Phantasm caught her fleeting look and his face hardened, ‘I doubt Mage De Winter will be fooled by you blatantly trying to make yourself indispensable. Good luck with that one Mistral.’
He abruptly rose to his feet and stalked away, leaving Mistral with a clear view of Fabian striding towards her.
‘Oh no, save me Prospero!’ she moaned, steeling herself to meet Fabian’s flinty look.
‘So she just turned up during the night then?’ Xerxes asked while he saddled his horse.
‘Like a bad penny!’ Brutus laughed and flung a saddle cloth over his own horse’s back.
‘Well, you can’t keep a good warrior down I always say.’ Xerxes quipped and paused from tightening his horse’s girth to look over at Mistral, who appeared to be accusing Fabian of something from the way she was jabbing a finger in his direction. ‘I’ve got no objections to her coming with us. Mistral’s a good shot with the crossbow, and we don’t even know how many we’re going to be facing. But I seriously have no idea how she’s going to get round Mage De Winter though. That chat they’re having looks a bit intense.’
Brutus followed his brother’s gaze and gave a half-shrug, ‘I’m fairly sure that’s a conversation they’re going to have a lot during their life.’
‘Is she coming then? Only we need to be moving on.’ Samson’s gravelly voice held a note of irritation.
‘You can count on it.’ Phantom replied wearily. ‘Mage De Winter is completely incapable of saying no to Mistral.’
‘Wise man.’ Samson muttered and swung himself into the saddle. ‘Right! Grendel, get that damned stallion at the back where he can’t kick any of the other horses today! Mistral? Fabian? What’s the verdict?’
They responded simultaneously.
‘I’m coming!’
‘Mistral is staying.’
Samson let out an exasperated breath, ‘You’ve got five minutes!’
Mistral spun around to face Fabian again, her anger replaced by despair, ‘You can’t leave me again! I can’t bear it! I have to be with you!’
‘You will be. I will remain behind with you.’
‘No! Didn’t you hear what I just Saw! There were fifteen vampires feeding! Even with me shooting crossbow we’re outnumbered. We both have to go!’
Fabian’s expression was unyielding. She didn’t need to hear him speak to know what he was going to say; so she did what she had been longing to do since arriving in the middle of the night.
‘That’s not going to work either,’ he muttered, slowly disengaging her arms from around his neck.
‘I don’t care! If I’m never going to see you again the least you can do is kiss me back!’
‘Don’t be so dramatic Mistral,’ he snapped. ‘Of course you’re going to see me again. I just said that I won’t leave you.’
‘Much as I hate to break up this touching moment, we really need to be going!’ Samson shouted.
‘Ah, but where to Samson?’ Mistral called back. ‘Or are you a Seer too?’
‘What?’
‘Damn it! She’s been spending far too much time with us!’ Phantom hissed to his brother who nodded back disapprovingly.
‘Look Mistral, we don’t have time to play games! If you’ve Seen something then we need to know about it! Now!’
‘I’m not playing games Samson.’ Mistral strode over to glare up at him, startling his mare with the abruptness of her actions. ‘I’m just pointing out that you need me with you!’
Fabian quickly moved over to stand beside her. Placing both hands on her shoulders he turned her to face him. ‘Did you also See where they were Mistral?’ he demanded urgently.
‘Yes … but,’ she held his gaze and took a deep breath. ‘I’m not telling you where they are.’
Samson laughed humourlessly but Fabian’s eyes darkened, burning into hers with an intensity that crumbled her will to dust in seconds. She clenched her hands into fists and closed her eyes, digging up the strength to resist the commanding power of his gaze. ‘I won’t tell you,’ she repeated firmly. ‘But I will show you.’
‘That’s settled then.’ Samson said shortly. ‘She’s coming.’
‘No she is not.’
‘Fabian, see sense!’ Samson urged. ‘The Northern Range is huge! We could easily miss them if they’re out hunting somewhere! Mistral can take us straight to them!’
‘Or we could simply travel directly to the Council and petition Mage Grapple for the protection of his warlocks.’ Phantasm suggested quietly.
Mistral gave him a disparaging look, ‘Afraid of a fight brother?’
Phantasm ignored her and continued to address Fabian and Samson, ‘Bellicose La Monte’s tribe have been hunting freely in the Council stronghold for the last month, but they’ve been very careful to clear up after themselves. Mage Grapple has no evidence of their activities other than the thoughts Mistral has read for him in Bellicose’s mind, or he would have acted by now.’
‘Didn’t he believe me? Mistral demanded heatedly.
‘It’s not a case of Mage Grapple believing you Mistral, but of Mage Grapple convincing the other Councillors to act against the vampire tribe based on the word of an unproven Seer who is, by her own admission, given to slightly reckless and irrational acts.’
‘Oh right! So now I’m a liar and I’m irrational? Next time he wants me to read someone he can go –’
‘Please, let Phantasm finish Mistral.’ Fabian murmured, holding a hand out to halt her. She continued to glower at Phantasm but instantly fell silent.
‘If we present Mage Grapple with the information Mistral has gleaned from both Master Nox’s and Bellicose La Monte’s thoughts we could request that he send a small army of warlocks to the Valley. I am certain that he will comply since it won’t involve a Council decision. Mage Grapple won’t be challenging the vampire tribe directly, merely providing protection to the Isle’s Seer.’
‘Surely you can see how unacceptable that would be to the Ri!’ Samson exclaimed.
Phantasm shrugged, ‘I admit that most warriors consider pride an emotion worth dying for and wouldn’t willingly accept the presence of warlocks in the sanctuary of the Ri Valley, but we could request Mage Grapple to instruct the warlocks to wait in the meadows and deal with the vampire tribe from there.’
‘No.’
Fabian’s curt response was all Mistral had been waiting for. She marched over to Cirrus and pulled herself into the saddle. ‘Then allow me to suggest an easterly route into the mountains,’ she began, kicking Cirrus into a brisk trot and passing Samson to take the lead.
‘Your call brother.’ Samson raised an eyebrow at Fabian.
Fabian stared after Mistral, now cantering lightly up the path leading into the mountains followed by Prospero, ‘She can take us there, but she will not fight.’
Samson pulled his mare around and kicked her after Mistral, swiftly followed by the other warriors leaving Phantasm alone with Fabian.
Fabian turned to walk over to collect Spirit but Phantasm reached out a hand and stopped him, ‘Permit me to ask, Mage De Winter, why you were so quick to refute my suggestion?’ he asked quietly. ‘I can see how little you want Mistral to accompany us on this journey, and to my mind the solution I presented would have solved all issues. We could return to the Valley with an army of warlocks –’
‘And make Leo look impotent! He is the Divinus now Phantasm, not you or I! A decision that involves the Valley is his alone to make! Half of the warriors in the Ri already believe he is a spy for the Council; sending in Mage Grapple’s personal army of warlocks would only serve to convince the other half of that too!’
‘I can see how the presence of warlocks could be misconstrued to mean that Master Sphinx has links to the Council but –’
‘No Phantasm! Do not mention this to me again! This is a Ri matter and it will be dealt with by Ri warriors!’ Fabian broke away from Phantasm’s grip and mounted Spirit, galloping her after the vanishing warriors without another word.
&
nbsp; They trekked east into the barren mountains, winding single file up the narrow path Mistral had seen through Fabian’s eyes the day before. She took the lead with the warriors riding in virtual silence behind. Fabian rode by her side, taking Cirrus’s reins whenever he noticed her eyes slide out of focus and into the mind of Bellicose La Monte. He hadn’t mentioned their argument since leaving the camp and only spoke to her each time she left her trance to politely enquire what she had Seen. Mistral found the forced civility more distressing than a thousand shouted arguments. She stole surreptitious glances at him out of the corner of her eye, hoping to see the hard lines around his mouth soften, but they never did. On impulse she cast aside her obsessive reading of Bellicose and listened instead to Fabian. The resulting flood of tormented thoughts startled her; he was not angry, but anguished. And as usual it was because of her, always because of her.
With a short sigh she withdrew her mind from his. The ache of separation she’d felt was nothing compared to the torture she was inflicting on Fabian by following him. Her selfishness had only served to fuel his already innate compulsion to protect her at any cost. She glanced at his face again. His expression remained cold and hard, so close to anger that it was almost completely indistinguishable from the anxiety he was truly feeling. She frowned suddenly; was she so used to reading auras and minds that she could no longer tell the subtle differences in facial expressions? With a stab of panic Mistral realised that she’d spent all of the last three days in minds other than her own ... was she starting to become detached from reality like the last Divinus? Mistral immediately looked over her shoulder at the twins. They refused to meet her eyes but she didn’t care, it wasn’t eye contact she wanted. Denying the auras that sprang obediently into view Mistral studied their faces instead. They wore identical expressions of composed neutrality, but their carefully concealed anger was apparent in the hard set of their mouths and the slight crease between their eyebrows. Allowing herself a quick glance at their auras Mistral sighed in relief to see vibrant reds and purples confirming her interpretation. She wasn’t losing touch with reality; just with her husband.
Turning back to Fabian she stared openly at the profile of his face, tilting her head slightly to scrutinize his expression. He was extremely hard to read without the added insight of being able to see both his aura and hear his thoughts. How would she stand a chance of ever knowing what was going through his mind without the help of her gift? She realised grimly that she would probably spend her entire life either asking him what he was thinking, which would no doubt quickly become very tedious, or else be eternally confounded by his inscrutable expression. He suddenly turned to meet her gaze. Caught off guard Mistral stared back into their midnight depths and smiled. The windows of his soul; they could never hide anything from her.
‘I’m so sorry,’ she whispered and reached over to slip her cold hand into his. ‘I just couldn’t stand being apart from you again so soon.’
Fabian said nothing but his eyes moved slowly over her face, as though trying to commit every detail to lasting memory. Raising her hand to his lips he closed his eyes and gently kissed the skin of her palm. His fingers briefly caressed the band of gold on her third finger before he released his hold. Mistral instantly dropped her reins and reached over to kiss him, pulling her fingers through his dark hair to draw him closer, heedless to the exasperated sighs of the twins.
‘Looks like they’ve made up then.’ Xerxes said cheerfully to his brother.
Brutus looked up and laughed at the sight of Mistral almost falling out of the saddle while she leaned over to embrace Fabian, ‘Knew she’d get round him eventually.’
Samson called a halt at midday to rest the horses and eat. They dismounted and tethered the horses to pick at the low growing shrubs clinging to the rocks at the side of the path. Grateful for the opportunity to stretch her legs and also tend to the annoyingly frequent matter of needing to answer the call of nature, Mistral returned to find the warriors sat together on the sun-warmed rocks sharing a meal. She sat down next to Fabian, taking the food he offered her and listening to their talk while she ate. Darius, one of Samson’s companions was speaking.
‘Fifteen you say?’
‘Adult males from the description Mistral gave.’ Fabian confirmed.
‘Where were they hunting?’ Samson asked Mistral.
When she hesitated Samson made an impatient noise, ‘Oh come on Mistral! You can give up on the blackmail act now! You’re here aren’t you?’
‘No, Samson, it’s not that.’ Mistral drew in a deep breath and looked at Xerxes and Brutus. ‘I’m sorry brothers.’
There was a moment’s frozen silence.
‘No!’ Xerxes immediately to his feet and reached for his sword.
Brutus was ashen-faced, ‘Who did you See Mistral?’
‘Elves from your village, but they weren’t in the village itself.’
Brutus closed his eyes briefly.
‘And I can’t say for certain, but I don’t think I Saw Castor either.’
‘What were they wearing?’ Brutus asked quickly.
‘Some kind of linen shirt, loose … I – I think it might have been white,’ she didn’t want to say that their apparel had been so blood-soaked that the original colours were unidentifiable. ‘And sort of tan coloured trousers –’
‘The herders.’ Xerxes said heavily. ‘They’d be returning from driving the flocks up to the higher pastures –’
‘Where were they?’ Brutus cut across his brother sharply.
‘A narrow gorge, like the ones we climbed up through on the Cull. There was a really high peak of rock right at the top with a hole through it … it looked a bit like a needle.’
‘The Eye of the Needle.’ Brutus said quietly. ‘I know it.’
‘Where does it lie from here?’ Samson demanded sharply.
Xerxes indicated towards the east with his drawn sword, ‘A day’s ride.’
‘Are they still there Mistral?’ Samson asked.
Her eyes instantly became vague as she slid back into the mind of Bellicose La Monte, ‘They are satiated … travelling now … eager for the journey to the Valley … to sweep aside the obstacles that hinder their new brother’s path to victory –’
‘Are they on horseback?’ Fabian asked her quietly.
Mistral shook her head, ‘They are running … on all fours … they move like gargoyles … they are not robed, it is easy to clean after a hunt that way– ’
Xerxes let out an angry growl.
‘What of the landscape Mistral? Where are they now?’ Fabian asked quickly.
She frowned, her eyes roved blankly over her surroundings, seeing not the grazing horses or her brothers but the hard ground passing beneath Bellicose La Monte’s running body, ‘Shadows … it is darker where they are … cold … the sun cannot not reach so far into this gorge … I can smell … water … the rocks are strange … gold and red … like velvet –’
‘Lichen!’ Brutus exclaimed suddenly and turned to Xerxes. ‘We know that place! It’s the gorge with the waterfall running down through it!’
‘Where is it?’ Samson demanded, looking at Brutus urgently.
‘North east from here. They’re heading home.’
‘The tribe calls … they have food for them.’ Mistral continued in a lifeless voice. ‘The females have young to feed … the old way –’
‘I swear I will kill every single one of those bloodsucking sons of bitches!’
‘We all will Xerxes, but just listen for now.’ Cain laid a restraining hand on his arm.
‘Bellicose is proud of his son … his first hunt was a success –’
‘Enough,’ Fabian said and took hold of Mistral’s hands. ‘Come back to me now.’
While Mistral took a long drink of water Samson questioned Xerxes and Brutus more closely about the location of the gorge the vampires were passing through.
‘It is not that far away. In fact it’s lucky that Mistral delayed our start this m
orning or we may even have unintentionally crossed paths with them.’ Brutus said and turned to Fabian. ‘Have you got that map?’
While Fabian retrieved the map from his saddlebag Phantasm knelt down beside Mistral and looked into her vacant eyes, ‘Are you alright?’
Mistral closed her eyes and pressed a hand to her aching temples, ‘Talking to me now are you brother?’
‘Oh come on Mistral! You know I only get so damned angry with you because I care!’
Mistral sighed wearily, ‘Your godson is fine Phantasm, so you can stop worrying.’
‘I actually care about his mother too,’ he said more gently.
Mistral opened her eyes to meet his emerald gaze and couldn’t resist the fond smile that crept onto her lips, ‘I’m alright too, although - and I never thought I’d say this, I am getting fed up with the sight of blood.’
‘Sorry, but I think we might be seeing a bit more of that tomorrow.’
‘As long as it’s not ours.’ Mistral replied darkly.
Fabian returned and spread the map out on the ground at their feet. The warriors gathered around as Brutus pressed a finger down onto their location then traced a short line to a red dot on the map: the region inhabited by the vampire tribe.
‘Less than half a day.’ Samson muttered. ‘We need to camp for the night away from any established paths then move before first light to position ourselves to attack. Mistral can tell us which way they will be travelling.’
‘You plan to ambush them?’
‘Ideally.’ Samson’s eyes narrowed. ‘But let’s be realistic. We’re dealing with vampires. They’re going to have smelt us before we’ve even caught sight of them.’
‘Maybe not.’ Mistral interrupted quietly. ‘When they’re … full … their senses are dulled. It’s only when they’re hungry that their senses sharpen.’
‘Good. Then we shall find a suitable place to camp around here –’ Samson prodded the map with a dirty finger and rose to his feet decisively. ‘Mount up warriors; we can plan the battle when we make camp.’
They halted for the night before sunset and made camp in the mouth of a shallow cave. Samson’s tension about the impending fight became apparent as he barked out a series of sharp orders to the warriors.
The Seer Page 63
