The Unexpected Heir: A Tale of Alus (29 page)

It was four days since he had lain with Tareina when she appeared at the temple. He wasn't necessarily looking for the woman so much as watching the people coming to the sanctuary. People prayed or begged and listening to their problems could lead to others that might further his cause, so Karlaan was watching when she entered.

Their eyes locked and he started to smile until he noticed that she did not. The slightest shake of her head warned him off as Tareina moved into the public room to find a pew to sit. She pressed her hands together as if in prayer, but the young man didn't think that she called on Sordrian or any of the gods as she bowed her head.

Looking from the girl to those walking in after her, a man who entered felt wrong to him. The man's eyes flit from Tareina to the others in the large room. Dozens sat or walked towards the statue of Sordrian. The brothers moved through them and offered food or encouragement depending on the needs. With so many people to look at, his attention seemed to continually return to the dark haired beauty who had her head covered with a scarf.

"Porian," he said pulling one of the brothers nearby to him, "that young woman seems to be in need. Would you see to her?"

Following his nod and eyes, the brother with his shaved head noted Tareina before replying, "You sense her need, Karlaan? If I didn't know better, I would think that you wanted to be a brother. You seem to see the hearts of others very well."

Not certain if the man was being sarcastic or truthful, Karlaan stated, "Well, I have been watching Caldrefan forever. Maybe some of his ability has begun to rub off on me and since he isn't here I kind of feel the need to help out as much as I can."

The brother nodded and his eyes appeared impressed with the answer. "I will see if the young woman needs help. She is pretty. Maybe you noticed that as much as her need though," he finished with a chuckle before Porin walked over to Tareina.

Watching the slightly overweight monk almost waddle over to the girl, Karlaan tried to split his attention between the two and the one he thought had followed her. The shadow had slipped into a pew moving towards a penitent posture, but his eyes didn't close or look to the sky like many of the others. His eyes watched the girl and noted the approach of the brother with interest. While he tried to hide his focus behind his hands, the man wasn't able to catch Karlaan watching him.

It was obvious that her shadow was certainly following Tareina, but he wasn't sure why. Word had reached him that the illness spreading through the castle had killed a few who worked in the gardens. Moreover, the flowers had been culled from the castle halls and were to blame. No mention of poison had leaked to the population or those working in the castle, but Caldrefan's spies brought word that the king and his closest aides had figured out that the flowers had become poisonous to the touch.

Since the master was gone, Karlaan could intercept any reports from the shadows Caldrefan employed. They seemed to believe that he was the one to report to in the city while Caldrefan traveled. Karlaan did what he could to send messengers to the master's final destination he had been given as well making him the center of knowledge coming from the shadows. He didn't doubt that some of the power had to have come from Caldrefan.

After several minutes, Porin left the girl and moved to another man who had been praying for a long time, but who managed to look around as if hoping someone would come ask him why. There were those who gave obvious signs and those who were simply faking their prayers just waiting to call on the brothers for the help they sought. Not everyone believed a god would answer their prayers and they looked to the men who served the god instead.

Tareina never even looked towards him when she rose to leave. No looks over the shoulder followed either, but the man watching her rose to follow her again. Karlaan could feel a bit of disappointment even though the shadow did his best to show nothing. It might have been his own feelings overwriting what he had seen, but it mattered little to him.

Eventually Porin returned and placed a folded piece of paper in his hand without being obvious about it.

"The pretty young lady asked me to give this to you after she had left."

His look questioned Karlaan, but silence remained between them.

"Thank you, Porin, I think that I will read it somewhere quiet," he answered after a time and walked towards the hall leading to the side rooms where the brothers had their rooms for sleeping.

Using the room Caldrefan used for solitude and receiving his shadows reports, Karlaan unfolded the paper to read the message. It wasn't completely surprising in its content, but perhaps it should have been.

Tareina wrote that Needaly had died and others had as well. It also said that she had been interviewed and been asked if the temple had been involved. While she didn't directly accuse him, the note asked if they could meet somewhere that wouldn't bring the brothers into this matter.

She apparently didn't believe that they had been involved. This was between him and her. Karlaan assumed that enough was known that Tareina worried that his fertilizer might be the cause, but she must not believe that he had given Needaly a poison that would kill anyone with enough contact to the plants. He had shown them both kindnesses; so the girl doubted that he had done it on purpose and was protecting him from the men following her. At least, Tareina would protect him as long as she believed that it was an accident anyway.

Karlaan wondered if he should do something to silence the girl for good. The assassins would probably kill for him, but he hated to do such a thing. For one, she was a good sex partner. Tareina was in love with him, at least he was pretty sure of that. It was likely, since she had done so much to avoid bringing attention to him directly.

If he could manipulate her enough to keep that bond, there was also the possibility that he might be able to use her in the future as he had Needaly. Karlaan hadn't decided his next move just yet. Doing too much too fast would certainly bring more men snooping around and Caldrefan wouldn't like that. That there were men following Tareina already meant that someone suspected the Brothers of the Blood.

Letting out a sigh, Karlaan figured that he would have to see Tareina soon, but what should he do with her? The young man noted the peace and quiet of Caldrefan's sanctuary. Left with just his thought, Karlaan worked to figure out his next plan.

At first Annalicia had missed Xerese. There wasn't that much to do to get ready to sail for the lady of Malaiy. The captain and sailors took on supplies paid for by the crown of Southwall. While her ship was the transport and Anna was taking the battle mage as a favor, King Alain had been more than generous in covering any expenses needed. A small chest of coins would fund any other supplies while they were gone as long as the Sea Dragon could find a place to trade.

While she missed her cousin, it was a time to get to know not only Darius but her cousins Elias and Darterian. The latter was coming along on the journey to use a special compass designed by her grandfather to track the immortal man that was their quest. It would search for him based off of energy or genetic material left behind thanks to Southwall's museum of the Grimnal's ancient possessions.

The king and much of North continent revered Gerid Aramathea, though not as a god. Darius received the same kind of respect and had been elevated to mythic proportions as well, but he was still here to set any errant beliefs straight. The legend of the giant who had liberated the ancient kingdoms from the high king who had brought both the gargoyles and dragons to this world to fight for him, seemed too big to be true to Annalicia; but no matter the truth of his deeds, they would try to find him now.

With little to do, Annalicia had often gone down to the ship or shopped in the upper city to pass the time. They couldn't assume to chart a course or set up any plans for the ship aside from taking on supplies since they didn't know where this compass would lead them.

A week after Xerese had left, the Sea Dragon set out following a red dot on a green crystal set in the apparatus that could follow an ancient trail. It had been almost two centuries since the immortal had left the mainland aboard a ship meant to discover what had happened to their allies. Some of those allies had been island nations in the middle of the area most affected by the Cataclysm.

Darterian and Sebastian took turns using their magic to make the compass work and they continued to head southeast. Several days after leaving Hala a storm drove them to shelter in the harbor of an unchartered island. The morning after, she led one of the parties which had gone ashore. Sebastian chased after something the compass said was there. His team, some of whom were the wizards which had been with him for the tournament, was joined by others that seemed at odds with the young mage.

An older woman named Maura, a research wizard, appeared to want to take control; but the younger man surprised them all by shutting her down. He had been put in charge by the king and no one less, but the wizard had been sent by the guilds and thought her power of magic gave her the right to lead. It had amused Annalicia when his strength of will made Maura, the older wizard, back down; but she wasn't completely content to sick back as time would tell.

She joined Sebastian and climbed the cliff to search the jungle above the beach. It was a short time later that his three groups returned from the north. Warnings of giant crabs that could damage the ship sent the Sea Dragon south once more, but Sebastian had returned with a prize. A broken sword believed to have been left behind by one of his grandsons after dying on the island had drawn them there.

A new marking on the compass soon drew them to another island. This one was covered in jungle. At the south end, however, they discovered an abandoned fort grown over with vegetation. While Sebastian led a team into the jungle to discover what had been left behind, since the compass suggested that there were more points to the south; Annalicia waited on the beach as Maura led another team into the ruins of the fort.

She was a research wizard after all and the chance to discover something like this on another uncharted island was too much of a draw to ignore.

"These Southwall wizards and their mission are going to wind up getting us all killed," Reynolvan complained to Ivanor loudly enough to be heard. She had a feeling that was the point of speaking so loudly near her. "I don't know why we don't return to the Sea Dragon and leave them all behind."

Looking at the wizard with annoyance, Annalicia told the older man, "Because we don't leave friends and allies behind just because we feel inconvenienced, Reynolvan. That is why."

"My apologies, my lady, I didn't mean to complain," he replied looking remarkably unapologetic despite his words.

"No, you certainly did mean to complain and then tried to appeal to me by using my title as if that would make up for the insolence."

"My lady, I..."

He was cut off by her hand held towards him. "You and the other wizards need to figure out where we stand. If I am the lady you serve, then you should act like it. We are no longer wizards studying in the Malaiy wizards' guild.

"You exist upon my ship because I allow it. Stop questioning why we aide our allies. That is a simply ridiculous question. The king of Southwall, our ally, and Darius, the High Wizard of Eirdhen, asked us to help Sebastian and his people find the Grimnal. I accepted the task, so accept it and be quiet."

Reynolvan held his tongue for only a moment as his face reddened both from embarrassment and anger. While he tried to keep his words safe, Annalicia thought he was a failure as the man said, "It is too dangerous, my lady. The elders sent us with you to compete, but I was also told to guard you. You are a member of the royal family and in line to rule should the unforeseeable happen, but it could happen.

"If you were to die on this mission that shouldn't even be yours to take..."

Again she halted his argument with her hand and said, "Our ship could be engulfed by a storm between Southwall and Malaiy. Fires and disease could kill us all. Life has danger both easily seen and not. Whether something happens to us or not we will see it through. Now stop complaining."

Thunder suddenly echoed through the air seeming to come from the far side of the island. Her eyes looked up at a nearly cloudless sky. Air was her element and nothing made such a sound appear possible, yet a second and third crash of thunder rolled across the land.

Ivanor knelt murmuring a spell. Waiting for the man, Anna and the others looked towards the stone ruins gripped by moss and trees.

"There is something wrong," Darterian spoke quietly near his cousin. She looked to his elven eyes and noted the worry he expressed.

"Can you be more specific, cousin?"

A twist of his lips suggesting an uncomfortable smile preceded his answer of, "I cannot. Like Reynolvan suggested, this island has felt wrong, dangerous even since we found it. Even if the Grimnal left something behind here, I can't imagine that anything important remains. The compass points to the south as well as to this island, so I think he stopped here and left again.

"Maybe he left for a reason."

Sighing at his voiced impression of the island, which most had echoed, even if not to her; Annalicia was about to comment when she felt a surge of magic. Noise from the ruins of the nearby abandoned fort carried to them as well.