My Son, the Wizard

Начало книги

The air over the broad table shimmered and thickened, coalescing into a pint-sized gryphon who took one look at the man who had conjured it up, screamed, and shot toward him with talons reaching out.

” ‘But the haunch and the hump and the hide of the law is: Obey!’ ” Saul intoned. “Land on my shoulder… and don’t pinch!”

The gryphon changed course on the instant, wheeling about Saul’s head to land on his shoulder… gently.

It furled its wings and glowered at Saul resentfully, but it obeyed.

“Amazing,” Matt said, staring. “And it’ll work on any kind of monster you conjure up?”

“Any kind I conjure up, yes,” Saul said. “How it will work on something an enemy calls up, I don’t know.” He snapped out a quick verse, and the gryphon disappeared.

“Very impressive,” Matt said.

Saul shrugged irritably. “I don’t do magic just to show off.”

“No, you do it to share your research with an ally who might need it… and I very easily might. Thanks a lot.” Matt smiled. “I thought you didn’t do magic at all… or do you still think this is all one massive hallucination?”

Читать дальше →