“It already exists?” said Zog eagerly. “The new gate?”

“Not for you it doesn’t,” said Danny.

“So you aren’t going to let me through, is that it?” demanded Zog. “Even if the Family chooses me.”

“With only two places to fill,” said Danny coldly, “there is no chance that they’d send a Clawbrother like you. They’ll send Mama and Baba for exactly the reasons you made Baba the Odin and let him marry Mama. Because they’re the most powerful mages in the Family. All the Families will send their most powerful mages.” It took all Danny’s self-restraint to keep from reminding Zog just how far down that list he was.

From the hatred on Zog’s face, Danny knew he didn’t have to.

“The little boy is still pissed off because you bruised his shoulder,” said Grandpa Gyish.

“That injury healed the moment I went through a gate,” said Danny. “Just because you base all your choices on spite and vengefulness and fear, Grandpa Gyish, doesn’t mean that I do. You never had the power to cause me any pain that lasts.”

Then Danny pointedly looked at Baba. “But you did,” said Danny. And he looked at Mama, too. “So I want you to know that I’m past all that. I’m giving the North Family equal access to the Great Gate, when I make it. No more than any other Family, but no less, either. If it’s the two of you who are chosen to represent the Norths in the passage to Westil, that’s fine. But if not, so be it. I don’t really care.”

“Of course it will be them,” said Auntie Uck. “It’s already decided, as soon as we learned of the terms you were giving the other Families.”

Danny looked at Thor, who was head of the Norths’ network of spies.

“No, I didn’t find out,” said Thor. “Do you think the other Families would let my drowther informants get close enough to know anything? They all contacted us at once. To find out whether we’d gotten an invitation from you and to see if you were treating us equally.”

“What did you tell them?” asked Danny.

“We told them nothing!” said Zog savagely.

“Telling them nothing,” said Danny, “was the same as telling them everything—that I hadn’t spoken to you yet, that you didn’t know yet what would happen.”

“We knew,” said Uncle Mook. “Zog and Gyish guessed wrong about the motive, but we all knew you’d come here. Because however much you may hate and resent us, you don’t want us dead.”

“Don’t count on that,” said Gyish. “Spiteful little bastard.”

“If he wanted us dead,” Aunt Lummy pointed out gently, “we’d be having this meeting inside Hammernip Hill. He could have put us there whenever he wanted.”