“You think you’re so egalitarian, but look how you’re treating me, because you’re the Gatefather and I’m just a Lockfriend.”

“Maybe you’re right,” said Danny. “But that’s the system you prefer. By that system, yes, I’m the Gatefather and you’re the Lockfriend.”

Again the silence as she stared at him.

She dashed the glassful of water in his face.

Then she walked to the gate that led to Washington DC and went through it.

Danny wiped the water from his eyes. “Think I’m rehydrated yet?” he asked Veevee.

“She’ll change her mind, Danny.”

“I don’t think so,” said Danny. “To her I’m just a kid. A kid from the North Family. The Illyrians think they’re better than everybody—especially Norths. I don’t think she’s going to change her mind and come crawling back to try to put things back the way they were.”

“Well, so what? She can’t make gates, and you can.”

Danny wanted to cry. “I kind of like to keep my friends.”

“Like you said, sweetie. She never was your friend.”

“Yes she was,” said Danny. “She was a great friend. But she changed her mind.”

“All right. But love is not love if it alters when it alteration finds.”

“That is one of the most convoluted lines of poetry ever written,” said Danny.

“But Sense and Sensibility made me cry and cry,” said Veevee.

“Dead squirrels in the road make you cry.”

“You’re taking this all very calmly,” said Veevee.

“Because it doesn’t matter what Hermia says, Veevee. The Belmage is real. Loki is right—that’s the real war. All this bull about the Families going through Great Gates, that’s just stupid. I need to learn how to eat gates the way Loki did. I need to get to Westil and pull the gates up after me, just as he did.”

“Please don’t tell me that this will involve another trip to Egypt,” said Veevee. “At least bring somebody along to pour water over your head from time to time.”

“You know what?” said Danny. “I’m going to eat a couple of peanut butter sandwiches and go out for a run. I’ve got to make sure my legs still work.”

“So you’re going to stick with the high school thing a while longer.”

“It’s either high school or figure out how to save the world, and whom to save it from.”

“I like it when you say ‘whom,’” said Veevee. “You actually know the rules.”

“I don’t know any rules,” said Danny. “I don’t know anything.”

Inside him, Loki’s gates were murmuring to him. It’s all true, they were saying in their wordless way. Don’t doubt it. True true true. The Dragon is real. The Dragon wants to go through a Great Gate to Westil. Keep him out of the Great Gate.