The Seer (49 page)

Fabian
shrugged, ‘She was a kind woman, but guilty of misplaced loyalty when it came
to my father.  She believed that the name of De Winter instantly
bequeathed him with the ability to make good judgements, and she was sadly
mistaken.’

‘Do you want
our son to have a nursemaid?’  Mistral asked with a sudden frown. 
She had no idea how Fabian expected their son to be raised.

Fabian let out
a harsh bark of laughter and strode over to pull her to her feet and into his
arms, ‘No!  I want our son to be loved by his parents, not a paid
assistant!’

‘Oh good.’
 Mistral sighed with relief.  ‘Because I had thought that Prospero
might want the job.  Talking of which, he’s disgraced himself already –’

They strolled
together to the galley while Mistral relayed Prospero’s dead rat
incident.  After breakfast Fabian and Mistral returned to the deck to discuss
the plans he and Gleacher had agreed on. 

‘But how will
we draw a party of Rochfortes hornets out of their nest without getting
stung?  There’ll only be the two of us!  I know I like a challenge,
but even I think that’d be a suicide mission!’ 

‘We won’t have
to go to the stronghold Mistral, the Rochfortes will come to us.’

‘What? 
But how will they know we’re here?’ 

‘Before he
passed the Divinus informed Leo and I that the Rochfortes were watching all the
local ports for any Ri or Council ships.  I have no doubt they will be
informed very quickly of our arrival.’

Mistral pulled
a face, ‘Puts a bit of a dampener on our honeymoon then doesn’t it? 
Waiting for the inevitable attempt on our lives in the middle of the night by a
horde of Rochfortes!’

Fabian
laughed, ‘There’s no need to be quite so melodramatic.  We will be mooring
in a small fishing village.  I doubt very much that it will be under
constant surveillance.  By the time word of a Ri ship arriving reaches
Etienne we should have been able to round up the herd and secure them, leaving
us free to focus on watching for their arrival –’ 

‘But, won’t
whoever does notice that a Ri ship has docked just use Expediency to get the
news back to Etienne?  They’ll be able to travel much faster than we can.’

‘The
Rochfortes won’t be watching the ports themselves; it’s the type of menial task
they would consider beneath them.  They will have paid some of the locals
to keep an eye out for our ships.’

‘Local? 
As in ... human?’   

Fabian nodded,
‘Which means it will take more time for word to reach Etienne.  However,
the bad news is that once Etienne is informed of a palomino and a firebrand
being unloaded from the hold of a Ri ship he will immediately know that you and
I are here.  He saw enough of Spirit and Cirrus during the ride from
Blackneath to the Council last year to recognise them again instantly.’ 
Fabian paused and narrowed his eyes thoughtfully.  ‘Perhaps we should use
Gleacher’s horse and buy another at the dock –’

‘No thanks.’
 Mistral said quickly.  ‘If we end up fleeing for our lives I want to
be on a horse I know and trust!’

‘Then we are
just left with the timescale to calculate.  Our destination is a less than
a day’s ride from the fishing port.  The Rochforte stronghold is further
to the west, perhaps even another day’s ride.  That gives us at least a
day’s grace before Etienne is informed of our arrival at the port.  It
will take at least another day for a party to reach us, giving us a total of a
two day head start.’

‘But how will
he know where we are?  Will we be followed?’

‘We will be
docking in a small village Mistral.  News of strangers arriving will
spread like wildfire amongst the locals.  They will be naturally curious
to know what a foreign ship is doing there and question the crew at every
opportunity.’ 

‘Yes but, the
crew are Ri aren’t they?  They’ll know not to talk about the Contract.’

‘Yes, they are
Ri and would never divulge the details of a Contract.  However, we don’t
want to prevent the news of our arrival from reaching Etienne, merely delay
it.  Gleacher has instructed the crew to remain on board for the first
night then appear to sneak off the ship during the second day to do what all
bored warriors do when faced with a week long wait and nothing to occupy their
time other than –’

‘– head to the
local tavern, drink, play cards and flirt with the local women,’ sighed
Mistral.

Fabian gave
her a wry smile, ‘Precisely that.  Gleacher will instruct them to
accidently let slip the purpose of our visit and then the fun begins.’

Mistral turned
to look at him; he was staring out to sea, the breeze blowing his tousled hair
back from his face to expose his ivory skin and dark eyes, shining with
anticipation of the forthcoming adventure.  She smiled and leaned her head
against his shoulder, feeling his arm tighten around her in response.

‘I will make
sure you are in no danger Mistral.  The Rochfortes want you alive; you are
of no use to their plans otherwise.  However, we need to have completed
our Contract and be ready to leave before they arrive.  I’m not keen on
the idea of you fighting at the best of times, and even less in your current
condition,’ he paused to smile softly at her then turned to look back out
across the waves, towards their unseen destination.  ‘I want you to read
at least two of their party,’ he continued.  ‘Three would be ideal, then
it would be simply too bloodthirsty for Etienne to remove the risk –’

‘What?’ 
Mistral interrupted with a shocked look.  ‘Are you seriously suggesting
that Etienne would have one of his own kinsmen killed just because I’d read
them?’

Fabian turned
to look at her, ‘Without a doubt Mistral.  They know of a Seer’s ability
to read a subject remotely.  It was, after all, why their plan failed the
last time.  They will not take that risk again.’

Mistral
dropped her gaze.  She didn’t particularly care to be reminded of the
hellish time she’d spent in the basement of the De Winter mansion.  A
sudden thought pricked at her mind, ‘But I’ve read both Etienne and Christopher
before!  Won’t they be worried that I’m reading them remotely?’

‘Yes, that’s
something I’ve been thinking about too, and I’ve come to the conclusion that
they must believe they can evade your gift.  Both were fairly adept at
controlling their thoughts when the Divinus was reading them last year. 
It is also possible they believe you have not yet developed your gift enough to
be able to read subjects remotely; it took the Divinus several years to master
that aspect of Sight.’

‘Well they’re
right about me not being able to read remotely when it comes to them.’
 Mistral sighed then frowned.  ‘I can’t believe that they’d kill any
kinsmen I managed to read just to prevent me from reading them remotely! 
Talk about double standards!  Etienne and Christophe must know I read them
at the Council last year, and they can’t be sure that I can’t read them
remotely.  By rights those two should kill themselves to eradicate the
risk!’ 

Fabian laughed
shortly, ‘That would be most convenient, but I sincerely doubt it will
happen.  And as for you being able to See Etienne and Christophe remotely,
I believe that will change when we reach France.  I’m sure being in closer
proximity to them will allow to you access their thoughts.’

Mistral sighed
at the promise of more fun subjects to read, ‘So back to the timescale ... how
much time can we spend herding up the unicorns?’  She asked quickly to
bring the subject round to something more positive.

‘By my
estimation, three days.  That should give the Rochfortes enough time to send
a small reconnaissance party out provide you with an opportunity to read
them.  Then we must leave immediately for the port.  If we remain any
longer we will run the risk of Etienne sending in the full might of the
Rochforte army.  If that happens I don’t fancy our chances, not even by
Xerxes’ usually over-ambitious reckoning.’

Mistral
smiled.  Suddenly thinking of her brothers and the Valley she remembered
her earlier promise and turned to Fabian, her smile morphing into a resigned
expression.  ‘Would you like me to read Malachi?’ 

Fabian nodded,
‘And Leo.’

Quelling a
wave of resentment at the prospect of spending the next hour inside the mind of
a morbid half-vampire then her emotionless brother-in-law, Mistral 
settled herself more comfortably against Fabian’s side and cleared her mind of
all thoughts, preparing to See. 

Gleacher was
even more taciturn than usual at dinner, which, thanks to Fabian’s request, was
roast boar.  Mistral was pleased to be able to give the meal her full
attention and not be required to try and join in the non-existent
conversation.  Fabian seemed unperturbed by the silence at the dinner
table, watching Mistral with an amused expression while she demolished two
servings of meat.  By contrast Gleacher ate nothing and stared broodingly
out at the moonlit sea.  Quickly refusing the desert she was offered with
a repulsed look, Mistral was relieved that Fabian also turned down his portion;
it had looked suspiciously like the same sweet, honey-coated cakes they had
been served at the Divinus’ funeral banquet.

‘Still can’t
abide the sight of honey?’  Fabian asked.

‘Please don’t
mention that word around me!’  Mistral grimaced and reached out for her
glass of water. 

The ship’s
captain entered the galley and spoke softly to Gleacher.  The room was so
quiet that Fabian and Mistral could hear every word.  ‘We have been
fortunate with the winds Master Shacklock.  I expect to dock shortly after
dawn.  Do you have any specific instructions?’

Gleacher’s
grey eyes swivelled over to meet Fabian’s, ‘Keep the ship ready for immediate
departure.  I want you to take the crew into the local tavern on the
second day.  Have the appearance of being drunk and inadvertently allow
the reason for our presence to become known to the locals, and then return to
the ship and be prepared for a fight.’

If the captain
considered any of Gleacher’s instructions unusual he gave no sign but merely
nodded and left the room as quietly as he had entered.  Fabian shared a
brief look with Gleacher before turning back to Mistral.  Finding her
picking at the last slice of meat on the platter he raised his eyebrows in an
expression of amusement.  ‘Would you like any more to eat?  Only I am
sure the cook could roast another boar if you so wish.’

‘Thank you,
but I am replete.’  Mistral feigned a prim look and then patted her full
stomach contentedly.  ‘Or I should say; we are replete.’

Gleacher
glanced sharply at Mistral.  A shadow crossed his face before he turned to
Fabian, speaking for the first time that evening.  ‘Your plan is foolish
De Winter.  You risk too much to satisfy a personal obsession!’

Mistral was
surprised by the anger in his voice.  She’d been under the impression that
he and Fabian had ironed out all of their differences. 

‘You are the
Ri’s Contracts Officer Gleacher and neither my Agent nor my conscience!  I
fail to see how this matter affects you!’  Fabian snapped back.

‘Your wife is
with child!  She should be safe in the Valley, not being used as bait for
the Rochfortes!’

Fabian sprang
to his feet so quickly that he was already leaning across the table before
Mistral heard the chair hit the floor.  In a heartbeat Gleacher was also
standing, glaring angrily at him across the narrow table. 

‘Bait?’ 
Fabian repeated softly.  ‘You accuse me of using my own wife, whose
condition I am well aware of, as
bait
?’

Gleacher
glared icily at Fabian, leaning across the table to push his face closer,
spitting his words out with venom.  ‘You have been more blessed than you
deserve De Winter!  Despite the life you have led you have a wife and now
a child, yet you would chance it all just to satisfy some blood feud!’

‘I care
nothing for the feud between the tribes of Rochforte and Noble, only for the
future!  Etienne conspires to control the Isle, and what of our lives then
Gleacher?  Will the Ri exist under such puritanical rule?  I agree
that I have been more blessed than I ever thought possible with the life I now
have, but it will be over before my son is born if I do not act!  Make no
mistake!  The Rochfortes will attempt to seize control from Mage Grapple,
and we
need
to know Etienne’s plans or the Isle will fall!’  Fabian
held Gleacher’s gaze for a long moment before speaking again in a calmer
voice.  ‘Mistral is the only Seer on the Isle.  If there were any
other alive I swear it would be them with me now, and not her.’

A silence fell
while Gleacher and Fabian continued to lock glares across the table, ‘If you
persist on going through with your plan then I must insist on accompanying
you.’  Gleacher said finally.  

‘No.’

‘Forget your
pride De Winter!  If it comes to a fight you will be outnumbered!’

‘It will not
come to a fight.  A Rochforte party only need to be within Mistral’s range
of vision for her to read some of them.  They will not be within sword
range and cannot risk arrow fire.  Etienne wants Mistral alive, not dead.’

Gleacher shook
his head angrily, ‘The risk is too great!  I must come with you!  If
–’

‘No,
Gleacher.  You must stay.’  Fabian cut across him in a hard
voice.  ‘It is my name on the Contract, not yours.  Your task is to
keep the ship and the crew kept ready to sail.  A swift exit will be vital
to our success.’

Gleacher let
out an angry breath, ‘I think you’re making a dangerous mistake, but as you
rightly point out; it’s not my name on the Contract –’ he paused and when he
spoke again his voice was bitter.  ‘If our roles were reversed, I would
not chance what you have.’

‘Then we would
look forward to an Isle ruled by Rochfortes.  I bid you goodnight.’