“Yes, it looks like you will just have to contend with Muirhead. But there is one other rather large subject we need to broach.”
Erin turned a little pink and limped over to the fireplace. “My relationship with Wilhelm is not up for discussion. Whatever happens between the two of us is private.”
Birdie’s jaw dropped open. She wasn’t expecting that. Gudrun had obviously seen something she had missed. “I wasn’t aware there was anything between the two of you, but now you have mentioned it, I hope Wilhelm has acted… appropriately?”
“Yes, Birdie,” Erin grunted. “But if it’s not Wilhelm you want to discuss, what is it?”
“Although we were not sure why you inherited your powers early, we put your extraordinary abilities down to you being a priestess of two Realms. With your mother still alive, this throws that line of thought into question.”
“Makes sense,” Erin mulled it over. “So why do I have my powers?”
“Ajax and I spent the day at the Archives and I think we’ve uncovered the reason.” Birdie took a deep breath before continuing. “We found reference to a child being born of two Valkarin bloodlines that would possess the power of the man himself. It could be that both James and Lodraill had Valkarin blood. Our families do date back to before the rift.”
“Are you saying I’m related to Heinrekh?” Erin sounded horrified.
“No, my dear. Well, not directly anyway. But it would explain why Heinrekh has been so persistent in finding you. If you are to be as great as Valkarin, then he would definitely want you in his camp. He’s afraid of what you will be able to do.”
“I’m a sorceress not a priestess now?”
“No. You will always be a priestess, but you have within you the power to summon the dark arts.”
“Which might explain why I have a habit of zapping people when I’m pissed off.”
“Yes,” Birdie laughed. “We can however channel your powers so you stay firmly in the light.”
Erin sat back down and rested her head on Birdie’s shoulder. “And I thought getting my A level results was scary.”
CHAPTER 28
Heinrekh was in a very bad mood. Deathly bad mood. The day had not gone according to plan. Not only had Erin escaped, but she had almost defeated him on the battlefield. He had no-one to blame but himself, he had overstretched his powers and underestimated the sneakiness of the McLomards.
His only glimmer of good fortune lay with Angus McBride who was waiting in the study for him.
“You have completed your mission?” he grunted.
“Yes.”
“And?”
“I had the hair samples you gave me analysed. You were right, Lodraill and James had some DNA sequences that matched yours, confirming your bloodlines crossed at one time.” Angus paused for effect. “Erin’s DNA however is almost a match to yours.”
Heinrekh gave a chilling smile. Angus had confirmed what he had suspected for a while. Erin was the prophesised child of two Valkarin bloodlines. Now he knew why she was so difficult to kill, she had the dark one’s abilities. She relied on instinct not instruction. And it had done her well so far.
He knew it would not be long before the fools in Lokranor discovered her true potential so he was now more determined than ever to get his hands on her. She was either to join his side or meet her father prematurely. He could not possibly allow someone more powerful than himself to live unless they were under his control.
“I want Erin watched continually and reports fed back to me on what she is up to. No-one in Lokranor will be able to tutor her properly, they don’t have the ability.” He felt a little smug. It took a sorcerer to train one. He rubbed his shoulder, the wound was still raw. It acted as a stark reminder to him of what she was capable of if he did not have her allegiance.
“I will try and get as close as I can, but Erin is not really that enamoured with me,” Angus responded sulkily.
Heinrekh already knew she favoured a Viking prince, thanks to Destain. “But she is a good friend of Sasha’s. Talking of which, how is your lovely sister?”
“Confused and irritable. She and I have not exchanged many words since you abducted her.”
Heinrekh raised an eyebrow. “She was merely a guest, Angus, and treated with the utmost consideration.”
“She is my only sister, so if you go near her again, I will break all agreements between us,” Angus stood up.
“Out of respect for Sasha, I will overlook that pitiful attempt at a threat. Do you imagine what your life will be like if the Circle found out you were the traitor in their midst? You will destroy not only your name but Sasha’s happiness as well.”
“Are you intimating that Sasha might be happy with you?” Angus sounded horrified.
“That is between Sasha and myself,” Heinrekh gave a cold smile. A visit to Muirhead was definitely on the cards, not to see Erin but to meet with Sasha. He had to find out her feelings for him, her image had taken up permanent residence in his head. “Now return to Muirhead and carry out your instructions.”
“Don’t push me, Heinrekh,” Angus bit back. “Remember I am your only link to Muirhead. Without me, you would be blind as to what goes on over there.”
Heinrekh was quite impressed that Angus had, for once, shown some backbone and stood up to him. Traitors rarely showed any teeth.
Erin hated being an invalid, sitting around in her quarters. The last few days had been so active, she felt quite useless now. She made the very worst of patients. She wanted to practice her new skills, she needed to do so daily if she was to become as strong as Heinrekh.
She tightened the strapping on her ankle, grabbed her sword and limped her way slowly down to the weapons training room. She had a fair idea it would be deserted as night was falling. It was.
She spent some time practising with her Talmar, albeit largely balancing on one leg. She’d be brilliant playing the part of a flamingo in a pantomime, if there was such a role. When she’d done with that, she honed her skills of using Droxhardin and other energy calling spells she had read about at Heinrekh’s. She sincerely wished she had taken that book with her.
A faint noise behind her made her spin around, hand at the ready.
“It’s just me,” Wilhelm held his hands up.
She lowered her raised hand. The last thing she wanted to do was vaporise him. “Shouldn’t you be celebrating with your men?”
“Shouldn’t you be safely in your quarters, resting your injuries?” he retaliated.
“I got bored,” Erin sighed.
“Likewise,” Wilhelm responded.
Erin threw him a look of mock horror. “A Viking bored with drinking? Scandalous!”
Wilhelm laughed. “Yeah, I’m surprised I can even show my face.”
She tried to move with as much grace as possible as she swung her sword in practice. A difficult task when those gorgeous brown eyes were watching her. “Have you heard the news? I’m supposedly Valkarin now.”
“Yes,” Wilhelm shrugged. “But most of us in the Second Realm are likely to have some Valkarin blood in us. Where you differ is that you are from two Realms. As Magnus would say, you tick all the boxes.”
“Talking of Magnus, what have you done with him?”
“I’m not sure where he went.”
“Probably with your pretty cousin, no doubt.”
“Ingrid?”
“Yes. It’s about time your father re-instated his betrothal. I think he’s deserved it and more than shown his loyalty.”
“Fine, I’ll speak to my father.”
A thought popped into Erin’s mind. “If you’re not in the mood for drinking and debauchery, would you take me to the Archives?”
“I didn’t realise debauchery was on the menu,” Wilhelm retorted with a mischievous look.
Erin’s good leg was feeling decidedly weak. How did he manage to make her feel like a useful lump of jelly with just a hint of suggestion. “Archives?” she reminded him of her question.
&
nbsp; “Now?”
“Yes. I return to Muirhead tomorrow and I would like to see if Lokranor has a similar book to the one I read at Heinrekh’s. It contains a lot of useful enchantments.”
“Like the ones you used yesterday?”
“Yes. Without such books, I cannot possibly learn to be as strong as Heinrekh.”
“Let me instruct the guards to bring my horse to the side gate and to find Ajax. At this hour the Archives will be locked.”
Wilhelm was back a few minutes later carrying her cloak. “It might not be far, but it is still winter and damn cold.”
He picked her up as though she weighed no more than a feather. “I am capable of walking, Wilhelm. Albeit slowly.”
“Vikings are not known for their patience, Erin,” he smiled down at her. “So shut up and accept my gallantry.”
Unsurprisingly, his horse was waiting for him at the side gate as instructed. He jumped into the saddle and swung Erin up behind. She had never ridden as a passenger before, but with her arms wrapped around Wilhelm, she had no objection.
Ajax was not at the Archives when they arrived. They hung around on the steps like a couple of delinquent teenagers for a few minutes before Erin got impatient. To quote Wilhelm, it must be the Viking in her. She called up her Droxhardin and touched the lock, turning her hand as though unlocking it. It clicked loudly and swung open.
“Impressive,” Wilhelm nodded in approval, ushering her inside. The ancient vault was dark, Erin hit the chandelier with a ball of Loxhadrin and it burst into light. Using Loxhadrin was becoming second nature to her.
“Where are the ancient books kept?”
“These are all old,” was Wilhelm’s response.
“No, silly. I mean the really old ones. From Valkarin times?”
“They’re in an antechamber.” Wilhelm led her over to the door. “We will need your special touch again.”
Erin popped the lock. If she didn’t fancy taking on the role as defender of the Realms, she could certainly have a very profitable side line in safe cracking. With her unique powers, she left no fingerprints! Wilhelm ushered her into the small antechamber which was packed full of leather-bound volumes and scrolls.
“What are we looking for?” Wilhelm asked.
“The volume I saw at Heinrekh’s had a wolf’s head imprinted on it with two crossed Talmars.”
“That’s the Valkarin crest,” Wilhelm shivered. “To be honest, it could be any book in this room.”
They started the arduous task of pulling out all the books to glance at the covers.
“Would you mind explaining what the hell you are looking for?” Ajax barked from the doorway, looking none too impressed about the mess they had made.
“About time, I gave the order for you to meet us here many hours ago,” Wilhelm responded with a tone of absolute authority.
Ajax dropped his aggressive stance immediately. “My apologies. I did not get the message.”
“Then why are you here?”
“I saw the lights in the Archives and thought vandals had broken in.” He glanced pointedly at the books strewn about the room. “Is there something in particular you’re after.”
“Any volumes you have which bear the Valkarin crest,” Erin announced.
“Those volumes can only be unlocked by order of the King,” Ajax responded.
“I am the King’s son. I give that order in the absence of my father. Unless you want to go and wake him?” Wilhelm growled at his former tutor.
Ajax considered his options for a few seconds before making a wise choice. He pushed a stone panel on the wall and a hatch popped open, revealing three volumes. He passed them to Erin.
She flipped through each of them quickly before selecting one. “This is similar to the one Heinrekh had. I’ll read this first.” She glanced up at Wilhelm. “If that’s alright.”
He nodded. Ajax was not in agreement.
“These volumes cannot leave the Archives,” he spluttered. “They need to be kept secure.”
“Erin is taking it back to Muirhead to study. She will return it when she has finished,” Wilhelm responded flatly.
Ajax glared at him but decided against arguing.
“I will take good care of it, Ajax,” Erin tried to appease his concerns. “I have similar ones at home.”
“Well, if you need nothing further, I will lock back up.” He shooed Wilhelm and Erin out of the antechamber.
Wilhelm rode Erin back to the castle and instead of carrying her up to her chambers, stopped in the small room close to the Great Hall where she had first met Gudrun.
“I thought you might enjoy something to eat before retiring.”
Erin laughed. “Was my stomach growling that loudly?”
“It did scare my horse.”
A gaggle of servants appeared with wine and platters of food. There was a distinct advantage to being heir to a throne, Erin thought. You barked, people jumped.
She took the goblet gratefully, it had been a long night.
“Now that Heinrekh has retreated, what will you do?” Erin asked before taking a large bite of chicken. She was ravenous.
“I will need to put together a detailed map of all gateways to Muirhead. Heinrekh will obviously try and get to you again. I have to do what I can to protect you from this side.”
“But you have no more fighting on the agenda?”
He gave a hint of a smile. “It’s what we Vikings do best. Sadly though, nothing major on the cards, just the odd skirmish perhaps.”
“You will take care of yourself?”
“I am more concerned about your safety.”
“Hey, I’m protected by the dark one,” Erin joked. “Valkarin blood, remember?”
Wilhelm laughed. “I do not envy Magnus the task of guarding you.”
Erin stared into her goblet for a moment, lost in a new train of thought. “Before the rift, this realm was joined on both sides to the first realm, was it not?”
“Yes, and you’re going to ask if there is a gateway to what we call the Third Realm?” Wilhelm was already on her wave length.
“There must be, if it was joined to both land masses.”
“I have raised that same question with Ajax, but no-one is particularly keen to give me an answer. I imagine because the gateway is located within Vasmaar.”
“Perhaps we can both research it in our respective realms. Heinrekh’s castle is a good distance from the border with Skarsgaard, so it is impossible to launch a surprise attack. But if there is a gateway closer that is unguarded and could well be unknown, I might get close enough to free my mother.”
Wilhelm reached over and touched her hand. “It must be hard to find your true mother, only to be separated from her again almost immediately.”
“To be truthful, I have very few memories of Lodraill. But that is not to say I don’t want my mother back. I have fourteen years to catch up on.”
“You realise Heinrekh will make it almost impossible for you to reach Lodraill?”
Erin was about to respond when an interesting thought popped into her mind, a bit like a delayed reaction. She started to giggle.
“Are you going to share what has amused you?” Wilhelm raised an eyebrow.
“Did you notice in the Archives that Ajax looked a little…dishevelled?”
Wilhelm shrugged. “It was late at night and he was not on duty. The man can dress how he feels.”
“I mean he looked like he had just got out of bed,” Erin’s eyes twinkled at the thought. “He also had a very faint aroma of perfume.”
“So, he was with a woman. It is not against the law.”
“Not any woman, Wilhelm. It was Birdie’s perfume.” Chanel No. 5 to be exact.
Wilhelm looked a little shocked. “Inter-Realm relationships are not permitted. Ajax knows that.”
“Sex does not necessarily constitute a relationship,” Erin retorted. “Besides, you are not so squeaky clean.”
“You are of both Realms so the rule
s do not apply. I am also a Prince so can break them if I so wished.”
Erin limped across the room and stared into the fireplace. “It will seem strange being back in Muirhead. Back to an almost normal, uneventful life.”
Wilhelm followed close behind her. “The castle will certainly be quiet without you creating mayhem.”
“Hey, Magnus will tell you that mayhem and chaos are my middle names. Have you ever visited Muirhead?”
Realms Gate Page 23
