‘Yes, alright, I’m a terrible liar.’ Mistral pouted sulkily. ‘I’ll do my best if they ask any awkward questions, but I can’t promise to keep it up if they start pestering me. You know how irritating Phantom gets when he thinks I’m keeping something from him.’
‘It wouldn’t be too disastrous if the twins were to know of our true plans. Actually, it may help with the next request I have.’
‘Another?’ Mistral looked at him in askance. ‘You want me to read a Rochforte, attempt to lie to the twins ... and there’s something else I have to do?’
‘Sadly, yes. I want you to leave Prospero with the twins.’
Mistral’s face instantly became mutinous; she opened her mouth to argue.
‘Please, just hear me out Mistral. He’s never been on a ship before, and I’m not too sure how he will cope with negotiating the ladders.’
Mistral scowled but had to admit he had a point.
‘And more importantly, the Rochforte you read has to remain alive in order for you to be able to See into his mind again. I think Prospero would have other ideas about that, he seems to have become even more protective of you since you fell pregnant.’
Mistral pulled a face, ‘I hate to say it, but I agree with you. He even growled at Serenity when she was talking to me in the village square today. I think he picks up on my reactions to people and knew that I was irritated by her.’
‘I’m sure he does, which is exactly why he must stay. He would sense any harmful intentions towards you and attack with hesitation. No Rochforte would stand a chance.’
Mistral glanced fondly at her loyal dog, ‘He’s missed out on a dragon hunt and now the chance to chase some unicorns and maybe even chew on a Rochforte. He’s really not going to be very happy about this Fabian.’
‘Maybe not, but he’ll be safer in the Valley.’
‘I’ll ask the twins to have him while we’re away,’ she conceded reluctantly. ‘But he might eat their kitten in a fit of revenge.’
Fabian laughed; the sound never failing to make her smile in response. She looked into the velvet of his eyes and felt again the irresistible falling sensation, like her world was tumbling off its axis into the dark abyss of his gaze. ‘So, just to clarify; on this honeymoon it’ll finally be just you and me?’
‘And a herd of unicorns.’ Fabian corrected with a smile.
‘Perfect,’ she sighed happily. ‘When do we leave?’
‘Once Gleacher has prepared the ship, but,’ he paused and ran his gaze over her, ‘not before Eudora has made some new clothes up for you. I’m not sure I like seeing you wearing another man’s shirts.’
‘I could wear one of yours if you’d prefer.’
Fabian smiled slowly, ‘I’d prefer it if you weren’t wearing any.’
‘That can be arranged.’
Gleacher Shacklock
‘Here you are!’ Phantasm dropped the parcel onto the kitchen table with a theatrical flourish and sat down opposite her. ‘Aren’t you going to undo it?’ He asked, looking disappointed by her lack of response.
Mistral eyed the package disinterestedly, already knowing what was inside, ‘No.’
‘Spoilsport.’ Phantom chided.
‘You undo it then!’ Mistral snapped and returned her attention to stroking the twins’ kitten, Eloise, curled up on her lap.
Phantom tutted and untied the string, pulling open the linen wrappings to reveal a neatly folded bundle of clothes, ‘Aha! One new wardrobe, designed to fit the more round you!’ he announced with a grin.
Mistral gave him a dark look and reached over to pull a shirt out of the pile. Holding it up she was pleasantly surprised to see that it wasn’t the hideous tent-shape she’d been expecting but looked exactly like one of her own shirts, only with ties at the side to let out as she gradually grew. Encouraged, she rummaged deeper and drew out some soft black moleskin trousers, made with a similar tie design at the waist.
‘Oh, bless her! She’s even made you a couple of dresses.’ Phantom pulled some other items from the pile and held them up.
Mistral didn’t bother looking at them and continued to dig through for more shirts and trousers, rolling them up and stuffing them into her open saddlebag. She was leaving with Fabian for France that evening and was meant to be packing whilst he was meeting with Leo.
‘So you and Mage De Winter are leaving on the Unicorn Contract today then?’ Phantasm asked conversationally while he retrieved the rolled up clothes from Mistral’s saddlebag and began to fold them neatly before repacking them. ‘We were in on the negotiation meetings for the purchase of the herd. Mage Grapple had us influence the poor old Mage to agree to a pathetically low price.’
‘I bet he did. Mage Grapple’s not known for being generous.’ Mistral lost interest in the pile of clothes and turned her attention to Phantasm. ‘I can’t wait to get there brother! Unicorns! Can you believe it? I hope I get to ride one!’
‘Not advisable, as I’m sure Cain has already told you. Unicorns aren’t horses with a horn rammed in the middle of their foreheads Mistral, no more than centaurs are horses with half a man grafted on to them!’
‘I’ve ridden a centaur!’
‘Yes, well, that you might have. But I’m sure it was at their invitation. Unicorns are different. And despite your practise with that bad-tempered brute you call a horse, suffering a fall would be very unwise in your condition.’
Mistral rolled her eyes and avoided Phantasm’s reproving look by turning her attention to Eloise, now suffering being enthusiastically washed by Prospero, ‘Did you know that Eudora’s called her kitten “Gemini”?’ She said in an attempt to change the subject.
‘Very touching. Now how are we going to keep in contact whilst you’re off gallivanting in the Alps?’
‘I’ll read you every day so that you can keep me and Fabian informed.’ Mistral responded promptly.
‘Er, can we agree a specific time?’ Phantom asked quickly. ‘Only I’d like some time to my private thoughts without you poking your nose in them.’
Mistral coughed something that sounded like “Eloise Lacey”.
‘How does sunset sound? Or will that interfere with your schedule?’ Phantasm asked politely.
‘No schedule.’ Mistral shrugged. ‘Apart from a herd of unicorns to shift, there’s not a lot to do. In fact, it’s more of a honeymoon than a Contract.’
‘Another one?’ Phantom exclaimed. ‘What’ll that be? The third?’
‘And what if it is?’ Mistral gave him an arch look. ‘After all, you two did rudely interrupt the first one!’
‘I think you’ll find that the Divinus dying was more of an interruption than our visit!’ Phantom retorted.
Mistral ignored him and continued in an aggrieved tone, ‘And the second one came with the addition of all six of you –’
‘That’s not fair! We were all very considerate! And my brother and I always let you know in advance when we were going to call around!’
‘Always?’ Mistral raised an eyebrow.
‘Well, there was that one time we surprised you –’
‘Surprised me!’ Mistral exclaimed. ‘How about nearly gave me a heart attack! Can you imagine how damaging to my mental health it was to come out of a trance and find you two sat on the end of the bed staring at me?’
‘Calm down Mistral, it’s not good for the baby when you get worked up.’ Phantasm reproached her gently while he buckled the flap of her saddlebag. ‘There, all packed.’
Mistral glanced at her neatly packed saddlebag and smiled in affectionate exasperation. She was a fully Qualified warrior, yet Phantasm still insisted on packing her saddlebag for her. ‘Thanks brother; that would’ve taken me ages.’
Phantasm raised an eyebrow at her lie, knowing full well she would’ve just shoved everything in then sat on it to force the buckles to do up, ‘Well at least now Mage De Winter won’t have to suffer you wearing crumpled clothes all the time.’
‘My crumpled clothes you mean.’ Pha
ntom grumbled. ‘What did you do to that last shirt I lent you? It’s more rips than shirt now!’
‘Do you want one of my new ones?’ Mistral offered.
‘Not really, I don’t think I’ve quite got the figure to carry off maternity clothing.’
‘Oh I don’t know –’
‘Please don’t start bickering!’ Phantasm interrupted sharply. ‘We really don’t have the time.’ He turned to look at Mistral. ‘I assume you’re intending to sail on the Ri’s ship tonight?’
Mistral glanced at the clock on the wall and nodded, ‘Yes, we’re going to ride straight to the port to catch the evening tide as soon as Fabian gets back from his meeting with Leo.’
‘Is Master Shacklock accompanying you?’
Mistral nodded. It was standard Ri practise for Gleacher to travel with warriors on any foreign work. ‘I thought Fabian would tell him not to come with us, but he didn’t say anything about it.’
‘No, I’m sure he didn’t.’ Phantasm murmured, folding the rest of Mistral’s new clothes up and placing them in a tidy pile on the table.
Mistral frowned at him, ‘Know something I don’t brother?’
‘No, but Master Shacklock does. I’m sure it hasn’t escaped Mage De Winter’s notice that the journey to France will provide the perfect opportunity to discover what hold Master Nox has Master Shacklock.’
‘You think he’ll want me to read Gleacher on the sea crossing?’ Mistral instantly felt uncomfortable. As their Contracts Officer, Gleacher Shacklock was trusted and respected by all Ri warriors. Reading him without his consent would feel like a betrayal of that trust.
Phantasm shook his head, ‘I doubt it. Mage De Winter is a man of principle. He’ll need to hear Master Shacklock speak the truth, not just think it. Master Shacklock being away from the Valley and his ties to both Master Sphinx and Master Nox will give him the chance him to speak openly.’
‘Oh, right.’ Mistral hadn’t thought of that, but was fairly certain that Fabian had. She sighed resignedly. Their honeymoon was rapidly becoming more business than pleasure.
‘What’s the latest on Master Nox?’ Phantom asked, interrupting her irritation at Fabian.
‘Malachi?’ Mistral laughed. ‘Well, he’s fuming that his plan to break the news of the Cull Contract being fixed by Leo has failed.’
Phantom grinned, ‘Yes, that was a rather fine double-cross, and so simple! All we had to do was pop a little suggestion into Xerxes’ mind that he wanted to brag about how we got the cull the night we got back from the Council, and before I’d had my first drink the whole of The Cloak knew that between us, we three had manipulated Leo into giving us the Contract!’
‘Yes, and thank you for making us all so very well-liked.’ Mistral muttered sourly.
‘It’s not a popularity contest for us Mistral! Just Master Nox and Master Sphinx!’
Mistral suddenly smirked, ‘You’re going to love this! Malachi was doubly-fuming this morning when he got the bill for the dragon blood he requested ... and the best of it is that he doesn’t even need any!’
‘How big was the bill?’ Phantom asked with a grin.
‘Half what you earned on the Contract.’
‘Ouch! I bet that hurt!’
They all laughed, startling the sleeping kitten and causing Prospero to growl protectively.
‘Oh leave it out Prosp!’ Mistral berated her dog. ‘It’s a cat! You’re meant to chase them, not lick them to death! Although, I suppose it’s good you two get on, considering that you’re going to be staying here for a while –’
‘I’m sorry. Have I missed something?’ Phantasm enquired sharply.
‘Oh, sorry. I forget to ask. Can Prospero stay here while we go to France? Only Fabian doesn’t think he’ll like being on the ship.’
Phantasm regarded her with a frown, ‘Mage De Winter bought Prospero to protect you. It doesn’t make sense that he’d want to leave him behind. What’s the real reason Mistral?’
Mistral sighed heavily, ‘There is a bit more to it than just Prospero being unable to climb ladders. You know how Fabian has this obsession with knowing about the Rochfortes’ plans? Well, it turns out that the unicorn herd is in the same region of the mountains as the Rochforte stronghold.’
‘Ah, a most opportune coincidence.’
‘Isn’t it just?’ Mistral agreed with a slightly sour look. ‘And as you’ve no doubt guessed, he wants me to read a Rochforte while we’re out there, and leave him still alive so that I can read him again when I get back. Anyway, he seemed to think that Prospero will object, well, about the leaving him alive part anyway.’
‘Yes, he has gone overboard on protective hasn’t he?’ Phantom spoke up. ‘Did you see him try to bite Brutus in The Cloak when he offered to help you up from your chair?’
‘Huh.’ Mistral snorted disdainfully. ‘That’ll teach Brutus to take the –’
‘So you want us to dog sit Prospero?’ Phantasm cut in briskly.
Mistral nodded and stroked Prospero’s anvil-sized head tenderly, ‘Just for a while, we shouldn’t be away too long.’
Phantasm watched her lavish love on a creature capable of hunting down a full grown bear, ‘I promise Prospero will be just fine Mistral,’ he sighed. ‘Now, can we please talk about Master Nox’s plans?’
Mistral dragged her gaze away from her dog to meet Phantasm’s impatient green eyes, ‘Which bit of them?’
‘Everything Mistral. Right down to the last detail. We’re going to be working without Sight while you’re away, but forewarned is forearmed ... so what’s he planning?’
Mistral’s eyes slid to the left, seeing into her memory, ‘Well, as of my last visit in his lovely head, Malachi’s immediate plans are to cause dissent amongst the warriors with talk of Leo making the Ri into a Council puppet. I know he meant well, but I’m worried that the offer Fabian forced Leo to make to Mage Grapple of using the Valley as some sort of meeting venue is only going to help Malachi’s cause. Malachi doesn’t know about it yet, but put it like this, when he does find out I think I’ll need a bucket close by – he’s going to be sickeningly smug.’
‘Hmm, talking of sick how’re you going to cope with a sea crossing? You’ve hardly been blessed with a cast iron constitution recently, and let’s not forget how ill you were on the return journey from The Desert Lands.’
‘I’ll be fine so long as there’s no honey in sight.’ Mistral gave a shudder. ‘Anyway it’s only a short crossing so even if I am ill, it won’t be for long.’
Phantasm looked unconvinced, ‘Perhaps we should go see Cain –’
‘She’ll be fine.’ Phantom dismissed his brother’s concerns with a flick of his wrist. ‘But back to Master Nox – what’re we going to do while you’re away? You’ve told us his plans so far, but what if he thinks of some new devious plan? How’re we going to know what he’s up to? You can hear him, but we can’t hear you! Even if you find out that he’s planning something new, you won’t be able to tell us and we can’t use our gift to prevent it!’
‘I don’t think it will be an issue actually.’ Phantasm said thoughtfully.
Phantom and Mistral both turned to look at him.
‘Master Shacklock is the key to this campaign. He holds sway over the warriors. They trust him. Most of them served their apprenticeships under him in one way or another, either as Training Captain or as their Contracts Officer. At some point in their careers every warrior in the Valley has placed their life in his hands. I don’t think Master Nox will try to advance his campaign much without the influential presence of Master Shacklock. This could well be our only chance to find out just what Master Nox has been using as leverage over Master Shacklock for all these years.’
‘And break it.’ Phantom added quietly.
Gleacher, Fabian and Mistral left the Valley just after noon. The ride to the small west coast port would take them until early evening. They would be taking the smaller of the Ri’s two ships, though it would still be large enough to transp
ort the unicorn herd on the return journey.
The Contract specifications were simple; they were to round-up and bring back a unicorn herd consisting of eight mares and one stallion. The elderly Mage who owned the herd wanted to see his life’s work safely rehomed before he died. Mistral knew from the twins that Mage Grapple had used their gift to persuade the Mage to accept an offer far less than they were actually worth and felt ashamed his deception. But when she said as much to Fabian, his reply had surprised her.
‘The price is immaterial. The Mage is due to die soon, what need has he of money? The real question is this: what would happen to the herd if they were not given sanctuary on the Isle?’
‘Er, well, I suppose they would run wild –’
‘Temporarily. Left untended they herd would soon roam in search of fresh pasture, inevitably stumbling into the path of humans. If they weren’t hunted to extinction, they would be caught and treated, in ignorance, like a domestic horse. And that would be fatal for the unicorn herd.’
‘So, they’re a totally different breed then?’ Mistral asked curiously. ‘No similarities at all?’
‘Unicorns are fabled beasts Mistral, not horses. They may be virtually indistinguishable in shape and eating habits, save for the spiral horn; but their natures are completely different. Horses are biddable creatures, aside from yours and mine,’ he added with a smile. ‘But unicorns are the epitome of free-spirited creatures. A herd placed in captivity is one that will slowly wither and die. They are incapable of accepting a master, no matter how kind or cruel.’
Mistral listened carefully to Fabian’s words but couldn’t completely fight back the niggling desire to at least attempt to tame such a challenging sounding animal. A unicorn! Imagine riding one ... ‘Um, the twins told me the horn is used in potion making and has considerable value.’
Fabian laughed, ‘Considerable is an underestimation! An entire unicorn horn is worth upwards of a thousand gold coins. Powdered horn is sold in incremental weights, usually starting at a hundred gold coins for the smallest amount.’
‘Really? Is that why the Mage kept them then? To harvest the horns and sell them?’
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