Realms Gate: A Realm Divided

by Juliet Anderson

  “Does that include you leaving my sister alone?”

  “No. Sasha has chosen me of her own free will. You really must come to terms with that fact.”

  “She is young and impressionable. Perhaps at University she might find someone more suitable.”

  Angus found a strand of blue energy wound tight around his neck. “If such a remark comes out your mouth again, I will kill you,” he hissed.

  “Then who would you have to do your dirty work?” Angus choked after Heinrekh released him.

  “Do you seriously think you are my only informant on this side of the Realm? Give me some credit, I have many in my pocket who work for me.”

  CHAPTER 16

  For the first time in his reign, Olav was lost as to the course of action he should take. The following morning, after his temper had subsided, the reality of his situation hit him hard.

  His son was exiled, he had alienated their most powerful ally, leaving Lokranor very weak indeed. The Council had convened, all members were only too happy to tell him the city was running scared, that there was rebellion in the air. And who could blame them, he had left the route open for Heinrekh to invade. No priestess, child or not, no son to lead the army. His temper had got to him and he had screwed up. But a King did not admit his mistakes.

  “I want a third of our army along the Skarsgaard border,” he ordered the Council. “Heinrekh may use this opportunity to flex his muscles. Another third is to be stationed close to the Realms Gate.”

  “Why the Gate?” one of his Council queried.

  “If Heinrekh has gained Erin’s loyalty, he could exit Vasmaar through one Gate into Muirhead, and reappear through ours. The rest of the guard can protect the Castle.”

  “We are at war then?”

  “No. Just taking precautions.”

  “If the Prince should reappear?”

  “Then he is to be brought before me, unharmed.”

  Olav headed to his Royal Quarters, he was surprised to see Gudrun with a pile of packed bags.

  “You are going somewhere?” he scowled.

  “Back to my home,” she stared at her hands.

  “This is your home.”

  “I mean my former home.”

  “Now is not a good time. You must delay the trip.”

  “I will not,” she responded firmly. “You often accused Wilhelm of acting rashly, without thinking about serving the best interests of Lokranor. You did exactly that yesterday, and rather than admit your error, I now have a son I am unlikely to see again, and a city that will fall sooner rather than later. I do not want to be around to watch its destruction because my husband is too pig-headed to apologise to his heir.”

  “I will not apologise for my actions, Gudrun,” he bit back.

  “Then you are a fool, husband,” she said hotly.

  “If you want to leave, do so now before I have you thrown in the dungeons.” He could not believe even his wife was deserting him. Well, he needed none of them, he would survive this latest upset without their assistance.

  “I hope you will come to see the error of your ways before it is too late,” she sighed. With a very heavy heart, she left her husband. She loved him, but she could not remain by his side whilst she felt such anger at the way he treated Wilhelm. All her son had done was act like a nobleman, and for that he was living in exile. Her only faint ray of hope was that whatever upset had passed between him and Erin had now passed.

  She had considered going through the Gate to join Wilhelm, but figured Erin already had enough house guests. She would travel through later, when they were settled.

  Erin was in the study, curled up in the armchair when she first heard it. The calling of her name. She pricked her ears. It was faint, as though carried on the wind.

  “Yeah?” she shouted going to the study door.

  “Erin.” She heard it again. For a moment she thought it was her father, it sounded just like him, with that soft Scottish lilt.

  “Yes,” she shouted. “Where are you?”

  “The Mausoleum. Come quickly.”

  Hell, it was her dad. But how on earth was he talking to her? Unless she had really gone stark raving mad. She tore out the house and around to the stable block where her bike was parked. No time for helmets or anything. She jumped on it, turned the key and shot off at speed down towards the Mausoleum, just missing Birdie retuning in the RangeRover.

  Dropping the bike on the ground, she hurried up the steps into the marble building.

  “Dad?”

  “Yes, my dear.”

  She turned to face her father, almost in the flesh. Actually a faintly warming, ghostly image. “You called me.”

  “Your mother and I are concerned.”

  Her hand flew to her mouth. “Mum….she’s not dead?”

  “No, she is still alive. But we are worried about your future.”

  “How so?”

  “You took a very brave stand in Lokranor. Your mother would have done no different. But it is the decisions you make now that will affect the colour of your blood.”

  “She is worried I will side with Heinrekh?”

  “Yes. He will turn you to the dark arts.”

  “Heinrekh is not all dark, there is still good in him. But I do not stand on anyone’s side, I stand alone. My next step is to get mum back.”

  “You must never use your powers for revenge, they will turn your blood black.”

  “How do you know that?” she growled at her father. He was managing to lecture her even from beyond the grave. “As only one other person on this planet has blue energy, how do you know if I use it to wreak revenge, that I shall end up a soulless creature from Hades?”

  Her father laughed. “Still as obstinate as ever.”

  “What did you expect, I’m a teen.” She walked around his image. “And how are you doing this?”

  “Your mother.”

  “What about her?”

  “She has used some of her life force to summon me.”

  “Tell her not to. I can manage quite well without her help. I have done for the last fourteen years.”

  “You sound so like me,” James chuckled.

  “Curiously, it might be because I am your daughter,” she grunted. “Now get back in that very expensive box and tell mum not to interfere. I have everything under control.”

  They both jumped as the Mausoleum door flew open and Birdie rushed in. She turned instantly white. “Dear God. James.”

  “Birdie,” James put on the charm. “You haven’t aged a day.”

  “Shameless flattery won’t win me over, you lousy excuse for a brother,” she scowled. “What is going on?”

  “Just because I am dead does not mean my daughter can escape a lecture when one is needed.”

  “No wonder she wants you back in your tomb,” Birdie shook her head. “You’ve not had any experience in dealing with teenagers. I have.”

  “Ouch. Are you ever going to forgive me for my slight oversight?” he winced.

  “You think getting yourself killed is a wee oversight,” she hissed. “It’s a good job you’re not here in your physical form else I’d give you a bruise.”

  “At least you can’t nag me into an early grave, sis.”

  “But I can make sure you get no sleep.”

  Erin stared to laugh. Watching her aunt give the ghost of her father a severe tongue lashing was very funny indeed.

  “Does something amuse you, daughter?”

  “Yeah. You two spitting at each other like a couple of stray cats. Now please, dad, return to the other side. I don’t want you to get stuck somewhere you don’t want to be.”

  “Very well. But remember to tread with caution. The power you have in your veins can do great good, but also can destroy you.”

  “Yes. Yes. I can turn dark and evil.”

  “She’s a teenager, she’s already dark and evil,” Birdie muttered.

  Erin pulled a face at her aunt. They watched James fade before their eyes. Erin
bit her lip as she saw him reappear behind her aunt.

  “Boo,” he whispered in Birdie’s ear, making her jump at least a foot off the ground.

  “You’re a worthless toad, James McLomard,” she shouted to thin air.

  The last thing they heard was his laughter; that was a gift to be left with.

  Erin surveyed her aunt for a moment, she was clearly overjoyed at seeing her brother after all these years. “You and dad are no different to Magnus and me. In fact you bicker far worse.”

  Birdie smiled lovingly at the tomb. “Yes, it’s how we show our affection. How did he do that?”

  “Mum called him up. Dial a ghostly dad or something like that.”

  “I guess Lodraill was concerned over yesterday’s events. It must have taken some power to have raised him. He never was the lightest of sleepers.”

  Erin giggled and headed to the door. “How was your trip to Inverness?”

  “Oh hell, Wilhelm and Ingrid are still in the car. I saw you ride off here at great speed so we followed.”

  Wilhelm was pacing outside. “You are well?”

  “I’m fine,” she grinned. “Birdie and I have just been dealing with another feisty McLomard.”

  Birdie shook her head. “Her father wanted a word, Wilhelm.”

  “But he is….”

  “Yes. It doesn’t stop a daughter getting a lecture though,” Erin groaned, propelling Wilhelm back to the car. “I’ll see you up at the house.”

  Wilhelm looked at her bike. “Will you teach me to ride that?”

  It was a clear stretch of land up to the house, how much trouble could a Viking get in to? “Fine. There’s no time like the present.”

  She gave Wilhelm a few brief instructions, then watched as he slowed turned the accelerator on the handlebar. After a very wobbly start, he had not had the benefit of riding a bicycle as a child, he got to grips with the basics very well. Before long, Erin was running to keep up with the bike.

  “Looks like we have another convert,” Magnus grinned as Wilhelm rode her bike into the stable courtyard.

  “Who’d have thought Vikings would like such a thing,” Erin panted.

  “Hey, we were born to be adventurous.”

  “Did you need a fork lift to remove all the bags from the car?” Erin teased.

  “Pretty much. I don’t think Ingrid left a shop unturned.”

  “I told you all she needed was one whiff of a decent designer store, and she would be sold on this Realm.”

  “She’s not the only one,” Magnus beamed. “Seems Wilhelm has a penchant for Armani too.”

  Wilhelm shrugged his shoulders. “They had very nice clothes.”

  “Just what we needed, two more shopaholics in the house.” Erin headed towards the house. She was pleased Ingrid was happy, it meant Magnus would relax a bit more.

  Erin could barely get into the living room, shopping bags were littered everywhere. “A successful trip, I understand.”

  Ingrid was beaming. “Yes. The clothes are a bit unusual, but beautiful, and so plentiful. I have never seen so much under one roof.” She pulled out some boxes. “And the shoes. Quite exquisite. With heels.”

  “We have a saying in this Realm,” Erin grinned. “A woman can never have too many shoes.”

  “Really? That is good to know. And the boots too, wonderful.”

  “We also got Ingrid a couple of handbags, some hair accessories and make up. She should fit right in now.”

  Mrs McDowell popped her head around the door. “Erin, could I have a wee word with you?”

  “Sure,” Erin responded and headed out into the hall. “What’s up?”

  “I was cleaning the young man’s bedroom and came across this in the bin.” She dropped his royal medallion into her hands.

  “He threw this away?” Erin was surprised.

  “Aye, but I think at a later date he might want it back.”

  “I’m sure you’re right. I will hold on to it for him. Thank you.” She slipped into the study and placed it in the desk drawer. Erin was convinced he would wear it again, even if he was not. But for now, it could sit side by side with the one he gave her.

  CHAPTER 17

  Angus was not feeling overly thrilled when the plane touched down in Keflavik. Visiting Iceland in winter time was not really top of his list. He disembarked the small plane and picked up his jeep. He had a long drive along the coast to the eastern tip of the country. Living in Northern Scotland he was quite used to driving in snow and the jeep covered the miles quickly.

  Passing through the village of Eskilligor he noticed a small hotel. It was only about a half hour drive from here to Eskifjordur, so it seemed like a good place to base himself. Being off season, the hotel had plenty of rooms available. The accommodation was fairly basic, but then he was used to student flats at Uni, so he would survive.

  It was mid-afternoon when he pulled up outside the tiny mineral museum nestled at the base of Holmatindur mountain. It looked like nothing more than a shed. It was also sadly shut. He gave a furtive glance around the outside of the building, it appeared there was no-one around and he could not detect any security systems. It should be fairly easy to break in, get what he needed and get back out again. He would of course come back at night.

  He drove to a small roadside café and ordered a coffee, knowing that darkness fell pretty early at this time of year. It did. Half an hour later, it was pitch black. Driving back to the museum, he parked up a good distance from the building, he did not want anyone to see headlines heading towards it. Pulling out his night vision goggles, he prepared for a little burglary.

  The lock on the door was really quite pathetic, all it took was a few good tweaks to get it to release. A decent gust of wind could have forced it to open. The exhibits were all displayed in one room, most behind glass. Hampered by the googles, it took him a while to find the bracelet. The lock on the cabinet was a little more robust than the front door and he had to work on it for a while before it sprung open. The bracelet was replaced with another that Heinrekh had given him; and this one looked like the gemstones were precious.

  Retracing his steps, he returned to the jeep, pleased that he had managed to retrieve the bracelet without running into any hitches. He noticed a few flakes of snow starting to fall, they would obliterate any tracks to and from the museum. Odin really was smiling on him today.

  Once Angus was safely ensconced in his room at the hotel, he pulled out the bracelet to examine it. It was old, and made of pewter. The purple crystal in the middle was a little faded. Could it really have been made almost two millennia ago? It had certainly stood the test of time if it had.

  He wrapped it back up, and headed to the restaurant across the road to get something to it. The bracelet stayed with him, he trusted no-one. With any luck, he would be on the morning flight back to Inverness then home just after lunchtime. Even though it was winter time, the estate still needed a lot of managing. One of these days, he might even make it back to University.

  Isafor Voktere tapped his fingers impatiently on his desk. Jasper was running late it seemed. He was keen for him to get under way to Muirhead as quickly as possible. This incredible opportunity had been passed to them and he was keen to exploit it.

  Never in all his existence had he dreamt they would be working beside the future Priestess of Lokranor in a bid to defeat Heinrekh, but life very often took a very different to the path one expected. He had already had proof that Erin sided with no-one as she had done some pretty good damage to Lokranor. It really was her sole aim to retrieve her mother.

  And should they be worried when the current Priestess of Lokranor was reinstated? No, her powers were severely weakened and she would cause them no issues. When this assignment was complete and the Priestess back in Lokranor, Isafor knew Erin would forever be linked with the Vokteren. She was young, pure and loyal, and would be truly conflicted if she tried to stop them raising Valkarin. She would prefer fight their lord herself, rather than them.
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br />   The feeling he had had up at the Castle when he first met Erin, had not dissipated. He knew they were on the brink of finding Valkarin’s heir. The heir would be male, so Erin was definitely not the one, but she was linked to him, he could sense it.