The Assassin's Tale (Isle of Dreams)

by Kirsten Jones

  While Grendel and Brutus gathered up the pelts, Fabian rose from his stool and walked over to where Mistral was sitting, carefully cleaning the knife she had borrowed from him.

  ‘Care to take a walk with me before the ceremony?’ he asked, holding his hand out for her to take.

  ‘I would love to!’ she grinned and took his hand, slipping the long dagger into her belt as she stood up.

  Fabian looped an arm around her shoulders while they strolled across the Training Arena. Once they were far enough away for the other apprentices not to hear them he turned his head to speak quietly to her.

  ‘How did your interview with the Divinus fare?’

  Her shoulders dropped slightly, ‘He couldn’t say how long it would take for me to master Sight. Apparently I’m too stubborn. He also said it would cause me pain to be Bonded until I did. But we already knew that bit, didn’t we?’ Mistral sighed and gazed at him sadly.

  ‘It will be worth it,’ he smiled and touched her cheek gently.

  She held his gaze for a moment and then frowned, ‘Oh, and he said something strange about you … that you had a pure soul.’

  Fabian stopped walking and threw his head back, laughing mirthlessly.

  ‘What?’ Mistral asked, frowning at him.

  ‘He must be losing his touch,’ Fabian turned his gaze back to meet hers. ‘Or he’d know there was nothing pure about my soul every time I thought of you.’ he smiled, then bent his head and kissed her.

  When he released her Mistral sighed and wrapped her arms tightly around him, laying her head against his chest.

  ‘I think I’ve got too used to having you around,’ she murmured. ‘It’s going to be hell when training starts again and you leave. Saul is leaving on some Mercenary Contract next week and all the others have got work lined up. It looks like I’ll be stuck here with the twins irritating me to death every day.’

  ‘It won’t be so bad,’ Fabian said gently. ‘First of all, let’s enjoy the solstice break. I wanted to take you on holiday … of sorts, well more of a hunting trip actually.’

  Mistral snapped her gaze up to look at him, grinning in anticipation, ‘What for?’

  ‘A chimera,’ he said, smiling at her reaction.

  Mistral’s eyes shone with excitement, ‘No! Really? I’ve heard they’re really vicious, oh –’ her face suddenly fell and the light faded from her eyes.

  ‘What’s wrong?’ Fabian asked with a frown. ‘We can do something else if you wish.’

  ‘No, no! I would love to go … with you,’ she added, looking away.

  ‘Who else do you think will be coming with us?’ he asked with an amused smile.

  Mistral stared at him wordlessly, hardly daring to hope that she was going to get to spend the next two weeks alone with him.

  ‘Just you and me? Really? No chaperoning twins?’

  He nodded and smiled at her, ‘I think we’ve earned some time together.’ he caught the wicked gleam in her eyes and added. ‘Our deal still stands Mistral, we must wait.’

  ‘Whatever you say,’ Mistral said quickly and grinned.

  Two weeks away from the Valley with Fabian, hunting a fire-breathing creature in the mountains ... what could be better? Well, one thing obviously … but that would have to wait.

  They carried on walking in silence for a few minutes until they reached the fence surrounding the paddock and paused to lean against it, watching the horses nosing through the snow for grass. Cirrus was grazing close to Spirit. Her ordinarily bad-tempered horse seemed to have taken to the bright palomino and broke off from his grazing to nibble her neck affectionately.

  ‘I wonder who our Training Lieutenants will be for the next year,’ Mistral mused and turned around to lean back against the fence and gaze over at the Training Arena.

  Fabian turned around and pulled her into his arms, gazing down at her with an almost doubtful expression on his face.

  ‘How would you feel about having me as a Training Lieutenant?’ he asked hesitantly. ‘Not permanently of course, but Leo has asked me if I would step in for a couple of months, just until he finds some suitable replacements for the three he’s dismissed.’

  ‘Why only two months?’ Mistral cried joyously, throwing her arms around him and kissing him.

  Fabian laughed ruefully while he held her close, ‘I have commitments to the Council which would require me to be absent from the Valley for weeks at a time, and as I cannot be in two places at once I would not make a good Training Lieutenant on a permanent basis. Lieutenants need to be here all the time to keep an eye on the apprentices, not that yours seem to have done a very good job this year ... however, I can afford a couple of months and I think Leo knows that it will prevent you from riding out of the Valley to go home every five minutes.’

  Mistral expression bypassed happy and went straight to ecstatic. A hunting trip with Fabian and then Fabian as her Lieutenant instead of the three neanderthals she’d suffered over the last year? Things were definitely looking up.

  ‘I never, ever thought I’d say this, but Leo has just gone up in my estimations!’

  Fabian gazed at her solemnly, ‘So, you wouldn’t mind if I accepted Leo’s request?’

  ‘Mind?’ Mistral laughed. ‘It’s the best news I’ve had all day, apart from the hunting trip that is. Next year’s apprentices had better be made of strong stuff!’

  ‘Mistral, I will not give you free license to beat up the first years!’ Fabian chided her. ‘I will be firm but fair. Do not expect any favouritism in the Training Arena!’

  ‘No of course not!’ Mistral nodded quickly, not quite managing to stop grinning.

  ‘Now,’ said Fabian drawing her against his side to continue with their walk. ‘I think we have just enough time before the ceremony for you to tell me about the secret Phantom is keeping about you.’

  The Qualification Ceremony

  By the time Mistral had reluctantly told Fabian the story of her childhood nickname the sun was beginning to set and it was nearly time for the apprentices to gather in the Main Hall for their Qualification Ceremony.

  ‘I don’t suppose you’ll be allowed to attend?’ Mistral asked, looking at him hopefully.

  Fabian shook his head and gazed up at the light spilling onto the snow from Main Hall’s long windows.

  ‘No, but I shall wait for you in The Cloak and Dagger and help you celebrate,’ he smiled.

  ‘Commiserate more like,’ muttered Mistral.

  Fabian laughed softly and dropped a kiss on the top of her head before he turned to go. Mistral watched him walk back towards the village with familiar long easy strides and fought the urge to run after him.

  ‘That’s trusting of him,’ murmured Phantasm appearing at her shoulder with ghostly quietness. ‘I almost expected him to escort you right into the Main Hall to make sure that you actually go through with Qualifying.’

  ‘No, he wouldn’t do that,’ Mistral sighed. ‘Fabian believes in freedom of choice. I have to do this because I want to, not because he makes me.’

  ‘And do you want to?’ Phantom enquired, drifting up beside her.

  Mistral gazed after Fabian, watching him vanish around a bend in the path. She sighed again and turned to meet Phantom’s questing look.

  ‘No. But I’m going to do it anyway.’

  ‘To please Mage De Winter?’

  ‘No, to please me. If I throw away my chance to master Sight he’ll believe it’s because of him. He’d torture himself endlessly with how he’s ruined my destiny. To see him do that to himself would kill me.’

  Phantom regarded her solemnly for a moment then grinned, ‘Well, whatever your warped reasoning is, I’m glad you’re going to be here for another year. It’d be very boring without you.’

  Mistral grinned back at him, ‘Thanks brother, but I think our new Training Lieutenant won’t be letting us get away with so much though.’

  ‘Yes, we heard Mage De Winter has accepted,’ said Phantasm. ‘I’m pleased to have someone wi
th so much skill guiding us next year.’

  ‘I just wish that the others hadn’t spent the morning telling him quite so many stories about our exploits this year, we won’t be able to get away with anything now!’ Phantom grumbled.

  ‘Just tell me he wasn’t told the manticore story,’ said Mistral anxiously.

  ‘I don’t think that one came up actually. I think that even Xerxes realised that telling Mage De Winter that using his intended as bait on a manticore hunt might not end well for him.’

  Mistral waved a hand dismissively, ‘He’d already worked it out actually, and you’re right, he wasn’t best pleased. But I was more bothered about the language bit.’

  ‘Never came up, I’m pleased to say.’ Phantom said then looked her up and down pointedly. ‘Are you going to get ready or were you intending to Qualify like that?’

  ‘I’ve showered!’ Mistral snapped defensively.

  ‘Your clothes are looking a bit worse for wear though –’

  Mistral glanced at the twins and realised that they were both wearing new sets of clothing.

  ‘But I don’t have any others! They’ve all been wrecked over the year, and I’d rather not go down to see Eudora for some more.’ Mistral spread her hands out in a helpless gesture. ‘Sorry to disappoint, but these are just going to have to do.’

  ‘We thought that you might say that, so we took the liberty of picking you some more up. Look on it as a Qualification gift.’ Phantasm smiled and passed her a neatly folded stack of black clothing. ‘Mistress Eudora sends her regards by the way.’

  ‘Liar!’ Mistral laughed and took the clothes. ‘Ah, black, just the colour I’d have chosen. Oh, I didn’t know what to get you two, so I baked you a cake –’

  ‘Did you? I love cake!’ Phantom exclaimed excitedly.

  ‘No of course I didn’t! Honestly Phantom, sometimes it’s like you’ve never met me!’

  Phantom smirked at her, ‘Likewise! We just added your purchases to your tab, hope you don’t mind.’

  Mistral shook her head, still grinning, ‘Not at all, you’ve saved me having to go to her shop. Mind you, I’m surprised you two willingly put yourselves in danger of being eaten alive by her again.’

  ‘We took Xerxes with us. Apparently the girl from the saddlery has spread the rumour that he’s a real ladies man and Mistress Eudora couldn’t keep her hands off him. It was like watching a squid attack,’ said Phantom with a shudder. ‘Anyway, you had better go and change or we’re going to be late!’

  ‘Oh relax, I’m going now,’ she sighed reluctantly. ‘I’ll see you in a few minutes.’

  The twins watched her walk into the Entrance Hall and up the stairs to the dorms.

  ‘I can’t believe she’s going through with it,’ said Phantom.

  ‘She hasn’t done yet,’ said Phantasm quietly.

  Mistral quickly changed into her new clothes and sat on her bed to lace her boots. Looking around the bare room that had been hers for the last year she was struck by how quickly the time had gone, making her suddenly wonder how many other apprentices had passed through the room before her, doing exactly the same thing as she was now, and how many more would come after her. Reflecting with a sigh that it would probably be her for the duration of the next year she stood up and reached automatically for her knife belt and swords before realising that they probably wouldn’t be appropriate attire for the ceremony. Feeling strangely underdressed without them she opened her door and was unsurprised to find the twins leaning against the wall opposite.

  ‘Don’t you trust me?’ she demanded grumpily and slammed the door shut behind her.

  ‘Let’s just say that we feared your enthusiasm for a second year might have waned in the time it took you change,’ said Phantasm drily.

  ‘Let’s just get this over and done with!’ Mistral snapped and stalked off down the corridor.

  ‘It’s going to be a long year,’ Phantom remarked as they sauntered after her.

  The rest of the apprentices were gathered outside the closed double doors to the Main Hall, all looking unusually clean and neatly dressed in their new clothes. Something struck Mistral as strange about them and after a moment she realised it was because they were also weaponless.

  ‘Just got to get through this boring bit then its straight to The Cloak for to celebrate,’ said Xerxes rubbing his hands together eagerly.

  ‘Apparently Floris has a liquor brewed from manticore poison that he keeps for the Qualification night,’ said Cain, grinning mischievously at Mistral.

  Mistral was saved from replying by the sound of the doors being opened. The apprentices instantly fell into a respectful hush when Leo Sphinx’s haughty face greeted them from the open doorway.

  Stepping silently aside, Leo gestured for them to enter. The apprentices filed obediently into the room beneath his stern gaze. Mistral stole a surreptitious glance around as they entered to see that a long table and a row of chairs had been placed at the end of the room nearest to the fire. Seated in the centre of the row was the Divinus with Magnus Casterton and Serenity Lightwater sat to his left, and Malachi Nox sat on his right. There was an empty seat beside Malachi which Mistral assumed must be for Leo.

  There were no chairs for the apprentices to sit on so they lined up in the centre of the room, facing the table. Mistral glanced up at the members of the Magnate, her eyes moving over the Divinus, his skeletal face shadowed by the fire burning brightly behind him; Malachi Nox, his sharp features set in a look of frank boredom; Magnus Casterton, heavily flushed and sweating, lastly her eyes met the gentle brown gaze of Serenity Lightwater, smiling benignly at them all.

  Leo closed the heavy doors with an echoing slam that made them all jump then strode to take his seat next to Malachi Nox.

  ‘A year ago I stood before a room of apprentices,’ Leo paused and his icy blue gaze raked the room. ‘Now I see before me a room of warriors.

  ‘Your journey begins here. Undertake each Contract with dignity and discipline. Do not be guilty of using the name of Ri for wrongful deeds. Remember that the results of your actions reflect inextricably on every Ri warrior. Treat your brothers and sisters with respect and honour the name you have earned.

  ‘I salute you, warriors of the Ri.’

  Leo finished speaking and sat down. After a moment’s pause the Divinus rose from his chair and looked at each of them in turn with his unsettling milky-eyed gaze.

  ‘Whilst I have the honour of bestowing the title of warrior upon each of you in this room and welcoming you to the brotherhood of the Ri, there is one more matter to be dealt with before I allow you to leave here for more insalubrious settings,’ he paused and gave a faint smile. ‘I have received an unprecedented number of applications for a second year.’ the Divinus gave a whispering sigh and rested a thin hand on a pile of parchments on the table in front of him.

  Mistral frowned as she remembered that Golden and Columbine had also applied for a second year. She hadn’t noticed them waiting outside the door but didn’t dare look around for them now.

  ‘The apprentice called Golden,’ the Divinus continued in his brittle voice. ‘Has not Qualified and is therefore not eligible to apply for a second year.’

  The Divinus peeled a parchment off the top of the pile and threw it lightly onto the fire behind him. It burst into flames and quickly crumbled to grey ash.

  ‘The apprentice called Columbine has not Qualified and is also not eligible to apply.’

  A second flame erupted as Columbine’s application was tossed onto the fire.

  ‘The apprentice called Mistral –’

  Mistral felt her heartbeat quicken. She looked into the Divinus’ ancient face and was filled with a sudden desperate desire for him to discard her application too.

  ‘Has a promising gift that will require further training in order to develop to its full potential. The Magnate extend their invitation for a second year.’

  Mistral felt her face freeze while she gazed unseeingly at the parchment i
n his hand. There was an awkward pause until Mistral realised that he was holding it out for her to take.

  Forcing her feet to move Mistral stepped forward and walked slowly towards the table, reaching out to collect the application form Phantom had filled in for her. As her fingers touched the paper her eyes locked with the Divinus’ blind stare.

  ‘Do you accept the invitation of your own freewill?’

  His faint voice was almost inaudible over the crackling of the fire behind him. Mistral hesitated with her thumb and finger pressed around the parchment. Did she accept her destiny out of freewill or because she wanted a life with Fabian? Weren’t they essentially the same? The Divinus had said that she had no choice but to love Fabian because they were Bonded, but he was presenting her with a choice now … panic surged through her. She fought the urge to refuse their invitation and run from the room, from another year of training and from her destiny. Then she thought of how Fabian’s face would set in lines of pain at the news, how he would blame himself, thinking she had left to be with him and her resolve hardened.

  ‘I willingly accept my fate,’ she said in a clear voice.

  The Divinus nodded once and released his grip on the parchment so that it was left hanging from Mistral’s fingers. Turning swiftly, she walked back to take her place in the line of apprentices, keeping her head bowed to avoid the twins’ inquisitive looks.

  ‘The apprentice called Phantom and the apprentice called Phantasm. You are Gemini and as such must be considered as two halves of one whole. You are invited to further develop your gift with the Ri for a second year.’

  Phantasm and Phantom stepped forward together and strode confidently towards the table, accepting their approved applications with murmured thanks before returning to stand on either side of Mistral, their faces glowing with pride.

  ‘I congratulate you all on your Qualification,’ continued the Divinus in his papery voice. ‘I feel that it would appropriate for some words to be offered regarding the hunt.’