Chapter 40: Summoning

I went to bed early in the morning thinking about my Pandora. If all my bad pieces were stashed away, then how come I couldn't learn new things very well? Why did words get all messed up when I read them? I just didn't feel like I was the very best of everything. That must prove I had bad luck.

That got me thinking. Wouldn't the best version of me, the perfect daughter, as Mother had said, be even better if I had good Karma? All the good things would happen to me and then I would really be able to impress her. I'd never get another one of those condescending speeches about how I could do better.

I wondered how hard it would be to summon Karma. I could call it an experiment. Like one of those practical's they talked about on those TV shows about school. Yeah, I could do a summoning spell on my own with no guidance. And Mother said I shouldn't let fear hold me back. What did I have to lose? Karma would be just like any other spell. And If I did it, then maybe Mother would even be impressed.

I slept soundly that day as I dreamed of my little ritual. I think mostly I liked the idea of never disappointing Mother again. That sense of comfort had me sleeping until almost four in the afternoon. I awoke fully rested.

After I dressed and crammed a bagel in my mouth, I sat at the dining table with a book on forces of natures. I poured through the open pages. There were the four seasons, death, time, age, gravity, fate, light, sound, each of the elements, love, hate, and so many more. Finally I found Karma. The drawn picture of her was beautiful. She had dark hair and deeply tanned skin. Although, her eyes were drawn hard. I hoped they weren't actually like that.

The summoning spell looked pretty easy. I translated the items I would need to attract her. It seemed she liked things like gold, thread, milk, incense, mirrors, and the blood of an innocent. I knew we had all of that on hand. Mother had been stock piling items for the last few months like crazy.

I gathered the items and headed back out to the nexus point I'd used to summon Irma. It would be far enough away from home to keep Mother out of my business. She was busy setting up something on the main nexus point. I knew if I stuck around, I'd end up getting volunteered for something.

"What are you doing?"

The sudden male voice made me jump in my seat and swerve the truck a little to the left. I straightened the wheel quickly as I tried to push my heart back down out of my throat.

"Why, hello Remi. You scared the crap out of me," I said.

"What are you doing?"

"Why do you care? Isn't your motto: I can't interfere?"

"I may not be able to interfere, but I'm still curious. Your mother didn't give you any summoning tasks, and yet you seem to be headed out to do another summoning."

I shrugged. "So?"

"Who or what are you summoning?"

"It feels like you're checking up on me. Are you reporting all of this back to Mother?"

Remi remained silent.

"What about not interfering? Isn't telling Mother what I am up to interfering?"

He still didn't answer.

"Get out. Get out, get out, get out!" My voice got higher with each iteration. I started to swerve the truck as I shook my other fist at him.

Remi just sat there. He didn't even hold on to the door. I righted the steering wheel again as I huffed out a breath. "Are you actually going to tattle on me?"

"No," he said.

"If you do, it is kind of like meddling. I could tattle on you to your superiors."

"I'm not going to."

There was an awkward silence between us for a long time.

"Why are you still here?" I asked.

"You seem lonely."

I quirked an eyebrow at him. "I'm not depressed."

"I said lonely."

I turned my eyes back to the road. Was I lonely? I mean, I was always alone. I didn't much care for people's company. I did feel the emptiness inside of me, but it wasn't like I felt like I could fill that with people. More like I just felt like I was missing pieces I shouldn't be. Like being smart or being able to read well. I wouldn't really call that lonely.

I glanced over at Remi. His eyes were on the road ahead of us. He wore his too big leather jacket and a pair of black jeans on his skinny teenage frame. Maybe it was him that was lonely and he was just projecting on me.

I frowned and concentrated on the road. It didn't matter either way. I couldn't do anything about it and worrying about my guardian demon wasn't going to get anyone anywhere. I put my mind to the task of what I would say to summon Karma.

I finally pulled up to the forested area were the nexus point was. I grabbed my backpack and threw it over my shoulder as I climbed out of the truck. Remi joined me at distance as I trekked deeper into the woods back to the same nexus point I was at the day before.

The trees grew denser as I walked. Eventually I came upon a circle of pines. It was only a crossover of two lines, so the nexus point was fairly weak. I hoped I had brought enough offerings to overcome that. It had worked for Irma, but she was just a low level demon, not a force of nature.

I entered the circle of trees. The previous summoning circle I had drawn in the dirt was still mostly visible, but some critters had stirred up the lines a bit. I squatted down and stuck my hands in the soil.

"Clear," I whispered. I released a little bit of energy into the dirt, just enough to vibrate the area and shift the soil flat again. It reminded me of a fancy etch-a-sketch. I grabbed up the same stick I had used yesterday then began drawing my new summoning circle from the notes I took from the book.

As I worked, Remi stood leaning against a tree with his arms folded across his chest. I could feel his eyes on me as I worked. It was strange for him to hang around. Usually he just popped in, saved me then got the fuck out. He always used the standard line of, "I can't interfere" to avoid all my questions. But even though it was a little strange, I was kind of grateful for the company.

Once I finished the circle, I started pulling the items out of my bag. I scattered them around the points of the circle.

"Why are you summoning Karma?" Remi asked.

I ignored him. I couldn't tell if he had guessed from the items I was lying down or had peeked at my notes across the circle. But it didn't matter. I didn't need him to summon Karma.

He stepped into the circle. "Seriously, she's not one to mess with. What do you want with her?"

I brushed him off and kept working.

Remi grabbed my arm and spun me around. His golden eyes blazed. Was that a hint of fear I saw in them?

"Why?"

I tried to shrug him off. He pulled me a step closer.

"Why?" He asked again.

"Because I am so sick of disappointing Mother. I need some better luck. I can't seem to get it right." I looked down at his hands. "Do you mind? I'm pretty sure this is interfering."

He hesitated before he let me go.

"Why do you care anyway? I'm just another of your charges. One less person for you to keep track of. Besides, don't I take up a little too much of your time as it is? You're always saving my ass."

Remi continued to stand in the middle of my circle while he watched me. I could see his mind working behind his eyes. It looked like he wanted to scream at me, but was holding back. I wasn't sure what all that was about, but it didn't matter. I had better things to do than deal with a temperamental guardian demon right now.

I finished distributing the items and fixed some of the lines on the circle then stood at the circle's edge. Remi still stood in it.

"Do you mind? I am trying to do a summoning here," I said.

He narrowed his eyes at me.

"Seriously, get out of the way." I flicked my palm at him to shoosh him along.

He continued to stand there and stare.

Damn it. I pulled on my power, or at least the power I had locked away beneath that tattoos on my skin. I pictured a ball of light. It formed in my hands. I shot it out at him as fast as I could and let it burst like a little light explosion. His shadows broke apart and disappeared, but the scowl he'd shot at me just before he did stuck in my mind.

I slapped my hands together. "Much better. Alright, let's get started."