‘A while yet.’
‘Oh good,’ she murmured, turning to kiss him.
By mid-morning Fabian and Mistral had met up with the rest of the warriors to begin their journey north. Mistral’s fond imaginings of spending the day riding with her brothers and planning the cull were rudely shattered by Leo’s icy summons to ride alongside him and discuss what she had Seen at the banquet.
‘Unlucky.’ Cain muttered with a grin.
Mistral scowled and swore at him under her breath.
‘Lady De Winter!’ Cain gasped, looking offended. ‘You shock me!’
‘Mistral? Now please!’ Leo’s cold voice cut short Cain’s mocking reply.
Mistral muttered something even more foul to Cain before she turned to smile sweetly at Leo, ‘Coming!’ she called brightly and kicked Cirrus into a canter, quickly catching up with her brother-in-law.
By the end of an hour of merciless interrogation Mistral had a pounding headache and was even considering pretending to fall off Cirrus to put an end to the torture. Leo questioned and re-questioned her on every miniscule detail on Bellicose and Malachi until she was heartily sick of having to relive their dark thoughts, and when Leo finally appeared satisfied Fabian proceeded to ask her a string of questions, for which she shot him black looks that he appeared not to notice.
‘Oh thank you –’ she exhaled softly a split-second before Phantasm’s cool voice spoke beside them.
‘Master Sphinx, Mage De Winter? I have some information regarding Bellicose La Monte that I feel is pertinent.’
Leo turned and eyed Phantasm coldly for a moment before waving a hand dismissively at Mistral, ‘You may go now.’
Mistral rolled her eyes at Fabian and reined Cirrus in, falling back to ride with Phantom.
‘You look exhausted!’
‘Thanks for the compliment brother.’ Mistral muttered sourly but gratefully accepted the skin of water he passed her.
‘Here –’ Phantom gave her a honey and oat cake with a grin.
Mistral laughed and took it from him, ‘Is this a peace offering for telling my husband that I’ve been trying to eat my own weight in honey?’
‘No, I never apologise, you know that. But talking of eating … want to know what we saw last night?’
‘Not if it’s going to make me feel sick,’ frowned Mistral, taking a bite of the honey cake. ‘I’m not feeling so great today.’
‘Can’t promise, I’m afraid. We, that is, my brother and I, agreed to liberate a few select items from Master Nox’s room in preparation for the cull –’
‘You stole some potions.’ Mistral stated flatly.
‘Yes.’ Phantom confirmed and blithely carried on. ‘Well, we weren’t sure if our gift would work on him with his vampire blood, so we decided to do it the old-fashioned way –’
‘Please tell me you violently mugged him and left him bleeding to death out the back of The Cloak!’ Mistral asked hopefully.
‘Er not quite.’ Phantasm gave her a funny look. ‘We just picked the lock on his room when he was out.’
‘So he’s not been injured then?’ Mistral asked, looking disappointed.
‘No.’ Phantom frowned. ‘But someone else has been – ’
‘Who?’ Mistral asked sharply.
‘Will you please stop interrupting me!’ Phantom exclaimed. ‘It’s very annoying!’
‘Sorry –’
‘Mistral!’
She laughed and shook her head, ‘Continue brother, I promise not to interrupt your riveting tale again.’
‘Good,’ he sniffed, and continued looking only slightly mollified. ‘Well, we were after some gorgon blood for Cain to mix up a poison for the cull, apparently it’s the only thing that works on dragons, anyway, there we were, sneaking around in his pitch-black room when I tripped over something and fell flat on my face – ’
Mistral burst out laughing, ‘I wish I’d been there! I bet you two were a right comedy double-act, all stage whispers and knocking things over!’
‘Actually we were very stealthy.’ Phantom bristled. ‘Do you want to know what I fell over or not?’
‘Sorry brother.’ Mistral hid a smile. ‘Do carry on.’
‘It was the red-head from the bakery.’
‘What? Why was she asleep in Malachi’s tower room? Are they lovers? Does Xerxes know he’s sharing one of his sweethearts with a half-vampire?’
‘Slow down! Let’s just answer your first question shall we?’ Phantom leaned over to whisper dramatically in her ear. ‘She wasn’t sleeping … she was dead!’
‘What?’ Mistral cried again, twisting round to give him a shocked look. ‘Are you winding me up brother?’
Phantom shook his head solemnly, ‘No Mistral. She was a stone cold corpse.’
‘But … how? And why?’ Mistral’s face creased into a perplexed expression.
‘How?’ Phantom said quietly. ‘Well, there was no blood anywhere, and especially not in her.’
Mistral stared at him, frowning heavily, then her eyes widened with horror, ‘No!’
Phantom nodded, looking suitably gratified by her reaction, ‘Oh yes, I think daddy had a snack before he travelled home.’
‘Yuk!’ Mistral pulled a face. ‘Now I feel really sick –’
Phantom looked at her, his smug expression quickly changing to one of concern, ‘You have gone a bit green! Want to stop for a bit?’
‘No time!’ Mistral gasped and promptly leaned over Cirrus’ shoulder to be sick.
‘Mistral?’
Fabian’s anxious voice spoke nearby. She opened her eyes and was grateful to see that he was on opposite side to where she was being sick. ‘M’fine!’ she choked between retches. ‘Honestly … just need a … moment –’
‘Right that’s it. You are going to the Infirmary the moment we get back!’ Phantasm said briskly, appearing beside her with linen cloth and a skin of water.
Mistral groaned and slumped against Cirrus while she recovered, ‘Get Cain to check me over,’ she mumbled, reaching for the water. ‘Anything but Serenity … please.’
The twins exchanged a long look over her bowed head while Fabian immediately pulled Spirit around to ride over and speak with Cain.
Fabian rode quietly beside Mistral for the rest of the morning, occasionally asking after her health until she was replying to each polite enquiry through gritted teeth.
‘I’m fine Fabian. Please stop asking! Something just disagreed with me that’s all.’
‘The same something that disagreed with you last week?’ Phantasm pointed out helpfully.
Mistral shot him an angry look but before she could reply, Fabian was speaking, his voice strained with anxiety.
‘You were sick last week too? Why didn’t you tell me?’
Mistral switched her glare from Phantasm to Fabian, ‘Well, it’s hardly the sort of thing I’m likely to tell you is it?’
‘Well I think we need to be kept aware of your state of health from now on, considering that last time you were ill you lost the ability to read auras. It would be an unmitigated disaster if the same were to happen again now.’
All three of them stared at Leo. He appeared not to notice their hostile looks and continued in a cold voice. ‘I want Cain to give you a full examination as soon as we make camp and then report to me.’
Mistral glanced out of the corner of her eye at Fabian. He was glaring at Leo furiously, his thoughts seared into her mind with the force of an inferno. She winced and blocked them out, pulling Cirrus back sharply to leave the brothers alone split seconds before Fabian snarled in a low voice. ‘I resent your tone –’
‘Here we go.’ Mistrial muttered with a roll of her eyes.
‘Hey, look on the bright side.’ Cain said cheerfully, jogging up beside her on his light grey mare. ‘If they’re busying having a nice, lengthy disagreement, we’re free to plan the cull!’
‘And perhaps discuss the more important matter of the wager?’
Mistral looked
around at Xerxes; his grin was slightly forced as he reached beneath his cloak to retrieve the piece of parchment from the top pocket of his jerkin.
‘Ah, brother,’ she said softly. ‘I heard about Bellicose.’
Xerxes shrugged; his face hardening, ‘He and Malachi will get what’s due.’
Mistral nodded and then asked him in a quieter voice, ‘But, how has he covered this up?’
‘Her body was found out in the meadows. The wolves had taken their share so we’ve got no proof of how she was killed, or why.’ Xerxes said in a bitter voice. ‘Bellicose conveniently left the Valley last night, well before she was found. Obviously the twins couldn’t raise the alarm or they’d have had to face some fairly awkward questions about what they were doing in Malachi’s tower room.’
Mistral nodded then frowned at Phantasm, ‘But, where is Malachi? I thought he would’ve been rushing straight to the Council to submit his declaration of intent.’
‘Staying in the Valley to lord it while Master Sphinx is away and no doubt beginning his campaign to try and win the warriors over.’ Phantasm replied disdainfully. ‘He and Master Casterton will travel together once Master Sphinx returns to the Valley.’
‘I pity their escort.’ Cain muttered under his breath.
Mistral raised her eyebrows in silent agreement. A three day journey with Leo was suddenly much more preferable to one with Malachi and Mycroft, not to mention the same journey back again. ‘Hang on a minute!’ She exclaimed in an urgent whisper. ‘Leo’s not coming on the hunt with us is he?’
‘Thankfully not.’ Phantom said. ‘He will be staying at the Council to attend to some business. However, we will be escorting him back again once we return from the mountains.’
Cain laughed as Mistral sighed with relief, ‘Fed up with being his pocket-Seer already are you?’
‘Before I even began brother.’ Mistral confirmed heavily. ‘It’s going to be a long year.’
‘Never mind that.’ Brutus shoved his horse between hers and Cain’s, a broad grin lighting his face. ‘Let’s talk dragons!’
Mistral’s spirits instantly soared. Dragons. The terrifying creatures of legend, and they had the Contract to hunt two of them. ‘Fabian’s been on the hunt twice,’ she began eagerly. ‘He’s told me quite a lot of things that’ll be useful –’
‘I take it he’s coming too then?’ Cain asked.
‘Of course!’
‘Oh, joy.’ Cain muttered and earned a sharp look from Mistral.
‘Do you have a problem with my choice of hunting party Cain? Only it’s my name on the Contract and if I remember rightly I can change any members of my party right up until I sign the license!’
‘There’s no need to get stroppy!’ Cain back-tracked quickly. ‘It’s just that he can be a bit … well … intense, sometimes.’
Mistral smiled indulgently and glanced over at Fabian, still arguing with Leo, ‘Yes, he can.’
Cain closed his eyes and shook his head but Brutus laughed, ‘Love is blind brother, just look at Grendel and those nymphs at the Festival!’
‘Do you know one of them actually turned up looking for him?’ Phantom said with a disgusted shake of his head. ‘Said she couldn’t forget him! She’d walked all the way from the Vale of Belleville to find him!’
‘Did she find him?’ Mistral asked curiously.
‘No!’ Phantom laughed. ‘She stayed in the Valley for two weeks waiting for him but he was on that long tracking Contract down in the wetlands! By then she ran out of money and had to go … she’d walked all that way for nothing!’
Mistral laughed and felt her irritation at Cain slip away. After all, she couldn’t expect, or even want any of them to feel about Fabian the way she did.
‘Can we get back to the dragons now please?’ Xerxes demanded in a grumpy voice, waving his piece of parchment in the air.
‘Oh yes, I’d forgotten that you didn’t like to be reminded of Grendel’s popularity with the ladies.’ Brutus grinned at his brother’s sour expression.
‘Plan?’ Xerxes snapped, ignoring the sudden bout of mirth at his expense.
They spent the next hour planning strategies for the hunt until Fabian joined them to ride beside Mistral in silence, his brooding presence putting an instant dampener on their spirits. Mistral listened to his thoughts for a while and sighed. He was worrying about her going on the dragon hunt, her sickness, the Rochfortes’ plans, how much time Mage Grapple expected her to spend at the Council ... she felt herself growing depressed at the depth of his anxiety and gave a mental shake. It was time to distract him and allow her brothers to continue with their plans. ‘Come on, let’s hunt for dinner,’ she said brightly and whistled for Prospero before pulling Cirrus round to head off into the forests.
The rest of the afternoon passed by without incident, Fabian and Mistral returned at sunset laden with rabbits to find that Leo had called a halt to the day’s travelling. They made camp at the sheltered edge of the forests. While Fabian tethered their horses Mistral carried the rabbits over to where the twins were tending a fire and talking quietly together, their heads bent low over the spluttering flames. As Mistral drew closer she caught the end of their conversation.
‘… half-blood, it’s just not possible –’ Phantasm’s mutterings quickly stopped when Mistral sat down beside them.
‘You two look secretive! Talking about Malachi again I suppose?’
‘Yes.’ Phantasm replied slightly too quickly. ‘We were just debating whether he would embrace the full vampire lifestyle or not.’
‘What, the feeding part?’ Mistral pulled one of her new butterfly knives out of the holder in the side of her boot and starting to skin a rabbit. ‘I doubt it.’
‘Nice knife. New?’ Phantom changed the subject and gave his brother a meaningful look over Mistral’s head.
‘Present from Fabian. You must recognise them! They’re the butterfly knives I’ve always wanted.’ Mistral smiled happily at the blade in her hands, tilting it in the firelight to show Phantom the intricate design on the blade.
‘Oh yes, how could I not recognise them. I’ve spent many a happy hour watching you drool over those in the window of Toothe and Nayle.’ Phantom remarked drily and pulled his own dagger out. ‘Pass me a rabbit then.’
‘Ready now Mistral?’ Cain said briskly, appearing beside her with his saddlebag.
‘Er, no!’ Mistral gave a short laugh. ‘You didn’t actually believe me when I’d said that you could check me over did you?’
‘Of course he didn’t.’ Fabian said quietly, moving out of the growing darkness to stand beside the fire. ‘Which is why I am here to ensure that you let him.’
‘Oh no you are not!’
A tense silence fell while Mistral glowered at Fabian. Cain looked from one to the other and rolled his eyes. ‘I’ll just get started then shall I?’ he said finally and pulled the flap of his saddlebag back.
‘Not here!’ Mistral snapped as Cain took hold of her wrist to take her pulse.
‘Mistral, I need the light of the fire to see.’ Cain explained patiently. ‘And you’ll need to take your jerkin off please.’
‘Well, they can go then!’ Mistral snarled, looking pointedly at the twins.
‘Give over Mistral!’ Phantom said angrily. ‘I’m not shivering in the shadows while Cain takes your temperature!’
A heated exchange between Mistral and Phantom followed with Mistral only finally agreeing to allow them to stay by the fire when Fabian intervened with a few words spoken so softly that only she could hear them.
‘Oh, all right then,’ she muttered, ungraciously flinging her wrist out to Cain again.
‘Tell me about this sickness.’ Cain murmured while he took her pulse.
‘What do you want to know? Colour? Consistency?’
‘Mistral!’ Fabian warned softly.
‘Sorry.’ Mistral muttered then sighed. ‘Please tell me what you need to know Cain.’
Cain finished taking her pulse, �
��Well, are you sick after using your gift?’
Mistral considered for a moment, ‘No.’
‘Do you suffer any ill effects after using Sight?’ Cain persisted, looking intently at her.
Mistral shrugged, ‘Headaches.’
Cain nodded and proceeded to check her temperature and generally prod and poke her while she grumpily complied to his requests to move this way or that way, gazing accusingly at Fabian the whole time as though it were his fault.
‘Apart from gaining the Sight have you experienced any changes in yourself recently?’ Cain asked whilst rummaging in his bag.
‘Er?’ Mistral glanced at Fabian and felt herself blush. ‘What? Um, no … well … what do you mean exactly?’
‘In your wellbeing Mistral. Have you experienced any dizziness, lack of sleep, hallucinations … that sort of thing.’
‘Oh! Right! No.’
‘Come on Mistral! You sleep like it’s a competition!’ Phantom exclaimed. ‘And you’re eating honey as though you’re half-bear or something … which, now I come to think about it, could well be the answer to your mysterious blood-line. You’re definitely like a bear with a sore head most mornings.’
Cain frowned and looked up from his saddlebag, a sharp looking metal instrument held loosely between his fingers, ‘I’m not worried about the temper, but the sleep? Is she really that tired all the time?’
Mistral eyed the instrument in his hand warily, ‘You’re going nowhere near me with that unless I get one to fight back with!’
‘It’s not for you Mistral! It’s a hoof pick!’
‘Oh, of course it is.’ Mistral muttered and rubbed a hand across her eyes wearily. The long ride coupled with Leo’s intense questioning and her bout of sickness had left her feeling completely drained. ‘Are we done yet Cain? Only I’m exhausted.’
‘I think so. There’s nothing obviously wrong with you.’ Cain concluded with a thoughtful look on his face. ‘It could be a touch of food poisoning. Have you been eating in the Refectory?’
‘No chance! I value my life too much!’
The Seer Page 12
