“You told Gabe about your invisibility,” Xander scolded Riley gently when they stepped out onto the grass for their next training session at the Thornton house.

“I showed him, actually. I hid us from the intruders. He’s really insecure about me spending so much time with you, Xander. And weirdly, I think that helped.”

“Don’t ever use that word around him,” Xander warned. “But yes, he is very insecure. About pretty much everything. That's true of cougars generally, by the way. And you’re right: he was over the moon that you opened up to him about your ability. He came and told me right away, thankfully.”

“No harm done, then?”

“No harm done. He won’t tell anyone. He’s excited about being in on your secret, and he gave me some great ideas for your training. Keep trusting those turtle instincts,” Xander said. “Have you learned anything new about your invisibility since last time?”

“Any creature, Veiled or Unveiled, that steps inside my shell becomes invisible along with me.”

Xander grabbed his notebook and began scribbling. “We need to try ejecting people and keeping them out. Any other observations?”

She’d also discovered that if she told her turtle to extend its legs while its head was still in its shell, standing up, it would invisibly lift her off the ground. When she did this while Reed was Unveiled, she appeared to him to be levitating.

Riley demonstrated for Xander, who grinned as she raised herself nine feet off the ground and then lowered again. “Great, Riley. Brilliant. How are you coming on your power? Any progress there?”

“None,” she admitted. “I practice every day, whenever Jack leaves the house. But no luck yet. I’m getting nervous, Xander… Alley said it took six years to find her power.”

Xander shook his head. “I’m sure it’s normal for a turtle to take a while. As long as you’re being methodical and doing your best, I don’t think there’s any reason to worry. Besides, Alley holds the all-time Greenwood record for taking the longest to find her power. Do not judge yourself by her.”

“I was also wondering: when people morph into their animal, what happens on the other side of the Veil? I mean, if I turn into my turtle, what do I look like to an Unveiled person?”

“That depends on how far into your animal you go,” Xander replied. “If you give over both your mind and your body to being a turtle, you’ll look like a turtle on both sides of the Veil. But if any part of you is still human, you’ll look like a human to Veiled people.”

“I'm not following.”

“I’ll show you. Reed, please become your hawk and fly to the power lines and back.”

Reed nodded and transformed.

Once he’d taken off into the air, Xander said to Riley, “Take off your pendant and look at Reed.”

Riley removed her oiled pendant. Reed wasn’t in the sky at all. He was standing in the exact spot he’d been in when he transformed into a hawk.

Unnerved, Riley observed her brother. “He hasn’t moved. And he’s still a person... a person who’s staring off into space.”

“Right. He’s only a hawk to Unveiled people at this point, because part of him is still human. Mentally he’s still a man.”

“Isn’t he really vulnerable like this?”

“To Veiled people, yes. They could attack his human form right now and he would never see them coming. You’re right. It’s important to make sure your human body is in a protected space when you change into your animal. Watch this.” Xander grinned again, then he called out to her brother, “Reed! Land on the other side of the plum tree and turn back into a man.”

Reed did as he was directed, Riley supposed. All she saw was him staring into space right in front of her.

And then he was standing in the middle of the yard.

She gasped.

“What?” Reed looked confused. “What did I do?”

Xander did the same experiment for Reed, moving around as his panther with Riley telling him where to go.

When Reed, as a Veiled man, saw Xander relocate, he beamed. “We can teleport around with this!”

“Not really,” Xander corrected him. “You can’t change back into your human form if you’re too far from your human body. The exact distance you can go is different for every Miyala... I’ll test both of you for your maximum distance, but for most people it’s about ten yards. If you travel any farther than that as an animal, you can’t become a man again until you go back toward your human body.”

He sat down on the picnic bench. “It’s also possible to let your animal take over your mind, but still have a human body. Really territorial animals, like panthers,” he gestured to himself, “do that frequently. Sometimes we have to fight against doing it when we’re angry or feel threatened. Most of the time, when we Miyala are using our animal abilities, Veiled people have a serious physical advantage. We’re navigating two worlds, and they only have to deal with one.”

“But it's possible to become an animal in both body and mind?” Riley asked him.

“Yes,” Xander exhaled. “And when you do, then you become an animal to both Veiled and Unveiled people. But you should never do that unless you have a very good reason. It’s dangerous.”

“How come?”

“You can lose control. You have to decide to change back into a human in order to do it. When you let your animal take over your mind but you still have a human body, the fact that your animal can tell it has a human body is a strong reminder that it’s part human. It will give control back to your human mind if it senses that’s what you want. But when you’re an animal physically as well, that reminder isn’t there. It goes against the nature of any animal to choose to stop being itself. Most animals aren’t capable of making that decision without a whole lot of training. Some can’t ever do it. They refuse.”

“Why would anyone do that, then?” Riley asked.

“You probably wouldn’t, because you can make yourself invisible. I can disappear as well, thanks to my power. But most Miyala become all beast at one point or another, either to conceal themselves from Veiled people or to frighten them off.”

“But that’s crazy! How would you ever become a man again?” Reed sounded horrified.

“When you fall asleep,” Xander told him. “It’s unnatural for us to be either all man or all beast. When we sleep, we always go back to being both. We usually sleep with a human body and an animal mind. Possibly the reverse. But never all human or all animal. Anyway, for most of us, there are four states: human in both body and mind, animal in body and mind, human body with animal mind, and animal body with human mind. And foxes have a fifth state: they can shed their physical body entirely.”

Riley nodded. “Celia told me.”

“How does that work?” Reed asked.

“People whose animal spirit is a fox can become what most Veiled people would consider a ghost or a mirage. You’d think they were physically there until you tried to touch them and your hand went right through. And they can do that on either side of the Veil. That unique stealth is the special ability of the fox.”

“Nice!” Reed said. “I’d rather fly, if I had to choose, but that’s cool, too. Either would impress the ladies.”

Xander rolled his eyes. “We need to have a talk about that, Reed.”

“About what?”

“About you and women.”

“Jack had that talk with me when I was eleven.”

“For all the good it did,” Riley muttered.

Xander sighed. “You’re a hawk, Reed, and hawks are one of the animals that have to deal with something called ‘acceptance’ when it comes to females.”

Riley laughed at that, and her brother glared at her. “Shut up, Riley!”

“Guys! Pay attention, please. Hawks mate for life.” Reed rolled his eyes at that, so Xander turned to Riley. “When a female looks at Reed, if Reed thinks that love is visible in her expression, it can trigger a biological response in him called ‘acceptance.’ If that happens, his mind and body will change in such a way that he will never want another woman again unless that woman dies. And he won’t have any choice in the matter.”

“Are you serious?” Reed asked. His expression had gone from joking to wary.

“Very. This is one of the hardest things that male Miyala have to deal with. And the way you carry on, you’re very lucky that it hasn’t happened already.”

“Do all hawks go through this?” Riley asked.

“Not only hawks. Owls, ravens, wolves and beavers do as well. We call them ‘lifers’ because after acceptance, they’re single-mindedly devoted to their mates as long as both of them are alive. Unattached lifer males have to be very careful when making eye contact with females. Otherwise they can end up accepting a woman who isn’t interested in a lifelong relationship with them, and then they’re trapped.”

“Like Ivan and Alley?” Riley asked gently.

Xander frowned. “Yes. Exactly like that.” After a minute, he continued, “For certain other males — cats, squirrels, foxes and coyotes — acceptance is voluntary. Our animals can mate for life, but we don’t do it as a rule. If we receive a woman’s invitation we can choose not to accept it. If we do accept it, though, we become as bound to her as a lifer would be. Mindless lifelong devotion to a woman who might not always feel the same is a horrifying proposition to a guy, so most of us won’t accept unless we marry a lifer female.”

“Are you sure females don’t go through the same thing?” Reed asked. “Because that would explain a whole lot of Riley’s behavior.”

Riley glared at her brother.

“No, they don’t,” Xander replied. “In almost every species, the female chooses the male, not the other way around. Lifer females are cool-headed and logical about relationships. When one of them chooses a mate, she will deliberately select someone who’s a good fit for her. And if her invitation is rejected, she just moves on. She only becomes mated to a man for life after he has accepted her invitation… her acceptance completes the circle. Only guys can become biologically attached for life to someone who isn’t similarly attached to them.” Xander shrugged at Reed. “Whatever behavior of Riley’s that you’re referring to, it’s human girl behavior. Besides, reptiles can’t accept at all. None of this applies to turtles.”

Riley was confused. “So are turtles less devoted as partners, then? No, that can’t be right,” she corrected herself. “Ned’s a great husband to Jane from what I can see.”

Xander nodded. “He is. Very much so. Think of it this way: every Unveiled person has a human side and an animal side. In some of us, love and mating is controlled by the animal part of us, in some it’s controlled by the human part, and in some — like me — it’s controlled by both. It all depends on which animal spirit you’re dealing with.”

Riley nodded, but Reed made a face. “So you’re telling me that at some point, some chick is going to look up at me with stars in her eyes, and I’m going to fall so hopelessly in love that I will follow her around for the rest of my life or hers?”

“More or less. Yes.”

Reed heaved a long and laborious sigh. “Well that sucks.”

Xander’s face darkened. “I hope you never find out how much it can suck.”