“We don’t teach it just by using it,” said Eluik. “And if we use it when nobody else is watching, then it can’t spread.”

“We have to promise to be careful,” said Anonoei. “Beyond that, what can we do?”

“So we’ll remain in both worlds,” said Loki. “Watching to see what happens. But all the other mages get moved to Westil.”

“With or without giving them time to pack?” asked Pat.

“Can’t give them any kind of notice,” said Veevee, “or they’ll go into hiding, some of them, anyway.”

“Huge imbalance,” Ced commented, raising his hands to get them to stop. “All the mages from Mittlegard will have passed through a Great Gate several times, and none of the mages from Westil.”

That left them silent for a while.

“If we just plunk them down here in Westil,” said Pat, finally, “they have to have superior power just to survive. People will have to treat them with respect for a while. Make a place for them.”

“I’ll be here,” said Loki. “If it turns out the Mittlegardians are too powerful, I can select a few Westilian mages to pass through a Great Gate, as a counterbalance.”

“You?” asked Danny. “The Gate Thief, making a Great Gate?”

“A tightly locked Great Gate, which nobody else can find except another gatemage,” said Loki.

“So how do we do it?” asked Pat. “We don’t know where every member of every one of the Families is.”

“We invite them all to pass through a gate,” said Anonoei. “Children included. Babies included. Everybody. We just don’t mention that we won’t be bringing them back.”

“And if somebody hides out,” said Danny, “then the moment they surface and start maging around in Mittlegard, I gate them here.”

“Permanent policeman of the world,” said Veevee.

“Somebody’s got to do it,” said Danny.

“Oh, I wasn’t arguing against it. It just occurred to me that all those years I wished for gatemagery, I never thought it would turn me into a cop.”

“Think of yourself as the angel with a fiery sword,” said Danny. “Standing outside the garden of Eden, telling Adam and Eve not to even try to get back in.”

“I’m not sure which I like most,” said Veevee. “Angel or fiery sword.”

“When do we do this?” asked Pat.

“It’s morning here,” said Loki, “so I’m ready to put in a full day.”

“Nobody knows you,” said Eluik. “I mean, in Mittlegard.”

“Nobody knows me anywhere but in Iceway,” said Loki. “But when I magically appear in front of them, they’ll recognize my authority.”

“It’s early afternoon for Pat and me,” said Danny, “but we can put in the rest of the day doing this.”

It ended up taking a couple of weeks, because the Families were pretty spread out, looking out for their business interests. The only ones who suspected anything were Danny’s own parents.