The Assassin's Tale (Isle of Dreams) (6 page)

‘Neither I’m
happy to say!  They’re both too high maintenance!’  Mistral laughed,
not in the least offended.  She’d expected everyone make that assumption
considering that she and the twins had been inseparable during the last week.

‘Looks like I
won the bet then,’ he grinned, then added.  ‘I saw you out on that black horse
today, he’s a handful!  You’re a good rider.’

Mistral
nodded, accepting the compliment, ‘He’s definitely a handful,’ she said with a
rueful smile.  ‘I think my bruises have got bruises of their own now.’

She’d spent
most of the last week as much on Cirrus’ back as being thrown off it onto the
frozen ground.  He was proving a difficult horse to master but Mistral
refused to be daunted by the challenge.  Lifting her goblet and draining
the last mouthful, Mistral set it down and yawned, suddenly feeling every ache
and sore muscle. 

‘Sorry,’ she
muttered, yawning again.  ‘Long day falling out of the saddle … see you in
the morning Saul.’

‘Goodnight
Mistral,’ he smiled, adding softly.  ‘Sleep well.’

Rising wearily
to her feet, Mistral slowly climbed the stairs to her room with thoughts of
tomorrow’s looming Registration occupying her tired mind.

Mistral awoke
in the darkness.  It was not yet dawn but she could hear people already
stirring in their rooms.  With a lurch she remembered that today she would
be registering with the Ri to become a warrior.  She promptly leapt out of
bed and reached automatically for the only clothing she now possessed. 
Throwing her scattered belongings haphazardly into her saddlebag, Mistral
grabbed her swords and strapped them on; it was easier than trying to carry
them.  She paused and looked around her room, peering carefully in the
semi-darkness to make sure she hadn’t left anything behind.  Making an
impatient noise in the back of her throat she walked back over to her bed and
slid her hand beneath the pillow to retrieve her short-bladed dagger, chiding
herself on how foolish it would have been to leave that behind.

To her
surprise the twins were dressed and waiting for her outside her door, both
looking ghostly pale in their new black clothes.

‘Ready?’ 
Phantasm asked softly.

Mistral
nodded, she was starting to feel slightly nervous.  The last week had been
like a holiday; riding Cirrus, drinking and playing cards in The Cloak and
Dagger – but now it was all quickly becoming very serious.  Her stomach
felt full of butterflies as they quietly descended the wooden stairs and she
was grateful to find that they were the first ones up and could escape the
tavern unhindered. 

None of them
felt like breakfast so they quickly settled their bill with Floris. 
Mistral tucked her nearly empty leather purse away inside her shirt and
suddenly decided to spend the remainder on some really good armour from Toothe
and Nayle.  Cheered by the thought of an excuse to go back and look at the
butterfly knives another time, Mistral felt her nerves lessen slightly. 

They walked
across the deserted tavern and out through the door into the bitterly cold
morning.  Huddling deeper into their cloaks they hurried across the empty
village square beneath a sky stained with the first tinge of pale pink.  A
heavy frost had formed during the night and their booted steps crunched noisily
in the silence.  The only other sound was of their quiet breathing, rising
up around them in misty clouds.  For once the twins were silent as they
walked quickly up the winding path towards the Main Building.  Mistral
guessed they were feeling nervous too.

Mistral looked
up at the strangely elongated castle-like structure when it appeared out of the
frail dawn light ahead of them.  Lights were blazing on the ground floor,
turning each window to a square of bright gold.  She hadn’t been inside
this building yet and fell back slightly, following Phantasm and Phantom up the
short flight of stairs and into a wide Entrance Hall.  Mistral briefly
noted another flight of stairs rising up to the second story before Phantasm
abruptly turned right into a long corridor.  She followed him and entered
the torchlit depths of the Ri’s headquarters.

The twins
entered the Main Hall ahead of Mistral and stood quietly to one side so that
when Mistral walked in she had a clear view of the long, high ceilinged
room.  It was rectangular in shape with one of the narrow ends completely
taken up by a huge inglenook fireplace.  The lofty ceiling was vaulted and
decorated with plasterwork of such an intricate design that Mistral couldn’t
take it in without staring.  The long mullioned windows afforded an
arresting view of the Valley right down to the village, still cast in shadow by
looming might of the Western Range.  As Mistral’s gaze swept the long room
again she noted with a start that someone was stood directly in front of the
blazing fire, silhouetted against the brightness of the flames. 

‘Be seated,’
the hard ringing tones of Leo Sphinx were instantly recognisable and the three
apprentices moved silently to take chairs set out in a neat row across the
centre of the room.  They sat without speaking, listening to the sounds of
more apprentices approaching along the wooden corridor, their booted steps
sounding unnaturally loud in the heavy silence. 

Xerxes, Brutus
and Saul entered together, still talking loudly about a card game from the
night before.  They abruptly fell silent when they saw the impressive
figure of their Training Captain stood at the front of the hall.  He did
not need to instruct the three apprentices to cease talking; the sheer force of
his presence was enough to instantly quell their conversation.  Looking
slightly awed, they quickly took seats next to the twins and Mistral.

Golden
appeared in the doorway next, walking with a deliberate undulating grace to
take a seat at the front directly facing Leo Sphinx.  Columbine followed
behind, walking with ungainly stamping footsteps to take the seat next to her.

Silence fell again
and the tension in the room grew noticeably until it was broken by the sounds
of something heavy moving along the corridor.  Before he had even entered
the room Mistral smelt Grendel’s unmistakable odour and hoped he wouldn’t sit
near them.  Grendel lumbered into the room and hesitated for a moment
before moving to stand behind the rows of chairs not built to take his weight.

Cain, the
slight apprentice with hob blood, appeared in the doorway next.  He was
with another apprentice that Mistral had not met.  The newcomer was older
than the rest of them.  In direct contrast to the nervously excited
expressions on the faces of the other apprentices, he appeared calm and
serious.  Wordlessly they took seats next to Saul. 

Silence fell
again.  The fire burning at Leo Sphinx’s back crackled loudly. 
Mistral shivered, the heat of the flames did little to dispel the cold air in
the cavernous Main Hall.  Its benefit could only be felt by their Training
Captain, who seemed in little hurry to begin proceedings and put them out of
their cold misery. 

A barely
audible sound from the door made them all look around.  Another figure
entered, slipping into the room like a shadow to slide quietly into the nearest
seat.  Mistral looked at him curiously; she had not seen him in The Cloak
and Dagger and assumed he must have arrived late last night.  He was thin
and sallow-skinned.  His face had a sunken, lifeless look akin to that of
a corpse.  Mistral immediately wondered what blood he had but didn’t dare
whisper the question to the twins.

Finally the
two elves that had been in The Cloak and Dagger entered and strode confidently
to take seats at the back, folding their long bodies onto the hard chairs with
lithe grace before gazing expectantly at their Training Captain.

‘Now that we
are all assembled, let us begin,’ announced Leo Sphinx, stepping away from the
bright warmth of the fire so that he could be seen clearly.  ‘There are
twelve of you who wish to take an apprenticeship with the Ri and two who have
been accepted onto a second and final year.’

Mistral
resisted the urge to turn around and stare at the two elves.  They were
obviously the second years from their confident manner.  She wondered what
skills they possessed to have been accepted for another year. 
  

‘Before I ask
you to sign and make your commitment binding are there any question you wish to
ask of me?’

Mistral
blinked in surprise, she hadn’t been expecting to be allowed to ask questions
and her mind instantly went blank.

‘So when do we
get to start killing things?’  Xerxes asked loudly, eliciting quiet laughs
from Brutus and Saul.

Leo gave a
small smile, ‘You will begin by trying to kill each other.’

‘But … we do
get to kill things don’t we?’  Xerxes asked, looking a little confused.

Leo favoured
him with a cold look, ‘Be under no illusions apprentice.  Whatever work
you undertake; tracker, hunter, thief, mercenary or assassin, your life will
one day become a commodity that is bought.  This is the destiny of every
Ri Warrior and your fate … should you choose to accept it.’ 

Leo paused and
his piercing blue eyes swept the room.

‘Yes, this
life
is
a choice.  You have not been forced to come to this Valley
and seek the training we offer or take the work that Qualification will
entail.  But it has been probably the only choice you have been able to
make in your lives so far.  Your fates were sealed before you drew your
first breath; you are half-breeds … neither Arcane nor Mage … unacceptable to
either.  What choice do you have but to take the coin of those who have
rejected you for work they will not do?  I ask you to consider this: 
Does that make us their servants or masters?’

He let the
question hang in the air.  There was a long pause before he gave a tight
smile and nodded. 

‘That is for
you to decide.  Now, to business.  Should you pass today’s entry
requirements you will undergo one year’s training.  Should you
successfully Qualify at the end of that time you will be eligible to undertake
Contracts.  A second year’s training is given by invitation of the Magnate
to a selected few –’

‘Do some
fail?’ a slow, heavy voice rumbled from the back of the room. 

Mistral knew
without looking that it was Grendel that had spoken and resisted the urge to
smile, remembering how she had asked the very same question of the twins last
week.

Leo Sphinx
regarded him coldly, ‘Yes, failure occurs, and it is usually fatal.’

There were a
few mutterings which Leo Sphinx silenced with an icy look.

‘Some of you
may possess latent skills bequeathed to you from your Arcane parent.  The
second year is devoted to developing and mastering such talents. 

‘And finally,
to the details, and you would do well to remember that it’s
always
about
the details, in this case, money.’

A murmur went
through the room.

‘Your
apprenticeship is paid for by you.  Once you have Qualified you will work
solely for the Ri for the same length of time that you trained to pay back your
debt.  After such time you are free to work freelance or through one of
the other Agents in the Valley.

‘Now we have
dispensed with the details, let us begin your entry tests.  Please sign
your names before we leave the Hall.’  Leo Sphinx indicated to a long roll
of parchment laid on a table at the side of the Hall.

He moved to
stand beside the parchment, watching as each apprentice filed up and signed
their name.  Golden was first in the line, signing her name with a
flourish then throwing Leo a burning look when she walked past him to wait by
the door.  There were a few sniggers when Grendel struggled to grasp the
quill in his massive hand.  Leo Sphinx watched dispassionately until the
huge apprentice finally managed to scrawl his name across the sheet of
parchment.

Phantasm
approached the table and bent over the parchment, reading it carefully before he
signed his own name with a flourish to rival Golden’s.  Leo Sphinx raised
an eyebrow but made no comment even though Phantasm had been the only one to
read the script written at the top of the parchment. 

Mistral barely
glanced at the parchment before she hastily scribbled her name beneath the
twins’.  She was in too much of a hurry to find out what the entry test
would consist of and was berating herself for not spending more time practising
with her new weapons. 

The
apprentices waited in a silent group by the door until the second years had
signed their names.  Leo Sphinx dismissed them with a few words spoken too
quietly for the first years to hear and the elves slid from the room with
slightly smug expressions on their faces.

Leo Sphinx
surveyed the group by the door, ‘Apprentices of the Ri, you will address me as
Master Sphinx or not at all.  Follow me to the Training Room.’  he
swept past them and began to stride purposely down the corridor towards the
Entrance Hall. 

After a
moment’s pause Golden swayed seductively after him with her ever-present
companion tramping along gracelessly in her shadow.

‘All hail the
Lord Leo,’ Xerxes growled and strode after their Training Captain.

Mistral,
Phantasm and Phantom waited until the rest of the apprentices had left the room
before joining on at the back of the line.

‘Who’s the
apprentice that looks like he’d been dug up?’  Mistral asked in a low
whisper.

Phantom
shrugged, ‘Don’t know … we’ve not seen him around before.’

‘Steer clear
of him Mistral, he’s got drow blood in him,’ warned Phantasm in a low voice.

‘Drow?’

He nodded,
‘Dark elves.  Nasty pieces of work, vengeful and merciless.’

‘He’s got the
right skills for the job then,’ muttered Mistral.

‘Never mind
him right now, did you read the parchment?’  Phantom asked his brother in
an urgent whisper while they followed the other apprentices up the stone
staircase in the Entrance Hall to the second floor.

Phantasm
nodded, ‘Nothing unusual; we commit to a year’s training, we do not have the
right to leave but the Ri reserve the right to eject any apprentice displaying
undesirable behaviour –’