Page 12 of Cerulean Truth
He almost whispered my name. "Emma, you flew over that car on your own, without the car hitting you..." His words were so soft I wondered if I had even heard them or if they were a product of my imagination. I wanted to laugh at the absurdity of his statement, but there was something in his eyes that told me not to.
"That's...impossible," I responded hesitantly, as if denying it might offend him.
"Think about it," he instructed. "Really think about it. Did the car actually hit you?"
I contemplated his words for a moment as I revisited the seconds leading up to my accident. I couldn't recall the car hitting me but I’d assumed it was due to the trauma it had caused. "Think about it," he repeated. "You sensed immense panic and you jumped, didn't you?"
When he mentioned the word "jumped," something stirred inside me. I remembered the urge to leap but the details were still foggy. I gazed at him with caution, and he nodded slowly, clearly aware he was getting through to me.
"You jumped over the car, didn't you, Emma?" he persisted.
I remained silent.
"Emma?" he prodded, pressing for an answer.
“What’s a maga?”I finally asked in return.
He smiled. “It’s Latin,” he answered, “for magician.”
FOUR
JAMES
By the time I’d worked up a decent sweat, the room had filled with several “groupies” as Matthew called them, all staring at my…training.
Girls had always been around, even back when I was only First Offensive. I was used to it and the fact that they–usually–kept their distance made it easier to ignore them. Aside from the weekly itch I scratched by indulging one of them, I barely even noticed their presence anymore.
I concluded my training after another twenty minutes with a few roundhouse kicks, when a blonde girl—looking at least a quarter of a cycle—descended to the center and approached me quite boldly. I sized her up and silently applauded her courage.
“It’s so awesome how you use your body and your translation as one.” She giggled nervously, her friends nodding in agreement from a distance. I wondered which of them I’d find later, hovering near my door on the sixteenth floor.
"Can you teach me how to do so as well?" she asked, her tone sugary sweet but lacking sincerity. She clearly didn’t give a fuck about translation.
“Sure,” I replied dryly, while fighting the rapidly approaching borders of boredom. “I’ll send you some instructions through the Nexus.”
She giggled again and eagerly responded with a, “Yes, please nex me,” her enthusiasm as transparent as a wet white T-shirt over a pink bikini. I straightened my back and flexed my jaw as the rest of them descended the stairs. My impatience started seeping through, and the girls hastily left the room when I let out a low but distinct growl, a hint of desire lingering in their eyes. I rolled mine in response.
I was still cleaning up when a dark figure emerged from the shadows. My natural instincts kicked in but before I could incinerate the intruder, I saw Stephen smirking at my serious expression.
He held up his hands apologetically while walking up to me. “It’s just little old me, my Padawan.” He laughed. I never got the whole padawan reference, but apparently, it was from some ancient movie he was fond of, something about aliens in space.
“You should know better by now than to sneak up on me.” I scoffed. “I could’ve seriously hurt you.”
I tried to convey as much anger as I could in one look, so he would heed my warning but my antics only made him laugh harder.
“You, my dear James, are an Offensive wonder to be sure, but I came into this room all but fifteen minutes ago. In order to get to me first, you’ll have to train a little more and charm the ladies a little less.” He winked.
I was happy to see him of course but my ego certainly wasn’t. He chuckled at the expression on my face, he knew I was annoyed.
"Oh, come on, lighten up, will you?" He grabbed me and pulled me into a hug. I returned the hug a little awkwardly. I wasn’t one for a lot of physical affection, but Stephen was theclosest thing I had to a father, so I allowed it. I patted his back, almost sensing the grin I couldn't see spreading across his face.
"It's good to see you," he said, and I nodded. It had been months since we last met in person.
“But I’m actually here to talk to you about something rather serious,” he continued, concern etched in his eyes. “Can we talk somewhere private?”
“Of course,” I responded and opened a personal portal to my loft.
“My loft is soundproof, so we’re clear to talk there.” He smiled and took the portal first. I closed off the training room and followed him.
