The Assassin's Tale (Isle of Dreams) (10 page)

Master Sphinx
had still not returned by the following morning.  The apprentices were
distracted during their Saturday morning training session, looking up eagerly
every time they heard a horse approaching from the North Gate.  Caleb was
beginning to lose his temper with them all but the final straw came when Brutus
fired his crossbow randomly and sent a bolt flying over the Training
Lieutenant’s head. 

‘I don’t know
what planet you lot are on today but if you don’t pay attention to what you’re
supposed to be doing I’ll have you all on punishment detail!’  Caleb
bellowed furiously.

‘I’ll take it
if it gets me out of Apothecary duties,’ muttered Phantom, looking
depressed. 

‘Believe me
punishment detail is worse,’ Mistral muttered back.  ‘I had two days’
worth for fighting with Columbine in The Cloak and Dagger last month.  I
had to muck out the pigsties in southern end of the Valley, it was vile … I
smelt like Grendel by the end of it!’

‘Oh I remember
that,’ said Phantom looking thoughtful, ‘You did smell worse than usual – ow!’

‘Sorry Caleb,
I tripped and fell into Phantom,’ Mistral called out apologetically when he
glared accusingly at them.

After a hasty
lunch in the Refectory of a soup with some rather dubious lumps of meat
floating in it Phantom wandered off unhappily towards the Infirmary to report
to Serenity Lightwater for Apothecary duty.  Mistral and Phantasm
sauntered back to up to the dorms, discussing how to spend their afternoon of
leisure. 

‘Saul was up
for going out to try and rouse a spring bear.  They’re just coming out of
hibernation now and are really grumpy.  It’d be a good hunt, want to
come?’

Phantasm shook
his head, ‘Delightful as that sounds, I’m too stiff and bruised to go out
hunting.’

‘We’ll go next
week then,’ said Mistral.  ‘Anyway, I want to hang around here and see if
this Contract comes off.’

‘You and
everyone else,’ said Phantasm quietly.

They had
reached the twins’ dorm room and turned to see that all the other apprentices
were also returning to their rooms for the afternoon.  Nobody wanted to
miss out on the chance to go out on their first Contract. 

Phantom
staggered in looking dirty and exhausted at the end of the afternoon to find
Phantasm lying on his bed reading an ancient looking book entitled, “How to
Make Successful Introductions within the Higher Echelons of Society”. 
Mistral was sat cross-legged on Phantom’s bed, sharpening her set of throwing
knives.

‘If I ever
seen another set of muskrat glands again I swear I will kill myself,’ he
groaned and slumped down next to Mistral.

Mistral made a
sympathetic sound and carried on sharpening her knives.  She’d spent the
previous Saturday afternoon working in the Apothecary stores and knew that most
of the tasks were stomach-turning.

Phantasm made
no response; he was deeply engrossed in his book.  Phantom took off a boot
and threw it at him irritably, ‘Some sympathy would be appropriate around
now!  Just how many ways are there to “Introduce Yourself” anyway?’

‘I’d like to
hear Grendel’s,’ said Mistral with a grin.

‘That’s easy,’
smirked Phantom.  ‘”Duh, hello, I’ve forgotten my name.  Er, what’s
yours?”.’

‘Nice
impersonation,’ laughed Phantasm, deftly lobbing the boot back at his brother.

Phantom ducked
and the boot slammed into the wall, knocking a shower of stone dust onto the
bed and covering Mistral’s shiny knives with a fine layer.  Avoiding her
angry glare, Phantom leapt lightly off the bed and strolled over to peer over
the top of his brother’s book.

‘Seriously
brother, how can that book be so thick?  Is the writing very large or
something?  Only I can’t see how anyone could write so much on such a dull
subject.’

Realising that
he wasn’t going to get any peace, Phantasm sighed and laid the book face down
on his bed before sitting up. 

‘You don’t
really want to spend your entire career tracking, hunting and killing things do
you,’ he said, raising his eyebrows questioningly.

’No chance!
 I want to stick with our original plan: Qualify then spend a second year
perfecting our gift and skip the blood and guts part to go straight into highly
paid Council work.  Being paid to sit in meetings is a much more exciting
prospect than cleaning muskrat intestines off your hands every night!’ 

Phantasm
smiled and tapped the musty smelling book with one slender finger, ‘And this
fine piece of work, my brother, is going to help us reach the heady heights of
such low-down dirty work.’

‘That and
successfully Qualifying the first and then the second year,’ murmured Mistral,
holding one gleaming knife up to the light and admiring its bright sheen from
every angle. 

‘You think we
won’t?’ the twins queried in unison, looking at her intently.

Satisfied that
the knives were both clean and sharp, Mistral carefully slotted them back into
her carrying belt and looked up to see both twins still looking straight at
her, their faces slightly haughty.

‘I didn’t mean
you two.  It’s me I can’t see making it that far,’ she said a touch
exasperatedly.

 ‘Why?’
 Phantasm asked blankly.

‘I feel
trapped here,’ she admitted, fidgeting restlessly with her knife belt.
 ‘I’m not used to being told what to do and where to go all the
time.  I think I can just about cope with the notion of a year … but
two!  I don’t think so!’

There was a
silence while the twins regarded her balefully.

‘You may have
a gift that is incredibly rare, and you would throw it away just because you
feel a bit
trapped
?’  Phantasm demanded angrily.

Mistral
blinked in surprise.  It was rare for Phantasm to lose his temper, and
almost never with her.

‘Look, I know
that staying for a second year is important to you, but I’m just not sure if it’s
for me.  I don’t really care about Sight … it’s bad enough being able to
read auras.  It really confused me for ages when I was younger.  I
can only imagine being able to actually hear people’s thoughts is twice as
disturbing.  Anyway, it’s my choice to make so don’t go getting snappy
with me!’ 

Mistral glared
at Phantasm mutinously and leaned back against the wall, folding her arms
tightly.

The twins
caught each other’s eye and grimaced, when Mistral looked that stubborn there
was usually no point in continuing the conversation.

Phantasm
sighed and continued in a more conciliatory tone, ‘Of course it’s your choice
Mistral, but it would be a terrible waste of a rare and powerful gift. 
You know that we’d respect any decision you made, but just for friendship’s
sake why don’t we agree to discuss your future nearer to Qualification? 
That’s a reasonable request isn’t it?’

Mistral
glowered at him for a moment.  Half of her wanted to shout that no, it
wasn’t reasonable for the twins to expect her to waste a year of her life
learning how to develop a gift she didn’t even want then storm out of the room
and slam the door as satisfyingly hard as she could … but the other half of her
had to admit that what Phantasm said made sense.  Mistral knew she was guilty
of being too impulsive and hadn’t yet given any real consideration to the
possibility that she might possess Sight … perhaps she could cope with another
year’s training … at least the practical side was challenging enough to keep
her interested … and maybe she’d feel better if they began to get out of the
Valley on Contracts – which brought her mind back to the Contract they might be
going out on soon and a spark of excitement flashed inside her.

‘Of course
that’s reasonable,’ she agreed brightly and began to sharpen her favourite
dagger.

The twins
shared a bemused look.  Mistral’s rapid mood swings confounded even them.

‘As long as I
survive the rest of the first year’s training, that is,’ Mistral added
thoughtfully and ran a finger down the razor-sharp edge of her dagger.

A rapid
knocking on the door made them all jump and Saul’s voice called urgently.

‘Master Sphinx
is back!  He’s sent Cyrus up here to fetch us all to the Main Hall! 
We’ve got the Contract!’

Mistral leapt
off the bed with a whoop of joy, ‘Let’s get down there!’ she cried throwing
open the door to reveal Saul’s grinning face.

‘Why couldn’t
he have come back four hours ago,’ grumbled Phantom, heaving himself from the
bed and peering quickly into the mirror to wipe some slime from his face. 

They joined
the throng of apprentices following the burly figure of Cyrus marching
importantly along the corridor ahead of them.  Their excited talk died
away when they reached the first floor and approached the Main Hall in a more
orderly fashion, entering the long room under the menacing gaze of Cyrus. 
The apprentices filed in silently and quickly sat down on one of the hard
wooden seats set out in a long row.  As soon as they were seated,
everyone’s eyes were immediately drawn to the imposing figure of their Training
Captain stood in front of the fire deep in conversation with a tall,
grey-haired warrior. 

‘Who’s
that?’  Mistral whispered out of the corner of her mouth to Phantasm.

‘Master
Shacklock, he’s the Ri’s Contracts Officer.  He manages all Contracts for
first and second years.’

‘He looks more
like a warrior,’ Mistral muttered back with a frown.

Phantasm
nodded, ‘He was, and a very good one too.  That’s why he got the
job.  When Master Shacklock gives you a Contract you know he’s looked at
it from every angle.’

Their
whispered conversation was brought to an abrupt halt when Leo Sphinx turned to
face them.  He looked weary, with dark shadows beneath his piercing blue
eyes. 

‘Good
afternoon apprentices,’ he began in a clear voice.  ‘For those of you who
have not met the Ri’s Contract’s Officer yet, now is the time.  Master
Gleacher Shacklock will become a familiar face in your lives over the coming
year as you develop your skills and are able to undertake more Contracts.’

Leo paused to
murmur something inaudible to Gleacher Shacklock and Mistral switched her gaze
to the Contract’s Officer, studying the iron features and cold grey eyes. 
He was staring emotionlessly at the room of apprentices while he listened to
whatever Leo was saying to him, finally he nodded and passed Leo the rolled up
scroll of parchment he had been holding.

Leo unrolled
the parchment and ran his eyes over it briefly before looking up again. 
His blue eyes narrowed as he appraised the apprentices gathered before him.

‘This is a
Contract ordered by the Mage Council to eradicate a renegade band of goblins
currently attacking and robbing travellers through The Emerald Forests. 
The Council are not certain of how large the band is... so I shall be sending
all of you.’

‘And charge
the Council for experienced warriors while we’re sent for free!’  Phantasm
muttered disgustedly.

‘Caleb and
Cyrus will be overseeing the Contract … and evaluating your performance,’ he
added with a warning glare at Xerxes and Brutus.  ‘While you are out of
the Valley you will be representing the Ri.  Your actions will reflect
directly on me as your Training Captain.  Do not give me cause to be
disappointed in any of you!’

‘I feel like
I’m back at home,’ muttered Xerxes to Brutus.  ‘He could teach our mother
a thing or two about nagging!’

Mistral
started to laugh then quickly smothered it, dipping her head to avoid Leo
Sphinx’s icy glare.

‘You will
leave at first light.  Cyrus will outline the route and strategy for you
now.’  Leo finished speaking and abruptly swept from the room, followed by
the Contract’s Officer.  

The moment Leo
left the room the tense atmosphere he always created suddenly eased and a buzz
of excitement ran through the apprentices.

‘Whatever Cyrus
tells us to pack don’t forget the knucklebones set and some cards!’ 
Brutus hissed urgently to Xerxes.

‘I’ll take two
sets, in case we wear the first one out,’ Xerxes grinned, rubbing his hands
together eagerly.

‘Attention
first years!’  Cyrus barked, standing at the front of the room with his
hands on his hips, scowling heavily at them.

‘Mother
again!’  Xerxes and Brutus intoned dully, causing another ripple of
laughter to run through the room.

‘Quiet!’ 
Cyrus bellowed, his face flushing an angry red.  ‘This is your first
Contract!  Try and take it seriously or I may have to recommend that you
are expelled from the Valley!’

A sudden
silence fell.  The first years looked at each other apprehensively.

‘Can he do
that?’  Mistral muttered to Phantasm.

‘No, only
Master Sphinx or another member of the Magnate can expel an apprentice,’ he
snorted dismissively.