The Assassin's Tale (Isle of Dreams) (69 page)

‘I don’t think
I could if I wanted to!  That cider was probably a bad move – but at least
it won’t hurt if I get shot today.’

‘Good plan,’
murmured Cain.

Fabian quickly
picked up the wolverines’ trail when they entered the treeline.  The
realisation that the pack had followed them right to the settlement quickly
sobered the mood of the apprentices.  They followed the indistinct paw
prints deeper into the silent forests until Fabian suddenly called a halt and
dismounted to examine the tracks more closely.

‘They change
direction here.  North,’ he muttered with a frown.  ‘This doesn’t
follow the pattern of the previous times you have encountered them.’

‘Do you think
they’re circling round on us?’  Mistral asked, automatically looking over
her shoulder.

‘Maybe, or
they could be being driven.  Xerxes!  Brutus!  Can you hear
Singing?’

Xerxes and
Brutus turned in their saddles to look at Fabian, immediately their faces
tensed while they listened intently for a sound only they could hear.

‘Do you hear
it brother?’  Brutus murmured, his eyes narrowing with concentration.

Xerxes nodded
silently and stared off into the distance, ‘It’s high, almost beyond what we
can hear ... but definitely Song.’

Fabian frowned
again, ‘The elves are driving the wolverines to draw us deeper into the forests
where they can pick us off one by one.  We need to get back out to open
space.’

‘I’m sure that
the trees actually saved me last time,’ Saul argued.  ‘They couldn’t get a
clear shot at me.’

‘Did it not
strike you as unusual that they managed to get a clear shot into Konrad but not
you?’  Fabian asked quietly.

Saul looked at
him in surprise, ‘No, I just assumed they got a lucky shot on him but couldn’t
get me because of the trees.’

‘Luck!’
 Fabian exclaimed disparagingly.  ‘It really does not exist. 
The elves didn’t shoot you because they were more interested in their marked
targets.’

‘Targets?’ 
Phantasm asked sharply, noting the use of the plural.

‘Yes.’ 
Fabian regarded him coldly.  ‘I am sure you have realised that the elves
saw through your lies once they met Konrad, and that by lying to them you have
marked yourself, your brother and Mistral.’

‘Marked?’ 
Phantasm stared at Fabian, his already pale face draining of colour to leave it
ghostly white.  His eyes flicked first to his brother and then to Mistral,
standing silently beside Fabian.  ‘No!  I tried to protect us by
concealing the truth!  I thought I was saving our lives!  How could I
know they would –’

‘Find out the
truth?’  Fabian finished harshly.  ‘You were raised at the Council
weren’t you?’

Phantasm’s
face worked with shock and denial before he finally managed a nod.

‘Then you know
that lies are always revealed and the outcome is never good.  And
elves?  Merciless doesn’t even come close!  They will not rest until
all four of you are dead!’  Fabian’s voice hardened to steel while he
glared into Phantasm’s stricken face.  ‘I swear this to you now
Phantasm.  If Mistral is hurt by those elves today I will see you pay in
kind.’

‘Mage De
Winter!  I –’

‘Wait
Fabian!  The elves will rest if we make them!’  Mistral whispered
quickly.

Fabian turned
to look at her, his dark eyes unreadable.  He had shut down again, the
unfeeling assassin once more.

‘You mean kill
them before they kill us?’  Phantom asked with a frown.  ‘Won’t that
just antagonise the rest of their tribe?’   

‘Not if they
get what they want,’ Mistral said quietly, holding Fabian’s cold gaze. 

Phantom’s
frown deepened, ‘What do you mean?’

‘Revenge for
their dead kinsman.’  Fabian said shortly and turned away.

‘You want to
give them Konrad?’  Phantom’s eyes widened.  ‘But that’s –’

‘I don’t like
the idea of heading into a trap,’ Xerxes declared loudly, his voice cutting
across their whispered conversation.  ‘What would you suggest?’  he
looked at Fabian expectantly.

‘It’s your
hunt,’ Fabian muttered and swung himself back into the saddle.

‘I appreciate
your sensitivity towards my pride, Mage De Winter.  However, I assure you
that I don’t suffer from conceit when it comes to my life being in danger. 
Your opinion would be valued.’

Fabian stared
dispassionately at Xerxes while he pulled Spirit around to face south, towards
the meadows that bordered the Valley.

‘Double-back
and get positioned in the meadow before they realise what we’ve done. 
Tether the horses.  We fight on foot.  Set the poisoned caltrops,
position the best archers facing the treeline, and prepare for a fight.’

‘Good plan,
but what about Konrad?’  Xerxes asked with a frown.  ‘He knows his
life is in danger from the elves and will want to be near us for
protection.  He’s following us now; surely he’ll only lure the elves to us
more quickly –’

Fabian’s face
was expressionless while he listened to Xerxes but Mistral could see a muscle
jumping in his jaw.  It took a split-second for her to call up the
illusion of his aura, swirling in a haze of deepest royal blue around his dark
hair.  Streaks of amethyst flickered like flashes of lightning in a storm
then a wash of bright orange flooded her vision before it was burned away by
bright flames of scarlet.  Blinking to return her sight to normal, Mistral
gazed at Fabian with a frightened expression on her face.  She had seen
pure, unadulterated rage in his aura.

‘Forget
Konrad.  Focus on the fight and be prepared for some of you not to be going
back to the Valley tonight.’

Xerxes
regarded Fabian for a moment then nodded his head slowly, ‘So be it.’

Turning his
horse around to face south too, he called out to the other apprentices and
began to ride back through the trees.

‘Back to the
meadow, we prepare to fight!’

Fabian held
Spirit tightly while the other horses surged past them and waited until Mistral
had pulled Cirrus around to ride up alongside him. 

‘I think I
would prefer it if you didn’t move from my sight until this wretched day is over,’
he muttered tersely, his eyes raking the trees around them.

‘Of course,’
Mistral murmured, unusually meek.  ‘But only if you tell me what you were
thinking when you spoke to Xerxes,’ she added in a sharper whisper.

Fabian snapped
his gaze to meet hers; his eyes tightening as he guessed that she had read his
aura.

‘Konrad,’ he
stated flatly.  ‘I am going to kill him.’

Mistral stared
at him.  She had said the same words many times about all the apprentices
but the chilling tone of Fabian’s voice told her this was no empty
threat.  It was a promise.

Mistral sighed
and shrugged wearily, ‘Oh, if you must.  But make sure you don’t get hurt
in the process.  I’m a terrible nurse.’ 

Fabian’s eyes widened
at her flippancy then, abruptly and to her untold relief, he laughed.

‘I will not
die today Mistral, and neither shall you.  I swear that much.  But I
meant what I said to Xerxes.  The chances of everyone else riding back
into the Valley tonight are slim.’

‘How much time
have we got?’  Mistral asked unable to resist casting an anxious look over
her shoulder.

‘Enough to get
back to the meadow, but not much more.  We are fortunate that the elves
will not be aware of Brutus and Xerxes being able to hear their Song.  It
is not a gift that usually passes on to half-breeds.’

Mistral nodded
and bent to check the buckles on Cirrus’ girth strap.  Talk of gifts and
breeds still made her feel uncomfortable. 

Xerxes gave
Saul an instruction to ride at the back and keep watch for Konrad, Golden and
Columbine.  Apart from Saul’s occasional softly spoken updates they rode
in silence, cantering where they could to cover the distance to the meadow as
quickly as possible.  Mistral felt her back prickling with the knowledge
that they were being so closely followed.  She could feel tension growing,
gnawing at her insides and saw it echoed in the faces of the twins and the
other apprentices.  They all felt the same need for urgency but were held
back by the snow-clogged undergrowth.

‘This is the
most frustrating flee for my life I’ve ever made!’  Cain exclaimed to Saul
when they found their path blocked by another heavy snow drift.  ‘If the
elves don’t get us I swear I’m just going to spontaneously combust from the
damned tension!’

Grendel helped
as much as he could, striding in front to force a path through the drifts,
hacking through heavy tangles of brambles with his battle axe.

It was with a
mixture of relief and apprehension that they finally saw light glimmering
through the treeline ahead of them.  Mistral felt her skin crawling when
they left the cover of the trees and rode out into the open meadow.  She
caught the twins glancing over their shoulders more than once and was glad she
wasn’t the only one feeling nervous.

Fabian reined
Spirit to a halt and scanned the meadow.  Mistral could see he was working
out a strategy for the fight and before long Xerxes rode up alongside him to
begin a low conversation.  The heavy snows of the previous night covered
the ground in a thick b8lanket, masking what lay beneath and making it
difficult to make a decisive plan.  Fabian shook his head at something
Xerxes said then replied, his brow furrowed in concentration.  Taking
advantage of him being preoccupied Mistral turned her attention to
Phantasm.  He had been uncharacteristically silent since Fabian had blamed
him for marking them. 

‘Brother,’ she
murmured, looking into his deathly pale face.  ‘We can get through
this.  Focus on the fight, not the guilt.’

Phantasm gazed
back, his green eyes filled with remorse, ‘Guilt?  You have no idea how
guilty I feel right now.  I have always been so sure of myself
Mistral.  That Phantom was the wayward twin and I the sensible one with
all the answers.  I
swear
to you that I never thought the elves
would mark us for my deception –’

‘I know,
brother, I know.’  Mistral murmured soothingly.  ‘You would never
place Phantom and me in danger, and we don’t blame you.  If you hadn’t
lied to the elves that day in the meadow then none of us would be here
now.  Fabian’s just angry by the mess that this hunt’s turned into and you
happened to be on the receiving end.’

Phantasm shook
his head, ‘I appreciate you trying to offer me comfort Mistral, but I deserve
to feel like this.  It was my arrogance that led to us all being
marked.  I was stupid.  I believed that my lies would have no
comeback.  Mage De Winter was right, I should know from my time at the
Council that lies are always uncovered, and never with a favourable
outcome.  This is all my fault!’

‘Look
Phantasm,’ Mistral muttered, impatience stealing into her voice.  ‘We
really don’t have time for you to indulge in a marathon guilt-trip right
now.  What I need is for you to snap out of your self-obsessed wallowing
and get ready to fight!  Because I promise you this brother – if I do end
up back in the damned Infirmary today because of you then Fabian’s anger will
be absolutely nothing compared to mine!’

Phantasm’s
eyes hardened, ‘Self-obsessed wallowing?’ he repeated furiously.  ‘Oh
really?  I think you take the honours on that one don’t you?  Well,
don’t expect me to break you out of the Infirmary next time you pull some
reckless stunt and end up there again!’

‘That’s more
like it,’ Mistral gave a satisfied smile.  ‘Now, if I can just do the same
to your brother, who seems to be feeling the effects of too much cider, we
might stand a chance of surviving this wretched fight!’

‘I won’t be
requiring one of your pep-talks, thank you very much,’ said Phantom quickly,
leaning across his brother to give Mistral a cool look.  ‘Cain gave me a
hip-flask of something that seems to be doing the trick just fine.’

‘Oh that’s
just great!’  Mistral exclaimed.  ‘One of you wants to wander around
wailing his woes to the sky and the other is a drunk!  We’re doomed!’

‘Is this
really the time for one of your squabbles?’  Brutus interrupted in an
amused voice.  ‘Only I think that Mage De Winter and Xerxes would
appreciate your attention right now.’

Mistral spun
around to glare at Brutus and immediately reddened.  The other apprentices
were quietly watching her argue with the twins like it was a theatre
performance.  Steeling herself for his anger, Mistral glanced hesitantly
at Fabian and was surprised to see that his expression was also amused. 

‘Sorry ...
sorry,’ she muttered.  ‘All sorted out now –’

Xerxes grinned
at her, ‘Are you sure?  Only you haven’t got to the swearing stage yet.’

Mistral bit
back the angry retort that sprang to her lips.  Xerxes probably had money
on her losing her temper and doing something reckless today.  She suddenly
swore to herself that he would lose his wager.  She would do nothing to
make Fabian risk his life defending her.  And if that meant not falling
out with her brothers then she would do it, no matter how much she wanted to
wipe the smug look off Xerxes’ face with her fist.