The portal shimmered into existence in the heart of the forest clearing. Through the blue mist, they could see a rundown terrace under a grey sky. Three figures smiled and dashed towards it, babbling about home.
The fourth did not move.
“Guys, I’m not going back,” Kitty said softly, fidgeting with her crystal-topped staff. “I’m staying here.”
Her friends jerked to a stop. Brian, still mailed and armed, reached out to her, “But your family’s back there and your whole life and all the normal things. You can’t stay here.”
“But I can. What sort of a life have I got back there? Exams, unemployment, some dull office job, then a dismal old age. I’m an academic and here,” she paused to whisper something susurrant and an orb of light flared above her outstretched palm, “that’s actually worth something. There’s so much to magic, so much to study, so much to try.”
Her friends frowned and drifted awkwardly through the portal. As it closed, they caught Kitty’s parting words.
“Remember me when you’re all accountants.”