Forbidden Realms

Book Two of the Great War Saga

Michael B. Schwartz

This novel has a religious motif. How could I not delve into religion without taking on the Forbidden Realms? My intent is not to offend anyone as this is a work of fiction. 

There are also key locations in the novel that I have deliberately altered in order to tell my story.

There cannot be light without darkness; and there cannot be night without a new dawn.

Forbidden Realms

Book Two of the Great War Saga

Prelude to War

There was a cold atmosphere in the dining room as the two men ate dinner in silence. There was no anger or hostility among them; they had just run out of things to talk about ten years ago. In fact, Vince Hopman doesn’t understand why his father keeps asking him over for dinner when all they do is eat and do very little talking.

Rick Hopman glanced across the table at his son and wondered where the time had gone. It seemed like yesterday he had brought Vincent home in his pumpkin seat. In fact, he remembered even now that he had to leave Vince with the nuns so he could get a proper car seat. When he went back to the convent, Sister Helen had cautioned that the Great War was only beginning; she didn’t know where and when, but she knew that only the first of three prophecies had been fulfilled.

When he had gotten himself and Vince home, he knew there would be time to mourn Emily’s death – to this day he is still clouded on what really happened to Emily and Tracy. He realized that he must have been possessed by Orion, but everything then was a dark confusion.

Rick had been fighting whether or not to tell Vince that he has been having peculiar dreams for the past twenty years. He knew that Vince would shrug it off and tell him that it was all because of raising a baby by himself. 

This could be true, however, but these dreams were mere memories of a war he had fought with his friends so long ago. When he was fifteen years old, on the eve of getting his driver’s license it seemed, he met Tracy Kingston and together they went through hell and back in an attempt to stop a timeless master Dreamkiller. When they reunited as adults, his mind was no longer his and her mind was no longer hers. He soon realized that Queen Nanaac was controlling Tracy.

All that he could remember was looking into Tracy’s eyes and she had begged him to look after her son and he had agreed to the challenge. He would have died for her if he could.

“You haven’t been sleeping these days,” announced Vince, startling his father, as he looked up from his plate. There wasn’t much concern in Vince’s eyes and this was why Rick said nothing. “Have you?”

Rick loved his son with every ounce of his being, but he looked down at his food nevertheless. “The dreams…the memories….they really haven’t stopped.” He sighed and then looked back up. “Look, I can deal with them – Lord knows, I’ve dealt with them for twenty damned years.”

“Dad, why did you want me over here?”

Rick stood up and walked over to a tall china cabinet and draped one arm over the top. “I can’t escape my past,” he said and then looked directly at his son. “I think it’s starting to get into my head.” He turned and saw a picture of Emily taken a year before she died. He closed his eyes and then shook his head. “They’ve gotten so bad; they’re making me see things – things I’ve never seen before.”

Vince sighed and tried to swallow his pride. “What things are you seeing?”

“Forests; castles,” he said and then looked into Vince’s eyes. “Your mother.”

A chill went down Vince’s back. He had always wanted to know about her. “Tell me about her.”

Rick smiled and went back to the table and sat down. “Would you believe that I’ve only known her, really known her, for under two weeks?”

Vince lowered his eyes in suspicion and he slowly shook his head.

“It’s true,” Rick replied and grabbed his glass of half-drunk wine. He finished it off in one last gulp and then put the glass back down. “She came to me asking for my help.” He saw his son give a small snort under his breath. “Oh come on, haven’t you read my book?”

“Dad, please don’t start on that again.”

Rick sighed and then glanced out the window, saw that it was dark, and then pretended to look down at his watch. “Well, if you don’t mind, I need to get to bed,” he announced.

He stood up and went to the living room and was stopped when Vince came up from the side. “What about my mother?”

Rick went over to the entertainment center and grabbed something off the top and tossed it to his son.

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

Vince caught it and looked down and was disgusted to find a copy of his father’s book in his hands.

“You’ll find out whatever you need to know about your mother in that book,” said Rick and then went over to the staircase. “If you don’t mind, lock up on your way back to your dorm.”

Vince watched his father disappear up the stairs and then sighed as he opened the front door. He often wished that he could have normal parents; one who hadn’t written some ridiculous book (or, had it been a bestseller, he wouldn’t mind if it were crap). 

He glanced down at his watch before exiting the house and saw that it was only quarter after eight. He had thought about paying a visit to Donnie and Samantha, and then changed his mind – he never liked dropping in on people. Instead he decided on going back to his room at the university; he had to get his books ready if he was going to write a ten-page essay.

* * *

Rick wasn’t lying about seeing forests and castles in his dreams. He was, in fact, dreaming of that same forest. But now things are different. He looked around the woods but could find nothing had changed or been altered – it was just a feeling he had in his gut. But when he completed his 360-degree turn, the vision of Tracy Kingston appeared out of nowhere which caused Rick to fall over a downed log.

She looked no different from when he saw her in that brief minute or so when he came to his own self and agreed to watch Vincent. She was even more beautiful, really, as he stared up at her angelic face. Tracy smiled and held out a hand to him, but was afraid that he wouldn’t be able to touch her, so she pulled her arm back just before he could reach out for it.

Rick stood up and was hesitant to approach her. He closed his eyes and a memory came into his mind: It was the last time he really saw her, when they were in the caves of hell and he had told her to get out. They had grown to adulthood before they were summoned together by forces they could not control. He always wanted to know.

“It was the Queen,” he said and she cocked an eyebrow. “Who took over your body,” he explained and she nodded. “Such a long time ago now.”

“Not really,” she said, and the words pained Rick’s heart to hear it. “It only just felt like yesterday – if you’ll excuse the clichéd metaphor.”

“I am dreaming, yes?” He still wasn’t sure if he were talking to a real person; she seemed so damned real in this dream.

“You’re dreaming, but I crossed the channel and intercepted your dream wave. I needed to talk to you.” There was much in the way she was talking that reminded Rick of the Tracy he used to know, but there was also that new Tracy – somewhat celestial in an all-knowing sort of way.

“Why now?” He walked over to her but she took a step back. “Why didn’t you come to me a long time ago? And why are you trying to avoid me?”

“Things have changed, Rick, and I’m not sure if you’d like them if you knew the half of it,” she said.

He quickly reached out and took her arm in his hand and pulled her closer to him. “Try me,” he said.

“I am the Guardian to the Forbidden Realms,” she answered and he let her arm fall from his grasp. “James Whitaker came to me as I fell,” she saw the hurt in Rick’s eyes. “You didn’t kill me – that was Orion. James gave me a new life before I died. My prophecy was fulfilled then.”

Rick didn’t understand what she was saying. “What prophecy?”

“Didn’t the nuns at St. Vincent tell you?” She saw that Rick shrugged his shoulders and he explained to her that he wasn’t in full sound mind when he was with them – he was found among the ruins of Darvon Keep after all. “Well,” she began and sighed. “There are three prophecies about the Great War of the Dreamkillers. Prophecy one was about me on my journey to becoming a Guardian. That leads to the second one which told of Vincent and his friends. The third prophecy tells of the last Dream Crusader and the fall of the Dreamkillers.”

“You still haven’t answered my question,” he cut in. “Why have you come now instead of in the past?”

Tracy glanced over her shoulder with concern in her eyes as she thought she saw something or someone. She turned back to face Rick with dread in her eyes. “The second prophecy has been set into motion. I wanted to tell you that I’ll be contacting Vincent soon.” She looked behind her again, and then turned back to Rick with terror behind her eyes. “And get rid of the book of the Forbidden Realms – they can track it to you.”

And before he could say anything else she had vanished from the forest, leaving Rick staring at the spot she had stood wondering what would come next. He wasn’t too sure if he really believed anything that Tracy had said; he wasn’t even sure if that was really Tracy or just another conjured image.

What Rick didn’t expect was a figure falling from one of the tall trees and landing inches from where Rick was standing. By Rick’s confused expression, the young man knew that Rick didn’t know who he was.

“You don’t remember me, do you?” There was a devilish grin on his face. “I’ve waited twenty years to get to you. And now I’ve got you where I want you.”

“Allen?” Rick took a step back as a fear he hadn’t felt in twenty years resurfaced in a flood. “I thought you had gone when Orion was stopped the first time.”

Allen laughed and tilted his blackened head back and laughed. “I was gone all right. But I was waiting, trying to find a way to resurrect him. And I did – I used Bolan’s blood to bring Orion back from that hell you put him in.”

Rick glared at the same young man he once knew, who hasn’t aged since they were at Lungland together. Rage was overcoming that new fear. So it was Allen that had brought Orion back – he had actually killed Orion after all.

“Yeah, Sweet-ums, it was me who changed your world forever. Because of me, Orion was able to slip into your little body and make you kill your wife.” Allen grinned and was watching every nerve on Rick’s face twitch. He missed this so much. “I was told to wait for this specific time to kill you and Lil’ Vinnie.”

“Why? Why does everything have to happen now? Here I am trying to get my son back, and everyone wants to push us apart.” Rick reached out and shoved Allen hard enough for Allen to have fallen onto the ground; and this shocked Allen more than it did Rick. “You leave my son alone! I killed your boss, you little shit. I think I can kill you easier than him.”

It looked as if he was convulsing, but Allen rolled over and began laughing hysterically. When he had stopped, Allen rolled back over and stood up and faced Rick with a look Rick remembered seeing when they fought at the entrance to the Forbidden Realms, just after Allen had killed James Whitaker.

“You don’t need to be asleep any longer – the sleepwalker will awaken soon. Tell your boy I need to talk to him,” said Allen and he bowed his head to Rick. “And I’ll be seeing you again real soon.”

And like Tracy, Allen vanished from the forest; this time leaving a frightened Rick standing alone. He had to make sure Vince was all right.