The Assassin's Destiny (Isle of Dreams) (46 page)

‘What brother?’  Brutus
demanded, a look of feverish excitement on his face.

‘It says here that the final
event can only be entered by the winners of the previous categories.  It’s
an Arena event with as yet unspecified beasts.’

‘Sounds like our wretched
Qualifying hunt!’  Cain said in a low aside to Saul. 

While Xerxes finished checking
through the entry requirements Cain’s hob cousins gathered around the fire
Phantom had lit, talking loudly and showing no signs of leaving anytime
soon.  Before long the sound of their persistent shrill voices began to
give Mistral a headache.  Impulsively grabbing her saddlebag she whistled
for Prospero and strode off along the avenue of tents.

‘Where are you going Mistral?’
 Phantasm called, leaping to his feet and walking after her.

‘Walk … look around … maybe find
a place to wash,’ she called back without bothering to stop. 

What she really craved was a
little peace and quiet.  The festival was proving to be an effective
method of dulling the sharp pain of missing Fabian but after two days of being
in her brothers’ company her natural desire for solitude was suddenly
overwhelming. 

‘We’ll come with you.’ 
Phantom sprang to his feet and joined his brother, both quickly catching up
with her.

Mistral frowned, ‘There’s really
no need.’

‘There is every need actually.’
 Phantasm said quietly.

‘Don’t be so ridiculous!’ 
Mistral snapped.  ‘This is The Festival of the
Arcane
!  All
Mages are banned!  I think even the Rochforte’s desire to see me dead
would be severely hampered by having to get past some of the tribes we’ve seen
so far!’

Phantasm didn’t respond and
continued to walk beside her.

‘Is there something you’re not
telling me?’ she demanded suspiciously.

‘You mean other than being made
to swear on pain of death by Master Sphinx, Mage Grapple and not least of all,
Mage De winter, not to leave you alone for, and I quote “one single
second”?’  Phantom replied.  ‘Believe me Mistral, babysitting you is
hard work!  You’re hardly grateful!’

‘Would you be?’  she
retorted.  ‘I’ve been travelling for two days solid and I want a wash,
preferably without you two handing me a towel afterwards!’

‘Tough.’

‘Nothing we haven’t seen before
anyway –’

‘I damn well think it is!’ 
Mistral snarled, earning several surprised looks from the tribe of elves
sitting outside a large tent made of woven strands of willow. 

‘Only joking!  Honestly
Mistral, I do hope you get your sense of humour back when you finally gain the
Sight.  You’re becoming exceptionally difficult you know.’

When Mistral snorted and stomped
ahead Phantasm quickly rounded on his brother, ‘Could you please try not to
wind her up too much?  Our job is going to be hard enough as it is!’

‘Sorry.’  Phantom muttered
back.  ‘Hard to resist, old habits die hard and all that.  Anyway,
what’s the plan for tomorrow?’

‘Well, the others have entered
the race too, apart from Grendel of course, so they can protect her during the
brawling part.  If they fail we’ll be on the side-lines willing anyone
that goes near her to suddenly want to go in the other direction.’

‘Ah, cheating again, I like
it.  Cain’s right, this is turning out to be just like our Qualifying
hunt!’

‘Hmm, let’s just hope Columbine
doesn’t show up this time.’

Mistral strode ahead with
Prospero padding watchfully by her side.  She had been apprehensive about
how her dog would react to the Arcane tribes, especially since his protective
instincts seemed to have increased since Fabian had left, but so far he was
appearing remarkably tolerant to the unusual sights and smells of the
Festival.  She smiled and dropped a hand to rub his head affectionately
then returned her attention to looking for somewhere to have a wash.

Her irritation at the twins was
quickly replaced by renewed amazement at the bizarre sights that met her
eyes.  The avenue of tents was busy, providing her with much to marvel
at.  A group of sylvads swept past speaking to each other in musical
voices, instantly reminding Mistral of the formidable Melsina which led to her
remembering the way Fabian had looked at her in
those
trousers... she
was rudely shaken from her musings by some surly goblins pushing past. 
Instinctively tightening her grip on her saddlebag Mistral walked on a little
quicker and tried to keep her wits about her.  More nymphs swayed past and
instantly fell upon the twins, imploring them to visit their tent in a chorus
of soft sighs which swiftly changed to a stream of sharp insults when the twins
ignored them.

‘Charming!’  Phantom
muttered, keeping his gaze fixed on Mistral striding ahead of them.

‘Hmm, I’m not sure even Mistral has
ever called me that.’  Phantasm remarked with a thoughtful look.

Mistral had nearly reached the
registration tent when her feet stalled and her mouth fell open in astonishment
at the sight of a group of fairies heading towards her.  She had only
briefly glimpsed them in The Velvet Forests before, and certainly never seen so
many at the same time.  Each was only the size of a small child with blue
eyes that glittered with the promise of boundless mischief, their elfin
features topped with a crown of tightly curled hair.  They hovered a few
inches from the ground, fluttering along the avenue on gossamer wings while
they chattered away in high-pitched voices.  Prospero followed their jerky
flight with hungry eyes and let out a low growl.  Mistral quickly laid a
restraining hand on his neck and hoped he wouldn’t disgrace himself by eating
one of her fellow Arcanes during the festival.

Mistral held Prospero back while
the fairies passed then walked over to the registration tent where the two
dryads were working through a stack of entry forms, recording the details of
each onto one single roll of parchment.  Neither looked up as Mistral
approached, leaving her to stand by their stable feeling increasingly
irritated.  Realising that the dryads had been to the same school of
customer service as Eudora, Mistral coughed loudly.

‘Yes?’ one of them eventually
enquired, looking up with a sharply furrowed brow.

‘Is there anywhere to have a
wash?’ 

‘Females at the waterfall in the
north end of the Vale, males at the pool in the south.’  the dryad snapped
briskly and waved a hand dismissively to indicate where she meant before
returning her attention to the small mountain of entry forms on the table.

Not bothering to thank them,
Mistral immediately began to walk in the direction the dryad had indicated only
to be instantly flanked by the twins.

‘I’ll carry that for you shall
I?’  Phantasm murmured solicitously and took her saddlebag.

‘Taking this a bit far aren’t
you?’  Mistral scowled, reluctantly relinquishing her grip on her
saddlebag. 

‘I promised your Mage I would
look after you Mistral.’

Mistral knew he was lying buy
couldn’t be bothered to argue, reflecting instead that it was a good job she
would have plenty of opportunities to kill things over the next few days or at
the rate they were going the twins might not make it back to the Valley with
all their limbs attached.

The twins were unusually quiet
while they made their way to the north end of the Vale.  Mistral didn’t
mind, she was too busy looking at the stalls set out beneath brightly coloured
awnings.  A display of beautifully crafted elven bows drew her attention
briefly but a stall selling hunting knives caused her to stop and stare until
the twins’ sighs of irritation became too loud to ignore and she reluctantly
allowed them to drag her away.  They all stopped at a stall further along
selling leather goods.  The amazon sat beside the stall greeted them in a
husky voice and stood up to select items and deliver her sales pitch on
each.  While she explained the benefits of leather wrist supports to the
twins, Mistral found herself studying her with a critical eye, calculating how
she would fare against one of them in the unarmed combat event.  The
amazon was tall and muscular, easily dwarfing both the twins and physically
blessed with a fighter’s attributes; good reach, strength, stamina and eyes
that shone with a fearless gleam.  Finishing her swift study of the
amazon’s statuesque physique Mistral smiled to herself as she identified her
weak spot.  Nodding contentedly she reached out and picked up a pair of
fur-lined boots.

‘I promised your mother I’d get
some new boots,’ she said to the twins.  ‘I think these are an
appropriately contemporary blend of practical with a stylish edge, don’t you?’

Clutching her new boots
protectively to her chest before Phantasm could offer to carry them for her as
well, Mistral turned to Phantom as they walked on towards the northern end of
the Vale.

‘Is Xerxes planning a card game
for tonight?’ 

Mistral could see that the festival
would fill her days and be demanding enough to dull the ache of missing Fabian,
but she was dreading being left with too much time on her hands in the evenings
and have nothing to do but think.  Not that she would admit that to
anyone, least of all the twins who would no doubt see it as even more of a
reason to force their company on her.

‘No.’  Phantom replied
promptly, adding with a weary sigh.  ‘Actually, let me rephrase
that.  Yes, I am sure that Xerxes is planning a card game for tonight,
however Chieftain Wolfsnare is hosting a feast to celebrate the start of the
festival.’

‘So please make sure you brush
your hair Mistral.’  Phantasm added, casting a pained look at her
dishevelled ponytail.  ‘Remember that we are here representing the Ri.’

‘And what style would you prefer
me to wear my hair in tonight then brother?’  Mistral asked sarcastically
and instantly regretting her flippancy when she was forced to listen to
Phantasm’s ideas on hairstyles for the rest of the walk.

By the time they reached the far
northern end of the Vale Mistral had sunk into a stupor bought on by endless
talk of plaits, twists and other things that sounded more like a form of
torture than a hairstyle.  She barely noticed when they entered a wide
open space where a makeshift coral had been erected to secure the horses. 

‘Ah, here we are!’  Phantom
announced, snapping Mistral out of her hair-induced coma.

She looked over at the horses
grazing in the enclosure and frowned.  Cirrus would stand out like a
shining star amongst the heavy cobs and stocky ponies that were grazing there.

‘There’s too many goblins around
for me to leave Cirrus there!’ she muttered to Phantasm.

‘Despite the fact that your horse
could probably eat a goblin I have to say that I agree.  And if Cain’s cousins
are anything to go by the hob aren’t much better.’

‘Sharp-eyed doesn’t quite cover
it.’  Phantom agreed.  ‘Did you see Hermes eyeing Mistral’s wedding
ring?  I thought he was going to pull it off her finger!’ 

‘I’m not sure that was about the
gold.’

‘I think I can handle
Hermes!’  Mistral growled then gave an exclamation of pleasure when her
gaze fell upon the pool that had been designated for female bathing. 
‘Finally!  This is where I actually get some time to myself!  See you
in a while brothers.’

A clear stream gushed over the
steep side of the Vale in a narrow waterfall, creating a natural shower that
fell into a deep rocky pool at its base.  Mistral eyed the water
longingly; she felt hot and dirty after the long ride and couldn’t wait to dive
in.

‘Bye then!’  she said
pointedly when the twins remained close by her side.

‘Sorry Mistral, but it’s going to
be a back-turned affair.’  Phantasm replied stiffly.   

Mistral stared at him, ‘Are you
joking?’

‘No.’

‘Believe me, I don’t want to do
this either.’  Phantom said, looking decidedly uncomfortable.  ‘But
we swore not to let you out of our sight for a single moment.’

‘There is no way I’m having a
wash with you two watching me!  It’s just ... wrong!’ 

‘We promise not to look.’

Mistral regaled them with savage
threats about what she would do to them if they didn’t go but they refused to
move and waited patiently until she had run out of breath.

‘Look Mistral, I am sorry if this
makes you uncomfortable, but we promised.’  Phantasm said quickly before
she could draw in enough breath to start swearing again.

Phantom was less tactful. 
‘Would you rather I fetched Xerxes?’ he said acidly.  ‘I’m sure he’d love
to join you, he might even scrub your back for you as well!’

‘No I don’t want Xerxes here and I
don’t want you two either!’  Mistral shouted and glared at them furiously
for a full minute but they simply gave her cool looks in return.  ‘Oh, I
don’t believe this!’ she finally burst.  ‘Turn your backs then!’ 

Mistral waited until they had
turned to face the other way before stomping bad-temperedly over to the edge of
the pool.  Casting a quick look over her shoulder to make sure they both
still had their backs turned, she undressed hastily and dived into the water
and was immediately followed by Prospero leaping in excitedly after her.

The clear pool was as cold and
refreshing as it had promised to be.  Mistral broke the surface with a
gasp and swam towards the waterfall, intending to use it as a shower to wash
her hair.  The water was deeper beneath the waterfall and Mistral couldn’t
touch the bottom so she trod water while she leaned her head back into the fast
flowing torrent.  As her head broke through the thin veil of water she was
surprised not to feel rock but air behind her.  She spun around in the
water and stared curiously into the dark space behind the waterfall. 
Deciding to investigate, she threw a swift look in the twins’ direction to make
sure they still had their backs turned then swam through the waterfall to find
herself in a small cave.