Like the night before your first battle?
That was different, I was going to meet a scary sorcerer.
You’re still going to meet the scary sorcerer.
Hopefully we might be able to circumnavigate him.
You think he won’t hear you blow a hole in the side of the tower wall?
If he’s in the throes of passion, he might just think he’s climaxed?
Magnus laughed heartily. You’ve just answered my question as to whether you and Wilhelm have had sex yet. A climax is nothing like the sound of a stone wall exploding. And trust me, I’ve had more than a few.
Ooh gross, the last thing I want to have on my mind when I go to sleep is you having sex.
Such a hot thought would keep you up all night.
Throwing up, she added disconnecting the connection.
CHAPTER 28
The flight to Skallengaard was very quiet, no-one was in the mood for talking. Magnus looked like he was trying to hold onto his breakfast, Wilhelm was extremely nervous about travelling in the air, and Jasper and Birdie had some weird body language going on. Erin hoped her aunt’s mind was fully on flying the seaplane.
She was surprised that the fishermen on the dock at Thurso had not even blinked when what looked like a Norse raiding party got out of an expensive RangeRover and into a seaplane. It appeared they had seen far more unusual things.
Her eyes were focused on the land mass ahead of them. In a short while they would be landing in Skallengaard. The first part of their mission was to get through a Vokteren stronghold unscathed; she prayed Isafor had told them they were coming else it would be down to the reserved Jasper to fight their corner.
Birdie set the plane down on the choppy sea with supreme ease and pulled alongside a private jetty which led to the Vokteren owned property. Her aunt’s talents really were wasted on the McLomard Estate. Jasper got out first.
“Wait here a moment. I need to make sure our path is clear.” He strode along the jetty and spoke to a cloaked figure in the shadows at the end. A minute later, he beckoned them. Erin passed out the white cloaks to Wilhelm and Magnus, attached her trusty sword and a backpack filled with a few necessary supplies.
“What’s in the bag?” Magnus asked.
“Additional help should we need it,” she responded. She fished out her mobile and put it to silent.
“As soon as we make it back out, I’ll call you,” she gave Birdie a hug. Her aunt was staying with the plane for safety. “We might be coming out through another gateway.”
“Understood,” Birdie kissed her cheek. “Just make sure you come back. If not, I will be seriously pissed.”
“I will do my best,” Erin grinned and walked towards Jasper, her hands un-gloved and ready for use should they be needed.
He noticed her gloves had come off, but said nothing. Perhaps he was unsure of their welcome as she. “Come, I will show you to the gateway myself,” Jasper indicated for them to follow. “It is at the top of the hill.”
“Why can’t people ever build gateways at the bottom,” she muttered and duly stepped in behind him.
Her eyes were everywhere as they climbed hundreds of steps up to the imposing stone building perched on the clifftop. She caught glimpses of shadows lurking in dark recesses as they made their way up, but for the moment they seemed to be letting her pass. She was distinctly uneasy though; at least in Vasmaar she knew people would be trying to kill her. It was the uncertainly here that really irritated her.
Jasper passed around the outside of an old building, the wind from the sea was whipping up quite a storm and it was freezing. Still, she could not risk putting her hands into her gloves, it would leave them virtually defenceless if she did.
She spotted the stone archway in the distance. “It is like the Realms Gate in Muirhead,” she spoke to Jasper.
“That is because this is the official Gate from the Third Realm.” Jasper turned to face her. “I almost wish now I was coming with you. I have long heard talk about Vasmaar and for once am envious.”
“The last thing your people need is for Heinrekh to get his hands on another Voktere.” She took Jasper’s hands in hers. “I will do everything in my power to bring Lars home in one piece.”
“I know you will, which is why I feel so conflicted letting you go. I fear that rescuing both him and your mother will stretch you.”
“The boys are rescuing Lars. Besides, Heinrekh will be focused on me, so whatever happens, they will make it back to the Gate.”
“Our Realms will suffer heavily if you are caught and join your mother in captivity.”
“I have a pretty good insurance policy in Sasha. The joys of having Heinrekh’s girlfriend as my closest friend, she will chew his ear off if he locks me up.”
“And there is nothing scarier than a cross redhead.”
She leant in and kissed his cheek. “Keep Birdie occupied.” Erin turned to face Magnus and Wilhelm. “Are you ready?”
“Yeah, let’s go kick some Vasmaarian butt,” Magnus headed through the Gate before her.
“Guess he’s never heard of letting ladies go first,” Erin rolled her eyes at Jasper before she stepped through.
Erin shielded her eyes against the whiteness of the snow as she looked outside the small cavern; despite being almost dusk it was still bright.
“All looks quiet,” Magnus whispered.
“Good, it stinks like your socks in here,” she grunted.
Magnus pulled up the hood of his cloak. “Let me go take a look.”
“No,” she put a restraining hand on his arm. “I can’t risk losing you and your telepathic abilities. I’ll go.”
“Quit arguing,” Wilhelm pushed them both aside. “I’m the dispensable one.”
“You’re the sole heir to the Lokranor throne, in case you have forgotten,” Erin reminded him.
“If Heinrekh wins this battle, I won’t have one.”
Five minutes later, Erin was on the verge of going to look for Wilhelm. She was sure he had been killed or taken by Vasmaarian troops. “We go together,” she instructed Magnus. Just as they were leaving Wilhelm appeared.
“What took you so long?” Erin snapped.
“I made sure the area was quite safe, which included killing a couple of stray guards,” he glowered. “Now the area is quite secure, my lady.”
“Let’s go then, we have to get to the castle before dark.”
They started through the woods along a path that would lead them directly to the castle. It was eerily quiet, no birds, just the sound of the odd bough breaking under the weight of snow. Thinking of birds reminded her that Heinrekh’s bloody blackbird was also a danger. She made a mental note to add that bird to the menu of her next barbecue.
Wilhelm’s hand grabbed her arm and he nodded off to the distance. “Two more soldiers.”
Erin threw a couple of balls of Loxhadrin to vaporise them. At the end of the woods, she stared across the expanse of land between them and the castle.
She held both her palms up the sky. “Majorin,” she murmured. “I need you both to hold my hand so I can cloak us all with blue energy.”
“And I thought it was because you cared,” Magnus smirked.
“Perhaps I should leave you uncloaked so you can act as bait.”
“So temperamental,” he took hold of her hand.
Wilhelm did the same. “Your hands are freezing, Erin.”
“I need full use of them. Now let’s go.” She glanced sideways at Magnus. “I know you have flippers for feet, but try not to leave too much of a trail.”
“You know what they say, big heart, big…..”
“Head?”
“I thought the object was to approach silently,” Wilhelm muttered.
The three made their way across the open expanse to the castle. Her heart was thumping quite heavily, ridiculous really as they were invisible, minus their footprints. When she had last been here, she had entered through the front entrance. Now she had to try and fi
nd a way in through the rear.
“We’ll head around to the left side,” she murmured. She spotted a building she recognised. The stable block. From here they were on paved pathways. She headed into the building, only three guards were on duty. She released her hold on Wilhelm and Magnus, three seconds later the guards were dust.
Erin peered out through a hole in the wooden slats of the stables towards the castle. There seemed to be a bit of troop movement, the guard was about to change.
“There’s a lot of activity at the moment. We’ll wait for it to die down a bit.” She was watching where the guards were exiting the castle. That was one entrance that they would avoid, it was way too busy. She could see the North Tower the other side of the castle. Waiting around just made her more nervous, she needed to keep moving. “Let’s go.” Her hood was pulled up once again.
They crossed to the side of the castle and, hugging the wall, made their way to the rear. The archway into the courtyard was heavily guarded. Erin lifted the latch on a nearby door. The room inside was small and empty so they slipped inside. As she hoped, there was another door off it; she took a peak. It led to a hallway and looked clear. Before they did anything further, she needed to gather some intel on the layout of the castle and its dungeons.
“I need to pick Sasha’s mind for a moment,” Erin looked at Magnus who understood what she was about to do.
She followed the same ritual she had done back in Muirhead, clearing her head and focussing on Sasha. “Dalmarig,” she murmured letting her mind travel. Reaching Sasha’s mind was relatively easy, picking through what was in there was tough. It was a bit like going through someone’s hard drive without the files being clearly labelled. She came across some rather explicit images of Heinrekh she hoped she could erase. Finally she hit lucky, she had accessed the memory Sasha had of going to the dungeons. And there was a bit about Lars that Sasha had failed to disclose.
She came back to the present. “The entrance to the dungeons is just up ahead facing onto the courtyard. There is a set of stone steps leading down to a room full of sculptures. At the far end of that room is another door. Follow the hallway the other side and that leads straight into the vaulted dungeons. Lars’ cell is the first on the right hand side. He should in fact be the only prisoner. If there are others, you must leave them.”
Searching in her backpack, she pulled out a couple of small canisters. “Spray this on the lock to the cell and it will melt the metal,” she tossed it to Magnus. “This one is chloroform in case you need to put someone to sleep quickly. Just one squirt should do it, but be careful you don’t fall foul to its vapours as well. And don’t get the two canisters mixed up.”
“Don’t we need to co-ordinate out timing?” Magnus shifted uncomfortably.
“Yes. I have to get to the tower, talk to mum and see if I can lower the shield. If not, it’s plan B. You both should head to the room with the sculptures, there are plenty of recesses to conceal yourself in. I’ll let you know when you should break Lars free.”
Magnus gave Erin a hug. “Take care, you irritating brat. If anything should happen to you, I might be assigned to look after a sweet natured person, so bear that in mind when you think about doing something foolish.”
“I’m not letting you off the hook that easily, Selvig.” She looked at Wilhelm you had been remarkably silent for a while. “You take care too.” She kissed his cheek, then decided as it could be the last time she saw him, so kissed that delicious mouth of his. His response nearly emptied her mind.
“Guys, if you want to continue that, might I suggest you get a room,” Magnus groaned.
Wilhelm ran the back of his hand down her throat as his soft brown eyes held hers. “I would rather be watching your back than Selvig’s.”
“I am protected by black blood. Magnus only has black moods.”
“I do not,” he snorted.
“But I want you both to back each other up.” She swung her back pack over her shoulder. “Time to meet mum for the second time in my living memory.”
Erin cloaked herself again in blue energy and headed out into the courtyard, crossing brazenly in front of several guards. The wooden door to the tower was locked. That was no great surprise. With so many guards around, she needed to draw their attention away from the tower, and also away from the entrance to the dungeons. A pile of old crates stacked up at far end of the yard would help. “Severig,” she murmured waving her hand.
The crates fell over, making the guards jump to attention. With their eyes fixed on that spot, Magnus and Wilhelm had the few seconds they needed to pass unseen to the dungeons entrance. She turned back to the door, using blue energy as a key to open it. She sprinted up the stairs, her legs feeling positively jelly-like.
“Hey, mum,” she smiled as she stood before the shield. “Are you up for breaking out of here?”
Sasha’s irritable mood was back and this time there was no Erin to alleviate it. McBride House was deserted except for the housekeeping staff. She’d gone through some mail, sorted out her laundry and was just killing time until she met Heinrekh. They had been apart a week longer than usual and she was really missing him; not that she’d tell him that.
She mooched into the study to see if Angus has left anything interesting out. There were a few estate plans and another very old map. It looked to be of Iceland, and Angus had highlighted some parts of it. Curious. She dug through some more papers to see if she could find anything further. There were a few more references to Iceland, but nothing concrete. What was Angus up to? Was it related to Heinrekh in any way? She could not think why anything relating to the estate would link to Iceland. And where was her brother anyway? She assumed he was back at University, but now maybe he was visiting the places highlighted on that map. She tossed the papers back on his desk; she gave up trying to guess what he was doing. Whatever it was, she probably did not want to actually know. Besides it was time to focus on more pressing issues, like getting to the barn to meet Heinrekh.
Her spirits were picked right up as she saw him riding towards her as she waited the entrance way. He looked magnificent on his white horse, his long blond hair flowing behind him. She gave a small sigh of appreciation. He pulled her up onto his lap, kissing her fiercely.
“If you make me wait so long again for you, I will come to Edinburgh myself to retrieve you,” he said hoarsely.
“You are too used to getting your own way,” she nipped his ear playfully. “Abstinence does the soul good.”
“I would disagree, and as I am supposed to have no soul, I cannot see how that would work.”
“Oh you have one,” she giggled, her hand slipped beneath this cloak. “You just don’t like to show it. Now are you going to stay here all day chastising me, or are we going to sort out your abstinence issue.”
“Do you realise you are the only person in this realm who actually dares to laugh at me?”
“Good. You need bringing down a peg or two, my dark and evil lord.”
The ride to Vasmaar was always trouble free, hardly surprising really as the only person capable of challenging Heinrekh was currently in Inverness.
“Is Olav still camped on your border?”
“His troops are. From what I understand he is back in Lokranor, trying to maintain control. I think there will be a rebellion there soon.”
“Your doing?”
“Not at all,” he gave his best innocent smile. “Olav has done that all himself. Even Gudrun has left him.”
“I know, she was visiting Wilhelm. If many more of its citizens cross through the Gate, we will have to rename our town.”
“And how is Erin?”
“Very well. But that is all I am willing to say. You know I don’t discuss personal details about either of you to the other.”
“I was merely asking after her, not fishing for any salient details.”
“Are you being nice to your houseguests?”
“Of course, I am a most hospitable host,” Heinrekh grinned wol
fishly.
“Have you seen Angus recently?”
“Why do you ask?”
“I’ve not seen him for some months now, I just get the odd text.”
“I have not seen him of late. I think that is down to the fact he disapproves of our relationship.”
“It is not the first time a McBride and a descendant of Valkarin have got together. Erin has unearthed a few scandalous skeletons in my family’s past.”
“Really?”
“Yes, about two hundred years ago was the last time. The result was a child who took on the McBride name. So you see, my blood doesn’t run too pure either.”
Realms Gate: A Realm Divided Page 20