I
got a bit side-tracked.’

‘By?’ 
Cain asked in the lull than ensued.

‘Sight.’ 
Mistral confessed, keeping her eyes glued on the tumbler of water on the table
in front of her.

A longer lull
fell.

‘Who were you
reading for three hours Mistral?’  Fabian asked with a frown.

Mistral lifted
her gaze to let her eyes drift over his face, the perfect symmetry of his
features, the striking contrast of light and dark, all so beautiful, so
utterly, completely, heart-stoppingly perfect,  ‘Everyone,’ she finally
whispered.

A lull fell
that quickly developed into an ear-shattering silence.

‘By everyone,
you mean … us?’  Phantom finally asked.

Mistral shook
her head; her eyes still fixed on Fabian’s, ‘No … I mean, everyone –’

‘You read the
Valley?’

Mistral sunk a
little lower in her seat and nodded, ‘And Mage Grapple and Christophe, oh
Malachi is being seasick again –‘

‘You read them
all?  At the same time?’ 

It was
Phantasm’s voice this time; cool as ever, but edged with almost clinical
curiosity.

She nodded
mutely in the longest of all the silences.

‘Did I tell
you that you were banned from cards?’  Xerxes finally said.  ‘Because
you are.  Banned.  For life.’

‘Did you hear
Master Wolfsnare?’  Phantom leaned forward, his green eyes shining
salaciously.

Mistral pulled
a face, ‘In the bath.’ 

Phantom
laughed, ‘How about –’

‘How about we
don’t interfere in the private lives of others?’  Phantasm interrupted
with a meaningful lift of his eyebrows.  ‘Don’t forget Mistral also Saw
all your thoughts too.’

In the burst
of conversation that erupted around the table to cover their panic, Mistral
turned to Fabian and curled her fingers through his more tightly, ‘I heard our
son too.’

His eyes held
hers.  Molten pools of onyx that drew her in, forcing her to bite her lip
and stop herself from climbing onto his lap and embarrassing them both.

‘And what were
his first words to his mother?’

‘No words,
just … feelings.’

He raised an
eyebrow, the mocking action belying the depth of emotion revealed in his eyes.

‘Love. 
Oh Fabian.  So much love.’

He smiled and
gazed at her with starless eyes, mesmerising her with their inexplicable power
while she listened to the seductive murmur of his thoughts.  Words fell from
her lips in a breathed whisper only he could hear.  Immediately rising to
his feet, he led her from the tavern.

Brutus gave
her a worried look, ‘You’re not going to cry are you?  I’m not sure I can
cope with that!  Damn it!  Where are the twins when you need them?’

‘With Leo and
I can’t help it!  It’s the damned hormones!’

Seeing Xerxes
lurching towards her with his arms open, Mistral recoiled and quickly wiped her
eyes on her sleeve, ‘Come any closer and you die brother!’

‘Harsh words.’
 Xerxes’ face crumpled with comic tragedy.  ‘This may be the Contract
that all warriors ultimately take.’

‘D-don’t say
that!’  She choked and instantly began crying again.

Grinning
shamelessly, Xerxes enfolded her in his arms only to be winded by a hard punch
into his ribs.

‘Get off me
you lecherous elf!’

Xerxes
staggered back, wincing and clutching at his ribs, ‘I think that’s more than
enough of the misty-eyed farewells for me!  I’m going to get our horses
ready.’

Mistral turned
away to dry her tears and looked over at the Arena where Fabian and Samson were
holding a serious-looking conversation whilst watching the apprentices
practising a sword drill.  The bright morning sunlight caught the blades,
turning the steel to blinding flashes of white.  Occasionally one of the
apprentices would pause to rub the sweat from their brow, already feeling the
heat of the August sun. 

Leaning
casually back against the wall of The Cloak and Dagger, Brutus dropped a hand
to rub Prospero’s head while he followed Mistral’s gaze and looked over at the
Arena, ‘That reminds me, you missed a bit of a scene in The Cloak last night
when you decided to sneak out without even saying goodbye.’

‘I was tired.’
 Mistral murmured, still gazing at Fabian.

‘Yes,
well.  As I was saying.  Samson got really drunk –’

‘And he made a
scene?  What’s so unusual about that?’

‘Let me
finish!  He went down on one knee and asked Gemma to marry him!’

Mistral
groaned, ‘Not another wedding!’

‘I shouldn’t
worry, she turned him down.’

Mistral spun
around to look at him in horror, ‘No!  In front of the whole Cloak? 
How’d he take it?’

‘In typical
Samson style.’  Brutus shrugged.  ‘He just laughed and said he’d keep
on asking her until he either caught her off guard or she gave in.’

‘So, they’re
still together then?’

Brutus nodded,
‘Gemma gave him the whole “I’m happy with the way things are, let’s not ruin it
by changing it” speech, she even got a round of applause at the end of
it.  Xerxes was looking at her like she was a creature from another
planet!’

Mistral
laughed, ‘I bet he wishes Marietta would say that!’ 

‘Fat chance of
that ever happening!  Ever since Grendel got married Marietta’s been
trying to pin him down to making some sort of commitment to her.  She even
turned up at ours late last night and tried to get him to have some kind of
serious talk.  You won’t believe this, but she actually asked him where he
saw their relationship going!’

‘Don’t tell
me.’  Mistral groaned.  ‘He said “upstairs” didn’t he?’

Brutus
laughed, ‘Of course he did!  He’s nothing if not predictable!’ 

‘He’s such an
outrageous chauvinist!’  Mistral shook her head in disgust but couldn’t
conceal a smile.  ‘I bet he got away with it as well didn’t he?’

Brutus rolled
his eyes, ‘Oh, what do you think?  All he had to do was tell her that her dress
looked pretty and she was giggling at him like a fairy!’

They both
burst out laughing.

‘I’m glad to
see you’re laughing, I was worried you would be a bit over-emotional this
morning.’  Phantom called breezily. 

Mistral looked
up to see the twins strolling across the village square leading their horses
behind them.

‘No, we’ve
done that bit already.’  Brutus replied and smirked at the scowl Mistral
immediately gave him.

‘And just why
would I be over-emotional over leaving the Valley?’  Mistral demanded in
an argumentative tone.  ‘Even if it’s for a destination as dull as the
Council, it’s still the best bit of news I’ve had in ages!’

‘Pregnant
women are always over-emotional.’  Phantom said wisely.  ‘But apart
from that rather obvious reason, there is also the small matter of you reading
a few hundred minds all at once yesterday.’

‘It must have
been exhausting.’  Phantasm frowned, his sharp eyes taking in the shadows
under her eyes.  ‘Are you up to this journey?’ 

‘Of course I
am!’  Mistral  bridled.  ‘I just don’t sleep so well at the
moment because your godson keeps me awake all night!  That’s why I’m
tired, not because of yesterday!  That wasn’t exhausting, it was actually
quite relaxing!’

‘Really?’ 
Brutus asked.  ‘Because I was thinking it must have been damned noisy!’

Mistral gave a
short laugh, ‘It did make me appreciate why the Divinus liked to hide away in
that bleak tower room of his all the time.  There was already too much
noise and clutter in his head to cope with any in his room too!’

Not looking
entirely convinced, Phantasm nodded and led both horses over to the water
trough to tether them next to Cirrus and Spirit. 

Phantom waited
until his brother was out of earshot then leaned forward to whisper furtively
in her ear, ‘Have you heard that you narrowly avoided being made a bridesmaid
last night?’ 

‘Yes I
have!  And it’s a wise move on her part I think.’  Mistral whispered
back, adding in a sharper tone.  ‘And you can forget about me ever being a
bridesmaid!’

‘No, it’d mean
you’d actually have to stay awake during the ceremony.’

‘Not this
again!  I did
not
fall asleep during Grendel’s wedding! 
Although I damned well could have done!  That harp music was –’

‘Shh! 
Here he comes!’

Mistral
clammed up as Grendel lumbered towards them with Liliana hanging off one
massive arm in floods of tears, loudly beseeching ‘Grendie-Wendie’ to be
careful.

Brutus
snorted, ‘Careful?  It’s a mercenary Contract, not a walk on an icy
path!’ 

‘Can we go now
please?’  Mistral hissed under her breath to the twins.

‘Just waiting
for Master Sphinx, or should we be calling him the Divinus now?  I’m never
too sure – ’

‘I know what
he’d prefer.’  Mistral muttered back.

‘I’m sure you
do, plus many other interesting little bits of information that you can share
with me during the long ride.’  Phantom smiled happily.  ‘You never
did tell me what you Saw during Grendel’s wedding –’

‘Right, time
to go.  We’ve got a briefing with Gleacher in the Main Hall.’  Brutus
pushed himself off the sun-warmed wall of The Cloak with a sigh.  ‘Come on
Grendel, you can put her down now.’

Dropping
Liliana unceremoniously onto the cobbles with an impatient shake of his arm,
Grendel abruptly stomped off after Brutus, leaving Liliana to make her way
weepily back towards the village.

‘Wait up!’ 
Cain’s voice made Brutus and Grendel stop.  They turned to see him
hurrying across the square with two saddlebags in his hands.  ‘I’ll walk
up with you, just need to give this to the twins –’ Thrusting one of the
saddlebags into Phantom’s hands he turned to give Mistral a hard look. 
‘Remember what I said to you yesterday!’

‘Yes Cain,’
she replied meekly. 

‘Good, right
... see you in a few weeks.’

The twins
watched him run to catch up with Brutus and Grendel before turning to look at
Mistral.

‘What did he
say to you yesterday?’

‘No idea.’
 Mistral shrugged.  ‘I’ve heard him lecture me so much over the last
few months that I just block him out when he gets started now.  What’s in
the bag anyway?’

‘Emergency
kit.’

‘But I’ve got
my medical kit.’  Mistral frowned.  ‘We don’t need to carry two.’

‘No, it’s an
emergency kit for you.’  Phantasm said, turning to attach it to his
saddle.  ‘Just in case our godson decides to make an early appearance.’

Giving the
saddlebag an alarmed look, Mistral immediately began tapping her foot
agitatedly, ‘I really think it’s time we were going now!  In fact, I’ll
get on Cirrus … maybe Fabian will take the hint.’

‘What’re they
talking about anyway?’  Phantom asked, glancing over at the two warriors
curiously.

‘Why don’t you
ask them brother?’  Mistral snapped impatiently.  ‘I’m not your
personal Seer, you know!’

Hauling Cirrus
over to the mounting block outside The Cloak and Dagger, Mistral clambered up
into the saddle.  Gathering up the reins she experienced the long missed
tingle of anticipation that always preceded the start of a Contract.  Even
though this one was only to escort Leo to the Council and help smooth his way
to power, she was still thrilled to be leaving the Valley for a while. 
Whistling Prospero, Mistral pulled Cirrus around and headed up the path to the
North Gate, enjoying the feel of the sun on her face and the fact that for
once, the Valley was something to be seen over her shoulder instead of all
around her.  She had barely rounded the first bend in the path when the
sound of cantering hooves told her that the twins were following her.

‘What did Cain
say to you yesterday Mistral?’  Phantasm shouted angrily.  ‘Don’t go
off alone!’

Mistral stuck
her tongue out at him and rode on in silence, blocking every thought from her
mind other than Fabian’s, who was now typically anxious since she had vanished
from his sight. 

By the time
they had passed through the towering North Gate and out into the meadows,
Fabian and Leo had caught them up to ride together at the head of their small
group, quietly discussing the plans laid in place to secure the Valley whilst
he was away.

‘The Gates
will be closed from sunset to sunrise and the guard doubled at all times. 
Samson will spend every day teaching in the Arena as an extra look-out. 
Imperato has also agreed to come to the Valley each day on the pretence of
teaching the apprentices longbow, accompanied of course by Dravite and Faras –’

The twins were
listening intently to everything Leo was saying, but Mistral had heard it all
already and let her mind wander pleasantly, breathing in the scents of ripe
grass and warm earth.  Giving a long drawn out sigh of contentment,
Mistral kicked Cirrus from a walk straight into a rolling canter; a trot was
now too uncomfortable, and headed towards the forests with Prospero loping
along beside her.  The dark cool of the trees called to her with something
more than the simple desire to enjoy the shade. 

Leo broke off
from his monologue when Fabian looked away to watch her canter ahead of
them.  He turned and nodded sharply to the twins, who instantly rode after
her.

‘Is she
deliberately trying to be awkward?’  Phantom asked while they cantered
towards the trees.

‘No.’ Phantasm
replied.  ‘You heard Cain yesterday; he said that she’ll become
restless.  The forests are her natural habitat, it’s where she was born
and spent most of her life until she came to the Valley.  I’m sure that as
she draws closer to her time the need to feel the familiar shelter of the trees
around her will be both instinctive and undeniable.’ 

‘Well, at
least we’ll know where to find her if she does manage to slip away then.’

‘In theory.’
 Phantasm murmured, looking pensively at the sprawling expanse of The
Velvet Forests.

The journey
through the forests was largely uneventful.  Although Mistral found the
long days of riding uncomfortable, she did her best to disguise her discomfort
and concentrate instead on enjoying being free from the confines of the Valley;
the endless meetings and the routine of teaching.  She was also more than
relieved to be away from the wistful gaze of Serenity.  Having taken
umbrage at Mistral’s decision to use Cain during her pregnancy, Serenity had
initially left her alone; for which Mistral had been eternally grateful.  But
now that she was close to full-term Serenity had resumed her surprise
appearances to deliver some helpful piece of advice or, more horrifyingly, to
offer her the ear of “a fellow female” to answer any “personal” questions she
might feel unable to ask Cain.  Mistral had somehow managed to politely
refuse her offer, privately thinking that if there were any questions she felt
unable to ask Cain then she certainly wouldn’t be able to ask anyone them, and
definitely not Serenity.    

The days were
warm and sun-filled, the nights clear and cool.  And Mistral saw a lot of
both.  Despite the thick pelt of her Wolverine skin and the comforting
warmth of Prospero, she couldn’t seem to get comfortable and spent many hours
each night tossing and turning restlessly or else strolling aimlessly around
the camp, watched anxiously by Fabian and less obviously by the twins. 
Despite her reassurances that she was fine, Fabian would only be satisfied when
she consented to lie beside him and be held in his arms; only then would sleep
steal over her and hold her captive until the cold light of dawn dragged her
back into consciousness.