The Assassin's Tale (Isle of Dreams) (64 page)

‘I’ve heard
you two singing before and you’ve got nice voices.  You could distract
them while I see a few off!’  Mistral said, looking suddenly enthusiastic.

‘If you think
I’m standing in the middle of The Velvet Forests serenading a pack of slavering
wolverines while you crawl up behind them with a dagger clenched between your
teeth then you’ve got another thing coming!’  Phantom exclaimed.

‘Anyway,
that’s not how Elven Song works,’ said Phantasm quietly.  

Mistral
shrugged irritably, ‘Fine, so just what is Elven Song then?’

‘Elves have
incredibly sensitive hearing.  They can make and detect far higher and
lower pitches of sound than any of the other Arcane races.  They use that
ability as a secret method of communication.  I’m assuming that the
wolverines have similarly sensitive hearing, if so the elves’ very high-pitched
“song” would be utterly unbearable to them.’ 

‘Please tell
me sylvads have this ability too,’ said Mistral with a hopeful look on her
face.

Phantom shook
his head, ‘We share many traits with elves but regrettably not that one.’

While the
twins fell into a brooding silence Mistral looked around the room.  The
respective hunting parties were gathered together at different tables with
their heads bent closely together, obviously planning the best, or least
suicidal, method of hunting down a Blackheart Wolverine.  Her gaze fell
upon Saul and Cain.  She couldn’t believe that Leo would send just two
warriors out to hunt down one of the wolverines.  It was almost as though
he wanted to kill off his first years before they had been given a chance to
Qualify.

Acting on a
sudden impulse, Mistral rose to her feet and was walking across the room with a
muttered, ‘Back in a minute –’ before the twins could stop her.

Sliding onto
the bench next to Cain and ignoring his surprised exclamation, Mistral fixed
Saul with a hard look.

‘Hunt with
us,’ she muttered in a low undertone.

There was a
brief silence while Saul and Cain looked around warily to see if anyone had
heard her.

‘Do you think
we can’t handle a wolverine?’  Saul demanded in a quiet hiss.

‘Look Saul,
six of us couldn’t handle that damned pack last time, so no!  I don’t
think two of you stand a cat in hell’s chance!  Don’t pull the proud
warrior act with me!  Haven’t we been in enough scrapes together to tell
each other when something is just plain suicidal?’ 

Saul looked
uncomfortable and avoided her piercing look, ‘Leo specifically said that we
weren’t to join up –’

‘Leo isn’t the
one going out there is he?’  Mistral argued back, her voice rising
slightly and causing Xerxes to look over.

‘The
Lieutenants have split the pack, Mistral, they’ll be scattered all over the
place by now.  We’ll be fine,’ Cain muttered quickly, casting another
worried glance at the tables nearby.  ‘Now go before anyone hears what
you’re saying!  We don’t want to fail Qualification because of you!’

Mistral glared
at Saul for a long moment and he glared stubbornly back. 

‘Suit
yourself, but you can’t Qualify as a corpse!’ she snapped and abruptly strode
back to resume her seat next to Phantasm.

‘Nice try,’ he
murmured softly, making a show of repacking his saddlebag.  ‘But I think
you’re really going to have to let that one go for now.’

Mistral
seethed in silence while the twins checked they had everything ready.  She
couldn’t believe Saul would be so pointlessly obstinate.  So what if he
felt a bit uncomfortable around her since confessing his feelings?  Was
that reason enough to deliberately put his life in danger by not accepting her
offer? 

‘Look
Mistral,’ murmured Phantasm while he firmly secured the flap on his saddlebag.
 ‘I know you put the ‘S’ in stubborn, but you must realise that Saul has
got some cause to feel like that.  It took a lot for him to confess how he
felt and he must have hoped that you would feel something back or I don’t think
he would have put himself through it.  And now you’re putting Mage De
Winter in his face every five minutes.  Surely you can see that this has
been a hard knock to his pride.’

Mistral
blinked, momentarily taken aback.  She had been so wrapped up in the way
she felt that she hadn’t stopped to consider what it must have been like for
Saul to watch her and Fabian together. 

‘Oh!’ she said
softly.

‘Yes,
“oh”.  But what were you meant to do?  Sneak around like Leo and
Golden?  That’s not your style and quite frankly, you’re not as good a
liar as either of them so Saul would have seen through it right away and been
even more hurt by the deception.  You’ve done nothing wrong Mistral. 
He just needs time to get over it.’

‘I just wish they’d
join us on the hunt that’s all.  They’re going to get savaged by those
dratted mutts!’

‘Look, we’ll
keep an eye out for them, now subject closed.  It’s time to go.’

The twins rose
to their feet and picked up their saddlebags, swords and crossbows.  After
a final glance at Saul, who was deep in conversation with Cain again, Mistral
shook her head angrily and reached out to grab her saddlebag from the table.

‘He can stick
his damned pride!’  she fumed under her breath.  ‘Come on then, let’s
walk down to the stables, we can make a plan as we go –’

‘Ah, winging
it again, just like old times,’ sighed Phantom happily and fell in step beside
Mistral, walking between her and the row of tables to shield her from the
searing gaze Saul threw her when they passed his table.

They saddled
their horses in silence.  Mistral was too infuriated by Saul’s
stubbornness to think rationally and make a plan.  All she wanted to do
was ride out of the Valley before any of the other apprentices appeared. 
She forced herself to calm down and gently stroke Cirrus’ ears, persuading him
to dip his head and allow her to slide his bridle on.  Her head was still
buzzing with angry thoughts when she finally led Cirrus from his stall and out
into the grey December morning. 

Phantasm and
Phantom were already mounted and they all left the stableyard without seeing
any of the other apprentices.  Mistral urged Cirrus into a canter once
they were on the path heading for the North Gate.  The anger she had felt
towards Saul was slowly turning to hurt.  Had their friendship over the
last year really meant so little to him?

They didn’t
speak again until they had passed through the North Gate and were out into the
open expanse of meadows.  The ground was hard.  The snow of a few
weeks ago had vanished, but it was still bitterly cold.  Mistral studied
the sky carefully, trying to read the conditions for their night out in the
open.  The sky was covered in a grim blanket of grey cloud, making the
landscape around them appear flat and one-dimensional.  It was the kind of
winter’s day where dawn blended seamlessly into dusk with no apparent increase
in light between the two events.  There was no wind, which was good for
hunting but a bad omen for the weather.  Mistral sighed as she realised
that the conditions were perfect for snow.

Hearing her
sigh, Phantasm gave her a questioning look.

‘It looks like
snow,’ she said heavily.  ‘We’re going to have to stay in the forests
tonight for any sort of cover.  If we go up onto the mountain in a snow
storm we’ll never come down again.’ 

‘Oh, this just
gets better and better,’ muttered Phantom and turned suddenly in the saddle to
give his brother an accusatory look, as though the weather were his
fault.  ‘Why so quiet brother?  You’ve hardly said a word since we
left the Refectory!’

Phantasm
glanced over at his brother and nodded briefly, ‘I’ve been doing some thinking
–’

‘That makes a
change,’ muttered Phantom sarcastically. 

Mistral shot
him a curious glance.  It wasn’t like Phantom to argue with his brother. 

Phantasm
ignored his brother’s dig and continued in a calm voice, ‘And I think that
Mistral is right, the weather looks like it’s going to close in so the forests
are going to be our only option for the night, but it definitely won’t be our
safest.  The elves are still a factor we have to consider, plus I think
that most of the others will draw the same conclusions that we have about
Barak, Caleb and Cyrus not being bothered to split the pack.  Which all
adds up to us having to survive a snowy winter night in a forest occupied by
elves sworn to kill us and a pack of wolverines with pretty much the same
intentions.’

‘Doesn’t look
good does it?’  Phantom said gloomily.

Mistral
frowned pensively then a wide grin slowly spread across her face.

‘I really fail
to see what there is to smile about here Mistral!’  Phantom said
sharply.  ‘We’re either going to be mauled to death, shot by elves or die
of exposure on the mountain!’

‘Oh I don’t
know,’ she said breezily.  ‘Phantasm?  Do you remember saying that I
would hack my way through a forest of thorn bushes to get what I wanted?’

Phantasm
looked at her in puzzlement, ‘Yes, of course I do.  But what has that got
to do with this?’

‘Well, I think
it’s time I started to embrace the true concept of this damned Qualification
Hunt!  Brothers … we are going to bypass the forest of thorns and go
straight to a bed of roses!’

‘Please
explain or I may be forced to kill you myself just out of frustration!’ 
Phantom exclaimed.

‘We are going
to cheat!’  Mistral announced happily. 

Urging Cirrus
into a canter across the meadow she began to ride towards a destination she
could have reached blindfold.

The twins
shared a perplexed look and shrugged simultaneously.  Kicking their horses
on they cantered after her as the first flakes of snow began to drift lazily
down from the sky.

Running
lightly up the familiar stone steps Mistral hammered eagerly on the closed
door.  Holding her breath she listened to the footsteps from inside
drawing closer then the metallic noise of the latch being lifted and finally
the door was opened.

‘Have you got
space on your floor for three?’  she asked, smiling brightly into Fabian’s
surprised face.  ‘Only our sadistic Training Captain expects us to stay
out overnight in an elf and wolverine infested forest in a snowstorm!’

Fabian smiled,
opening the door wider to admit Mistral and the twins, ‘It sounds as though you
had better come in.’ 

Allowing the
twins to go on ahead of her, Mistral paused before she stepped over the
threshold to quickly kiss Fabian.

‘Welcome
home,’ he murmured, catching her around the waist and kissing her again.

She grinned
and slipped from his arms, almost skipping across the room to throw herself
onto the sofa.

‘You won’t
believe this Fabian!  How are we expected to Qualify?’  Mistral began
in an incredulous voice.  ‘Leo expects us to stay out overnight in this
weather!  And tomorrow we’ve got to hunt down a Blackheart Wolverine in
stupidly small hunting groups!  It’s just not feasible!’

‘And if
Mistral is saying that you know it really isn’t,’ intoned Phantom
heavily. 

Fabian closed
the door and walked over to the small kitchen to collect a jug and four
goblets.  He set them down on the low table to see that the twins were
still stood upright.

‘Please, make
yourselves comfortable,’ Fabian said politely, gesturing to the two armchairs
near the fire.  They sank into the shabby chairs with joint sighs,
stretching their legs out gratefully.

Fabian sat
next to Mistral and laid his arm across the back of the sofa, inviting her to
move closer to him, which she immediately did and curled up against him with a
happy sigh.  Keeping one arm around her, Fabian reached out with the other
and poured out goblets of wine.  He passed one to Mistral before taking
one for himself and leaned back against the sofa.

‘You know, of
course,’ he said quietly.  ‘That cheating is an integral part of
Qualification.’

‘I’m
sorry?’  Phantasm paused in reaching to take one of the goblets from the
table.  ‘I don’t think I quite follow your meaning.’

Fabian smiled
and took a drink from his goblet.  Mistral frowned and looked up at
him.  Qualifying and cheating did not seem compatible concepts to her
either.

‘Our Training
Captain demanded that we bring him back a Selkie for our Qualification hunt –’

‘A
shape-shifter?’  Mistral gasped.  ‘They’re really hard to hunt! 
You can never tell what they’re going to become!’

‘Precisely,’
continued Fabian calmly.  ‘Which is why we rode straight to the nearest
village, purchased a bear skin from the market and spent the rest of the day
and night in the local tavern.’

The twins
burst out laughing but Mistral stared at Fabian in disbelief.

‘You
cheated
on your Qualification?’ 

‘Oh Mistral,
everyone does!  I’ve already told you that by the time Qualification comes
around you’ve already done the work needed to become a warrior.  The
Training Captains set unobtainable goals and the test is to see whether you
achieve them, not how you achieve them.’

‘Oh!’ 
Mistral said and took a drink of her wine while she thought about how to get
hold of a Blackheart Wolverine skin.

‘Do you think
we’ll be able to pass my wolf skin off as a Blackheart Wolverine one?  We
could say it was a juvenile.’

‘No, I think that
would be too blatant,’ Fabian murmured and frowned.  ‘I must admit, the
task Leo has set is rather difficult to cheat on.  I think we’ve left it
too late tonight to go out and set traps.  Anyway, I dislike trapping
animals, even Blackheart Wolverines.  It’s a horrible way to die.’

‘Believe me,
they deserve it,’ said Phantom with feeling.

‘Nothing
deserves to try and chew its own leg off in order to try and escape,’ said
Fabian shortly. 

‘Columbine
does,’ muttered Mistral darkly.

‘You’ll be rid
of her soon Mistral.’  Fabian murmured.  ‘I very much doubt that she
will be staying on for a second year.’

Mistral smiled
but didn’t say anything.  She was still not entirely convinced about her
own second year, never mind Columbine’s. 

‘I think there
is only one answer to this problem,’ Fabian mused quietly. 

‘We’re open to
any suggestions,’ Phantom said brightly.

‘Stay here, be
my guests tonight and enjoy my hospitality … such as it is,’ he said with a wry
smile.  ‘And tomorrow morning we plan the hunt together.’

Phantasm was
instantly cool, ‘Mage De Winter, we appreciate your generous offer –’

‘Which we
would be delighted to accept!’  Phantom interrupted swiftly and raised his
goblet in a toast.  ‘Here’s to a warm night in front of a fire and an
increased chance of survival tomorrow!’ 

‘Agreed!’ 
Mistral cried happily, raising her goblet and taking a long drink.  ‘This
definitely beats dodging arrows all night long!’

Phantasm
gradually thawed towards his host as the afternoon drew into evening and they
played a long game of knucklebones.  Mistral sat back and watched them
play, content to be with Fabian in their house on a cold winter’s night, and
also secretly pleased to see Phantasm looking more relaxed in his
company. 

By midnight,
the twins were both yawning. 

‘I will sleep
down here on the sofa,’ said Fabian softly to Mistral when the twins finally
reached for their travelling cloaks and settled into more comfortable positions
in their armchairs.

Mistral looked
at him in dismay.  She had been looking forward to spending another night
curled up in his arms.

‘Let me show
you to your room,’ he said, smiling at her expression.

He climbed the
narrow wooden stairs ahead of her to the open galley above that served as a
bedroom.  Mistral had not been up there before and looked around with
wide-eyed curiosity.  This was his bedroom … their bedroom … one day.

The bed was an
untidy mass of sheets and blankets, of course, which Fabian immediately strode
over to and began to straighten with a muttered apology while Mistral turned in
a slow circle, looking around at the room.  There was a single wooden
chair next to the bed, draped with one of Fabian’s shirts.  A tiny,
deep-set window was the only source of natural light, two candles burned on the
stone window ledge, filling the room with a warm glow.  Mistral looked up
at the ceiling.  The rafters were so low that she could reach up and touch
them with her hand, giving the room a snug, comfortable feeling.  Gazing
around at the bare stone walls in the flickering light Mistral heaved a sigh of
happiness before turning to look at the bed.  A frown of apprehension
suddenly creased her brow.

Fabian had
straightened the sheets and plumped the pillows, making it appear more
presentable, but it wasn’t the way the bed looked that suddenly bothered
her.  He finished tucking the blanket in and turned to see her staring at
the bed with a strange expression on her face and walked over to encircle her
in his arms.

‘If I’d known
you were coming I would have made more of an effort,’ he murmured
apologetically.

‘No, it’s not
that.  I … well … that’s going to be
our
bed isn’t it?’ 
Mistral began hesitantly.

‘Yes it is,’
Fabian breathed into her ear.

Sweet honey
lay in his whispered words but she persisted, dragging her mind back to what
was troubling her, ‘But, um, well, I don’t know why this should matter, but for
some reason it does … is it, has it, always been ...
our
bed?’

Fabian
chuckled softly and looked down at her with his intense black gaze, ‘You are
the only woman that has ever even stepped foot over the threshold of this
house.  And unless you invite Columbine around for afternoon tea one day,
you will always be the only one.’

Mistral gazed
back at him, momentarily lost in the black depths of his eyes.  Sighing
deeply, she forced her mind back to what she had been about to ask him. 

‘Please don’t
leave me on my own up here.’

A furrow
creased the pale skin of Fabian’s brow.  He gazed wordlessly at her, the
sudden silence broken by gentle snores coming from downstairs, telling them
that the twins were both fast asleep. 

‘Mistral,’ he
sighed, looking suddenly uncertain.  ‘I’m not sure that is such a good
idea.’

Mistral held
his gaze, ‘I absolutely refuse to spend the first night in my new home without
you beside me,’ she whispered.

He shook his
head, his gaze wary, as though he were afraid of something, ‘Sometimes you ask
too much of me Mistral.’

She watched
his eyes change, the wariness shifting to become something deeper, a burning
intensity that was almost frightening.  Mistral was suddenly afraid that
she had pushed him too far and made him angry. 

‘I’ll wear all
my clothes,’ she offered helpfully and was relieved to see the corners of his
mouth twitch in the semblance of amusement. 

‘Boots too?’

She shrugged
nonchalantly, ‘If you want.’

He laughed
softly and the tension between them eased. 

Mistral sighed
and rested her head against his chest, ‘Honestly though Fabian.  I have so
many scars I think you’ll probably run a mile the first time you see them.’

‘I very much doubt
it,’ he murmured, kissing the top of her head gently.  ‘Wait till you see
mine.’

She laughed
and looked up at him again, pleased to see that he was smiling once more. 

‘Now, if you
really insist on needing someone to keep you company through the small hours of
the night then I shall, of course, do as you wish, however – that,’ he said
pointing to the side nearest the window, ‘shall be your side and this shall be
mine.’ 

‘Glad to see
we’ve got the important issues sorted out,’ Mistral said and grinned. 

Slipping
lightly from his arms she sat on the edge of the bed and untied her boots,
dropping them onto the floor with a double thud.  Fabian watched her, his
face amused. 

‘What?’ 
she asked, looking up and catching his expression.

He gave a low
laugh, ‘I long for the time when you do that every night.’

Resisting the
urge to tell him that he didn’t have to wait, Mistral swung her legs up onto
the bed and moved across to what was now her side then patted the space beside
her invitingly.

‘Coming to
bed?’ she asked with a grin.   

‘Not quite in
the way I would like, but yes, I will be sleeping alongside you tonight,’
Fabian smiled and sat down to unlace his own boots.

Sitting up and
putting her arms around him, Mistral laid her head against his back and listened
to his breathing while he untied his boots.

‘The first
time I ever stepped into this house it felt like home to me,’ she murmured.

Turning and
laying on his back, Fabian pulled her onto his chest and wrapped his arms
around her.  ‘Until the moment you walked through the door, it never felt
like home to me.’

Mistral sighed
blissfully and pulled a blanket over them.  Instantly she felt herself
begin to drift and wondered vaguely how she would ever be able to go to sleep
again without Fabian’s arms around her.

Mistral awoke
to the soft light of dawn.  Nestled in the blanket that covered her and
Fabian she lay still, at peace with the world while she gazed out of the
snow-filled window.  She could feel his chest rising with deep, regular
breaths and knew that he was still asleep.  Smiling indulgently she
savoured the warmth of his embrace in the bed that they would share for the
rest of their lives.  Filled with a sudden, unfamiliar desire, Mistral
tilted her head and kissed the underside of his jaw.

He sighed and
stirred slightly.

‘Is this
really my home too now?’  she whispered.

‘Hmm,’ he
replied sleepily.

‘Good, because
I’m going to make us all breakfast.’

Fabian sighed
and rolled over as she slipped from the bed and tiptoed down the wooden stairs,
glancing quickly at the twins she could see their blonde heads poking out from
under their cloaks, both still fast asleep.  Leaving them to their dreams,
Mistral stood with her hands on her hips and regarded the small kitchen. 

‘Right
then.  Breakfast,’ she muttered to herself and began to open cupboards,
peering cautiously into their depths until she found what she was looking for.

Before long
the smell of eggs frying filled the house, causing the twins to wake and look
over blearily.

‘Mistral? 
Is that really you?’  Phantom asked with a yawn.

‘I had no idea
you could cook!’  Phantasm exclaimed, throwing his cloak off and sitting
up eagerly.