“Then we need to get her used to that fact,” he pulled Birdie close.
Birdie swatted him playfully. “Not here.”
“It’s been a while since I made out in a wood shed, but I’m happy to revisit my youth.”
“Behave,” Birdie hissed. “There’s going to be no making out anywhere.”
“Are you sure?” he murmured kissing the side of her neck.
“Yes,” she fixed him with a hard stare. Well, as hard as she could muster up when her body would very well liked to have gone out to the wood shed. “Now help me find a couple of blankets for Wilhelm and Erin. When that fire dies, they ‘ll need something.”
Erin was feeling toasty warm, but the pillow was a little on the hard side. She moved her arm to plump up it up and instead came into contact with rather a firm chest. Her eyes flew open as she tried to remember where she was. She lifted her head and her eyes met with Wilhelm’s gorgeous brown ones.
“Good morning,” he smiled.
“Have I been asleep on you all night?” Erin asked, feeling a little embarrassed. She hoped she hadn’t drooled on him, although he should be used to it from Jacques.
“It was an honour to have you use my body as a mattress.”
“You should have woken me.”
“Why? Then I would have had to share a room with a snoring Magnus. You and the small squeaking noises you make are far more preferable.”
“I do not make squeaking noises,” Erin felt her cheeks start to colour.
“You sound like a squirrel when it is collecting nuts.”
Erin flopped her head back down on his chest. She just hoped she hadn’t been anywhere his. Not that she didn’t want to, but it was not how she envisaged an intimate moment with Wilhelm.
He pulled her higher up his body. “There is a price to pay for using me all night.”
“Really?”
“Yes.” His kiss started off soft but soon built in intensity.
She was pressed against his hard body which did nothing for her self-control. She was glad Birdie, Jasper and Magnus were close by otherwise something more than kissing would most probably have happened. She’d known for a little while that she was ready for the next step in their relationship, but it was so rare for them to actually be alone for any length of time.
Right on cue, she heard the door to one of the bedrooms open.
“Are you both awake?” Birdie called out.
“Yes,” Erin pulled away from Wilhelm and sat up.
“Good. Then put the coffee on. I think we might need it today.”
Erin got to her feet and stretched. She had a crick in her neck. “You made an excellent mattress but lousy pillow,” she rubbed her neck.
“I on the other hand am excellent at being both,” Magnus sauntered into the room. “Did I hear the magic word?”
“Birdie said coffee, not over inflated ego,” Erin retorted.
“Whatever. Either suits me just fine,” Magnus grinned irritatingly.
Valkarin stared out the window to the wild sea below , it reflected the storm raging in his head. He had had enough of sitting around, he wanted to make his move on Lokranor, to show the Second Realm that he was just as powerful as the day he first died. He was sure of victory, the Realm had been come weak and powerless, however the only thorn in his side was that irritating child. There was something about her that worried him. Yes, she could not match him for sheer power, but accordingly to Isafor, she had virtually run rings around Heinrekh. It was the fact she came from the First Realm that concerned him, she was used to being creative, to finding her own way. It was her unpredictability that was of real concern to him.
He sensed Isafor had entered the room. It was a shame his predecessor was not here, this Isafor lacked the commitment and strength of his former loyal guard.
“What news do you bring from the Vokteren tracking Erin?” Valkarin asked, his back still to Isafor.
“She has left Iceland and is on her way to Greenland.”
“Greenland?” His former wife really did have her artefacts scattered far and wide.
“Yes. They have instructions to eliminate her and her travelling companions there. It is a very barren and unpopulated land, no-one will find their bodies for a long time.”
“Good.” He continued staring out to sea. “Remind me what your nephew was tutoring Erin in?”
“Blue energy. And more latterly helping with symbology.”
Valkarin tensed. “Symbology?”
“Yes. Jasper is not fully versed in it, but Magnus is.”
“And she is quite proficient?”
“Apparently it comes very naturally to her.”
Valkarin stayed still and let his mind wander. If she was half the opponent she was supposed to be, she would have accessed Isafor’s mind. He let out a deep growl as he found traces of her there.
“We move on Lokranor today.”
“Why the hurry?” Isafor asked. “Surely it would be prudent to wait.”
“No. I want to move now,” he barked. “Erin has already been through your weak mind and extracted the knowledge she needed. So we go now, when she is out the equation. And hopefully out of it for good.”
CHAPTER 11
Another day, another sea plane trip. They were headed to Ilulissat in Greenland.
“Yet another country to add to my growing list,” Erin beamed. None of her friends had been to Greenland, so it was a real adventure.
“Why do you think the medallion is in Greenland? It is not a Viking country?” Wilhelm asked.
“Perhaps because of that. Millennia ago the journey would have been too vast for most people to have undertaken,” Jasper responded for her. “Everyone would have expected the final artefact to be in Denmark or the Faroe Islands.”
“Sneaky,” Erin grinned. And she liked sneaky, in fact she could be very good at it. “But to stick it in the middle of the Kangia Icefjord was someone’s idea of a sick joke.”
Two hours later, and with one queasy Magnus, they landed on the choppy sea by the small town of Ilulissat.
Erin gazed up at the collection of brightly coloured wooden houses. “Slap me the next time I complain about Muirhead being the back end of nowhere. This place has now topped that list.”
“It is a very sparse existence here, but the Inuit have survived for a very long time.”
“Are we dog sledding?” Erin asked eagerly.
“No. We’re taking the modern method of travel. Snowmobile.”
“Cool,” Erin was impressed either way.
“I’ve rented three and they’ll also supply the snowsuits. Now let’s find the hotel to drop the bags off at.”
The Artic Hotel was amazingly modern with a great looking restaurant, a real find indeed. They’d booked a suite which had two bedrooms and a cosy living room. “This hotel, I like,” Erin nudged her aunt.
“I can sleep happy in that thought,” Birdie rolled her eyes.
Within the hour, they were riding out of Ilulissat towards the Kangia Icefjord. Erin and Magnus were in seventh heaven, riding their snowmobiles across the white, barren terrain. Wilhelm was on the back of Erin’s. She had to concentrate doubly hard, he had a habit of distracting her. They pulled up about an hour into the ride.
“We must be getting near,” Erin removed her helmet.
Jasper was studying his GPS navigator. “We’re not far. About another five kilometres then you might want to put the bracelet on as we ride along the edge of the Icefjord.”
Erin’s eyes were opened to the raw natural beauty of the place. She’d been around snow plenty in the Alps and Pyrenees, but here the sheer power of ice ruled. They stopped again by the start of Kangia Icefjord so Erin could pop on Aria’s bracelet. Again, a red hot pain shot through her head as the image started to form in her mind. The medallion was in an ice cavern, the entrance for which was like a labyrinth. She made a mental note of the ice structure in front of the labyrinth, it had three pillars sticking up. How difficult coul
d that be to find in a field of ice?
“We’re looking for three ice pillars as a marker,” Erin shouted to the others. She took the lead as it was basically the bracelet they were all following. They found the pillars almost at the far end of the Icefjord.
“I propose Jasper and I stay out here,” Birdie suggested. “In case you guys get into trouble.”
Magnus nodded. It was not sensible for them all to get trapped together. “Agreed. But you might want to stay out of sight in case anyone is watching.”
“What do you mean if someone is watching?” Erin asked as they started into the ice labyrinth.
“I imagine the Vokteren are keeping a close eye on you.”
Erin shivered. “They give me the creeps. Except for Jasper and Lars.” Remembering the tale of the Jason and the Minotaur, Erin removed the glove on her right hand and burned a number into the wall of ice every now and then with her Loxhadrin.
“Dare I ask what you’re doing?” Wilhelm looked at her strangely.
“The bracelet is leading me to the medallion, but once we have it, we have to find out way out this labyrinth virtually blind. I’ve marked the walls so we have a map out of here.”
“Clever,” he nodded.
“I can’t help being naturally gifted,” she grinned.
Magnus snorted in response.
Eventually they found themselves standing in the middle of a small cavern in the ice, which again had a beautiful altar. This one was unsurprisingly carved out of ice. There was a strange selection of objects and two medallions.
“Take both,” Magnus glanced around feeling a little nervous.
“No,” Erin responded. “That could be the trap that kills us.”
“Which one then?” Wilhelm asked.
Erin looked at both. One displayed the head of a wolf, the other a dragon. “Let me think.”
“Surely it must be the wolf, that is Valkarin’s symbol.”
“Do you really think his wife would use that? She created these artefacts to try and kill him. I think it is the dragon.”
“That is your symbol.”
“Yes. Somewhere in the past our families have crossed which is why the dragon is now our coat of arms. And that is probably why Aria’s crystal reacted to me.”
“Then pick it up,” Magnus hissed.
“Let me think for a moment,” Erin grunted. The last thing she needed was to make the wrong choice.
“Oh for heaven’s sake, stop dithering,” Magnus reached out and snatched up the dragon medallion.
“Don’t…” Erin started to say, but it was too late.
Cracks started to appear on the floor beneath them; they ran for the exit, but they stood no chance. The ice gave way. They seemed to fall forever before landing in a cavern below. Erin hit the ice hard, all the air was knocked out her lungs. She lay there for a few moments, trying to draw breath. Crap that hurt. Glancing over, she spotted Magnus starting to get to his feet.
“Throw me the medallion before you even think about moving,” Erin groaned.
“Why?”
“Because I’m wearing Aria’s bracelet. If you hadn’t been so bloody impatient, we’d probably have walked out here.”
Magnus muttered something and threw the medallion over to her. With it safely around her neck, Erin looked around for Wilhelm. Her heart started to race when she couldn’t see him.
“Wilhelm?” she called out.
“Up here,” he called from the ledge above them.
“Great,” Erin sighed. “How the hell do we get up there?”
“I’ll come to you.” Before she could stop him, he leapt off the ledge. “Nothing to it,” he smiled standing on front of her.
“Show off,” she muttered.
“You’re injured,” Wilhelm touched her head.
“I am?”
“Yes. Your head is bleeding.”
“Must just be a scratch.” She rested her forehead against his chest just for a moment, relieved he was in one piece.
“I guess we’d better start moving,” Magnus interrupted her moment of serenity with Wilhelm.
“Unless you have any bright suggestions, we head up,” Erin sighed.
They found a narrow passageway and started to follow it, not having a clue where it would lead them. A while later they were back where they started.
“Great, we’ve been walking around in a damn circle,” Magnus grunted.
“I can’t see any other passageways,” Wilhelm studied the cavern. It had just the one exit.
“So we’re trapped?” Magnus was not happy, more so because it was his fault they were in the mess they were.
“Perhaps,” Erin thought aloud. Holding the medallion in her hand, she shut her eyes. Help us Aria. Show me the way out.
Touch the walls, a soft voice spoke in her head.
Erin reached out and ran her hand over the walls of the ice cavern. Eventually she found what she was looking for. A gap in the wall that they could not see. Grabbing hold of Wilhelm’s hand she pulled him through to the passage behind. Magnus followed. The sight of a set of steps was most welcome. Climbing them cautiously, they made their way back to the cavern where the medallion had been housed. The floor had disappeared, but there was a ledge still intact around the outside of the room.
“It seems that’s our only route out,” Erin sounded thoroughly unimpressed. She was. Not that she really blamed Magnus, but his impetuousness had almost killed them all.
“It is safe?” Wilhelm asked.
“Guess we’ll find out sooner rather than later,” Erin shrugged. As she went to step out on the ledge, Wilhelm picked her up and dropped her behind him.
“I’m going first. You’re too precious to lose.”
“Precocious more like?” Magnus hissed under his breath.
Erin fixed him with a hard glare before stepping out behind Wilhelm. The trio shuffled along the ledge, with their backs pressed hard against the wall of the cavern. It was slow but they were almost halfway across when Erin felt her footing slip as part of the ledge had given way. She screamed as she prepared to hit the cavern floor again, but Wilhelm made a grab for her before she disappeared out of reach.
He had hold of her hand, but she could feel it slipping out the glove. There was nothing for her to hang on to.
“Let me drop, Wilhelm,” Erin ordered. “Otherwise we’ll all fall.”
“Never,” he scowled and started to swing her before throwing her onto the ledge ahead of them. She lay on her stomach, stunned for a moment.
“Are you alright?” Wilhelm started to edge towards her.
“Yeah, just a bit dazed.” She scrambled to her feet and carried on along the ledge until she got to the exit.
Magnus and Wilhelm weren’t too far behind. Her legs felt so shaky, she sank to the ground as she waited for them to join her. It was probably the strain she had put her body under the previous evening. Resting her head on her knees, she closed her eyes for a moment.
She was cold. Hardly surprising, she was in an ice labyrinth. Her eyes were refusing to open willingly, it took tremendous strength to force them apart. Wilhelm and Magnus were bending over her, the anguish on their faces evident.
“What is it?” Erin gazed up at them.
“You passed out for a bit,” Magnus kept doing something to her leg.
“What’s wrong,” Erin tried to sit up.
“You must have cut your leg. You’ve been bleeding pretty heavily.” Magnus attempted to stem the bleeding.
Erin spotted the red stained ice beneath her and felt excessively nauseous. She wasn’t that fond of the sight of blood; ridiculous considering the amount of times she injured herself.
“The cold should slow the bleeding. Perhaps if we pack ice around the wound,” Wilhelm squeezed her hand.
“It’s already slowing,” Magnus had his hand pressed hard to her thigh. “We need to get her out of here quickly.”
“I’ll carry her,” Wilhelm offered.
“Hello
, why are you talking about me in the third person? I am fully conscious and able to make rational decisions.”
“That’ll be a first,” Magnus grunted, then winced as Erin slapped the back of his head.
The Realms Unite (Realms Gate) Page 9