He stopped smiling then. ‘We want you to come with us, ma’am.’

A throb of power went through our combined shields, nudging Trevor and his goons back with an invisible shove. If they were surprised, they didn’t let it show.

‘And why would we do that?’ My voice was calm, but my mind was reeling. Was I being arrested? Could champions be arrested? What would that mean for my dad? Was I going to have to turn fugitive?

‘We just want to talk to you, ma’am. We’ve been keeping tabs on your people through our unit’s shared operative, Daniel. But now that he’s no longer part of this operation…’

‘Because he’s dead,’ I pointed out. I hated tiptoeing around things.

Trevor ignored me. ‘We needed to reinstate contact, what with Daniel out of the picture.’

‘I thought Daniel worked for the UK government,’ Anyan said from behind me. We all looked at Trevor accusingly.

‘He was on the British payroll, yes. But he was part of a unit made up of operatives from across North America and Europe. We’re a bit like Interpol, except we don’t police humanity.’

‘You police supernaturals,’ I said. ‘So you want to replace Daniel?’

‘As the closest member of our organization geographically, it makes sense that I would pick up Daniel’s baton. But I also represent American interests in this matter, and you are an American. We wish to offer you our support if we can.’

Everything about Trevor screamed honesty, sincerity. His eyes met mine in an unwavering gaze, and he oozed kindly, paternal authority.

I didn’t trust him any farther than I could throw him.

‘So why exactly do I need to go with you?’ I asked. ‘Can’t we make plans here?’

Trevor smiled. ‘We wish to offer you the full range of our services, Ms True. We want you to see what we have available. We can also get you into Britain a lot faster than the jet you have coming in from Canada.’

Ryu’s eyes narrowed. He was undoubtedly displeased at seeing how much Trevor’s people knew about what went on in our compound.

‘We also want to be able to talk,’ Trevor added when the silence had stretched as thin as dental floss. ‘We want to make you an offer…’

So that was it, I thought bitterly. They want a piece of the champion.

‘Okay,’ I said curtly. ‘I’ll go with you. But with all my people. And we leave now. I don’t want any of you lingering.’

I could text my dad as soon as I had the chance, make sure he and the girls had gotten out of there. They’d be safe and out of the way at Amy’s, while we could always fight our way out of wherever Trevor and his people took us.

Trevor nodded, giving me that reassuring smile I wanted to wipe off his face. Then he gestured us forward. First I made sure that every single one of those soldiers got back on the choppers. Then we boarded, with his goons, on the middle chopper. After we’d climbed aboard, I texted my dad to stay put till we were gone, and then go with Amy and the girls. We’d be fine, I assured him. We were safe with our government.

The base Trevor took us to was sparse on the outside – just a cluster of low buildings, mostly hangars, around a central helipad, with an airstrip next door. But inside…

Ryu, Anyan, and Caleb were suitably impressed by all the machines that go ping taking up the wall space, and the center areas had more machines doing all sorts of noisy, apparently complicated things. I was very happy to know that Hiral was our unseen companion. He was completely invisible, but I knew he was around because of occasional whispered commands from somewhere around my knees, such as ‘I’m coming with. Hold the door open,’ or ‘Scoot over, fat arse.’ I kept his presence a secret, as he obviously wanted. Meanwhile, I tried to look cool, like secret military bases were a dime a dozen in my experience. I’m pretty sure I failed at that.

At the base, Trevor walked in front of us, pointing out the functions of various people and things. It was all very technical and very important. And all perfectly useless when I thought about the fact that the Red was actively attacking London even now. Part of me wanted the creature to apparate me straight there, to confront her. But I knew that was a bad idea on a number of levels. I couldn’t waste the creature’s power apparating me and my team, and it was stupid to face her alone. Even more stupid without a plan, and having ignored the promise of resources that Trevor offered.

Eventually, we were led into a good old-fashioned conference room and asked to take a seat. Trevor took the chair next to me, leaning forward as if we were the only ones in the room.

‘I would have asked you to meet with me privately, Ms True,’ he said. ‘But I know you would have refused.’

Damn Skippy, I thought, but I didn’t say anything. My silence was answer enough.

‘I know these are some of your most trusted friends and advisors, so if you’re comfortable, we can proceed as if alone.’

I arched an eyebrow at him. What was he playing at?

‘We’ve been aware of the legends of the Red and the White for a long time. And through them we were, of course, aware of the legend of the champion. But we were thrilled to discover that you’d been made that champion, Ms True. May I call you Jane?’

I nodded, but I knew my eyes were squinting at Trevor. I didn’t trust him, and it showed.

‘Good. We had a lot of reasons to be thankful that you were chosen. Can you guess why?’

It didn’t take a rocket scientist. ‘Because I’m American? And half-human?’

‘Clever girl,’ Trevor said patronizingly. Anyan was watching our exchange with avid interest, partially because he could probably guess how close I was to beating the snot out of the CIA agent.

‘You’re one of us, Jane, and you’ve been given this wonderful gift.’ Trevor’s voice was hushed now, as if revealing the secrets of Capone’s tomb. His eyes were limpid with emotion. I could hear an imaginary orchestra playing ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ in the background.

I considered puking on Trevor’s shoes.

‘Maybe,’ I said instead. ‘But that would probably depend on how you defined “us”.’

‘I mean your interests are our interests, Jane. You want to stop the Red, as you did the White,’ he said, nodding at Anyan.

‘Yes, which reminds me, the Red is sort of destroying an entire city…’

‘And we’ll get you there shortly. I promise. But I want to make sure you’re aware just how important you are. How much we value you.’

My already narrowed eyes narrowed further. ‘You mean because I can fight the Red.’

‘Of course!’ Trevor beamed, laughing heartily as if we were all in on some great joke. ‘You must destroy the Red. That’s our first priority—’

‘That’s the priority,’ I interrupted.

‘Er, yes. The priority. But after that’s over…’

Trevor made a gesture in which he first narrowed his hands, palms together, then widened them out, lifting his palms to the heavens as he did so. He was indicating, I think, that the sky was the limit.

‘After that’s over, we can … pray?’ I asked, feigning confusion. I knew what Trevor wanted from me, but he had to say it to get a reaction.

‘No, Jane. After the Red’s defeated, we can think together how best to use your powers to serve yourself, your race, and your nation.’

‘My race?’

‘The human race. You were raised human, despite any, er, outside influences.’

Internally, I was reeling in horror, but Trevor probably thought I was thinking over his generous offer. In fact, he was staring at me like I was an unwrapped cookie.

But I didn’t want to be a cookie, unwrapped or not.

‘Look, Trevor,’ I said, leaning forward to mimic his body language. ‘That’s a super-generous offer, but you’re barking up the wrong tree. I don’t want to be the champion, I don’t want to fight the Red. I have to, however, and I’m going to do it because it’s the right thing. But as soon as that’s done, I’m done. If I survive, that is. I’m not joining your little team, or joining some big fight. I’m not going to battle terrorism, or fight your wars for you, or collect taxes from little old ladies scared I’ll laser-beam them with my magical death-eyes.’

Trevor listened to me talk, his smile patient. When I was finished, he sort of half nodded, half shrugged.

‘You’re under a lot of stress, Jane. I can understand that. These have been very trying times for you, and circumstances are constantly changing.

‘But the fact is that you have power. And you have to use that power somehow. You can use it for good, to help your country and your people, or you can refuse our offer.’

‘Is that a threat?’ I asked rhetorically. It was definitely a threat.

‘With us or against us,’ Trevor said, smiling inappropriately as if he could make his words less poisonous with his facial expression. Ryu, meanwhile, visibly twitched. I’d thrown those words at him when we’d broken up.