The Assassin's Destiny (Isle of Dreams) (15 page)

‘I remember that, you made me put
a dressing on it – you did look funny!’  Mistral laughed.

‘Not as funny as you did when you
got slobbered on by the first knucker we ever hunted.  You looked like
someone had tipped a bucket of slime over your head!’

‘It was vile,’ she agreed with
another laugh and pulled the strap tight on her knife belt.  ‘Right, I’m
ready!  Now, may I suggest a small wager brother?’  Mistral raised
her eyebrows.  ‘Just to make things interesting –’

‘Now you’re talking sister! 
What do you have in mind?’

‘Bronze coin a spriggan …
throwing knives only … the one with the most gets all the coins … sound fair?’

‘You’re on!’ 

‘How will you know who killed
which one?’  Fabian enquired, ducking as another acorn shot past his
shoulder.

‘Easily!’  Mistral responded
with a grin. 

Phantom gave a roll of his eyes,
‘Mistral engraves her initial onto all of her throwing knives.’ 

‘It makes retrieving them at the
end of a hunt easier.  There’s no arguing over which ones belong to who,’
Mistral explained as she tucked her dagger into the back of her belt. 
‘Ready brother?’

‘Get your money out sister!’

‘Fighting talk!  You’re so
going to lose!  Come on Prospero, let’s hunt!’

The hail of acorns abruptly
stopped with the sound of a knife whistling through the air.  There was a
sharp shriek then the dull thud of something heavy hitting the forest floor.

‘Mine!’  Phantom’s
victorious shout rang out clearly.

‘Was not!’ 

Safe from acorns, Phantasm
appeared from under his cloak and turned his attention back to the
rabbits.  

Fabian smiled as he listened to
Prospero’s excited barking and the sounds of Phantom and Mistral’s laughter as
they chased the spriggans deeper into the trees.

‘I’m surprised you didn’t go with
her.’  Phantasm remarked.  ‘Mistral could find trouble in an empty
room.’

‘I thought she and Phantom could
use some time together.’  Fabian replied softly.  ‘It might help them
remember why they are friends.’

‘Either that or it will provide
her with the perfect opportunity to kill my brother and hide his body in the
forest.’

‘Either way, the problem of them
constantly arguing will be solved.’

Phantasm smiled and turned the
spit.  They sat in silence for a few moments, the crackling of the fire
and the sizzle of roasting meat punctuated by occasional wild shouts of
laughter drifting back from the forest.

‘You know, of course, that
Phantom has not seen any of Mistral that wouldn’t have been appropriate.’
 Phantasm eventually murmured, not taking his eyes off the roasting meat.

Fabian didn’t respond and
continued to stare into the fire, his face expressionless.

‘Mistral went through an accident
prone stage last winter and developed an aversion to the Infirmary.  My
brother and I did our best to make sure she didn’t die of the injuries she
sustained.’

Wordlessly Fabian switched his
black stare to meet Phantasm’s, ‘I appreciate your help in keeping her alive
when I wasn’t there to look after her.’

Phantasm nodded and looked back
at the rabbits, they were nearly ready, ‘It was almost a full-time occupation,’
he admitted with a weary sigh.

‘I am beginning to realise that.’
 Fabian muttered grimly.

The sounds of laughter grew
louder again.  Phantom and Mistral were returning from their spriggan
hunt.  The heavy thud of paws preceded Prospero’s arrival at the
camp.  He bounded up to Fabian and collapsed heavily at his feet,
stretching out will a deep sigh of satisfaction.

‘Who won?’  Fabian enquired
as Phantom and Mistral strode towards them, their faces glowing with laughter.

‘Prospero!’  Mistral grinned
and threw herself down beside Fabian, reaching over to stroke Prospero. 
‘I don’t think he’ll want that rabbit now, he’s eaten nearly all the
spriggans!’ 

Prospero groaned contentedly and
rolled onto his back, allowing Mistral to rub a hand through the thick fur of
his belly.

‘You know, I think I’ve missed
hunting,’ said Phantom, gratefully accepting the piece of roasted rabbit his
brother passed him.  ‘That was quite good fun!’

‘As my dog won the bet I think
that I should win by default,’

‘Oh no, I don’t think so!’

‘Come on!  Get you money
out!’  Mistral took a piece of rabbit and tore into it with relish. 
‘Honestly Phantom, you’re such a bad loser you make Xerxes look generous!’

Phantom laughed and Mistral
joined in.  They ate and talked around the fire until Phantasm pulled his
knucklebone set out of his saddlebag and challenged them all to a game. 
Mistral declined, preferring instead to enjoy sitting with Fabian by the fire
and gazing up at the bright scattering of stars stretching overhead. 

‘I’ll go check on the horses.’
 Fabian murmured.

Mistral watched him go with a
frown.  Fabian was never overly verbose but he had been quieter than
normal for the whole evening.  After a moment she quietly rose to her feet
and followed him, catching him up as he reached where the horses were tethered.

‘Fabian?  Is something
wrong?  Are you worried about the Contract?  Only Phantom and I –
well, we’ve sort of made up now, so I don’t think us arguing will be a problem
anymore–’

Fabian abruptly turned to face
her, shocking Mistral with the fierceness of his expression.  He abruptly
reached for her, holding her too tightly.  She eased herself from his
embrace with a frown.

‘It’s what Phantom said earlier
isn’t?’

Fabian did not speak but stared
at her in silence, his face bleached to a ghostly white by the starlight. 
After a long moment he sighed and shook his head slowly.

‘Jealousy is a pointless,
wasteful emotion and I am ashamed to admit that yes, I am fiercely jealous of
knowing that another man’s hands have touched your body.’

Mistral gazed into the fathomless
black of his eyes and slowly reached out to take hold on hand.  Lifting it
to her lips she kissed the palm before placing it beneath her shirt, holding it
against her skin to prevent him from pulling away.

Fabian’s eyes widened slightly
and she heard him take a sharp intake of breath.

‘Mistral –’

‘Now yours are the only hands
that will ever touch me.’  she reached for his other hand, placing it so
that his hands encircled her waist.  His touch was warm against her cool
skin.  She could feel the rough callouses on each finger catch as he
tightened his grip.

‘I have a scar on my lower back
from a gargillian bite that Phantom treated for me.’  her gaze never left
his as she whispered the words.

Slowly, Fabian moved a hand
across her skin, feeling gently for the tell-tale raised scar, running his
fingers lightly over the outline.

‘And a bite from a spined forest
rat on my side.’

Wordlessly, Fabian’s hands
brushed across her skin until he found the scar.

‘And Phantasm had to bind my ribs
for me when Columbine cracked one.’

Her pulse quickened as Fabian’s
hands slid up beneath her shirt, running his fingers lightly over each rib,
every touch sending a jolt of pure energy through her.  His eyes suddenly
blazed and she knew he had felt it too.  Desperate for him, she twined her
hands through the hair at the nape of his neck, pulling him to her. 

Breathing raggedly, Fabian
dropped his hands back to her waist and gently pushed her away.

‘You will be the death of me,’ he
muttered in strained voice.

She gazed boldly back, ‘It would
be a good way to go.’

Fabian laughed softly then tilted
his head to look up at the night sky.  He drew in a deep breath, releasing
it slowly it before he turned to meet her gaze again.  Mistral smiled
sadly when she saw that some of the burning light had faded from his
eyes.  She stepped into his arms to lay her head against his chest in a
more controlled embrace.

The spring night was cold and
they kept the fire burning, wrapping themselves in their thick wolverine pelts
to sleep.  Mistral curled up between Fabian and Prospero and slept soundly
until dawn when the sound of Fabian talking to Phantasm roused her. 
Opening her eyes she gazed around sleepily to see Fabian’s dark head and
Phantom’s shining blonde bent over a map of the Isle

‘Finally!  We thought you
were going to sleep through the Contract.  Mind you, that might have been
a blessing considering your ability to attract trouble.’

‘Ha ha, morning to you to
Phantom.’  yawning, Mistral stretched and looked sleepily at
Phantom.  Noting that his hair was wet she sat up.  ‘Is there a
stream near here?  I could use a wash to wake up.’ 

‘Yes, it’s over there.’
 Phantom pointed over to where the horses were tethered.  ‘We’ve
filled all the waterskins already and fed the horses.  I’ll have breakfast
ready for when you come back.’

‘Thanks –’ Mistral yawned again
and struggled out of the heavy wolverine skin.  Nudging a still snoring
Prospero with her boot she began to walk towards where Phantom had
indicated.  Giving a huge yawn, Prospero reluctantly hauled himself to his
feet and trotted after her.

Mistral smiled as she walked by
the horses, patting Cirrus absently when she passed him, her thoughts returning
to the previous night and the way Fabian’s hands had felt on her skin ... 
a cold swim was definitely in order.   

She strode purposely towards the
wide stream.  The water was fast flowing and clear.  Mistral could
see where the twins had washed by the water staining the rocks at the edge of a
pool.  Casting a quick glance over her shoulder to make sure she was alone
she undressed quickly and dived into the pool.  She plunged down and
kicked her legs, arcing up to the surface wide-eyed and gasping at the
startling coldness of the water.  Prospero gave an excited bark and
plunged in after her.  Making small whining noises he swam around her in
frantic circles with his mouth open to catch the darting shoals of tiny silver
fish.

Mistral swam back to the side
with quick strokes and pulled herself out.  It was too cold to linger in
the pool.  Shivering, she hastily dragged her clothes back on. 
Rolling up her sleeves to let the sun warm her skin she sat to comb out her wet
hair, laughing at Prospero still trying to catch the elusive fish.

‘Come on boy, breakfast
time!’ 

Prospero immediately paddled back
to the side and scrabbled up the rocks, showering Mistral when he vigorously
shook the water from his heavy coat.  She cursed and chased him
away.  Prospero barked and ran excitedly around her, playing the game.

‘If only having a cold swim had
that effect on me.’

Mistral turned towards the velvet
sound of Fabian’s voice, watching him walk towards her with familiar loping strides.

‘Good swim?’ he enquired with a
smile and ran his fingers lightly through her wet hair.

‘Refreshing.’

‘Hmm.’ his fingers moved over her
bare arms, his light touch leave a trail of goose bumps in their wake. 
‘So I see.  Would you like me to warm you?’

‘Yes please.’  her voice had
shrivelled to a breathy whisper, her sphere of vision narrowed to contain
nothing more than the dark eyes possessing her.   

Slowly bending his head to kiss
her, he pulled her against him, the closeness of him setting her alight with a
heat that had nothing to do with the warmth of his body.

‘Are you warm enough now?’ 
Fabian enquired, slowly releasing her.

‘Do you really need an answer to
that?’ 

Fabian laughed softly and gazed
at her for a long moment, his expression slowly changing to become more
serious.

‘You know we must behave with
more propriety for the duration of this Contract –’

‘But I’m your fiancée!’ 
Mistral pouted.  ‘Surely that gives me license to leap on you whenever I
wish to.’

‘Mistral –’

Her playfulness abruptly
vanished, ‘Oh don’t worry Fabian.  I promised you I will behave in every
way; and I will.’

‘Thank you.’  he smiled
again.  ‘Although, I quite like it when you misbehave.’

Appeased by his smile, she
smirked slightly, ‘You should see your aura.’ 

‘Yes, and that is precisely why
I’m going for a cold swim.  Save me some breakfast.’

They ate leftover cold rabbit
with rye bread Mistral had bought.  Fabian outlined the plan for the day
as they ate, going over every detail with the meticulous attention that had
earned him such a formidable reputation.

‘Do you want me and Prospero to
hunt for tonight’s dinner?’  Mistral asked, chewing thoughtfully on a
piece of bread.

‘Yes.  But not rabbit. 
A hind if you can get one.  They may well have come with provisions but it
would be impolite not to offer them a good meal.’

Mistral nodded, ‘We’ll hunt
through the edge of the forests as soon as we leave, that way we won’t slow you
down.’

‘Good.  Now,’ he looked
around at each of them, ‘one final recap and any questions that you need to ask
must be done before we leave.  We cannot present anything but a completely
united front to the delegates.  There can be no uncertainties, no
whispered conversations and definitely no quarrels.  We must be calm and professional.

‘I will lead our party and deal
with all of the communication.  Mistral?  I want you to ride between
the twins at all times.  This will break up their rather startling
appearance and also offer some protection against Antoine and his cousins.’ 
he paused, the faintest curl of disdain lifting one corner of his mouth. 
‘They have reputations.’

Mistral fought the urge to roll
her eyes.  If one of the delegates so much as laid a finger on her she
would hack it off with her dagger.  Which, on reflection, was probably
what Fabian wanted to avoid.

‘I will ride alongside
Antoine.  His cousins will ride behind.  You three will be riding at
the back.  I want their auras read at all times and if you notice anything
that worries you let me know by giving Prospero a command to heel.  We all
know that he never leaves your side but they do not, so it won’t sound
suspicious and I will immediately know to be prepared for something
untoward.  Should this happen, Phantom and Phantasm will immediately use
their gift to influence each cousin and then Antoine.  Understood?’