The Assassin's Tale (Isle of Dreams)

by Kirsten Jones

  ‘I missed the famous basilisk liquor the other night,’ she said, smiling when the twins cringed.

  Fabian laughed, ‘Floris isn’t still brewing that vile stuff is he? I thought it would have been listed as a banned poison by now!’

  ‘Not wishing to change the subject –’ said Phantom with a shudder.

  ‘But you’re going to anyway,’ laughed Mistral.

  ‘We all have a meeting with Master Sphinx in the morning in the Refectory to find out about the hunt. Apparently we’ve been divided into small hunting groups. A notice has been put on the Contracts board.’

  ‘Have you seen it?’ Mistral asked, leaning forward with sudden interest.

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘And?’ Mistral demanded impatiently.

  ‘And what?’ Phantom asked with a puzzled look.

  ‘Who am I with?’ Mistral almost shouted. ‘Because if Leo has put me with Columbine then I’m leaving right now!

  ‘Ah, yes. Well ... we’re sorry to tell you –’ Phantom began, looking sadly at her.

  ‘No! Not Columbine! We’ll end up hunting each other!’

  ‘Mistral, can’t you tell when Phantom is winding you up yet?’ Phantasm said with an exasperated sigh.

  ‘That you’ve got us!’ Phantom finished with a grin.

  ‘I don’t know whether to be happy or punch you!’ Mistral snapped.

  ‘Do both. You usually do,’ muttered Phantom from the depths of his tankard.

  Fabian laughed quietly and looked at Phantasm, ‘Do they always fight like this?’

  Phantasm nodded, ‘It can get tiring,’ he admitted with a sigh. ‘But on a serious note, we need an early night. Staying out overnight in December is not something we want to do unprepared.’

  ‘I’ve got a wolf skin I brought with me from … before,’ Mistral said, shooting a quick glance in Fabian’s direction.

  She hadn’t talked about her dull upbringing in Nevelte yet and cursed inwardly at the flicker of interest she saw register on his face. It looked like she was going to have to relive that boring story again later.

  ‘That would be handy. It wasn’t one of the Blackheart Wolverines was it?’ Phantom asked hopefully.

  ‘I wish,’ muttered Mistral. ‘I swear I’m going to have one of those foul mutts as a doormat so I can wipe my boots on it every day.’

  Fabian gave her a stern look, ‘No hunting one without me, remember?’

  ‘Of course not!’ Mistral agreed slightly too quickly.

  ‘Oh, there’s one more thing you need to know. We’ve an interview apiece with the Divinus on Saturday morning,’ said Phantom casually.

  Mistral’s face fell. She had been hoping to spend all day Saturday with Fabian.

  ‘How long will that last?’

  ‘Funnily enough, I didn’t ask him when he popped by to invite us!’ Phantom replied sarcastically.

  ‘It’s to assess our gifts Mistral,’ Phantasm said quietly.

  ‘So in your case it won’t take long at all.’ Phantom said waspishly. ‘And do please try not to lie in. It really won’t do you any favours to be late. We’ve been summoned up to his eyrie straight after breakfast.’

  ‘Great, Saturday just keeps getting better! A meeting with the Divinus in the morning and an evening spent in the Main Hall being bored to death,’ Mistral sighed, dispiritedly twisting her empty tankard in her hands.

  ‘Then I think we had better make the most of what precious free time you have,’ smiled Fabian, rising to his feet and holding out his hand towards her.

  Grinning in a most unladylike way, Mistral sprang to her feet and bounded around to his side of the table. Slipping her hand into his she followed him across the busy tavern.

  ‘Don’t be late for breakfast this time!’ Phantom called loudly, causing a few laughs from around the packed room.

  Mistral sighed and melted blissfully against Fabian’s warm side, wrapped beneath his arm while they walked up the path to the Refectory. Maybe Bonding wasn’t too scary if it felt like this for most of the time …

  ‘I’m looking forward to hearing about the wolf skin,’ murmured Fabian into her ear.

  Mistral groaned and the feeling of contentment faded slightly, ‘Let’s eat first,’ she said quickly.

  ‘Now who’s avoiding the subject,’ laughed Fabian.

  ‘No, I’m not. I will tell you anything you want to know, it’s just that my upbringing with my adoptive parents was definitely not very exciting, quite the opposite actually.’

  Fabian looked at her curiously, ‘Did you ever know your parents?’

  Mistral shook her head, ‘I’m an orphan, I think … no-one knows what blood I have,’ she said then added. ‘I personally don’t care, but it seems to obsess the twins and Serenity … and Leo too.’

  ‘I’m sure it does,’ said Fabian broodingly. ‘A gift like yours can only come from certain blood-lines.’

  ‘Does it bother you? That I don’t know who – or what I am?’ Mistral asked, looking at him anxiously.

  Fabian stopped walking and turned to face her, holding her away slightly so that he could look into her eyes.

  ‘Not in the slightest. I already know what you are.’

  Mistral stared at him, ‘You do?’

  Fabian nodded, his eyes burning into hers, ‘You are mine.’

  Forest Of Thorn Bushes

  Mistral awoke in the half-light of dawn feeling a deep sense of happiness knowing the long body she was resting against and the arms around her were those of her Mage. He was still asleep, his breathing deep and regular against her hair. Sliding reluctantly from his embrace, Mistral swung her feet to the floor and stood up, still fully dressed at Fabian’s insistence.

  Today was the hunt. Her saddlebag lay already packed on the floor beside her bed with her swords and crossbow propped up against the wall next to them. Slipping silently from her room, Mistral padded softly down the corridor for a shower before anyone else was up. She was surprised to see candlelight glowing beneath the door of the room that Columbine shared with Golden. It was unusual for them to be up so early, or maybe Golden had been forced to spend a night in her own room for a change and couldn’t sleep because of Columbine’s snoring.

  Returning after a rare hot shower Mistral hurried back along the corridor and pushed open her door, filled with the sudden fear of finding the room empty and Fabian to have left without saying goodbye.

  Mistral let out a sigh of relief at the sight of the lean figure stretched out asleep on her bed. He was even more perfect in sleep with his dark hair spread across the pillow in a black halo. Stealing barefoot over to the bed Mistral gazed down at his pale features, trying to absorb every detail; the long sweep of jet black eyelashes against the ivory skin of his cheek, the perfect curve of his lips. Unable to resist, she bent and kissed him.

  He immediately responded and pulled her back onto the bed.

  ‘Good morning,’ he murmured, sighing deeply. ‘I could get used to being woken up like that.’

  ‘I could get used to waking you up like that. See, a night with me wasn’t so bad, was it?’

  ‘No, your snoring was acceptable.’

  ‘I do not snore!’

  Fabian laughed softly and kissed her again, ‘No, you don’t, and waking up with you was worth riding through the night for, but you know I couldn’t do that every night … and I don’t think you could either.’

  ‘I often sleep in my clothes,’ she said innocently.

  ‘Don’t be obtuse, you know what I’m referring to,’ he murmured, deliberately caressing her neck with his warm breath and making her eyes close involuntarily. When he touched the soft skin under her jaw with the ghost of a kiss, a shiver ran down Mistral’s spine.

  ‘I think I’ve proved my point,’ he said, abruptly sitting up and setting Mistral firmly on her feet beside the bed.

  Flushed and slightly dazed, Mistral gazed at him wordlessly for a long moment before taking a deep breath and giving herself a mental shake.
<
br />   ‘You’ve proved nothing.’ Mistral tried for aloof and indifferent and almost managed it. ‘I am in perfect control. Breakfast?’

  Fabian grinned wolfishly at her, ‘You’re prepared to walk in the Refectory for breakfast with me? You do realise that you will be making a declaration of war? You’ll be teased to death!’

  Mistral shrugged and looked suddenly moody, ‘If they think that something has been going on I might feel a bit better about the truth.’

  ‘Oh Mistral,’ Fabian sighed and opened his arms. ‘Let me tell you the truth.’

  Her sullen mood melted like snow beneath sun as she slid back into his arms. She listened to the velvet sound of his voice and knew with absolute certainty that she was incapable of denying him anything, ever.

  ‘There is nothing I want more than you, but I love you enough to wait. Can you find it in your heart to do the same for me?’

  Mistral sighed, ‘I suppose I’ll try.’

  ‘Well that will just have to be good enough,’ he laughed. ‘Now, are you ready to face breakfast?’

  Unwilling to relinquish her place in his arms, Mistral tilted her head to look up at him, clinging desperately to the last few seconds of being alone with him.

  ‘Where are you going after breakfast?’ she asked, trying to keep the note of panic from her voice that the thought of him leaving her immediately caused.

  He smiled down at her and lifted a hand to stroke her hair, running his hand softly down its length to linger at her waist.

  ‘Home … but I’ll be back here on Saturday.’

  Mistral’s eyes widened and she grinned, ‘Really?’

  ‘Do you think I would miss out on the Qualification celebrations in The Cloak and Dagger? Floris has something behind the bar that makes the basilisk liquor look like a kidney flush!’ he smiled widely at her outraged expression before dropping a gentle kiss onto her pouting mouth. ‘I don’t think I could actually stand to be away from you for longer than that,’ he added more softly.

  Slightly mollified, Mistral allowed herself to be set down onto her feet again and bent to collect her saddlebag, swords and crossbow.

  Rising from her bed and stretching, Fabian reached over and took the saddlebag from her, slinging it lightly over his shoulder before he collected his cloak from the end of the bed.

  ‘Gentlemanly to the last,’ grumbled Mistral and opened the door.

  They didn’t cause the stir that Fabian had predicted by walking into the Refectory together, there were too many conversations going on about the mysterious focus of their hunt. Collecting bowls of porridge from the large iron pot on the counter, Mistral and Fabian joined the twins at a table. They were dressed ready for travel with their heavy cloaks rolled up on the table beside their bulging saddlebags.

  ‘Aren’t you packed?’ Phantom said, looking in askance at her lack of saddlebag.

  ‘Done,’ Mistral said smugly as Fabian wordlessly slid her saddlebag onto the table.

  Phantom lifted an eyebrow but made no comment, ‘Wolf skin?’ he demanded slightly petulantly.

  ‘Packed,’ confirmed Fabian. ‘And what an interesting story that was –’

  ‘Oh you heard all about Mistral Junior did you?’ Phantom asked with a grin. ‘Did she mention the puddle story – ow!’

  ‘Sorry Phantom, my foot slipped,’ said Mistral, innocently spooning porridge into her mouth while Phantom bent to rub his shin.

  Fabian chuckled softly and bent over his own porridge.

  ‘Have you got your knife belt handy Mistral?’ Phantasm asked while he rummaged distractedly through his own saddlebag. ‘Only I think I’ve packed mine right at the bottom. I hope I don’t need it straight away –’

  ‘Never leave without it,’ confirmed Mistral, indicating with her porridge laden spoon to the glistening row of knives strapped around her waist.

  The air of excitement in the room intensified as the time of Leo’s arrival approached. The apprentices were so close to their goal now. Qualification and freedom were in sight. Everything they had trained so hard to achieve over the last year was suddenly within their grasp.

  ‘I’d better make my departure,’ said Fabian quietly rising to his feet. ‘I don’t think Leo will appreciate my presence.’

  Swiftly dropping a kiss onto the top of Mistral’s head he turned and walked with familiar loping grace between the tables, exiting the room and vanishing from Mistral’s lingering gaze.

  ‘Right!’ Phantom said, snapping his fingers in front of her face. ‘Now can you please focus?’

  ‘If you ever click your fingers in my face again I will be wearing them as jewellery!’

  ‘Nice threat, like to see you carry it out though!’ Phantom scoffed.

  Heaving a deep sigh, Phantasm rested his head in his hands while Mistral and Phantom bickered. They only stopped when Leo finally entered the room, for once without the menacing addition of his Lieutenants.

  A tense silence fell while every pair of eyes watched him striding purposefully down the aisle between the tables. Mistral stole a glance at Golden. Her eyes were locked on Leo, the expression on her face was scathing, almost contemptuous. Mistral could immediately see that Leo had made a vengeful, if not dangerous enemy by spurning her.

  Leo turned abruptly at the counter and faced the sea of expectant faces before him. He paused dramatically then slowly drew out his sword and placed it, point down, in front of him. Resting both hands on the hilt he leaned forward slightly and surveyed the room with his icy blue gaze.

  ‘I sincerely hope that you have all remembered yours,’ he turned his sword, the point squealing against the floor. ‘Because the prey you are being sent to hunt has a hide that cannot easily be pierced by arrows or bolts –’

  Mistral felt a tingle of excitement and began to mentally run through all of the bizarre creatures on the Isle. Most were notoriously tough-skinned and many were poisonous. She suddenly hoped it wasn’t another troll.

  ‘It is fast, resourceful and merciless,’ Leo continued in a ringing voice. ‘Your prey is also blessed with formidable strength and an innate desire to kill. Be warned, if you fail in your attack, it will not.’

  A shiver ran down Mistral’s spine. She stole a glance at Phantasm and saw from the look on his face that he was thinking the same as her.

  ‘I want each party to bring me back a Blackheart Wolverine!’

  Mistral immediately felt eyes boring into the back of her head. She shifted uncomfortably and turned to see Saul staring at her.

  ‘Mage De Winter’s going to be furious,’ Phantom muttered to Mistral, taking a drink of water to hide his words from Leo.

  ‘Make a nice rug though.’ Mistral quipped with a lightness she didn’t feel.

  In truth, her desire for revenge on the wolverines had been dampened by the knowledge that they were running in the same forests as a band of elves planning to use her and the other apprentices for target practise.

  ‘Do you think Leo knows about the elves?’ Phantom hissed, as though reading her mind.

  ‘Definitely.’ Mistral muttered back. ‘He probably thinks they’ll add a bit of spice to our hunt!’

  ‘You should all know which hunting party you have been placed in by now.’ Leo continued loudly. ‘I want all parties to have left within the hour. There will be no joining up and hunting together. I have sent my Lieutenants into the forest to split the pack into four smaller groups to allow each party an equal chance of success. Some have been driven up onto the mountains, others left to roam the forests ... you will need all your tracking skills to find your quarry.

  ‘Questions?’ Leo’s icy gaze raked the room, challenging any apprentice to dare raise their hand.

  Mistral toyed with the idea of asking some inane question just to annoy him but a sharp look from Phantasm stopped her.

  ‘Good,’ Leo said in a satisfied tone. ‘We will all meet again in the village square at sunset tomorrow.’

  ‘Who got Grendel?’ Mistral whispered urgently w
hile Leo swept from the room.

  ‘Xerxes and Brutus,’ Phantom whispered back. ‘Do you know what? I actually envy them having Grendel with them on the hunt,’ he added, echoing Mistral’s thoughts. ‘His stink will probably keep the wolverines away but if they are daft enough to attack he’ll squash them like rats!’

  ‘Who’re in the other two groups?’ Mistral asked, her mind doing swift calculations.

  ‘Konrad, Golden and Columbine make up another hunting party, huh! That one’ll be a barrel of laughs! And the last group is just Cain and Saul.’

  ‘Just two of them? They’ll be massacred!’

  ‘Not if the Lieutenants really have split the pack,’ replied Phantom.

  ‘Oh you reckon? Don’t you think it’s more likely that they’ve just cleared off for a drinking session in one of the villages? They don’t care about what we’re going to be facing.’ Mistral said scathingly. ‘There were six of us the last time we tried to hunt those wolverines and we were outnumbered. They would’ve ripped us apart if those elves hadn’t turned up.’

  ‘The elves had a pretty good go at trying to kill us as well!’

  Mistral narrowed her eyes, ‘Hmm, I’m starting to think that it makes sense about Leo forbidding us from hunting the pack back in the summer. He must’ve already had them in mind for our Qualification Hunt.’

  ‘Definitely,’ Phantom agreed in a low voice. ‘In fact, I’m willing to bet that he ordered the Contract on one of those elves himself just to stir them up and keep us from being able to hunt in The Velvet Forests.’

  Mistral snorted, ‘That’s pushing it a bit brother!’

  ‘Is it?’

  ‘Yes.’ Mistral said firmly then frowned. ‘But there is something Leo said that’s puzzling me. If the wolverines’ hides really are nearly immune to arrows then why did they run when the elves turned up?’

  ‘I’ve been thinking about that too.’ Phantasm joined in the conversation, his expression thoughtful. ‘They must have been using Elven Song.’

  ‘I’ve heard you two singing before and you’ve got nice voices. You could distract them while I see a few off!’ Mistral said, looking suddenly enthusiastic.