I have most of his gates under my control right now, but who knows what tricks he knows that I am not aware of? Who knows what danger I would be in if I went to him for help? He’s a Gatefather—he can lie to me as easily as he can breathe, so even if he promised to help me, how would I know that he meant to keep his word?

And that image of the Silvermans’ farm as rubble and ash kept coming back to his mind.

There was a knock at his door.

He felt a thrill of terror, his heart leaping with sudden adrenaline. The Families had found him!

Then he heard Pat’s voice. “It’s me,” she said. “I need to talk to you.”

Relieved, his heart still racing, Danny took the five steps to the door—the house was so tiny—without remembering that he was in the middle of undressing for bed. When the door opened, Pat looked him up and down.

“I see you were expecting someone else,” she said.

Danny was wearing his tighty-whities and his socks.

“I was in the middle of undressing for bed,” he said. “And I wasn’t expecting anybody.”

“I would have waited for you to put on a robe.” She stepped through the door and Danny closed it behind her.

“I don’t own a robe.” He walked into the bedroom, picked up his jeans, and came back into the living room.

“Don’t bother,” said Pat. “I won’t be here long.”

“Long enough to sit down?”

Pat looked around. “On what?” she asked.

That wasn’t really fair—the house had come with an old tatty sofa, and there was a kitchen table with three wobbly chairs. But Danny always tossed his dirty clothes on the couch and the chairs were stacked up with books.

Danny gathered up the clothes from the couch and dropped them on the floor.

“Tidy,” said Pat.

Danny put his hand on her back to usher her to the couch.

Pat shied away. “What are you doing?”

Danny pulled back his hand. “Offering you a seat?”

“I can find my way to your couch without your hands on my body,” she said coldly. “I’m not Xena, I don’t want your hands all over me. And for what it’s worth, she isn’t, like, in love with you.”

“I didn’t think she was,” said Danny.

“Oh, she thinks she is,” said Pat, “but it’s not you she wants, it’s to have a god’s baby inside her belly.”

“I’m not a god,” said Danny. “There are no gods, just people like me.”

Pat faced him with fire in her eyes. “On the contrary, buddy-boy. People like you are proof that there are gods. Dangerous powerful beings who can do terrible things to people who don’t obey them.”

“What terrible things have I done to you?”