Summoning Annika_The Viking Witch Trilogies Read online

  “Parker, give me a hand, here, I need you to carry some stuff. I hit the jackpot.”

  He followed Michael back to the tool area and handed him one of the cartons, “Just take this up front and set it on the checkout, Please? I’ll get the other ones. You can chat with Marci some more, while I get organized.”

  “Deal,” was the quick comeback.

  They checked out quickly and Michael chose a couple of bags at the doorway. Marci teased him a bit, “Who knows, maybe you’ll get lucky. Treasure or something.”

  Parker couldn’t help himself as he went out the door with the first load, “Him? Get lucky? Let’s hope so.” Michael could feel the color rising in his cheeks as he turned his hip to catch the exit door. He caught Marci’s eye as the pretty young woman pointed after Parker. “No chance” she mouthed to Michael and winked at him. “But you come see us again, Ok?” He was still blushing when he got to the car.

  “I got her number,” Parker boasted.

  “I wouldn’t hold your breath on that one. I predict you crash and burn.”

  Parker knew that tone. Michael had an uncanny way of getting to the heart of the matter, still, “How do you know?”

  “Just a feeling, she’s not your type. Let’s get a burger, I’m starving.”

  Parker protested, “I vote tacos.” “Sure,” Michael would give him this one, “Tacos, it is. T Bell on Nineteenth Avenue. Make it so number one.” Parker looked back at the boxes as they pulled away from the store. “You just going to be in geek heaven tonight, aren’t you?”

  “Absolutely,” he answered, “Let’s do the drive through.”

  Mr. Goodmund watched through the window as the boys drove away. His young clerk came up behind him. “That was very generous of you.” She offered, “what makes you think he can make this happen?”

  The old man just smiled, “He is very smart and creative. He always finds the most interesting things here, not just the obvious junk…he pays attention to the details. Most kids don’t these days. I think he is pursuing a goal with all of this.”

  Marci agreed, “I thought he was nice. The other one, not so much. Seemed selfish to me.”

  “You’re a good judge of character, Marci,” the old man said, “That’s a valuable skill. Yes, the other one could prove to be a problem.”

  “Will you reach out to the quiet one?” she questioned.

  “Michael? Yes, in a couple of days, just as a courtesy, to see if they need some prodding.”

  “Clever, Mr G. It seems you’ve done your homework. It’s a lot of responsibility to place on his shoulders.

  “I realize the risk, but his time has come. I think he is ready.” He jingled his keys in his pocket, “why don’t you take the rest of the night off, I’ll lock up. Go have some fun.”

  Chapter 5

  It took two trips to get all of Michaels’ new found treasure up to their apartment. They made quite a bit of noise coming out of the elevator. On the second trip the elevator opened to their cute new neighbors standing in front of them.

  Parker didn’t seem to really care, “Hello, ladies. Going out for the evening?”

  Katie spoke for both of them, “Sam’s getting her hair done,” and she pointed at the statuesque young woman next to her. Samantha just stared at Michael with a goofy smile on her face. She had a nervous habit of pushing her glasses back up on her nose when she was nervous. Around Michael, it was constant.

  Michael was able to stammer out, “Hi, Sam,” as he walked by her with an armload of parts. His voice only cracked a little bit.

  Katie looked at stuff in the boxes, “You guys building a car in your apartment?” Parker laughed, “I wish, nerd boy is building toys for the geek party. God help us.”

  Katie pushed Samantha into the elevator but she looked at Parker, silently pointing back and forth between Michael and Samantha. Parker got it immediately. “I’ll see what I can do.” And he turned down the hall after Michael.

  Samantha had missed the whole exchange even though it had been her idea to ambush them in the hall.

  “Earth to Samantha,” she looked like she was in dreamland, Katie waved her hand in her face to get her attention.

  “He said hi to me.”

  “My God, Sam, how did you even make it through high school?” and the elevator doors closed in front of them.

  Chapter 6

  It was much the same back at the boys’ apartment, “Mikey, you said hi to a girl. And you didn’t turn beet red to do it either. Nice job!”

  “Aren’t you funny,” Michael chirped as he put the boxes on the floor next to the dining room table. “I didn’t really have time to think about it and, boom, there they were. I just said hi, it’s no big deal.” He began to sort through the parts in the boxes. Parker just let it go. He was happy for Michael but his mind went immediately to Katie, ending of his helpfulness for the night.

  Michael, on the other hand, couldn’t decide whether he should sort by color or by potential use. He put all the pieces onto the table. The last box had a few metal pieces in the bottom. It was the one that the shopkeeper said he could keep if he wanted. He hadn’t even looked at them.

  There were four small pieces in the bottom of the box. Michael took them out and looked at each one. They were roughly the same size and same material. A rough-hewn metal with a button in the center of each one. It seemed to Michael that they were like parts of a brake caliper. Curved on the top and bottom but broken on each end. As small as they were they seemed heavy for their size and greasy. He set them down on the table on a piece of paper towel. There might be use for them, maybe not. He moved onto an old electric drill. It’s pistol grip was a natural for a ray gun or blaster of some sort. That was a win. Some spray paint and creativity, he’d have something to show off.

  Parker orbited by a couple of times mumbling about the potential long term loss of the dining table but he did stop once to ask Michael how long he had known Samantha.

  Michael didn’t look up from his project but his response was instant, “Third grade.”

  During another flyby, Parker commented, “She’s kinda pretty isn’t she?”

  Again, without hesitation, or looking up from his new toys, Michael corrected him, “No, he said, “she’s really pretty.”

  Chapter 7

  “Hi Katie, it’s been awhile. How are you?”

  The young stylist held out her hand to Samantha, “I’m Iris, what are we going to do for you today?”

  Samantha looked the young woman up and down. She was at an uneasy loss for words. Head to toe in black except for a pair of bright red tennis shoes, once Katie got past the large gauge earrings and all the piercings, the deeply cut V neck of her top revealed a vine like tattoo making its’ way across the young woman’s collarbone.

  Iris’s shoulder length hair was jet black but was under layered with small streaks of white, offset with another large section of purple. While she was far from Samantha’s style, she was really pretty. Intense, but strikingly pretty.

  “Katie has told me all about you, trim maybe?” Sam cracked in a most unconvincing voice while pushing her glasses back up the bridge of her nose, twice.

  Iris glanced at Katie and smiled slyly. “All about me! Ok… Trim, sure. I can do that. It’s nice that you set the appointment towards the end of my shift so we can chat and get to know each other. That way I can get a sense of your style.”

  “Ok first, these have to go,” as she removed Sam’s glasses and set them on her workstation. She got Samantha situated in the chair and stood behind her gathering her long auburn locks and gently stroking her scalp as they talked. Sam was able to begin to remove the Bride of Frankenstein image from her mind and realize she was starting to relax. The soft massage along with Iris’s calm voice was having a pleasant effect.

  “Don’t worry Samantha, I’m not going to suggest we shave your head.” And she gathered up a small handful by Samantha’s temple, “Although, we could do a little undercut right here and change th
e color, nah, just kidding. Actually, your hair is in pretty good shape so just I’ll trim off the splits. I like the length, but natural soft color accents would be perfect,” and she pointed at her purple highlights, “Not like this” she said laughing.

  She framed Sam’s face with her hands. “Actually, a little honey color, maybe add a little caramel? How about that? It would really set off your skin tone and accent your pretty face.”

  Katie quickly seconded the suggestion, “See, Sam, the woman knows her stuff.”

  “Yes, I do. Thank you, Iris.” Samantha was as much taken by the young woman’s confidence and easy smile as she was by her styling suggestions. What little tension remained in her shoulders seemed to melt away.

  “Tell me Samantha, is there a special event coming up that’s brought you to me?” Sam could feel her cheeks getting warm and Katie piped up, “Not a special event, a special someone,” she continued, “Or at least she hopes anyway, one of the guys in our apartment complex.”

  “Good for you. I’m currently on a relationship hiatus, so save a couple for me. Ok?”

  Katie laughed, “Iris, there are plenty to choose from. Sam’s situation is simple, neither one of them have any game at all. They’ve both friend zoned each other without realizing it. Total geeks, both of them.”

  Iris put her hand on Samantha’s shoulder with look of concern on her face, “You’re stalking him, right?” and then burst out laughing.

  “Maybe a little bit,” added Katie and that earned her a stern look from Sam, “Really? I share a couple of classes with him is all.”

  “Ok, the mall surveillance is just a bonus then?” was Katie’s last shot.

  “Hey now, Katie,” Iris said as she brushed out Sam’s hair and pinned back a couple of longer sections, “I seem to remember somebody having a bike accident in front of a certain boy’s house every day for a week during junior high.”

  Katie winked at Samantha, “Busted. It worked like a charm though.”

  “Good to know, thanks Iris,” Sam was laughing, “Maybe that will get her to throttle back a little.”

  Most of the other customers in the salon had finished up and now it was just the three of them.

  Katie looked at Iris. “Speaking of charms, maybe you could whip one up for Sam here.”

  Iris stopped what she was doing and looked at Katie. She sighed heavily and Samantha thought for a moment that Katie had said something wrong. Iris felt Sam stiffen up and she looked back at Sam in the mirror, “It’s alright, sweetie.” She looked back at Katie.

  “What have you told her about me, Katherine?” The emphasis of Katie’s full given name had a little twist to it.

  Sam caught it right away. “Uh-oh. Full name. Is someone in trouble?”

  “Iris, I haven’t said a word, but since you brought it up,” and she looked at the stylist with an evil grin, “Is there something, maybe?”

  “Well, it’s up to Saman.., hey, can I call you Sam instead? It seems easier.”

  “Of course.”

  “Cool, well it’s up to Sam actually.”

  Sam turned and looked at Katie, “What’s this about anyway?” Katie leaned in toward her friend and said in a hushed voice, “Iris, is a practicing witch.”

  Sam whipped her head back to look at Iris. “Really?” but then asked again with more of a skeptical edge to her question, “Really?”

  Iris just stood there with a soft smile on her face and nodded her head up and down. She looked at Katie again. “I’m glad you didn’t say it in some lurid way like the old days. Yeah, I belong to a little group of local practitioners of the craft. We get together on occasion and weave spells and stuff. It’s not something I talk about a lot. People get the wrong idea. I pretty much got socially shunned in high school because I thought and looked different from the cool kids.”

  “Yeah, 'screw ‘em', I say,” interjected Katie, “Sam here, is a geek. And she’s kinda proud of it, I’d say.”

  Samantha looked out from under the growing layers of foil and clips that Iris was using to do the highlights and pointed at her head with a impish look, “Pretty much, right now I’m using the foil to block out mind control waves from Alpha Centauri. I like science. I wanted to be an astronaut when I was little.”

  “Well that’s perfect,” Iris said with a chuckle, “You’re just as far out there as I am.”

  Sam wrinkled her brow with a nice smile and Iris noticed, “We’ll take a crack at your eyebrows when I’m done with your hair, my treat.”

  “You can do that? That’s sweet of you,” said Sam as she arched her brows up and down and practiced little pouty looks in the mirror, “Katie mentioned charms a minute ago, what did she mean by that?”

  “Ah, yes, charms,” and Iris cut a sly look at Katie, “I could, if you like, cast a spell to make your beau more open to your advances.” Iris instinctively knew what the response would be.

  “A love spell? You can do that?” Iris waited for the last part, it was always the same, except this time, “Seriously, I think that would be awesome.”

  The young stylist pursed her lips together in surprise, “Well now, I usually get shot down as a hoax at this point. I am pleasantly shocked. And you, a scientist.”

  “Maybe a scientist, but I have as soft spot for science fiction and the paranormal. Plus, I binge watch anything spooky on Netflix.”

  “Perfect,” was the young witches’ response, “Almost done here, now for the finishing touches." Iris produced a couple of flat brushes out her drawer. “The foil color is pretty saturated, the balayage painting will soften the color transitions. You’re going to love this.”

  The final touches pushed the clock way past closing time. Iris brushed out Samantha’s newly colored tresses. “Iris, I’m sorry it’s gotten so late for you. I didn’t think we would be doing all of this or we’d have scheduled with you earlier.”

  “Totally fine with me, Sam,” as she spun Sam around in the chair to get a look at herself in the mirror. “I’m not sure you’re going to need a love spell to get this guy’s attention. If he doesn’t say something about your new look, dump him.”

  Samantha mouth dropped as she looked at herself in the mirror. Iris grabbed the tweezers out of her drawer, “Five minutes on the brows and we’re done.”

  Sam glanced at Katie, “Wow, it looks great,” she said with a big smile on her face. Katie pointed at Iris. “I know, right? Told you she was an artist.”

  Iris leaned down close to Samantha’s face and they looked at each other side by side in the mirror, “I'm so glad you like it. Purple would have been a nice touch though,” then she shook her head and winked.

  Sam just sat and stared at herself, she felt great. Iris noticed it and dug into her handbag and grabbed a pair of sunglasses, “Here let’s try these, just for fun,” and she carefully placed a pair of tortoiseshell Ray bans on Sam’s nose. Iris stood back with a satisfied look on her face, “Here we go, rock star hot.”

  Katie chimed in, “The style council has convened for the night, I think we should celebrate. Wine anyone?”

  Samantha clasped her hands together and looked at Iris, “Please, please will you join us?”

  “I’d love to and then we can chat about your future husband,” and she burst out laughing. “You two go grab a table, I’ll close up here and join you in a few minutes. Order me a merlot.”

  Samantha just looked at Iris with shock, “Husband?” she said weakly as the color slowly drained out of her face.

  Katie grabbed her by the arm and ushered her out of the salon, “Geez, Sam, relax, I’m sure she’s just teasing you.” But Katie looked back at Iris who was sweeping up from their session. Of the many stories she had heard a few stories over the years, she was pretty sure most of them were true.

  Chapter 8

  They grabbed a table at Chili’s in the mall and waited for Iris to join them. It was busy for a Monday night. The bar had filled up in anticipation of a football game starting up on the bank of TV screen
s.

  As was her way, Katie quickly surveyed the crowd as they walked in. There were plenty of college age guys in the crowd, so she tried a little experiment, “Sam, I’m gonna hit the ATM, go grab a spot over there for us, OK?” and she sort of launched Samantha untethered toward the tables.

  “No problem,” was the response, “Table or booth?”

  “Make it a table.” Katie just stood there and punched in her PIN and watched as her friend glided across the bar toward the open corner table. As Sam passed by each table of guys, conversations stopped, beers froze in mid sip and a few of them just stared at her.

  Samantha was oblivious to all of it.

  Katie worked her way to the table and was aware of the attention she drew from the men. She smiled at a couple of them as she passed by and joined Sam at the table. “Scoot over and sit in this chair, I want you to see something,” and she gestured to the chair next to her. “Iris should be along shortly, this will be fun,” and she signaled to a server to get an order placed.

  “Sam, do you think Iris is good looking?” Katie caught a glimpse of Iris as she came down the mall hallway and entered the restaurant.

  Sam looked puzzled, but it was an easy answer for her, “Duh, she’s freakin’ gorgeous. I’d call her new age biker hot.”

  Katie smiled, she tipped her head toward the doorway as Iris walked in. “Here she comes, don’t watch her, watch the guys as she walks by them.”

  Iris had changed out of her nondescript salon smock and now walked through the restaurant like she owned it. A black leather jacket slung over her bare shoulder was offset by her tight ripped black jeans and black boots. A couple of tight colored tank tops further emphasized her physique. Her black and purple hair bounced on her shoulders with her confidant stride.

  Samantha watched as one of the guys set his beer down and just slowly banged his head on the table.