The Assassin's Tale (Isle of Dreams) Read Online Free Page A

it’s just cheap!’  laughed Phantom.
    Mistral
couldn’t help smiling, despite the fact that they had obviously been using this
joke on every newcomer to the Valley for the last two weeks. 
    They began to
walk along the path together, the twins on either side of her, talking over her
as though she were a net in a tennis tournament. 
    ‘That’s three
females here to Register for training,’ said Phantom conversationally.
    ‘Well, two
really.  I wouldn’t like to vouch for Columbine being female,’ said
Phantasm dubiously.
    Phantom
laughed, ‘No, she is rather … ambiguous –’
    ‘Is it unusual
to have female warriors?’  Mistral suddenly asked, interrupting their game
of conversation tennis over her head.
    ‘Fairly, but
not unheard of – however, three in one year is a touch unusual,’ replied
Phantasm lightly.
    A worrying
thought struck Mistral.  Would she be expected to share sleeping quarters
with these two others?
    ‘These dorms,’
she asked tentatively, ‘how exactly are they laid out?  I mean, is it just
one big room, or are there rooms for each of us?’
    ‘We don’t all
sleep in cloaks on the floor if that’s what you’re thinking!  It’s two to
a room, or one to a room in your case, providing no other females arrive,’
replied Phantasm.  ‘You see the long building between the four
towers?’  Mistral followed his pointing finger and nodded.  ‘Well,
the third floor is for the Magnate, the four heads of the Ri.  They each
occupy a tower room – apart from Mistress Lightwater.  She has a room in
the Infirmary she runs.  The second floor is our dorms.  Each of
those grilled windows is a room … well more of a cell really,’ he added
grimly.  ‘The ground floor is where the Main Hall, Refectory, Laundry and
Infirmary are, plus a couple of smaller rooms used by the Contracts Officer and
the Training Captain.’
    Mistral
listened, fascinated by what Phantasm was telling her.  She hadn’t
imagined such a complex structure.  In her mind’s eye she had envisioned
someone running a training regime, of course, but the size of the organisation
left her slightly awestruck.
    ‘Who are the
Magnate?’ she asked quickly, taking advantage of a brief pause in the twins’
seemingly relentless flow of information.
    Phantom
responded to her question promptly, ‘Well, there’s Master Malachi Nox, but I’m
not sure exactly what he does … Mistress Serenity Lightwater is a Healer and
runs the Infirmary, Master Mycroft Casterton is very knowledgeable on the
Isle’s Law and Council Politics, and there’s Master Leo Sphinx, he’s our
Training Captain.  He also has three Training Lieutenants to oversee our
day to day training.’
    ‘And of
course, let’s not forget the Divinus,’ added Phantasm softly.
    ‘I was just
getting to him,’ said Phantom with a slight edge to his voice.
    ‘Who’s he?’
 Mistral asked curiously.
    ‘The Head of
the Ri,’ said Phantom quickly, before Phantasm could speak again.  ‘He’s a
Seer, and,’ he dropped his voice to a conspiratorial whisper, ‘he’s also
rumoured to be a Necromancer.’
    ‘He sounds
delightful,’ said Mistral with a shudder.
    ‘The Divinus
has been a very powerful force in the history of the Isle,’ said Phantasm
loftily.  ‘Although his time is drawing to a close now, I’m afraid. 
He’s quite frail; apparently he rarely comes out of his tower room.  He
just sits up there convening with wraiths and shades day and night.’
    ‘Now who’s been
listening to too much gossip in The Cloak and Dagger,’ muttered Phantom
scathingly. 
    They had
reached the bottom of the steep winding track and were walking along a straight
path that led into the village itself.  Up close, Mistral could see the
houses were all made of the local honey-coloured stone with small square
windows set back behind traditional iron grills.  Shutters pinned open on
either side spoke of the hard winters the Valley saw each year.  As