He would consult Ajax. He should be able to find something in the Archives. His father was happy to rule over these ancient lands, but he wanted more. He wanted to see more, just as his predecessors would have done. He could not foresee staying in this frozen land waiting his whole life to succeed his father, not when he know there was another Realm altogether to explore.
Erin’s head was spinning. The effects of too much coffee and all she had had to take in and deal with from the night before. She was still not sure what was fact or fiction, but she hadn’t imagined those weird creatures or her would-be assassin.
She grabbed a coke and headed to her father’s study, determined to find out more about what he was involved in. She lost a large part of the morning flicking through various papers in his desk and filing cabinets. Nothing relating to the Circle or Lokranor.
She leant against the fireplace in disgust. Her sleuthing skills were crap. She glanced up at two swords which sat below the intricate metal McLomard dragon. She stared at the crest for a while, something was out of place. It finally came to her, one of the swords wasn’t positioned correctly. She gently tweaked it until it was in the right spot. A loud snap followed and the bookcase to the side of the fireplace swung open.
Perhaps she was better at this than she thought. She pulled the bookcase open wide and stepped into the small stone chamber the other side. The room was filled with extremely ancient scrolls, leather bound tomes and strange looking artefacts. Erin could feel her heart pounding. It was like hitting the jackpot. She ran her hand over the ancient book that was open on the lectern. She flicked through a few of the pages, the pictures and text suddenly coming to life after a decade of dust.
She read a few lines. “Valkarin was consumed by his own evil, but not before he had left behind his legacy. Lokranor responded with their own lineage to keep all descendants of Valkarin contained.”
Erin looked up to see Birdie watching her in awe. “You can read that?”
“Us Southerners are taught how to read and write, Birdie,” Erin grinned.
“But that’s in Norse.”
Erin glanced down at the book. “It’s English. You must be thinking of another volume.”
Birdie picked up the book. “It’s Norse, Erin. I guess James taught you as a child.”
“But why do I see it as English?”
“It must be hardwired into your brain.”
“What is this I’m reading anyway?” Erin was curious. It looked so old.
“It’s the history of the Two Realms. Written by an original member of the Circle of Lokmuir.”
Erin glanced at the photograph on the fireplace mantel. It was of the same blonde-haired woman as the portrait in her father’s bedroom. “Was she dad’s mistress?”
Birdie shifted a little uncomfortably. “No. He knew her before he married Susannah.”
“But he still kept her picture around the place. He must have loved her. Enough to have given her the McLomard crest.” Erin touched the pendant around her next. She felt the sorrow her father must have felt at losing the woman he loved.
“Yes, he did.”
Erin continued to inspect everything in the chamber. She lifted up an unusual looking shield, it was shaped like an upside down teardrop. It looked to be made out of pewter but was light as a feather. “This is amazing, I’ve never see anything like it before.”
“That’s an Asgardian shield,” Birdie informed her. “They’re as rare as hen’s teeth.”
Erin put it back down and moved to a beautiful blue, oval shaped crystal, sitting on a plinth. “What’s this?” she asked, running her hands over it. As she did, an image of her father appeared in her head.
Erin, my chid. She heard him speak quite clearly.
She released the crystal and jumped back. “Whoa, that was freaky.”
Birdie looked at her curiously. “That is a Baldoren crystal. I’m not sure exactly what it does, your father never had the ability to use it.”
“Well whatever it does, I just saw him.” Erin could not stop her voice from shaking.
“Who? James?”
“Yes, clear as day. He even spoke to me.” Erin could not stop her trembling, having her father speak to her ten years after he died was more than disturbing. Albeit a nice way.
“Perhaps it allows the user to see visions.”
Erin gave herself a shake and headed to the main attraction. She had saved the best to last. It was hanging on the wall in pride of place. It was stunning. She grasped the hilt of the sword and lifted it down. As she took hold of it, she felt a surge of energy run through her, so strong she almost dropped it.
“What the hell was that?” she gasped.
“A Talmar sword has its own energy field. The sword has accepted you as its new owner. Had you not been a McLomard, the energy would have killed you. That is why the sword was in here.”
“Trust dad to booby-trap his own sword.” She examined it in detail, she had never seen anything like it. The engraving was beautiful, but it was the dragon with its tailed curled around the hilt that really impressed. There was no mistaking it was a McLomard sword.
With it in her hands she felt invincible. Despite its size, it seemed to weigh almost nothing. It was certainly a work of art. She swung it around a few times, it felt like it was part of her.
“Can I practice with this? I think I stand more of a chance again Heinrekh’s creatures with a Talmar than an epee?”
“Of course. After fighting with a Talmar, anything else is just cumbersome. But Magnus will need to instruct you as they are no ordinary swords.” Birdie picked up a leather-bound tome from the table. “Your homework for today. I want five chapters read.”
“I’m supposed to be on holiday,” Erin scowled.
“Now you’re an apprentice,” Birdie retorted. “You never know, something in this book could help save your life.”
Erin glanced at the size of it. “Perhaps just throwing it at an assailant could kill them,” she grunted.
Birdie look at her sternly.
“Okay, okay, I’ll skim over a few chapters.” A thought popped into Erin’s mind. “Can you read Norse?”
“Yes, so don’t even think about pretending you’ve read it.”
Scuppered again.
“Aren’t you supposed to me taking me to the Realms’ Gate today?”
“Perhaps tomorrow, when you’ve learnt more about it.”
Erin let out a frustrated sigh and flopped down in her father’s chair with the book. This new role of hers wasn’t much fun.
A little while later Birdie appeared in the study with a large bunch of sunflowers.
“I found these in the porch addressed to you.” She passed them over to Erin, along with a small package.
Erin tried to contain the grin that was threatening to spread across her face. She tore open the small package, it contain a box of individually wrapped Lindt chocolate thins. The accompanying note just said I hope two out of three is acceptable.
Perhaps she’d been a little hasty in her judgement of Angus. The guy was trying to make amends so he couldn’t he all bad.
Heinrekh was not in the happiest of moods. He met the remains of the scouting party in the central courtyard.
“What do you mean you failed to bring the child back?” he thundered at the bruised and bloody mercenary.
“The child took me by surprise,” was the man’s response.
“Are you telling me you were overpowered by a mere child with no powers?” Heinrekh looked towards the heavens.
“I did not expect her to be able to fight without a sword.”
“That is even worse. You are a Norse mercenary yet you got your ass handed to you by a seventeen year old girl with no training whatsoever. You are a complete disgrace to your heritage.” He hit the mercenary square in the chest with a bolt of blue energy. He disintegrated to dust.
“If anyone else thinks they can fail me and return to Vasmaar, this is the fate that awaits you. Failure is
not an option.” His voice so chilling, the soldiers and mercenaries gathered in the courtyard blanched in fear.
Heinrekh stomped inside to his study. It hurt being outsmarted by a child. He unlocked the small door leading down to the vaulted room below. It was his private library, containing volumes about Valkarin and his lineage. A very different collection to those contained in the Archives in Lokranor.
He pushed all thought of Erin to the back of his mind. He had already devised another way to get her to Vasmaar. Now he needed to continue his research, he was sure he was close to finding the location of Valkarin’s tomb. Valkarin had, of course, died in Vasmaar but his tomb had been moved out of fear that his successors would try and resurrect him. His reasons for finding the tomb were purely selfish, he wanted to absorb Valkarin’s power, not serve him. There was only room in this realm for one dark lord and that was himself.
Years of searching had led Heinrekh to the village of Frejboren in the Third Realm. Because of its very remote location, Frejboren itself seemed to be lost in a time warp. It had access to all the modern technology of the First Realm, but preferred to keep its roots firmly planted in the past. This worked well in Heinrekh’s favour and the name Valkarin was still remembered and feared here. And secretly worshipped.
Heinrekh always thought it strange that Lokranor was virtually oblivious to the presence of the Third Realm, all their attention was fixated on the First. Not altogether surprising as the First Realm was furthest south and beyond it lay a land of opportunity and wealth. There was no official Gate to the Third Realm, just two unguarded, unknown entrances. One to Frejboren and the other to Grunfeld. Both just happened to be located within the grounds of his castle. He occasionally crossed into Frejboren, the village was steeped in superstition and the locals seemed totally unaware of the gate which connected them.
He opened a huge volume that was on the lectern and waved his hands across the page. Images floated out of it and he sorted through them. Nothing caught his attention. He turned a few more pages, more pictures sprung to life. One deserved further investigation. It contained references to a group called the Vokteren who were widely reported to have been Valkarin’s loyal bodyguards. They safeguarded his tomb after his death and apparently, millennia down the line, still had a small following. They were definitely worth a visit in the next few days.
The small group gathered at the Realms’ Gate. The meeting had been called so the Circle of Lokmuir could discuss Erin’s imminent birthday.
“The child is almost of age,” Aidan McDerrin spoke. “What of her schooling in the arts, Birdie.”
“She is set to become an even greater swordsman than her father. From what I have seen, she is fluent in Norse. But I am reluctant to push her. She has only just discovered the burden her father placed on her young shoulders.”
“She will need to be pushed,” Aidan responded. “Heinrekh will send more and more creatures and assassins after her. She needs to know what is coming her way.”
“Out the question. I will not rip her entire world apart. What she knows for now will suffice.”
“You’re forgetting about Lokranor,” Stewart Haldon spoke up. “They will want the child on her eighteenth birthday.”
“Lokranor can go to hell as far as I’m concerned. Erin is, first and foremost, my niece.”
“King Olav will not agree to that.”
“The King can shout till he’s blue in the face, my concern is for Erin and she will not leave the safety of the McLomard home until she feels she is ready.”
“You’re being over-protective, Birdie, we have to give Erin up,” Aidan sighed.
“There is no ‘we’ in this decision. I am her last surviving relative and I say she stays here,” Birdie said with force. “Anyone who disputes that will have to come through me.”
“And me.” Magnus appeared from the shadows. “Erin is a child of the two Realms. It is her choice to decide in which one she wants to live.”
“Who’s going to tell King Olav the good news?” Stewart hissed.
“I will,” Magnus responded. “I am after all her guardian.”
Birdie glanced at Magnus. “Are you sure you really want to do that?”
“If it goes badly, you might have a permanent house guest,” Magnus grimaced.
Later that evening, Birdie tackled Magnus in the kitchen. “You don’t usually gate crash Circle meetings, why the interest tonight?”
“I think we might have a traitor in our midst.” Magnus stretched out his long legs.
“Because of the hoax call we had last night?”
“Yeah. Someone wanted us out the way so Erin could be snatched.”
Birdie smiled proudly. “Erin certainly showed what she was made of, taking down a Vasmaarian, Holskund and Skodrin with no training.”
“Well, I won’t make the mistake of leaving her alone at night again.”
“Did you find out anything useful from the Circle members?”
“One is having an affair with a girl less than half his age, another is wondering when is a good time to come out the closest, and then there’s someone whose activities are not altogether legal. Sadly though, nothing about Erin.”
“No problem, we’ll just have to keep very close tabs on her. Just don’t let her know it.”
CHAPTER 10
Erin fidgeted in her dress. She was far more comfortable in jeans or leather. She studied her reflection in the full length mirror. She looked ridiculous. In fact the dress was ridiculous. She was attending a summer ball at Robert’s house and the dress code demanded formal. The dress Birdie had obtained for her was cream silk, with the McLomard tartan imprinted to resemble a sash across it. The edges of the dress also carried the tartan.
The wild hair had been restrained into a heavy duty clip, so only a few strands hung down to outline her face.
She scowled and stomped downstairs. Birdie and Magus were in the living room.
“Hell, I think we might have the making of a lady,” Magnus grinned.
Erin poked her tough out. “Any more comments and you’ll have a close encounter with a Talmar,” she responded sulkily.
“My dear,” Birdie beamed. “You look lovely.”
“I feel stupid,” Erin moaned, tugging at her dress.
“Don’t be daft. You look like a perfect young lady should.” Birdie incepted Jacques who was lolloping over to Erin. “Don’t even think about slobbering on that dress,” she scolded the dog.
Magnus sighed heavily and picked up the car keys. “Well Cinderella, your carriage awaits.”
She grunted and followed him out to the Range Rover. Magnus had insisted he take her to the party and collect her. He needed to ensure her safety. They drove in silence over to Robert’s house.
“Remember, Erin, no leaving the house at any time. Not even to take a stroll hand in hand with some young stud. That said, also not going to a remote part of the house to be alone with someone,” Magnus instructed.
“Don’t judge everyone by your standards,” she glared at him.
“If you actually manage to smile, you will attract many more interested young men,” he teased.
“I don’t want to attract anyone,” she grumbled.
“I know, you’ve already set your sights on me.”
“In your dreams, perhaps.” She pulled a face and slid out the car.
The house was about the same size as hers, and the party in full swing. She eventually managed to find Sasha.
“I’m stunned there are this many people in the area.” Erin could not believe the size of the ball.
“We Scots travel many miles for a good party. Now let’s get you a drink.”
“Have you seen much of Robert?”
“No.” She looked crestfallen. “He seems more into Stella McDowell.”
Erin followed Sasha’s gaze over to a rather voluptuous looking woman. “No prize for guessing why. Well, the best way to get a man’s attention is to ignore him.”
“You think
so?”
“Talk to the other hot men, if there are any, but remain coolly detached with him.”
Erin soon forgot her inhibitions and was talking happily away to everyone. As the newcomer, she was of special interest, and with Sasha by her side, she felt really confident. She was also aware of the looks Robert kept giving Sasha. He did not seem too impressed that other guys were talking so eagerly to her. Before long, he’d carted Sasha off to start the dancing in the ballroom.
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