The Assassin's Tale (Isle of Dreams) (12 page)

Red-faced and
sweaty, Mistral finally managed to drag a bad-tempered Cirrus from his stall
and into the stableyard.  She hauled herself quickly into the saddle
before he could start being awkward again.

‘Was Cirrus
drinking with us in The Cloak last night?’  Saul asked eying the fidgeting
horse tentatively.  ‘Only he looks a bit grumpy this morning.’

Cirrus tossed
his head and promptly tried to bite Saul’s horse, ‘He just needs a bit of
exercise that’s all.  He’ll be better when we’ve ridden for a couple of
hours,’ Mistral replied defensively.

‘Right, see
you later then!’   Saul quickly kicked his horse into a trot, moving
out of Cirrus’ biting range.

They rode out
through the Valley’s little used South Gate.  Mistral peered curiously up
at the unseen guard high up in his lookout as they passed through the open
gates.

‘Who does the
job of lookouts?’  she asked Phantasm.  ‘It must be so boring!’

‘Warriors who
come to the Valley to retire, they work in exchange for living here.  The
farmers, the Equus, Floris, even the villagers are all retired warriors.’

Mistral nodded
while she absorbed this piece of information.  She was beginning to realise
more and more that her sheltered upbringing in Nevelte had left her woefully
uninformed about so many things.  She was glad to have the twins as
friends, they seemed to know everything.  Not for the first time, Mistral
wondered where they had been raised.   

They broke
into a canter and headed out through the low meadow, fanning out into a long
row behind Cyrus and Caleb.  The sky was overcast and the sharp northerly
wind made it bitterly cold, but the apprentices were all warmly dressed in
their leather jerkins and travelling cloaks and felt only the anticipation of
the Contract that lay ahead of them.

Cyrus studied
the ground carefully when they left the meadows and approached the southern
wetlands that bordered the marshes.  After a prolonged inspection he
concluded that it was still frozen hard enough for them to risk taking the
shorter route through the treacherous marshes.  Mistral was disappointed
and she could tell from the faces of the other apprentices that she wasn’t the
only one that had been secretly looking forward to the longer ride through the
mountains and the chance to use some gargoyles for crossbow target practise.

‘Still, we
might get to pop off a couple of knuckers,’ she said consolingly to Saul who
had risked riding next to her again now that Cirrus appeared to have calmed
down.

‘I know, but
gargoyles would be a bit more of a challenge,’ he said in a disgruntled tone.

They ate a
meagre lunch of dried meat and bread as they rode, keeping up a steady pace throughout
the day in order to reach the far side of the marshes before nightfall. 
Caleb and Cyrus did not want to risk camping for the night in the marshes, they
were too wary of the many dangerous nocturnal creatures that lived there.

‘Do you think
Columbine will take the opportunity to sneak off tonight and pay some of her
family a visit?’  Mistral muttered to Phantom as they rode quietly side by
side.

‘I do hope
not.  Gargillians are loathsome creatures and I don’t particularly fancy
waking up in the night to find one sneaking up on me,’ said Phantom quietly,
casting a quick look around to see where Columbine was.  ‘Have you seen
her,’ he said softly, indicating with a nod of his head to where she was
riding.

‘No,’ said
Mistral disinterestedly, keeping her gaze fixed on the treacherous semi-frozen
ground beneath Cirrus’ hooves. 

‘Look!’
 Phantom urged.

Reluctantly
Mistral looked across to where Phantom indicated.  Columbine was riding
alone at the back of the group.  She had the hood of her cloak pulled
right over to hide her face and was slumped dejectedly in the saddle.

‘What’s up
with her?  I thought she’d be revelling in the chance to actually kill
something rather than just practising on me all the time!’  Mistral
exclaimed under her breath.

‘Why don’t you
find out?’  Phantom asked, raising his eyebrows at her.

Mistral
shrugged, ‘Why not?’

It was easy to
read Columbine’s aura for a second time.  Mistral always found that the
more she read a person, the quicker their aura appeared to her.  A cloud
of soft pale green and pearly grey hung in the air around Columbine’s hooded
head, flashes of amethyst flickered like streaks of lightning in a thunder
storm.  Mistral blinked and broke the vision, turning to Phantom with a
look of surprise; it was totally the opposite of the colours she had seen in
her aura before.

‘Pale green –
which is sadness or loss … loads of grey which signifies that she’s feeling
depressed and she’s also worried about something too.’

‘Missing
Golden by the looks of it,’ murmured Phantom softly. 

‘Oh for crying
out loud!  There’s going to be no fun trying get even with her in that
state!  I sincerely hope these goblins are up for a bit of a fight or this
is going to be one boring trip,’ Mistral grumbled and yanked the hood of her
own cloak up against the bitter wind. 

They camped
for the night beyond the edge of the wetlands at the base of a rocky
outcrop.  The flat grassland around them was open to the cruel winds and
they were grateful for the shelter that the rocks provided.  After the
horses had been fed and tethered close by, the apprentices huddled around a
fire, roasting rabbits that Brutus and Xerxes had shot during the long
ride.  Conversation was subdued under the heavy gaze of the two Training
Lieutenants.  The apprentices instinctively knew that different rules
applied now they were outside the Valley and that Caleb and Barak would not
have to restrain their aggressive natures if any of the apprentices stepped out
of line.  While Brutus turned the rabbits on a spit over the fire, Caleb
and Barak talked quietly together sharing a large gourd of something that smelt
like a strong liquor.  By the time the rabbits were finally ready both
Training Lieutenants were slumped forward with their heads bowed onto their
chests and snoring loudly.

‘That’s a
relief,’ said Brutus eyeing the snoring Lieutenants.  ‘I thought we were
going to have to invite them to play knucklebones with us!’

He reached
into his saddlebag and pulled out a set of dice and bones.  Gourds of wine
started to appear from saddlebags on all sides and the mood suddenly
lightened.  Xerxes broke into a verse of his crude goblin song and before
long everyone was joining in with the chorus.  Grendel’s low rumbling
voice mingled with the Training Lieutenants snores to form an almost pleasant
melody and Mistral couldn’t help but laugh.

The wind
dropped as night fell and the clouds cleared from the sky, bathing the
grasslands in soft moonlight.  Under the influence of too much wine the
twins were coaxed into singing a haunting ballad about a fallen warrior called
Elias who had been left by his kinsmen to die alone on the battlefield. 
Mistral listened to their mournful song and gazed up at the stars, content to
be sleeping outside in the cold surrounded by a group of trainee assassins who
were fast becoming her best friends.

‘Ah, that was
beautiful,’ murmured Cain, wiping an emotional tear from his eye.  ‘Do you
know the one about Theodosia and her lost love?’

‘Enough
singing!’  Xerxes called, shaking a set of dice impatiently in his hand to
gain their attention.  ‘I’m willing –’ he paused dramatically and fixed
them all with a hard look, ‘to run a sweepstake on how many goblins you all
fondly imagine you’re going to kill.’

‘Oh now you’re
talking!’ said Mistral enthusiastically.  ‘I’m going for no less than
five.’

‘Listen to the
girl as she takes on half the world!’  Cain laughed.  ‘I bet I’ll get
a nice even two.’

‘Likewise,’
the twins chimed in unison.

‘Six,’ Grendel
grunted creating a slight lull in the enthusiastic betting as everyone realised
that he was both serious and quite capable of achieving that number.

‘Fine,’ said
Xerxes slowly, reaching into the top pocket of his jerkin to pull out a folded
piece of parchment.  ‘I’d better start taking these down ... anyone got a
quill handy?’

Caleb suddenly
gave an almighty snore and keeled over with a massive thud, throwing his arm
across Cyrus in the process who didn’t even stir.

‘What were
they drinking?’  Mistral asked, staring at the comatose pair in
disbelief.  She couldn’t believe the amount of noise the Lieutenants were
sleeping through.

‘Some nasty
liquor Floris brews … with a little something added,’ said Cain with a sly
wink.

‘What?’
 Mistral asked with a grin.

‘Extract of
valeriana and white poppy.’

‘We’ll be lucky
if they wake up next year with that mix in them!’  Mistral exclaimed in
shocked tones before adding more seriously.  ‘Have you got enough to dose
them tomorrow night as well?’

‘Oh yes,’ Cain
confirmed, tapping the top pocket of his jerkin surreptitiously.

‘Now the night
is young … so who’s up for some cards?’  Xerxes demanded.

‘I’ll take
watch,’ said Bali quietly and slipped away from the circle to stand a short
distance away, looking out across the open grasslands.

Xerxes
shrugged and concentrated on dealing out the cards, ‘How about a small
wager?  Just to make it interesting?’  he suggested with a
grin.  

By the time
the apprentices finally rolled themselves up in their cloaks and went to sleep
it was well past midnight and a sharp frost had fallen.  They kept the
fire fed through the night and had a surprisingly comfortable night’s
sleep.  By morning the embers were still hot enough to be coaxed back into
life and before the two drugged Lieutenants had roused, Cain was roasting
another rabbit for breakfast.  

‘Hungry?’ 
Cain asked politely, waving a roasted rabbit haunch under Caleb’s nose.

Caleb made a
noise like he was about to be sick and lumbered off behind the rocks. 

‘Might have
got the mix a bit wrong,’ said Cain thoughtfully when Caleb staggered slightly.

‘Never mind,
you can perfect it tonight,’ said Phantom brightly, seizing the rabbit from him
and biting into it hungrily. 

Columbine had
not joined them last night.  She’d rolled herself into her cloak before
the Training Lieutenants had passed out and was now sat on the outskirts of the
group with her hood pulled up, refusing any food or drink.  Konrad was
lingering a short distance from her, watching her thoughtfully while he chewed
on a piece of roasted rabbit. 

‘With any luck
she’ll just curl up and die from misery,’ muttered Phantom eyeing her coldly.

‘Don’t say
that!’  Mistral chided.  ‘Where’s the pleasure in her dying like
that?’

The journey
that day was much more pleasant.  They rode through wide flat grasslands
with little to worry them except the biting cold.  Mistral spread the long
back of her cloak across Cirrus’ broad rump as they rode to keep him warm,
causing the twins to laugh at her.

‘I can’t
believe how much you genuinely care for that bad-tempered beast,’ said Phantasm
with a shake of his head.

Mistral pulled
a face at him and was about to make a sharp retort when someone called out her
name in a low urgent voice.

‘Mistral!’ 

She spun in
the saddle to see Saul shielding his eyes with his hand and staring out across
the grassland in front of them.

‘Have you got
your crossbow handy?’

‘Yes,’ she
replied, reaching down to unstrap it from the front of her saddle.

‘Can you see
the herd of deer grazing over there?’

Mistral turned
and looked at where Saul indicated.  She narrowed  her eyes she could
just make out a series of reddish coloured dots a long way off.

‘Just! 
You’ve got good eyesight Saul!’ she exclaimed quietly.

‘Comes with
the blood-line,’ he grinned.  ‘Right, let’s have a change from rabbit
tonight.  I’ll ride around their left flank with Xerxes and Brutus, you
and the twins head around to the right and wait while we drive them towards
you!’

‘What about
Caleb and Cyrus?’  Phantom asked looking around with a worried frown.

‘Don’t worry
about them,’ Saul said dismissively, unstrapping his own crossbow.

Mistral looked
around for the Training Lieutenants and quickly spotted them, riding at the
back looking half-asleep in the saddle.

‘I think Cain needs
to tone it down a touch,’ muttered Phantasm after examining their blank faces
for a moment.  ‘Or they’re going to be useless when it comes to fighting
the goblins.’

Mistral
grinned at him, ‘No way!  It’ll just mean more for us!’

Xerxes,
Brutus, and Saul urged their horses forward into a canter while Mistral and the
twins hung back, watching them until they drew near the herd of grazing deer.

‘Here we
go!’  Mistral called out, gleefully kicking Cirrus into a fast
canter. 

The twins
followed and they flew across the flat grasslands.  Cirrus pulled
strongly, trying to have his head but Mistral held him tightly with one hand;
the other gripping her crossbow, ready to fire.

Saul, Xerxes
and Brutus reached the herd, they immediately panicked and began to scatter,
fleeing in all directions.  The three apprentices worked swiftly together,
pulling their horses around to drive some of the herd back towards the twins
and Mistral and were successful in steering a huge buck and a couple of smaller
does right into their path.

Mistral and
the twins reined to a halt and quickly took aim at the three deer bounding
towards them.

‘The
buck!’  Phantom called out.

They
immediately adjusted their aims to centre on the neck and chest of the
galloping beast.  With a snapping sound and a high-pitched whistle they
all fired their crossbows.  Bolts flew through the air and plunged
straight into the buck with a series of dull thuds.  Phantasm turned to
Mistral and grinned when the buck stumbled and fell to the ground.