The Assassin's Tale (Isle of Dreams) (76 page)

Fabian touched
her cheek and murmured softly, ‘It’s not forever.’

‘Talking of
Master Nox,’ Phantom interrupted loudly.  ‘Do you know what blood he
has?  Only I can’t work it out … he’s not of elven descent that’s for
sure.’

‘Blood is the
right word to use when referring to Malachi.’  Fabian replied.

The twins
gazed at Fabian silently, waiting for him to explain.  Mistral sighed
disinterestedly and leaned against his side while he wrapped an arm around her
shoulders.  They could talk all they wanted for all she cared, she was
quite happy to drink and enjoy being close to Fabian for an all too brief hour.

‘Malachi Nox
is of Mage descent on his mother’s side,’ Fabian continued in a low
voice.  ‘And his father is reputed to have been a vampire.’

The twins’
eyes widened at this salacious piece of information and instantly began a
murmured conversation between themselves about the reclusive tribe of vampires
that lived in the Northern Range.

‘Good, that’ll
keep them occupied for the rest of the hour,’ said Mistral with a satisfied
look on her face.  ‘Now you can tell me what we’re doing this weekend.’

‘Well, I know
it’s not quite up to the chimera hunt –’

‘Oh, now that
was fantastic,’ interrupted Mistral with a happy smile.  ‘Did I ever thank
you for that?  It was the best holiday I’ve ever had … well the only one
actually, but it’ll be a hard one to beat.’

Fabian smiled
and kissed her gently, ‘I’m glad you enjoyed it.  However, this weekend I
thought we could go home and hunt.  The cellar is looking a bit bare now
that there are two of us eating there.’

Mistral
grinned up at him; she had been worried that he would have commitments in the
Valley since he had promised Leo two full months of his time as a Training
Lieutenant for the Ri.

‘That sounds
perfect!  Is it too early for bears?’

‘Yes,’ said
Fabian sternly.  ‘We’ll be hunting for deer and boar only.’

‘Huh, nothing
that could bite me back you mean,’ she grumbled.

‘Only me.’

Mistral felt
the breath catch in her throat and stared back into his deep black gaze. 

‘Do you know
which vampire it was rumoured to be?’  Phantom asked, abruptly dragging
Mistral out of her private world.

She spun round
to glare at him furiously.  Did he have some sixth sense prompting him to
barge in on her and Fabian when it was blatantly obvious they shouldn’t be
interrupted?

‘I think it
was widely believed to be Bellicose La Monte but don’t quote me on that. 
He is still quite active and I would hate to be on his calling card,’ said
Fabian smoothly, his face betraying none of the emotion his voice had held only
seconds before.

As the twins
proceeded to assail Fabian with an endless barrage of questions regarding
Malachi Nox Mistral sighed and sank quietly against his side, knowing that they
would have no more opportunities for whispered conversations that
lunchtime. 

When their
hour’s break was over Fabian left The Cloak and Dagger with them.  He
kissed Mistral briefly then strode across the snow covered square towards the
stableblock to saddle Spirit and go out to check on the first years progress
with their knucker hunt.

The twins were
full of the information they had gleaned from Fabian about Malachi Nox and
talked in low voices between themselves all the way back to the Main Building.

‘Mistral!’ 
Phantasm suddenly gasped; making her jump … she had been busy reliving a world
where Phantom hadn’t interrupted her conversation with Fabian.

‘Do you think
you could try and read Master Nox’s aura this afternoon?’  he asked with a
wicked gleam in his eyes.  ‘My brother and I will create a diversion so he
won’t notice you going all blank.’

‘Sure, no
problem,’ she sighed heavily, shoving all Fabian-based thoughts to the back of
her mind as they walked into the Entrance Hall and began to climb the stairs up
to the second floor.

The twins’
whispered speculations abruptly halted when they reached the black wooden door
to Malachi Nox’s tower room.  Phantasm raised his fist and knocked on the
door.  It opened promptly with the sharp features of Malachi Nox appearing
to greet them.  Saying nothing he stepped aside to admit them into his
book-filled domain.

Mistral
followed the twins across the room and took her seat, gazing listlessly at the
array of strange items laid out on the table in front of them.

‘Tell me what
you see before you,’ Malachi began without preamble.

‘A small
turnip ... some parsley.  That looks like asparagus and … is that a bulb
of garlic?’  Phantasm frowned and picked up the whitish coloured root.

‘Exactly the
response I was expecting,’ murmured Malachi icily.  ‘And precisely why so
many people unwittingly poison themselves.

‘That,’ he
said sweeping suddenly towards the table and lifting the bulb of “garlic”
between one finger and thumb.  ‘Is a narcissus bulb and quite deadly when
prepared in the correct manner.  The “small turnip”,’ he continued in a
condescending tone, ‘is actually root of aconite, the “parsley” is cleverly
disguised I agree but it’s true identity is far more harmful, it is of course,
lesser hemlock.  And finally, the “asparagus” is really white
hellebore. 

‘Tell me
apprentice, did you think you were here to learn how to cook?’  Malachi
fixed Phantasm with a disdainful look.

Phantasm met
Malachi’s cold gaze and kept his face expressionless, ‘No Master Nox.’

Malachi Nox
regarded him silently for a long moment then abruptly dropped the narcissus
bulb onto the table.

‘You will
spend the afternoon researching poisons that cleverly adapt innocuous
disguises.  The reference manuals you will require are located on this
shelf,’ he gestured lazily towards one of the towering shelves.  ‘There
will be no need to talk to one another.’  Malachi finished in a cold voice
and strode over to take a seat in a high-backed armchair, picking up the large
book resting on the arm and opening it.

The twins
shared a brief look and slid from their stools, as Phantom brushed past her
Mistral felt a slight pressure on her arm and knew that they were about to try
and create a diversion long enough for her to read Malachi’s aura.  She
jumped off her stool and hurried over to the bookshelf Malachi had pointed
at.  Grabbing the first book that came to hand she quickly took her seat
again while the twins began to idly peruse the long row of leatherbound
manuals.

‘Master
Nox?’  Phantom enquired in a polite tone.  ‘Would you consider
“Natures Weapons” to be more instructive to us today rather than “Theriac
Production: The Definitive Guide”?’

Malachi
glanced over with barely disguised irritation, ‘Do you even know what Theriac
is?’

‘No, but it
sounds fascinating,’ replied Phantom with absolute sincerity.  ‘If it’s
not too much trouble Master Nox, do you think you would be able to tell me more
about it?’

Giving a
sibilant sigh Malachi laid the open book across the arm of his chair once more
and stood up.  Moving over to where the twins were standing he took the
heavy manual from Phantom’s hands and opened it at the beginning.

‘This book is
far too advanced for you,’ he snapped, ‘but if you are truly interested in
learning how to brew an antidote that cures all known poisons and has a basic
ingredient list of over seventy items then I suggest that you begin with
Chapter Two.’

Malachi began
to flick through the pages.  His back was to Mistral, providing her with
the perfect opportunity.  Slowing her breathing and concentrating on the
air around Malachi’s head until she was rewarded by the appearance of a slight
shimmer of pale colour.  Malachi’s aura glimmered briefly in an
indefinable halo then the vision abruptly vanished.  Mistral frowned and
tried again.  Clearing her mind she re-focussed and once again Malachi’s
aura swam into view in an indistinct swirl only to disappear almost
immediately. 

‘Now, if your
curiosity is quite satisfied, perhaps you would like to continue with the task
I have set you.’

Malachi’s curt
voice snapped Mistral from her trance.  She immediately bent her head over
the book she had selected, gazing unseeingly at the words on the page while her
mind whirred frantically.  Why hadn’t she been able to read Malachi’s
aura?  With a sudden wave of panic she wondered if she was losing her
gift.  She turned quickly to look at Phantom.  Forcing herself to
become calm she called up the vision of his aura.  It swam obediently into
view in a swirl of metallic grey shot through with bright bolts of silver:
curiosity and excitement, the very essence of Phantom’s nature.  Mistral
blinked and the illusion vanished, leaving her feeling relieved but
perplexed.  With no opportunity to whisper her findings to the twins
Mistral had no choice but to try and concentrate on the work they had been
set. 

The afternoon
wore by with mind-numbing slowness.  Mistral could feel Phantom’s
impatience growing with every hour that dragged by until he was fidgeting restlessly
and looking pointedly at the door every few minutes.  When Malachi finally
released them with a terse dismissal Phantom took hold of her arm and almost
dragged her from the tower room. 

‘Finally,’ he muttered
when Malachi closed the door behind them with a soft snap.  They ran
quickly down the stairs and straight along the corridor to the twins’ room in
silence, only speaking again when they were safely inside with the door firmly
closed.

Mistral sat on
the edge of Phantom’s bed while they settled themselves on the bed opposite
her, leaning back against the wall and gazing at her with identical expressions
of anticipation that never failed to make her smile.

‘Tell all
sister,’ breathed Phantom, his eyes shining with excitement.

Mistral
clasped her hands together in her lap and frowned at them, ‘I wish I had
something to tell you brother.  But I haven’t.  I couldn’t read his
aura.’

The twins
stared at her wordlessly; Phantom’s face dropping with disappointment and
Phantasm’s instantly creasing into a concerned expression.

‘You don’t
think the strain of taking a second year has made you lose your gift do
you?’  he asked anxiously.

Mistral shook
her head, ‘No, I read Phantom’s aura straight away to check.’

‘I wish you
wouldn’t,’ snapped Phantom looking annoyed.  ‘I might have been thinking
about something personal!’

‘Oh Phantom,
how many times do I have to say this?’  Mistral exclaimed
exasperatedly.  ‘I can only see your emotions, not hear your thoughts –yet.’

‘But still –’
Phantom persisted in a miffed tone.

‘If it makes
you feel better I can tell you what I saw,’ Mistral offered with a smile.

‘No thanks,’
snapped Phantom huffily. 

‘Can we please
consider the important issue here?’  Phantasm demanded. 

‘Yes, my
privacy!’

‘No Phantom,
the real issue is why couldn’t Mistral read Master Nox’s aura?  Has this
ever happened before, apart from when you were going slightly demented last
winter that is.’

Mistral
scowled at him.  She didn’t care to be reminded of how she’d felt during
Fabian’s long absence.  Losing her ability to read auras had been the
least distressing part of that particular period of her life as far as she was
concerned.

‘No,’ she
replied shortly.

‘He’s
half-Mage isn’t he?’  Phantom said, still looking slightly sulky.

‘Yes, but we
all know that the Craft doesn’t pass down to half-breeds, so he can’t be using
that to deflect Mistral’s sight … I wonder if it’s something to do with him
having vampire blood –’

‘Don’t know …
don’t care.’  Mistral suddenly leapt to her feet and headed for the
door.  Training had finished for the day and Fabian would be waiting for
her.