The Seer

by Kirsten Jones

  The track rose steeply up through the lower pastures of the mountains. Despite their ungainly appearance the bestra climbed the rugged paths with surprising agility, much to the envy of the warriors struggling breathlessly behind them. Before too long they were passing the Council’s herd of bonacon kept for the purpose of feeding the dragons. The cattle-like creatures were famed for being exceedingly stupid. It was a standard joke that even their horns were backward since they grew in curls facing towards the rear of the animal rather than pointing forwards. Mistral eyed them disdainfully. She was severely disappointed that the dragons were content to hunt such unchallenging creatures and never venture farther afield. It just didn’t fit with the image she had in her head of them being the ultimate creature to face. She couldn’t help it, she felt let down. It was almost like being told that Prospero was actually afraid of cats.

  The sun rose gradually in the sky, revealing the stark majesty of the Northern Range. The higher they climbed the more Mistral found herself increasingly in awe of her surroundings. The barren rocks that rose up all around her were black and cold, but still possessed of an undeniable beauty. She had been born, would live a life then wither and die before any of the rocks around her so much as crumbled. To be faced with such immeasurable timelessness was a humbling experience.

  Can you read Powers and Silver?

  A sudden thought pierced her mind. Fabian’s. Mistral glanced at the two hooded Mages. Both had remained suspiciously mute throughout their long trek. She suddenly remembered that she’d Seen something suspicious in Mage Silver’s thoughts and nodded to let Fabian know. He’d been hiding something, deliberately thinking about a mundane matter to prevent her from Seeing his true thoughts. She took Fabian’s hand so that he could guide her along the path while she let her senses turn inwards. Clearing her mind, Mistral called up a picture of Mage Silver’s face and focused her attention on his eyes. In her mind they stared at each other until she heard his thoughts creeping slowly into her mind. She listened to him for a while then switched switching her attention to Mage Powers to repeat the process, all the while walking by Fabian’s side, letting him guide her while she gazed unfocusedly ahead, lost in the thoughts of the two Mages behind her. The ever perceptive twins quickly caught on to what she was doing and fell silent, watching her react to the thoughts she heard with barely concealed impatience, eager to know what she’d Seen.

  The morning passed by without event, apart from Phantom nearly falling into a crevasse because he was too distracted by watching Mistral instead of looking where he was going. Unperturbed by his near mishap, Phantom continued to stare obsessively at her and by midday both twins had begun to invade her thoughts with increasing insistence, forcing her to mutter responses under her breath.

  How’re you going to tell us what you’ve Seen with those two Mages hanging around like a bad smell?

  ‘Use your gift … get them to wander off or something.’

  Fabian glanced at her curiously. Quickly realising that she was responding to the twins’ unspoken questions he joined in, his silent voice immediately overriding theirs.

  Cain has a sedative prepared. I doubt Powers and Silver will drink anything we offer them so I agree with your suggestion, we’ll have to ask the twins to use their gift to make them accept a gourd of laced drink.

  Mistral nodded.

  What did he say?

  Mistral rolled her eyes at Phantom and gave him a ‘tell you later’ look.

  No, tell me NOW!

  ‘Can’t,’ she muttered and looked pointedly at the two Mages walking quietly behind them.

  Oh for pity’s sake!

  Mistral? Fabian’s unspoken question drew her eyes to meet his. I’m going to ask you some questions. Please use the code you and the twins agreed on to answer me.

  Mistral silently signaled ‘no’, knowing that Fabian would understand the reverse to be true.

  You Saw something in Mage Powers’ thoughts this morning that troubled you.

  Mistral repeated the signal.

  I suspected as much. Does he have a plan involving you and the twins?

  Again, Mistral wordlessly gave a negative signal.

  Did you See this plan?

  Mistral gave an affirmative signal and Fabian nodded fractionally, knowing that she’d been unable to See his plan, only the intention.

  We will talk more later.

  What? WHAT?

  Mistral threw a glance at Phantom. He was staring straight ahead, his face composed in a tranquil expression but his eyes were glowing with impatience. ‘All things come to those who wait brother,’ she murmured and ducked her head inside her hood to avoid the foul look he gave her.

  They were now high up in the mountains. There were no longer any scrubby gorse bushes or mountain heathers to soften the bleak monotony of their surroundings. The path wound up into a steep-sided ravine, its sheer rock walls making Mistral feel uncomfortably hemmed in. She gazed up at the narrow strip of sky above them and longed to be out in the open mountainside again. Her unexplained dislike of enclosed spaces was something that seemed to have intensified since gaining Sight, but at least she could now distract herself with Fabian’s thoughts.

  The ravine ended in an almost sheer rockface, requiring them to use the rope Grendel was carrying to climb up. The bestra had no such problem, nimbly leaping up almost invisible ledges in the rock to wait obediently at the top. The Mages were the last to climb up. Xerxes lowered the rope to them with a half-muttered suggestion to Brutus that they let go at a crucial moment. Mistral scowled at him and shook her head but he merely grinned and called jovially down to the two sour-faced Mages.

  ‘Hold on tight! It might get a bit bumpy!’ Hauling sharply on the rope, Xerxes and Brutus jerked Mage Powers up, slamming him into the hard granite. His corresponding shout of pain was met with an apologetic smile from Xerxes. ‘Oops, sorry about that Mage Powerless! Wasn’t quite thinking, must be the lack of second name or something –’

  ‘Xerxes!’ Mistral warned in a low voice. ‘Please behave!’

  Xerxes smirked unrepentantly and gave another mighty tug on the rope, yanking the Mage up over the lip of rock to sprawl unceremoniously at their feet, ‘No need to grovel Mage Powers! I know my name has rather kingly connotations, but we don’t tend to stand on ceremony in the Ri.’

  ‘More kill on ceremony actually.’ Brutus added while he dropped the rope down to Mage Silver.

  Mistral looked to Fabian for help but his expression was impassive. He wasn’t interested in her brothers goading the Mages. His thoughts were full of speculation as to what Mage Silver had planned. Mistral retracted her mind from his quickly; some of the possibilities he was considering were extremely unpleasant.

  Once Mage Silver had been dragged up to join his hatchet-faced counterpart, they continued along the rough mountain path only to find their progress slowed by recent falls of rock, sometimes obstructing the path completely and forcing them to climb around. The frequency of the falls increased until they were clambering over loose piles of rock more than they were walking on the path. Fabian called a halt while he studied the mountain above them, looking for the cause of the slides.

  ‘These are not natural falls,’ he muttered, indicating to several scorched looking sections of rock. ‘One of the male dragons has battled here, perhaps a troll moved into the territory –’

  ‘I’d like to have seen that battle.’ Xerxes said eagerly, then promptly swore when he tripped over one of the many rocks strewn across the path.

  ‘If the fallout is anything to go by, it must’ve been a mammoth scrap.’ Brutus glanced anxiously up at the sky, as though expecting to see a dragon bearing down on him. ‘D’you think it’s recent?’

  ‘No. The male dragons have been hibernating since late autumn.’ Fabian studied the rockface above them. ‘But we should be extra vigilant for any signs of troll activity.’

  Mistral the two Mages sharing a look and cursed silently. She’d let herself be distra
cted by talk of trolls instead of listening to their thoughts. She hoped she hadn’t missed something important.

  They struggled on over the fallen boulders and heaps of loose rubble until they were faced with a huge fall of rock that completely blocked the path, leaving only a sheer drop on one side and the steep side of the ravine on the other.

  ‘It’s impassable. We’ll have to climb.’ Fabian began to issue instructions for moving the bestra. The rockface was too steep even for them; they would have to be hauled up. ‘One of us will have to climb up with the rope.’ Fabian looked up at the sheer wall or the ravine rising up above the path.

  ‘I’ll go.’ Mistral immediately offered, desperate to get out of the narrow-sided ravine. ‘I’ve done a bit of climbing in the Western Range before –’ she’d yanked off her gloves and cloak and was already climbing before her sentence was even finished.

  ‘Damn it Mistral!’ Fabian swore and began to take his own gloves off to follow after her.

  ‘No, I’ll go.’ Phantasm said quickly, his green eyes flickering over to the two silent Mages.

  Fabian gave a tense nod and stood back to watch Mistral climb. He held his breath whenever she paused, watching her head turn as she looked for suitable holds, only exhaling again when she moved on, fluttering across the sheer rock like a white butterfly.

  ‘Ah, no-one does impulsive and reckless quite like our Mistral.’ Xerxes sighed fondly and took a long drink from the gourd of liquor Cain was passing around.

  ‘Just get ready to catch her if she falls won’t you Grendel.’ Phantom said casually, watching Mistral fling herself sideways to reach a jutting lip of rock then scramble lithely up and over the top of the ravine.

  Phantasm quickly wound a length of rope over his shoulder and began to climb, following the same route as Mistral. He was more nimble than her, scaling the rockface with graceful ease to arrive, barely out of breath, seconds behind her at the top.

  ‘That was fun!’ Mistral exclaimed while Phantasm dusted himself down after the climb. She turned to admire the view and drew in a deep breath, savoring the crisp dryness after the damp ravine. The Northern Range stretched out before her in a sea of jagged peaks and dark valleys, further to the north snow-capped crowns pierced through their shroud of thick white cloud. It was unnaturally quiet, not a single breath of wind disturbed the cold air. Mistral gazed out at the austere beauty, letting its silence fill her with a rare sense of peace. She shivered a little, cooling down after the exertion of the climb. She knew she should move before her muscles grew stiff but was reluctant to tear her gaze away from the view.

  ‘It really appeals to you, doesn’t it?’ Phantasm walked up to stand beside her. ‘All that bleakness and isolation.’

  Mistral turned her head to reply when her eye caught something in the mountain face behind them, ‘What does that look like to you brother?’ she whispered, quietly reaching over her shoulder to pull one sword out.

  Phantasm followed her gaze and silently drew his own sword when he spotted the same dark gash Mistral had seen, ‘A troll cave,’ he admitted unhappily.

  Mistral’s eyes gleamed with a fanatical light Phantasm knew from experience to dread, ‘Let’s find out if anyone’s home –’

  ‘No, let’s wait for the others!’ He quickly grabbed her arm.

  She shook him off angrily, ‘I think you’ll find it’s my name on the license, brother! This party is my responsibility, and that includes the bestra! Or do you fancy replacing them as bait if they get eaten by a troll?’

  Phantasm was torn; he had to admit that she had a point. If there was a troll in the cave the strong scent of the bestra would be irresistible to it and they couldn’t afford to lose their dragon bait. He glanced over at the cave, examining it more carefully. ‘I can’t smell a troll,’ he muttered, ‘and the rock around the entrance is scorched. I think there may have been one there, but it looks like the dragons got to it first.’

  ‘Maybe, but we can’t take the risk.’ Mistral strode purposefully towards the cave entrance.

  ‘Hang on a minute!’ Phantasm quickly ran to the edge of the ravine. ‘There’s a cave!’ He called down to the row of tiny, upturned faces. ‘It looks like a troll might have been living in it ... we’re ... going to confirm it’s no longer inhabited.’ He laid heavy emphasis on the ‘we are’ part, leaving everyone in no doubt as to who had instigated this little added extra adventure. Not waiting for their response, he ran after Mistral, leaping fallen rocks and loose rubble with long graceful strides.

  Mistral laughed at him, ‘You run like a deer!’

  ‘As long as this troll doesn’t think I’ll taste like one I don’t care.’ Phantasm muttered back sourly.

  ‘Oh come on, where’s your sense of fun?’

  ‘Back in The Cloak having a drink.’

  ‘You’ve changed brother.’ Mistral chided him mockingly and began turning her sword in a figure of eight. ‘There was a time when this was fun for you.’

  ‘No Mistral that was always you. We just went along to carry your unconscious body back.’

  ‘For which I am eternally gratefully, now, are you ready?’ Mistral halted at the mouth of the cave and began to issue whispered instructions. ‘I’ll go in first. You follow in a few minutes in case I need back up –’

  ‘Good plan.’ Phantasm snorted sarcastically and stepped into the dark mouth of the cave before she could stop him. He paused, giving his eyes time to adjust to the dim light, sword leveled in preparation for whatever might launch itself of the blackness. Mistral was at his back, impatient to move past him. He ignored her and crept forward slowly. Clusters of stalactites hung from the low roof, forcing him to duck or scrape his head against their pointed tips. He shuffled in a little further and the cave suddenly widened out, allowing them to move side by side. The roof was still low, making them to creep forward in an awkward hunched position. Mistral inched in front of him, her sword piercing the gloom ahead. The roof gradually rose, allowing them to stand upright but in the end the cave proved to be quite small and they were soon at the furthest wall. Mistral turned in a circle, sniffing the air cautiously. The air was stale with the lingering aroma of troll, but it was old and faint, no more than a memory of the previous occupant.

  Mistral lowered her sword, looking disappointed, ‘Looks like you were right brother,’ she sighed and turned to face him. ‘There was one here, but it’s long –’

  The rest of her sentence was lost in the deafening crash of falling rock, Phantasm instinctively threw himself forwards, slamming Mistral to the ground beneath him as the entire mouth of the cave gave way. Winded and coughing from the cloud of dust that filled the cave, Mistral immediately began to struggle to free herself from beneath Phantasm. ‘Get off!’ She choked. ‘You’re crushing me!’

  ‘Thank you would have sufficed,’ he stood up and offered her his hand.

  Mistral snorted ungratefully but let him pull her upright. She groped around in the darkness for their dropped swords while Phantasm pulled his tinder box from inside his jerkin and lit a taper. ‘Here,’ she reached out and touched his arm to gain his attention before passing his sword to him.

  He took it from her wordlessly, sliding it back into his belt while he continued to stare at the tumbled mass of rocks blocking the entrance, ‘We’re trapped,’ he muttered.

  Panic swept through Mistral like wildfire, ‘Oh no we’re not!’ she immediately strode over to the collapsed cave entrance and dropped to her knees, reaching out to grab at the rocks. ‘Ow! Damn it! What the hell was that!’ she shook her hands as though she’d just been stung.

  ‘What’ve you done?’ Phantasm frowned down at her while she examined her hands in the flickering light of the taper.

  ‘I don’t know! I just tried to grab a rock but something stung me!’

  Phantasm knelt beside her and tentatively pressed his palm to a rock, quickly drawing it back with a sharp hiss of pain, ‘Damn!’

  ‘What going on?’ Mistral’s face creased
into a look of confusion. ‘Why can’t we touch the rocks?’

  ‘I’m not sure yet.’ Holding the burning taper up to cast as much light as possible, Phantasm walked slowly along the base of the pile, looking carefully at the fallen rocks.

  ‘There must be another way out of here!’ Mistral hurried to the cave wall, running her hands frantically over every crevice and flaw in the rock. ‘Maybe I could climb up and find a tunnel or something –’

  ‘Mistral, you can touch the ceiling.’ Phantasm said quietly. ‘There’s no tunnel and no way out apart from through this rock fall.’

  Mistral continued to pace the cave, balling her fists tightly while she fought to control the black panic welling up inside. She glanced up at the dark roof of the cave, it seemed to be pressing down on her, trapping her –

  ‘Can you smell that?’ Phantasm asked suddenly.

  Mistral spun around to stare at him, her expression wild. She forced in a lungful of air; the dust had settled, leaving a distinct aroma of – ‘Ozone!’