Page 92 of Cerulean Truth (Sapere #1)

FIFTY-ONE

JAMES

Once I arrived at Alliance, I moved quickly, almost sprinting through the caves until I found the office of the First Offensive, a stern-looking older man named Hawke.

Because of the time difference, I was relieved to find him still working at eight PM.

He looked up as I burst through his door. “Mister Walker, welcome to Alliance. What brings you here so urgently?”

“Where’s the Amplifier,” I said, cutting straight to the point.

Hawke’s expression darkened. “The Amplifier? It’s already been delivered to the United Chiefs.”

“What?” I asked, taken aback. “When did this happen?”

“The day they came to help you with the Board,” he replied, surprise evident in his tone. “We handed it over immediately.”

I frowned, trying to piece things together. “Who handled the communication with the Maumars then? They’ve been looking for the Amplifier since our return.”

Hawke shook his head, looking genuinely puzzled. “It wasn’t me, and none of my Offensives reported any contact with the Maumars.”

A sense of unease settled over me. “So, someone else has been communicating with them, or there has been a serious miscommunication.”

Hawke nodded slowly. “It seems that way. I suggest you start your search with the United Chiefs. They went back to the Diamond City, as far as I know, and might have more information.”

“Thank you, Hawke. I’ll head there immediately,” I said, already turning to leave.

“Good luck, James,” he called after me, his voice heavy with concern. “Be careful.”

Running back out of the caves, I attempted to nex anyone outside of Alliance to locate the United Chiefs. However, for some inexplicable reason, my Nexus refused to comply with any of my commands. Frustrated and impatient, I dashed back to Hawke, practically begging him to open a portal to Antwerp.

He refused, babbling about the risks of portal travel and how he didn’t want the responsibility of me getting lost in limbo without a working Nexus. After what felt like an eternity of arguing, he finally pointed me towards a red portal, dumping me on the border of France.

Which is how I found myself traveling by human transportation on my second day, from France to Antwerp. The city’s protection wasn’t as elaborate as the Layers of Cyclos—there was no Metasphere—but I was still grateful my clearance hadn’t been revoked.

Arriving at Antwerp Central Railway Station, I didn't take the time to appreciate my favorite structure.

Instead, I hurried outside and made my way to the New Port House, where the headquarters of the United Chiefs resided.

And of course, my Nexus was still dead, so I hoofed it there on foot, cursing my luck and the delay every step of the way.

By the time I reached the building, it was night and I started worrying if anyone would even be inside.

The building was a mash-up of old-school and modern.

The lower part of the building, which was formerly a fire station, had retained its original red-brick.

Rising above was a striking, diamond-shaped structure made of glass and steel.

The upper part of the building seemed to emerge from the original structure like a ship’s bow.

Nothing about it screamed “magical,” aside from the sheer beauty of its architecture.

Quickly translating some light, I moved toward the entrance, only to find it closed. I muttered a string of curses under my breath, contemplating breaking and entering. Opting against “death-by-entrance,” I relocated to my favorite hotel in the city, cursing my Nexus for still failing me.

Frustration gnawed at me as I trudged through the dark streets, the weight of responsibility pressing heavily on my shoulders. If the United Chiefs weren’t in possession of the Amplifier, the ramifications would be disastrous. I needed to find the damn thing.

Trying to sleep in my hotel room, I tossed and turned the entire night.

Worries about the Amplifier kept me up, and thoughts about Emma swallowed me whole.

I hadn’t been able to contact her, nor Nino, nor anyone else, and after forty-eight hours without an update, my mind went to some pretty dark places.

The fact that, without another magi, I’d be stuck in Antwerp for gods-know-how-long didn’t exactly help my anxiety.

By the time the sun came up, I had managed a little over two hours of sleep.

Jumping out of bed, I tried nexing one more time, still without any result.

I nearly smashed the thing against the wall in frustration.

Skipping breakfast, I bolted out of the hotel and raced back to the New Port House, desperately hoping to find the United Chiefs and get some answers.

As I rushed through the dimly lit corridors of the United Chiefs' headquarters, my heart pounded with urgency.

The weight of the situation bore down on me, urging me to find someone who could help.

But as I stepped into the main reception area, my hopes of finding a bustling hub of activity were dashed.

There was only one magus present, a tired-looking man buried in paperwork behind the reception desk.

"Excuse me," I said, approaching him. "I need to speak with the United Chiefs."

The magus looked up, weariness etched on his face. "I'm sorry, sir, but the United Chiefs left for Asia a few days ago. They're assisting Specialist Stephen Stone with negotiations regarding the Great Exposure."

Relief washed over me at the mentioning of my mentor’s name, though it was quickly replaced by frustration for not being able to talk to anyone. "Do you know when they'll be back?"

He shook his head. "I'm afraid I don't have that information. They left suddenly."

Fuck! "I need to borrow your Nexus. It's urgent."

After a moment's hesitation, the magus nodded and handed me a spare one from a nearby drawer.

"Thank you," I said hurriedly, quickly translating the communication drops.

His voice crackled through the Nexus after a few tense moments. "Hello?"

"Stephen, it's me," I replied, relief flooding my voice. "I need your help."

"What's going on?" His tone was immediately serious.

I explained my situation quickly, recounting my failed attempts at nexing.

"I'll be there in a second," Stephen assured me. "Stay put."

As promised, Stephen appeared in a shimmer of light not even a second later.

"What happened?" he asked, his tone sharp with concern.

"Hawke sent me to Antwerp but I found only one magus here," I explained, pointing to the man sitting at his desk a few feet away. "He said the United Chiefs left for Asia a few days ago to help you with the negotiations on the Great Exposure."

Stephen's brow furrowed in confusion. "That's not why they went to Asia. They're tracking the Radicals who used the Amplifier, near Singapore."

“But they have the Amplifier?” I hissed.

“I don’t know, I asked you to locate it,” Stephen replied dryly.

Cursing inwardly, I asked through my teeth, "Well, I’m kind of doing all I can without any means of communication or transportation. Can you fix my Nexus?"

Frowning, Stephen took the device from me, his gaze intent as he examined it. "It seems someone blocked all forms of translation on your device. Any idea who might've done that?"

My eyes widened. "No. What the hell? I didn’t even—” My voice trailed off and my heart started pounding as I realized the implications of sabotage.

“Someone tried to cut me off from Cyclos,” I breathed.

With a determined nod, Stephen handed it back to me. "I'll find the United Chiefs in Singapore and ask them about the Amplifier. You should get back to Cyclos this instant, figure out why anyone wanted you gone. Don’t forget to update the Maumars."

"Thanks, Stephen. Be careful out there," I said gratefully.

"You too, James. Stay safe," he replied before disappearing in another flash of light, leaving me alone with a working Nexus in hand.

Within seconds, the communication drops searched for my best friend. Jackson’s face appeared, looking extremely distressed.

“James! Finally! We’ve tried to reach you so many times. You should return right now. I’m in the Atrium, can you portal back here?”

My stomach dropped. “What happened?”

His expression through the dimensional link was grim, and without another word, I knew something had happened to Emma. I felt it in every fiber of my being—the immediate stress, the unparalleled fear that seized my every instinct.

My heartbeat raced, and without waiting for Jackson’s response, I drew a green portal, and landed at the Universitas a second later.

"Where is she?" I growled when I saw him.

"I don't know!" Jackson answered frantically.

"What do you mean, you don't know?" I spat, my rage-haze sprouting from everywhere at once.

"I mean, she left Cyclos, took the red portal to the Human World, that much we found out... but nobody seems to know when or where, and we can't find her."

"Fuck!" I bellowed, my rage now accompanied by its two best friends, anxiety and impatience. “I specifically asked you to keep an eye on her, I asked you one fucking thing!”

I raced to her dorm, my heart pounding with dread, hoping to find a clue, as I had last time. I nexed Enya, clinging to the desperate hope Emma would have confided in her. But, as she had told Jackson, Emma hadn’t shared anything.

Tearing through her room, I found absolutely nothing. Each empty drawer and bare shelf intensified my hopelessness. My angst nearly swelled into a full-blown panic attack, suffocating me with worst-case scenarios flipping through my mind.

I shot off a frantic call to the Maumars and Julian, who then rushed to the dorm, their faces plastered with raw fear.

"Did she take her Nexus with her?" Julian asked in a hurried voice.

"I don't know!" I bit off.

"All right, let's find out," he replied, strangely calm, as he worked on his own Nexus.

"What are you doing?" I asked through gritted teeth, my patience wearing thin.

"I'm tracking her," Julian explained.

"You can't track her in the Human World," Maurice reminded him.

"I'm not tracking her translation; I'm tracing her device," Julian clarified.

"How?" I furrowed my brow.

"Do you really want to get into that right now, or do you want to portal to her parents' house? Because that's apparently where she is!" he finally snapped, showing me the results of his search.

Not bothering to reply, I quickly created a portal and jumped through faster than I ever had before.

Less than a second later, I turned up before the house with Julian on my tail.

A bone-chilling breeze stirred the trees, wrapping the house in a creepy atmosphere.

The air felt off; my senses were on high alert and my pulse quickened with the mounting sense of urgency.

I slowly approached the house over the porch, the front door the last barrier between me and whatever was inside.

I shoved it open, and it creaked like a dying breath. The inside was pitch black, except for a sliver of moonlight casting twisted shapes on the furniture. The house was dead quiet, the only sound a faint ticking from an old clock .

I signaled Julian silently I was going up the stairs and he nodded.

The cerulean light of my haze sliced through the advancing darkness, revealing absolutely nothing. The taste of agonizing fear was bitter in my mouth, and a cold sweat trickled down my spine.

Damn it. I had to find Emma. Now .

As I searched through the house thoroughly, my heart drummed against my chest, each beat echoing my rising panic. Every shadowy corner seemed to hold the promise of pure terror, intensifying the knot of dread tightening in my gut.

"James!" Julian's yell jolted me, and I sprinted back outside, clinging to the hope he had found Emma somewhere near.

But instead, he handed me a black sleek device. Her Nexus. The one he’d tracked. The one she’d left behind. The one, broken in different pieces, clear evidence of being taken against her will.

All the air rushed from my lungs, and my face drained of color.

She was taken. Emma had been taken.