The Unexpected Heir: A Tale of Alus (27 page)

"Well, I am glad that I helped. After I see to Needaly, hopefully she will get to enjoy her success."

The girl frowned and pushed away before climbing on top of him once more. She still had a light sheen of sweat causing her to glisten majestically where she rested on his legs. "If you keep talking about Needaly, I will get jealous, Karlaan. You don't want to make me jealous, do you? Maybe you like her more than me?"

His hands reached for her waist sliding up and down along her curves. "Well, you certainly have my undivided attention."

Chapter 15- Following the Trail

The ship with the message from her father had arrived the day before her final matches. Annalicia had read the letter and spoken with Darius in greater detail, but another matter had come up as well which had been influenced by the tournament.

Xerese looked at her sadly and quickly moved to hug her cousin. "I can't believe that you aren't coming back with me."

Embracing her strongly, Annalicia sighed. Her grandfather had come to her with a request and the possibilities it offered were just as strong as his wish to help the battle mage from Southwall. The mission was supposed to be more or less secret, though it was hardly something which could be considered a national secret either.

"I know. I never expected something like this to come up when we left home that is for sure," the petite blonde said placing her chin on her cousin's shoulder. Family and the closest of friends, Anna didn't really want to part with her, but her ship was going into the unknown with no set time for her return. They could hardly endanger Xerese in the process and knew that if her father could have made her return, he would have.

Parting slightly their hands slid to catch each other before fully separating and Xerese asked, "Do you really need to go on this mission? It is Southwall's idea, or that mage's anyway, why can't they send one of their own ships?"

Leaning her head to the side, Annalicia almost conceded the point. "My grandfather wants to help him. It is probably a waste of time, but he is pretty certain that there is a trail to follow this Grimnal as they call him. If he truly is immortal, I suppose that he might be out there somewhere; but everyone adds then why has he disappeared for so long?"

"Then why go?"

"Well, I do owe Sebastian my life as well. If not for his quick acting, I would be dead and we wouldn't be having this conversation at all. Between that debt and my grandfather's request, how do you say no to Darius the great after all? I just couldn't say no."

Tossing her dark hair back over her shoulder, the dark blue eyes of her cousin search the almond shaped, green eyes in the face before her. A smile suddenly lifted her lips and Xerese shrugged, "Well, I guess that you will probably have more of an adventure to tell when you return home. I thought there was more than enough to say from the tournament, but go find yourself an immortal!"

The dark haired girl giggled before pulling her cousin close for a second, shorter hug.

"Well, at least I have the seasickness pills for the trip back," Xerese said stepping back and gesturing to one of her bags. It was her personal bag that could serve as a purse as well. Anything important to her was in there, the pills included.

"I went to the healers here in Southwall and restocked them for you, just in case," Anna replied with a smile following her cousin towards the accumulated packs.

A knock at the door brought in a flood of men to take Xerese's bags and the two women followed them towards the stairs.

"When do you leave for this adventure?" the dark haired, young woman asked as she started pulling on thick mittens purchased while in Southwall. Her coat had been bought on the way up the coast as it had become colder, since Xerese had felt the north's cold even bound up in two jackets brought from Malaiy where they didn't know the bitter cold suffered by the northern continent.

"In less than a week, I guess Sebastian has to finish teaching the light and darkness spells he figured out during the tournament." She shook her head thinking of it. It was hard to believe that the battle mage could not only decipher an enemy spell after only seeing it a few times, but the light spell had shown up during his match with a Gray Hall wizard and he had duplicated it seconds later.

Light had properties of nature that fire wizards in particular had an affinity to, but still it had been remarkable that a battle mage was the one who could do the impossible. Listening to other wizards from Southwall at the banquets thrown by the king and lesser lords of the city; Annalicia realized that Sebastian was not only unusual, but completely unique. No one had ever seen the like of him before and every wizard was questioning how someone of such limited power could achieve the level of spells he could use.

Anna wondered that herself. She could read the man's power. It was insignificant most of the time, but she had felt the surge in him several times and wondered if he was stifling his power most of the time. There was a wizard trick that could mask much of one's power. She knew one or two variations of that as well, but few held it down indefinitely or even as long as a week.

Realizing that her thoughts had slipped away with the questions, Annalicia answered her cousin's questioning eyes as she elaborated, "Once he trains enough wizards and, I guess, their battle mages; we will leave."

"I wonder how long this mission will take you."

Giving a shrug in response, the wizard replied, "Well, some of those involved think that he might be closer than we think. Of course, some think we will just find him long dead also, but for those who are more positive, they believe he could be lost on some unknown island.

"He went on a mission to visit their allies in the North Sea after it was upended in the Cataclysm and he never returned. At that point, they had no idea what islands survived or the new ones which were created. Even after two hundred years, there could be small islands that no one has ever seen."

"How can that be? Surely by now they've searched their North Sea from one side to the other," Xerese said skeptically. They walked outside making Anna throw up her windscreen to keep them warmer. Without it, the wizard knew that she would be cold even if it was supposedly more than a week into the calendar time designated as spring. Locals scoffed at the day set by the ancients of Taltan who lived on a continent that only saw snow on the higher peaks of the mountain ranges found here and there.

"Most ships that sail here follow the mainland or largest islands which are close by. They aren't explorers. They want to make a living where they know that there are cities and towns. A few from the ancient pirate islands found new land or had their homes enlarged as they rose higher. They may have found other islands near them, but I would guess that even those prefer to stick to known paths with certain destinations."

Her lips frowning into a pout, Xerese complained, "Well, then I won't be able to tell your father much about when you will return. Maybe I should just pen a message and send it to him instead?" she finished with a quick laugh. "I wonder who will be more put out, your father or the wizards' guild that you are taking the rest of the wizards with you."

"I offered to send Keith with you. He could tell them for you."

Waving off the offer with her free hand, Xerese gestured to her guards. "I have them for protection and an entire ship armed with cannon. One wizard isn't going to change much, but he might be more helpful to you.

"I suppose that mage is bringing more wizards with him too."

It was phrased like a question and Anna shrugged again, "I would assume so. They already set a number for space needed for travel. Since we weren't loaded to maximum coming here, it won't be too crowded, I don't think; but I would guess that at least a few will be wizards.

"My cousin Darterian is coming along at least. It will be interesting to spend more than a few days with a cousin outside of our royal family."

"He's also a wizard. There is a lot of magic in your grandfather's grandchildren apparently."

Annalicia nodded thinking that few of his children had become wizards, but the next generation had a few representatives coming from the immortal. If immortality were transferred as easily, maybe there would be more of those in her generation as well; but Darius and other sources had told of few immortals being born at all. None were in the same family as far as she knew.

A black coach carried them down to the lower city and Anna waved as Xerese's ship set sail. Her cousin waved from the rear of the vessel for a time, but the cold could reach her without the wizard's shield and she retreated for warmer spaces below deck, Annalicia assumed before returning to the carriage.

"Well, at least she should be safe," Ryan said sitting with Welden across from their charge. "Dillon and Toman should be enough to keep even a daring sailor from pestering her on the trip back."

Anna nodded and looked out the window. She had pulled the drapery back to see the lower city passing by outside.

"I guess you two drew the short straws on this one. We could be away from Malaiy a long time," she mused with her attention split between her words and the sight of the harbor city.

"Well, admittedly guardsmen don't expect a lot of adventure, but we're sworn to guard you from anything. Normally that just means we guard you around the city, but we're ready to do it anywhere," he assured her and Welden nodded.

She glanced to them and gave a quick smile. As a wizard, she commanded the power of dozens, if not hundreds of men; but a wizard needed time to cast. If danger occurred around her, it was likely that her magic would save them; but their steel would give her that time.

Compared to the two large men, Annalicia was short and light. Almost childlike in size walking between them, her magic made her a giant in a small package.

Thinking to the voyage they were about to undertake, the girl wondered what trouble they would see. Sebastian was the one undertaking the quest to find the Grimnal, but her ship and crew would be at risk right alongside him. She needed to protect her people as well. A young wizard mostly tested in duels like in the tournament, Anna was uncertain what they would find. Would she need to fight pirates or monsters? It was something she would only know after they left port for places unknown.

Giving a sigh at the thought, the wizard was quiet on the way back to the inn.

Philip entered through a pair of guarded doors thinking the commitment of the manpower a little much. This wasn't a visit to see Orlaan or one of the other members of the royal family. He was merely there to speak with a maid, who might or might not know more of Needaly's dealings with the Brothers of the Blood.

Entering the room, the girl with dark blue eyes looked up uncertainly. She seemed nervous after being pulled aside and put in the room by Orlaan's guardsmen. They hadn't told her why and Tareina had needed to wait for at least an hour, or so she thought, though no bells had rung to tell her the certain time. Clocks were a luxury few could afford and even a king didn't waste gold on a plain room he rarely visited, if ever.

Noting her dark hair, curled slightly though most had been tied back in a tail behind her as most maids in the castle did, Philip took in the practicality of her look. A maid's dress and apron, the hair and no jewelry showing, if she could afford such; Tareina would still draw the eye. Her pretty face and blue eyes would draw most men's eyes, some of the women too likely, though some might look at her guardedly. A beautiful woman could draw enemies without trying from jealous wives. Not every lord and lady trusted their partner to be faithful. There were enough rumors and stories of those who hadn't to know that they weren't all guarded for no reason.

"Tareina Hurein?" he questioned as Philip neared the conference table set between them.

Swallowing worriedly, the young woman replied, "Yes, my lord."

"Do you know why you are here?"

"No, my lord," she said tentatively and he could feel her need to ask.

"Tareina, you are a friend of Needaly Prior, correct?"

"Yes, my lord?" Tareina asked and her eyes started to dart side to side as if the woman expected to see her friend in the room.

"Have you seen her recently?"

"No, my lord, she became sick about a little over a week ago and I think six days ago she sent a note that said she was too ill to work."

A new question rose in her eyes, and Philip realized that the woman, for all that she was a close friend of Needaly, didn't know what had happened.

Taking a deep breath, the lord tried to ease into the matter and asked a similar question, "Have you heard from her family during that time?"

Shaking her head, Tareina started to look a bit flush. Admitting her embarrassment, the young woman said, "I probably should look in on her, but I have been distracted of late. If I were a good cook, I would bring her a meal; but maybe my mother would be willing to make something that I can bring to make Needaly feel better."

Echoing the shake of the dark haired woman, Philip slowly began, "You have noticed the illness running through the castle of late?"

The redness in her cheeks began to leave and she paled as worry appeared in her eyes. "Yes, my lord, a cough for the most part, though some people have been a bit more peaked. Needaly wasn't doing that well. That is why I haven't seen her lately. Is she all right?"