The Unexpected Heir: A Tale of Alus (6 page)

"What is your next plan?" Karlaan asked as he watched the men guarding them disappear out into the hall. "The king's brother died like you said he would, but no one made a fuss about it beyond the normal. An old man died, he was a duke and the king's younger brother; but there was no word about foul play. Unless you were just lucky in your guess, I would believe that you had something to do with it."

Frowning at the younger man who was roughly the same height as he, Caldrefan evaluated Karlaan in his mind. He was the bastard son of King Orlaan. His birth mother had been a servant in the king's castle and had been a beautiful woman; or at least attractive enough to draw Orlaan's attention and advances. It was at a time just before the queen was discovered pregnant with her second child; the king's third, as far as numbers were officially known.

Caldrefan was uncertain if Orlaan had other bastard children out there, but Karlaan's mother, Yasmin, had found Caldrefan after fleeing Malaiy and proclaimed that her young son was the child of a king. Karlaan was just four years old when the man who would lead the brothers first met him. His mother was still young, but her spirit had been crushed in the few years of survival while putting distance between her and Yalan.

When the queen had found out about the king's dalliance, she had made him cast Yasmin out of the castle and driven the woman from the capitol city. Her pregnancy hadn't been told to the king according to the young woman, but it was definitely King Orlaan's progeny. By the time she had wandered south and across the border into Tseulty lands she had come to term and given birth in a farmer's barn like some animal.

Serving where she could as a servant, Yasmin had eked out a living for herself and her infant son. Unable to continue long at any of her jobs thanks to the demands of a baby, the woman had eventually wandered into one of the temples of the brothers. Caldrefan had been there serving as the head of the local temple, though few knew that the order had been founded by the man as well.

She had become a servant to the temple and drawn his notice much like the king, but Caldrefan had also heard her story and discovered the child following his mother was also the son of a king. It had made him think and change the direction his goals would take him and the brothers.

Since finding out her secret, Caldrefan had worked on teaching the boy making him both ready to become a king and still serve his interests, but a bastard couldn't simply become king when there was a significant supply of heirs for that throne. That was how they had come to Yalan. One plan had led to another and now they were here.

"Duke Amaan was an older man. Word has it that his heart simply stopped in his sleep at his castle. I suppose that someone will need to take his title and run that castle some day, unless the king chooses to keep them for himself," Caldrefan replied avoiding taking credit or letting it fall to a single person. That certain poisons were very hard to detect, even with magic, and could kill a man by stopping his heart; was something he knew and certain men serving the order knew that as well.

That assassins could slip into the Duke's castle and end his life during the dead of night was something few would want to admit, but the right men could make such things happen. Caldrefan knew a few of their type, of course, but he couldn't admit it even to Karlaan. It was a secret that must remain secured and so the head of the local brothers refused to speak of it in particulars with the younger man.

Grunting dismissively, Karlaan tried again and said, "You have been telling me for most of my life that you could make me king. Has that changed or are you still working on finding a way?"

Caldrefan looked at the younger man and wanted to call him a boy. It was childish to ask such things and even foolish, but he supposed that broaching such issues should be safe enough here. The private rooms behind the sanctuary were about as secure as any place could be, especially with guards outside in the hall.

"We can hardly go up to the palace gates and proclaim you king or a prince anyway. Technically even if you wished to join the line of ascension for Malaiy's throne, King Orlaan holds the position. Your half brother, Prince Wylaan is next in line and has a son; then comes the second son, Prince Jeremiah. At best, you would be fourth in line at this point.

"To become king, you either need a few people to die in front of you or force a coup driving the current king and his family out of power, Karlaan. You tell me what you think needs to happen. What plans would you make?"

Waving the elder man off, Karlaan replied, "Why would you ask my thoughts when you clearly have a plan set in place? I would only get in the way. If I had to guess, it would be better for me to stand back and just watch.

"I still wonder why you are even bothering to help me to become king, Caldrefan. What is there in this for you?"

"Can't I simply wish to right a wrong? You have become dear to me, as has your mother. What this king did to both of you is wrong, so the Brothers of the Blood will do what we can to fix it. King Orlaan should be punished and anything that happens to him or those of his line is completely justified, don't you think?"

"I think that my father deserves to be taken from his throne and made to walk through the streets for his people to beat until he dies," the younger man stated sitting in an armed chair beside a large table.

"You don't think that too harsh?" his mentor posed the question like a teacher for his student to learn a lesson.

"He cheated on his queen and made a servant girl pay for his infidelity. Instead of making sure that she was taken care of, he cast her away to die in the streets. What part of my suggested punishment sounds too harsh for such a man?"

Caldrefan chuckled at the idea. "So how best to punish a man like this king? That should be our first question to answer.

"His younger brother, a childless man, died last winter. A general for his armies has been removed from the board. He has another brother and sister with their extended families. Do you think they need to be removed as well or just your siblings?"

Giving a disgusted sigh at the continued pushing of lessons, Karlaan replied in annoyance, "I don't care how you do it. If they plan to stand in my way because I am a bastard and they believe that they have a stronger claim to the throne; then they need to be removed, killed if necessary."

"So your best plan is to remove any of the royal family who will stand in the way. I guess that we need to look at who is vulnerable and start from there. If we can take out your older brothers and nephew, then maybe we should start with them. Eventually you will need to get rid of your father, you understand?"

Another dismissive grunt preceded his final verdict, "Maybe he should be left alive long enough to know that his son will still take the throne. It just won't be the son that he figured it to be."

"Well, there you go. We have another goal and result to plan around then. Orlaan should know who is destroying his family first before his death," Caldrefan stated coldly. Death no longer had much meaning to the leader of the brothers. His heart was steeled against such emotions, since he had lost his brother long ago. Now was a time for thought and reconnaissance also, the man thought.

If Malaiy fell, he could also choose who among the royals paid the blood price for Orlaan's indiscretion. Karlaan would become king and the brotherhood would gain greater power as he continued towards the ultimate goal that he had set for himself. It would take time, but he had time.

Caldrefan left Karlaan to his own devices moving to a room said to be for meditation. Few would dare bother the man there. He was a leader of the brothers, a spiritual and physical leader that had been around longer than anyone could remember. It was his voice that they repeated in the streets and in the sanctuary of each temple throughout the nations. He was a king among the brothers, but not their god.

A statue standing eight feet tall of Sordrian, the chosen god of the Brothers of the Blood, stood near the far wall from the only noticeable door leading into the room. It was an inner sanctum. No outer wall lent vulnerability to the god's room, but the man standing across from the bronzed statue wasn't looking on this as some idol for the masses to believe in.

Caldrefan looked at the face, created from his memory by artisans long ago, when the memory of his brother remained stronger in his mind's eye. Now this was the way he remembered Sordrian and the man could no longer see the color of his brother's eyes or the exact shade of his skin. He no longer smiled in his mind, but was this solemn metal figure looking down on him.

A dark shape slipped from behind the statue. Most would have been startled by the silent figure, but Caldrefan had been expecting him and had felt him through his use of magic. Wards had been set. No one would sneak up on him while the next conversation began. No one needed to know of this branch of the brothers, but him. Caldrefan had chosen this bit of darkness as he had others, but they were the hand that the others didn't see.

Kneeling on one knee, the figure in black even had his head wrapped in a cloth without revealing his face to the man who knew him whether he was masked or not.

"Father Caldrefan," the man's voice was deep, yet subtle like the movement of a snake through dark swamp water.

His title varied amongst those who knew him. Caldrefan was brother, father and even lord to those who revered him most.

"Brother," he acknowledged the man without calling his name. No one could hear it if he slipped, but it was best to let the man in black remain nameless. He wasn't known to his local congregation and had disappeared from notice from the temple in Daria years before making most of the brothers believe him lost or dead.

The man's eyes lifted to his leader receiving a nod to stand. "You really should teach that young man more humility. If he continues to speak out, even in small circles, the others will have trouble following him."

"Karlaan gets impatient. I have him in hand. He will fit his role when it comes down to it, even if I need to exercise a tighter rein in the future," Caldrefan replied coolly. The man in black had been a close confidante in the past and remained so, even though his skills had been put to use in a different way from his time as a brother serving the temple.

"Impatience can lead to foolishness, but I know you have seen that and know that you will keep the boy in check."

A nod from Caldrefan was the only other gesture, but it didn't add any acceptance of other faults in the future king. "Duke Amaan is dead. Has there been any interest in his castle or lands since the funeral?"

"Just the usual visits from the king's envoys. Without a wife still alive or heirs of his own, the Duke's death has left a void that isn't easily filled."

"He was a general also."

"In retirement, though he continued to visit his replacement and other key officers," the shadow nodded.

Caldrefan raised a hand to tap a finger against the tip of his chin as he crossed his other arm for support. "Perhaps we need to send someone to see if they plan to donate the man's castle to the people. It would make an excellent sanctuary and temporary home to those in need."

The other man said nothing. He was a man given to silence. It was one of the traits that made him good at his job. He was also intelligent enough to realize the rhetorical nature of Caldrefan's comment. No one would expect a king to give away one of his fortresses for free. The duke's castle held the northeast point of the city, and he had both titles and land beyond that which would require tending. Both the castle and land were important to the defense of Malaiy and Yalan, so Orlaan was likely trying to decide his best way of coping with the loss of his brother, a loyal supporter of the king during his entire reign though now more than a year had passed.

Caldrefan could still try to incite the people of Yalan by having his men suggest the idea during their speeches. It might light a fire under the king and help to disrupt Orlaan's plans further.

"Have the Shadows reported back on the other families' protection and defenses?" he asked a more pertinent and immediate question of the silent man.

A nod was the only answer from the cloaked figure. Given a moment's stare, the shadow added, "They have begun mapping openings and movement within the castles and homes. Do you plan to try putting them all to sleep like Amaan?"

The term was a kind way of putting it, Caldrefan thought of the shadow's words. "Not all of them," he replied thinking what threads needed to be pulled for a coup to sink its teeth into the jugular of this country.

Enswere had been their biggest move and royalty hadn't been a true obstacle. Racial groups had been slowly breaking that country apart for centuries. A little pulling at a few loose threads had made the whole thing fall apart in a matter of a couple years.

The masked man sensed his dismissal and slipped away into the shadows behind the statue once again. Caldrefan's thoughts were no longer on the man, but on the one he hoped to pull into this country's problems. His enemy had ties to the royals of Malaiy. Making him come to his descendants' aid was the wizard's true reason for stirring up the city and putting Karlaan on the center stage of it all.

Karlaan's reveal as the son of Orlaan and a legitimate heir had to be done at the right time. The people weren't ready and neither was the boy. Caldrefan still had work to do there, but there was time yet. His movement of each cog in the mechanism of his plan had to be set just right or his end goal wouldn't happen. He had failed in Enswere even if the country had broken in two. This time he would make it more personal.