I wiped my hands on my pants. “I’ve heard it,” I continued. “A broken version a year ago, as well as the muted song when we tried to stop the Kagan. I can still hear it. I spent months working with my therapist, trying to learn how not to hear it, how to keep it from dragging me back down.”

“What good would it do to broadcast a siren song?” asked Jeneta. “It’s not like most people can just hop overboard and drown themselves.”

“No, they can’t.” I closed my eyes, remembering the desperation reaching through me. “Sailors sought out the sirens because they thought they could reach the source and stop the pain. There are other ways to end your pain.”

“You’re talking about suicide,” said Nidhi.

I nodded again. “Hundreds of thousands of suicides. Millions.”

“They can target anyone they like,” said Talulah. “Worried about China’s magical program? Angry at North Korea? You could probably reach ninety-five percent of both countries with a single broadcast. This isn’t just a weapon of mass destruction. We’re talking about potential genocide.”

“Aren’t there other Porters at New Millennium who would recognize Talulah’s project?” asked Angie. “They’d be able to stop it, or at least trace who stole her work.”

“Charles and Vince both would, yah. Along with anyone from DHS or the board who’s been reviewing our research.”

“So they’ll broadcast the song within New Millennium, too,” said Lena. “Claim Vanguard infiltrated the facility and launched the attack from there as a suicide mission. Once everyone’s dead, who’s to say someone from New Millennium wasn’t an extremist? Especially if Potts and his people are in charge of the investigation.”

“As long as his people have those magic-dampening amulets, they’ll survive,” I said. “While everyone else dies in despair and hopelessness.”

“When do the U.N. inspectors arrive at New Millennium?” asked Angie. “If McGinley is going for international outrage, wouldn’t it make sense to kill them too?”

Talulah swore. “They’re supposed to begin this afternoon.”

“Can we warn people?” Jason was as frightened as I’d ever seen him, his eyes big and his hands trembling in his lap. “Tell them to turn off their electronics, invest in earplugs, something like that?”

“The spell will power things up remotely.” Talulah punched the floor. “We didn’t want to risk people sleeping through a warning, or missing it because they’d switched everything off. I never imagined . . .” She hit the floor again, then slashed her sleeve over her face, wiping away tears of rage.

“Then we go public,” Jason pressed. “Tell the world McGinley is behind it. If we expose what he plans to do, he’ll have to call it off, right?”