Summoned.

Part One: Just a dream.

It was the kind of day that didn't inspire anyone to leave their homes. The rain was relentless and the wind was as cold as ice; numbing noses and reddening cheeks within seconds of contact. Sadly, the world didn't stop for bad weather. For Lisa, finding a parking space near the doors to the grocery store was as good as it was going to get today.

“Hate. This. Weather.” She groaned to her friend, Matilda, who had more layers of clothing on than an eskimo.

“Why? Don't you like freezing your tits off?” It was said as a joke yet Lisa crossed her arms over her chest defensively, as her teeth had already begun to chatter.

“Let's just get your stupid supplies for your stupid party.”

The girls split up once inside. Each having their own list of supplies needed. As Lisa had already turned eighteen, hers involved the alcohol Matilda was unable to buy.  

By the time they returned to the car, the rain had returned with a vengeance, making the drive home slow and deadly. Twice, the tires spun on the slick road. Matilda screamed both times as the car fishtailed and swerved before she regained control.

The sooner they got home, the better.

With Matilda's parents away for the month, her ‘party' was set a week before her actual birthday. Several weeks earlier, she discovered an  ancient looking text hidden away in the stacks of the local library.  Matilda decided to bypass the traditional ways of celebrating by holding a séance. After two weeks of meticulous planning, her plans would come to fruition Saturday night. She was finally getting a chance to speak to the dead.

“I can't believe you're even doing this. The twins will freak out! You know that right?” Lisa was  skeptical of all things supernatural, paranormal, or whatever these kinds of things fell under. Stocking up the fridge with all their supplies, Matilda left to retrieve the book.

“I know...it'll be hilarious!”

 There was no denying the mischievous glint in her brown eyes as she began to flick through the aging yellow pages, barely glancing at the variety of symbols and spells that filled the musty pages. Matilda had already memorized the page they would need.

“Here it is. So, I have the Ouija board already. I found it in the attic amongst my grandmother’s stuff we got when she carked it.”

Lisa rolled her eyes. She couldn't help herself from looking over curiously. There was just something she found attractive about it all, even though she didn’t believe in it. Maybe it was merely the hope that there could be more after death.

“Can't you be a normal eighteen year old and go out clubbing or something? We did this when we were like thirteen, nothing happened. Maybe it's time to grow up?”

“I'm turning eighteen and starting my life as an adult. I need some guidance from my...” She glanced down at the page in front of her, “my spirit guides on what my future holds. I know it's going to work this time. The creepy old woman at the library nearly had a heart attack when I found this, and I may have run out with it rather than check it out.”

Lisa stared at her friend, not missing the guilt. The more forbidden the book appeared to be, the more her interest grew.

“You stole it? It looks like it belongs in a museum notthe library!”

Shrugging, Matilda continued to go through it and Lisa sat down beside her.

“It looks like that thing from Charmed: the book of spells or whatever.” Matilda decided, closing it up.

“Book of Shadows.” Lisa corrected, pulling the book towards her. She opened it to a random page. A gasp of surprise escaped her lips. Her eyes were irresistibly drawn to a detailed, ink illustration of a very handsome man. “Whoa, I have no idea what this stuff says, but he is hot!”