Lois Walfrid Johnson - The Invisible Friend

After readingRaiders from the Sea: Mom, its her best one yet! Long-time reader, Kylee, age 14 I just couldnt put it down! Isaac, age 12, Minnesota
Dear Mrs. Johnson,
Are there only two books in the Viking Quest series? If there are only two could you start writing others right away? !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!I LOVE THEM !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Melissa, age 11, California

Excerpts from a letter:

I love your new Viking Quest books! Soon after my mom picked them up for me I finished Raiders from the Sea. Loved it! The story is a page turner and I liked how original it was.

Bree is a lot like me. I wish I could be her friend.... Most of all, I appreciate the spiritiual quality of your stories. All your characters show what is right and wrong clearly.

Thanks for writing books for all us readers. Please dont ever stop! I cant wait for more Viking Quest books.

all three quotes: Cambria, age 14, Minnesota

After readingRaiders from the Seato her class:

Both the boys and the girls liked Raiders from the Sea. Four of the children bought their own copies so they wouldnt have to wait for me to finish reading...When we were on a field trip one of my boys saw the second novel in a gift shop. The children begged me to get it. We were so glad we did when we got to the end of the first book. As soon as the class finished reading Raiders from the Sea, they started Mystery of the Silver Coins.

Vee Wonders, fourth grade teacher,
Northside Christian School

Also by Lois Walfrid Johnson

Viking Quest Series

1. Raiders from the Sea
2. Mystery of the Silver Coins
3. The Invisible Friend
4. Heart of Courage
5. The Raiders Promise

Adventures of the Northwoods Series

1. The Disappearing Stranger
2. The Hidden Message.
3. The Creeping Shadows
4. The Vanishing Footprints
5. Trouble at Wild River
6. The Mysterious Hideaway
7. Grandpas Stolen Treasure
8. The Runaway Clown
9. Mystery of the Missing Map
10. Disaster on Windy Hill

L OIS W ALFRID J OHNSON

M OODY P UBLISHERS
CHICAGO

2004 by
L OIS W ALFRID J OHNSON

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

Aurland, Norway, is a real place filled with warmhearted people. The decision made by the ting at the end of this book is based on an historic precedent. However, the characters in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to people living or dead is coincidental.

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189, U.S.A. All rights reserved.

Published in association with the literary agency of Alive Communications, Inc., 7680 Goddard Street, Suite 200, Colorado Springs, Colorado 80920.

Editor: Cessandra Dillon
Interior Design: Rgont Design
Cover Design: Barb Fisher, LeVan Fisher Design
Cover and Text Illustrations: Greg Call

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Johnson, Lois Walfrid.

The invisible friend / Lois Walfrid Johnson.

p. cm. (Viking quest ; 3)

Summary: Briana O'Toole arrives in Norway to face her new life as a slave, all the while praying that God will send her brother, still in Ireland, to buy her freedom.

ISBN 0-8024-3114-3

1. VikingsJuvenile fiction. [1. VikingsFiction. 2. SlavesFiction.
3. Christian lifeFiction. 4. NorwayHistoryTo 1030Fiction.] I. Title.

PZ7.J63255In 2004
[Fic]dc22

2004001136

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3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4

Courage comes
in many sizes, shapes,
and forms.

Thank you, Roy,
for the kind of courage
that sets others free.

D eep in the fjords of Norway, the village of Aurland is an awesome place because of its natural beauty. Yet no matter where or when we live, there is a gift that is crucial to life itself. That gift is freedom.

If we have freedom, we often take it for granted. If we do not have freedom, it becomes more important than the air we breathe. What does it mean to be truly free? And what is freedom of the heart?

A sudden gust of wind whipped between the mountains, lashed the water into waves, and caught Briana OTooles reddish blonde hair. With one quick motion Bree swept it out of her eyes and turned to face her new life.

Just then a swell of waves lifted the end of the Viking ship as it rested on the shore. Moments before, this ship that brought Bree from Ireland had sailed through a long, narrow waterway to this settlement in the mountains. Now sunlight shone on a waterfall spilling over a high rock wall.

Then the sun shone on the blonde hair of a tall woman standing beside the water. Seeming to forget everything else, Brees enemy, Mikkel, leaned forward.

The moment the Viking ship touched shore, he leaped over the side. By the time he touched the ground, the tall woman stood before him.

Mikkel straightened to his full height and tipped his head in respect. Mamma, he said.

Son, she answered. A tear slid down her cheek. You were gone so long; I was afraid.

I know. But I am here. Relief filled Mikkels voice. I am home.

A flash of envy, then anger, filled Brees insides. Home! she wanted to spit out. Mikkel is home, but I am not! On a summer morning late in the tenth century, Mikkel had planned the raid that brought Bree and others from Ireland to the Aurland Fjord. Sometimes Bree wished Mikkel could be a friend. Other times she felt angry about everything he did.

As Viking sailors set down the ramp, Bree looked into the crowd gathered to meet the ship. There she saw a girl with sandy colored hair, brown eyes, and a dusting of freckles across her nose.

Who is she? Bree wondered. Why do I think shes someone I know?

The girl looked too thin, as if she had been sick. Yet she had to be at least eleven, perhaps twelve. As people streamed off the ship, Bree lost sight of her. Then far up on shore, Bree saw her again.

A long single braid hung down on the girls shoulder. When she tossed it aside, her eyes lit with laughter. Bree knew that motion, that look of poking fun at something serious. Could it possibly be?

Across the distance their gaze met. The girls mouth formed a round O, a gasp of recognition. The surprise of it shook Bree to the center of her being. Its my sister Keely!

One year younger than Bree, the two had been close friends as well as sisters. Then six years ago Vikings raided the monastery near their home in Ireland and stole Keely away. In a similar way, a more recent raid had brought Bree on a Viking longship to this fjord.