‘Ow! Oh! Damn!’
‘What is it?’
‘What’s happened?’
Two pairs of green eyes stared urgently at Mistral while her face creased with pain.
‘Nothing … ow! Just a really, really big kick.’ Mistral gasped and clutched at the edge of the table with one hand, the other pressed over her belly.
The twins shared a look then glanced at Cain.
He met their double gaze and nodded briefly, ‘I think that once we’re done here, you and I need to have a few moments Mistral.’
‘S’fine now, it’s passed.’ Mistral drew in a deep breath and lifted her head up. ‘Now, where were we?’
‘Mage Grapple?’ Brutus prompted helpfully.
‘Oh yes, right, just give me a moment –’
Mistral’s eyes slid out of focus again while her mind returned to the tower room across the Valley, ‘Ah, yes, Mage Grapple. He has a Contract to offer –’ her voice took on the strange toneless infliction as she slipped deeper into Fabian’s mind again.
‘ … no longer tolerate their persistent efforts to challenge my authority and continual threat to the life of the Isle’s Seer. The recent unwarranted invasion of the Valley cannot be ignored either. To that end I wish to offer a Contract to eliminate the tribe of Rochforte.’
A savage hiss swelled through the gathered warriors.
‘I do not doubt that every warrior in the Valley will want to take the Contract; with that in mind I am issuing the Contract directly to you to recruit for as you see fit. I have set the Contract value at 50,000 gold coins, to be divided equally amongst the takers.’
‘Hell’s teeth!’
‘Damn! I’d have gone for free!’
‘Shh!’
‘I have one further Contract that I wish to be fulfilled with a greater level of discretion.’
‘You have no need to doubt the discretion or professionalism of every warrior in the Ri –’
‘Leo –’ Brutus, Xerxes and Cain chorused wearily without need of Phantom’s help.
‘Which is precisely why I am issuing you with a Contract to exterminate the vampire tribe. Their continued existence on the Isle is no longer a viable option. They have flouted every statute agreed upon when they petitioned me for sanctuary and I am left with no choice but to have them removed, permanently.’
‘Oh for pity’s sake! He’s going to pay? I can’t believe that we cleaned a load of them out for free!’
‘Still, it was fun –’
‘A trip abroad to kill some Rochfortes? Or a trip to the Northern Range to clean up a load of Malachi’s relatives? I’m spoilt for choice!’
‘Take both brother! I know I will be!’
‘Wait!’ Mistral held her hand up to silence them while her eyes moved unseeingly over the smoke-stained ceiling. ‘Leo –’
‘Er, she means the Divinus –’
‘He has decided not to put the vampire Contract out to tender –’
An angry murmur broke out.
‘Wait!’ Mistral called more insistently. ‘He wants to issue it to the apprentices ... he feels they have earned the right to prove themselves … he is handing it to Fabian to administer … Fabian … he is questioning the Contract value … Mage Grapple has set it at 50 gold coins a warrior … Leo! Ha! Leo is backed into a corner! He does not want to appear grasping in front of Mage Grapple … he has been forced to agree that the apprentices will be paid the money instead of it going against their training fees –’
A chorus of whoops broke out from the knot of apprentices around Samson. He grinned broadly in response to their excitement and his own, as stand-in Training Lieutenant he would be going too.
Mistral fell silent while she listened to the conversation in the tower room move away from talk of Contracts to less interesting subjects.
‘What’s happening now Mistral?’ Phantom hissed urgently.
Mistral sighed and reached for her tankard of ale, ‘Nothing interesting, they’re discussing the proposed visit from a delegation of Burmese sorcerers.’
‘Really?’ Phantasm leaned forward eagerly.
‘Yes brother, but if you don’t mind I’ve had enough of doing my party piece now.’
Realising that the show was over, the crowd of warriors surrounding them dispersed with most moving immediately to the bar to begin celebrating. Suddenly the whole tavern was buzzing with excited talk about the two forthcoming Contracts.
‘Come on Mistral, they’ve all gone now, tell me when the Burmese delegation will be arriving!’
‘Forget the Burmese! Are you going to take your seat at the Council or what?’ Brutus asked.
Mistral lowered her tankard and gazed at the frothy dregs thoughtfully, ‘I’m not sure, maybe … but definitely not yet,’ she sighed and rested a hand over her unborn son. ‘Travelling is a touch awkward at the moment … but it’ll get a lot more pleasant when you and Xerxes open that tavern on the northern edge of The Velvet Forests that you’re planning to.’
‘Oh? What tavern’s that? Cain asked sharply.
Xerxes and Brutus shared a furtive look.
‘Can’t hide a secret from a Seer I suppose.’ Brutus shrugged.
‘Our tavern brother.’ Xerxes said in response to Cain’s question. ‘The route to the Council needs a decent stopover, and we plan to open one and call it “The Den of Iniquity”.’
‘Nice name!’ Cain laughed. ‘And need I ask which of you two came up with that inspired creation?’
‘Me, of course!’ Xerxes announced proudly.
‘Actually it’s going to be named “The Fallen Warrior”.’ Brutus corrected in a quiet voice. ‘We were going to call it “The Fallen Star” but, well, let’s just say that recent events have changed our minds.’
‘And here comes the new barmaid of this fantastical tavern.’ Cain muttered into his tankard as Marietta burst through the door and flew across the room to launch herself at Xerxes.
‘Did you know that she took one of his longbows and climbed up onto the roof of the stables to shoot at the Rochfortes when we were attacked?’ Mistral said, giving Marietta an appraising look. ‘She wasn’t a bad shot either.’
‘Best not tell Xerxes, the fear might affect his performance –’
Mistral laughed and promptly choked on the mouthful of ale she was drinking.
‘Is that your second?’ Phantasm demanded, giving her a hard look.
‘Might be.’ Mistral responded flippantly. ‘But I think I’m due a little light relief, don’t you?’
Phantasm glared at her and reached out to grab the tankard in her hand but Cain shook his head at him from across the table.
‘Leave it, no harm can come now, in fact, it might help.’
Phantasm retracted his hand slowly and sat back in his chair to watch Mistral laughing at a joke Brutus was telling her, but behind the laughter he could see evidence of pain she was being careful to disguise. He continued to regard her closely, noting that every so often her face would become fixed and her breath shorten; signs too subtle to be noticed in the lively atmosphere of the tavern, but as blatant to him as a flaming torch held aloft in the darkness.
They whiled away the afternoon in a pleasant haze of ale, cards, and storytelling; many of which were at the expense of Xerxes who seemed to have spent most of the round-trip to Spain disgracing himself in some way.
‘Yes, but at least I didn’t make the rash bet of running naked around the deck twice on a decidedly poor hand of cards!’ Brutus declared drunkenly.
Xerxes shot his brother a warning look, ‘You swore you wouldn’t mention that!’
‘Did I?’ Brutus gave his brother a lop-sided grin. ‘Then more fool you for believing me!’
Mistral laughed and leaned back in her chair. Ignoring the sporadic griping pain in her abdomen, she smiled fondly at the two brothers.
‘Ah, it’s good to be back.’ Brutus sighed and reached for the tankard of ale in front of him. ‘It’s just a pity we left in the first pl
ace.’
Mistral looked down at her tankard to hide her expression, sharing through her gift in his guilt at not being in the Valley the night of the Rochforte invasion, but feeling none of his regret. She glanced at Xerxes, now balancing the curvy Marietta on his lap while he dealt a hand of cards. She had Seen in his mind the plans he and Brutus had made to run a tavern ... Marietta the buxom barmaid; Xerxes running card games and Brutus the welcoming host. It would be a roaring success, of that she had no doubt. The brothers were blessed with a wealth of experience in all aspects of running a successful tavern; drink, gambling and eye-catching barmaids ... Mistral caught a fleeting thought from Xerxes and sighed. It looked as though he planned to increase their staff to include several members from his army of sweethearts, which Mistral immediately saw causing a few problems with Marietta ... she would have to have a word with him –
‘That’s your last one! I mean it!’ Phantasm’s voice broke into her thoughts as he placed another half-tankard of ale down on the table in front of her.
‘Ah, thanks brother,’ she smiled hazily at him and lifted her tankard in a toast to the twins; her brothers. In just three short years they had gone from being dispossessed half-breeds to becoming the Gemini and being offered a place on both the Magnate and the Mage Council. ‘You know I love you all don’t you?’ She said suddenly, eliciting an outbreak of laughter from around the table and a glare from Marietta.
‘Ale and hormones,’ sighed Cain. ‘Not a good mix.’
‘Time to go I think.’ Phantasm said, rising to his feet.
‘No need, Fabian’s just outside.’ Mistral said with a hiccup.
‘Good, I want a word.’ Cain rose to his feet and waited for the twins to help Mistral up.
‘Can’t wait to see Mage De Winter’s face when we return his pregnant wife to him tipsy.’ Phantom muttered nervously.
‘I’ll handle it.’ Cain replied and walked ahead of them to open the door.
The cool twilight air did a lot to restore Mistral’s clarity of mind. She managed not to wobble at all while the twins walked her towards where Fabian, Leo and Mage Grapple were talking together in the square, waiting for Clovis to bring the horses from the stables.
‘Ah, Lady De Winter, I was hoping to have the opportunity to speak with you, face-to-face, before I left.’
Face-to- face … Mistral smiled vaguely, hoping that for once, she was managing to conceal the guilt that flooded through her at his words … Mage Grapple knew she had heard every word spoken during their meeting.
‘Perhaps you would care to take a walk with me before I leave?’
‘Er, yes, of course.’
Casting a hesitant glance at Fabian who nodded and smiled, Mistral fell in step beside Mage Grapple. They walked together towards the paddock in silence, there he halted and leaned his hands against the fence to gaze out at the dark silhouettes of the grazing horses.
‘You heard, of course?’
Mistral cringed; suddenly wishing she hadn’t let Phantasm persuade her to eavesdrop on the meeting, ‘Yes,’ she admitted in a quiet voice
‘Good, I hoped that the Gemini would realise my intentions and persuade you to share the news with the other warriors,’ he said in a satisfied voice then turned to fix her with his unsettling stare. ‘Now, will you accept my offer?’
‘I – I am flattered that you would even consider me.’ Mistral began and hesitated, glancing down at her pregnant state. ‘But –’
‘Lady De Winter, we both know that you do not need to travel to be present in any meetings you wish to attend.’ Mage Grapple interrupted sharply. ‘I feel it is paramount that you are involved in the decisions made on the Isle’s future as an extremely gifted individual, not because you have been paid to attend!’
‘Oh … right,’ Mistral floundered, uncertain of what to say. ‘Er, well, in that case, I suppose so –’
Mage Grapple suddenly smiled, the unfamiliar action transforming his scarred face into that of a younger man, ‘I thank you for your graceful acceptance and welcome you to my Council. I look forward to your attendance, and to meeting your son when he arrives, Lady De Winter.’
Mistral cast a rueful glance at herself again, ‘I’m more of a lady in waiting at the moment.’
Mage Grapple abruptly laughed, startling some of the horses grazing nearby, ‘Indeed you are, and my Council awaits my return.’ Turning sharply on his heel Mage Grapple began to stride back towards the two waiting warlocks, already mounted on their warhorses.
On impulse Mistral suddenly called out to the dark robed figure sweeping away from her, ‘Mage Grapple?’
Mage Grapple turned to raise a scarred eyebrow questioningly at her, ‘Yes Lady De Winter?’
‘Can I ask you something, a favour, well a bit more than that actually; in fact, it might be quite hard work, especially if she’s anything like me –’
Mage Grapple listened to her ramblings politely for a moment before cutting across her with a terse, ‘Please … ask.’
Mistral drew in a deep breath, ‘I know it’s normal to wait until the child is born, or even conceived as it is in this case, but well, normal doesn’t really apply to me does it? But … when I have my daughter, Delphine, will you … would you … be her godfather?’
A silence fell while Mage Grapple stared at her with a frozen expression and Mistral suddenly realised how Fabian felt when he asked her a heartfelt question and she did the same to him.
‘Please?’ she finally added, biting her lip anxiously.
Mage Grapple suddenly smiled, his mutilated face transforming to become that of the man Delphine De Winter had fallen in love with so many years ago.
‘I would be honoured, Lady De Winter, as I always am whenever I am in your presence.’
‘Oh, thank you.’ Mistral sighed with relief. ‘Only I don’t think my brothers will make very good role models, and well, if I’m anything to go by then she might turn Fabian prematurely grey.’
‘If your daughter is blessed with half your spirit then she will do nothing but light up De Winter’s world, I assure you. But now Lady De Winter, unless you have any more requests to make of me, I must be taking my leave now.’ Mage Grapple gestured with his hand for her to walk beside him again.
‘Is Mage Grapple really smiling?’ Phantom whispered to his twin.
Phantasm glanced over at Mistral and Mage Grapple talking together while they walked slowly back from the paddock.
‘It would appear so brother.’
‘Do you think half-drunk pregnant women amuse him?’
‘Possibly … who can say with Mage Grapple?’
‘Mistral can.’
‘Hmm, well it looks like we’re not going to find out whatever she said to make him smile tonight.’ Phantasm said, watching Fabian immediately break off his conversation with Cain to stride over to Mistral. Placing an arm around her he swept her from the square before either of the twins had a chance to question her on the cause of Mage Grapple’s sudden outbreak of mirth.
Mistral awoke later in the night, panting with pain. Steadying her breathing she stared up at the ceiling and waited for the spasm to pass. When the pain eased she glanced over at Fabian and was relieved to see that she had not woken him. She lay completely still, watching his chest rise and fall in deep even breaths; his face so peaceful in sleep and so still that she had to resist the urge to trace the outline of his jaw with her finger just to feel the warmth of his skin. She closed her eyes and tried to match her breathing to the soothing rhythm of his but couldn’t when the pain returned, sharp and insistent; forcing her to clench her teeth to prevent the gasp it demanded.
Knowing that sleep would evade her while it persisted, Mistral slid quietly from the bed. Grabbing her shirt and trousers from the back of the chair she stole from the room and tiptoed down the stairs to dress before the dying embers of the fire. Finally slipping her feet into her unlaced boots she eyed her dog, asleep on the sofa.
‘Fancy a walk boy?’ she whispere
d.
Prospero immediately bounded from the sofa and trotted to the door, wagging his tail eagerly.
Swinging on her favourite velvet cloak Mistral smiled at how he had gone from comatose to fully alert at one whisper of the word “walk”. She unlatched the front door, letting him out before stepping through and closing it quietly behind her. Pausing on the top step she looked up at the star-strewn sky and inhaled the cold air, her smile deepening with a sudden burst of joy at doing something impulsive again. Going out with her dog in the middle of the night … just the sort of thing she would have done before she was hounded into captivity by her responsibilities; warrior, wife, Seer, Council Member …
Mistral drew up the hood of her cloak and walked down the steps, letting her feet carry her through the cobbled streets of the village without really caring where they led her, enjoying the night air; the solitude. Freedom. Before she knew it Mistral was walking out through the North Gate and into the meadows, bleached of colour by the moonlight to a lifeless grey. Mistral neither cared nor noticed how bleak the meadows were made to appear by the moon, she was completely alone, and it was heaven. She continued to walk in no particular direction, her cloak sweeping through the long grass the only sound to break the stillness. Prospero was pressed so closely to her side that their shadows entwined to create a strange hybrid creature, rippling over the ground beside them.
‘My shadow,’ she murmured, dropping a hand to stroke his head. ‘I should have renamed you Shadow – Oh!’
Caught by a sudden spasm of pain Mistral cried out and fell to her hands and knees. There she stayed, her eyes screwed up tight and her breath coming in hard gasps until it passed, leaving her panting with relief while Prospero whined unhappily and licked her hand.
‘S’alright boy, I’m fine now … just another really big kick –’
Standing up slowly, Mistral let the cool night air dry the sweat from her face while her breathing returned to normal. Opening her eyes once again her gaze instantly fell upon the forests. Too dense to allow the moonlight to penetrate, the shadowed trees blended to create an unbroken line of black at the meadows’ edge. She stared at the sprawling darkness and felt an instinctive pull, as natural and undeniable as the ebbing tides or changing of seasons. Mistral began to walk towards the forests with a suddenly purposeful stride, driven by the need to be amongst the trees, to see the impenetrable spread of branches eclipse the moon and hear the soft whisper of leaves beneath her feet. Nothing else mattered … the forests filled her mind. Reaching the treeline she stepped into the sudden blackness with a blissful sigh and paused, resting a hand lightly on Prospero’s head while she allowed her eyes to adjust. Prospero whined softly and Mistral smiled, looking down to see him staring back at her with pale eyes that gleamed brightly in the darkness.
The Seer Page 92
