The Intuitives(78)

When they arrived in the summoning room the following morning, they were surprised to discover a fully-armed Staff Sergeant Miller waiting for them. He stood in the corner on high alert, wearing a jungle camouflage uniform and a grim expression of determination.

“You realize green camo doesn’t work in a white room, right?” Sam challenged him.

“I’m not trying to blend in,” he said, nodding at her without smiling. “My job is to draw any potential danger away from the five of you, at any cost. Ma’am.”

“Oh,” Sam replied lamely.

“Good job, Miller,” Mackenzie said, grinning at him wryly. “Way to freak out the assets.”

Miller’s eyes flicked to the one-way mirror behind her before returning her gaze. “I apologize, ma’am,” was all he said, and Mackenzie dropped the grin, automatically matching his professional manner.

“OK, people,” she said, looking around at the others to make sure she had their attention. “Everybody ready?”

They all nodded.

“Good. Let’s do this thing.”

Ammu raised his eyebrows in surprise but said nothing, merely handing the book and the chalk to Kaitlyn.

“Got it,” Kaitlyn said immediately, kneeling in the center of the room and beginning to draw out the circle.

“Here,” Mackenzie said, just as briskly, pointing to a spot on the floor before Kaitlyn had even finished outlining the circle. “Start here. We’re going to do this right the first time, today.”

Kaitlyn nodded, moving to Mac’s position and allowing her chalk to hover over the floor, ready to start drawing the runes.

“Count us in, Tick-Tock,” Mackenzie said, rubbing her hands together with enthusiasm. “Here we go!”

“One… two… one, two, three, four!”

Mackenzie circled her hands through the air with renewed energy. She did not move any faster than before, keeping carefully to the pace Sam set for them, but she focused on every movement, no matter how small—aware in every moment of the energy flowing through her back, her legs, her arms, her hands—intending the blessing and protection of the circle with every nuance of position, every gesture, every fiber of her being.

Kaitlyn drew the runes on the floor, tracing each line meticulously, feeling with confidence the absolute rightness of the pattern that glowed in her mind. And as she drew, Daniel hummed the otherworldly tune of the gryphon, calling to it purposefully across the rift between the two worlds.

Sketch watched as the magic began to build, the runes glowing softly this time even before the circle was complete. On Kaitlyn’s last stroke, Sam reached up over her head with just one hand, twisting her wrist gently through the air. Where her hand came to rest, a tiny portal hovered just over her palm. She reached up with the other hand and began to shape it, pausing when it was about the size of a baseball, looking at Sketch for confirmation before she continued.

“It’s OK,” he said, grinning.

Sam grinned back and opened her hands wider, until finally, in a sudden burst of fur and feathers, the gryphon came flying through the portal, braking hard with its wings to keep it from crashing headlong into the wall.

“You did it!” Ammu exclaimed, switching to his native tongue for several excited moments before returning to English.

“I am sorry,” he said finally, trying to compose himself. “I have believed in you all from the very beginning. It is important to me that you know that. I just can not tell you how much it means to me to be witnessing a summoning within my own lifetime—to be the one to see it, after so many generations…”

Ammu wiped a tear roughly from one eye with the heel of his hand.

“It’s cool, isn’t it?” Sketch said, grinning up at him.

“Yes,” Ammu confirmed, laughing now. “It is very ‘cool’ indeed.” Ammu reached out a hand and playfully rubbed Sketch’s head, making the boy giggle.

Throughout this interaction, the gryphon cub had flown back toward them and landed on all fours, folding its wings and sitting on the floor, looking back and forth with apparent interest from one human being to another.

“Will it come to us, do you think?” Ammu asked of no one in particular.

Sketch had been about to answer him when Mackenzie interrupted by answering first.

“Let’s find out!” she exclaimed cheerfully, looking Sketch directly in the eye for just a moment before meeting Ammu’s excited gaze.

Oh, right, Sketch realized. Ammu thinks we’ve never seen it before. He made a mental note to be careful about anything he said for the rest of the morning.

“Come here, buddy,” Mackenzie called to the gryphon, mimicking the calm, gentle tone Rush had used in the workshop, but the gryphon just stared at her, cocking its head to one side and chirping at her inquisitively.

He’s not here, Mackenzie thought. Trust me, I’m not happy about it either. But at least we’ve still got each other, right? So do me a favor and work with me, OK? Make us look good.

Mackenzie took a cautious step toward it, and the gryphon took a step backward in response, eyeing her warily.

“Come on, little guy. It’s OK,” Mackenzie said, trying again. “We’re not going to hurt you.” She took another step toward it, but it only moved backward again, placing itself unintentionally within Kaitlyn’s reach.