“So it wouldn’t really make any difference, whether we’re close by or not,” said Hal.

“If he wants one of you, he’ll find a way to get close enough.”

“So we should act like nothing’s different?” asked Xena.

“For the time being,” said Stone.

“Except Danny felt us all come here,” said Xena, “so he’ll know we did something without him and he’ll ask us.”

“Field trip to our nation’s capital?” suggested Sin.

“Oh, right,” said Wheeler.

“I was being ironic,” said Sin.

“Just tell him you’re planning a surprise Christmas present,” said Stone. “But don’t volunteer it. Make him pry it out of you.”

“And if he really pushes, tell him we couldn’t think of anything,” said Pat.

“Yeah,” said Xena. “What do you get for somebody who can shoplift anything he wants without ever getting caught?”

“Danny doesn’t steal,” said Pat.

“Unless he needs to,” said Stone. “Don’t impose your moral values on Danny. He’s trying to overcome it, but he was raised in one of the Families, and to them, stealing from drowthers isn’t really stealing. It’s like snacking.”

“Ah,” said Xena. Snacking she understood.

“So Danny’s living in hell right now,” said Hal, “and we can’t do anything at all to help him. We just have to pretend that everything’s normal? Doesn’t sound very loyal to me.”

“Just until I can talk it over with the others,” said Stone.

“What others?” demanded Pat.

“The others,” said Stone. “Marion and Leslie. Veevee.”

Pat waited.

“Oh, I see,” said Stone. “No, not Hermia. That treacherous little … not her. And not Danny’s family. The last thing we want anyone to know is that Danny’s under somebody else’s control. Half the Families would try to kill him, and the other half would try to bargain with the Belgod to get some kind of advantage.”

“Even Danny’s own family?” asked Laurette mournfully.

“It’s about power,” said Stone. “Most people respond to power by trying to control it, to get the use of it. And if they can’t own it, then they try to destroy it.”

“The more you say about how bad the Families are,” said Hal, “the more they sound like normal humans.”

Stone chuckled at that, but didn’t dispute the point. “I take it you can use your own amulets to get back home?”

“To our meeting place, anyway,” said Hal.

“Then you should get back there before your families miss you. And just in case it occurs to one of you to try to save Danny by inviting the Belmage to jump into you, don’t even try. Because he wouldn’t come into you himself, he’d just have one of his followers take you over.”

“But we could resist one of those,” said Wheeler.

“Danny could,” said Stone.

“And you think we’re all weak?” asked Wheeler.