Danny didn’t want to find out which way his friends would go. He’d never had friends before, and now he was going to lose them no matter what he did.

Better to lose them without their knowing for sure what he was and what he could do.

“I accept your terms,” said Danny.

They leaned forward expectantly.

“I’m not going to admit to any of this stuff, so I guess that means we’re not friends.” Danny walked back to the door.

“Wait!” said Laurette.

“We didn’t mean it!” said Xena.

“I did,” said Hal. “He sent us a mile into the sky, and if he says he didn’t it’s bullshit.”

Danny opened the door and stepped outside.

He could hear someone—several people—rushing toward the door. He didn’t want to play out this scene on the front lawn.

So he gated back to his house and pulled the gate in after him.

Had he even closed the door behind him? For all he knew, they had seen him disappear.

But he was pissed off at them. Why would friends try to force him to tell what he clearly didn’t want to tell? They weren’t his friends. He barely knew them. So why did he have this gnawing feeling in his gut?

“Where did you gate from?” asked a voice.

Hermia was sitting in his living room.

“How did you get in?” asked Danny.

“I used Veevee’s gate,” said Hermia. “I was visiting her, and I wanted to visit you, but you weren’t here so I waited.”

Danny looked at her steadily. “What are you doing here?”

“My family came to me,” said Hermia. “My actual parents. I was so honored.”

“Was it a happy reunion?” asked Danny, sitting down across from her in the only other chair in what passed for a living room.

“It was all about you,” said Hermia. “They want you to trust them. They say they won’t try to control you, they don’t want a war, but they think you need training.”

“Like I’d ever let any of the Westilians anywhere near me.”

“I’ll tell them that,” said Hermia.

“Are you in their pocket? Do they have some kind of control over you?”

“Meaning, can you trust me? Yes and no. You can trust me to keep my word. But they have some kind of tracking device imbedded in me, so wherever I go, they know where I am.”

Danny thought about that a moment. “So they’ve seen you jump.”

“Yes.”

“By jumping from Veevee’s place to here, they know where that gate is.”

“Yes.”

“Everywhere you go, you show them the gates.”

“Yes,” said Hermia. “But I told you as soon as I knew, didn’t I? What was I supposed to do, seal myself in a coffin like a vampire and never go anywhere again?”

“So they know where I am right now.”