The Seer

by Kirsten Jones

  ‘No, not destiny.’ Phantasm murmured, still smiling indulgently at the sleeping baby. ‘Blood.’

  While Phantasm continued to gaze adoringly at his godson, Mistral took the opportunity to rip open the parcel and look at the dress he expected her to wear, fully intending to chuck it out of the window if it was too hideous.

  ‘Oh, I hate you,’ she sighed while she examined a silk dress the colour of fallen copper beech leaves.

  ‘Yes, and I hate you too.’ Phantasm responded evenly and moved over to hold the dress up against her. ‘But this dress will actually look rather nice, so come on, time is ticking.’

  Shoving her down onto a stool, phantasm began to attack her hair, tutting loudly with each tangle he encountered, ‘Seriously Mistral, do you ever brush it?’

  ‘Sometimes,’ she replied with a disinterested shrug then smiled. ‘But when I do it usually just gets messed up again anyway.’

  ‘Thank you for that surfeit of information.’ Phantasm said crisply and cast a disdainful glance at the half-made jumble of sheets on Mistral and Fabian’s bed. ‘I think you two should really consider tidying this place up a bit before your lease finishes or Boaz will never give Mage De Winter his security deposit back.’

  ‘No need.’ Mistral said dismissively. ‘We’ve bought it.’

  ‘Oh?’

  ‘Hmm,’ she murmured distractedly, glancing over at the crib as her son stirred in his sleep. ‘Fabian kept back his share in the Unicorn Contract, and well, with a little persuasion, it was enough to buy this place.’

  ‘I’m sure Boaz was delighted to do business with you again.’

  ‘Not really, but we persuaded him to see the sense in good business … eventually.’

  Phantasm laughed, ‘I almost feel sorry for him having you and Mage De Winter bent on nailing him down on price, I’m surprised he didn’t actually give it to you for free!’

  ‘Well, he did … nearly. We also bought next door as part of the deal.’

  ‘Need the space?’ Phantasm asked lightly.

  ‘Might do, one day.’

  Phantasm smiled and finished coiling the long plait of hair up onto her head. Stepping back and tilting his head to admire the finished effect he gave a satisfied nod. ‘Good. Now, do you require me to leave the room while you get changed or are you going to stop being so ridiculously modest now that I’ve seen you in labour?’

  ‘Leave. Now.’ Mistral growled and pointed at the door.

  Left alone in the room Mistral stared unhappily at the dress laid out on the bed for a moment then wandered over to the window. Wrapping her arms around herself in an attempt to ease her disquiet she gazed out across the red-tiled roofs to the village square and gave a low laugh of disbelief. Right in the middle of the cobbled village square, swept clean ready for the ceremony and in the process of being decorated by Liliana and Marietta, was the arresting sight of Brutus and Xerxes with their shirt sleeves rolled up chasing her dog around in circles, leaving a trail of wet footprints behind them. Grinning, Mistral realised that Prospero was having another enforced bath and leaned out of the open window to watch the comedy unfold, snorting with laughter when Xerxes made a lunge for her dog only to slip on the wet cobbles and land flat on his face. Prospero immediately bounded back to stand over him and give himself a vigorous shake, spraying Xerxes with soapy water and eliciting squeals of protest from Liliana and Marietta. Clapping a hand to her mouth to prevent her laughter from waking her son, Mistral watched Xerxes stagger to his feet, red-faced and swearing, his angry words carrying clearly to her on the still morning air along with Brutus’ laughter and Prospero’s joyous barking.

  Mistral turned away from the window still smiling at her dog’s antics and sharing in his aversion to being bullied into being made presentable. Her gaze fell upon the dress lying on the bed and the smile faded from her lips. The Naming Ceremony would be happening in a few short hours and Fabian still hadn’t said whether he’d agreed on the name she had chosen for their son. It wasn’t that they had argued over her choice; Fabian said that they would name him as she saw fit and he hadn’t gone back on his word, but she knew in his thoughts that he was undecided. Sighing, she bent down and undid the buckle of her saddlebag to retrieve the necklace he had given her, hoping that by wearing it she might soften him up a bit. Lifting the flap she saw the faded gold letters stamped on the underside and realised that she had undone his saddlebag by mistake.

  F.C.DW.

  Mistral traced the letters with her finger and smiled, imagining her son’s initial’s on his own saddlebag. Throwing off her shirt and trousers and kicking them under the bed to join the rest of her clothes, she grabbed the dress and had one arm in when Phantasm’s voice called irritably through the door.

  ‘Have you died in there?’

  ‘No brother, just escaping out of the window –’

  The door immediately opened and Phantasm rushed in, earning a startled shriek from Mistral and waking up her son who promptly began to cry.

  ‘Now look what you’ve done!’ they chorused accusingly and hurried over to the crib.

  While Phantasm rocked the crib and sang a lullaby to soothe his godson, Mistral finished dressing and was struggling with the clasp of the necklace when a familiar touch brushed the skin at the nape of her neck.

  ‘Allow me.’

  ‘Thank you,’ she smiled at Fabian in the mirror.

  ‘You look beautiful,’ he murmured and dropped a kiss onto her neck.

  ‘Hmm,’ she eyed herself in the mirror dubiously. The dress revealed far too much of her post-pregnancy curves for her liking, and in her opinion the diamond necklace nestling against the exposed skin of her chest only drew attention to that fact.

  She studied Fabian’s reflection while he finished lacing the back of her dress; his jaw was shadowed by three day’s growth of beard and his hair hung in tousled locks to the collar of a simple white shirt and he looked … divine. Mistral sighed at how unjust it was that he should look so good with such little effort, but expected her to suffer Phantasm’s bullying and idiotic ideas about dressing appropriately.

  ‘Now, Lady De Winter, I have something for you.’ Fabian murmured, moving to her side he lifted her hand and pressed his lips against the skin in a way that made her forgive him instantly. She gazed at him, lost in the love his dark eyes were whispering to her while he kissed her hand. When he released his hold and smiled at her with velvet softness she realised that something felt different.

  ‘Oh!’

  Looking down Mistral saw another ring pressed up next to the wedding band on her finger, a row of three large diamonds glittered on a narrow circle of gold. She lifted her hand and to study the new addition and the diamonds caught the sunlight, refracting the rays in bright rainbows of colour. She smiled, thinking how it would amuse her son to see that then sighed inwardly, if Fabian gave her many more of the De Winter diamonds she would soon look like a jewellers window display.

  ‘Oh Fabian, it’s beautiful, but I already have a ring.’

  ‘Yes, a wedding ring, but that is an eternity ring,’ he replied softly.

  Her eyes met his again, ‘I don’t need a ring to know that I will be with you for all of eternity.’

  ‘I don’t think there are enough diamonds in the world to compensate you for being cursed with such a destiny.’ Fabian laughed and wound his arms around her waist to pull her into a kiss.

  ‘We’re ready.’ Phantasm said shortly, forcing Mistral and Fabian to reluctantly break apart.

  Turning to look at him with every intention of giving him death glares, she could only smile stupidly at the sight of her son in his arms, awake and smiling back at her, ‘Oh, just look at that smile,’ she breathed, walking across the room with her arms outstretched to take him from Phantasm’s hands and swing him up into the air, making him gurgle with laughter.

  ‘And the tigress was tamed.’ Phantasm murmured, watching Mistral cradle her son and show him her new ring, holding it up to the light so
that he could laugh at the coloured lights that sprang from the clear stones.

  They walked together to The Cloak and Dagger, collecting Phantom along the way and arriving full of talk and laughter to find the tavern already heaving with guests.

  ‘Exactly how many people did you two invite today?’ Mistral hissed to Phantom while her eyes raked the packed room.

  ‘Well, all of your brothers, obviously ... then there’s the Divinus, the Magnate, Master Shacklock, Imperato, Alyssa, some of their tribe, Chieftain Larch, for political reasons, Mage Grapple … Eudora, sorry, but she insisted, Clovis, well, all the village actually ... um, yes, I think that’s about it.’

  ‘About it?’ Mistral echoed faintly. ‘It’s like a damned battlefield in here! Just get me a drink and make it a large one!’

  ‘You know you must still go easy on the ale while you’re feeding him Mistral, we spoke about this the other day!’ Cain said, appearing beside her with a reproving look on his face.

  Mistral didn’t want to be reminded of that conversation, ever, ‘Of course I will brother,’ she replied quickly. ‘I mean it’s only for the next three weeks isn’t it? You told me he should be more than ready for solid food by then; he’s already got four teeth.’

  ‘Yes, he should be, he’s developing at an incredible rate.’ Cain said, looking over at the baby held in Fabian’s arms. ‘Arcane babies tend to grow fast, but he’s outstripping them all! I’ve seen a change in him every single day.’

  ‘Do you really think?’ Mistral was unconvinced; to her he looked the same. ‘Phantasm wants me to start measuring him – oh!’ she suddenly gasped and turned to look at Cain with shining eyes. ‘Did I tell you he smiled at me this morning?’

  ‘I take it you mean your son and not Phantasm?’ Cain grinned.

  ‘Of course I do.’ Mistral said, watching her son being shown around the tavern by his proud father. ‘When does Phantasm ever smile at me?’

  ‘Not often, but I think he’s right, maybe we should start measuring him.’ Cain mused, following her gaze to study the baby that was one week old and sitting up unaided on Brutus’ knee.

  ‘Oh, don’t you start brother! Why not just label him an experiment and put him in a glass case?’ Mistral snapped.

  ‘Don’t be stupid Mistral! I’m just looking at this from a professional perspective –’

  ‘I’d rather you didn’t look at it from any damned perspective!’

  Phantom returned and broke up their bickering by presenting her with a full tankard of ale.

  ‘Ah, at last, a grown-up sized drink.’ Mistral sighed and raised it to her lips.

  ‘He’s definitely grown since I last saw him.’ Phantom said, watching Samson take his godson from Brutus and hold him aloft, pulling faces to make him laugh.

  ‘Not you as well!’ Mistral frowned irritably. ‘I really don’t know how you can see such a difference! You only came out to see him on Wednesday!’

  ‘I know! That was ages ago! At least now you’ve moved back to the village I’ll be able to see him every day.’

  ‘You’ll be seeing him quite a bit more when I take that vampire Contract.’ Mistral muttered.

  ‘Fine by me, I’ve got loads of stories to tell him.’ Phantom smiled then slipped an arm around her shoulders to whisper in her ear. ‘Have you seen Gemma?’

  Mistral followed his gaze to see Gemma stood by the bar with a pitcher of ale and a tankard in front of her, filling one from the other and emptying it just as fast.

  ‘I think she might need a female shoulder to cry on –’

  ‘Get Serenity then, because I fall seriously short in the agony aunt stakes!’ Mistral hissed back.

  ‘Get over there sister.’ Phantom muttered, giving her a shove in the small of her back and sending her stumbling over to where Gemma was standing, staring morosely at the half-empty tankard in her hands.

  Placing her own tankard of ale down onto the bar, Mistral glanced at Gemma’s to see if she should offer to top it up and noticed the cause of her bleakness. A band of gold inset with a semi-circle of small diamonds encircled the third finger of her left hand.

  ‘Nice ring.’ Mistral commented drily.

  ‘Likewise.’ Gemma replied, lifting an eyebrow at Mistral’s glittering display of diamonds.

  Mistral laughed and reached for the pitcher of ale to top up their tankards, ‘Don’t tell Fabian, but I hate jewellery.’

  Gemma smiled and raised her tankard, ‘Don’t tell Samson, but so do I … this design is meant to be a horseshoe,’ she sighed, waving her left hand at Mistral to show her the ring. ‘An engagement ring! Can you believe it?’

  ‘Yes, I’m afraid I can.’ Mistral sighed, looking at the obscenely huge diamonds on her own finger. ‘I would trust Fabian with my life and I will have as many children as he wants, but I would much rather have had a new set of throwing knives than another damned ring!’

  ‘At least throwing knives would be useful.’ Gemma agreed and raised her tankard in a toast to Mistral.

  ‘So, when are you getting married?’ Mistral asked after they had both taken a long drink.

  Gemma bent her head close to Mistral’s to whisper quietly, ‘Put it like this, it’s going to be a long engagement, unless you’re that keen to be a bridesmaid –’

  ‘Not really!’ Mistral laughed and reached out to fill both their tankards again. ‘So, here’s to an eternal engagement!’

  ‘I knew they’d get on, with a little help.’ Phantasm said in a satisfied voice, watching Mistral and Gemma bend their heads together in laughter.

  ‘Hmm, I’m not entirely sure that’s a good thing.’ Cain remarked, then shrugged. ‘But what the hell, neither of them are my problem!’

  ‘I’m all for the bachelor life too brother.’ Phantom agreed. ‘Which is unfortunately looking like it might be ending soon for Xerxes.’

  Phantom and Cain both gazed pitying at Xerxes while Marietta held Mistral’s baby in her arms and smiled promisingly at him.

  ‘Oh dear.’

  ‘Is she insane?’

  ‘No brother, that would credit her with having a mind to lose in the first place.’ Cain replied. ‘She’s just Marietta.’

  ‘I thought the smell of wet dog would’ve put her off a bit.’ Brutus said, joining them with a brimming tankard in his hand.

  ‘Yes, I did observe the spectacle of Xerxes trying to tackle Prospero to the ground for an enforced bath earlier.’ Phantom laughed.

  ‘Damn! That was funny!’

  ‘He didn’t seem to think so.’ Cain remarked.

  ‘No, but when has Xerxes ever been able to laugh at himself?’ Brutus grinned.

  ‘Never brother, he left that pleasure to us.’

  To save Floris from having a seizure every time his ill-fitting new door was booted open by another guest arriving, they wedged it open. The cool autumn-scented air drifted across the tavern, bringing Mistral’s thoughts back to the night in the forests and the fact that she and Fabian still hadn’t agreed on a name for their son. Refusing another tankard of ale, Mistral sighed and poured herself a glass of water from the jug Cain had pointedly placed on the bar next to her.

  ‘Still can’t drink, huh?’ Samson grinned, making his way over to stand between them.

  ‘Three weeks and counting.’ Mistral muttered sourly and took a drink of water.

  ‘We’ll celebrate in style then, won’t we my fiancée?’ Samson said, turning to plant a kiss on Gemma’s cheek.

  ‘Please … don’t call me that Samson.’

  ‘Well, how about my betrothed then?’

  ‘Not that either.’

  ‘My intended?’

  ‘No.’

  ‘Ah, you want to be my unintended?’

  Gemma sighed and closed her eyes, ‘Can’t I just be me?’

  ‘My Gemma it is then.’ Samson grinned happily.

  Mistral hid a smile and took another drink from her glass. In truth, she didn’t mind switching to water, her son’s Naming Ceremony was
hardly the time to get fully reacquainted with ale; especially since Imperato, Alyssa, and Mage Grapple would be there. Looking around the lively tavern Mistral could see that she was apparently the only one embracing sobriety; Xerxes was rocking her son in his arms and singing him a song that really wasn’t appropriate, but he was laughing in delight at his uncle so she decided to let it go. Brutus had brought in an extremely clean Prospero to show off and had even managed to somehow persuade him to have a large bow tied around his neck. Revelling in all the attention, Prospero was stood on his hind legs licking Brutus’ face. Mistral grimaced in sympathy, having been on the receiving end of his breath on many occasion then smiled, reflecting that Brutus’ wasn’t always the most fragrant either. Gleacher had arrived and was stood near to them, but far from dampening the atmosphere with his usual steely manner he was actually smiling whilst telling a story that was causing an uproar of laughter. Mistral smiled and let her eyes drift further around the bar, everyone was there, Grendel, Liliana, all of the first years, Clovis … and then there was Fabian. The swelling volume of noise faded away as Mistral gazed across the room at him, mesmerised by the look on his face. She would happily bear him a hundred children if it meant she could see that look of pure joy each time. He suddenly turned to meet her look and smiled; not his usual hidden smile but a glorious blaze that set her heart alight.

  ‘Mistral?’

  ‘Mistral!’

  Mistral blinked and turned slowly to meet Phantasm’s exasperated gaze.

  ‘What?’

  ‘I said, for the third time, that the centaurs have arrived!’

  ‘Oh? Where are they?’ Mistral looked around vaguely.

  ‘Well they’re hardly likely to come in here, are they? I’m not sure they could get through the door for a start!’

  ‘Oh, right.’ Mistral nodded and looked across the tavern at Fabian to watch him take their son from Xerxes only to have him immediately snatched by Serenity, but Fabian didn’t seem to mind. He was looking at her again in a way that set her heart racing, his thoughts telling her quite clearly that she had been right; the diamond pendant did draw too much attention to her curves …