The Seer

by Kirsten Jones

  ‘That’s nothing, I’ve stopped breathing,’ he muttered back and closed his eyes.

  She stifled a giggle and caught a reproachful look from Phantasm.

  You don’t have to live with him … Oh! I forgot! You are for the next two weeks!

  Mistral hid a smile at Phantom’s unspoken teasing. His face was completely impassive, but his thoughts suddenly took a slightly wishful turn.

  It’s alright for you, we’re stuck here, but you can wander off when you like! What I’d give to have your gift …

  Recognising the start of a lengthy whinge, Mistral quickly shut out his thoughts. He had a point though, here she was, feeling sorry for herself because she was stuck in a dull meeting when really, she could be with Fabian, right now. Needing no further enticement to escape the boring confines of the Meeting Room Mistral let her mind soar, free of restrictions and mindless debate about some pointless plant. With a blissful sigh she sank back against the wall behind her and listened to Fabian’s thoughts.

  They were riding hard, driving the unicorn herd along the cliffside path around the western edge of The Velvet Forests. Samson was telling Brutus a story about a Contract he had taken during his apprenticeship. Mistral listened for a moment, her eyes widening with every word she heard … it was definitely a story she would be asking him not to repeat to his godson ... her son ... She smiled and focussed on Fabian again. Lost in her reverie she didn’t realise that the meeting had finished until Phantom whispered sharply in her ear and she blinked, snapping out of her trance to meet the cold stare of Mage Grapple.

  ‘What do you have to tell me?’

  ‘Well,’ she said slowly, stalling for time while she gathered her scattered thoughts, ‘they all grow the stuff anyway. None of them really have an issue with what it’s used for, only who gets the rights on the profit from the sales.’

  Mage Grapple nodded, ‘Thank you. Now, while we have a few moments of respite before I must meet with them again and deliver my verdict, would you please read Bellicose La Monte for me.’

  The request was completely unexpected. Mistral could feel the twins’ amazement echoed in their thoughts.

  I didn’t expect that!

  Bellicose! So he’s taking the threat seriously then …

  ‘Yes.’ Mistral said quickly, in answer to both Mage Grapple and Phantasm.

  Mage Grapple sat back in his chair, his scarred face impassive. The twins were nearly falling out of theirs as they leaned closer, watching her intently. Closing her eyes, Mistral drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly, letting every muscle in her body relax and her mind clear. It was so quiet in the Meeting Room that she could hear the fire crackling at the other end of the long room. The sound became muted and gradually faded away completely as her mind left the Meeting Room and reached out to beyond The Velvet Forests, up over the High Moors; and the way to the thoughts of Bellicose La Monte.

  ‘I See –’ Mistral opened her eyes to gaze unseeingly into the ravaged face of Mage Grapple.

  ‘Tell me what you See.’

  ‘It is time!’ Mistral’s words were a harsh hiss, spoken from deep inside Bellicose La Monte’s mind.

  ‘Time for what?’ Mage Grapple prompted quietly when Mistral fell silent again.

  ‘He is hunting; filled with an all-consuming hunger, a burning need … it devours him from within – so hungry!’ She spoke in Bellicose La Monte’s voice again; a rasping whisper that sent shivers down the twins’ backs.

  ‘Where is he?’ Mage Grapple’s usually cold voice held a note of urgency.

  ‘I can’t tell … it is a street, narrow and cobbled. The sky overhead is grey, it’s raining, but he doesn’t notice … he is alone –’ Mistral frowned; her eyes darted sharply around the room as though she was looking for something, finally settling on a point in the air above Mage Grapple’s head. ‘I see a fence of iron railings … and a gate … it is open … I hear voices … laughter … shouts … he is desperate … the craving is so strong that he cannot fight it any longer –’ She frowned, then a look of terror flooded her face. ‘Oh! No! No! Run! Oh, please! RUN!’

  Suddenly she was shouting desperate warnings to the victim that was nearly two hundred miles away, her eyes wide with horror at the vision only she could See.

  ‘Mistral! Come back!’ Phantasm leapt to his feet and grabbed her by the shoulders, shaking her from the trance.

  ‘No! Oh no! We’re too late ... he’s gone –’ Her voice abruptly broke. She began to cry in deep wracking sobs filled with such desolation that was almost frightening to witness.

  Not sure of what else to do, Phantasm held onto her until her sobs lessened and breathing slowed. Mage Grapple looked on, his scarred face impassive, only the tightness with which his hands clenched the arms of his chair revealed his concern.

  ‘I’m back now.’ Mistral said quietly. ‘You can let go.’

  ‘You sure?’

  Mistral nodded wordlessly and Phantasm released her. He sat back onto his own chair but continued to watch her anxiously.

  Mage Grapple leaned forward fractionally and looked at her intently, ‘Tell me what you Saw.’

  Mistral stared bleakly into the scarred face before her, ‘It was a school.’

  A horrified silence fell.

  Mage Grapple’s eyes flickered, ‘The iron railings you Saw. Were they topped with gold-painted dragons?’

  Mistral frowned, her eyes sliding out of focus while she recalled her vision, ‘Yes.’

  A shadow fell over Mage Grapple’s face. He abruptly rose to his feet and strode from the room.

  The twins stared at each other with appalled looks on their faces. ‘The Council School!’

  Mistral snapped her head around to stare at Phantasm, ‘What?’

  ‘The playground at the Council School is surrounded by railings topped with gold-painted dragons. A dragon is the Isle’s symbol.’ Phantom’s face hardened. ‘It was plastered all over that damned school.’

  Phantasm looked pensive, ‘It would seem that Bellicose believes Master Nox is a certainty for Divinus if he’s blatantly hunting in broad daylight in the Council stronghold. Is it arrogance? Or impatience?’

  ‘It’s neither brother.’ Mistral said quietly. ‘It’s hunger. He broke a decade of fasting when he killed the girl from the bakery and it awoke a bloodlust that’s lain dormant for too long. Bellicose isn’t born of the Isle, he’s known a hunter’s life, and he longs to be free to satiate his appetite again. I could feel his longing! It was like a pain ripping at him from within, literally forcing him to act … he’s powerless to resist the urge.’

  ‘Oh great, as if he wasn’t charming enough without having an insatiable desire to suck the life out of everything near him!’ Phantom muttered darkly.

  ‘I saw the boy he killed.’ Mistral continued in a frozen whisper. ‘He was just curious … he wanted to know what spell Bellicose had cast to change his eye colour … he thought it would be a good trick to play on his mother –’

  ‘Enough now Mistral! I think you need to forget that vision, in fact, I think we all do. A long lunch in The Cloak is required, and I might even let you have a drink, so come on, and do please try to stop crying! You’ll only dehydrate yourself, and that won’t do my godson any good.’

  Mistral began to cry harder at the thought of the mother whose son wouldn’t be coming home. She hadn’t even met her son yet, but the thought of losing him was utterly incomprehensible.

  ‘You know what?’ She choked back her tears. ‘I think I just need a few minutes. Go on ahead. I’ll meet you down there.’

  ‘We’re not leaving you on your own in this state!’

  ‘Seriously, just let me calm down … I’ll be fine.’

  ‘No chance.’

  Mistral sniffed and wiped away the last of her tears, ‘I mean it. I just want a few minutes. I’ll see you in The Cloak – and I’m holding you to that rash promise of letting me have a drink.’

  Phantasm studied her carefully for a l
ong moment before, ‘Well, if you’re sure,’ he finally murmured and rose to his feet.

  ‘See you in a bit,’ she made an effort to force a smile and must have been successful because Phantom gave her one back, although his looked more like an expression of pain. The twins had attended the Council School; no doubt her vision would have evoked some unhappy memories of their time there.

  Exhaling with relief at the sound of the door closing quietly behind them, Mistral sank back against the chair and closed her eyes, letting her mind drift aimlessly while she listened to the fire crackle and the logs shifting in the grate. It was a homily sound, soothing and peaceful; reminding her of evenings with Fabian in their mountain house. Calmed by thoughts of her Mage and the life they led together, Mistral decided that she felt ready to face the twins once again. She opened the Meeting Room door and peered cautiously out. It was nearly lunchtime; she hoped the Council delegates were suffering the dubious delights of Bernadette’s cooking, but she wouldn’t put it past a couple of them to be hanging around waiting for her. Becoming a Seer seemed to have turned her into some sort of public property in the eyes of the visiting Councillors. Whilst her notorious bad-temper protected her from unwanted Sight requests from fellow warriors, the Councillors had no knowledge of her reputation and felt quite at ease making inane demands. Up until now she had been fairly polite in her refusals, but today would definitely be the day that her patience would snap at the first sign of a muttered request to find out something as pathetic as what their neighbours thought of the expensive marble fountain they’d just installed in their courtyard.

  To her relief the third floor appeared to be completely deserted. Mistral stepped out of the Meeting Room and strode quickly along the corridor, keen to get down to The Cloak and Dagger before she bumped into any of the Councillors. The door to the big windowless Training Room was open. Mistral glanced into the torchlit interior as she passed. The Training Lieutenant, Nereus, was taking the first year apprentices for a sword session. Without really meaning to, Mistral paused to watch them. She quickly recognised the drill they were practising as Dante’s Offensive and Defensive Fencing Footwork Stage One. She smiled, reminiscing about the hours she’d spent in the Training Room doing exactly the same repetitive drills during her first year. She studied the apprentices with a practised eye and frowned, they were all making too many mistakes for her liking, and Nereus was failing to pick up on them. Her frown quickly darkened to a scowl when she watched him walk right past one apprentice stood in completely the wrong stance. What the hell was Nereus doing? More to the point, what was Nereus thinking?

  Mistral called up the vision of Nereus’ aura. It appeared above his head in a non-descript cloud of beige, completely unremarkable in every way but for the occasional lightning strike of bright yellow that piqued Mistral’s curiosity. Nereus was predominantly bored, but kept thinking of something that made him extremely happy. Suddenly curious, she pushed her mind to See into his and search out his happy thought.

  Mistral blinked in surprise at the echoing emptiness of Nereus’ mind. It wasn’t just blank; it was completely devoid of anything, no memories, no hopes, no fears … then in a startling flash, Nereus’ happy thought rocketed across the emptiness.

  Ah, lunchtime soon …

  Mistral smothered a disbelieving laugh. That was it? His happy thought was food?

  With a disgusted snort Mistral left the Training Room and on impulse headed straight up the spiral staircase to Leo Sphinx’ tower room. She banged twice on the door and listened impatiently to the sound of footsteps approaching from the other side. The moment the door was opened she launched herself through the gap and into his room, speaking before Leo had even greeted her, let alone invited her in.

  ‘Nereus is useless! He’s not picking up on half the errors the first years are making and they’re still only covering really basic moves! At this rate they’ll never Qualify!’

  Leo regarded her icily from his position by the still open door, ‘And have you barged into my room simply with the intention of slandering my Training Lieutenant, or was there another purpose to your visit?’

  ‘It’s not slander! It’s the truth!’ Mistral glared at him, hands on hips. ‘You must see it too!’

  Leo did not respond but stared at her expressionlessly.

  Mistral’s frown suddenly became a look of understanding, ‘Ah, of course, but you don’t see it do you? Because you’re too occupied with your campaign!’

  Leo’s expression hardened, ‘Are you daring to suggest that I have neglected my responsibilities as Training Captain?’

  ‘No, just passed them onto someone who’s got the brain power of a worm!’

  ‘Do not insult my choice in Training Lieutenant Mistral!’

  ‘I’m not insulting him, just speaking the truth! I’ve just read him and all he was thinking about was his lunch!’

  ‘I think your time as the Ri’s Seer should be better occupied than reading the thoughts of the hard-working staff!’

  ‘But that’s just it! He isn’t hard working! And he should be! We had three Training Lieutenants, and they were always busy! Now there’s only one and all he does is go on patrol around the room staring into space or thinking about his lunch! Meanwhile the apprentices are happily training away under the misguided belief that they’re actually doing something right because he doesn’t bother to correct their mistakes!’

  Mistral’s outburst left her slightly out of breath and she was forced to pause and draw in a few deep breaths to recover while Leo contemplated her silently from the other side of the room.

  ‘Please calm down Mistral, I have no desire to waste any more of my time with a hysterical pregnant woman.’

  Mistral’s eyes widened at the insult, she opened her mouth to deliver a seething retort but Leo cut her off with a dismissive gesture.

  ‘I appreciate your concern for the standard of training that the apprentices receive. Now, unless you have anything constructive to say, I suggest that you leave.’

  ‘I do have a suggestion actually.’ Mistral said as an idea occurred to her.

  Leo raised an eyebrow coldly but said nothing.

  ‘I can help teach the first years.’

  There was a short pause.

  ‘No.’

  ‘What? Am I not good enough?’

  ‘It’s not a question of your level of skill Mistral, more of your temperament –’

  ‘My temperament is fine!’ Mistral snapped.

  Leo raised both eyebrows.

  ‘Well it’s fine when it has to be,’ she amended with a scowl.

  ‘I suppose it is to your credit that Mage Grapple has not reported you murdering any of his Councillors during their meetings … yet.’ Leo responded acidly.

  Mistral glowered at him.

  ‘However, despite the evidence suggesting that you may be finally learning to control your temper, there is still the obvious problem of your condition.’

  ‘My condition?’ Mistral repeated blankly.

  ‘I hardly think it would be considered healthy for you to be throwing apprentices around whilst pregnant Mistral!’

  ‘I know that! I’ve been banned from doing everything apart from lacing up my own damned boots! But I can still help out! Offer guidance, correct their mistakes –’

  ‘No.’

  ‘Oh please Master Sphinx.’ Mistral cringed at the whining tone in her own voice and suddenly realised how much she really, truly wanted to do this. ‘I’m so bored –’

  ‘I am not about to permit you to teach my apprentices your bad habits simply in order to keep you amused!’

  ‘I don’t have any bad habits anymore! I can’t drink! Xerxes won’t let me play cards since I gained Sight and I can’t remember the last time I was in a fight! All I do with my spare time now is learn French!’

  Leo let out an irritated breath, ‘That may be so, however, you are still paying off your apprenticeship. You cannot receive a wage for any work you undertake.’
r />   ‘I don’t want money.’ Mistral threw up her hands in despair. ‘Just to do something that actually interests me.’

  A silence fell well Leo regarded her with a suddenly thoughtful expression, ‘You are prone to irrational behaviour whenever Fabian is away,’ he finally conceded. ‘It might actually be beneficial to occupy your time by giving you a small role to fulfil, purely in an advisory capacity you understand.’

  ‘Oh thank you!’ Mistral gasped. ‘I’ll get started right away! Their footwork is appalling!’ She immediately began to head towards the open door but Leo held an arm out, stopping her.

  ‘You are not appropriately attired to teach Mistral.’

  ‘Oh!’ She glanced down at the dress Phantasm insisted she wore for Council meetings; definitely not appropriate attire for a training session. ‘I’ll just borrow this then,’ she grabbed a leather jerkin hanging from the back of the door and slipped past Leo before he could stop her again.

  Nereus returned from his lunch to find Mistral running a training session with his first years. His spluttered objections were cut short by the arrival of Leo and the twins.

  ‘Yes, Nereus I have instructed Mistral to assist you, and in order to ensure that she curbs her enthusiasm I have taken the added precaution of asking the Gemini too.’

  Mistral grinned at the twins who gave her matching looks of reproach, making her grin widen. By the end of the afternoon Mistral had corrected each of the ten first years’ most obvious mistakes and had managed not to miss Fabian for a whole three hours.

  ‘That was fun!’ She exclaimed, walking happily down the path to the village with the twins. ‘I think there’s just enough daylight for me to get a ride in.’

  ‘No there isn’t! Do you really think I didn’t notice that you didn’t have any lunch today? My poor godson must be starving! And why are you wearing Master Sphinx’s jerkin?’

  ‘Ugh, yes, I’d better give it back. Don’t tell Fabian, will you?’

  ‘Of course I won’t! But why are you wearing it in the first place?’

  Mistral shrugged, ‘He said I wasn’t appropriately dressed for teaching. Can’t think why! I can demonstrate basic footwork just as well in a dress as a pair of trousers.’