Page 83 of Cerulean Truth (Sapere #1)

FORTY-SIX

JAMES

Amplifiers.

Of all the things I’d anticipated the Board might call us in for, I’d never expected news like that . As far as I understood, the Radicals had attacked by day, waiting for most to translate, and then turned on the Amplifier, effectively wiping out almost everyone in a matter of minutes.

Their resistance against the Great Exposure had gone too far.

From a military standpoint, it made sense—they attacked the City of Diamonds first, destabilizing the driving force behind the Exposure.

But from any other point of view, their actions called for retribution and death. Their own, this time.

But before I could delve into the ramifications, I needed to find out what the Board wanted with Emma and how she was connected to all of this.

"Which brings us to our attendance here tonight," Dennis Dale suddenly interjected. I had almost forgotten about him.

The entire Board rose from their seats and approached the edge of the stage. That was never a good sign. Julian and I moved in even closer to Emma, as did Maurice and Maria. Emma was now completely encircled by the four of us, her silence a clear testament to her fear.

"We are glad to see you have abided by our request and brought to us our only hope," one of the Board members said.

"Do explain," I said through gritted teeth.

"Miss Thompson, we heard about the surprising arrival of the oldest maga ever found in the history of magi, and we have learned your abilities indicate a very stable emotional flux," the Board member continued.

"What do you mean?" Emma asked, confusion clear in her voice.

"When someone does not translate for twenty-three years, one can only assume the reason is a very steady flow of emotions. Or might there be a different reason why you’ve been humanized for so long?" the Board member probed.

Fuck.

"No. No other reason. You are correct in your assumption," she lied fluently. Thank the gods.

"Well, then, you are exactly what we need.

You see, we find ourselves in possession of the sole object which disrupts all feelings and translation of magi.

We have successfully annulled its powers, or so we believe.

However, to be sure we have neutralized the effects of the Amplifier, we need to… test it."

It finally dawned on me why the Board needed Emma.

They thought she had supernatural control over her emotions.

On some level, I might have agreed. Her untraceable translation aside, she still only translated her fears of death and nothing else.

But there was no way in hell I was letting them test anything on her, let alone a nuclear weapon. Were they fucking insane?

"Go to hell," I seethed, not caring one bit who was sitting before me.

"You want to test a nuclear bomb on me?" Emma shrieked, taking a step back, ready to run. And I couldn’t blame her. I had clicked my Skindo back into my tattoo sleeve when they showed us the memory, but I sensed it was high time to shoot it back out.

My eyes wandered to Julian, expecting him to protest, but he was surprisingly mute. The hell?

Maria tried a more diplomatic approach, arguing that the risks to her health were too great, but the Board didn’t care.

"This is a weapon that could potentially destroy the whole magi-world if it falls into the wrong hands. If we can be sure it’s neutralized, even in harming a maga, we’d be immoral not to try it," a Board member insisted.

Bad move. My rage-haze was surging faster than wildfire.

Emma took another step back, her voice trembling as she said, "I apologetically decline your request."

Silence.

"It’s not a request, Miss Thompson. We are your Board, and we need you to translate while we activate the Amplifier.

It’s the only way to know whether the Specialists succeeded in their attempt," the Board member asserted.

"And you're the only one in the world with a chance to survive if they failed. "

I sensed Emma's resolve falter. Oh no, there was no way in hell she was going to martyr herself for "the greater good." Not on my watch.

"She won't be doing that," I snapped, shooting her an angry glare. She’d better be ready to fight her way out of here.

The Board moved in the blink of an eye and encircled us completely. Their message reading loud and clear: do what we ask or die. Twenty of the most powerful magi against the five of us.

Or four, as I noticed Julian silently retreating. What the fuck is he doing?

"Well, she doesn’t have a choice," another Board member said firmly, effectively locking us in.

Motherfucker. We were going to have to fight our way out of here. And I would probably end up killing whatever remained of our entire Board. Fuck . I clutched the cold metal of my Skindo and took a fighting stance.

So did Emma.

So did Maurice.

So did Maria.

And so did…Dale? I shot him a confused look.

He shrugged. "Had I known this was why they wanted to meet her, I would’ve never brought her here. They told me they wanted information. I had no idea they were planning this. And I still owe you from?—"

"Yes, yes," I interrupted him in clipped tones, not really ready to take a stroll down memory lane.

I looked around for Julian, and it took me a few seconds to realize that the coward had fucking disappeared through a portal! I nearly roared when I noticed its remnants. Fucking traitor. But there was no time to dwell on his departure.

One of the Board members stepped forward and conjured a dark-purple haze, shooting it out of the cave into the bright air. I recognized its translation immediately.

Damn it . He was bubbling in Alliance.

"No translation," I hissed to the others.

"There are twenty of us and five of you," one of the Board members remarked dryly. "So, don't be foolish; your chances are slim to none."

I let out a wicked grin. "I've had worse."

And then I struck first.

Chaos erupted the moment I slit the throat of the “Boarder” closest to me. Imbuing my Skindo with translation was out, but that didn’t make it any less sharp.

“Stay in formation,” I yelled out to the rest. “Take down the five members closest to you and watch the back of your neighbor to the left.”

Emma was on my left.

Ducking under the oncoming attack from three Boarders at once, I slid between the second and the third, and unsheathed two knives hidden in the fabric of my jacket, cutting into the legs of both of them simultaneously.

I sprang to my feet behind them and plunged the blades into their kidneys.

They screamed in pain as I left them to crumble and bleed to their deaths.

I blocked another one's attack and followed up with a swift punch to his throat, watching him collapse, gasping for air. I didn’t hesitate and stabbed him right in the heart.

Glancing to my right, a sense of pride surged through me as I watched Emma handling herself.

Training her all this time certainly hadn’t been in vain.

I almost got distracted by the way she dodged every attack from the Board members and countered with powerful moves she could only have learned from a very talented teacher.

“James, watch out!” Maria shrieked from my right. I pivoted just in time to block a blow from a sword using my arm. Where the hell did that guy get a sword?

The move only half-worked—the blade still tore into my arm. Pinning down the asshole with my good arm, I quickly checked the wound, a sharp spike of relief hitting when I realized it was just a shallow cut.

I took down the last two of my five opponents in under two minutes, savoring the irony of their incredibly stupid decision to bubble in Alliance. If they’d translated, they’d have been a real threat, but their fear that we’d portal out had given us the edge we needed.

Although, as my eyes scanned the room, I realized the Board still had us severely outnumbered.

Emma moved right beside me, her strikes fluid and lethal as she took down two of them in rapid succession.

Maurice and Maria flanked us, their combined strength creating a barrier against the Boarders, but they were untrained to fight and were starting to lose their ground.

Dale, surprisingly agile and fierce, was still standing without so much as a cut on him, his strikes precise and effective. "Hold them off! We need to get to the exit!" he shouted, his voice barely audible over the din of battle.

"Emma, on your left!" I shouted, watching as she instantly adjusted, covering her flank and taking down another. But in her focus, she missed two more Boarders closing in from behind.

Each had a knife and spear drawn, and a surge of panic twisted through me.

They had her cornered, like a predator trapping its prey.

Fuck ! Without a second thought, I lunged into the fight, throwing myself between her and them, using my body as a shield.

The clash of metal echoed through the cavern as I fought to hold them off.

I swung at two of them simultaneously, but one sidestepped and thrust a blade forward. I felt the sharp steel tear into my side, just below the ribs, the blade sliding deep before it was ripped back out. White-hot pain exploded, and my vision wavered at the edges.

“James!” Emma yelled, “Are you hurt?”

“I’m fine,” I lied through gritted teeth, hoping the bloodstain spreading through my black clothes wouldn’t be visible.

My gaze locked with Emma’s, and a surge of adrenaline blunted the agony, just enough to keep me standing, to keep me fighting. I couldn’t stop—not with her life on the line.

With a raw, guttural roar, I plowed through the darkness, driving back the attackers with brutal force.

"We need to force the exit open!" Emma yelled.

"On it!" Dale replied, fighting his way toward the gate. Without translation, I had no idea how he would be able to force it open but I was too distracted by the oncoming Boarders to study his movements. Until somehow, he did.

"This way, hurry!" He beckoned us as the door finally gave way.