Cain laughed, ‘Well, in that case, you’re probably just adjusting to having the Sight. Try to make sure you drink plenty of water and gets lots of rest and it should pass.’
Mistral nodded and pulled her jerkin back on, buttoning it up while Cain packed his bag. He stood up to walk away and the twins immediately leapt to their feet to follow after him. Mistral watched them go without caring why they were running after Cain, she was already thinking longingly of sleep. When Fabian sat down lightly beside her she instantly curled up beneath his arm and closed her eyes.
‘Is she asleep already?’ Phantasm asked when he returned a short while later.
Fabian nodded, glancing briefly down at Mistral, now wrapped in a Wolverine skin and fast asleep with her head laid on his saddlebag, ‘You and your brother have a theory I take it?’ Fabian asked quietly.
Phantasm shrugged, ‘Not really, but there is one aspect of this that we haven’t considered.’
Fabian raised an eyebrow.
‘Well, there have never been any female Seers. So we have no real idea how the Sight is going to affect her. All the records I’ve ever read detail side-effects on male Seers only.’
Fabian’s voice was sharp, ‘Side-effects?’
‘Hmm, they include all the symptoms Cain asked her about; dizziness, sleep loss and hallucinations – but she hasn’t been suffering from those so I hate to admit it, but we really are in unknown territory now. Mistral is, quite literally one of a kind, especially as we have no idea what blood-line she comes from.’
‘Are you completely certain she’s displayed none of the symptoms?’ Fabian demanded quietly.
‘Quite sure.’
‘Certainly not the lack of sleep one anyway.’ Phantom muttered, looking at her comatose state while he speared the rabbits and placed them over the fire to roast.
Before long the smell of roasting meat drew all of the warriors to the fire and despite Leo’s intimidating presence, they were soon making jokes and talking enthusiastically about the forthcoming dragon hunt. A particularly raucous bout of laughter following one of Xerxes’ songs finally woke Mistral. She sat up and yawned before moving over to sit next to Fabian.
‘Would you like to eat something?’ Fabian asked, offering her a piece of rabbit.
Mistral took one look at the roasted meat and scrambled to her feet, tripping over Prospero in her haste to flee from the circle of firelight and into the deep shadows at edge of the camp. Fabian made to rise to his feet and follow her but Phantasm caught his arm.
‘I’d give her a minute Mage De Winter. She won’t appreciate you seeing her being sick.’
Fabian turned sharply to glare at Phantasm, ‘That’s ridiculous!’
‘Pride is.’ Phantasm shrugged. ‘But we all suffer from it.’
Fabian snorted angrily but he sank back down, staring into the blackness where Mistral had vanished. When Mistral finally returned, looking pale and wan, Fabian said nothing but opened his arms. She crept quietly into their comforting warmth, pulling her Wolverine skin over herself and falling straight back to sleep almost immediately.
Grey skies heavy with the promise of more rain pressed down over the forest of towering evergreens. Mistral pushed silently through the wet conifers and paused to stare through the veil of mist hanging over the damp ground. She turned sharply when the branches beside her suddenly swayed and parted to reveal the tense features of Samson. She nodded briefly to him as he moved up quietly beside her and tilted his head meaningfully and signalled to their right, indicating the direction they should take. Mistral nodded again, following his lead deeper into the forest. With no sound other than their quiet breathing and the steady patter of raindrops to break the oppressive atmosphere Mistral’s skin was soon crawling with tension. Every tiny crack of a twig underfoot echoed like a whiplash, making them both halt and reach instinctively for their swords every time.
A low growl rumbled out from the trees nearby and they both immediately froze, only their eyes moved, raking the forests for the source of the sound until they heard it again; a growl followed by the definite swish and snap of branches breaking as something heavy forced its way through. Mistral heard Samson’s sharp intake of breath but she could see nothing other than the dense green conifers, swaying gently beneath the heavy downpour of rain.
Wordlessly she signalled to Samson for them to move on again. Water seeped into her boots with each cautious step but she was ignorant to the icy coldness. They crept through the trees, pausing every third step to scan their surroundings for any sign of their prey.
Another guttural snarl sounded from the thick cover of the trees on their right. Barely breathing, Mistral reached for her sword and pulled it slowly from her belt. She gripped it tightly in her right hand while Samson stepped up beside her, his sword already drawn. They stood completely still, straining to catch the slightest sound of their prey moving. Samson’s head suddenly snapped around to the right and then to the left; he signalled quickly that their prey was on either side of them.
She nodded mutely, quickly switching her gaze back to rake the rain-soaked conifers for any movement. A half-heard growl from behind them made her turn sharply, quickly turning back when another louder growl echoed out from the trees directly in front of them. Cursing under her breath she signalled front and behind; they were surrounded.
Stepping together to stand back to back, Mistral and Samson prepared to fight.
‘This is no breeding pair! It’s a nest!’ she hissed and was startled by the sound of her voice. It was deeper than normal with a velvet undertone she would recognise amongst a thousand spoken voices. Before she had time to make sense of the bizarre change to her voice her eyes caught a movement close by. At first all she could make out were leathery scales glistening with raindrops, then a pair of black eyes fixed on hers, gleaming hungrily.
A huge gargillian loped into view between the low hanging branches. Mistral tightened her grip on her sword while she assessed the creature. The muscular legs were slightly bowed and the ridged back hunched, but it was still easily as tall as her. Mistral’s eyes roved over the reptilian features, passing swiftly over the lipless mouth and distinctive flattened nostrils she noted the crown of bony growths encircling its skull and quickly muttered to Samson in her strange voice.
‘Ridged skull … adult male … probably the leader ... we need to take that one down first.’
The gargillian paused and tilted its head slightly to regard them both. Suddenly opening its mouth in a wide leer, it ran a long forked tongue over distinctive green-coloured teeth. She felt Samson stiffen and knew he had grasped the gargillian’s threat. They were going to be eaten. The gargillian abruptly threw its head back and emitted a series of harsh barking coughs. Mistral realised that the creature was laughing at them. At once gargillians were emerging from between the trees on all sides, cautiously at first and then with more confidence once they realised there were only two warriors to contend with. Giving a ferocious snarl, the big male gargillian suddenly dropped onto all fours and leapt at her –
Mistral woke with a cry, her eyes flying open to see Fabian staring at her with a startled expression on his face.
‘What is it?’
‘I Saw! You were in the Black Forests with Samson! It’s a Contract to hunt gargillians! You think it’s just a breeding pair but it’s a nest Fabian! You were surrounded!’
A look of shock flashed over Fabian’s face then he raised his eyebrows briefly, as though something had impressed him.
Mistral stared at him wildly, ‘You can’t take that Contract Fabian! You’re going to be killed!’
He regarded her thoughtfully for a moment, ‘We nearly were,’ he admitted quietly.
Mistral continued to stare at him, her face clouding with confusion, ‘What do you mean? I don’t understand! I Saw you and Samson –’
‘Yes. Samson. How did he look to you Mistral?’
‘What?’ Mistral paused and stared unseeingly into the darkness while
she recalled her vision. ‘Oh! Samson! He had no scars!’
Fabian smiled, ‘Hmm, he picked up a few on that day.’
Mistral rubbed a hand over her eyes, trying to make sense of what she had Seen, ‘So, if it wasn’t a premonition, then what was it? I was you; I could hear your thoughts but when you spoke it was me, only I had your voice.’
‘I was dreaming about it Mistral. You Saw into my dream.’
Mistral stared blankly at him for a moment and then looked away, ‘So now I can hear your dreams too, even when I’m asleep,’ she said dismally.
Fabian gave her a bemused look, ‘I confess I’m not given to flights of fancy in my sleep Mistral, but would hearing my dreams be really so terrible? I dream rarely, that I know of, and it’s usually about Contracts I’ve taken. Surely a little gore doesn’t frighten you?
‘Gore I can handle, but –’ Mistral shrugged and refused to meet his eyes.
Fabian frowned, ‘Please explain.’
Mistral sighed and stared into the dying embers of the fire, ‘You can control your waking thoughts, to some extent,’ she said quietly. ‘But not dreams. They express thoughts and desires you’d rather other people didn’t know about, and I don’t want to hear that from you.’
‘I have nothing to hide from you Mistral.’ Fabian reached out to gently turn her face towards his.
She met his deep gaze reluctantly, ‘No, maybe not. But I don’t think I could cope with waking up in the morning suddenly knowing all about some girl you’ve loved in the past.’
Fabian burst out laughing and Mistral instantly scowled, ‘I’m glad my feelings amuse you,’ she snapped and broke away from his touch.
‘Ah, Mistral.’ Fabian sighed and reached out to pull her into his arms. ‘I promise that I will not dream of others.’
‘You can’t promise that.’ Mistral said stiffly.
‘I can, because there have never been any.’ Fabian finished softly.
‘What?’ Mistral twisted in his arms, looking up at him uncertainly. ‘Never?’
Fabian shook his head lightly, ‘Never. I truly believed I was incapable of feeling any emotion until I found you.’
‘But –’
‘Ah, yes … Emiror.’ Fabian sighed. ‘A misconceived notion of what it would be like to feel love. Perhaps somewhere deep inside I knew you were waiting for me and I mistakenly thought she was the cause of my awakening,’ he shrugged and smiled at her through the darkness. ‘Whatever I thought I felt was a mere shadow compared to when I first saw you.’
‘You remember that?’ Mistral cringed. She had been mucking out the stables on a hot summer’s day the first time she had ever seen Fabian. Not at all the first impression she would ideally have given to the man she loved.
‘Oh I remember it.’ Fabian murmured, his lips brushing against hers. ‘You had straw in your hair and I had the strangest urge to pull each piece out –’
‘Trying to sleep here!’
Fabian laughed as Phantom’s peeved mutter made Mistral jump guiltily.
‘Sleep,’ he ordered gently and pulled the Wolverine skin tighter around her. She lay her head against his chest and for once in her life, did as she was told without a murmur of complaint.
By the morning Mistral felt much better even managed to eat some of the honey and oat cakes Phantom had brought. Ignoring his caustic comments about not wanting to see it coming back again soon, she marched over to tack Cirrus ready for the day’s ride.
‘Are you going to stay awake long enough to join us in a spot of planning tonight or what?’ Xerxes asked while they he tacked his own horse.
‘Anyone would think we bore you Mistral!’ Brutus laughed, shoving his brother’s horse out of the way to reach his own.
‘Oh no brother, I think something else has worn our poor sister out.’ Xerxes winked suggestively to Brutus.
Mistral scowled at them both and swung herself up into the saddle, ‘I’m feeling much better, thank you for asking,’ she snapped archly and kicked Cirrus into a trot, leaving them laughing behind her.
Leo and Fabian rode on ahead, their disagreement of the day before apparently behind them. Mistral watched Fabian’s dark head bend to meet Leo’s blonde as they conversed and reflected for the hundredth time how strikingly different in colouring and character they were. It seemed utterly impossible that they could be brothers. Immersed in her musings, she didn’t realise that the twins had ridden up on either side of her until Phantom spoke and made her jump.
‘You startled me!’ she glared at him accusingly. ‘Can’t you put a bell around your neck or something to give me warning instead of just creeping up on me!’
‘Lost in your Mage again were you?’ He smirked.
Mistral ignored him and looked over at Phantasm, ‘Want to tell me what plans were made last night then?’
‘Of course.’ Phantasm responded smoothly.
Mistral listened to him carefully while her anger cooled. She was fond of Phantom’s sense of fun but she was infinitely grateful to have the more serious natured Phantasm to add balance to their sometimes volatile friendship. She glanced over at Fabian and Leo and then back at the twins; two sets of brothers, yet each pair so completely unlike the other. Whereas the twins complimented each other’s natures perfectly, Fabian and Leo seemed to do nothing but clash.
‘Mistral?’
‘Hmm?’
‘I said, are you feeling ill again?’
‘Oh, no sorry brother, I was just thinking.’
‘Definitely ill then.’ Phantom muttered.
‘You were saying?’ Mistral asked Phantasm, pointedly ignoring Phantom’s jibe.
‘The herd numbers are rigorously controlled at six dragons; two males and four females. Only one of the males is adult, the other is a juvenile who will become the next dominant male –’
‘I bet that’s one hell of a fight!’ Xerxes interrupted in a voice filled with glee.
‘I’m sure it is. It happens once every twenty five years, when the juvenile reaches full maturity –’
‘Good job you’re not a dragon then Xerxes, or it’d never happen.’ Mistral said waspishly.
‘Oh sister, you’re just being childish now!’
‘Childish? Me? At least I know my husband’s name!’
‘I’ve only been married twice … sort of … and their names were … er –’ Xerxes faltered and looked to his brother for help. ‘What were they called again?’
‘Celia and Daphne.’ Brutus replied promptly.
‘No they weren’t!’ Xerxes said crossly. ‘Those were the names of their mothers … I think –’
‘Talking of which, shall we get back to dragons?’ Phantasm interrupted crisply.
‘Good idea.’ Xerxes agreed with obvious relief.
‘How much of a problem will the males present?’ Cain asked with a frown. ‘I can’t imagine them just standing back and letting us walk in and bump off a couple of their herd!’
‘You are quite correct Cain. The adult male is obsessively protective of his harem, however –’
‘So how do we get rid of two of his ladies without having to kill him too?’ Xerxes interrupted impatiently.
‘If you would allow me to finish my sentence I will tell you!’ Phantasm growled through clenched teeth.
Xerxes muttered something uncomplimentary under his breath and scowled.
‘So … as I was saying … the males hibernate so they shouldn’t present us with any problems.’ Phantasm finished.
‘What about the females?’ Cain asked.
‘Sadly not.’
‘Damn!’ Cain muttered. ‘That would’ve been my perfect type of Contract! Big money to shoot arrows at a sleeping dragon!’
‘I have to agree with you brother, however it is, as you rightly point out, big money … and we are going to have to earn it.’
‘What’s the plan then?’ Mistral asked faintly. She was suddenly feeling sick again but didn’t want to admit it.
‘I vote to give
Mage De Winter leadership of the hunting party.’ Phantasm began cautiously. ‘I know your name is on the Contract Mistral, but he has got double the amount of experience of hunting dragons than we have,’ he added quickly.
‘S’ fine. Fabian can have it.’ Mistral muttered weakly.
Phantasm gave her a sharp look, ‘Really?’
Mistral nodded, keeping her lips pressed tightly together to hold back the retch she could feel building.
‘Are you alright?’
Mistral forced grimace of a smile, ‘Fine!’
‘Sure?’
Mistral made an ‘oh yes’ kind of face and suddenly became very interested in Cirrus’ mane. The motion of his walk was starting to make her feel even more nauseous.
‘Well.’ Phantasm eyed her uncertainly. ‘With Mage De Winter as lead he should be able to take us straight to the herd without too much tracking required, which will save a lot of time since we’re already cutting it fine to beat the January snowfalls. The dragon herd have been kept in the same part of the Northern Range since they were first introduced to the Isle.’
‘What bait are we going to use?’ Brutus asked.
‘The Mage babysitters.’ Xerxes said cheerfully.
‘I somehow think that would seriously hinder Master Sphinx’s case with the council, don’t you?’ Phantasm snapped. ‘However, Mage Pickering’s wife breeds bonacon solely for the purpose of keeping the herd fed, so pretty much anything but bonacon will probably offer an appealing change.’
‘We’re not going in on horseback then.’ Cain said firmly. ‘There’s no way my girl is being used as bait.’
Mistral ran a hand down Cirrus’ shoulder and nodded fervently in agreement, not trusting herself to speak yet.
‘There’s a small settlement in the lower foothills of the Northern Range inhabited by a tribe of mountain elves. We can leave our horses there and continue from there on foot.’
‘Er … do we have to stop there?’ Xerxes suddenly looked uncharacteristically ill at ease.
Phantasm frowned, ‘It is the usual half-way point between the Council and the mountains. They’re prepared for our arrival and have provisions laid on for us and stabling for the horses. It would be impractical not to. Is there any reason for your reluctance Xerxes?’
The Seer Page 13
