Page 20 of Cerulean Truth (Sapere #1)

Thinking fast, I decided first order of business would be to retrace the energy signature to the creator of the bubble.

It was very likely the individual responsible for immersing an entire city in a magical bubble would either know where Maria was or at least possess the power to help me locate her, willingly or not.

Before I could even contemplate how to proceed without translation, I noticed a group of dark-hooded figures in the distance. They were moving slowly but purposefully toward me.

Well, it seemed my night had taken a turn for the better. Nothing like a good fight to lighten my mood. I cracked my neck from side to side, straightened my back, and took a fighting stance.

And so, I waited for them. Eagerly.

I didn’t know if their ominous hoods obscured their vision and slowed down their pace, but they took an awfully long time to reach me. My impatience began to set in. There I was, all ready for battle, while they strolled at a pace even an elderly person with a walker would deem sluggish.

I started tapping my foot…

Why did I have to wait for them anyway? There were fifteen of them, easy pickings even without translation. I decided I’d hold off executing them until after I’d questioned the lot on Maria’s whereabouts.

I took a deep breath through the nose and started running toward them, upping my speed.

As I controllably summoned my rage to just beneath the surface, the wind whooshed past me, and by the time I reached the first hostile, a wide grin had already spread across my face.

I was more than ready to unleash some damage.

My right fist connected with the first face it could find, sending whomever it belonged to crashing to the ground, limbs folding beneath them like a marionette whose strings had been cut. That was easy. The second one went down as I landed a powerful side kick to his torso.

By the time I took down the third one, it dawned on me that this wasn't much of a fight at all. It felt more like slicing through a warm apple pie with a Katana sword, encountering minimal resistance.

Only after seeing the fourth hostile sprawled on the ground did my head clear enough for me to take in the actual situation. The other hostiles weren’t attempting to fight back; they were simply standing there.

One even begged me to stop, tugging on my arm, pleading for me to lower it. My rage gradually faded, and it wasn’t until I recognized the voice as female, I snapped out of it completely.

“Stop doing that, James. I’m fine! You’re fine! No one is in any danger!” she exclaimed, urgency lacing her voice.

“Maria?” I frowned.

She took off the hood, and there she was, our Collective’s Leader, gazing at me like I killed her dog. Well…that wasn’t good.

“What the hell is going on here?” I snapped, feeling a twinge of betrayal.

“Well everything was fine until you decided to go full on caveman and slaughtered these innocent people,” she retorted angrily.

I rolled my eyes at her dramatics. “I didn’t slaughter anyone, they’re just a little…bruised.”

A man emerged from beneath another hood and quickly healed my four victims in no time. Apparently, they travelled with a Healer, which I thought to be a smart move.

“Can’t believe you attacked us,” Maria muttered while helping the Healer fix up the three others.

“Well, why the f—Why are you all wearing hoods?”

Maria pointed to the sky. “You didn’t notice the bubble?”

My brow shot up. “The hoods protect you from it?”

She shook her head, slowly calming down. “It doesn’t do anything to help us translate but it does give us a somewhat more 'intimidating' appearance to the enemy.”

It didn’t.

“Enemy? What the hell happened here?” I asked, my impatience rearing its ugly head again.

Maria sighed. “It’s a long story, and I’m guessing you’re here because my dear husband is going bonkers without me and sent you on a highly unnecessary mission. So maybe we should get going and we can explain everything on the way.”

“Please do,” I replied, my annoyance showing. Maria appeared perfectly fine, and I hadn’t had a decent night’s sleep since...oh fuck it, who could remember anyway?

“We can’t portal here so we’ll have to walk, which is what I was doing with my protection until you decided to interfere.”

I snorted. “They were your protection? I took out four of them with a sneeze.”

She looked at me harshly and I swallowed under her severe stare. She was my Leader after all, I should’ve been more respectful.

“Respectfully,” I added quickly. “Sneezing respectfully.”

She continued to glare silently.

“Sorry,” I mumbled.

“Gesundheit.” She winked and I was relieved to see she wasn’t too angry at me and my inflated ego.

“Where are we headed?” I asked, as we started walking away from our meeting point.

"Toward the city's border. In case you haven't figured it out yet, the bubble I have conjured won't let anyone portal out of the entire city," Maria explained with a devious grin, clearly pleased with her handiwork.

Of course a maga of Maria’s stature was powerful enough to create a city-wide bubble. I felt like an idiot for not having considered it.

“I sort of guessed that much. Care to explain how I got in without being incinerated?” I asked dryly.

She shrugged casually. "The bubble allows magi with clearance to portal in. Anyone else would have been fried on the spot."

Well. Thank fuck I’d had clearance.

“Only problem is, I didn’t take into account I’m not native to the Diamond city and now even I can’t portal out. Hence the walking.” She shook her head.

As we walked toward the city's edge, the Healer, also cloaked in a hood, joined us.

"This is George." Maria gestured toward the Healer.

He briefly removed his hood, revealing a man with graying hair and kind eyes, but his face bore the marks of countless battles. He extended his hand, and I shook it firmly.

"So, you’re James, the new Leader to be of Cyclos. Well, if Cyclos was looking for fearlessness, they certainly got their money’s worth," he remarked with a grin.

I gave him a short nod.

“My old friend didn’t trust me with his wife, did he?"

I wasn’t amused. "I wouldn’t say that much, but he did start to worry when none of you nexed him," I replied dryly. "Why didn’t you?"

"As I said, it's a long story," Maria reiterated.

"One I'd like to hear right about now," I responded firmly, casting an impatient glance at Maria.

"Well, then, it all started when I attempted to explain to Maria my objections to the Great Exposure," George began.

"You object to it?" I raised an eyebrow, feigning surprise. "We've been organizing it for over sixteen years. We're but a year away from the actual exposure, and now you object?"

"Can I perhaps tell the story without interruptions, and then you can comment as you wish?" George snapped.

The beast inside me roared at his insulant tone but I kept quiet.

"As you know, sixteen years ago, some idiot had the bright idea to propose the Great Exposure," George continued.

"I wouldn't call Stephen an idiot," I interjected sharply, my icy voice tinged with anger.

Clearly wanting to challenge my interruption, George restrained his reaction when meeting my gaze. He swallowed hard and proceeded without further comment on Stephen's competence—an action that, I might add, likely saved his life. I had killed for less.

"Anyway, the idea began to take on a life of its own," George continued.

"Suddenly, no one wanted to live in hiding anymore.

And I understand, truly, I do. Some of us have been hiding for far too long—two hundred years for most, even longer for others.

Our species has coexisted with humans for over 3000 years.

It's about time we had equal rights and could peacefully coexist with them. .."

"Exactly," I answered in clipped tones.

"And then the idea spread like a viral infection across Europe, Australia, and North America.

Even the Elder is involved! Despite Africa, Asia, and South America being least affected by this moronic hype, once the United Chiefs caught wind of it, the entire Board of International Directors got swept up in the enthusiasm.

Before I knew it, the theory of the consensus was born. "

“Theory?” I asked harshly, feeling protective over Stephen’s idea. “It’s not just a theory. It’s a democratic way of ensuring everyone on the subject is heard. A consensus protects those who are against, where as a vote would never protect minority viewpoints.”

George huffed. “Protect? And how does a consensus protect those with different opinions, my boy?”

“Let’s get one thing clear,” I retorted, pinning him down with a steely glare. "I'm not yours, nor anyone's 'boy'."

"He didn't mean anything by it," Maria interjected soothingly, attempting to diffuse the tension but I was seriously getting over this little trip.

"So what, you're not only holding up the consensus, you're actually against the whole principle of it?" I questioned.

He sighed. "No, not in theory. I mean, it's a lovely thought really, everyone agreeing to something.

One can abstain but not resist, and if they do resist, there is no consensus to proclaim.

It's a beautiful principle, but in real life, there is no such thing as a large community with so many different personalities all agreeing on one point of view. "

"Which is why it took so long to get everyone on the same page," I hissed. "A page you're crapping all over, by the way."

"James, I'm not saying you have to agree with George," Maria interrupted, "but it's important you listen, to understand why people are resisting our plans to expose ourselves to humans."

"Well, I haven't heard anything yet which would explain any logical resistance to the Great Exposure, besides a whole lot of crap about consensus," I snapped.

George grinned. "You're certainly motivated, my...uhm, James."

I rolled my eyes at him and motioned for him to continue with my hand.