The Fourth Realm (Realms Gate)

by Juliet Anderson

  “Yeah,” Kat studied her suspiciously. “I want to know why you thought Damon was waking you from your slumber. Do you usually sleep together?”

  “No,” Arianna sat up and rubbed her eyes before focussing on her surroundings. “Where the hell are we?”

  “Beats me.”

  “Can you cast some light on our surroundings?”

  Kat obliged by holding up a ball of fire. They appeared to be in some kind of cell, possibly a dungeon. The walls were bare rock face, hinting perhaps that they were a good way underground.

  Arianna rattled the door on their cell. “It appears not everyone in Mallenvaar is friendly. Abducting visiting dignitaries is really not done,” Arianna grunted.

  “I think this is more about you than me,” Kat sighed. “What the hell possessed you to walk into that weird shop anyway?”

  “What weird shop?”

  “The one with the strange crystals. Where you scuttled off behind the curtain seemingly in search of something.”

  “I have no idea what you’re talking about. I just remember eating that spiced bun with Drago and Ulrik.” Arianna looked totally perplexed.

  “You don’t recall going exploring?”

  “No. Why is my memory fuzzy and yours not?”

  “Because I’m far smarter than you,” Kat retorted with half a smile. “Drago and Ulrik went to sort out some kind of trouble ahead of us and asked us to wait. You had other plans on your mind and wanted to explore. My last recollection is being dragged into a strange shop and then passing out.”

  “Are you sure it’s not you hallucinating?” Arianna was perplexed, she’d never before had any memory lapses.

  “Something tells me a little sorcery has been at work, perhaps controlling your mind.”

  “I’d still know if that was the case, wouldn’t I?”

  “No. Mum once said a skilled sorcerer could access people’s mind without them even knowing they were there. She’s done it to Dad a few times over the years, dropping not so subtle hints on presents.”

  “Are you able to fry the lock?” Arianna asked hopefully.

  Kat zapped it a couple of times with strands of fire but it did nothing. “It’s having no effect whatsoever. Sorcery again.”

  “I guess we’ll just have to revert to the good old-fashioned methods.” Arianna removed one of the long pins from her hair and waggled it about for a few minutes. Eventually there was the heart-warming sound of the lock popping open.

  “I don’t want to know where you learnt to do that,” Kat shook her head.

  Creeping along the hallway of the gloomy dungeons, Kat detected faint movement in another of the cells. Shining an orb of fire inside, her pulse skittered. “Ulrik?” she murmured.

  He appeared to be out cold. She hit the lock of the cell with fire and luckily it did spring open. Clearly their captor had not planned on them getting free and letting anyone else out. She rushed in and shook him firmly. “Wake up, sleeping beauty.”

  “Kat,” he grunted sleepily.

  “Yes. Now get up quickly, we’re kind of in a rush.”

  “Come back to bed with me.”

  Kat responded with a firm slap to the face. “Wakey, wakey. No time for pleasant dreams.”

  It had the desired effect, he hauled himself up into a sitting position. “Where are we?”

  “Apparently in a dungeon somewhere below ground.”

  “Any idea how we got here?”

  “I imagine we were drugged in that strange shop. Did you go in there?”

  “The one with crystals in the window? Yeah.”

  “What did you do with Drago?” Arianna asked.

  “He went to get reinforcements so we could search the city to find you.”

  “I get the feeling we’re not in the city.” Arianna looked down the corridor. “I think we should get moving before our captor decides to pay us a visit.”

  Kat held up an orb of fire to light their way as they headed down a dark and very dank tunnel.

  “It’s getting darker not lighter and the smell is worse,” Arianna grunted, swatting away a cobweb. “I think we’re going the wrong way.”

  “Which is exactly why we’re headed the right way,” Ulrik tried to shake the sleep from his head. “I imagine our aim is to keep clear of our captives.”

  “Correct,” Kat responded. “And as it appears our captor has sorcery at his disposal, I have no desire to run into him. My fire is no match for someone who has command over the dark arts.”

  “Did anyone see you enter the store?” Arianna asked Ulrik.

  “I don’t think so. The street was fairly deserted.”

  “Have you ever noticed that shop before?”

  “To be honest, if I come to Vallengaard, I usually only stop in the central square.”

  “Dare I ask whose idea it was to come to Vallengaard today?” Kat asked.

  “I think my father mentioned it.”

  “Could Lief have dropped the hint to your father?”

  “Possibly. But what good would come from abducting you two?”

  “I have a feeling that perhaps Oskar was meant to come riding in on his white horse to rescue my sister,” Kat sighed.

  “Oskar’s horse is black.”

  Both girls let out a soft giggle. “That aside, I do believe Oskar or Lief has already dabbled with sorcery, at least paid someone for their skills, so this stinks of them.”

  “I hate to say it but you might be right.”

  “Do you trust Drago implicitly?” Arianna asked.

  “I would like to think so, however loyalty can always be bought.”

  “God that stench is getting more putrid by the day,” Arianna gagged. “What the hell is it? It’s worse than Damon’s socks.”

  Up ahead they could see a faint light. Kat immediately extinguished her fire, they moved stealthily in the virtual darkness nearer and nearer to the orange light. The tunnel opened up into a small cavern, in the middle of which was a bubbling hole in the ground.

  “I think that we might be near Ardenborg, it has a hot spring there which smells just like this one.”

  Kat stopped Ulrik from stepping out the tunnel. “Let’s wait just a moment to make sure no-one is around. I smell a trap.”

  Sure enough, on the far side of the cavern a hooded figure materialised. “I know you are there, Katya of Lokranor. I can sense your power.”

  Kat glanced at Arianna and Ulrik. “Stay here,” she whispered. Ulrik tried to grab hold of her arm but she swatted him away.

  “Your powers do you credit,” she stepped into view. “You have me at a disadvantage, Sir. Might I know your name also?”

  “It is Erland.”

  “And what is it you want of me, Erland?” Kat continued to close the gap between them. Mum always said she was a pretty good judge of character and she could not pick up anything too threatening from Erland.

  “That is a good question, my lady. You could say everything and nothing.”

  “I never was very good with riddles,” Kat sighed apologetically. “I think I lack the patience.”

  Erland let out a soft chuckle. “Now you sound like a Viking.” He pushed back the hood of his cloak; he was a lot younger than Kat originally thought, probably in his mid-thirties. He was about the same height as Ulrik, and with pale, straight blond hair and very pale blue eyes.

  “I am part Viking.”

  “Yes, you are a most unusual specimen. Which is why I am sorry we do not have as much time to talk as I hoped.”

  “I must ask you again what it is you want? Were you instructed to abduct us?”

  “What makes you think that?”

  “The sorcery I have seen so far has just been to grab our attention and make the citizens of Mallenvaar panic. That fact that you managed to access my sister’s mind and control her thoughts suggests are you are much more capable of just side show thrills.”

  “It was my uncle, was it not?” Ulrik stepped out the shadows.

  “Prince Ul
rik,” Erland nodded in respect. “It was. I do apologise, you were never part of the plan. You unfortunately were far more observant than you should have been.”

  “That aside, the penalty for abducting the heir to the throne is death.”

  “Oh hush,” Kat flapped her hand dismissively at him. “We have far more important things to discuss than protocol. Now, Erland, please could you at least answer one of our questions?”

  “Lief has paid me for suppling a few diversions, but his latest plan helped my own cause.”

  “Which is?”

  “Why to return to my family’s former home.”

  “Lokranor?”

  “Hardly,” he snorted derisively. “Vasmaar.”

  “You want to return to Vasmaar.”

  “Yes. A few millennia ago, before the rift, my family served Valkarin.”

  “Then you’ll either be pleased or not to know that he’s dead.”

  “I would imagine so after two millennia. My plan to resurrect him, to unite all the realms once more.”

  Kat felt her heart sink as she saw the glassy-eyed expression as he spoke. “Sadly that is no longer possible. He was resurrected about twenty-two years ago by his heir and killed a short while later.”

  “He has an heir?” Erland sounded shocked.

  “Yes. Damon of Vasmaar.”

  “But how could someone kill him?”

  “My mother’s powers were stronger than his.”

  “That would explain why such power runs in your veins, young one. But it causes me a dilemma. Could I let the offspring of the woman that killed my great lord live?”

  “There was nothing great about Valkarin,” Kat snorted. Right about now her mind was telling her to shut up and to try and negotiate her way out of this, but the teen in her was not willing to play along. “He was a dark and twisted individual. His descendants have not been much better, it is only with Damon that Vasmaar now has a ruler who is half-assed sane.”

  “You dare insult the name of Valkarin?” Erland moved towards her threateningly.

  “Yeah. Despite all his posturing and evilness, the guy got taken down by an eighteen-year old girl with no formal training in the dark arts.”

  “Enough,” Erland hissed. “You sully his name.”

  “Sorry. The guy should have stayed dead. At least now with his ashes scattered to the four winds, there is no chance his dark ass is going to step foot in Lokranor or Vasmaar again.”

  “Shut up,” Erland shouted, a strand of something black shot from his hand and wrapped itself around her neck.

  Kat’s hands automatically tried to grab hold of it but it was just smoke. Albeit smoke that was choking her. Before she flew into a complete panic, she remembered something her mother had taught her. Fight sorcery with sorcery. To counteract a strand of energy, you needed too wind your own around it. Easier said than done when someone was trying to choke you to death. Seeing Ulrik rush forward goaded her into action. She had a feeling Erland would not be too worried about killing him either.

  Doing her best to focus her mind, she called up her fire and expelled a thin strand from hand, wrapping it around the black strand. Miraculously it worked and Erland’s hold on her throat broke. Whilst he was still stunned by her response, Kat threw up a wall of fire, blocking him off from Ulrik.

  “Get the hell out of here now with Arianna,” she shouted at him.

  “Not without…” Ulrik started to reply.

  “Just bloody do it,” Kat snapped. She couldn’t keep them both safe if they stayed.

  To her amazement, he complied. Actually, he didn’t have much choice. Arianna grabbed his hand and pulled him out the cavern.

  “Your friends won’t get far,” Erland sneered. “Ulrik is unarmed. He won’t survive long out here in the frozen wastelands.”

  “They have me to protect them,” Kat snapped, wondering if actually she was going to get out the cavern alive. “And you’re forgetting, if anything happens to my sister or myself, my mother and Damon of Vasmaar will completely flatten this insignificant realm in a fit of rage. In fact, it would be a miracle if they left one citizen alive. Are you willing to have that on your conscience?”

  “Why would the ruler of Vasmaar help out Lokranor?”

  “Because not only is he all but betrothed to my sister, his mother and mine are close friends. We were all raised together.”

  “Vasmaar and Lokranor will be united by marriage?”

  “Yes.” The guy wasn’t too swift. Whilst he seemed to be digesting this information, Kat backed slowly towards to the exit, hands at the ready. She was through it before he registered she was gone.

  Kat gasped, it was pitch black outside. No wonder Erland did not bother to follow, he was right, they would probably not survive the night. She squealed as a hand grabbed her from behind.

  “Relax, it’s me.”

  She sagged against Ulrik.

  “If you ever do anything so foolish again, I’ll strangle you myself,” he murmured in her ear.

  “I’m sorry, it was the only thing I could think of to get you both out of there in one piece.”

  “Never ask me to leave you behind again.” He held her so tight to him she could barely breathe.

  “Any idea where we are?”

  “I’m pretty sure we’re near Ardenborg.”

  “How far?”

  “I haven’t a clue which direction.”

  “Never ask a man for directions,” Kat sighed and stepped away from Ulrik. She summoned up a ball of fire and using all her strength, tossed it as high up in the night sky as she could.

  Ulrik scanned the horizon quickly. “This way,” he said suddenly grabbing hold of hers and Arianna’s hands.

  “You’ve remembered the way?”

  “Yeah. There’s a cabin not far from here that’s used for shelter from the frozen wastelands. I suggest we head there and wait until daylight.”

  “Won’t Erland expect us to head there?”

  “Perhaps, but we don’t have any other choice. We’re unarmed, apart from a small knife I carry in my boot. Whilst we have your sun stone power, it will not be enough to protect us all for an extended time. And not overlooking the fact that we’ll freeze to death if we stay out here.”

  “Fine. I’ll take a sorcerer any day over the cold,” Kat shivered.

  “What will your father’s reaction be when he can’t find you?” Arianna asked as trudged through the deep snow.

  “I imagine he’ll tear Vallengaard apart. Not just because I have disappeared but you two as well. Telling your father that both his daughters have gone missing is a conversation he would dearly like to avoid.”

  Kat knew they had to make it back to Mallenvaar castle as soon as possible to stop a major falling out with her father. She was relieved when they reached the shack. It was very basic indeed with a few bales of straw and some logs inside.

  “Wonderful,” Arianna sighed. “A fire place. And even some wood.” She tossed a couple of logs into the grate. “Sister dear, could you do the honours?”

  Kat zapped the logs with a ball of fire and they burst into flames. Huddled around the fire, they contemplated their options.

  “We have to assume that no-one other than Erland knows we’re here,” Kat thought out aloud.

  “He’s in league with Oskar and Lief so I imagine he already has an idea of where we are.” Arianna stared into the flickering flames of the fire.

  “True but we’ll be safe until first light. Oskar is a coward and would not risk travelling at night without a full escort. And to take one of those would rouse my father’s interest.”

  “Then we move at dawn. Is anyone else likely to use this shelter?” Arianna wasn’t keen to wake up to a room full of rough Vikings.

  “No. If anyone was wanting to use it, they would already have been here.”

  Kat prodded a bale of straw. “Our deluxe bedding awaits.”

  “I’m really sorry,” Ulrik sighed. “I imagine you’ve never had to sleep
so rough.”

  Both Arianna and Kat burst out laughing. “We grew up in the Scottish Highlands, Ulrik,” Kat patted his arm affectionately. “We have camped out in worse than this on several occasions.”

  “But it is freezing here.”