“Who is that?” Jack’s voice asked.
Before Cathy could answer, Neifion poked a finger through the portal. An instant later, he yelped, snatching his hand back.
“Whatever that was, Jack just whacked it with a crowbar,” Tamsin informed them all.
Neifion shook out his fingers—which at least still all seemed to be there. “Not quite the warm welcome I was expecting.”
“You put any other body part through that portal, I’ll whack that too,” Jack growled. “The only fae I’m willing to let into our world is Aodhan, and even that’s under protest.”
Neifion looked from the palm-sized portal to Aodhan, then back again. “If you plan to fit through there, you’re going to need to go on a diet, friend.”
“I plan to make it bigger, obviously,” Aodhan said testily. “But this is still a great deal more portal than we’ve managed to make before.”
“Closing,” Motley said, as the portal flickered like a faulty screen. “Better stand back.”
“We’ll be in touch!” Cathy called to her friends, just in time. The portal crumpled, collapsing into a pinprick, and then was gone. Heart full, she whirled to hug Aodhan. “It worked! You did it!”
“We did it,” he corrected. His arms tightened around her. “I’ll work on the spell some more. Try to figure out how to make it bigger, and hopefully last longer.”
“When can we try again?” she asked eagerly. “Tomorrow?”
He shook his head regretfully. “Not until the next moon, I’m afraid. This spell still takes more power than even you can provide. We’ll have to wait until the conditions are right again. And even then, it’ll be awhile until we can go through. I don’t want to risk us not being able to reopen it from the human side.”
“Question,” Neifion said, raising a hand. “So someone else could go through?”
“Theoretically,” Aodhan said. “If they were reckless, foolhardy, and somehow able to fit through a five inch gap.”
A slow, wicked smile spread over Neifion’s face. At exactly the same time, a look of horror crept across Aodhan’s.
“Oh no.” The mage pointed his wand at the kelpie. “No, no, no. Absolutely not. Under no circumstances whatsoever.”
“Aodhan.” Neifion’s eyes gleamed. “Remember that favor you owe me?”
* * *