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were intact, the floor still under our feet. Well, knees in this case. I peeked out from underneath Inigo's protective arms and saw the circle was untouched, the colors calmly swirling across its surface like wind over lake water on a summer's day.
    "Off me," I grunted, pushing at Inigo. He didn't budge
    "The explosion…"
    "We're fine. Nothing happened out here." I pushed at him again. This time he let me up.
    "What the Hades?"
    "That's what I want to know," I said grimly, walking toward the circle. Haakon was already there, trying to peer through the opaque colors blocking our view.
    "We should go in," Haakon said grimly. He was braced as if ready to throw himself bodily through the barrier.
    "No we shouldn't. She told us not to cross the circle until she told us to. Believe me, magic is not something you want to mess with."
    "You know very well there is no such thing as magic." His tone was haughty, which was pretty funny seeing as how he'd probably believed very firmly in magic a thousand years ago.
    "Yeah, yeah. Quantum physics yada yada. It's easier to just call it magic. All right?" Trying to wrap my head around science as wild as what Emory had dipped into was enough to give me a migraine. Humans had been calling this stuff "magic" for millennia. Who was I to change things? "We stay out of the circle."
    The colors slowly began to turn translucent, fading and drifting away into whatever ether from which they'd come. I could see glimpses inside the circle. The explosion had knocked over the candles and, thank goodness, extinguished the flames. It had even scorched the floor, smudging the chalk figures. But the circle held, which meant Emory was alive.
    And then I saw it. Shimmering in the center about two feet off the ground was a portal. Like an oval mirror suspended in the air, its surface shimmering slightly. Below the mirror huddled a figure, still as death.
    "Emory. Emory, are you okay?"
    Without a word, Haakon stormed toward the circle. I grabbed him by the arm, but he was too strong for even my Hunter strength. "Inigo!"
    But I needn't have shouted. Inigo was there, physically blocking Haakon from entering the circle. Dragon versus Sunwalker was a little more of an even match.
    "Chill, buddy," Inigo said in that old, charming tone he used to use so often. My heart shuddered. It felt like ages since I'd heard it. "Emory told us what to do. We do it. If she wanted us to rescue her, she would have told us beforehand."
    "She could not have known this would happen." Haakon's voice was a snarl. He shoved at Inigo.
    "Maybe she did. Maybe she didn't." Inigo didn't move an inch. "But she's Witch Blood. She told us what to do, and we need to do it. No telling what will happen if we breach that circle."
    "She could be injured."
    I glanced at Emory's inert body. "She could be," I admitted. "But it doesn't matter. We stay on this side of the circle until she calls us. Believe me. You do not want to mess with Witch magic. If it doesn't kill you, she will."
    "I told you it isn't magic."
    "All the more reason not to mess with it. Do you make a habit of arguing with gravity?"
    He clenched his jaw.
    "Didn't think so. Now do what Inigo said and chill. You're no good to us going off halfcocked."
    Haakon raised his brow but backed down. "I am a Viking. Sitting still is not in our nature."
    "I'm a Hunter. It's not in mine, either. Guess what? We both get to put on our Big Girl Panties."
    Inigo smirked. Haakon stared at me.
    Emory chose that moment to roll over and glare at us. "Would you all stop yammering and get in here and help me?"
    Haakon practically shoved me out of the way in his hurry to get to Emory. He knelt and gently helped her to her feet. Did Haakon have a crush on Emory? I watched them closely. Haakon was definitely hovering in an overly concerned way but not really in an "I want to see you naked way." More like an "I've sworn an oath of protection" way. Shit. Not another Jack.
    I stepped into the circle, feeling a slight