The Assassin's Tale (Isle of Dreams) (56 page)

‘Let me
go!’  Mistral screamed in outrage.  ‘She’s been trying to kill me for
months!  Just let me hit one more time!’

‘Absolutely
not,’ said Phantasm hotly.  ‘I think you’ve done quite enough for one
day.’

‘I’ll say she
has,’ snapped a cold voice from the door way. 

The
apprentices all spun around to stare into the icy blue gaze of their Training
Captain.  A ringing silence fell as Leo’s freezing glare swept the
shambolic scene before him.  Columbine had staggered to her feet and was
wiping blood from her mouth, the twins were still physically holding Mistral
back and Saul was stood over the unconscious body of their Training Lieutenant.

‘Saul,
Mistral, my room – now!’  Leo snapped.  ‘Grendel!  Get Barak up
to the Infirmary!  The rest of you get down to the Arena and clear the
snow.  You will be training outside this afternoon!’  with one final
glare in Mistral’s direction he spun on his heel and left, letting the door
slam behind him with a deafening bang.

Saul stepped
over Barak and left the room without a word but Mistral immediately began to
struggle with renewed vigour against the twins’ grip.

‘Let me go!’
she demanded, still utterly enraged.  ‘He’s going to chuck me out for sure
now!  Just let me finish that ugly bitch off before I go!’

Ignoring her demands
to be released the twins hauled her from the room, following Saul out through
the door and into the corridor.  Saul didn’t wait for them but strode on
ahead and was soon climbing the stairs to Leo’s tower room.

‘I think we’ll
wait here for your turn,’ said Phantasm quietly.  ‘Now, are you ready not
to commit murder yet?’

Mistral shot
him a look of pure venom.

‘The first
time in ages I have the chance to get even and you – you –’

‘Save your
chance of a second year’s apprenticeship?’  Phantasm interjected
smoothly.  ‘I know it was good of me, you can thank me later.’

Mistral
regaled him with a few suggestions about what he could do with a second year’s
training but was forced to cease when Saul reappeared at the base of the spiral
stone staircase. 

‘What did you
get?’  Phantom asked quickly.

‘A week on
punishment detail,’ he muttered darkly then gave Mistral a strange look. 
‘But that’s nothing compared to what you’re going to get,’ he said and abruptly
walked off.

The twins
gazed after his retreating back with curious expressions on their faces, still
keeping a firm hold on Mistral.

‘I wonder what
he meant by that?’

‘Who
cares!  Are you going to carry me up there or can I at least have the
dignity of walking to my own expulsion?’  Mistral seethed.  

The twins
instantly let go of her and stepped back, as though she were some dangerous
creature newly released from its cage.

‘Good
luck!’  Phantom called cheerfully as she stomped up the stairs. 

‘Oh, that was
uncalled for!’  Phantasm winced when Mistral’s foul response echoed loudly
down the stone stairwell. 

‘Shall we
wait?’  Phantom asked with a caring expression on his face.

‘Definitely,’
his brother agreed, leaning back against the wall and folding his arms. 
‘This is going to be good!’

Mistral stormed
up the stairs and marched straight up to the heavy door, throwing it open
without knocking only to instantly freeze on the threshold.  Leo was sat
at the wooden table, his face a hard mask of cold fury, but it wasn’t his
expression that had stopped Mistral.  Another figure stood over by the
window, looking out across the Valley, his tousled black hair and long, lean
outline more familiar to Mistral than her own reflection.  Her heart sank
like a stone.  Fabian was still here.  All the promises she had made
him about being more careful suddenly rang in her ears.  She wanted to
die.  He was going to be utterly furious with her.

‘It is
customary to knock at your Training Captain’s door.’  Leo snapped
icily.  ‘But since you are already inside my room, why don’t you sit
down.’

Mistral pulled
her gaze away from Fabian’s back.  He had not turned around, for which she
was grateful.  This was going to be bad enough without having to see the
disappointment on his face.

She walked
over to the chair Saul had obviously sat in.  It was pulled out at a
chaotic angle, as though the occupant had left in a rush and kicked it
out.  Mistral reached out and rested a hand on the back of the chair.

‘I prefer to
stand,’ she said, giving Leo an insolent look.

Leo’s eyes
blazed before he regained control and nodded curtly, ‘As you wish.  I
suppose even you are capable of listening whilst standing,’ he snapped and
remained seated, giving Mistral the small satisfaction of looking down on
him. 

‘Do you
actually want to retake your first year’s training?’  he demanded in a
voice like steel.

‘Not likely!’
 Mistral spat contemptuously.  ‘I think I’d rather die!’

Fabian stirred
slightly and Mistral immediately regretted her words.  Forcing a deep
breath into her lungs she made an effort to control the rage burning inside
her.

Leo narrowed
his eyes, ‘I rather think that may be inevitable given your temperament. 
You will have to learn to control your outbursts if you still intend to apply
for a second year’s training!’ 

‘Actually –’
Mistral began heatedly and then abruptly halted.  Fabian had turned his
head slightly to look at her.  His face was filled with a yearning so
pronounced that the angry words she was about to fling in Leo’s face died on
her lips. 

‘Actually, I would
really like to talk to you about that Master Sphinx,’ she continued in a calmer
voice. 

Fabian’s lips
twitched into the smallest semblance of a smile before he turned to face the
window again.

‘Oh?’ 
Leo eyed her suspiciously, thrown by her sudden shift in behaviour.

‘May I have
that seat now?’  Mistral asked politely, her hand still resting on the
back of the chair.

Leo nodded and
continued to scrutinise her carefully, his expression slightly bemused.

‘I have given
a lot of thought to a second year’s training,’ she said, gazing earnestly at
Leo but speaking every word only for Fabian’s benefit.  ‘And, if the Ri is
prepared to extend the offer to me, I would greatly appreciate the opportunity
to master Sight.’

Leo looked
momentarily surprised and leaned back on his chair, inhaling sharply. 
They sat in silence for a few moments while he continued to regard her through
narrowed eyes, as if weighing something up in his own mind.  She kept her
expression neutral and resisted the urge to look at Fabian, forcing herself
instead to calmly meet Leo’s calculating gaze.  Mistral could tell that
Leo was battling the urge to expel her against his desire to use her skills to
help him fulfil his ambitions.  Mistral fought down the smile that
threatened to pull up the corners of her mouth.  She already knew which
would win. 

‘I’ll see what
I can do,’ he said finally, dropping his gaze and shuffling a pile of parchment
on his desk together.  ‘In the meantime if I have any more trouble with
you it will be the last time.  This is your final warning.  You may
go.’

‘Thank you,’
she said politely, privately thinking how impressed with her performance the
twins would have been.

She pushed her
chair neatly back under the table and risked a glance in Fabian’s
direction.  He was smiling and it was all she could do to keep a grin from
erupting on her own face in response.

Closing the
door quietly behind her Mistral almost skipped with joy down the stairs, much
to the amazement of the twins who were still waiting patiently for her at the
bottom.

‘Why couldn’t
I hear shouting and the sounds of furniture being broken?’  Phantom
demanded looking almost disappointed.

Phantasm
regarded her for a moment, ‘What have you done Mistral?’ he asked softly.
 

‘Asked for a
second year’s apprenticeship,’ she said brightly and smiled.

‘Didn’t you
get a punishment for trying to pulverise Columbine?’  Phantom asked,
looking perplexed.

‘He must have
forgotten,’ she said, looking innocently bewildered.

‘I think
you’ve been spending too much time with us,’ Phantasm frowned.  ‘Because I
know you’re lying, but you’re even fooling me.  However, I suggest that
you don’t tell Golden that Leo hasn’t given you a punishment or she might look
upon you as a love rival.’

Mistral pulled
face, ‘Please, with my line of potential suitors?  Leo would have to get
behind Grendel and Konrad.  I’m such a lucky girl!’ she sighed
theatrically and began to saunter along the corridor, turning her head to call
over her shoulder.

‘Are you
coming for an early lunch?  I fancy a meal in The Cloak and Dagger – my
treat!’

The twins
watched her go with matching expressions of utter amazement on their faces.

‘What on earth
happened up there?’  Phantom asked in a mystified voice.

‘My money is
on a mind swap of some sort,’ Phantasm shrugged.  ‘But never mind that, a
free lunch beckons!’

They sat
together at a table in The Cloak and Dagger.  Mistral positioned herself
facing the door and ordered a plate of food she didn’t want.  She was
hoping that Fabian would guess that she would come here and stared fixedly at
the door, drumming her fingers lightly on the table top.

‘Told you …
mind swap,’ muttered Phantasm to his brother frowning at her strange behaviour.

‘Mistral. 
Mistral
!’  Phantom said loudly, making her jump and briefly tear
her gaze away from the door to meet his curious green stare.  ‘Just what
is going on?’

Mistral
immediately ripped her gaze away from his as the door banged open, but it was
only Xerxes and Brutus.  She sighed with disappointment and resumed her
finger-drumming and door-staring.  

Giving up, the
twins shook their heads and talked amongst themselves while they ate,
occasionally glancing over curiously at Mistral who had not touched her food or
spoken since sitting down.

The door
opened again and Mistral abruptly gasped and leapt to her feet.  Without
saying a word to the twins she flew across the room and literally flung herself
into the open arms of Fabian De Winter.

‘Oh, suddenly
everything is clear,’ said Phantom with a disgusted snort. 

‘Never mind,’ said
Phantasm consolingly.  ‘She’s left us her food.’

‘I’m so
sorry!  She threw a knife at me!  Please don’t be angry!  I
promise to try harder to fight the urge to kill her every time I see her!’
 Mistral gabbled as Fabian gently pulled her outside and into the empty
village square.

‘Hush
Mistral.  I’m not angry.  Saul was quite clear about what happened.’
 Fabian paused and looked at her searchingly.  ‘Did you mean what you
said to Leo?’

She gazed back
at him, instantly lost in his velvet eyes, ‘Every word.’

He grinned and
his face blazed triumphantly again.

‘Anyone would
think you don’t actually want a relationship with me the way you’re acting,’
she grumbled.

Fabian laughed
and pulled her in, flush to his body, ‘Don’t be ridiculous.  It’s going to
be hell, but it’ll be worth it when you are still alive at the end of your
training.’

‘Leo hasn’t
definitely offered me a place yet,’ she warned sulkily.

‘Oh, he will,’
said Fabian softly.  ‘I think you could have actually ripped Columbine’s
head off today and he would somehow have managed to overlook it if you had
agreed to stay on for a second year’s training –’

‘Shh! 
Don’t say another word,’ Mistral whispered urgently, pressing a hand against
his chest to stop him speaking.  ‘I’m holding that image in my head –’

‘What?
 Leo?’  Fabian demanded sharply.

‘Yuk!
 No!  Oh it’s gone now, damn it!  Me ripping Columbine’s head
off, of course!  But never mind,’ she sighed deeply.  ‘There’s always
training tomorrow.’

‘I don’t think
so,’ he growled.  ‘From now on you are on your best behaviour.’

‘Remind me
what I get out of this?’  Mistral asked in an exasperated voice.  ‘A
second year's training without even the redeeming glimmer of being able to
pound Columbine into the ground on a daily basis!’

Wordlessly,
Fabian reminded her. 

Mistral and
the twins were sat around a table close to the fire in the Main Hall, quietly
filling in their applications for a second year’s training.  It was early
evening and they were the only occupants in the room.  All the other
apprentices were already in The Cloak and Dagger, drinking to their impending
freedom.  The heavy silence in the large room was broken only by the sound
of the twins’ energetic writing and the occasional crackle from the fire when a
log shifted in the grate.

Mistral’s eyes
roamed over the lengthy document in her hand and felt her mind begin to wander
when she saw the endless series of questions that needed to be answered.

‘Have you seen
these questions?’  she demanded in disbelief. 

‘Surely even
you can manage the Name and Age section,’ responded Phantom distractedly.

‘And for
Skills don’t forget to list your sunny temperament and limitless patience,’
Phantasm added, not lifting his eyes from his own application. 

Mistral
glanced over at his and saw that he had already completed one side of the four
page document.  She sighed and shoved her form away.  It was too
boring to even contemplate filling in.  Instead she put her feet up on the
stool in front of her and glared moodily at the blazing fire.

‘So who else
is staying?’ she asked loudly over the sound of the twins’ furious writing.

Phantom looked
up, ‘I’m sure you’ll be pleased to know that Golden has applied.’

‘We all know
why!  Huh!  I’d like to see what she lists for “Skills”,’ Mistral
said with a disdainful curl of her lip.   

‘None of the
others are applying, although I’ll wager that Columbine will try just to stay
near Golden.  I doubt she’ll be accepted though, not unless you include
“murderous temperament” as an exceptional skill,’ said Phantom thoughtfully.

Mistral
nodded, she wouldn’t be sorry to see the back of the vicious Columbine, and it
would save her getting into any more trouble with Fabian for constantly
fighting with her.

‘Have the
others all signed up with Scrimshaw and Scuttle then?’  Mistral asked,
more to avoid filling in the form than out of any real interest. 

‘Hmm,’ said
Phantom absent-mindedly and turned over a page of his application to begin
writing again.  ‘Except Saul.  He’s signed up with Bragg and Napier.’

‘Why isn’t he
using the Ri’s Agency?’  Mistral asked in surprise.

Phantom didn’t
reply and after a short pause Phantasm looked up from his application and
frowned at her, ‘Bragg and Napier specialise in Mercenary work.  I think
Saul wants to travel.’

‘Oh.’  

Mistral looked
down and fiddled with her application form in the silence that followed. 
Saul had been avoiding her since his confession, but that hadn’t been too
difficult considering that he was spending the week on punishment detail and
was probably right now still working knee-deep in the manure pile or performing
some other unpleasant task for one of the Valley’s occupants.

‘There!’ 
Phantom exclaimed, signing his form with a satisfied flourish.  ‘All
done!  Come on Mistral, I’ll give you a hand –’ he reached over and
grabbed her form.  ‘Let’s see now.  What have you filled in so
far?  Ah, yes.  Name, well done you for putting down a full six
letters!  Age … never!  I had you down for so much older! 
Skills … hmm, think you’ve missed a few out there –’

Mistral stared
broodingly at the fire while Phantom began to complete the form, matching her
handwriting with an ease that would have guaranteed him a lucrative profession
in forgery.

‘Right! 
Contracts Undertaken During The Year … you’ve hardly put anything!  Now,
what have you done?’  Phantom asked, looking up at her expectantly.

‘Oh, I don’t
know, hunted down couple of knuckers I suppose –’

Mistral
mumbled distractedly before sighing deeply and resuming her fire-gazing. 
Most of her Contracts had been undertaken in a state of blank numbness during
the time when Fabian was away, and she struggled to remember that time clearly
at all. 

Unperturbed by
her obvious lack of enthusiasm, Phantom began to list the many Contracts they
had undertaken together throughout the year.

‘Troll one,
obviously not a resounding success, might leave that one out ... knuckers – how
many have you seen off this year Mistral?’

Mistral
shrugged disinterestedly, ‘Don’t know … six maybe?’

Phantom
snorted, ‘Try about fifteen!  Right, what about that bestra? 
Remember, we spent two nights camped in the Southern Range hunting that great
big smelly thing!’

‘I’d forgotten
about that.  I’ve no idea why we were sent to hunt it, they’re pretty
harmless.’

‘Another one
of those obscure “Master Nox Requests” Contracts that has no obvious purpose,
although I’m sure there is one somewhere,’ Phantasm murmured while he read
through his own completed application.

‘And,’
continued Phantom with an exasperated look on his face, ‘you’ve totally missed
off the gargillian we were Contracted to dispatch!’

Mistral looked
at him blankly.

‘Oh please
wake up Mistral!  We spent a long, miserable, cold and really wet night
hiding in some reeds on a river bank waiting for the damned thing to turn
up!  And when it did you flew at it like a personal enemy!  I guess
it reminded you of Columbine – anyway, you got bitten quite badly and I had to
clean you up because you refused to go to the Infirmary.  You’ve got a
scar on your lower back.’

Mistral nodded
absently and then frowned.  Another scar.  She wondered darkly what
on earth Fabian would think of all the marks on her body when he finally got to
see it, if he ever did … 

‘Then there
was the gargoyle nest you cleared out, and let’s not forget that eventful time
when we all took a Council Contract to track down and capture a renegade band
of goblins that were robbing travellers in The Emerald Forests.  You and
Saul ended up brawling with three of them!’

‘Now I do
remember that,’ said Mistral with a fond smile.  ‘Happy times.’

‘Yes, before
you made everything complicated.’  Phantom murmured, swiftly bending his
head and resuming his frantic scribbling to avoid the scorching glare Mistral
gave him.

‘Look, don’t
make out that I’m like Golden or something!’  Mistral snapped.  ‘I
had no idea that Saul felt that way!  It’s not as though I’ve been
encouraging him by being in such a lovely mood is it?  He obviously just
has bad taste!  But if I had known he felt that way, I wouldn’t have let
him suffer.  I know how that feels.’

Phantasm
looked over at her and frowned, ‘Mistral, nobody in their right mind could ever
compare you to Golden.  You are worth ten of that scrawny
half-nymph!  And you can’t blame yourself for the way Saul feels. 
You set him straight as soon as you knew the truth.  He’ll get over it.’

Mistral looked
at him in surprise.  It wasn’t like Phantasm to compliment her, but before
she could comment Phantom looked up at her, his green eyes troubled. 

‘Have you done
any Assassination Contracts Mistral?  Only I can’t recall you doing any,
but there was a time when if you weren’t training or sleeping you were out of
the Valley on Contracts –’

‘No,’ said
Mistral shortly, cutting him off mid-flow.

Phantom fell
silent while he put a cross next to the particular question and continued to
write down details of the various other Contracts that Mistral had undertaken.

‘There,’ he
said after a few more minutes of enthusiastic writing.  ‘I think that’s all
of them, but you’d better just read through and check.’  Phantom slid the
application form across the table towards Mistral who glanced at it briefly
before returning her gaze to the fire and sighing deeply again, making Phantasm
look up in irritation.

‘What’s wrong
Mistral?  I thought you were happy about applying for a second year? 
Or was Monday’s bizarre behaviour a dream I had?’

‘No, no, that
was me … and I am happy about it … sort of,’ Mistral murmured evasively. 

Phantom looked
at her keenly, ‘Is it about Mage De Winter again?’

Mistral tutted
and looked out of the window, ‘You think everything is about Fabian as far as
I’m concerned.’

‘Well, it
usually is,’ Phantom said fairly and regarded her thoughtfully.  ‘Come to
think of it, how come you’re always back here of an evening and not at his
house?  It’s taken you long enough to admit how you feel about him.
 I thought you’d have moved in with him by now!  So what’s with the
chaste act?’

Mistral shot
him a filthy look and didn’t answer.  A tense silence fell. 

Phantasm
frowned and leaned across the table, forcing her to meet his piercing green
eyes.

‘Tell me
what’s wrong,’ he ordered.  ‘I’ve watched you suffer in silence over the
last three months and, against my better judgement, I didn’t interfere. 
But not anymore.  Tell me.  Now!’

Mistral
attempted a half-hearted scowl but gave up and sighed dejectedly, resting her
chin on her hand, ‘Apparently,’ she said heavily, ‘Sight is affected by
emotional changes.’

Phantasm
looked briefly surprised then nodded thoughtfully, ‘Yes, I can see that would
make sense, and it explains why you had trouble reading auras when you were so
low.  But surely everything is fine now that you and your Mage are finally
together?’

‘That’s just
the problem,’ Mistral mumbled unhappily.  ‘We’re not together.  Not
really.  Since I’m not allowed to
feel
any differently our
relationship can’t change.’

Phantasm and
Phantom shared a confused look before Phantom’s face suddenly dropped when he
grasped what Mistral was trying to tell them.

‘Oh no! 
Give me that application now!’ 

‘Why?’ 
Mistral demanded, resting her hand defensively over her application form.

‘Because I’m
going to burn it!  There is no way I’m spending another year with you
being a bundle of pent up frustration!  Give it to me!’

Phantasm
suppressed a sigh and leaned back with his arms folded, patiently watching his
brother and Mistral fighting over her application form until Mistral cuffed
Phantom soundly and he abruptly sat back down, rubbing his ear angrily.

‘My ears are
ringing!  That really hurt!’

Phantasm
rolled his eyes wearily, ‘Look you two, please just be quiet for one minute –
and give me those –’ he reached across and deftly snatched up both of their
application forms before they could react.  ‘I will finish yours off
Mistral and hand it in to Master Sphinx myself.  I don’t think I trust
Phantom with it at the moment.

‘So,’ he
continued, turning to look at her, completely unabashed, ‘how long is this
enforced ban on your love life for?’

It was so
typical of Phantasm to regard everything objectively that Mistral almost
smiled, ‘Until Sight is established,’ she sighed.

‘Well let’s
just hope you’re a fast learner,’ muttered Phantom, still rubbing his ear
resentfully.  ‘Or those poor first years are going to get annihilated in
every training session!  You do realise that second years are meant to set
an example don’t you?  What on earth is your behaviour going to say? 
That mindless violence is the answer to any problems they might have?’

‘Oh, stop being
so dramatic Phantom!’  Mistral said sharply.  ‘Besides, there’ll be
no fun in beating up first years.’

‘You seem to
have enjoyed it so far!’  Phantom retorted.

‘That’s
because I’m a first year too!’

‘I am sure
that Mistral will be a shining beacon of control and patience,’ interrupted
Phantasm smoothly.  ‘Now, can we please discuss the matter in hand?’

Mistral and
Phantom continued to glare angrily at each other across the table for a while
longer before Phantom finally shrugged his shoulders and looked at his brother.

‘What matter?’
he asked moodily.

‘The
applications,’ Phantasm said patiently.  ‘Is there anything else you want
me to add before I take them off, hopefully, to be approved.’

‘Who has to
approve them?’  Mistral asked, a sudden flash of concern crossing her
face.

‘Anyone who
has had a hand in your training,’ explained Phantasm.  ‘So in your case it
will be all three of the Training Lieutenants –’

Mistral bit
her lip.  Caleb and Barak clearly thought she was a trouble-maker and she
couldn’t recall actually ever speaking to Cyrus.

‘Master
Sphinx, obviously and Mistress Lightwater, mind you, she’ll have no problem
approving you considering the amount of time you’ve spent in her company this
year –’

Mistral pulled
a face at him.

‘And final approval
will be made by the Divinus himself,’ finished Phantasm.

‘But he’s
never seen us train or anything!’  Mistral exclaimed.

‘Of course
not.  He’s blind.’

‘I know
that!  You know what I meant!’