17 year old Jaxon Jacobsen watched colors curve through the sky.

“C’mon Jax, Mrs. Ketterly says a pot of gold is always hidden at the end of a rainbow!” Billy bounced up and down with excitement on the dirt packed trail. Jaxon smiled at his young cousin but groaned inwardly. The two had been rainbow hunting for the last hour and a half, and Jax was entertaining thoughts of dissuading Billy of silly notions like leprechauns, pots of gold, and magic.

Billy ran over the next rise, what seemed to be the final rise though Jax knew the illusion in the sky would only have moved further away. “Billy! Don’t get so far ahead.” Jaxon picked up the pace, _that’s it_ he thought _time to go home_. Cresting the hill Jaxon blinked, then blinked again, then his mouth dropped open. The end of the rainbow, Billy was touching it! The colors curved through the sky, struck the ground, and pooled in a seven colored soup at Billy’s feet.

“Jax look,” Billy squeaked excitedly, he held up a ribbon of semitransparent purple, “it’s so soft!”

As Jax stepped toward Billy, the ribbon grabbed back. The tendril tightened around Billy’s chubby little hand and yanked him downward, through the multicolored puddle. The only sound, Billy’s shriek absorbed by the surrounding forest. Jax froze, he now stood alone.

The puddle of color shrank as the rainbow began to fade. The puddle was now the size of a truck tire, Jax dashed forward and gazed into the twisting colors. He plunged his hands into the pool searching. The puddle was more solid than air with the constsistency of wind, more liquid than fabric with the softness of the most gentle caress. The edge of the pool touched Jax’s outstretched arms with an electric jolt. Jax recoiled, the puddle was still shrinking now nearly the size of a basketball rim. Jax began to panic, _what happened to Billy couldn’t have happened! _he thought. Within the churning mass of color the purple ribbon floated back to the top. Jax hesitated, then took hold of the tendril and plunged into the portal.

Most of him made it.

Jax stood atop a barren hill overlooking an ancient castle and an ancient battle field. Twisting and turning Jax caught no sight of Billy. Frustrated, confused, and more than a little scared, Jaxon Jacobsen glared at the colors curving through the sky.