Summoning Annika_The Viking Witch Trilogies Read online

  Allie laughed, “It was kind of a slumber party wasn’t it? Adding in the spooky stuff, I don’t think the word interesting really covers it. More like… adventurous or fricken scary.”

  Michael and Parker worked quickly to dismantle the laptops and cameras. They packed them into a couple of plastic totes and then looked at the table with the project sitting on it.

  “Can we move it?” Parker wondered, “What happens if we move it and something changes?”

  Michael shrugged, “Nothing has really happened in the morning that we know of, how long will it take us to get to your dad’s warehouse?”

  “Ten minutes, tops, plus he’s got a big table we can use instead of ours, it was supposed to be sort of a man cave for him, but he never uses it. We’ll have free reign.”

  Michael lifted up one of the plastic tubs, “Let’s get the gear loaded up and then come back for this. I think we can move it safely, we just need to be quick about it.”

  The trip to the warehouse was quick. “Wow, you weren’t kidding, it is a man cave.” Michael was impressed with the new space. It had two large sofas and a gaming table to go with the fridge and the microwave. The large garage door made it easy for them to come and go. There was easily room for three or four cars, plus the amenities.

  On their return to the apartment, the boys ran into Sam and Katie coming back from their run. Sam was stretching from her run and had definitely caught Michael’s attention.

  “Mornin’ boys,” sang Katie as she stretched on the steps to the buildings entrance.

  Parker just smiled at her but she looked at Michael, “You guys had a party last night and didn’t invite us? I’d call that a lost opportunity.” She raised an eyebrow at Michael. He missed it completely as he and Samantha shyly smiling in each other’s general direction.

  Parker caught it, “Next time,” he said and cocked his head at his roommate, “we’ll make sure you know.”

  Parker finished with the last of the tech gear while Michael decided how best to transport the project. With each new incident, the once small pieces had grown into a larger diameter circle. He studied for a second and then laughed. Opening one of the pizza boxes, he cleaned out the crumbs then, very gently, pulled on the edge of the cardboard piece that the project was on and it slid into the box without disturbing the arrangement.

  “Good thing we ordered extra large, last night,” he called out to Parker. He closed the lid over the pieces and it fit.

  “One more event and I would have had to use something else to move it.”

  Parker just smiled, “Plus,” added,” it makes a great disguise, good idea.”

  “Not really, if you think about it very hard,” laughing, “When was the last time we actually had leftover pizza?” Michael’s mood definitely buoyed since seeing Sam in running tights.

  The second trip to the warehouse was quicker than the first. Given the potential of something occurring as they drove, Parker made better time than usual, “I’ll feel better when it’s back on a table and behind locked doors,” he said as they pulled up in front of the building.

  “Me, too,” Michael admitted, “It will be nice to get the dining table back, I only have a day left to finish the party props.”

  They took their time setting up the cameras around the poker table. Michael was able to slide the project back out onto the wood surface without disturbing the pieces much. He laid it out and then looked up as if to get his bearings. He rotated the cardboard piece a few degrees. “Pretty close to North. Now, we wait.”

  And wait they did. With the sofas and the TV, it seemed like an extension of their apartment, so they were comfortable. After a while, Parker began to get distracted, “We have the cameras set up to record anything, right? And the alerts are on our phones? Let’s go grab something to eat and you said you needed to work on your toys, right?”

  Michael didn’t need prodding, “Yeah, I’d like to get that stuff finished, let’s head out. I’ll give Mac a call and tell him we are all set up here and we tell them if something happens.”

  Michael talked with Mac as they drove back to the apartment. Mac had an update and Michael listened carefully, “Really? Tell her thanks. I will give you a heads up if anything happens. Yes, Mac, we were careful to set everything up correctly. I’ll talk to you soon.”

  Parker was curious, “What’s up?”

  “Allie saw a mention of odd lightning strikes on In-Forum this morning. Apparently, the airport and weather service are reporting, get this, ‘unusual blue-tinged lightning around the FM area over the last few days’.”

  “Hmm,” Parker mused, “Blue, just like the light we get when the pieces generate. That confirms they’re related.”

  “Yep, the paper reported as many as ten separate strikes, some big, some smaller. They are calling it an interesting weather tidbit.”

  Parker looked up to the sky as they pulled up to the apartment, “It’s clouding up a little, maybe we won’t get anything tonight. Hey, look,” he said, “we have a welcoming committee.”

  Samantha and Katie were sitting on the front steps of the apartment complex. They appeared to be chatting excitedly about something.

  Parker looked at Michael, “Are you up for some conversation? We should confirm that they are going to the geek party, you could ask Sam, right? That would be a good start.”

  Michael looked at his friend, “Good idea, I suddenly don’t feel so anxious about it.”

  “Quick, let’s do this,” Parker said, “Before you start to overthink it.”

  As they got out of Parker’s Subaru, a bright red Jeep swung into the parking lot and pulled into visitor parking right in front of the steps. They could feel the throb of the subwoofer thumping across to where they were standing.

  The door of the Jeep swung open and, as it did, both Samantha and Katie bolted from the steps to greet the driver.

  Iris stepped out, flashed a huge smile to them as they approached and opened the back gate of the SUV. She was wearing skin tight jeans and an oversized white graphic sweat-shirt that slid provocatively off her shoulder.

  She’d blown her hair out big and her black shades finished her look. Parker grabbed Michael by the arm to slow his progress, “Wow, who do we have here?” and he began to veer them both toward the Jeep.

  Katie and Sam each grabbed a large box out of the back end of the Jeep and turned toward the apartment building as they saw the boys approaching. Michael was looking at Sam and Parker was completely transfixed by Iris.

  Katie saw them first, “Hi guys, great timing,” and handed Michael another tub out of the back, “You can help us bring this stuff upstairs.”

  That sort of startled him because he was looking at Sam, but he jumped right in, “Sure, love to.” Even Parker noticed it.

  “Great,” she answered and then cocked her head over at their new visitor, “Guys, this is Iris, a good friend of ours. She’s brought all of this stuff so we can make costumes for the party, Isn’t that cool?”

  Parker was quick, “Let me carry that for you, Iris, I’m Parker,” and he reached for the tub, “No, I’m good,” and she maneuvered around him.

  Samantha spoke up as Iris got closer, “Iris, this is my friend, Michael,” She smiled and bit her lip. Iris swung the bucket to her hip and stuck out her hand, “Hi Michael, it’s nice to meet you.” She smiled at him as Katie opened the front door to the complex and they all headed for the elevator.

  As the doors closed, Parker spoke up, “What’s your costume plan? You have enough stuff here to dress the whole building.”

  Iris laughed, “We’re shooting for a rock star paranormal spooky vibe If you like wearing skin tight spandex and lingerie, swing on by and we’ll hook you up,” and she laughed.

  “Wearing it? Not my thing,” Parker smirked, but he added, “Looking at attractive young women wearing it, totally on board with that.”

  The elevator doors slid open and the four of them spilled out into the foyer. Sam unlocked their apartm
ent door and they filed in with the costume boxes.

  Michael noticed a big star chart and a poster of Albert Einstein on the wall in the living room. He turned to Sam, “Astronaut, right?” And surprisingly, Sam laughed, “You remember that?”

  “Oh yeah,” he said, “I remember.” They were both blushing as Parker inserted himself between them, “Mikey, we gotta roll, ok? You have stuff to do.”

  “Yeah, I guess,” but he kept smiling at Samantha.

  “Michael,” Parker prodded again, “it’s time.” And he herded him to the door. “I’m sure we will get to see them all again tomorrow night at the party.” Parker gave his friend a gentle shove out the door and, as he did, he turned to look at Katie. She had a big smile on her face and gave him a “thumbs up”. His last look was toward Iris, “It was nice to meet you, Iris” and he closed the door behind him.

  There was a moment of silence after the door closed before Iris let out a long breath and she smiled, “So, that was Michael. He seems really sweet Sam, he really likes you.”

  Sam just grinned.

  Katie affirmed, “There was something different about that little meet up. He seemed much more confident than usual, even in the parking lot.”

  Samantha also had to agree, “He usually blushes more, I just think it’s cute,” and she put her hands to her cheeks, “Ay, here I go again.”

  Iris chuckled, “Wait until you see some of this stuff, you’ll blush more.”

  Chapter 18

  Michael sat at the dining room table putting the finishing touches on his final piece for the party. What had started out as a broken electric drill had evolved into his low budget version of a phaser rifle. Parker walked by and commented on his creativity, “You know, you really are good at this. You should have just built stuff for the last few months and set up a stand at the geek party, you’d clean up.”

  Michael laughed, it was fun, but it wasn’t a profit thing. He pointed an old Dustbuster hand vacuum at Parker. A couple of new paint colors made it look realistic, “Don’t worry, it’s just set to stun.”

  Parker recoiled in mock terror and then recovered quickly, “Speaking of stunning, that Iris chick is really hot, don’t you think?”

  “Yeah, but in an aggressive way, I think. I’ll bet there’s quite a story behind her.” And Michael winced because he knew he had lobbed Parker an easy one, “Crap, too easy, Parker. Just say it,” he smiled weakly.

  “Nah, it is too easy, you’re right though. I’ll bet she has an interesting story to tell. I’m going to get to know her better at the party. I have to say, Bud, you seemed unusually calm around Sam today. I’m proud of you.”

  Michael nodded, “I thought about that after we helped them load their boxes. I would normally have clammed up, but I just started talking. Not really sure what happened.”

  He just shrugged his shoulders and smiled.

  “Whatever you seem to be thinking when that was happening, Mike, just keep thinking it. Sam looked very comfortable too. At least for the thirty seconds of your conversation,” and he laughed heartily. As was Parker’s way, Michael knew he was laughing both at and with him. Michael plopped down on the sofa and flipped on the TV. He surfed for a while and landed on the sci-fi channel. He propped up a pillow and settled in to watch the show. He never made it past the first commercial break.

  Chapter 19

  Iris stood and looked the two girls as she began to unpack her costume tubs, a sly smile on her face. “I was sort of joking when I told that Parker guy about this all being spandex and lingerie. I was just messing with him.” She pulled a vintage Star Wars Obi Wan robe out and held it up to show them. Samantha looked mildly relieved and Katie looked somewhat disappointed, “Iris, Star Wars? You?”

  For the first time since Samantha had met Iris, the hard core edge of the young woman completely disappeared.

  “My dad introduced me to Star Wars at an early age and I was hooked.” She had a thoughtful look in her eye, “He took three different women to see A New Hope and the last one he took was my mom. She wasn’t a fan, but she loved my dad.” She brought out another handful of costume pieces, “I do have Leia’s bikini in here somewhere though. Sam, how about you wear that?”

  Samantha looked horrified. “Just kidding, Sweetie. That does give me an idea.” Iris pulled her sweatshirt over her head. She was naked from the waist up but a robe in front of her. “What if we wear these Sand People robes but really slinky sexy stuff underneath and let it show, just a little?”

  Katie jumped at the suggestion. “I love it, I’m in the mood to show off a bit.”

  Iris’ sudden unveiling surprised Sam, she just stared at her tattoo, “That’s amazing! I had no idea it was so large, I only saw a little of it the other night. It’s beautiful.”

  Iris was pleased, “Thank you, it’s a work in progress,” she turned around so Sam could see how it trailed down her back. “It starts here on my chest and wraps around and ends up circling my leg a couple of times, I love it. It’s very empowering to me. Ever thought of getting some ink done?” she asked Sam.

  The painfully shy woman surprised both of them, “I have, actually but I can never decide what it should be.”

  “Really, Sam? You’ve never mentioned that to me,” Katie seemed a bit left out.

  Sam just shrugged, “Never thought to, I guess.” She looked back at Iris slyly, “That’s a tad larger than I would think about doing.”

  Katie looked at Iris, “Her vine tattoo kind of has a mind of its own sometimes.” Iris cut Katie a sharp look, “Katie, in time.”

  Iris looked the poster on the living room wall, “You could have Einstein’s Theory of Relativity, a small one, somewhere sexy where Michael could discover it. But make sure it’s something you really want and that it means something special. Cause, ya know,” she said, “the permanent thing.” Oddly, Samantha didn’t blush or seem embarrassed by the possibility.

  “Imagine what would happen,” Katie pushed a little more, “first a tattoo, then maybe a barbell?

  Iris burst out laughing, “Whoa, Katie. I’m sure she would do it if you went first.” That shut her up. Sam was staring, “That must have hurt.” She said, genuinely concerned for her new friend.

  Iris smiled knowingly, “Not gonna lie, it got my attention. Lets start with a little skin at the party, shall we ladies?”

  The dress up session continued into the evening and the three of them bantered back and forth about everything under the sun. Samantha began to mention Michael with increasing frequency. Iris could tell where the conversation was headed, she looked at Samantha, “I can feel it, you’re curious, right? Just ask.”

  Sam shrunk back for a moment, but Iris was right as usual, and she dove in. “The spell, Iris, do you think it is working? Are you psychic? How long have you known how to do this?” She realized she was babbling and clamped her hand over her mouth.

  Iris to erupted in laughter. “Whoa, one at a time, please.”

  Katie looked slightly uncomfortable, “Iris, she is really curious, she’s asked me a number of times about you, but I thought it’s not my place to talk about it.”

  “I appreciate that, Katie,” and she then addressed them both, “My spiritual side, if you will, is a very private thing to me and I make careful choices as to whom I discuss it with.”

  She turned to Sam, “Katie and I have been friends for a long time so she is privy to some of the things I do. I trust her. Sam, I can trust you as well, right?”

  Sam was almost twitching with excitement but she understood the value of what Iris was asking, “Of course, Iris. I would never tell a soul, ever.”

  Iris arched a pierced eyebrow at Samantha, “You understand that ever is a really long time?” Sam’s twitching came to a frozen halt, then she nodded her head up and down.

  Katie started to snicker, “Relax, Sam, she’s not going to turn you into a lawn gnome or anything.” Samantha began breathing again. Iris smiled at Katie’s comment, “Actually,” she said, �
�I hadn’t given that idea any thought, good one.” She winked at Sam, “Just kidding. On to your questions. Nope, I’m not psychic but I do have a friend in the area that is, she thinks it’s a curse sometimes, so I’m glad I don’t have that full ability.”

  “Cool, what do you mean by in the area? In town here?”

  “No, I mean the upper Midwest. She lives back home in Montana, where I’m from originally.”

  “What about spellcasting? Like Michael’s spell, do you think it’s working?”

  Iris smiled and quickly glanced at Katie, “I don’t really know if it’s started to work, because I just met Michael. What do you think, does he seem different to you?”

  Sam nodded enthusiastically, “I think it is. He approached us in class, the night after you cast the spell and, today he seemed way more calm than he usually is around us. I do think it’s working. Amazing you can make someone fall in love with just words. Do you use potions and stuff too?” her eyes were wide with wonder, “I like chemistry, you know.”

  “Hold up a sec,” Iris cautioned, “I can’t make anyone fall in love, or do anything against their will. I can just amplify their intention. I can suggest,” and the young witch waffled a bit, “Ok, I can heavily suggest, an intention. They have to be considering the action to some degree.”

  “So, if Michael, likes me, it increases the chance of the spell working?”

  “Exactly, we don’t just whip stuff up out of the blue for fun, or at least we shouldn’t anyway. Sometimes a bad intention gets in the way and shit happens.”

  Samantha was still pondering about Michael’s intentions but ‘shit happens’ jogged her attention again, “Like what? What bad stuff?”

  Iris just shook her head, “I hate to sound preachy but the popularity of witchcraft is increasing rapidly. Trouble is, the instructions are written mostly by people who dabble in the craft and not by those who know how dangerous it can be if done incorrectly. There is just enough truth in some of it to keep people looking for a quick easy solution to their problems.”