Kyle the Apprentice Warlock

Chapter 14

11:42 AM September 13th 2026
Industrial Park District Near the Port of New York

Oh, this day was going down in history alright! Samantha Wattkins fumed as she carefully navigated her way through the wreckage of roads that remained in the industrial district. All she had wanted to do was work her way through the fucking mountain of paperwork on her desk. She'd been taking the jokes from all the boys in good humor and pretending that she wasn't bothered at all so that she could trick the coworkers who'd been teasing her about the Tissue Medic commercials into a couple of practice bouts in the training rooms.

"Come on, Samantha." Agent Alex Parker wheedled from the passenger seat. She was pressed against the door trying to avoid the sharp edges of Sam and her pact item, Gleipnir's combined auras. "Cheer up." Sam turned her head to glare flatly at Alex and Alex shrank back against the passenger door of the bureau sedan.

She looked to Gleipnir for help but his normal friendly glow had transmuted to a disapproving dark shadow. Gleipnir, the ribbon – or chain, depending on which translations of the myth one read - which had been used to restrain the Fenrir of ancient days, had been gifted to Sam by her patron Frigg. He, Gleipnir might have been a genderless transforming sentient magical item, but he identified as male, had changed himself into a large needle-like sword shape trailing several feet of a fine razer-sharp braided chain whip from the handle, and hovered protectively in the back seat between Alex and Sam.

"Samantha," Gleipnir emphasized the first syllable of her name when he addressed Alex, as Sam preferred to be called, Sam. "...is not speaking to you." Alex gave an annoyed look at Gleipnir. She hated speaking to sentient artifacts. And this particular magical artifact did not like her. It really wasn't her fault that she'd been called 'The Next Sam' and 'The New Sam' when she first came through the training programs at the bureau. It wasn't her fault that 'Sam' Wattkins thought she was better than everyone just because she was the daughter of a famous Warlock.

Alex crossed her arms in frustration. Both humans fumed in silence for a few minutes. Gleipnir hovered menacingly making a low-pitched growl or buzz. I hate being partnered with this stuck-up bitch. But Sam Wattkins was undisputedly acknowledged as The Best magical engineer in their office.

So, new agents vied for the chance to be paired with her. Except, she'd somehow managed to strong-arm her way into not being partnered with men anymore. Stupid Gleipnir kept stabbing them for coming on to Sam. The thing was a menace to society.

"You were trying to trick the guys into thinking you weren't mad at them so you could hurt them while sparing!" The sentence just blurted itself out of Alex's mouth as if she had no control over it. "So, I volunteered us for this assignment." She covered her mouth with a gasp as if surprised that she had said it. Alex suspected that it was a skill or effect that Samantha or Gleipnir could cast on others. "Not as if we wouldn't have been sent anyways with something this big." She mumbled gloomily.

She and Sam might not get along because Sam was stuck up and Gleipnir felt like Alex's talent was a threat to his Sam's position, but Alex needed things to go if not smoothly, then at least without animosity and conflict while she was partnered with Sam. As soon as she could, she'd get transferred somewhere else and she'd have the prestige of having been mentored by The Samantha Wattkins on her record. The two of them just didn't make it easy.

"I wasn't going to hurt them..." She looked over to glare at Alex again, but the younger woman just gazed back incredulously. "Not irreparably." Sam amended indignantly. They went back to silence for a few moments before Gleipnir spoke up again.

"Oh, your God!" He exclaimed ridiculously. Yes. We get it. You were made by multiple Gods. There is empirical evidence that there is more than one God. The junior agent also hated the way that Gleipnir seemed to flaunt his divine origins. "Look at that mess. I think we should park here and hike in."