The Assassin's Tale (Isle of Dreams)

by Kirsten Jones

  ‘Where are all the villagers?’ Phantom asked with a frown.

  ‘It’s a cold winter’s day in small forest community, where do you think they’re all going to be?’ Fabian asked with a smile as they reached the door of the building.

  The twins shared a look and grinned, ‘In the tavern!’

  Fabian nodded and opened the door, stepping aside politely to allow Mistral to enter first. She stepped through the doorway and into the smoke-filled gloom of the tavern and was immediately greeted by a chorus of happy shouts.

  ‘What took you so long?’ Xerxes cried. ‘We thought you’d actually taken Leo to his word and died of cold in the forests!’

  Mistral grinned once her eyes had adjusted enough to make out Xerxes, Brutus, Cain, Saul and the unmistakable bulk of Grendel stood at a long bar on the other side of the room.

  ‘We’ve been waiting for you since last night!’ Brutus grinned, sliding four brimming tankards along the bar top as she approached. ‘Saul thought you’d actually gone off to hunt those mangy mutts without us and wanted to go and find you, but we persuaded him that even you weren’t that reckless!’

  ‘Where did you three stay then?’ Xerxes asked conversationally while he took a drink from his tankard. ‘We stayed here and taught the locals a thing or two about cards,’ he winked at Mistral and patted his shirt pocket where the outline of a full money pouch could clearly be seen.

  ‘Mage De Winter kindly offered us floor-space,’ said Phantom, reaching for his tankard and taking a grateful swallow. ‘Ugh. Cider!’ he choked. ‘That brings back memories.’

  Mistral took a cautious sip then pulled a face similar to Phantom’s. It was horribly like the rough, sweet cider that Brothertoft had brewed.

  ‘This hunt is going to be a bit chaotic if they’ve been on this stuff all day,’ she murmured to Fabian once he joined her at the bar, sliding his arm around her waist and reaching for his tankard.

  ‘Ah, now this is more like it,’ said Xerxes, raising his tankard in a toast. ‘Here’s to hunting down those damned wolverines once and for all and to never having to listen to Barak shouting at us on a Monday morning ever again!’

  While the apprentices cheered and raised their tankards, joining him in a raucous toast to the end of a long year of gruelling training, Mistral sighed and took a half-hearted sip from her tankard.

  ‘It will be all right you know,’ Fabian murmured, tightening his arm around her waist fractionally. ‘We can get through next year. Then you’ll just have to suffer a lifetime with me.’

  Mistral looked into his soulful gaze and smiled wistfully, ‘One lifetime won’t be enough.’

  ‘Sorry to interrupt, but I need to speak with Mistral.’

  Mistral looked up, surprised. Saul was standing beside her with a guarded expression on his face.

  ‘Please. Be my guest,’ Fabian murmured, releasing her and leaning back against the bar.

  ‘Can I talk to you for a moment?’ Saul asked her quietly when she made no move to leave Fabian’s side.

  Mistral glared at him. After the way he had spoken to her yesterday she wasn’t sure whether she wanted to speak to him or hit him.

  He flinched at the stoniness of her expression, ‘I know you’re angry, but please let me explain Mistral.’

  He turned away and walked to a table, pulling out a stool for her before taking one himself.

  Mistral glanced at Fabian before she sat down. His body language was relaxed while he leaned against the bar, appearing to listen to whatever Phantasm was saying but Mistral could see that his eyes weren’t leaving Saul’s face.

  ‘I’m sorry about yesterday but I don’t think you realise that Golden was listening to every word you were saying.’

  Mistral’s eyes snapped up to his, ‘Why the hell should that have mattered!’

  ‘Because she hates you Mistral! She would have gone running straight to Leo and told him what you’d said to me, anything to try and get rid of you and get back into his bed! So I had to say what I did to make her think that we didn’t have this planned.’

  ‘And just when were you going to let us in on your plan?’ Mistral demanded icily. ‘I was actually worried about you lot last night! I thought you were all sleeping in the damned forests in your cloaks, not living it up and robbing some poor villagers blind at cards!’

  Saul recoiled slightly from the fury in her eyes, ‘I came straight down to the stables to find you but you’d already left!’ he spread his hands out in a helpless gesture. ‘I guessed you’d be furious with me and have stormed out but I didn’t know where you’d gone,’ he shot a dark glance in Fabian’s direction before turning back to face her. ‘You’re so head-strong that I was worried you’d go off on your own, even leaving the twins if they refused to do what you wanted. But Cain managed to convince me that even you weren’t quite that foolhardy and we agreed to wait here, hoping you’d find Grendel’s tracks and follow them.’

  Mistral glowered at him while she considered what he’d said. She had to admit he was right. She had been furious with him and stormed off. She sighed, realising that once again her emotions had been her downfall. Because of her anger she and the twins had left before anyone else was even ready, giving them no chance to speak at the stables, and they would have no idea where to find her even if they had rightly guessed that she’d gone to Fabian’s house. Only she and the twins knew where he lived.

  ‘So, this plan, when did you all come up with it?’ she finally asked, regarding him coolly.

  ‘In The Cloak the night before. But you didn’t stick around for long enough to hear it, and the twins left soon after you did. We thought we’d catch up with you either at breakfast or in the stables before we left, but, well ... let’s just say that things didn’t work quite out as I’d hoped,’ he shrugged and smiled ruefully, giving her distinct impression that he wasn’t talking about the plan for the hunt.

  ‘Saul.’ Mistral’s voice fell to a whisper. ‘I swear I never knew – ’

  ‘I know you didn’t.’ Saul interrupted. ‘Because I never found the right moment to tell you. It’s my fault not yours Mistral. I left it too late –’

  ‘Stop Saul.’ Mistral frowned and shook her head. ‘It’s over. Done with.’

  Saul glanced at Fabian, meeting his black gaze briefly before turning back to Mistral.

  ‘You’ll always be important to me Mistral.’

  Mistral took hold of her tankard and rose to her feet, ‘And you to me brother.’

  Saul smiled sadly, watching her walk back to Fabian.

  ‘Right! If I can have your attention!’ Xerxes shouted above the growing noise in the tavern. ‘We need to finalise the details and get out there! Time and wolverines wait for no man!’

  A ragged cheer went up from the apprentices and Mistral found herself smiling. She was going to miss their endless enthusiasm for hunting and having a good time.

  ‘You do know that the wolverines and the elves have tracked you here, don’t you?’ Phantasm asked.

  Xerxes nodded and grinned, ‘All part of the plan brother! Why d’you think we had Grendel leave such a clear trail? It wasn’t just for your benefit! We thought we’d go out in style – wolverines and elves together!’

  Mistral looked at him and frowned. Xerxes tended to be over-confident but today he seemed to be radiating a sense of self-belief that made her think he had something up his sleeve.

  ‘Xerxes? Do you and your brother have Elven Song?’ she asked suddenly.

  Brutus laughed and Xerxes gave her another confident grin, ‘Worked out what drove the wolverines away last time did you?’

  ‘Not me. The twins.’ Mistral replied with a grin.

  ‘Might have known they’d work it out! We wanted to keep our little gift quiet in case you thought we used it to cheat at cards –’

  ‘Which we’d never do!’ Brutus cut in with a look of mock outrage on his face.

  ‘Oh, this explains so much,’ said Cain, raising his eyebrows sharply.
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  ‘You can talk, cheating hob!’

  ‘Now, now! There’s no need for name-calling!’ Cain retorted with a grin.

  ‘If we can please focus!’ Xerxes shouted over the banter. ‘Now, as I was saying, once my brother and I heard the lovely Leo tell us that crossbow bolts and arrows weren’t particularly effective on the wolverines we realised that they must have been repelled by the Elven Song we heard that night in the meadow – and we came up with our this, our master plan!’

  ‘So modest,’ sighed Phantom.

  Xerxes laughed then gazed around the room, holding his arms out wide, ‘What do we have that the elves want?’

  A short silence fell while the twins looked at him uncertainly.

  ‘Konrad,’ breathed Mistral.

  ‘You want to give them Konrad?’ Phantom asked in surprise.

  ‘No!’ Xerxes looked shocked. ‘He’s a brother, albeit a damned miserable one. We just want to use him as bait.’

  ‘Oh, that’s just so much more morally acceptable,’ muttered Phantom.

  ‘Does he know about it?’ Mistral asked, giving Xerxes with a knowing look. She felt Fabian stiffen by her side but he didn’t say anything.

  ‘Thought you’d be a bit sensitive about that,’ said Xerxes breezily. ‘No, he isn’t aware of it. But don’t feel bad for him because right now he’s hiding outside this settlement with Columbine and Golden. They’re waiting for us to go out hunting so they can follow and pick off any wolverine we injure.’

  ‘And how exactly do you know this? Or do you have the Sight as well as Elven Song?’ Mistral demanded.

  ‘No, that’ll be you with the mind-reading trick sister.’ Xerxes grinned at her. ‘The trail Grendel left was clear. Even with the snowfall we knew that you’d be able to find it. Konrad’s a good tracker too; he’ll have also been able to follow us here without any bother at all. Saul’s been keeping an eye out for them and spotted them arriving just before nightfall. They’re obviously waiting for us to head out with the intention of following us, or why haven’t they come to join us?’

  Mistral frowned. She didn’t feel comfortable with the idea of using Konrad as bait. He was still Ri after all; a fellow apprentice, a brother. However, if what Xerxes said was true, then he obviously had an agenda of his own.

  ‘I’ve seen them Mistral. Xerxes isn’t trying to convince you with lies,’ Saul said quietly. ‘They arrived last night and have been hiding out on the east side of the settlement ever since. Despite the fact that our horses are in plain sight, they’ve made no effort to come and find us. They obviously want to remain hidden – which is a bit of a joke really since I spotted Golden without even trying. For someone with nymph blood she has the stealth skills of a minotaur!’

  ‘Can’t stand to have her beauty hidden away I expect,’ Phantom muttered scathingly.

  Xerxes shrugged, disinterested in Golden. He locked gazes with Mistral and raised an eyebrow, ‘Well sister? What’s it to be?’

  Mistral held his gaze for a long moment then nodded slowly, ‘I can see in your aura that you’re telling me the truth Xerxes, but Konrad is still a brother and I’m not comfortable with the idea of using him as bait. He could be killed by those elves.’

  ‘And so could we all Mistral.’ Brutus pointed out. ‘And it would be because of him. You of all people know that! He didn’t care when you took an arrow because of him!’

  ‘I chose to go on the hunt,’ Mistral said dismissively. ‘I don’t blame Konrad for me being in the wrong place at the wrong time. I don’t really think what you’re planning is right, but I won’t stand in your way. I’m starting to fully appreciate that Qualifying is all about dirty tricks and cheating.’

  ‘At last you’ve seen the light,’ exclaimed Xerxes, rolling his eyes. ‘Now, if we can all get down to the plan –’

  ‘Phantom, would you mind telling us the details in a few minutes? I just need to have a word with Mistral,’ Fabian murmured and before Mistral could say anything he dragged away from the other apprentices. Pulling a stool out for her, Fabian waited until she had sat down before taking one opposite her. Mistral gazed at him across the table and was surprised to see that he was angry.

  ‘Is this about Saul?’ she began with a frown.

  ‘No, it is not.’ Fabian said shortly. ‘When were you used as bait?’

  Mistral sighed in exasperation, ‘Does nothing escape you?’

  ‘Very rarely, now please explain because right now there is no way I am letting you on this hunt.’

  ‘Oh, not this again!’ Mistral scowled. ‘What’s changed since this morning?’

  ‘First of all, I now know that you were shot by elves out for vengeance, and they never give up on a target. Their tenacity is what makes them such fierce warriors. I’ve seen elves get off their death beds to finish an enemy before allowing themselves to give in and die! And secondly, I am ill-disposed to permit you to hunt with those so-called brothers who freely admit to having used you as bait without your knowledge!’

  ‘Fine, I’ll explain about the bait part.’ Mistral said quickly, taken aback by Fabian’s sudden anger. ‘We went on a manticore hunt and Konrad told the others that manticores found the scent of females irresistible. They didn’t tell me because they thought I’d be reckless if I knew that the manticore would be drawn to me. And they were right not to tell me. I would’ve climbed right into its den if I thought my scent would lure it out. And as for me being shot by the elves, it’s exactly like I said to Xerxes – it was my decision to go on the hunt, I can’t blame Konrad for that, can I? We were fleeing from the elves when Cirrus stumbled and I dropped behind. They just got a lucky shot in.’

  ‘No Mistral, elves do not get lucky shots. They would have been aiming for you. I assume that you were with Phantasm when he convinced the elves that he knew nothing of the Contract on their kinsman?’

  Mistral nodded mutely. There was an icy edge to Fabian’s voice she had not heard before. For the first time she glimpsed the assassin in him and it unnerved her.

  ‘The moment they questioned Konrad and realised he was lying they would have known that Phantasm had lied to them also. You are all marked.’

  A tense silence fell between them. Mistral could hear Xerxes telling a joke and the others laughing but it could have been coming from a world away. She was locked in the icy world of Fabian’s black stare. His expression was cold, detached; he was almost like a stranger to her. With a stab of agony Mistral realised that it was because of her, that she had caused the man she loved to become an assassin again. And she couldn’t bear it.

  She leaned across the table, whispering urgently, ‘Fabian, please listen to me! You mean more to me than anything! This hunt, Qualifying, Sight, it’s nothing to me! You are all I want and if you don’t want me to go today, then I won’t. I swear I will always do whatever you want me to.’

  Fabian stared at her a moment longer, his gaze burning into hers with a power that was both mesmerising and frightening. Finally he exhaled a long breath and reached across the table to take hold of her hands, instantly reminding her of the night in The Cloak and Dagger when he had first held them.

  ‘Why are you smiling?’ he demanded sharply. ‘I am sat opposite you fighting the urge to kill Konrad for daring to use you as bait, and you are smiling at me!’

  ‘Because I’m reminded of the first time you ever held my hands,’ she shrugged, still smiling. ‘It makes me smile.’

  Abruptly his expression changed. He drew her hands to him, turning them over to run his fingers across the palms, caressing them with his light touch.

  ‘I am so sorry Mistral,’ he murmured, his black eyes suddenly eloquent with sorrow. ‘I can’t explain to you how hard I find this … willingly placing your life in danger … I can’t stand it! Every fibre of my being wants to take you away from this accursed hunt.’

  ‘We won’t go on the hunt,’ whispered Mistral. ‘We can leave, right now if you want to. We can go home.’

  ‘Ah,’ Fa
bian closed his eyes and sighed deeply, slowly opening his eyes again with a look of resignation on his face. ‘You have no idea how much I want that. But you must go on the hunt today.’

  Mistral stared at him dumbfounded. He was worse than her for changing his mind at the drop of a hat.

  He smiled ruefully at her expression, ‘How can you Qualify for your second year if you are at home with me?’ he asked softly.

  ‘Oh, please just take me home,’ she begged. ‘I don’t care about Qualifying, my second year, Sight –’

  ‘Or the twins?’ Fabian asked quietly.

  Mistral stared at him blankly.

  ‘They need you Mistral. They need you today, for your hunting skills and they need you next year. I know they are strong with each other, but you three … you have a bond… and I think it is no coincidence that you have come to the Valley at precisely the same time.’

  Mistral frowned in confusion, ‘How can it be anything but a coincidence? I’d never met them before I went to the Valley!’

  Fabian sighed and looked thoughtfully down at her hands, running his fingers gently over them before raising one to examine it closely, kissing the palm tenderly in a way that made her long for him to drag her from the tavern and insist that she go home with him right away.

  ‘Some things are not for our comprehension,’ he sighed, gazing at her deeply. ‘I have seen many things in my life Mistral, and can only explain a small portion of them. The Isle has many powerful enchantments cast on it to ensure our concealment from the rest of the world. Who knows what effect spells of that power have on us poor souls who live here?

  ‘There is nothing I want more than to take you away from here, but I am going to do what is right for your future. We are going to stay and hunt together. And I think we both know,’ Fabian paused and looked her in a way that stole the breath from her lips. ‘If I took you home now I don’t think I would ever let you leave again.’

  Mistral’s eyes widened, she gazed wordlessly at him for several long seconds. Realising that she had stopped breathing she suddenly drew in a deep breath.

  ‘I really don’t care about anything else right now,’ she whispered hoarsely.