Pat almost answered: He’s in two places. His body is in his little rented house in Buena Vista, with Set locked away inside him, but he’s also operating a clant on Westil. A perfect copy of his body, so that in a way, Danny is completely on Westil, only without Set inside. Except that the body on Westil is just an illusion, it isn’t a part of him, it isn’t bonded to him like his real body in Buena Vista here on Earth.

But Pat didn’t think it was wise to let Hermia know that Danny could be in two places at once. She had already taught her too much.

“I wonder if I have a sense of my mother,” said Hermia. “She’s a ruthless, frightening, selfish, despicable human being, but she is my mommy.”

Pat realized that in all these days since she had died and learned how to sense other people’s ka and ba, it hadn’t even occurred to her to look for her mother or father. What kind of unnatural child am I, not to have a sense of them?

A woman leaves her father and mother to cleave unto her husband, or some such wording. That’s why she never thought to look for them. She was “cleaving unto” Danny North.

“No sense of where she is, though,” said Hermia. “And I’m really content with that. I like being away from her. And Daddy. But surely there’s someone else. Veevee?”

Just raising the question made Pat think of Veevee and, to her surprise, she knew exactly where Veevee was. In a car, driving along Tamiami Trail, having just left Trader Joe’s. Why do I know that? Have I been unconsciously tracking her?

“Please,” said Hermia.

“She might wreck the car if we—”

But the words “car if we” came out of her mouth inside Veevee’s car. Hermia and Pat were sitting in the back seat, side by side.

“You little brats, you’re practicing without me,” said Veevee.

“What else do you expect?” said Hermia.

“From you, nothing better,” said Veevee. “But Pat isn’t a brat, she isn’t a gatemage.”

“She is now,” said Hermia. “Maybe the brattiness follows.”

“I didn’t realize I was tracking you,” said Pat. “Or that I knew how to find you so quickly.”

“And now Hermia knows,” said Veevee.

“Not really,” said Hermia. “Pat knew where you were, and I just came along for the ride.”

“Did you?” asked Pat. “Because I never decided to make the jump.”

“You must have, or we wouldn’t be here.”

“It is so hard to concentrate on driving,” said Veevee.

“And yet you’re doing it,” said Hermia.

“My body is driving by reflex,” said Veevee. “I’m more distracted than if I were texting right now.”

“Still in the lane,” said Hermia.