Realms Gate: A Realm Divided

by Juliet Anderson

  Angus had been studying the charts Heinrekh had given him. From what he could make out, the locations of the two items in question were Gullfoss in Iceland and Kangia in Greenland. Great. The Golden Falls and an ice fjord. He would rather have tried to knock off the British Museum.

  It wasn’t as if he could just turn up at these locations and find the damn objects, he actually had to try and track them down too. He glanced at the box which held the bracelet. How exactly did it show him the locations, with an ancient pictogram? He had a feeling he was on a wild goose chase, but as Heinrekh was footing the bill, he would have to oblige, although not willingly. And his payment did keep the roof over their heads.

  He would leave in a couple of days’ time, he still had things to sort out on the estate. One of these days he might even manage to meet up with his sister, he had not seen her for many weeks. He sent her a text asking when she was next due back so he could try and be here. Regrettably it turned out to be the coming weekend.

  Dawn came too soon. Perhaps she could delay training. Then again Magnus would torture her if she was late. She rolled out of bed, into some leggings and a thick hoodie and slunk down to the weapons training room with her book.

  Magnus appeared right after her, looking equally dishevelled. “If its’ a competition for bed hair, you win hands down, Medusa,” he yawned.

  “Maybe I can find a spell to cure your dragon breath,” she retaliated, flicking through the pages of the small book.

  “Enough sweet talk, let’s get down to sorcery.” Magnus had a look at the book. “I know what this one is. It’s a displacement symbol.”

  “As in?”

  “You can move any object or person out the way.”

  “Teach me.”

  “As always, clear your mind. Your hands are the main source of your power, so rub them together gently, feel the energy building. When they start to tingle, you’re probably ready.” He put a box in the middle of the floor. “See the symbol in your head, say the words, and wave your hand.”

  Erin shook out the tension, not that there was a lot, she was still half asleep. The squiggly sign was imprinted in her mind. “Severig,” she sighed, waving her hand.

  “I didn’t mean wave to the bloody gallery,” Magnus growled. “Move your hand as though you’re trying to part something.”

  “Why didn’t you say that in the first place,” Erin grunted. She recalled the symbol to her mind, and moving her hand she uttered the command “Severig.” The box moved in the direction her hand did.

  “Cool.”

  “Now try moving it a bit more forcefully.”

  “Severig,” she shouted, moving her hand quickly. The box hit the wall with force.

  “Not that much force,” Magnus sighed.

  “Does it work with people too?”

  “Don’t even think out it.”

  Erin looked at him with a glint in her eye. “Severig,” she murmured, moving her hand steadily. She pushed him back several feet. “You’re right, it does work on people.”

  “Do that again, and you can practice by yourself.”

  “Alright, grumpy pants, what’s next?”

  “How about something that does not involve any violence.” He pointed to another weird wavy looking symbol. “This one is connected to the mind. If you can master this, you can get inside anyone’s head.”

  “Like our telepathic link?”

  “No. They won’t even know you’re there. Almost as if you’re reading their thoughts.”

  “Let me guess. Clear my head. Visualise the symbol and say the magic words?”

  “Yes. But this time instead of moving your hand, set your mind free to travel.”

  Her mind might wander frequently on its own, but Erin wasn’t too sure how to do it when she needed to. She brought the strange wavy signal into her head, getting her mind to focus on one thing was tough. Once the symbol was imprinted in her head, she murmured, “Dalmarig.” She felt momentarily dizzy, but nothing else.

  “It’s not working,” she hissed, her eyes still closed.

  “Whose mind are you trying to read?”

  “You didn’t tell me I needed a target.”

  “Give me patience,” he grumbled. “You need a destination, I thought that would have been obvious. Try Wilhelm, he’s not smart enough to know you’re there.”

  “OK,” Erin started the process again. She could feel herself floating, travelling to Wilhelm, then suddenly her head filled with thoughts that were not her own. He was obviously dreaming about her, and well, it was making her blush. Had the guy read Fifty Shades of Grey? Was that how she looked to him? And God was he really doing that? Even his dreams turned her to mush.

  “If you want to know if it really has worked, drop a random thought in there. Like buy Magnus a very large gift.”

  Erin thought of something appropriate and left Wilhelm alone to carry on his rather erotic dream.

  “This command, if you can master it, will be invaluable. You can get a guard to leave his post, move out the way, or just about anything.”

  The scratching at the door made Erin turn. It was Jacques. “Would that command work on animals?”

  “I don’t think so. Why?”

  “I was going to ask Jacques to wake Wilhelm up with a big, slobbering kiss,” she rubbed the dogs drooling jowls.

  “I thought you gave him that most mornings.”

  “Do not upset a woman who can turn you to dust.”

  “You’re not that kind. You’d just keep torturing me instead.”

  “I’m hurt, Selvig, that you could think such a thing,” she grinned. He knew her too well.

  “Is there a fire?” Birdie appeared in the room.

  “Very funny,” Erin retorted. “We were just practicing some stuff from that new book I found.”

  “Why Magnus, not Jasper?”

  “I asked the same thing,” Magnus scowled.

  “Because I’m not sure how much I trust Jasper.”

  “That’s comforting to know,” he strode into the room behind Birdie.

  Crap, Erin sighed. “I’m sorry, Jasper. It’s not you, per se, that I am wary of, it’s the Vokteren. I imagine you give Isafor a regular report. If I come across something that could, for example, annihilate Valkarin, you would have to report it. Anything we have here which the Vokteren would like to get their hands on could be at risk. As I say, not from you, but from the group’s members.”

  Silence continued to fill the air so Erin kept talking. ‘“You are trying to resurrect someone we want put to sleep permanently. Of course we were not going to trust each other implicitly as this is only a temporary truce.”

  Jasper continued to stand in front of the door, glaring at her. She needed to escape. No time like the present to try out her new skills. She thought about moving him but decided that she had probably upset her tutor enough for one day. She stalked to the French windows.

  “Severig,” she hissed waving her hand. Both doors flew open as she made a fairly dramatic exit. As the cold morning air hit her, she decided that perhaps it had not been that great an idea. It was freezing and she was not dressed for the outdoors. She hot footed it around to the kitchen door in her bunny slippers. One of these days she would think before acting.

  Jasper tracked her down making a cup of tea. “I don’t know why I feel disappointed. Your scepticism is only natural, you don’t know me, I support the opposing team and am really only here to help you so you can try and free my son.”

  “You also have to remember that when this is over, we revert to our sides of the fence. It would not be wise for me to tell you all my secrets.” Erin tried to justify her mistrust.

  “Sometimes you have such a mature head on those shoulders,” he smiled. “You are right, of course.” He poured himself a cup of tea. “You learnt the displacement command this morning?”

  “Yes.”

  He shook his head. “It can take people years to master what you have learnt in just a very short time.�
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  “For some reason the commands come naturally to me. I’ve always put it down to my Valkarin blood.”

  “Perhaps you are right. You possess great power so it is only fitting that you can call upon his abilities.”

  “If you want to teach me some more of the symbols, I am fine with it.”

  “I hate to admit it, but you did pick the right person to tutor you on those symbols.” He looked a little embarrassed. “I have not had much experience with them. My area of expertise is blue energy.”

  “I do have a question for you on that. If the shield that contains Lodraill is just on the front of her cell, is there any reason why I cannot blow a hole in the wall behind it?”

  His brows knitted together for a moment. “I don’t think so, but perhaps we can put that to the test later. You can put up a shield and Magnus breaks in from the side.”

  “I think we could use an old barn for this exercise. Birdie would hurt me if I damage the house.”

  “Good plan.”

  “Then I think it time we get the rescue party together for a briefing. Our time has nearly come.”

  CHAPTER 25

  They were all gathered in the living room ready for Erin. It was time to let everyone know what was going on in her head.

  “Sasha is home this weekend, so that is when we’ll hit Vasmaar.” She pulled up a map of Norway on her laptop. “We’re going in via Skallengaard.”

  “I thought the only gates were at Frejboren and Grunfeld,” Magnus looked at her suspiciously.

  “No, there are a couple more,” Erin gave nothing away.

  “Is she right?” he looked at Jasper.

  He nodded in response.

  “Birdie will fly us in by sea plane.” She glanced over at Magnus. “Dramamine will be provided for Vikings.”

  Wilhelm looked puzzled. Magnus muttered something under his breath.

  “Jasper and Birdie will stay with the plane.”

  “If I’m just a passenger, why take me at all?” Jasper queried.

  “Skallengaard is overrun with Vokteren, we need you to call them off and let us through the gateway.”

  “Good point,” he conceded.

  “We go in early evening, just before dusk when hopefully we will be less visible and Heinrekh will be with Sasha.”

  “How far is the gateway from the Castle?” Wilhelm asked.

  “I would hazard a guess at about a ten to fifteen minute walk.”

  “Won’t we be seen by the guards?”

  She turned to a large box behind her and pulled out white capes. “Camouflage. Now on to the Castle. Mum is in the North Tower and Lars in the dungeons. I’ll go for Mum. Magnus and Wilhelm, your job is to get to the dungeons and rescue Lars. I should hopefully find out its location before then.”

  “How?”

  “A little mind reading,” Erin grinned. She hated to do it, but Sasha had been to the dungeons before, she would have a map imprinted in her subconscious. “You will need to be quick as I might alert everyone to our presence. If I can’t beat the shield, it’s going to be a smash and grab job.”

  “Subtle,” Magnus grunted.

  “Like you cologne,” Erin retorted. “The plan is naturally to head back to the gateway, which I think Heinrekh does not know about. He will be expecting us to go across the plains to the Skarsgaard border where Olav’s troops are, not take the High Priestess of Lokranor into a Vokteren stronghold.” Erin paused for a moment. “The chance of us pulling this off without a hitch is very slim, but we will try and adhere to the plan as much as possible. Just be prepared for almost anything when we’re in Vasmaar.”

  “How do we get Lodraill to Lokranor?” Wilhelm asked.

  “Jasper and Lars will stay in Skallengaard, and we’ll fly Lodraill back here. She can re-enter Lokranor via the main gate.” She glanced at Wilhelm. “I thought Gudrun might like to accompany her back, show your father what girl power is all about.”

  “What if you run into Heinrekh?” Magnus asked.

  “You guys get out and leave me to goen på en, as they say in Norse.” One on one with Heinrekh.

  “I cannot leave you, I’m your guardian,” Magnus grunted.

  “And I’m giving you a direct order,” she responded firmly. “You argue, I’ll vaporise you.”

  “What it is to be loved,” he muttered.

  “Talking of which, Ingrid and Gudrun will stay here whilst we head to Norway, so if Sasha stops by before heading to Vasmaar, she can say we’re in Inverness.”

  “And she’ll definitely go there on Friday?” Birdie asked.

  “Yes. Her mum has extended her stay in America yet again, and Angus will be away. She’ll not want to stay in an empty house.”

  “What if Heinrekh decides to stay with Sasha?”

  “Then Odin and every other god on this planet would have blessed us. That is the scenario I would hope for, but we are not that lucky.”

  “I guess we’re set to go Friday lunchtime,” Magnus stretched out his legs and stood up. “Wilhelm and I should probably dust off our swords and get down to some practice.”

  “Something tells me you’re going to need it,” Erin smiled.

  Erin nodded Birdie had been very quiet, most unlike her. “What’s up?”

  “I’m worried, as you would expect me to be. You’re my last surviving relative, and I would like to keep it that way.”

  “I’m not planning on joining Dad just yet. If it all goes horribly wrong, I do have options.”

  “Such as joining Heinrekh?”

  “If necessary, yes. Not to save my own skin, but everyone else’s. As it is, Lokranor is not top of my list as a holiday destination.”

  “Hopefully with Wilhelm and Magnus aiding in Lodraill’s rescue, Olav will have no choice but to rescind their exile. I am sure Lodraill would be most vociferous about that.”

  “Yes, something tells me mum doesn’t hold back either.”

  Erin headed into the study to grab a few minutes of alone time. A thought had just popped into her mind as she was briefing everyone. She needed a decoy to throw Heinrekh off the scent. Sasha had said that Angus hadn’t been back to University, but she knew he was not often at the house. What was the young laird working on? Perhaps now she could find out.

  She slipped into her concealed chamber to give herself complete privacy and cleared her mind as she called out “Dalmarig.” She started to travel, and luckily Angus was still at home. She had prepared herself to see some unpleasant things, but even she was shocked. He was most certainly the traitor in their midst, and he had done some pretty despicable things. The images Angus had of her made her stomach churn, did he really think she might still fall for him? The guy was deluded. She finally found what he was working on. And it would prove very useful indeed. In fact she was going to do something very bad herself.

  She tracked Magnus down and showed him a sketch of the bracelet she had seen. “Does Ingrid have anything that looks like this?”

  He studied the crude drawing for a while. “Not really. She does have a pewter wrist band with engraving, but without the crystal. Why?”

  Erin confessed all to Magnus. “If we can steal the bracelet from Angus and replace it with a decoy, he’ll get to Iceland and be clueless. Heinrekh will realise we have it and when he hears we’re on our way to Iceland as well, he won’t question it. He’ll assume we’re after these items ourselves.”

  Magnus frowned, not quite understanding where she was going with this.

  “If he thinks we’re off to Iceland, he won’t be expecting an attack. And by taking the original, we stop Heinrekh from getting more powerful. Win win.”

  “And how will he hear we’re off to Iceland? Via Sasha?”

  “No. Birdie can call the Circle members to a meeting tonight. Whilst Angus is there, we sneak into his house and do the switch. Meanwhile Birdie will be telling the Council that we’re off exploring our heritage.”

  “You worry me at times, kid,” Magnus shook his head. �
�We have a delinquent on our hands.”

  “It’s brilliant, is what you actually want to say.”

  He snorted. “You could be right but I will never admit it. Even under torture. There is one flaw in your plan. Ingrid’s band does not have a crystal.”

  “It will after I visit the local gift store. It sells hundreds of different types of crystals. I’ll find the right colour and shape, then we can set it. Angus is male, he won’t know any different.”