The Unexpected Heir: A Tale of Alus Read Free Page A

but I think that he's led well enough."
    Welden, her younger guardsman, had been silently listening while keeping his eye on the nearby crowd. He spoke up saying, "That isn't what I've heard of their message. You're saying the more negative and probably most radical opinions of the brothers."
    Ivanor's eyebrows raised questioningly and the wizard said, "Oh, then feel free to enlighten us."
    "I can't say that I've sat still long enough to listen to their full message myself, but I know others that appreciate what they are doing. They've set up missions to feed the poor. They can house the homeless putting roofs over their heads as well at least temporarily.
    "For all the riches in Malaiy, especially in Yalan, there are still starving people and others in need that the king doesn't seem to have the time to address. The brothers have come and are filling part of that void."
    Annalicia frowned and looked slightly confused at the two stories. The girl paused in the street listening as best she could through the noise of a crowded street as a handful of red clothed men appeared to hold their ground as a unit.
    "Brothers and sisters hear our voices and know that we serve the gods and you. If you are starving, know that we can feed you. If you are tired and have no home, come and use our homes as yours. If you are in fear, we will protect you.
    "If King Orlaan can't see your suffering, know that Sordrian sees you and has called us to come to your aid. Let his blood cleanse you of your sins and let his light shine upon your path. Come to him and our god can save you from the harshness of your lives. His servants are here to help you in his name, even if you don't believe in him."
    Anna listened to the men as their words continued on similarly for a few minutes. They were calling to the poor to come to them for help. They used this Sordrian as their rallying point, but the god must have been a lesser god and Annalicia had to look to the men around her for enlightenment.
    "Who is this Sordrian that they are talking about? I think that I have heard the name, but I am not certain," the young woman asked even as she began to notice the stares given not just from those closest to her, but from at least one of the brothers who had noted her listening as well.
    "If you have money and wish to share with those in need, the Brothers of the Blood can take your donations as well. Perhaps those related to the king might make up for the slights to his people?" one of the men in red called her way.
    Anna frowned slightly at his thinly veiled request of the girl. Whether she might wish to donate to this cult following Sordrian, a name she still didn't know; the wizard hadn't carried any money with her. To fail to give might make her family look unsympathetic, but the brothers were putting her in the uncomfortable position with no easy way out also.
    "Sordrian was called the god of storms or weather, depending on who you might ask," Ivanor stated even as he waited to see how Annalicia might deal with the indirect petitioning of the brothers. "I would have to look up more about him in the library, but I think that I remember him being an immortal like Darius, the wizard. He may be older than that and from the old gods of legend, but that is what I thought I have heard anyway."
    Annalicia turned from her stare down with the brother who had called her out for the crowd. More eyes had turned to look at the girl. Different faces revealed different expectations and reactions from those looking at her. Some merely saw her beauty and failed to realize that the wizard was any relation to the king. Many looked past her wondering who the brothers were speaking of with their most recent words.
    Others knew of the young lady with the silver blond hair. A member of the extended family of Malaiy's royal family, any who knew of her, would believe she was rich enough to share some of their wealth. Anna might have been a daughter with parents who were rich, but the woman