The Intuitives(95)

“In any event,” Ammu concluded, “even if we managed to send the gryphon back before any real danger had accumulated, you would still be too drained to continue your training for quite some time, and what we are doing here is vitally necessary if we are to have any hope of protecting innocent lives. The experiment will have to wait for another time, as much as I do, in all seriousness, regret it.”

He said this looking directly at Rush, who nodded reluctantly in agreement.

“So, what are we going to do, oh fearless leader?” Sam wanted to know.

“Fearless?” Ammu laughed. “You give me far too much credit, I assure you. But to answer your question, you are all going to regain your strength for two more days, and after that, we are going to work on new levels of control, by summoning this.”

With a flourish, he pulled the now-familiar book out of his satchel, opened it to a page he had marked with a gold ribbon, and laid it before him on the mat with a grin. Kaitlyn was the first to lean forward, gasping in delight as she took in the large wolf-like creature with intelligent blue eyes, gleaming silver fur, and the most brilliant white wings she had ever seen.





55


Pterolycos



When they reconvened two days later, Ammu ushered them into the conference room rather than the basement. The accordion-like barrier that had been serving as a wall between the classroom and the gaming room had been folded back away into its storage slot, so that the entire space was now one large, open room again, with an expansive, dark foam cushion laid out over the carpet, extending across the room from one side to the other.

The gaming setups that had nestled against the temporary barrier were now sandwiched between the others instead, and the classroom area had been cleared of everything except for Staff Sergeant Miller. The students sat on the floor in front of Ammu, but Kaitlyn kept craning her neck around, trying to get a better look at the cameras, microphones, and other recording equipment that had been mounted high up along the back wall, near the ceiling.

Ammu retrieved the book from his satchel, laying it carefully on the floor in front of him, open to the page depicting the beautiful flying wolf.

“This creature,” Ammu began, “was known as a pterolycos. The word, unfortunately, means ‘flying wolf,’ which is entirely inaccurate. It is not a wolf that flies—just as the gryphon is neither a bird nor a lion—and I would encourage you to embrace that distinction.

“The pterolycos is aligned with the forces of life, so even if we were entirely unable to control it, it would always protect its summoners. Our greatest security measures, therefore, are Mackenzie’s blessing of the circle and Sketch’s ability to screen the creature coming through, to make sure that it is, in fact, what we intend it to be.”

Sketch nodded happily. It was nice to feel important for the very same thing that used to make him feel crazy.

“Today’s exercise will require more space than anything we have attempted before, so this room has been prepared for our purposes. When Alexander the Great fought his most critical battles, he and his generals brought forth creatures into this world that were of tremendous power. The men worked in partnership, both with the spirit beings and with each other, to ensure that the forces of good would be victorious.

“All human beings are unique, and Alexander and his generals were certainly no exception. Each had his own affinity within the realm of the unconscious mind, just as each of you has his or her own special awareness of the world. They learned to work together, bringing their individual talents to any task set before them, so that as a team they were infinitely stronger than any one of them ever could have been alone.

“What I would like for you to do today, in summoning the pterolycos, is to interact with the creature together. Just as Rush is able to convey the behavior he desires through thought alone, so I believe the rest of you will be able to communicate your own intuitions as well, enabling the team, as a whole, to take full advantage of all of your unique gifts.”

He smiled at each of them, silently acknowledging their abilities.

“So!” he concluded. “I am certain that you would all prefer interacting with a pterolycos over listening to me pontificate any longer, yes? You may draw the summoning circle directly onto the floor covering, anywhere you like, when you are ready.”

Kaitlyn took the chalk from him and glanced at the picture one more time for reference. “I have it,” she said.

“Mark,” Mackenzie said, choosing their starting position.

Sam looked at the boys, who all nodded in reply.

“OK, then,” she said. “It’s go time! One… two… one, two, three, four!” In what seemed like almost no time at all, Kaitlyn was drawing the last rune, and Sam was counting them back down to the portal.

“Five… four… three… two… one… now!”

Sketch nodded as soon as the portal opened, and moments later the pterolycos sailed into the room. It was the first creature they had seen emerge from the tunnel with any aplomb, so when it leaped gracefully from the portal and unfurled its wings, gliding gently to the floor and turning to look at them all with interest, Kaitlyn gasped in amazement.

“It’s even more beautiful than the picture!” she exclaimed.

It was easily twice the size of a normal, flesh-and-blood wolf. Its silver fur rippled with light, as though shining from within, and the white of its wings was just as pristine as Kaitlyn had envisioned. Where the gryphon cub had been nervous at first, the pterolycos allowed them to approach with confidence, nudging them each with its nose in a friendly sort of way and shimmering into its more physical form when it realized they wanted to touch its fur.