Summoning Annika_The Viking Witch Trilogies

by Lizzie Vega

  “Yeah, I know,” Iris responded quietly. “Very. He had the same effect on me the first time I saw that.” Iris had a soft little smile on her face that Katie instantly misinterpreted, “Is he single? I mean, well, you have Stefan and Michael and Sam are getting pretty hot and heavy.” She stopped when she saw Iris’ furrowed brow glaring at her, “Katherine, not now. Let’s get the reason we are here out of the way first, Ok?”

  Katie just shrugged, “Yeah, but it looks as though everyone seems to be pairing up or at least have a bigger role in all of this.”

  “Feeling left out?” Iris asked.

  “A little,” Katie responded, “I’m kinda kidding about Alec actually. He is pretty though.”

  “That, he is,” Iris counseled, “You do realize that you’re pretty much the cause of most of the connections here, right? If you hadn’t met me back in middle school and then been Sam’s roommate, that would mean no Michael and Sam, or Stefan and I probably wouldn’t have crossed paths.” She leaned over and hugged Katie, “Thank you for that.”

  Katie grinned, “Yeah, I see that. I’m in no hurry. Magic or not, when it’s time, I’ll make the call.”

  “And that,” Iris nodded, “is why we have always been friends.” Stefan made his way over to them, “We should get started on this, it’s getting late.” They picked up their chairs and carried them over to the sofas where the others had arranged themselves.

  There was a moment of awkward silence until Allie broke the silence, “So, can’t we just zap him out into outer space or something? I mean, we have a wizard.”

  Alec acknowledged the compliment, “Believe me, if I could, I’d love to send him to some horrible place, but Annika and Stefan have shared some information that makes this effort a little more difficult for those who remain back in Amund’s time. Mainly Annika’s family might be in jeopardy if he were to disappear permanently.”

  Stefan agreed, “In the days before Alec disappeared, there were rumors that Amund’s clan would attack ours. At the very least there would be an attempt on someone’s life. Even though we were on alert, one night, a group of Amund’s men snuck into our village and kidnapped Alec. The odd part of it was, there was never any ransom or explanation as to why. If anything, the threat from their family subsided.”

  Parker spoke up, “How do you kidnap a wizard?”

  Alec agreed, “Not something I’m proud of. I don’t remember much, but I had been drinking that night, I returned to my room and woke up in Amund’s stockade.”

  “They drugged you?”

  “It seems so, when I woke up I was restrained to the point where I couldn’t fight either physically or magically.”

  “They knew your powers.” Mac offered.

  “She knew your powers,” Annika sniped, “Elin, she took you from us. I hate her so much. First Alec, then later Stefan. We thought you were both dead.”

  “There’s a fight I’d like to see,” Parker mused but Annika quickly corrected him, “Not at all,” she countered, “I wouldn’t stand a chance.” She looked at Alec, “Should I tell them?”

  Alec looked at the others, “Yes, it’s best we don’t sugarcoat this.”

  “After Alec disappeared, for a while there was relative peace between the families. Traders would pass through our territories with stories of things that happened at Amund’s village. If you broke the law in their village, you would be handed over to the Red Wolf. She would take them into the woods and all you would hear would be the wolves. She would return with a hand or foot and throw it into a fire in the village square. After a while, there wasn’t much crime in the village.”

  Alec nodded, “She has a thing for fire. They held me captive for about a week. I was dragged out of my cell one night and taken to a field outside of the village and they threw me into a small circle of hay stacks soaked in oil. It drew quite a crowd but when she called the wolves, they ran like hell. She threw the cloak over me and set the hay on fire. The last thing I remember was that red hair and her, smiling at me. I ended up here.”

  Sam was sitting next to Alec. She turned her head and looked at him with an odd expression.

  “Bitch,” Annika drew a deep breath and spat on the floor, “Oh sorry, I don’t like her.”

  Stefan just stared at the floor, “It was much the same for me, but she and two of her guards took me out in the deep woods. There was no crowd or haystacks. She took me to the mouth of a small cave and she summoned her wolves and the guards ran off as the pack arrived. There were five of them. Big ones. They started to howl and she threw the robe over me. That’s all I remember.”

  Michael rubbed his chin, “No witnesses.”

  Annika interjected, “An odd thing happened after you disappeared. The day after you were gone, I was dressed in armor and had a sword put in my hand. My training started that day. It was such a sad time and there was talk of war but Amund’s father called for a meeting with our father. I watched them talk in a field. They talked quietly at first. Then it got heated.”

  Annika looked around the room. Mac and Allie were literally on the edge of their seats. Parker was listening intently. “My father drew his sword but Amund’s father didn’t. Whatever was said added up to a few years of peace between the rival families. When Amund came to power, that’s when things began to heat up again.” Amund’s father would visit our village, but he became ill one summer and that’s when Amund began to conduct the meetings. He was awful from the start.”

  “Did he hit on you right away?” asked Katie innocently.

  “Not at first, but he always made a point of knowing where I was. It wasn’t until he saw me win a sword fighting tournament, that his advances became more, um, aggressive.”

  “Cool,” said Parker in a moment of admiration, but the collective looks from the rest of them, caused him to think it through, “I’m sorry, the sword thing is cool. I’ll just shut up now.”

  Annika just smiled at him, “There was a festival a couple of years ago when I was matched against Amund’s younger brother, Gunnar. I maybe got lucky and beat him in a fighting match.” She smiled softly and Sam caught it. “You like his brother, don’t you?”

  Annika was caught off guard, but she looked at Stefan before she answered, “I do, actually, I got to talk with him many times after the festival. He’s nice. He is so much smarter than his brother. Amund found out and that’s when the talk of marriage started.”

  Katie just laughed, “This is a soap opera now, Amund was jealous and he wanted you for himself.”

  “He did.” Annika slumped back into the sofa, “The village elders jumped at a chance to maintain peace between the villages. I didn’t have any say in it.”

  Iris jumped in, “That sucks. It’s royal extortion. I’m sorry, Anni.”

  The princess shook her head in disbelief, “Don’t be. You rescued me. You all did. I will be forever grateful.”

  Their eyes turned to Goodman. He hadn’t said a word so far. “What do we do, Alec?”

  Stefan answered for him, “I’ll kill him.” But Alec thought better of it, “You might, but he might kill you and I’m not willing to take that risk. When was the last time you were in a sword battle?”

  “Stefan? Please, no.” It was Iris, her voice sounded miles away.

  Sam just closed her eyes, “Jesus,” she said under her breath as she stood and quickly made her way to the bathroom.

  Alec broke the tension,” How about a beer for everyone and we’ll figure this out.” A collective sigh rippled among them and they stood to head toward the kitchenette. Michael walked over to the table and, when they regained their seats, he sat there holding the sword and shield. Sam rejoined them and sat next to him. She looked pale.

  Stefan remarked on the weapons, “Ready for battle?”

  Sam was ready, “Ah, no. Not him either. We’re not killers.” She shuddered when she said it, “we’re college students.”

  That got Parker’s attention, “Ahem,” he cleared his throat dramatically, “Can
I say something here?” When no one offered any resistance, he continued. “Look around the room. It’s true we are students. But we are really smart students. All of us. How is it possible that all of us nerds,” and he gestured toward Alec, “plus the magic, can’t out think a big dumb guy?”

  Parker looked at Alec, “Am I right?” Alec looked amused, “Continue, Parker.”

  “Well I just had a thought when Michael brought over the shield, what if Amund had accidently materialized in the middle of the Geek party last week? He would have taken one look around and had a nervous breakdown on the spot. You have to admit that it looks crazy to those who don’t get into cosplay.”

  Alec looked at Annika and she nodded, “Crazy? He’s halfway there already.” Alec smiled and clapped his hands together so loud it made Mac jump, “Ok, fellow nerds, It’s late. I suggest we make this a homework assignment. Let’s break for the night, but give some thought as to how to scare the living shit out of Amund.” Based on the enthused expression of Alec’s face, the round of laughter served to lift the mood.

  “We’re going to cause Amund to lose his mind, hopefully on a permanent basis,” He stood up and stretched, “And then,” he pointed at the open warehouse, “We’re going to send him back.”

  That took a moment to sink in. “Wait, what? We can send him back?” Michael looked incredulous. “Alec, seriously?”

  “Yes, of course, Michael, we don’t want him.” He looked at Iris, “My dear, what is the first rule of summoning? If you have a plan to summon something…?”

  She answered quickly, “You also have a plan to send it back.”

  He took a few steps toward the door, “I’d say it’s been a productive evening.”

  Iris bristled slightly at his cavalier attitude, “Have you known this all along?”

  “Nope, just figured it out. I think.” He put his hand on the door, “Another puzzle piece, I guess. It’s been right in front of us all along. Next meeting, tomorrow night, my place.”

  Chapter 46

  After a brief tour of his apartment, the second meeting of the group started off enthusiastically but after a few minutes, the ideas trailed off. Nothing seemed to gel.

  Alec sat back and let the students talk as he jotted down the ideas in a notebook. At one point, Parker asked Alec an obvious question, “Is there a reason that you and Iris can’t just do away with him the moment he shows up?”

  Alec began to speak, but he caught himself and looked to Iris, “Maybe you can explain it to them.”

  Iris looked a bit put on the spot but soon realized that Alec was giving her the lead in the project. “Here’s the thing. Well,” she said, “It’s more of a concept, really. In spite of the randomness of what is happening here, there are some rules in play. Alec couldn’t assist Michael in the beginning or he would risk influencing the outcome with something he wanted rather than Michael. He is more powerful with magic than Michael is, so he keeps a distance as not to contaminate the outcome.”

  She revised the word, “Mmm, contaminate isn’t the best word for it...sway, yeah, sway the outcome toward Alec’s benefit rather than towards Michael’s benefit.

  If the influencing laws are broken, there are severe penalties in the magical realms. They are handed out without hesitation.”

  Katie looked at Iris, “Have you ever been penalized?”

  Iris sighed, “Not me, but one of the members of my family was. Simply for doing something very easy, just out of the reach of the person she was trying to help. She was stripped of all her powers. It almost destroyed her.”

  “So, to be clear,” asked Parker, “Alec, you can assist, but only in the background, right?”

  Goodmund nodded, “Even meeting here at my place, is pushing the boundaries a little, but I thought it might help set the mood.”

  Samantha noticed that Annika seemed very quiet, “I think we are missing the bigger picture here.” She got up and sat next to Annika and took her hand, “Anni, what’s Amund afraid of?” The princess sat on the sofa with her chin in her hand, she answered easily, “He’s afraid of everything. The dark, snakes, I even think he’s a little afraid of me.”

  Iris just chuckled, “Afraid of a strong woman, go figure.”

  Alec set his notepad down. Up to now he had played the role of observer. “I think that’s an interesting angle to explore. Strong female warriors, I venture to say it’s not something he’s used to seeing.”

  Stefan countered, “He should be. Viking women have always been held in high stature. Field maiden is the term. There’s some debate about it in modern times, but I can assure you they were real.”

  Annika shrugged, “After Stefan disappeared, I was the first woman in my village to train directly for combat. Being the only one, I trained as hard as I could. I refused to only be a symbol. Father was criticized for it at first, but as I got stronger, others wanted to join.”

  Iris just smiled, “Hell, yeah.”

  Stefan shook his head, “No, Anni can’t face him alone. I won’t allow it.”

  Allie leaned forward in her chair, “Don’t underestimate us, Stefan.” Mac just smiled, “Oh boy, here we go.”

  Katie seconded Allie’s statement, her voice was strong as usual, “I’m in. We’ll kick his ass.”

  Parker howled at that, “God, Katie’s like a verbal Taser,” he laughed, “even her sarcasm is a weapon.”

  Alec closed his notebook, “Gentlemen, don’t take this the wrong way, but I look around the room and I see five very strong women. With the right amount of theater, I think they could pull this off.”

  Anni stood up, “Just one shot with my sword, then we send him back as a gelding. That would take him down a notch.”

  Mac looked puzzled until Allie made a scissoring motion toward his crotch with her fingers, “Yeah, Mac, you’re on the right track.”

  “That’s just disturbing,” he replied with a grimace.

  Alec immediately voiced his opposition to anything violent, “If we can send him back in a diminished capacity, it could be enough to restore the balance of power between the families. Amund’s power-grab would be rejected.”

  Katie rose and stood by Annika in a show of solidarity. Sam just grinned as she saw them standing together and brought out her phone, “Alec, look at this. I took this picture the other day.”

  He looked at the picture and then at the two young women standing shoulder to shoulder, “I never noticed that. It’s remarkable.”

  Samantha chuckled, “If only we had someone who could do a little makeover,” she grinned at Iris, “Then we would have two princesses. That could cause some confusion, right?”

  Iris rose and moved to stand behind Sam, gathering her long auburn hair in her hands, “How about three?” she asked the group.

  Parker stood flipping through Alec’s extensive DVD collection. “It’s funny you have these Alec, I would have taken you for streaming Netflix and such.”

  “I do that as well, Parker. Those are just favorites.”

  Parker pulled one out of the row and turned it to show the group, “Lord of the Rings, go figure.” He continued down the row of movies, “All the new Star Treks. Oh, all the old Star Treks. I’m impressed Alec, you’re a total nerd. Hey, Michael, he has the entire anthology of Battlestar Gallactica, he really should meet your mom.”

  Michael just smiled politely but didn’t comment. Parker continued his tour of Alec’s extensive media collection. There was a wall of old vinyl records. “Ok, this I understand. You get to go through your whole inventory downstairs and keep the best stuff.”

  “Pretty much.” Alec agreed, “Some of them are original first runs. I tend to favor the hair bands, though.”

  Samantha excused herself, “Alec, past the bedroom to the left, correct?”

  “Yeah, Sam,” he nodded as she got up and headed down the hallway. Slowing as she passed the paintings, she stepped back to look at them yet again. She returned and sat next to Iris. “That painting,” she whispered, “it’s
like flipping a switch inside me, wow.” Iris just snickered as Allie leaned over to agree with her, “They do kinda set a mood, don’t they?”

  Stefan was thumbing through the magazines on the cocktail table, he held up the mountain biking one to Alec, “I did wonder when I saw this the other day. Didn’t quite seem to be an old man’s hobby.”

  “I saw you looking at them, I figured my geriatric trick with you should probably come to an end. I just ordered the bike featured on the cover. I think I’ll take a long trip after we settle this issue with Amund.”

  Parker had made his way back to the movie selection and again took the Lord of the Rings movie out of its’ slot. He walked around to stand in front of the huge LED screen that was suspended from the ceiling, “Alec, would you mind if I cue this up for just a moment?”

  “Sure, go ahead,” Alec tossed him the remote, “I’ve only been able to figure out a couple of buttons, see what you can do.”

  Katie frowned at him, “Parker, aren’t you a little off track here?”

  “Be patient, please.” He put the disc in the tray and fast forwarded it to the chapter he wanted and turned to the group, “Big screen, right?” then pushed play. He had advanced the movie to a chapter where Frodo is attacked by a gigantic spider.

  “God,” Mac exclaimed, “I hate this part. Spiders creep me out.” As Parker stood in front of the screen the spider appeared to creep up slowly behind his head, ready to devour him. “Thanks, Mac, for proving my point. If we present Amund with an audio-visual freak show like this, on maybe two or three screens, that would certainly distract him. Anni, what do you think?”

  Annika didn’t hesitate, “He hates spiders, snakes, anything slimy. Hates it.”

  Iris seemed to savor the idea, “I’m all about snakes. I have friend with some large ones.”