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.”

  “They know I came to these exact map coordinates,” said Hermia. “They don’t know that you happen to be in this place, but yes, they probably will, very soon.”

  “Shit,” said Danny. She really didn’t have much choice, if her own family had decided to track her.

  “We have to make contact with all the Families eventually,” said Hermia. “Including my Family. If you intend to make a Great Gate and share it.”

  Three cars pulled up out front, one of them actually screeching on the pavement.

  “How long have you been waiting here? Does your Family just hover over you in choppers or balloons or something?”

  Hermia peeked out the threadbare front curtain. “No, and it isn’t your Family, either.”

  Danny joined her at the window. His friends were getting out of three cars.

  “Damn,” he said.

  “Make a clean getaway,” said Hermia. “Or gate them somewhere.”

  “I never told them I live here,” said Danny.

  Hermia flung open the door. Danny said “No!” the moment he realized she was doing it, but by then it was already done.

  “He’s here, isn’t he!” It was Laurette’s voice.

  “We drove three different routes and he wasn’t running on any of them,” said Sin triumphantly.

  “And there’s no way he’s fast enough to already be here,” said Pat, “not on foot, not even running.”

  Now they were at the door, piling in. But Danny wasn’t there.

  Instead, he was behind the house, out of sight, watching the living room through a peephole—a tiny gate right in front of one of his eyes, so when he closed the other, he could see what was happening in his living room—and he could hear pretty clearly, too.

  “Whom are you looking for?” asked Hermia.

  “So he’s got a girlfriend,” said Xena, sounding pretty put out about it.

  “Danny North,” said Wheeler. “He lives here.”

  “How interesting,” said Hermia. “Who are you?”

  “His friends,” said Laurette.

  “Sounds more like you’re stalking him,” said Hermia.

  “You still haven’t told us who you are,” said Xena.

  “I actually am his friend,” said Hermia.

  “You sound British,” said Xena.

  “Cute British accent,” said Pat disgustedly. “Boys are so predictable.”

  “But she has little boobs,” said Laurette.

  “You’re still the fairest in the land, Laurette,” said Sin.

  “How did he get here so fast?” Hal insisted.

  Listening outside, Danny thought: Hal is able to stay focused. Hal is something. Which is probably why Coach Bleeder zeroed in on him, tormented him. Because he has the potential to accomplish far more with his life than Bleeder ever has. No wonder the coach had to take Hal down a peg every chance he got.

  “He’s a gatemage,” said Hermia.

  With a thrill of fear, Danny thought: Hermia was telling me to gate them away. Now she’s spilling it to them.

  Nobody was asking what a gatemage is.

  “He opens up holes in spacetime,” said Hermia. “He links one place with another, regardless of distance. He makes them adjacent.”

  “Do you think you’ve actually explained something?” asked Pat.

  “I’ve explained it like gravity,” said Hermia. “I described the results. I have no idea of the process. That’s all that Newton ever did.”

  “And Danny can do this,” said Hal. “Connect things with each other.”

  “He may be the greatest gatefather that ever lived,” said Hermia. “But so far, he’s mostly used his power to create little gates at your high school.”

  “What do gates have to do with his healing people?” said Pat.

  “Danny doesn’t heal anybody, but the gates do,” said Hermia. “If you pass through a gate alive, your body arrives in optimal condition.”

  “No zits,” said Pat.

  “No piercings,” said Sin.

  “So why did he lie about it and pretend he wasn’t doing it?” asked Xena. “It’s way cool.”

  “Because it’s too way cool,” said Hermia. “There are a lot of people who want him dead. By making gates at your school, he ran the risk of being discovered. That business with the rope climb? The worst thing happened. His family showed up and tried to kill him.”

  Silence.

  Then, in a smaller voice, Laurette said, “His own family?”

  “I thought his parents were dead,” said Hal.

  “A lie,” said Hermia. “His parents are actually very powerful mages. To their credit, they didn’t try to kill him. It was his grandfather and uncle who attempted his assassination.”

  “Sick,” said Wheeler.

  “There’s a lot of history that you don’t know,” said Hermia. “And most of it is unbelievable to people like you.”

  “What do you mean, ‘people like us’ ?” asked Pat.

  “Normal people,” said Hermia.

  Wheeler laughed. “Did you hear that? She called us normal.”

  “Let me help you understand this,” said Hermia. “Danny’s father is named Odin. He was born with the name Alf, but when he became head of the North family, he took the name Odin.”

  “Wow,” said Wheeler. “You’re talking, like, a god.”

  “I’m telling you that the gods of mythology are real people. Only each name has been recycled again and again. We’re not immortal. But the names are.”

  “So who is Danny?” asked Hal. “Is he a god?”

  “If his family stops trying to kill him and accepts him for who he is, then the name he would be given is Loki.”

  “Thor’s nasty brother in The Avengers,” said Wheeler.

  “There’s no magic hammer,” said Hermia. “But yes. There’s a Thor in the family, but he doesn’t amount to much. None of them do.” And then she explained how the Great Gates work. Danny sat outside, listening. Hermia was good at explanations. Why shouldn’t she be? Gatemages had the gift of language.

  It terrified him to hear her telling his friends. But he also knew that this is what he had wanted to do. This is why he didn’t gate away from them. This is why he hadn’t left Perry McCluer High School. This is why he had carelessly let them realize his power, as he returned home far faster than his feet could have carried him. He wanted them to know; he wanted to be honest with them. But he couldn’t bring himself to answer their questions. Hermia was doing it for him.

  When she finished her explanation, she said, “Now I’ve told you the answers to your questions. Do you believe me?”

  “Yes,” said Pat and Wheeler and Sin and Hal.

  “Why?” asked Hermia.

  “Because I rode the rope,” said Hal.

  “Because he cured my piercings,” said Sin.

  “My face,” said Pat.

  “Because it’s so cool,” said Wheeler.

  “And the rest of you?”

  “It’s pretty hard to swallow,” said Laurette. “How do you know all this stuff? I never heard of you.”

  “I’m a gatemage too,” said Hermia. “A lesser one. I can’t make gates, but I can see them and I can lock them. And I can help Danny. But now you all have a choice to make.”

  They waited.

  “Are you with him or not?” asked Hermia. “That’s why he was afraid to tell you, because once he did, you’d have to make the choice.”

  “What do you mean, ‘with him’ ?” asked Hal. “He’s got this incredible power. What does he need from us?”

  “What the gods have always needed,” said Hermia. “Servants.”

  Consternation. Outrage. “I thought we were his friends!” said Laurette.

  “Are you his equals?” asked Hermia. “Are you? When the others come to kill him, what do you think you can do? When Danny’s mother electrocutes you or his father makes your car stop working, and any gun you point at them fails to work and a hawk comes to peck out your eyes, can you stand up to them?”

  “Duh,” said Laurette.

  “We’re useless,” said Hal. “So why would he need us?”

  “That’s why I didn’t say that he needs soldiers. Or allies. He needs servants. He needs people he can send with messages. People to watch and notice things, and tell him about them.”

  “Spies,” said Pat.

  “And messengers,” said Hermia. “The Families will know you’re powerless. With any luck, they won’t kill you. But they could. If you piss them off. Do you understand? You’re powerless. But you can help Danny to put together some kind of peace treaty. Some way to unite the families and share some of his power with them.”

  “And why would we want to do that?” asked Xena. “If these gods actually, like, exist, why would we want Danny to give them more power?”

  “Because if he doesn’t, they’ll kill him,” said Hermia. “It’s a matter of time, that’s all. Are you his friends or not? You’re the ones who demanded the truth, so here it is. Now you have a choice. With him, or not with him.”

  “With him,” said Hal.

  “Slow down,” said Pat. “This is major.”

  Hermia had done all she could—all that Danny needed her to do. Now it was time for Danny to face his friends again. He had been a coward to leave it up to her.

  So he gated into the house.

  He appeared in the middle of the room. They stared at him in fear.

  “It’s true,” whispered Laurette.

  “Cool,” said Wheeler.

  Danny turned to Wheeler. “This isn’t a comic book, Wheeler. It doesn’t go from panel to panel until the good guys win. In the real world, good guys lose all the time. What wins is power. I have a lot of it, but I don’t have enough to protect you all the time. I advise you to get the hell away from me and pretend you never met me. With any luck, none of the Families will notice you and you’ll be as safe as anyone.”

  “How safe is that?” asked Pat.

  “If I create a Great Gate and the Families send people through, so they become gods again instead of elves and wizards, the way they are now, then you won’t have a choice anymore. You’ll stay out of their way, and if they notice you, you’ll do what you’re told or you’ll die. Our Families aren’t nice people. They call you drowthers. They think of you the way you think of cars. Useful when you need them, but fun to crash into each other and watch them blow up and burn.”

  They were looking sick and scared. So Danny was communicating.

  “Do you see why I tried not to tell you?” said Danny.

  “I think you’re just trying to scare us,” said Xena defiantly.

  “Is it working?” asked Danny.

  “Yes,” said Laurette.

  “Good,” said Danny. “I came here in hopes of having a normal life. Two years of high school. But then I got stupid and did that thing with the rope climb and Hermia saw it and told me that it was a Great Gate. I finally got the knowledge to do some really powerful stuff.”

  “But it sounds terrible,” said Sin. “Why would you let them through?”

  “Here’s how it’ll work,” said Danny. “Either I’ll work out a way to give all the Families equal access to a Great Gate, or one of the Families will kidnap somebody I care about and kill them if I don’t give them exclusive use of a Great Gate.”

  “Who would they kidnap?” asked Hal.

  “Hermia. The woman who pretends to be my aunt. Or maybe you, Hal. It depends on how much they’ve observed already.”

  “And if they kidnapped Hal,” said Laurette, “what would you do?”

  “He’d let them kill Hal,” said Hermia. “He’d let them kill me. Because if he lets one Family have a Great Gate, and not the others, then that means that the most violent and evil Family will rule the world. But if they all have a share of the Gate, then maybe, just maybe, they’ll balance each other out. Maybe they’ll avoid a war. Maybe you drowthers won’t all end up as collateral damage.”

  “Is she right?” Hal asked Danny.

  “I hope so,” said Danny. “But if it came down to it, I don’t know if I could do it. Let them kill you or her or anybody. Up to now, the only life I was risking was my own. But once I made a Great Gate, everything changed. Now the whole world is at risk.”

  “But you can do things,” said Hal. “Like, if you’d been around for 9-1-1, you could have made those planes—”

  “No, I couldn’t have done a thing,” said Danny. “Because I would have found out about it when everybody else did, by watching television. I’ve got a couple of talents, but I’m not really a god. Not like you’re thinking—a god that knows everything and can do anything he wants. I can do a few specific things, and I don’t know very much at all.”

  “Then what good is it?” asked Pat.

  “Not much,” said Danny. “All I can do is try to keep the damage to a minimum.”

  “So what’s your choice?” said Hermia. “My Family’s on the way here right now, you can count on that. If you’re going to choose not to stand with Danny, then he’s got to get you away from here before they come. Go get in your cars and drive away and forget you ever knew Danny. Don’t do anything to tip off the Families that you’re his friends, or you’ll end up as hostages. Get it?”

  “Shit,” said Sin. “That’s just—that’s terrible.”

  “Exactly,” said Hermia.

  “Why did you make a Great Gate, man?” asked Hal.

  “Because I’m a servant of spacetime,” said Danny. “Because it’s what I was born for. Because I faced a powerful enemy and beat him. Because I’m stupid.”

  “There’s a feeble chance,” said Hermia, “that it will be better. For instance, Danny’s father and mother, if they went through a Great Gate, maybe they’d come back and use their power to destroy all the nuclear weapons in the world.”

  “Could they do that?” asked Hal.

  “The question is, would they,” said Hermia. “The Families don’t have a history of trying to make life better for the drowthers.”

  “Drowthers—that’s us?” asked Xena.

  “It sounds like the N word,” said Pat.

  “It’s exactly like the N word, the way most people in the Families use it,” said Danny. “But some of us want to use our power to protect you.”

  “Don’t let them through the gate, man,” said Hal.

  “I told you how they’ll make him do it,” said Hermia.

  “Then kill yourself first,” said Hal. “That’s what I’d do.”

  The words hung in the air.

  “Maybe you would,” said Danny. “But I’m not that kind of hero. I’m not any kind of hero.”

  “ ‘With great power comes great responsibility,’ ” intoned Wheeler.

  “If only,” said Danny. “In the real world, with great power comes great suffering—by the people who don’t have the power.”

  “I wasn’t kidding,” said Hal. “You shouldn’t exist. If you didn’t exist, things would keep on going the way they have been since 632 or whenever.”

  “Spacetime would only create another like me,” said Danny. “And maybe the next guy would be even worse than me.”

  “He did use his power to help us,” said Laurette.

  “You were knocking Coach Bleeder on his ass,” said Hal.

  “Yes,” said Danny. “And making him drop his watch.”

  “To protect me?” asked Hal.

  “And because it was funny,” said Danny.

  “It was funny,” said Hal.

  “Are you going to destroy the world, Danny?” asked Sin.

  “I hope not,” said Danny. “Here’s what I hope. I hope that the Families will unite to use their power to stop all wars, to stop all the terrorists, to put an end to all the shit.”

  “Did they ever do that before, back before the gates were closed?” asked Hal.

  “No,” said Danny.

  “Why would it be any different now?” said Hal.

  “Because Danny’s here,” said Hermia. “If one of the Family starts acting like Stalin or Pol Pot or Idi Amin, Danny has the power to gate him to the bottom of the Atlantic, and they know it. They’ve got no way to stop him. As long as Danny’s alive, he has a chance to keep it all under control.”

  “So you’re going to be, like, the god of all gods,” said Hal.

  Danny sat down. “Yeah,” he said.

  “Plus graduate from high school on schedule,” said Hal.

  “Maybe I’m not going to be able to pull that off,” said Danny.

  “Why did you ever think you could?” asked Pat.

  “Because I didn’t know I could make a Great Gate when I came here,” said Danny. “I didn’t know anything. I just wanted to be normal.”

  Hal made a weighing motion with his hands. “Normal, or supreme god. Supreme god, or normal. So hard to decide.” Then Hal reached out his hand to Danny. Offering a handshake.

  “I’m in,” said Hal.

  “In what?”

  “In the same shit soup as you,” said Hal. “I’m your messenger. Or servant. Or whatever you need. I think you’re a good guy. I think if anybody’s going to have this kind of power, I’d rather it be you than anybody else I can think of, except maybe Winston Churchill, and he’s dead.”

  Danny solemnly took his hand.

  “So Hal gets to be your righthand man,” said Wheeler. “Just because he was willing to talk to you when you came to Perry McCluer High.”

  “Because he’s my friend,” said Danny, “and he volunteered.”

  “Well I volunteer too,” said Wheeler.

  And in a few moments, they had all agreed.

  “So get in your cars,” said Danny, “and get away from here.”

  “I thought that was what we’d do if we said no,” said Laurette.