WEBVTT 1 00:00:03.160 --> 00:00:05.320 Calarogu Shark Media. 2 00:00:09.919 --> 00:00:14.800 Welcome to Midnight Frequencies, a special Romance Weekly and Ghost 3 00:00:14.960 --> 00:00:20.559 Scary Stories crossover event. This is episode two Signal Interference. 4 00:00:30.719 --> 00:00:33.600 The all night diner on Canal Street smells like coffee 5 00:00:33.640 --> 00:00:36.960 and forgotten dreams. It's the kind of place where the 6 00:00:37.000 --> 00:00:40.560 fluorescent lights flicker just enough to make you question reality, 7 00:00:41.320 --> 00:00:44.920 where the waitress has seen everything and judges nothing, and 8 00:00:44.960 --> 00:00:47.240 where two people can sit in a corner booth at 9 00:00:47.280 --> 00:00:52.479 five am without anyone asking questions. I wrap my hands 10 00:00:52.479 --> 00:00:54.479 around a cup of tea that's gone cold while I 11 00:00:54.479 --> 00:00:56.799 try to process everything Kai has told me in the 12 00:00:56.840 --> 00:01:01.880 last hour. According to him, im siren, not the kind 13 00:01:01.880 --> 00:01:05.319 from Greek mythology that lured sailors to their deaths, but 14 00:01:05.439 --> 00:01:09.120 something more complex, something that's been hiding in plain sight 15 00:01:09.239 --> 00:01:14.680 for centuries. The bloodlines are ancient. Kai explains, his voice, 16 00:01:14.719 --> 00:01:16.760 low enough that it won't carry to the other late 17 00:01:16.879 --> 00:01:21.480 night refugees scattered around the diner. Most people think sirens 18 00:01:21.480 --> 00:01:25.719 were just stories, but the truth is more complicated. Your 19 00:01:25.760 --> 00:01:29.560 ancestors learned to blend in to use their gifts subtly, 20 00:01:31.040 --> 00:01:36.239 a voice that could inspire trust, compel honesty, influence decisions 21 00:01:36.280 --> 00:01:40.920 without anyone realizing what was happening. But what I did 22 00:01:40.959 --> 00:01:44.799 tonight wasn't subtle, I say, my British accent, making the 23 00:01:44.799 --> 00:01:48.920 words sound more controlled than I feel. People were confessing 24 00:01:49.000 --> 00:01:53.359 things that could destroy their lives, some of them. I 25 00:01:53.400 --> 00:01:57.439 can't finish the sentence. The image of those black SUVs. 26 00:01:58.239 --> 00:02:02.319 Kai's grim words about deaths cross Manhattan keeps playing in 27 00:02:02.400 --> 00:02:07.239 my mind. That's because your power is awakening without guidance, 28 00:02:07.719 --> 00:02:13.879 Kai says, think of it like puberty, but supernatural without training, 29 00:02:14.400 --> 00:02:19.120 without understanding what you are, your abilities are raw, uncontrolled. 30 00:02:20.000 --> 00:02:22.319 The more you use your voice, the stronger they become, 31 00:02:23.199 --> 00:02:29.080 but also the more dangerous. I take a sip of 32 00:02:29.080 --> 00:02:33.000 cold tea and immediately regret it. And you know all 33 00:02:33.000 --> 00:02:37.599 this because Kai hesitates, and I catch a flicker of 34 00:02:37.639 --> 00:02:42.719 something vulnerable in his dark eyes. Because I'm not entirely 35 00:02:42.840 --> 00:02:48.960 human either, The words hang between us like a challenge. Outside, 36 00:02:49.039 --> 00:02:51.639 the first hint of dawn is creeping across the city, 37 00:02:52.240 --> 00:02:56.240 turning the sky from black to deep purple. In a 38 00:02:56.280 --> 00:02:59.319 few hours, people will be waking up to discover the 39 00:02:59.400 --> 00:03:06.719 chaos that followed my broadcast, Families torn apart by sudden confessions, crimes, exposed, 40 00:03:07.360 --> 00:03:08.319 lives ruined. 41 00:03:09.479 --> 00:03:10.840 What are you, I ask? 42 00:03:12.080 --> 00:03:15.280 I'm what's called a listener, Kai says, part of an 43 00:03:15.360 --> 00:03:20.879 organization that's existed for centuries to monitor supernatural activity. My 44 00:03:21.000 --> 00:03:25.360 particular gift is that I can hear frequencies that others can't, 45 00:03:25.919 --> 00:03:32.240 supernatural voices, magical resonances, things that operate beyond normal human perception. 46 00:03:34.199 --> 00:03:39.439 So you've been spying on me, protecting you, He corrects, 47 00:03:39.960 --> 00:03:42.400 and there's an intensity in his voice that makes my 48 00:03:42.560 --> 00:03:47.000 chest titan. Do you know how rare true sirens are? 49 00:03:48.319 --> 00:03:52.960 Most of the bloodlines died out or went dormant generations ago. 50 00:03:53.159 --> 00:03:55.719 When I started picking up your broadcast eight months ago, 51 00:03:56.439 --> 00:03:59.280 I thought at first it was just someone with unusual charisma, 52 00:04:00.039 --> 00:04:02.560 But gradually I realized what I was hearing. 53 00:04:04.360 --> 00:04:05.000 Eight months. 54 00:04:05.840 --> 00:04:09.000 He's been listening to me for eight months, night after night, 55 00:04:09.400 --> 00:04:13.360 and I never knew The thought should be unsettling, But 56 00:04:13.520 --> 00:04:17.600 instead I feel something else, a strange sense of connection, 57 00:04:18.319 --> 00:04:22.480 like a frequency finally finding its match. The order I 58 00:04:22.600 --> 00:04:27.199 work for, Kai continues. They have very specific protocols for 59 00:04:27.240 --> 00:04:33.360 dealing with awakening sirens. Most of them involve elimination. Most 60 00:04:33.399 --> 00:04:38.160 of them, there are exceptions if a siren can learn control. 61 00:04:38.600 --> 00:04:42.360 If they can be guided properly, they can become valuable allies. 62 00:04:43.480 --> 00:04:50.079 But the process is complicated. I study his face, noting 63 00:04:50.120 --> 00:04:53.439 the way he avoids my eyes when he says complicated, 64 00:04:54.480 --> 00:04:59.399 and you volunteered to be my guide. I requested the assignment. Yes, 65 00:05:00.560 --> 00:05:05.560 why the question seems to catch him off guard. He 66 00:05:05.680 --> 00:05:08.759 runs a hand through his dark hair, and I notice 67 00:05:08.759 --> 00:05:13.319 his fingers are shaking slightly. Because eight months of listening 68 00:05:13.360 --> 00:05:15.639 to your voice every night will do things to a person. 69 00:05:16.600 --> 00:05:19.120 Because I couldn't bear the thought of my colleagues showing 70 00:05:19.199 --> 00:05:22.319 up at your studio with orders to eliminate the threat. 71 00:05:23.480 --> 00:05:28.360 Because he looks up, meeting my eyes directly, because I 72 00:05:28.399 --> 00:05:30.439 think I've been falling in love with your voice since 73 00:05:30.480 --> 00:05:35.680 the first night I heard it. The confession hits me 74 00:05:35.759 --> 00:05:39.560 like a wave of electricity. I feel my own supernatural 75 00:05:39.560 --> 00:05:44.079 frequency responding to his honesty, creating a resonance between us 76 00:05:44.519 --> 00:05:46.680 that makes the air in the diner seem to shimmer. 77 00:05:47.959 --> 00:05:53.319 That's not possible, I whisper, isn't it? Kai asks, You're 78 00:05:53.360 --> 00:05:57.160 a siren, Lyra. Your voice is designed to create connection, 79 00:05:57.639 --> 00:06:01.480 to inspire devotion. The question is whether what I feel 80 00:06:01.519 --> 00:06:06.839 is real or just a supernatural compulsion. Before I can answer, 81 00:06:07.199 --> 00:06:11.439 my phone buzzes a text from an unknown number. We 82 00:06:11.560 --> 00:06:15.120 know where you are, the diner on Canal Street. You 83 00:06:15.199 --> 00:06:19.399 have five minutes. Kai sees my expression and reaches for 84 00:06:19.439 --> 00:06:23.800 the phone. Reading the message, his face goes pale. We 85 00:06:23.920 --> 00:06:27.959 need to move now. How did they find us so quickly? 86 00:06:29.079 --> 00:06:32.839 The order has resources you can't imagine, Kai says, dropping 87 00:06:32.879 --> 00:06:38.240 money on the table and standing surveillance networks, tracking technology, 88 00:06:38.800 --> 00:06:41.279 people with gifts that make mine look like parlor tricks. 89 00:06:42.399 --> 00:06:44.920 We're already moving toward the back exit when the front 90 00:06:44.920 --> 00:06:48.480 door chimes and three people in dark clothing walk in. 91 00:06:49.839 --> 00:06:52.959 They look ordinary enough, a woman in a business suit, 92 00:06:53.519 --> 00:06:56.800 two men who could be accountants. But something about the 93 00:06:56.839 --> 00:07:01.040 way they move sets off every instinct I have. Don't 94 00:07:01.079 --> 00:07:04.399 look back, Chuy murmurs, guiding me through the kitchen toward 95 00:07:04.439 --> 00:07:08.839 the service exit, And whatever you do, don't speak unless 96 00:07:08.839 --> 00:07:13.680 I tell you to. Why not, because your voice right 97 00:07:13.720 --> 00:07:16.160 now is like a loaded weapon with the safety off. 98 00:07:17.199 --> 00:07:20.600 Every word you speak has the potential to compel anyone 99 00:07:20.639 --> 00:07:23.600 who hears it, and we don't know what commands you 100 00:07:23.680 --> 00:07:30.399 might accidentally give. We slip out into an alley that 101 00:07:30.480 --> 00:07:34.519 smells like grease and garbage, the November air sharp enough 102 00:07:34.560 --> 00:07:38.879 to make me gasp. Behind us, I can hear voices 103 00:07:38.879 --> 00:07:43.480 in the diner, calm, professional, asking the waitress questions she 104 00:07:43.519 --> 00:07:48.959 probably can't answer this way, Kai says, leading me through 105 00:07:48.959 --> 00:07:52.600 a maze of narrow streets that seem designed to confuse 106 00:07:52.639 --> 00:07:57.560 anyone who doesn't know Soho's layout. Intimately, there's a safe 107 00:07:57.560 --> 00:08:00.399 house not far from here, Somewhere we can reach group 108 00:08:00.800 --> 00:08:03.240 and I can start teaching you the basics of control. 109 00:08:04.639 --> 00:08:08.319 A safe house the Order maintains several in the city 110 00:08:08.360 --> 00:08:11.879 for situations like this. The irony is that I'm using 111 00:08:11.920 --> 00:08:16.199 their own resources to protect you from them. We walk 112 00:08:16.199 --> 00:08:20.360 in silence for several blocks, sticking to shadows and side streets. 113 00:08:21.319 --> 00:08:24.519 The city is starting to wake up around us, delivery 114 00:08:24.560 --> 00:08:29.560 trucks rumbling past, early commuters emerging from subway stations, the 115 00:08:29.600 --> 00:08:35.600 distant sound of morning news broadcasts drifting from apartment windows, Kai, 116 00:08:36.240 --> 00:08:41.240 I say, finally, unable to keep quiet any longer. Those 117 00:08:41.279 --> 00:08:44.720 people who called my show tonight, the ones who confessed, 118 00:08:45.200 --> 00:08:47.320 who hurt themselves because of what I made them do. 119 00:08:48.600 --> 00:08:52.200 Is there any way to help them? I don't know, 120 00:08:52.639 --> 00:08:57.320 he says, honestly, siren compulsion is powerful, but it's not 121 00:08:57.440 --> 00:09:02.440 permanent mind control. People will eventually realize that the urge 122 00:09:02.440 --> 00:09:07.440 to confess came from outside themselves. The question is whether 123 00:09:07.480 --> 00:09:10.799 they can live with the consequences of the truths they revealed. 124 00:09:12.440 --> 00:09:15.080 The guilt sits in my chest like a physical weight. 125 00:09:16.320 --> 00:09:18.840 All my life, I've used my voice to help people, 126 00:09:19.879 --> 00:09:23.600 to provide comfort to insomniacs, to create a sense of 127 00:09:23.639 --> 00:09:27.080 connection for the lonely, to offer a few hours of 128 00:09:27.159 --> 00:09:31.240 peace in a chaotic city. The idea that this same 129 00:09:31.320 --> 00:09:34.320 voice could be a weapon, could drive people to destroy 130 00:09:34.360 --> 00:09:47.879 their own lives is almost unbearable. I can see you 131 00:09:47.919 --> 00:09:52.879 blaming yourself, Kai says softly. Don't you didn't know what 132 00:09:52.919 --> 00:09:56.960 you were, and you certainly didn't intend any harm. The 133 00:09:57.000 --> 00:10:00.600 real responsibility lies with whoever should have been watching over you, 134 00:10:01.080 --> 00:10:06.639 teaching you, helping you understand your heritage. My grandmother, I 135 00:10:06.759 --> 00:10:11.000 realize she must have known the stories she told me 136 00:10:11.039 --> 00:10:14.759 about women with powerful voices. The way she always warned 137 00:10:14.799 --> 00:10:18.159 me to be careful with words, to think before I spoke. 138 00:10:19.320 --> 00:10:23.399 She was trying to prepare me, wasn't she Probably? But 139 00:10:23.519 --> 00:10:26.440 something happened to break that chain of knowledge. Maybe she 140 00:10:26.559 --> 00:10:30.159 died too soon. Maybe she thought your abilities would remain dormant. 141 00:10:30.960 --> 00:10:33.759 It's more common than you'd think for supernatural bloodlines to 142 00:10:33.759 --> 00:10:38.639 skip generations. We turned down a narrow street lined with 143 00:10:38.679 --> 00:10:42.279 converted warehouses, and Kai stops in front of a building 144 00:10:42.320 --> 00:10:46.279 that looks abandoned. He produces a key from somewhere in 145 00:10:46.320 --> 00:10:50.559 his coat and unlocks a door that's painted to look rusted, 146 00:10:51.080 --> 00:10:54.639 but clearly isn't welcome to your crash course in being 147 00:10:54.639 --> 00:10:59.759 a siren, he says, holding the door open, the space 148 00:11:00.039 --> 00:11:03.720 yond is nothing like I expected. Instead of the sparse, 149 00:11:03.879 --> 00:11:07.679 functional safe house i'd imagined, it's warm and lived in, 150 00:11:08.559 --> 00:11:13.399 comfortable furniture, bookshelves lining the walls, a kitchen that looks 151 00:11:13.440 --> 00:11:17.799 actually used. Soft lighting comes from lamps rather than harsh 152 00:11:17.799 --> 00:11:22.200 overhead fixtures, and there's music playing quietly from hidden speakers, 153 00:11:22.639 --> 00:11:27.600 something classical and soothing. You live here, I say, and 154 00:11:27.639 --> 00:11:32.120 it's not a question. Sometimes when I'm working in the city. 155 00:11:33.240 --> 00:11:35.639 Ki locks the door behind us and activates what looks 156 00:11:35.720 --> 00:11:40.240 like a very sophisticated security system. The order thinks this 157 00:11:40.360 --> 00:11:42.919 is just another safe house. They don't know I've made 158 00:11:42.960 --> 00:11:46.519 it into something more personal. I walk to one of 159 00:11:46.519 --> 00:11:54.039 the bookshelves, noting titles on folklore, mythology, supernatural anthropology. Mixed 160 00:11:54.039 --> 00:11:58.320 in with the academic texts are novels, poetry, even some 161 00:11:58.480 --> 00:12:03.320 romance paperbacks that look well read eclectic taste. I observe 162 00:12:04.200 --> 00:12:06.600 eight months of listening to a late night radio DJ 163 00:12:06.720 --> 00:12:10.559 will broaden your horizons, Kai says, with what might be 164 00:12:10.600 --> 00:12:14.679 the first genuine smile I've seen from him. You talk 165 00:12:14.679 --> 00:12:19.960 about books sometimes between songs. I started reading them. The 166 00:12:20.000 --> 00:12:23.799 admission creates another one of those electric moments between us, 167 00:12:24.559 --> 00:12:28.559 a recognition that this connection we're feeling has been building 168 00:12:28.600 --> 00:12:32.000 for months without either of us fully realizing it. 169 00:12:33.759 --> 00:12:37.639 So what now, I ask? How do I learn to 170 00:12:37.679 --> 00:12:39.720 control something I didn't even know I had? 171 00:12:41.200 --> 00:12:44.679 We start with the basics, Kai says, moving to a 172 00:12:44.720 --> 00:12:49.039 table where several old books are stacked, understanding what you are, 173 00:12:49.759 --> 00:12:54.039 how your abilities work, and most importantly, how to shield 174 00:12:54.080 --> 00:12:59.039 other people from accidental compulsion. He opens one of the books, 175 00:12:59.440 --> 00:13:02.720 revealing page is covered in what looks like ancient text 176 00:13:03.240 --> 00:13:08.120 mixed with modern annotations. This is a guide to siren abilities, 177 00:13:08.799 --> 00:13:13.159 compiled over centuries by various members of the order. Some 178 00:13:13.200 --> 00:13:16.440 of it is probably folklore, but some of it contains 179 00:13:16.480 --> 00:13:20.759 real techniques that can help you. I lean over his 180 00:13:20.879 --> 00:13:24.879 shoulder to look at the pages, and immediately I'm overwhelmed 181 00:13:24.879 --> 00:13:28.919 by his scent, that cedar and rain smell I noticed 182 00:13:28.919 --> 00:13:34.399 on the fire escape, with undertones of something electric. This close, 183 00:13:35.120 --> 00:13:38.320 I can see the tension in his shoulders, the way 184 00:13:38.360 --> 00:13:42.080 his breathing changes when I'm near. The first thing you 185 00:13:42.120 --> 00:13:46.559 need to understand, Kai says, his voice slightly rough, is 186 00:13:46.559 --> 00:13:51.039 that siren abilities are tied to emotion and intention. When 187 00:13:51.039 --> 00:13:56.440 you're calm and centered, you can speak normally without affecting anyone. 188 00:13:56.559 --> 00:14:01.519 But when you're emotional, angry, frightened, passionate, your voice carries 189 00:14:01.559 --> 00:14:06.399 that energy and amplifies it. That's why tonight was so intense. 190 00:14:06.480 --> 00:14:10.679 I realize I was excited about the show, enjoying the 191 00:14:10.720 --> 00:14:14.240 connection with callers, feeling powerful for the first time in 192 00:14:14.279 --> 00:14:22.200 my life exactly, and that excitement translated into compulsion. Your 193 00:14:22.240 --> 00:14:27.600 listeners felt what you were feeling and responded accordingly. I 194 00:14:27.639 --> 00:14:30.519 look down at the open book, trying to focus on 195 00:14:30.559 --> 00:14:34.159 the words, but all I can think about is how 196 00:14:34.200 --> 00:14:38.799 close Kai is standing, how his presence seems to create 197 00:14:38.879 --> 00:14:43.799 its own frequency. That harmonizes with whatever's awakening inside me. 198 00:14:45.000 --> 00:14:50.000 There's something else, I say quietly. When I speak to you, 199 00:14:50.559 --> 00:14:53.919 I don't feel the same charged that I felt with 200 00:14:54.000 --> 00:14:58.240 the callers tonight. It's like you're somehow immune to the compulsion. 201 00:14:59.559 --> 00:15:04.639 Kai very still, that's because of what I am. Listeners 202 00:15:04.679 --> 00:15:09.399 have natural resistance to supernatural vocal influences. It's part of 203 00:15:09.440 --> 00:15:13.840 what makes us effective at monitoring and containing threats. Is 204 00:15:13.840 --> 00:15:16.639 that what I am to you a threat to be contained. 205 00:15:18.120 --> 00:15:20.519 He turns to face me fully, and I can see 206 00:15:20.559 --> 00:15:24.759 conflict written across his features. You were supposed to be. 207 00:15:25.799 --> 00:15:29.200 My orders were to assess your abilities and either recruit 208 00:15:29.279 --> 00:15:32.480 you or eliminate you, depending on the level of danger 209 00:15:32.519 --> 00:15:38.960 you posed, and which am I dangerous? Kai says, without hesitation, 210 00:15:39.919 --> 00:15:42.919 more dangerous than anything the Order has dealt with in decades. 211 00:15:43.960 --> 00:15:48.919 Your power is raw, unformed, but incredibly strong. In the 212 00:15:48.960 --> 00:15:53.120 wrong hands or without proper training, you could influence thousands 213 00:15:53.120 --> 00:15:58.840 of people with a single broadcast. But you're also extraordinary, 214 00:15:59.759 --> 00:16:01.879 and I don't think I could eliminate you, even if 215 00:16:01.919 --> 00:16:06.399 my life depended on it. The confession hangs between us, 216 00:16:07.120 --> 00:16:12.000 charged with possibility and danger. I take a step closer 217 00:16:12.840 --> 00:16:15.000 close enough that I can see the flex of silver 218 00:16:15.080 --> 00:16:18.399 in his dark eyes, the way his pulse beats at 219 00:16:18.440 --> 00:16:22.320 his throat. What happens if the Order finds us here? 220 00:16:22.799 --> 00:16:26.879 I ask, If they think I've been compromised by your influence, 221 00:16:27.279 --> 00:16:31.240 they'll eliminate both of us, Kai says, which is why 222 00:16:31.279 --> 00:16:33.720 we need to get your abilities under control as quickly 223 00:16:33.759 --> 00:16:36.960 as possible. You need to be able to demonstrate that 224 00:16:37.000 --> 00:16:40.120 you can be trusted, that you won't use your voice 225 00:16:40.120 --> 00:16:44.360 to manipulate or harm innocent people. And if I can't 226 00:16:44.440 --> 00:16:49.360 learn control, Kai's expression grows grim, then I'll have to 227 00:16:49.399 --> 00:16:52.120 make a choice between my duty to the order, and 228 00:16:53.679 --> 00:16:57.679 he pauses, seeming to struggle with the words you're what 229 00:16:59.120 --> 00:17:02.639 my feelings for you, which may or may not be real, 230 00:17:03.320 --> 00:17:06.799 but feel more genuine than anything I've experienced in decades 231 00:17:06.799 --> 00:17:11.599 of service. The admission creates a resonance between us so 232 00:17:11.799 --> 00:17:15.559 strong that I can actually feel it, like a tuning 233 00:17:15.640 --> 00:17:19.200 fork struck in my chest, vibrating through my bones and 234 00:17:19.240 --> 00:17:23.880 into the air around us. For a moment, the space 235 00:17:23.920 --> 00:17:28.240 between us shimmers with visible energy. Did you see that, 236 00:17:28.839 --> 00:17:34.160 I whisper, I've felt it, Kai says, that's what happens 237 00:17:34.200 --> 00:17:40.880 when two supernatural frequencies aligne it's he swallows hard. It's 238 00:17:40.880 --> 00:17:46.200 not something I've experienced before. Before I can respond, alarms 239 00:17:46.200 --> 00:17:50.720 start blaring throughout the building, red lights flash from hidden panels, 240 00:17:51.160 --> 00:17:55.839 and Kai's expression shifts immediately into something cold and professional. 241 00:17:56.920 --> 00:18:00.279 They've found us, he says, moving to what I thought 242 00:18:00.400 --> 00:18:03.319 was a decorative mirror, but as apparently some kind of 243 00:18:03.359 --> 00:18:09.960 surveillance monitor. Three teams surrounding the building. We have maybe 244 00:18:10.000 --> 00:18:14.079 two minutes before they breach the entrance. How is that possible? 245 00:18:15.000 --> 00:18:19.839 I thought this place was secret. It was, which means 246 00:18:19.839 --> 00:18:22.599 either they've been tracking us more closely than I realized, 247 00:18:22.759 --> 00:18:27.880 or Kai's face goes pale, or someone in the order 248 00:18:27.960 --> 00:18:30.359 knows about my feelings for you and set this up. 249 00:18:30.279 --> 00:18:33.039 As a test, a test of what. 250 00:18:34.759 --> 00:18:38.000 To see if I'll choose duty, or he looks at 251 00:18:38.000 --> 00:18:42.720 me with something that might be desperation. Lyra, I need 252 00:18:42.759 --> 00:18:47.039 you to listen very carefully. In about ninety seconds, armed 253 00:18:47.079 --> 00:18:49.880 agents are going to come through that door with orders 254 00:18:49.880 --> 00:18:53.000 to either capture or kill you. The only way you 255 00:18:53.079 --> 00:18:56.759 survive this is if you use your voice. But you 256 00:18:56.839 --> 00:19:01.039 said I couldn't control it, said you couldn't control it. 257 00:19:01.160 --> 00:19:01.599 Safely. 258 00:19:02.319 --> 00:19:15.039 But right now, safety isn't an option. Ky pull's weapons 259 00:19:15.039 --> 00:19:19.160 from hidden compartments, guns, but also things that look like 260 00:19:19.200 --> 00:19:23.279 they belong in a science fiction movie. I'm going to 261 00:19:23.279 --> 00:19:26.279 teach you the most dangerous technique in the Sien Arsenal. 262 00:19:27.039 --> 00:19:30.960 It's called a command voice, and it can compel absolute 263 00:19:30.960 --> 00:19:36.119 obedience from anyone who hears it. I can't, You can, 264 00:19:36.279 --> 00:19:39.039 and you will because it's the only way we both 265 00:19:39.119 --> 00:19:43.160 live through the next five minutes. Kai's voice is urgent 266 00:19:43.279 --> 00:19:46.279 but calm, and I can hear his listener abilities in 267 00:19:46.279 --> 00:19:50.279 the way he speaks, every word chosen for maximum impact. 268 00:19:51.640 --> 00:19:54.599 When I tell you, you're going to speak in the deepest, 269 00:19:54.680 --> 00:19:56.440 most authoritative tone. 270 00:19:56.160 --> 00:19:57.440 You can manage. 271 00:19:57.680 --> 00:19:59.759 You're going to put every ounce of intention and in 272 00:20:00.400 --> 00:20:04.200 into your voice, and you're going to command them to stop, 273 00:20:04.599 --> 00:20:07.200 to drop their weapons, to forget they ever saw us. 274 00:20:08.880 --> 00:20:11.960 What if I make them hurt themselves? What if I 275 00:20:12.000 --> 00:20:17.279 accidentally then we deal with the consequences later, Kai says firmly, 276 00:20:18.039 --> 00:20:21.039 right now, the alternative is that we both die, and 277 00:20:21.119 --> 00:20:24.519 your voice dies with us. At least this way you 278 00:20:24.599 --> 00:20:28.160 have a chance to learn proper control. The sound of 279 00:20:28.160 --> 00:20:33.319 footsteps echoes in the stairwell outside, heavy boots, multiple sets, 280 00:20:33.640 --> 00:20:39.079 moving with military precision. Lyra Kai says, and there's something 281 00:20:39.119 --> 00:20:42.720 in his voice that I've never heard before, not just urgency, 282 00:20:43.119 --> 00:20:47.559 but genuine fear. Whatever happens in the next few minutes, 283 00:20:48.160 --> 00:20:49.920 I need you to know that what I feel for 284 00:20:49.960 --> 00:20:52.400 you isn't just supernatural compulsion. 285 00:20:53.039 --> 00:20:53.680 It's real. 286 00:20:54.279 --> 00:20:58.200 You're real, and I would rather die protecting you than 287 00:20:58.279 --> 00:21:02.160 live knowing I let the order to destroy you before 288 00:21:02.200 --> 00:21:05.519 I can respond. The door explodes inward in a shower 289 00:21:05.559 --> 00:21:09.839 of splinters and smoke. Dark figures pour through the opening, 290 00:21:10.400 --> 00:21:15.920 weapons raised, faces hidden behind tactical gear, and somewhere in 291 00:21:15.960 --> 00:21:20.880 the chaos, I find my voice. It comes from deeper 292 00:21:20.920 --> 00:21:25.400 in my chest than I've ever spoken before, carrying power 293 00:21:25.480 --> 00:21:30.000 that makes the air itself seem to vibrate. When I speak, 294 00:21:30.640 --> 00:21:34.799 every person in the room stops moving, their attention focused 295 00:21:34.960 --> 00:21:40.599 entirely on me with an intensity that's almost terrifying. But 296 00:21:40.680 --> 00:21:44.160 what I say and what happens next will either save 297 00:21:44.279 --> 00:21:46.000 us both or damn us forever.