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shining black in the moonlight, and her voice slipped into a deeper register. “Do not try my patience, human. If you wish to dance with me, I will simply prevent you from canceling your email. Then Armistice Security will try to kill both of us to keep the information secret. Which of us do you think has a better chance at survival?”
    Collins swallowed. “All right. I’ll tell you what I know, but there’s a catch. You can’t kill her until after I’m cured. Promise me that, and I will tell you everything.”
    Yvette laughed, her voice sliding into a lower register—a deep, ugly, barking sound. “I have no intention of killing something so precious as a latent Wind, Alexander.”
    “I don’t understand.”
    She scowled at him. “You don’t need to understand. Tell me what I want to know, and I will cure you as soon as she is taken into custody.”
    “I have your word on that?”
    “You have my word.”
    Collins took a deep breath. “Andrea Daniels.”
    She laughed again. “The President’s daughter? You would sell out your master’s flesh and blood to save yourself and further your own ambitions?” She smiled widely. “Collins, I may even come to respect you in the days ahead. Where can I find her?”
    Collins shivered at the malice dripping from her voice. “She’ll be back in Oxford within the week.”
    She clapped her hands in delight. “In my own territory, no less!” Then she frowned. “The Archangel would not be as cavalier with her safety as to allow her free reign in hostile territory. What precautions has he taken to protect her?”
    “They gave her a Sentinel bodyguard,” said Collins. “Jackson Anderson, element Earth.”
    “Hmm. That poses a problem.” She tapped her fingertips against her jaw, lost in thought. “Even if he is put down quickly, his AI will certainly spread the alarm.”
    Alex shrugged. “So burn out his AI implants with an electromagnetic pulse first.”
    She faced him in confusion. “I beg your pardon?”
    He raised his eyebrows. “It’s a simple magnetic projector. Any government with a nuclear program can supply you with one. The rogue CIA operation that coordinated our attack on the Armistice did extensive research on that aspect of their technology, so we know their biocircuitry is vulnerable.”
    She simply stared at him. “And how did this fact not come out at the treason trials?”
    Collins smiled. “We kept it to ourselves, along with the formula for the anti-Sentinel gas they developed. We’re still working on an agent to neutralize vampire physiology, but we’re limited by the number of volunteers we’re able to recruit in the wake of Lorcan’s assassination of the Fourth Council. Naturally, he frowns on such projects, but I’ve been able to keep it going in a restricted fashion.”
    “You might actually be an ally worth saving.” She considered for a moment. “Very well. You will provide me with one of these magnetic projectors and a supply of the anti-Sentinel gas. I will capture the girl, and then you must come to me at my headquarters outside Manchester. There I will cleanse you of the cancer.” She reached into her blouse and drew a silver medallion on a chain from an inner pocket. “Take this.”
    He stared at it. The face showed an inscribed design that made his head hurt. “What is it?”
    “It’s a more powerful version of the psychic inhibitor that you already carry. It will be activated by any intrusion into your mind, and it will block out even a Fourth Order telepath for a short time.”
    Collins took it from her. “I thought that was impossible.”
    She shook her head. “Not impossible. Just very difficult, and costly.”
    His eyes narrowed in suspicion. “What kind of cost?”
    “Once the charm is activated, it will glow with a violet light. When that happens, you must seek me out immediately, for you will age a year for every day that the charm is active. It will also accelerate the spread of the cancer in your