The Assassin's Tale (Isle of Dreams) (73 page)

‘What is
it?’  he asked anxiously.

‘I’ve just
realised that I didn’t get a chance to try out that dagger I borrowed from
you!’

‘Oh, I think
you’ll get the chance,’ said Brutus with a smug smile.  ‘Grendel went to
fetch the wolverines from the meadow during the funeral.  He said
something about you promising to skin him a couple of pelts.  They’re all
piled up in the Training Arena waiting for you!’

Morning found
Fabian and Mistral sat in the empty Training Arena on low stools borrowed from
The Cloak and Dagger surrounded by a pile of dead wolverines.

Mistral was
using the dagger she had borrowed from Fabian to skin one of the
wolverines.  It cut through the pelts like a hot knife through butter,
making her regret not trying it out during the fight the day before. 
Consoling herself with thoughts of future hunts giving her opportunities to
test the blade in her hand, Mistral smiled and returned to her task with
renewed vigour.  The day was bright and although the brittle winter sun
had little warmth, it was pleasant to be outside performing a simple task
together.

They worked
steadily in companionable silence.  There were enough wolverines for each
of the apprentices to have a pelt apiece, which pleased Mistral.  She felt
that it was somehow fitting for them to have a permanent reminder of their year
spent in the Valley.  Fabian began humming softly to himself while he
worked.  Mistral listened to him and smiled.  She had never heard him
hum before and the sound was pleasantly soothing.  Glancing over at him
she was gratified to see that he looked completely at ease while he concentrated
on the wolverine he was skinning.  He had kept his word and not left the
night before, staying with her in the dorm room to share her narrow single
bed.  She sighed, reflecting that sleeping on her own again was going to
be a miserable experience.  Maybe she would have to get a dog as Fabian
had suggested.

The sound of
the twins’ voices made them both look up.  Mistral watched them saunter
across the Training Arena towards them, both looking very pleased with
themselves.  Fabian nodded a greeting and continued stripping the pelt
from his wolverine.

‘How did your
interview with the Divinus go?’  Mistral asked, returning to her task.

‘Good! 
Really good, in fact.  He said that we were exceptionally gifted.’

Mistral
snorted, ‘Exceptionally vain more like!’

‘He’s waiting
for you now,’ added Phantom cheerfully and grinned at her pained expression.

‘I’d better
take a shower,’ said Mistral getting to her feet with a sigh.  ‘The
Divinus may be blind but I’m sure there’s nothing wrong with his sense of smell,
and I stink of dog.’ 

She laid the
kukri down beside her stool and wiped her hands on her trousers.

Fabian looked
over at her and smiled easily, ‘I’ll see you soon,’ he murmured and watched her
walk across the Arena.

Phantom sat on
the stool Mistral had vacated and picked up the dagger to carry on skinning the
wolverine she’d started. 

‘Good
knife!’  he commented appreciatively. 

‘We’ve got a
week’s break before the new apprentices are registered and training begins
again,’ began Phantasm in a conversational tone while he leaned against the
Training Arena fence.  ‘Do you have any plans?’

Fabian
continued to gaze at the empty path Mistral had just walked along, ‘Yes I
have.  I thought I’d take Mistral on an extended hunting trip.  I was
talking to a warrior I know in The Cloak last night, he told me that he saw
some chimera tracks in the Southern Range.  They make good hunting and she
needs a break.’

‘You call that
a break?  Another hunting trip … in December … for a chimera.’ 
Phantom shook his head.  ‘You really know how to show the girl a good
time.’

‘She’ll love
it,’ Phantasm sighed.  ‘Mistral’s a bit strange that way.’

‘I know,’
Fabian smiled and resumed skinning the wolverine at his feet.

Showered and
changed, Mistral ran lightly up the stairs leading to the third floor with a
growing sense of apprehension.  The Divinus’ tower room was situated at
the far end of the long corridor and Mistral had never been into that part of
the Ri’s headquarters before.  It was eerily silent.  The end of
training meant the building was virtually empty and only the sound of her boots
kept her company on the long walk.

Climbing up
the spiral staircase, Mistral wondered what the interview would consist
of.  Would he ask her to read his aura?  Unsettled by that disturbing
thought, Mistral paused outside the heavy wooden door without knocking and
seriously considered turning back when the distinctive high reedy voice of the
Divinus called out from within.

‘You may
enter, apprentice.’

Feeling her
palms inexplicably slicken with sweat, Mistral grasped the heavy iron ring and
turned it.  Pushing open the door she stepped into the Divinus’ tower
room.

The first
thing that struck her was the starkness of the room.  It was completely
devoid of any form of decoration or furnishing.  The windows were
unadorned by drapes, the floor was bare as were the rough stone walls. 
There were no brackets mounted on the walls to hold torches and the room was
lit only by the weak rays of winter sun coming through the grimy windows. 
She stared around the desolate room until her gaze finally rested on the
Divinus.  He was seated in the shadows at the far side of the circular
room.  His shrunken frame appeared diminutive in the almost throne-like
wooden chair on which he sat.  Mistral suddenly realised that there wasn’t
even a bed in the room.  That one chair was the only piece of furniture in
the bleak tower room.   

Mistral walked
hesitantly towards the Divinus, slowing to a halt a short distance before
him.  There was no chair for her to sit on so she remained standing,
feeling uncomfortable under his unblinking blind stare.

‘You have
Bonded since we last met.’

Mistral
blinked in surprise then nodded, realising a moment later that the Divinus
wouldn’t be able to see her reaction. 

‘Yes Divinus.’
 her voice echoed loudly in the barren room.

‘It will cause
you great pain until you master the Sight,’ he sighed in his high reedy voice.

She rolled her
eyes, safe in the knowledge that he couldn’t see her, ‘I know.’

A silence fell
and Mistral could hear every breath she took, even the beating of her own heart
sounded unnaturally loud in the tomblike stillness of the tower room.

‘I See your
Bonded partner.  His soul is pure despite the tasks he has undertaken in
his life.’

Mistral stared
into the ancient face before her, hardly daring to think of the question she
wanted to ask.

‘Can – can you
See me?’  she whispered.

The Divinus
looked at her with his sightless eyes for a long moment.  

‘Yes,’ he said
simply.

‘What am
I?’  she breathed fearfully.

A ghost of a
smile passed over the Divinus’ face, ‘I cannot See your blood-line
apprentice.  Only your soul.’

‘Oh,’ 
Mistral tried to keep the disappointment from showing in her voice before realising
that the Divinus would know what she was thinking anyway.

A definite
smile touched the furrowed corners of the Divinus’ mouth and Mistral vowed to
keep her thoughts strictly on the matter in hand for the rest of the interview.

‘Your gift
will develop only if you learn to listen to your emotions.  You try to
hide them too much.’

Mistral felt
herself wanting to snort with disdain.  There was no way she hid her
emotions; her temper was legendary.

‘I am not
referring to your temperament, but to the emotions you refuse to let yourself
feel.  Compassion, love, sorrow and yes, apprentice, even fear, are all
emotions you must experience to let your soul grow.’

‘I do love,’
Mistral found herself insisting in a slightly petulant tone.  ‘And I have
felt sorrow –’

‘You have no
choice but to love; you are Bonded.  But who do you love out of freewill?’

Mistral
frowned.  She only loved Fabian, how could she love anyone else but him?

‘Not all love
is of such a nature,’ sighed the Divinus.

‘I love my
horse,’ she said finally, feeling ridiculous.

The Divinus
nodded and waited patiently, his milky eyes staring unblinkingly into
nothingness.

Mistral
realised that he was waiting for her to continue speaking and began to rack her
brains for something else that she loved.

‘There are
several ways to love aren’t there?’  she asked suddenly.

The Divinus
nodded once and resumed his silent waiting.

‘Then it’s
easy,’ she said.  ‘I love the twins, for their vain, annoying behaviour
and also for their friendship.  I suppose, in a way, I love the other
apprentices for the experiences we’ve shared over the last year … but not
Golden or Columbine,’ she added quickly.  ‘Oh, and I love to hunt,’ she
finished with a shrug.

The Divinus
switched his blind gaze back to her face and smiled, ‘You are learning.’ 

Mistral heard
a faint rustling from the deep shadows behind the Divinus and felt her skin
crawl.  She didn’t want to look at whatever was making the noise and fixed
her gaze instead on the blank white stare of the Divinus.

‘Do not fear
the dead apprentice, they cannot hurt you,’ the Divinus murmured.  ‘They
are merely echoes of lives that have passed.’

‘Do they
converse with you?’  Mistral asked, looking curiously into his opaque
eyes.

‘Sadly no,
they are not free-thinking.  I can only listen to the memories they repeat
over and over until they eventually fade to nothing.’  the Divinus moved
slightly and tilted his head, as though listening.  ‘Sometimes they have
something interesting to say,’ he added softly.

‘Your second
year will be dedicated to learning how to master Sight,’ he continued in a
stronger voice.  ‘Serenity will guide you as much as she can but I will
also be overseeing your development.  Now, is there anything else you wish
to ask before you leave?’

Mistral only
had one question that had been eating away at her since the moment she had
stepped foot into the Divinus’ tower room.

‘How long will
it take?’ she blurted and held her breath while the Divinus gazed sightlessly
into her eyes.   

‘I cannot
tell,’ he said finally.  ‘You are too stubborn, that may be your
undoing.  Try not to fight your destiny.  You will find life more
enjoyable if you are willing to accept your gift.’

Mistral stared
blankly at the Divinus, waiting for him to explain.  After several long
seconds she realised that their interview was over and she had been dismissed.

‘Thank you
Divinus,’ she murmured politely, turning to walk to the door with heavy,
echoing footsteps. 

She returned
to the Training Arena to find all of the apprentices sat around the mound of
wolverines.  The mood was light.  They were all laughing and talking
while they carried on with the task of skinning the wolverines.  Someone
had been to fetch more stools from The Cloak and Dagger and a tray of full
tankards rested on one of them.

Saul was
regaling Fabian with the tale of the band of goblins they had hunted in The
Emerald Forests.  Mistral smiled and listened to him laughing and telling
Fabian about her brawling on the forest floor with two of them and how Cain had
drugged the Lieutenants every night so that they could play cards and
gamble.  Fabian laughed softly and looked up to smile at her, his dark
eyes shining.  Mistral grinned back at him and privately hoped that Saul
didn’t go on to mention the manticore hunt.  She still cringed whenever
she thought of the language she’d used whilst under the influence of the
manticore’s strange poison.

‘You know we
can change our names at the ceremony tonight if we wish to,’ Phantasm said to
her as she lifted the tray of tankards from the stool to sit down next to him.

‘Really? 
I do hope Grendel won’t.  It’s taken him all of his life to learn the name
he’s got!’

‘I heard that
sister,’ growled Grendel. 

Mistral
grinned at him then turned back to Phantasm, ‘Is it usual for warriors to
change their name when they Qualify?’ 

He shrugged
and bent to pick up one of the tankards, taking a sip before he replied, ‘For
some its cathartic; symbolising the start of a new life,’ he turned to look at
her, his green eyes dancing with mischief.  ‘And for others it’s a chance
to get rid of a truly appalling name bestowed on them in a moment of madness by
a feckless parent!’

Mistral
laughed and dipped her head to avoid Phantom’s suspicious look.

‘I know what
you two are laughing about,’ he warned.  ‘And let me remind you that I can
remember
everything
about our trip to Nevelte quite clearly.’

Mistral glared
at him and risked a glance in Fabian’s direction.  He seemed engrossed in
whatever Saul was telling him, but she wasn’t fooled.  He had hearing
better than an elf.  As if reading her thoughts, he suddenly looked up and
raised an eyebrow.

Mistral gave
him a nonchalant shrug and turned away, making sure that Phantom received a
truly evil look in the process.

‘You’re going
to pay for this!’ she mouthed then picked up Fabian’s kukri and started to skin
one of the wolverines with alarming ferocity.