The Seer (19 page)

‘And now he
has other business dealings to attend to which we are mercifully not required
for, so –’ he left his sentence unfinished.

‘So?’ 
Mistral prompted half-heartedly, expecting news of more long waits or worse, a
Council meeting to suffer.

‘So –’ Fabian
repeated, suddenly smiling disarmingly at her.

She frowned
and then gasped out aloud at the thoughts she heard in his mind, ‘We’re finally
free to hunt dragons?’ 

Fabian laughed
at her reaction, ‘Yes.  But first you all need to register your names and
collect the license.  I’ll show you where to go.’

‘You’re not
coming with me?’  Mistral’s face instantly fell.

‘Of course I
am,’ he smiled at her dismayed expression and lifted a hand to gently stroke
her cheek.  ‘There’s a small matter I need to attend to first.’

‘Oh that –’

‘Yes. 
That,’ he finished quietly. 

She smiled and
took his hand again, letting him lead her over to one of the featureless black
doors set in the back wall of the atrium. 

‘This is the
office.  I will join you shortly.’ 

Mistral nodded
then quickly reached up to whisper words of love into his ear before kissing
him and stepping back, watching him stride away to disappear through one of the
other doors.

‘Where, what
and why?’  Phantom demanded irritably.

Mistral
grinned smugly at him, ‘Bet you wish you hadn’t nagged me to get my gift sorted
now don’t you?’

‘Definitely. 
Now do share or I will get seriously tetchy.’

‘And that’s
never a pretty sight.’  Mistral pulled a face.  ‘Well, in answer to
your question ... the vaults … a bag of money … to put it back,’ she answered
succinctly. 

‘Ah of
course.’  Phantom sighed with satisfaction and then immediately looked
shocked.  ‘But don’t you want to go?  The De Winter vaults are
reputed to be full of fabulous jewellery and antiques, and it’s half yours
now!’

‘Definitely
not.  I married him, not some damned cellar full of dusty relics!’

‘You really
were dropped on your head as a baby weren’t you?’  Phantom tutted then
turned to his brother with a sigh.  ‘I suppose we ought to drag our
brothers away from whatever salubrious company they’ve managed to find and get
this license sorted.’

Whilst the
twins used their gift Mistral wandered across the atrium and made a conscious
effort to block Fabian’s thoughts from her mind.  She didn’t want to know
what was in the De Winter vaults, even less how he felt about seeing objects
that could only remind him of an unhappy childhood. 

She gazed
broodingly at the only item of decoration in the atrium; a life-size portrait
of Mage Grapple, unflatteringly complete with scars and habitually unsmiling
expression. 

‘Doesn’t look
a bit like Master Sphinx does he?’  Phantom whispered in her ear.

She tilted her
head slightly and studied the portrait’s glassy-eyed stare, ‘Oh I don’t know …
Leo’s about as animated as an oil canvas.’

‘Please don’t
be facetious about either of our esteemed leaders Mistral!’  Phantasm
chided, gliding up beside her to examine the portrait.

‘Mage
Hibbert!  Well I never knew he dabbled,’ he exclaimed, bending to read the
flamboyant signature at the bottom of the painting.

‘Hmm, did he
do the ones of you two I saw in your mother’s house?’  Mistral asked,
pretending to be interested in the finer details of the gilt frame.  She
felt the twins horrified stares boring into the side of her head and turned to
look at them with a grin.  ‘So much capacity for future negotiation has
just opened up before me,’ she sighed happily.

‘Oh look here
come Xerxes and the others.’  Phantom said quickly and abruptly walked off
to meet a flushed looking Xerxes.

‘Good
time?’  Mistral asked, pulling a face at the blast of alcoholic fumes that
met her when Xerxes replied.

‘Fantastic! 
Mages can’t gamble to save their lives!’

‘Good job they
can weave spells then isn’t it?’  Phantasm replied, looking pointedly at
Xerxes’ empty money purse hanging from his belt.

Xerxes
followed his gaze and let out a cry of dismay, ‘Of all the damnable, cheating
low-life scum!’

‘Who’s Council
we are stood in!’  Phantasm reminded him sharply. 

Xerxes hiccoughed
and nodded absently, gazing sorrowfully at his depleted money bag.

‘Ready to hunt
some dragons then?’  Mistral demanded impatiently.

‘Oh, lead on
sister!  I was born ready!’

‘Yes Xerxes, I
am sure you were.  And I’m also sure that few dragons have crossed your
path before today as well.’

‘Now, that’s
no way to talk about my rather fine repertoire of lady friends.’  Xerxes
reprimanded her with a lopsided smile. 

‘Really? 
Oh well, we can argue about that later … here we go!’  Mistral shoved open
the black door Fabian had shown her.  She stepped into the Council’s
administrative office and was immediately greeted by the coldly enquiring gaze
of two officious looking Mages sat behind a long ebony desk.

‘Hired dragon
hunting party is it?’ 

Xerxes raised
his eyebrows at the Mage who had snapped out the question and said
nothing. 

‘That’s
us!’  Cain confirmed cheerfully.  ‘Shut the door behind you Grendel
won’t you … there’s a terribly fresh draught running through,’ he said with a
dramatic shiver, smiling at the Mages joint expressions of distaste when the
half-troll lumbered into their small office. 

‘We need your
names for the license.  Please step forward one at a time and speak
clearly.’  

 Xerxes
and Brutus shared a brief look before Xerxes swaggered up to the desk
first. 

‘Name?’ 

‘Xerxes.’

The Mage bent
his head and scratched Xerxes’ name onto the parchment then looked up at him
expectantly, his quill poised to write again, ‘And?’

‘And
what?’  Xerxes looked briefly puzzled before his face cleared and he
grinned.  ‘Oh, yes, how could I forget?  I’m an exceptional –’

Brutus
laughed, ‘No brother, I think the Mage is referring to the fact that he
expected our mother to come up with two equally splendid names.’

‘Not possible
I’m afraid.’  Xerxes sighed apologetically.  ‘A name as unsurpassable
as mine simply cannot be added to or improved upon.’

The Mage
stared at him coldly, ‘No second name?  Your father’s perhaps?’

The sour-faced
Mage next to him leaned over and muttered disdainfully in his colleague’s ear,
‘They’re half-breeds Powers.  They won’t know their fathers.’  

The warriors
stirred.  Xerxes’ face became very still.  ‘No, no second name. 
It’s only your breed that are so unsure of their identities they feel compelled
to name their children twice.’

The Mage, who
they now knew was called Powers, raised his head slowly to meet Xerxes’
insolent look.  The air around him shimmered fractionally.  ‘Are you
the party leader, oh kingly one?’  

‘No, that
would be me.’  Mistral stepped forward to stand beside Xerxes, meeting the
Mage’s disdainful look with a defiant stare.

‘Name?’

‘Mistral De
Winter.’

The mage
snapped his head up to give her a sceptical look, ‘Mistral De Winter?  Are
you the wife of Mage De Winter?’

‘Well I’m
obviously not his mother!’  Mistral snapped.  ‘And that’s Lady De
Winter to you!’  She added brusquely.  ‘Now, is there a problem with
my hunting party?’

‘None at all
Lady De Winter.  I do apologise for the delay.’  Mage Powers murmured
insincerely while he wrote her name down.

The second
Mage suddenly spoke up, ‘And will your husband be joining you on the hunt?’

‘Sorry, you
are?’  Mistral looked at him like he was something nasty on the toe of her
boot.

His chin
receded slightly into the wattled skin of his neck, ‘Mage Silver.’

‘Mage
Sliver?  What an unfortunate name ... yes,’ she continued before Mage
Silver could correct her, ‘Fabian will be joining us on the hunt, that’s if he
doesn’t find something more suitable to kill nearer to home.’

Brutus and
Xerxes laughed quietly.

‘If we could
continue?’  Mage Powers snapped.

‘By all
means.’  Mistral replied coolly.  ‘Brothers?  Give your names
please, and don’t bother with any jokes.  I think humour has been cut from
the Council budget.’

The warriors
stepped forward one by one and gave their names, spelling them out with
painstaking care.  Mistral could hear the arrogant and contemptuous
thoughts of the two Mages and scowled at them.  Her brothers were about to
risk their lives on yet another Council Contract that could easily be carried
out by any of their members willing to get their over-privileged hands slightly
bloody for once.  Finally the twins stepped up, the last to give their
names. 

‘Phantasm …
that’s P –’

Mage Silver
studied him closely and frowned, ‘I’ve seen you two in the Council a lot this
year.  You’re the Ri’s Gemini aren’t you?  But there’s something
familiar about you both,’ he studied Phantasm’s face closely before leaning
back in his chair with a puzzled look on his face.  ‘Aren’t you Preston
Argyle’s boys?’

The twins
stared silently at him, their faces expressionless then Phantasm turned back to
Mage Powers and continued spelling out his name, ‘Then H … A –’

‘You
are!  I thought I recognised you!  You’re those funny little
half-bloods Melsina brought to the school!’

Phantasm’s
face was stone, ‘To be bullied by all the nice full-blooded children. 
Yes, I have such fond memories of our time here.  It’s enough to bring a
tear to my eye.’

Mage Silver
glanced over at the name his colleague was writing down and lifted an eyebrow,
‘That’s not the name I knew you by!  It was –’

‘A long time
ago!’  Mistral leaned across the desk threateningly.  ‘Now, can we
please get on with it?  Only I’m sure this Contract has a fairly tight
deadline that didn’t include wasting time on pointless chit-chat with two
incompetent morons!’

‘Subtle as
ever.’  Cain sighed as the Mages’ jaws dropped in astonishment.

Mage Silver
finished taking the twins’ names in sullen silence, finally signing the license
with a practised flourish before passing it wordlessly to Mistral. 

‘Payment up
front I believe,’ she demanded, holding her hand out over the table.

The two Mages
stared at her with scandalised looks on their faces.  ‘This is an
outrage!’  Mage Silver spluttered.

Mistral rolled
her eyes, ‘I’m sure you probably think it is.  And yes, I am impertinent,
rude, ill-mannered and all of the other insults you’re thinking but daren’t
say!  Now
please
pay my brothers for the job you’re too cowardly to
do!’

Mage Powers
eyed her coldly, ‘It is highly irregular to be paid in advance.’

‘Really? 
I can’t think why.’  Mistral folded her arms.  ‘Could it be that the
Council might save some money if there are fatalities on the Contract?’

Mage Powers’
eyes hardened, ‘Just what are you insinuating Lady De Winter?’

Mistral heard
the soft rasp of a sword being drawn and knew Phantasm was itching for an
excuse, ‘I got this,’ she muttered, not taking her eyes from Mage Powers. 
‘You are the one to watch.  How you hate half-breeds!  Why, I
wonder?’  she narrowed her eyes, forcing her mind into his, pushing aside
his suddenly panicking thoughts to reach the one he was trying desperately to
hide from her.  ‘Oh my!’  she murmured with a smile.  ‘Did you
really?  Well she certainly gets around!  Glad to hear she started as
she meant to go on.  Well, I hope that you are not too embittered by your
double loss.’

‘Wait here
while I collect the money from the vault!’  Mage Powers abruptly strode
from the room, his cheeks flushed with anger.

Mage Silver
watched his colleague’s exit then gave Mistral a speculative look, ‘You are the
Ri’s Seer now?’

She shrugged,
‘Amongst other things.’

A tense
silence fell until Mage Powers returned with a large bag of money clasped in
his hands, ‘Your fee,’ he said shortly and tipped the bag out onto the
desk. 

Some of the
money rolled across the desk and fell onto the floor.  No-one made a move
to retrieve it but stood in silence until the last
chink
of falling
coins had ended. 

Mistral unfolded
her arms and leaned against the desk edge, more coins spilling away beneath her
gripping fingers, ‘Did you really expect us to fall upon it like desperate
thieves?’  Her voice began to rise dangerously.  ‘Is this how
your
kind
show respect?  You disgust me!’

‘Is everything
satisfactory Mage Powers?’

Fabian’s quiet
voice silenced Mistral instantly.  She glowered at Mage Powers while
Fabian strode into the room to stand beside her. 

‘Er, not
quite, Mage De Winter.’  Mage Powers dropped his gaze.  ‘There seems
to be an issue with the fee.’

‘Yes, I can
see that.’  Fabian glanced at the coins spilled across the desk. 
‘However, I’m sure it was simply a mistake that you are about to correct.’

They watched
in stony silence while a sullen-faced Mage Powers scraped up the scattered
coins and counted them out into eight separate piles.  He carefully swept
each pile into its own leather purse then pulled the drawstring tight. 
 

‘Thank you.’
 Fabian collected two bags from the neat line and passed one to Mistral.

‘So very
kind.’  Cain gave a mock bow when he stepped up to collect one of the
bags, his brothers following suit with similarly sarcastic displays of
gratitude until they had all been paid.

‘Now, we just
need to collect our babysitters then we can kill some dragons!’  Xerxes
announced loudly, throwing his cloak on and pulling the hood up.

‘No need
brother.’  Mistral murmured.  ‘They’re already here.’