Chapter 8

"She's waking up," Magnus announced.

Blair and Corey approached the tank, while Will retrieved a silk bathrobe that Bigfoot had found for Maria. When Magnus had dimmed the lights, the two men opened the tank and Corey carefully pulled her sister out and into her lap, wrapping her in the robe.

"Hey, little lady. How you feeling?" Corey murmured.

"My head hurts," the little girl murmured, burying her face in her sister's hair.

"Well, we can do something about that," Corey promised. "What's bothering you?"

"It's too bright and noisy."

Blair nodded encouragingly to Corey.

She drew a deep breath and began, "Maria, I need you to listen carefully and do what I tell you, okay? I want you to picture a dial in your head, like on your MP3 player, okay?"

"Okay."

Blair grinned. Radio, MP3 player, close enough.

"Now, you just turn the volume on down. Just like on your iPod. And, when you do that, the sounds around should get softer, okay?"

Maria reached up and made a circling motion with her finger. She sat up abruptly, regarding her sister in surprise.

"It worked…"

"Of course it worked, silly," Corey answered, looking relieved. "Didn't Dad always tell you that if you can dream it, you can make it happen? Now, do the same thing for the lights and see how much it helps."

She made another circling motion, then broke into a wide grin.

Corey looked at Blair, her expression perplexed. "It can't be that easy?"

He shrugged. Easier than it had been with Jim in the beginning, but it obviously worked and he was not one to look a gift horse in the mouth.

"The power of belief is stronger in children than it is in adults," Magnus contributed. "In my experience, youngsters consistently show higher aptitude for biofeedback and self-hypnosis than adults simply because they believe that the treatment will work."

"Placebo effect?" Blair asked, frowning.

"Placebo effect, autosuggestion, autogenics. Call it what you will," she answered. "The point is that it works."

"Maria, this is Blair," Corey introduced them. "He says that that you can do the same thing any time any of your senses get out of control."

"Any time?" she asked, staring up at Blair with wide eyes.

"That's right." He nodded. "You can also use it to turn one of your senses up instead of down if you want."

She frowned. "Why would I want to do that?"

"To see and hear things other people can't?" he suggested. "My friend Jim is just like you and he's a police detective. He uses his senses to solve crimes that other cops can't."

She considered this. "Could I do that?"

"Well, you're a little young to be solving crimes yet, but you can when you're older if you want to. It's hard work," he warned. "But if you work hard and pay attention to your sister…"

"Corey says I can be anything I want if I try hard enough."

"She's right," Blair agreed. "When I decided to become a cop, I had to work really hard, but I wanted it bad enough, so I was able to make it."

"You're not a cop! Your hair's too long!"

Blair laughed, giving the mortified-looking Corey a reassuring look. "At least she didn't ask if I was in Vice. That's what I usually get."

She smiled weakly. "So, that's it? Everything's okay now?"

"Uh… I wish it were that easy. She's going to need a lot of help, though. Not just learning to control her senses, turn them up and down at will, but learning how to interpret what she's perceiving. That's really a pretty huge part of Sentinel training."

"But, I'm not like her. I don't know what she's sensing. How do I help her make sense of any of it?"

"You'll learn to," he promised. "Just like I did. We're here to help you, all of us. If you need anything, one of us is always going to be there for you."

"That's right," Magnus affirmed. "You're both a part of a very special family now."

"Don't worry," Blair told her. "I'm going to stay for a few more days, walk you through the basics of what you need to know and, after I go back to Cascade, you can still get in touch with me any time. My cell is on twenty-four/seven."

"Careful or I'll be calling you at all hours."

He grinned. "I'm a Guide. That's what I'm here for."

"Your doggy's pretty," Maria announced suddenly.

"My…" He looked around the lab for a moment before he realized that the girl was obviously referring to his spirit animal. "You can see her?"

"Mmm hmm," she answered, climbing out of her sister's lap and moving to stand before Blair. She reached out and made motions as if petting an enormous, invisible wolf. Which, Blair supposed, was exactly what she was doing. Amazing!

"What's your spirit animal look like?" he asked her.

"A pretty bird with sharp claws and yellow eyes."

"Really? Well, that could be a hawk or a falcon or even an eagle."

"Not an eagle."

"Not an eagle," he agreed. "Then a hawk or a falcon, probably. We can look at pictures on the internet later and figure out which."

"Uh, what are you talking about?" Corey asked, regarding them uneasily.

"Sentinels can sometimes see people's spirit animals," Blair told her. "A spirit animal is kind of a protector and guide for a person. Everyone has one. I've known people who claim to have more than one."

"And Sentinels can see these invisible animals?"

"Pretty much," Blair agreed, giving her a reassuring look. "Trust me, it's not as out-there as it seems."

"What do they do?"

"Different things. Like I said, they protect and guide people, but it's different for a Sentinel. Jim's had several important interactions with his own spirit animal and with those of others. At one point, seeing another spirit animal alerted him to the presence of an enemy. Once, he was able to use the power of his spirit animal to save the life of another person."

Everyone in the room was staring at him now, except for Maria who was still petting the 'doggy'.

"I should know. I was there. Experienced it firsthand."

"You made no mention of such an incident in your dissertation," Magnus noted.

"Yeah, well, I figured it was between Jim and I." He shrugged. "Not every second of every day was documented. Jim deserves some secrets."

"Chief," Jim growled, entering the lab. "What have you been telling these people?"

"Oh, just mentioning your habit of singing in the shower."

The Sentinel shot him a dirty look.

"Kitty!" Maria exclaimed, darting in Jim's direction.

He tensed automatically, dropping into a defensive crouch.

"Easy, Jim!" Blair laughed. "She's eight. I don't think she's that much of a threat."

"It's not that, Chief." Jim was staring down at the girl like she was an alien entity. He mouthed the word "kitty" and gave Blair a look that demanded answers.

"Remember when you saw Alex's spirit animal?"

"Oh, right." Jim gave a hesitant nod. "Of course. Uh, hello, Maria."

The girl regarded him quizzically for a moment, then broke into a wide smile and threw her arms around him. Jim staggered at the unexpected contact, landing on the floor with a muffled curse.

Blair winced and hurried over to help Jim up. "You okay, man?"

Maria looked mortified. "Sorry, sir."

"Not your fault, princess," he answered, smiling at her as Blair helped him to his feet. "Uncle Jim's just a little jumpy."

Blair smirked. Uncle Jim? He was never going to let the Sentinel live that one down!

"You're like me," Maria declared.

"Yes," he agreed. Looking up at Magnus, he added, "Helen, I patched Ashley up, but she needed a blood transfusion. She's in the med bay now, filling up."

"Well, since you all seem to have everything under control, I'll go check on my daughter. Contact me if anything is required."