Smiling wickedly in response to his thought, Mistral turned to face Phantasm, ‘Is it me or is it warm in here?’ She asked, fanning her hand in front of her face theatrically.
‘Please, allow me,’ he murmured, reaching to slip the velvet cloak from her shoulders.
Xerxes’ cards fell from his hand and scattered across the table while he gaped unashamedly at Mistral’s dress, in particular, the low cut neckline.
‘Are we playing for bronze or silver then Xerxes?’ Mistral enquired lightly, slipping into her seat and sweeping up her hand of cards.
A long silence met her question. The twins smirked and slid into chairs on either side of her.
‘What?’ Xerxes muttered distractedly, his gaze not managing to meet her eyes but remaining trapped at the plunging neckline of her dress.
‘My face is up here Xerxes.’ Mistral heaved a deep sigh, causing Xerxes’ eyes to bulge comically.
Cain sniggered and even Grendel let out a low rumble of laughter.
‘Nicely played sister.’ Brutus laughed and shoved a full tankard of ale towards her. ‘I told you that you should wear a dress more often.’
‘So you did brother, so you did.’ Mistral replied, heaving another sigh. ‘So … bronze or silver Xerxes?’
‘Huh?’ Xerxes finally dragged his eyes up to meet her amused look.
‘Or are we playing for dresses and ribbons?’
Xerxes immediately scowled and collected his scattered hand of cards.
Valley Divided
‘Now that was a game of cards!’ Phantom laughed. ‘Xerxes lost every hand!’
‘I know! He was playing terribly.’ Mistral tugged her hood up against the bitter wind. ‘It must be all the stress his sweethearts are giving him!’
The twins shared a smug look. ‘I’m sure it was just that.’ Phantasm agreed quietly.
‘Oh, you weren’t using your gift on him all night were you?’ Mistral cried, looking horrified. ‘I swore on Saul’s memory that we wouldn’t!’
‘No Mistral.’ Phantasm murmured quietly. ‘I promise you that my brother and I were not using our gift on Xerxes.’
‘Good, because if you were, you completely overdid it!’
‘Actually, I think we got it just right.’ Phantom muttered so quietly that Mistral didn’t hear him.
Snow had started to fall again. They hurried through the flurries of cold flakes into the village, letting themselves into the warmth of the twins’ house to be greeted by Prospero’s happy bark.
‘Hello boy! You missed out on a load of roasted venison tonight –’
‘Oh no he didn’t!’ Phantom called angrily from the kitchen. ‘He’s finished off the venison casserole from last night!’
‘Did you get hungry boy?’ Mistral asked, rubbing her dog’s huge head affectionately. ‘Would you like me to make you your own casserole and we won’t let Phantom have any of it?’
Prospero beat the floor with his tail, panting happily.
‘You spoil that dog!’ Phantom grumbled, walking back in from the kitchen and throwing himself bad-temperedly into one of the armchairs.
‘I have to say I agree.’ Fabian stepped quietly in through the door. Mistral immediately turned and ran towards him, instantly tripping on the restricting hem of her dress but managing to fall quite elegantly into his open arms.
‘Back to trousers tomorrow,’ she vowed, gazing adoringly up at him.
He smiled and carried her to the sofa, sitting down and resting her lightly on his lap. She curled up contentedly against him and immediately closed her eyes.
‘I don’t think so!’ Phantasm exclaimed. ‘We need to know what you heard tonight Mistral!’
‘Can’t it wait?’ Mistral complained with a yawn.
‘No!’ the twins chorused loudly.
Mistral sighed wearily and sat up slightly, resting against Fabian, ‘Where would you like me to begin?’
‘Mage Grapple – ’
‘Master Nox– ’
The twins demanded at the same time.
‘Start with Malachi and Bellicose, Mistral. They are the key components here.’ Fabian said firmly.
Mistral sighed heavily, ‘Right, Malachi and his charming father it is then. Malachi knows that Leo would seek to tie us more closely to the Council and thinks he’ll gain the warriors’ support by proposing to lead the Ri away from Council rule. I hate to say it, but I think he’s right. It was blatantly obvious to me in The Cloak tonight that warriors resent being controlled by the Mage Council,’ she paused and gave Fabian an apologetic look. ‘Sorry.’
‘Warriors have good reason to feel resentful towards the Council.’ Fabian agreed evenly. ‘Most risk their lives daily on Contracts bought by over-privileged Councillors too lazy to do the work themselves.’
‘Er, I think Mistral was trying to be polite, considering that you are both a Mage and a member of the Council.’
‘I am Ri too Phantasm.’ Fabian reminded him quietly.
‘Of course.’ Phantasm demurred quickly. ‘Forgive me, I meant no offense.’
‘So –’ Mistral continued quickly. ‘Malachi and Bellicose were being quite careful not to think about their precise plans, but they are definitely going to launch some sort of anti-Council campaign … slur Leo’s reputation, that sort of thing,’ she glanced meaningfully at Fabian. He frowned, instantly grasping her meaning. If the warriors discovered that Leo was Mage Grapple’s son he would never gain their approval as the next Divinus. No Ri warrior would trust him not to be a puppet of the Council ... Mage Grapple’s spy in the Valley ... ‘After that they talked a lot about Bellicose’s tribe.’ Mistral went on. ‘There’s a lot of unrest. He wasn’t specific but there was mention of an uprising of some sort.’
Fabian nodded, ‘The vampire tribe on the Isle have been unhappy for some time with the restrictions Mage Grapple has placed upon them. I’m sure they see Malachi as their opportunity to live a freer life.’
‘Can I clarify something?’ Mistral asked with a frown.
Fabian smiled at her, inviting her question.
‘How does a new Divinus get elected … exactly I mean, I know the Council have to approve the choice, but what’s the process?’
‘After the last Divinus’ funeral has been held, candidates have one month in which to declare their intention to the Council. At this stage the Council’s involvement is a mere formality, the real decision is made by the warriors and the Magnate. A six week campaign is run in the Valley culminating in a vote. The successful candidate must then be approved by another vote held at the Council. If the outcome is decisive, the new Divinus takes up the post with immediate effect. However, if the Council vote is not decisive, the whole process begins again.’
‘Sounds a bit long winded!’ Mistral exclaimed. ‘Has anyone actually died before the process has been completed?’
‘Not in the way you are thinking, but yes, a few candidates have mysteriously vanished during the campaign.’
‘Don’t suppose Leo will though.’ Mistral muttered.
‘Mistral!’ Phantasm reproved her sharply. ‘You must set aside your personal feelings! Master Sphinx would make a strong Divinus.’
‘He’s ambitious and cold!’
‘And Master Nox is warm and cuddly is he?’ Phantom asked sarcastically.
‘Is that our choice then? Leo or Malachi?’ Mistral pulled a face. ‘Oh, wait a minute! I almost forgot! Mycroft is going to declare himself as a candidate too.’
‘Mycroft is of no consequence. This is an act of vanity and will come to nothing.’ Fabian said dismissively. ‘The right to be the next Divinus it a contest between Leo and Malachi. You must decide where your loyalties lie Mistral.’
Mistral shrugged, ‘With Leo, I suppose.’
Fabian gazed at her, ‘You suppose?’
‘Yes.’ Mistral glowered back. ‘I suppose. That’s my opinion and I’m entitled to express it how the hell I like!’
Fabian exhaled sharply, ‘You must show a st
ronger commitment than that! You are the Ri’s Seer. Warriors will be more inclined to support whoever you favour. I can’t help but fear that this year is going to be dangerously turbulent. Until a new Divinus is elected, this contest is going to effectively divide the Valley.’
‘Oh, a turbulent year, what a change!’ Mistral quipped with a smile.
‘Please, don’t be so flippant.’ Fabian frowned, but the hardness had gone from his eyes.
‘I’ll try.’ Mistral promised. ‘Sorry?’ She offered another smile and was rewarded with the glimmer of one in return. It was all the invitation she needed.
‘Er, can we keep to the matter in hand please?’ Phantom asked after a long pause.
‘Which is what exactly?’ Mistral sighed, unwinding herself from Fabian reluctantly.
‘The future Divinus! And more importantly, what was so fascinating in Mage Grapple’s thoughts tonight? You were reading him for ages, an entire course in fact!’
‘Haven’t you eaten again?’ Fabian asked sharply.
‘Yes, I had some of those honey cakes!’
‘Half a one!’ Phantasm corrected.
‘Oh please leave it brother! You sure you’re not related to Serenity?’ Mistral snapped then looked up at Fabian with a suddenly amused expression. ‘Which reminds me, how was her poem?’
‘Long.’
Mistral smiled and curled up closer to his warmth, feeling exhaustion wash over her again, ‘So … what do you want to know again?’ she asked with a yawn. ‘Oh, I know … Mage Grapple. Well, he’s got a fascinating mind … and there was something I wanted to tell you … but I can’t remember … something about a Contract … a big one –’
A long silence fell.
‘Is she really asleep?’ Phantom demanded incredulously.
Fabian nodded, frowning down at her, fast asleep in his arms.
‘I think she needs a trip to the Infirmary. I’m sure that using the Sight so much so soon after mastering it is affecting her health.’ Phantasm said with a worried look. ‘We don’t want her to be ill again right now.’
‘But what about Vilius and Mage Grapple and this mystery Contract?’ Phantom demanded peevishly.
‘Tomorrow.’ Fabian said quietly and lifted Mistral up, carrying her up the stairs.
‘Mage De Winter?’ Phantasm called quietly.
Fabian paused and looked over his shoulder at Phantasm.
‘Please, try to be more gentle with these buttons.’
A Seer in Servitude
Mistral woke at dawn to the blissful realisation that not only was she held loosely in Fabian’s arms but they were going home today. Opening her eyes sleepily, her gaze fell on the red silk dress thrown over the back of a chair and another happy thought sprang into her mind. She was going home in trousers.
With a deep sigh of satisfaction she rolled over and propped herself up on one elbow to look at Fabian. He was still asleep, his dark hair spread on the white pillow in a tousled mass. Smiling indulgently at the peaceful expression on his face, she lazily traced the outline of a raised scar on his chest. She frowned and studied it more carefully. It was crescent shaped, like a bite of some kind, but had three distinctive outlines.
‘Manticore.’ Fabian murmured faintly.
‘Ah yes, three rows of teeth.’ Mistral smiled, following the curve of each bite with her finger tip. ‘And this one?’ she ran her fingers down a long white scar on his side.
‘Sword … mercenary Contract in the East.’ Fabian opened his eyes a fraction to watch her.
‘Oh.’ Mistral stroked a single finger over another scar just beneath it. ‘And this one?’
‘I have no idea.’ Fabian abruptly reached up and pulled her into his arms.
Mistral awoke later to find that Fabian had been replaced by Prospero. The huge dog was sprawled on the bed next to her staring at her intently, his pale blue eyes inches from her face.
‘Bad swap.’ Mistral muttered, pushing him away with a grimace at his breath. Sitting up and stretching, she looked out of the window and realised that once again, she’d slept far longer than normal. Smiling to herself at the cause, she slid out of bed and reached automatically for the black silk shirt Fabian had been wearing the day before, throwing it on and dragging on her tattered old trousers she opened her bedroom door and ran down the stairs with just one thought in her mind.
Breakfast.
‘Finally!’ Phantom exclaimed when she appeared in the kitchen. ‘I thought you were going to sleep until noon!’
‘It’s not that late is it?’ Mistral asked distractedly and opened a cupboard door to peer hopefully inside. ‘Is there any honey left?’
‘What is it with you and honey?’ Phantom asked with a frown, opening a different cupboard and pulling a jar out. ‘Do you want some bread with it or just a spoon?’ He asked, putting the jar down on the kitchen table.
‘Bread too please.’ Mistral grinned, sliding onto one of the chairs.
‘Here you are.’ Phantom placed a plate of freshly baked bread onto the table and sat down opposite her, gazing at her intently. ‘Now … Mage Grapple –’
‘Hmm, yes. Mage Grapple … but first, where’s Fabian?’
‘With Master Sphinx.’ Phantom waved a hand dismissively. ‘Mage Grapple?’ he persisted, his green eyes shining with anticipation.
‘Leo again?’ Mistral frowned, her gaze sliding out of focus as she listened for Fabian’s thoughts.
Phantom watched her with growing impatience. ‘Mage Grapple?’ He finally prompted.
Mistral frowned and held a hand up to silence him, her eyes staring unseeingly out of the window, ‘I don’t believe it!’ she exclaimed, blinking and glaring furiously at Phantom.
‘What?’ He cried.
‘Precisely brother! What! Just what do they think they’re playing at!’ Mistral cried angrily. ‘I need to speak to them … both … right now!’
‘Who?’ Phantom shouted again, watching Mistral storm from the house and bang the door loudly behind her. ‘I don’t believe that girl!’ he cried in an exasperated tone. ‘She’s even more frustrating now she’s got the Sight!’
‘I’m sure we’ll find out soon enough.’ Phantasm said unworriedly.
‘Oh, you found them did you?’ Phantom looked over to see his brother sat on the sofa sewing the pearl buttons back onto Mistral’s dress. ‘Where had she managed to lose them?’
‘Down the back of the sofa.’
Mistral ran across the snow-covered village square and up the icy path to the Main Building, swearing angrily every time she slipped over. Reaching the sanctuary of the Entrance Hall she sprinted up the stairs, taking the final flight two steps at a time to burst breathlessly into Leo Sphinx’s tower room without knocking.
‘I’m so sorry,’ she panted glaring angrily at Leo and Fabian when they spun around, surprised at her dramatic entrance. ‘I would have knocked … only you were both shouting so loudly I don’t think you would have heard me!’
Two sets of eyes bored into hers. One burning black, the other icy blue. Fire and ice. Two brothers; elements of the same essence. With eye contact came instant access to Leo’s mind. His angry thoughts surged into her mind, joining Fabian’s in a deafening cacophony. Instinctively she reached up to cover her ears, desperately wishing for silence and suddenly they were gone – not fading away as Fabian’s had done when he’d travelled beyond the range of her gift, but abruptly silenced, as though a door had slammed on them. Exhaling slowly Mistral lowered her hands and looked first at her husband and then her brother-in-law, her eyes finally resting on a linen money bag on the table. It was yellowed with age and bore the emblem of a black snowflake; the De Winter family crest.
‘Now, would someone please tell me exactly what is going on?’
Fabian and Leo continued to regard her until Fabian broke the tense silence, ‘Surely … you know?’
‘Oh yes,’ she confirmed in a flat voice. ‘But I want you to say it.’
A shadow crossed Fabia
n’s face. Leo snorted disdainfully and turned away. ‘Very well.’ Fabian said coldly. ‘I wish to settle your apprenticeship in one single payment and release you from the completely unfeasible schedule of Contracts that has been proposed for you!’
‘You want to buy my freedom?’
‘No Mistral!’ Fabian snapped angrily. ‘You fail to see that you are being used here! Mage Grapple has submitted a schedule of meetings that is quite unacceptable! The amount of time he wishes you to spend at the Council is utterly ludicrous! I will not have my wife ordered around like a servant!’
Mistral held his burning glare for a long moment before looking down at the linen money bag on the table, ‘And … is that what I think it is?’
Fabian gave her a questioning look.
‘Oh, I’m blocking both your thoughts,’ she explained softly. ‘I think I need to hear you say these words to actually believe them.’
Fabian stared at her expressionlessly, ‘Yes. It is money from the De Winter vaults.’
‘I see.’ Mistral gave a mirthless laugh. ‘Or rather, I almost wish I didn’t See –’
‘This is a waste of time!’ Leo snapped impatiently. ‘Mistral may be your wife but she was an apprentice to the Ri first and has two years to pay back. You should be grateful Fabian! As a Seer Mistral can enjoy the luxury of Council Contracts to repay her training costs. Despite her innate ability to attract trouble they will present far less dangerous work than most warriors can ever hope to be offered!’
Mistral stared at Leo blankly while his words sank in. The winter solstice had passed on her second year. She had finally finished her training ... and now owed the same time back to the Ri.
‘And the fact that you have accepted this quite frankly astounding schedule without so much as a murmur has nothing to do with the fact that you wish to ingratiate yourself with Mage Grapple and further your ambitions of becoming the next Divinus?’ Fabian hissed back.
‘Remember that what is advantageous to me is also to you Fabian!’
‘Stop it!’ Mistral shouted, staring at them both in disbelief. ‘Wife? Apprentice? Seer? What happened to me?’ she paused and turned to fix Fabian with a blazing look. ‘Have I missed something or did I lose my voice as well as my identity when I gained the Sight? Only I’m sure I told you that I would never touch a penny of the De Winter estate! And yet here you are! Trying to buy me with that very same money!’
The Seer Page 8