Phantasm pulled out another shirt then reached over to a pile of freshly laundered dresses. Running a finger down to select a pale blue one, he packed it carefully into his saddlebag. ‘I’ve thought about it a lot,’ he mused quietly. ‘We could have come to the Valley the year before; or even the one before that … heaven knows we were bored of tribal life by then! But we didn’t, we waited.’
‘So we took our time, what of it?’ Phantom shrugged.
‘I think it’s destiny that we’re all here at the same time as Mistral.’
‘I know you’ve got a theory about us three, but now you’re actually saying that all of us are here at the same time because of Mistral?’
Phantasm looked up to meet his brother’s disbelieving gaze, ‘Yes I do. Haven’t you ever stopped to wonder why it is that our year of apprentices remains so tightly knit?’
‘I’d always put it down to my winning personality –’
‘Don’t be flippant brother! I’m being serious!’
‘Alright then!’ Phantom flung his arms out wide in an exasperated gesture. ‘It’s probably because we went through a lot together in our first year! Mistral was a nightmare to cope with from the start, she kept fighting with Columbine … we lost Bali, then there was that ridiculous Contract Master Sphinx sent us on where she ended up going to the Desert Lands in Mage Grapple’s warship and came back a complete mess because she’d gone and fallen in love with Mage De Winter ... then we all had to stop Columbine from slaughtering her at every opportunity … and don’t even get me started on that complete catastrophe that was our Qualification Hunt!’
‘That’s all in the past brother, yet we’re all still close! I truly believe we’re fated to have come together at the same time for a purpose.’
‘I refuse to accept that we are all here just to protect Mistral!’
‘No, not Mistral. The Isle’s Seer.’
‘It’s the same thing!’
‘But it might not have been. It could have been anyone else, but we would still be here, fulfilling our roles.’
‘No! I’m not buying it!’ Phantom argued. ‘If what you’re saying is true then Mage De Winter was simply passing the time by being the Ri’s most feared assassin for decades until Mistral showed up was he?’
‘No, Mage De Winter was acquiring the skills he would need in order to be the most suitable partner for Mistral. An assassin, yes, but also an experienced and formidable warrior, plus he’s a rich and powerful Mage; in short, he possesses all of the attributes required to offer her complete and utter protection.’
Phantom frowned, but he couldn’t argue with his brother’s logic, then he suddenly clicked his fingers together, ‘Saul! He doesn’t fit in with your neat plan does he? He loved Mistral! If he’d asked her before she’d met Mage De Winter, who knows what would have happened?’
Phantasm shook his head sadly, ‘Nothing would have happened brother. She was destined to be Mage De Winter’s from the first breath she drew. And Saul? Saul was of yarthkin descent and blood-bound to protect all centaurs, which is of course, where Mistral’s bloodline comes from. It was his destiny to die for her.’
‘Oh, now come on! That’s just too tragic for words!’
‘I’m not saying that following your destiny equates to living happily ever after. Sometimes destiny is cruel.’
‘You’re not joking!’
‘No, I rarely do.’ Phantasm gave his brother a bleak smile and slung his saddlebag over his shoulder. ‘Coming?’
‘Fated to, apparently.’ Phantom muttered and followed his brother out into the wet street.
The Wolf Ensnared
‘Has Xerxes narrowed his type down to something more specific than “female and breathing”, or is that really the same girl he was with last week?’ Mistral asked glancing over at the blonde Xerxes was saying a fond goodbye to at the door.
‘Marietta? Yes, the very same,’ confirmed Cain, following her gaze. ‘He’s thinking about settling down actually.’
‘No!’ Mistral exclaimed and dropped a pile of coins on the bar before she and Cain filled their hands with tankards and began to walk towards the table where the rest of the warriors were gathered.
‘Hmm, and I believe it’s because of you.’
‘Me? What’ve I done? I would certainly never suggest he settles down! He’ll make someone a terrible husband, for the … what is it now? Fourth time?’
‘Third I think.’ Cain corrected her with a laugh. ‘But it’s you being with child that’s made him, well all of us actually, think that there might be more to life other than gambling and Contracts.’
Mistral stopped and stared at her brother, ‘I’ve made you all ... broody?’
‘Something like that.’
‘What do you think you’re doing?’ Brutus exclaimed, leaping off his chair and hurrying over to relieve Mistral of the tankards.
‘Oh come on Brutus! I don’t think that carrying some tankards will send me into early labour!’ Mistral scorned before lowering herself carefully onto a chair with a grateful sigh.
‘Just looking after my nephew.’ Brutus said, giving her swollen belly an affectionate pat.
‘Brutus!’ Mistral glared at him in outrage. ‘Do that again and I’ll cut your hand off!’
‘Now, now Mistral, everyone knows that pregnant women have their bumps patted! It’s one of those unwritten rules of life!’
‘Well, it’ll be a short life if you do it again,’ she snapped and reached for her drink to find it had suddenly been replaced by a much smaller tankard.
‘What’s this?’ Mistral demanded. ‘I bought myself a full tankard!’ she glared accusingly at the twins.
‘Just looking after our godson,’ murmured Phantasm, raising his drink in a toast to her.
‘Cheers,’ she muttered sarcastically and took a swallow from her diminutive tankard, grimacing at the thin taste of the diluted ale.
‘So, when are we going to meet our nephew then?’ Xerxes demanded over the brim of his tankard.
‘Why, got a bet on it have you?’ Mistral asked grumpily.
‘Would I?’ Xerxes exclaimed in an offended tone.
‘Of course he has,’ Brutus laughed. ‘But some inside knowledge would be good as I’ve got rather a large bet on the traditional nine months.’
Mistral sighed and drummed her fingers moodily on the table top, ‘Well, no-one can say for sure, but centaurs carry for eleven months so I suppose I’ll be somewhere in between the two.’
There was a brief flurry of activity while Xerxes fished a tatty piece of parchment out of his pocket and scoured the figures written on it, ‘Damn it all! Cain got ten months!’
Mistral scowled over at Cain to see his sharp hob features lit by a smug grin, ‘So that’s why you’ve been insisting on measuring me every five minutes!’
‘Just taking good care of you and my nephew.’ Cain said innocently.
‘And a sizeable bet that would probably buy this damned tavern if it comes off!’ Xerxes muttered angrily and folded up the parchment before stowing it away in his jerkin pocket once more.
Mistral began to laugh and abruptly stopped with a loud gasp, her face contorting in pain.
‘What is it?’
‘It’s not time yet!’
The twins were instantly on either side of her, their faces identical masks of anxiety.
‘Damn!’ Mistral swore through gritted teeth while she gripped the edge of the table, her eyes screwed tight with pain. ‘He can kick!’ She opened her eyes to see the twins grinning at her, their green eyes lit with excitement.
‘May I?’ Phantasm asked softly.
Mistral looked into his emerald bright eyes, shining with anticipation, and didn’t have the heart to refuse him, ‘Oh, go on then … if you must.’
Phantasm gently laid his hand across her, his face breaking into a wide grin when he felt the baby respond to his touch, ‘That’s amazing!’
‘Oh please no, not you two as well!’ Mistral groan
ed when Xerxes and Brutus suddenly crowded around her, eager to feel the first signs of movement from their nephew.
‘He’s a lively one!’ Brutus laughed.
‘Really? I hadn’t noticed.’ Mistral muttered, then gave Xerxes a flinty look as he blew theatrically on his hands to warm them. ‘That is the first and last time you ever touch me Xerxes!’
‘Don’t worry, you’re in safe hands!’ Xerxes winked at her, then his eyes widened and he burst out laughing. ‘He can kick! I hope for your sake those are feet, not hooves!’
‘Not even funny!’ Mistral snapped, pulling his hands off.
‘Or accurate, I can testify that our nephew has two feet,’ said Cain cheerfully, leaning back in his chair to grin at her. Having examined her regularly over the last few weeks, he had witnessed the baby kicking on numerous occasions.
‘I can’t wait to meet him.’ Brutus sat back down with a faraway look on his face. ‘I’ve got so much to teach him.’
‘Ah, haven’t we all brother, haven’t we all,’ agreed Xerxes with an indulgent smile.
Mistral shook her head but couldn’t help smiling at their obvious pleasure at becoming uncles. She gazed across the table, her smile dimming when her eye fell upon the empty chair next to Cain. Meeting her look he gave her a poignant smile before dropping his gaze. Mistral felt a burst of sadness, knowing that their friendship would always be overshadowed by the ghost of Saul’s memory.
‘He’s going to learn from the masters.’ Xerxes continued with a fanatical gleam in his eyes that instantly alarmed Mistral. ‘Gambling –’
‘Hunting!’ Brutus interjected enthusiastically.
‘Fighting.’ Grendel growled.
‘Ah, And –’
‘Xerxes!’ Mistral warned sharply. ‘It’ll be years before he’s ready for all the degenerate activities you enjoy!’
‘I wouldn’t be so sure about that if I were you Mistral.’ Phantom sighed. ‘Centaurs are full grown at one year and fully mature by three years of age!’
‘Well Xerxes never matured, so he can forget any ideas he might have about being qualified to teach my son anything, especially not his bad habits with the ladies!’
‘Oh, talking of bad habits with ladies, Mistral,’ said Brutus, tilting his head meaningfully down at Prospero asleep beneath the table. ‘There’s been another litter of distinctively fluffy grey and white puppies born in the village.’
‘Oh Prospero! Really!’ Mistral admonished her dog, who groaned and opened a pale blue eye to regard her balefully. ‘Not again!’
‘That’s my boy.’ Xerxes said proudly, giving the dog a sly wink. ‘Soon you’ll have a partner in crime!’
‘You are not teaching my son to be a womaniser Xerxes!’ Mistral warned him with a glare.
‘Your son needs a name,’ mused Phantasm. ‘Have you thought of any yet?’
Mistral ran a finger thoughtfully around the brim of her tankard, ‘Not really … although Sheldon and Wesley are quite nice names –’
‘What?’ Brutus exclaimed.
‘Who the hell would saddle a child with a foul name like either of those?’ Xerxes demanded.
‘Who indeed?’ Phantasm murmured.
‘Seriously?’ Cain asked with a frown.
‘No of course not!’ Mistral laughed. ‘To be honest, I haven’t really thought about it yet.’
‘Well, what was Mage De Winter’s father called? That’s always a traditional choice.’ Brutus suggested.
Mistral looked blankly at him; she had absolutely no idea what Fabian’s father had been called.
‘Leopold.’ Phantom said quietly.
‘Well that one’s out for starters,’ said Xerxes firmly. ‘There’s no way my nephew is being given the same name as the Good Liege Leo.’
‘I’ve always thought that a name should befit the character,’ mused Cain.
‘Well yours certainly does,’ muttered Brutus. ‘Trouble-making hob.’
‘Mine does,’ said Xerxes immodestly. ‘I am a king.’
‘Of course you are Xerxes.’ Mistral murmured distractedly while she thought about names. She wanted to call her son after Saul, but suspected it would probably offend Fabian.
‘Well, I guess you’re just going to have to name him after all of us then.’ Cain declared with a grin.
‘Ah, but who’s would go first?’ Mistral teased.
‘Alphabetical,’ said Brutus quickly.
‘Reverse alphabetical!’ Xerxes amended sharply.
Laughing Mistral raised her tankard and drained it. Lowering it, she pulled a face at Phantasm. ‘Please don’t water my beer again. It’s revolting.’
‘Sorry, but I simply can’t abide drunk mothers; it’s so unseemly.’ Phantasm gave her a pious look. ‘Anyway, it’s time we were going, and it wouldn’t do to be smelling of alcohol for this meeting.’
‘Oh really? And what exactly have you been drinking then? Water?’
‘Need a hand getting up?’ Phantasm quickly asked, leaping to his feet to avoid her steely glare.
‘No!’ Mistral began to rise only to immediately sit down again, wincing in pain when the baby kicked in response to her moving. ‘Maybe a hand would be good after all,’ she heaved a sigh of defeat and accepted Phantasm’s wisely silent assistance.
‘What’s the meeting this afternoon?’ Cain asked, standing up and buttoning his jerkin ready to leave.
‘Master Sphinx has invited Bryden Wolfsnare to fill Malachi’s position in the Magnate. He wants us in on the meeting to cover all angles.’ Phantom muttered quietly; Leo’s narrow win in the Valley’s elections was still a contentious subject with most warriors.
‘Bryden Wolfsnare?’ Cain pursed his lips thoughtfully. ‘That’s a clever move. Aligning the Ri with a powerful tribe of elves like Bryden’s would bring on side a lot of warriors who still feel Leo’s going to be a puppet for the Council.’
‘That was Master Sphinx’s thinking too.’ Phantasm conceded while he waited for Phantom to finished putting on his jerkin. ‘But I’m not sure that Bryden will accept since Master Sphinx has been exposed as being a full-blooded Mage. Plus, he’s bound to mistrust the already close links that we have with the Council.’
‘Don’t we all,’ said Xerxes. ‘However, I’d rather have Leo as a Divinus than Malachi; he was a snake!’
‘Still is, unfortunately.’ Brutus corrected. ‘And one that’s slithered all the way to France, by the sounds of it.’
‘It’s high time we cleared out that nest of Rochforte vipers once and for all.’ Xerxes growled. ‘That fight we had at Holdridge was a good start, but the dregs need sorting out –’
Leaving Xerxes and Brutus planning a fantasy mission to France with an army of warriors, Mistral walked to the door with Cain.
‘Who’s teaching the apprentices today if you and Mage De Winter are both in this meeting?’ Cain asked, stepping out into rain.
‘Grendel.’ Mistral replied, adding with a grin. ‘Unarmed combat.’
Cain laughed, ‘That’s just evil!’
Mistral shrugged, ‘Not really, they’ll be learning from the master. Besides, they were so appalling at longbow yesterday that today just can’t be any worse.’
‘I wouldn’t speak too soon if I were you.’ Cain nodded over to the Arena. A line of trembling apprentices were limping up one at a time to be launched through the air by Grendel.
‘I’ll kill him!’ Mistral quickly swung her cloak on. Pulling the hood up against the rain she hurried over to the Arena, already shouting at Grendel. ‘What’re you doing? You big ugly idiot! Stop throwing my first years around like confetti! This isn’t your damned wedding again!’
The twins, Cain, Xerxes and Brutus strolled over to lean against the fence and watch the amusing sight of Mistral bawling at a half-troll more than twice her size.
‘Ouch!’ Brutus winced. ‘I do hope she tones her language down before Brutus Junior arrives, or his first words are going to be a bit choice!’
‘Brutus Junio
r?’ Xerxes snorted. ‘I don’t think so!’
‘It has a certain ring to it, don’t you think?’ Brutus mused. ‘Brutus De Winter –’
‘I think you should stop her Cain, her blood pressure must be going through the roof.’ Phantasm muttered worriedly.
Cain eyed Mistral, still screaming furiously at Grendel while an audience of apprentices looked on in open-mouthed astonishment, ‘You stop her.’
‘You’re the health professional!’ Phantasm retorted. ‘Do your job!’
‘And you’re a godfather.’ Cain responded evenly.
‘Oh for crying out loud!’ Phantom exclaimed and vaulted over the Arena fence. ‘Is this what you meant by fated to protect her brother? Only I think Grendel needs the help this time!’ he snapped over his shoulder while he strode across the muddy Arena to retrieve Mistral.
Phantom hauled Mistral away to a smattering of applause from the apprentices; she still ranting about Grendel’s “lack of professionalism.”
‘Yours was lacking a bit too.’ Phantom muttered, only to be completely ignored.
‘I can’t believe he’d do that! They’re all too terrified of him now to learn anything! They’ll never Qualify at this rate!’
‘I’m inclined to agree with you. But right now we need to be going, and I think you’ve made your feelings quite clear to Grendel. I’m sure he’ll go easier on them now.’
‘He’d better! Or I’ll be having another word!’
‘What was it you called her?’ Brutus asked his brother while they watched Mistral storming towards them. ‘“Pliable” or something, wasn’t it?’
Xerxes laughed and shook his head, ‘Right, well, amusing as this has been, it’s time to work.’ Pulling his hood up he squinted up at the heavy sky. ‘Quick private Contract to shift a nest of giant spine-tailed rats in the lower fields, then retire to The Cloak for a game I think. Ready brother?’
‘Born ready.’ Brutus grinned then turned to Mistral. ‘Can we borrow Prospero?’
‘Oh, I suppose so.’ Mistral said huffily, still fuming with Grendel. ‘I was only going to leave him with Clovis, and anyway, if he’s out of the Valley with you I know he won’t be getting over amorous with the village dogs.’
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