"Think of these as yin and yang—constantly interacting, yet never existing in absolute stasis."
I blinked. "That made a whole lot of sense." Not.
He grinned. "Okay, simpler terms. They are polar or contradictory forces that interact once put in a certain environment. In this case, the body. Once they are fully activated, the push–pull of their interaction provides a shield that is ten times stronger than any wire ever created."
"Whoa," I said, stunned. While even that might not be enough to stop the likes of Hunter, it would stop the majority of vampires out there. And surely something that strong would at least hamper Hunter. "How can something so tiny be that strong?"
"Science these days is amazing," he said, sounding like a kid peering though a candy store window. "Trust me, you won’t believe some of the things both the military and private research labs are developing right now."
"Well, given your love of acquiring such objects, I daresay we’ll see them sooner rather than later."
"I’d love to agree, but I do have to be cautious. Or rather my sources do. We wouldn’t want to start any nasty investigations, would we?"
"No, we wouldn’t."
"Too right," he said, dumping the gloves and the syringe into a tray near his desk. They were promptly sucked away to God knew where.
"Risa, it’s time to go," a familiar voice behind me said.
Both Stane and I jumped, and I turned. Azriel was standing behind me, arms crossed as he studied us both. He seemed amused, even if his expression was its usual blank slate.
"Damn it," Stane said. "For the sake of my nerves, let alone my heart, you really need to learn to knock or something."
"Wouldn’t a knock coming out of nowhere alarm you almost as much?"
"Not nearly as much as hearing a voice come out of nowhere, then looking up to see a man-mountain," Stane commented.
Stane, like nearly everyone else, couldn’t see Azriel’s natural form. He saw the form most likely to give him comfort and make him feel safe. In this case, it was the image of a deceased relative. Interestingly, Tao saw the same image.