The Seer (18 page)

‘Really?’ 
Mistral looked intrigued.  ‘Why?’

‘Dragon eggs
are used to make Enslavement Potions.’

‘Love
potions?’  Mistral snorted disdainfully.

Fabian smiled,
‘Yes, amongst other uses, Enslavement Potions can induce obsession and ensnare
your heart’s desire, but only temporarily.’

Mistral
laughed but quickly stopped when she caught Cain’s shrewd look, ‘Don’t even
think it brother,’ she warned.  ‘It’s my name on that Contract and I don’t
want anyone thinking I would stoop so low as to steal dragon eggs to sell!’

‘Would
I?’  Cain cried, looking mortally offended before adding.  ‘Wrong
time of year anyway –’ 

‘Your
attention for a moment please warriors!’  Leo reined in and turned his
horse to face them.

‘All hail the
Leoship.’  Cain muttered under his breath causing Mistral to stifle a
laugh. 

‘Do you think
he wants us to charge down the hill and storm the city?’  Brutus
whispered. 

‘I do hope
not.’  Phantom sighed wearily.  ‘The only thing I want to storm is a
hot bath.’

‘I expect a
certain level of decorum from you whilst we are in the Council!’  Leo
continued loudly.  ‘You are my personal escort and as such I demand that
you behave in a manner that presents the Ri in a favourable light.’

‘By which he
means don’t take this as an opportunity to get drunk, gamble and fight.’ 
Xerxes grumbled.

‘I will
require the Gemini and Mistral to accompany myself and Fabian to the Council,
the rest of you are to retire to the stables and prepare for the journey.’

‘You know
where he can stick that!’  Cain muttered sourly.  ‘There’s a damned
good tavern near the Council we can hole up in while he’s waffling his way to
victory.’

Mistral threw
him a jealous look.  She knew her year’s enslavement to pay back her
apprenticeship was going to entail her having to attend lots of mundane Council
meetings, but having her brothers blatantly go off to enjoy themselves while
she suffered wasn’t something she’d bargained for.

‘Now, follow
me.  Single file.’

‘Great.’
 Mistral groaned to Fabian.  ‘This is going to be the longest year of
my life.’

Fabian said
nothing, but something about his carefully composed expression struck Mistral
as secretive.  Was Fabian hiding another lie from her?  She narrowed
her eyes and listened to his thoughts but they revealed nothing untoward, only
his usual sense of purpose and intention as he planned their visit to Council.

They passed
through the city gates under the unseen gaze of the two warlocks, inhaling the
familiar burning reek of ozone Mistral felt her stomach roll over again. 
She clamped her lips together and held her breath until they were safely
immersed in the teeming market street.  Letting out the breath she had
been holding, Mistral inhaled deeply and promptly gagged when the stench coming
from the meat stalls filled her nostrils in a sickening rush.  ‘Oh no,’
she moaned and leaned over Cirrus’ shoulder, retching as quietly as she could
into the linen cloth Phantasm had given her.  Hearing Fabian’s anxious
thoughts fill her mind when she finished being sick she sat up and looked at
him defeatedly.  ‘Fine,’ she muttered weakly.  ‘I promise.’

‘Good.’

‘This could
get frustrating!’  Phantom hissed, barely moving his lips while he stared
straight ahead.  ‘Can you have a complete conversation for my benefit
please?’

‘Insatiable
gossip,’ she muttered.

‘Still need to
know!’

Mistral
sighed, ‘I’ve promised to go to the Infirmary when we get back.’

‘Is that
all?’  Phantom sounded disappointed.  ‘We were going to wait until
you fell asleep and take you anyway!’

‘Over my dead
body!’

‘That was the
second option.’

Their
whispered argument was abruptly ended by furious glare from Leo.  He urged
his horse into a canter along the wide avenue of impressive houses that led
down to the Council, forcing the warriors to follow suit.  They reached
the gates at the far end in a loud clatter of iron shod hooves on
cobbles. 

‘That’s how to
make an entrance!’  Brutus remarked appreciatively when they reined in and
dismounted.

‘Meet you in
the stables in about an hour then.’  Mistral said resignedly.

‘No you
won’t.’  Cain whispered back cheerfully.  ‘Get the twins to let us
know when you’re done and then we’ll come out of the tavern to meet you.’

Mistral shot
him a resentful look and shoved Cirrus’ reins into the hands of a nervous
looking stablehand, ‘Guard!’  she instructed Prospero sharply then turned
to Fabian, dropping her voice to a whisper.  ‘Do I have to go?’ 

Fabian took
her hand and led her across the courtyard, ‘Yes.  Try to think of the
reward.’

‘Ah, yes …
dragons.’  Mistral smiled.

They reached
the top of the stairs and joined Leo and the twins.

‘What do you
require of us today Master Sphinx?’  Phantasm enquired quietly while they
waited to be greeted.

‘To observe
only.  Today is merely a formality.  I will be declaring my intention
to stand as the next Divinus and no decision will be made today.  However,
it will provide me with the opportunity to know how much favour my case is met
with, therefore I will need to know everything that you See,’ he looked at
Mistral briefly.  ‘So please try to concentrate.’

Mistral kept
her face blank and nodded.  Insults from Leo were such an expected part of
his speech pattern that they barely registered with her anymore.  Fabian’s
thoughts rushed into hers in an angry stream, he obviously didn’t share her
indifference to Leo’s rudeness.  She glanced at him and raised an eyebrow,
giving him a half-smile of amusement to prevent him from arguing with his
brother on the steps to the Council, mere minutes before they were supposed to
present the Ri in a united and professional front.  Fabian didn’t return
her smile but held her hand more tightly, managing to walk through the open
doors into the white marbled atrium with Leo’s wished for decorum.  They
entered the vast room to be met by the scarred and unsmiling features of Mage
Grapple himself.

Mistral
watched Mage Grapple greet Leo cordially and realised with a jolt that she was
looking at father and son.  She studied them more carefully, looking for
similarities.  There were none at first glance.  Mage Grapple’s
heavily scarred face left no evidence of the features that must once have been
handsome and compelling enough to have drawn Fabian’s mother to him. 
Admittedly, he and Leo were of the same build, straight-backed and broad
shouldered and both bore themselves with characteristic regality that spoke of
a liking for power.  Although Leo’s blue eyes must have come from his
mother, the iciness in them was reflected exactly in Mage Grapple’s cold grey
stare.  She concentrated harder, calling forth the image of their auras
before pushing her mind further, to See.  She listened first to Leo and
then to Mage Grapple.  Their thought patterns were mirror images, both
unemotional and utterly logical but whereas Leo’s burned with a strong desire
to achieve his ambitions, Mage Grapple’s were focussed on maintaining the
ambitions he had already achieved. 

She looked at
them again, father and son, and was suddenly struck by the blatantly obvious
likeness that she was surprised the atrium wasn’t filled with shouts of
recognition.  Mistral blinked and let their auras vanish from sight and
instantly the similarity faded.  It was their thoughts that made them so
alike, and only she could See them.  

Mage Grapple
greeted Fabian briefly before turning to speak to her and the twins, ‘I cannot
permit your presence in the chambers today.  It will not meet with
protocol to allow a Seer and the Gemini to be present.  You must wait
outside whilst De Winter accompanies the candidate.’

Mistral was
left staring at his black robed figure sweeping across the atrium with a
mixture of irritation and relief. 

Fabian
immediately turned to face her, taking hold her hands and holding her gaze with
eyes of darkest night, ‘I will be back as quickly as I can,’ he promised,
touching his lips to hers in the briefest of caresses before he was gone,
striding across the atrium to join Leo and Mage Grapple at the door to the
Council chamber.

Mistral
watched him go with a sudden ache of longing.  It was frightening her how
much she missed him when he wasn’t there, yet how much she completely took him
for granted when he was.  Like a part of her body, something so integral
to her very being it was only in absence she realised how great her need truly
was.

‘Come on Lady
De Lovelorn.’  Phantom teased and grabbed her arm, wheeling her around to
march her out of the atrium and into the cold empty courtyard.  ‘We know
our place in this riveting affair.’

An hour later
they were still sat on the steps outside the Council waiting for Fabian and Leo
to return.  Conversation had given way to long periods of bored
silence.  Phantom had paced the top step until Mistral was sure he had
worn a groove into the marble.

‘Well, I never
thought that being the three most gifted beings on the Isle would be quite so
uneventful,’ he grumbled and dropped down to sit beside Mistral.

Mistral blew
her cheeks out and gazed listlessly across the Council courtyard, ‘Do you think
we could sneak off and join the others?’

Phantasm
sighed wearily, ‘For the twentieth time – no.’ 

‘They could have
at least put some chairs out here for us.’  Phantom complained, shifting
uncomfortably on the stone step.

Mistral turned
the point of her sword in the thin layer of snow at her feet and sighed in
agreement.

‘How much
longer do you think they’ll be?’  Phantasm asked with barely concealed
irritation.

Mistral lifted
an eyebrow and looked disinterestedly over her shoulder at the huge black doors
to the Council, letting her mind travel where her body could not, ‘Oh ages,
they’re still going through the pleasantries,’ she muttered after a few seconds
of listening to Fabian’s thoughts.

The twins
sighed deeply and Mistral continued to draw patterns in the snow with her
sword, ‘I really am bored to tears,’ she finally exclaimed in disgust. 

‘Go on, it’s
been ages since you’ve had a cry … it’ll break the boredom up a bit, in fact, I
think I might even join you!’  Phantom muttered bitterly. 

Another
silence fell.  Mistral yawned and tried to balance her sword on its point.

‘Just why are
we stuck out here again?’  Phantom demanded crossly, resting his elbows
onto his knees and dropping his chin into his hands.

‘They could’ve
allowed us into the meeting.’  Phantasm agreed in an aggrieved tone. 
‘I know we haven’t been overly forthcoming about the power of our gifts, but
surely even that bunch of over-fed windbags realise we could run the cursed
meeting from out here as easily as if we were standing in the middle of the
room!’

There was a
long pause before Mistral pulled a face and shoved her sword roughly back into its
holster on her back, ‘No, I’d rather be out here, at least I can talk to you
two and not have to even pretend to be interested in their aimless drivel.’

‘What’s
happening now?’  Phantom asked in a bored tone.

Mistral heaved
another sigh and let her thoughts turn to the meeting, her eyes misting over
and her face becoming unintentionally blank as she Saw into the mind of her
Mage, ‘The good ship Leo has set sail,’ she said with a roll of her eyes. 
‘He’s delivering a speech … oh no!  I can’t believe he actually said
that!’

‘What?’ 
Phantom sighed, with a vague attempt at sounding interested.

‘“Endeavour to
provide the Ri with the necessary leadership skills to lead us forward into a
brighter future and further strengthen existing bonds with the Mage Council for
the mutual benefit of the richly diverse lives of all who call the Isle a
home.”’

‘Oh, it’s so
embarrassing being here with him,’ groaned Phantom.  ‘Who actually says
that kind of tripe?’

‘Hmm, you’d
never think that he and Mage De Winter were brothers.’  Phantasm
mused.  ‘I can’t imagine him coming out with a phrase like “leadership
skills”.’

‘No, he’d be
more likely to kill anyone in the room that disagreed with his “leadership
skills”.’  Phantom added darkly.

Mistral hid an
indulgent smile and twisted the wedding ring on her finger, ‘Well I wish he’d
kill that lot in there so we can get out of here,’ she sighed and sat up,
stretching her arms above her head and yawning.

‘I usually
don’t condone violence for the sake of it, but in this case, I think I’d
actually go in and lend a hand,’ Phantom agreed.

They sat in
silence for a while.  Mistral gazed dully around the courtyard.  It
was stark and austere, a direct reflection of Mage Grapple’s character. 
The only other occupants in the courtyard were two brooding warlocks on duty at
the gate.  She gazed at them indifferently, studying their long black
robes and heavily hooded faces.

‘What’re they
thinking?’  Phantom asked, following her gaze.

Mistral lifted
her eyebrows, ‘Let’s find out shall we brothers?’  she focussed her
attention on the black cowls hiding their faces from view.  After a few
moments her brow creased into a small frown and she tilted her head, realigning
her unfocussed gaze onto the two warlocks.  ‘That’s odd.’

‘Do share.’
 Phantasm murmured lethargically.

‘They’re not
thinking anything,’ she frowned and blinked, focussing on Phantasm’s green eyes
as he looked at her with a faint flicker of interest.

‘No, actually
that makes perfect sense,’ he said, regarding the warlocks more closely. 
‘They’re just empty vessels to be filled with the will of the ruling Mage, no
more than tools, well, weapons really.’

‘It’s
fortunate we have the steady hand of Mage Grapple ruling the Council,’
commented Phantom with a glance at the burly warlocks.  ‘Imagine what
Putreo would’ve done with them at his beck and call!’

‘Or a
Rochforte.’  Phantasm added quietly.

‘Oh please,
not another duller than dull subject!’  Mistral closed her eyes and
sighed.

They sat in silence
for a few minutes until Phantom turned to Mistral with a glint of mischief
shining in his green eyes, ‘Nothing in there at all you say?’ 

‘Emptier than
a cask of ale after one of our card games in The Cloak,’ she confirmed
flippantly.

‘So, totally
open to a random suggestion just being popped in there then?’ 

‘Oh now
brother, let’s not be childish.’  Phantasm chided softly.  ‘We’re
here representing the Ri.  We simply cannot be seen to be misusing our
gift in such a way,’ he added, but pursed his lips and gazed thoughtfully at
the statue-like warlocks.

Mistral ducked
her head to hide the smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.  She could
hear his thoughts and knew he was already warming to the idea of a little
amusement to distract them.

‘You know
brother.’  Phantom said conversationally.  ‘I’ve always thought the
Council was a haven to the cultured arts.’

‘Ah,
indeed.  Theatre, dance –’

‘The ballet.’

‘Ah, the
ballet,’ said Phantasm longingly.  ‘Grace, power, precision.  Such
beauty.’

‘Have you ever
been to the ballet Mistral?’  Phantom enquired politely.

Mistral met
his sincere green eyes and shook her head, looking sorrowful, ‘No, but I would
so love to go.  Maybe one day I will,’ she sighed wistfully. 

‘Hear that
brother?’  Phantom exclaimed in tones of mock horror.  ‘Lady De
Winter has never been to the ballet!’

‘It’s a
tragedy that I feel should be rectified.’

‘With
immediate effect,’ agreed Phantom firmly. 

Mistral bit
her lips to stop herself from laughing out loud when the warlock on the right
hand side of the gate sudden twitched and slowly raised its arms into an
arc.  It stood there frozen for a moment before silently lifting up onto
the tips of its steel-capped boots and performing a slow pirouette. 

‘Of course.’
 Phantasm murmured.  ‘A true dance takes two.’

‘Ah, the grace
of a pas de deux,’ agreed Phantom with a simpering smile.

Mistral
snorted as the second Warlock shuffled gracelessly on the tips of its boots
towards its companion, ‘What’s that move called where they bend their knees?’

‘Ah yes, a
plié!  Nice idea Mistral!’ 

Pausing in
front of its counterpart, still revolving in a slow pirouette, the warlock
delivered a clumsy plié. 

Mistral choked
back the bubble of laughter threatening to erupt as the first warlock ceased
twirling and lowered its arms, placing both hands around the other’s middle it
proceeded to lift the huge creature slowly above its head.  With arms
outstretched the second warlock held its body in an ungainly imitation of a
bird in flight and hovered precariously in the air.

‘No
more!’  Mistral gasped, giving in and laughing helplessly.

‘Brother, I
feel that a suitably dramatic climax to the performance is in order.’

‘I
agree.  Nothing stirs the soul of the ballet lover like a grande jeté.’

Still holding
the second warlock above its head in an unnaturally stiff pose, the first
warlock took three heavy strides and leapt through the air, doing the full
splits and revealing frighteningly hairy legs in the process. 

Mistral was
howling with laughter, tears streaming down her face, ‘Oh!  That’s
hideous!’  the warlock landed and dropped its partner onto the ground with
a dull thud. 

‘Are you
ready?’ 

Fabian’s soft
voice made her jump and turn guiltily.  She leapt to her feet, hastily wiping
her eyes on her sleeve.

‘Mistral!’ 
Fabian ran lightly down the steps towards her.  ‘Why have you been
crying?’

‘It’s the
boredom Fabian.’  Mistral avoided the twins’ eyes.  ‘It just really
got to me.’

‘Since when
does boredom make you cry?’  Fabian frowned and glanced at the twins but
their faces were carefully composed into expressions of brotherly concern,
giving nothing away.  He glanced across the courtyard and saw the dropped
warlock lumbering to its feet.  ‘Please tell me that you haven’t been
amusing yourselves by goading the warlocks!’  he demanded in a low
voice.  ‘They are incredibly dangerous and violent creatures!’

‘I actually
think they’re quite beautiful … graceful even.’  Mistral disagreed,
forcing her face into a serious expression.

Phantom
snorted with laughter and Fabian glared at him before switching his gaze back
to Mistral, giving her a long assessing look.  She did her best to appear
innocent but could hear his unspoken suspicions and couldn’t conceal a flash of
guilt when she heard him correctly guess that they’d been using the twins’ gift
to make the warlocks perform for their amusement. 

He caught her
guilty look and narrowed his eyes, ‘I don’t think I want to know what you’ve
been doing,’ he growled.  ‘But I sincerely hope that you’ve done nothing
to jeopardise the reason we are here.’

‘Please rest
assured that we have behaved with impeccable propriety Mage De Winter.’
 Phantasm lied effortlessly.

Fabian raised
an eyebrow and took hold of Mistral’s hand, pulling her up the steps towards
the Council, ‘No more games,’ he muttered flatly, not looking at her while he
strode through the open doors, towing her along beside him.

‘No Fabian,’
she quickly smothered a grin when she caught Phantom performing a plié for his
brother.  She glanced at Fabian to see if he had noticed but he was
staring straight ahead, his beautiful dark eyes full of tension.  She was
instantly filled with guilt.  There she was, the Ri’s Seer, taking part in
childish pranks while her husband had selflessly endured a dull Council meeting
for a future that he only cared about because he wanted to share it with her.
 ‘Fabian?’ 

He turned to
look at her, his face tightly drawn.

Mistral looked
into the eyes of the man she adored and bit her lip, ‘I’m sorry about that, er,
slight deviation from my usual professional behaviour.’

Fabian snapped
his gaze round to stare rigidly straight ahead again and didn’t acknowledge her
apology for a moment.  They continued to walk across the gleaming white
marble floor of the atrium in stiff silence, ‘What did the twins make them
do?  A dance of some kind?’  he finally demanded in a terse mutter.

‘Ballet
actually.’  Mistral mumbled shamefully.

Fabian’s lips
twitched and Mistral stifled a smile, ‘I’m really sorry,’ she whispered.

‘No, I’m sorry
Mistral.’  Fabian sighed and turned to look at her, raising her hand to
his lips to brush the skin with a kiss.  ‘I know how boring you find all
this, and so do I!  But it was vital that Leo’s case was presented
following the correct protocol.’

Mistral
nodded, barely aware of a word he had spoken, she gazed into his velvet eyes,
‘I’ve never seen a ballet before,’ she murmured vaguely.

‘More boring
than twenty Council meetings in a row.’  Fabian replied with a smile.

‘I don’t know,
the one I saw was quite entertaining.’

‘I don’t doubt
it,’ he laughed softly and bent his head to kiss her.

‘What is our
remit in this devastatingly exciting affair?’  Phantom enquired,
inconsiderately interrupting them as usual.

Mistral sighed
and slipped out of Fabian’s arms to take his hand and walk beside him again.

‘None.’
 Fabian responded quietly and continued to walk across the atrium. 
‘Leo has formally declared his intention to stand.’

‘We heard.’
 Phantom rolled his eyes.