Page 166 of Cerulean Truth
James shrugged, clearly as oblivious to its meaning as I was.
"That’s impossible!" Martin exclaimed.
"We assure you that it is not," one of the Board members replied dryly.
"The use of Amplifiers has been banned for cycles! The last one was destroyed during the Dark Ages. This is..." Martin was grasping for words while I turned back to James.
"Amplifiers?" I asked, but James ignored me entirely, too wrapped in a silent conversation with Maria, now standing behind me.
"We have no idea how they came to know of this object, but the Radicals have signed a clear declaration of war by using this last night on the city of Antwerp," the Board member continued.
"Where is it now?" Martin asked, his voice filled with panic.
"We’re in possession of it," the Board member replied.
"What’s an Amplifier?" I asked again, my voice stronger this time.
"You’re in possession of an Amplifier?" Martin repeated, incredulous.
"We’re in possession of theonlyAmplifier," another Board member clarified.
"That you have knowledge of..." Maurice interjected.
"WHAT’S AN AMPLIFIER?" I yelled, my impatience too far gone to reel back in.
"It’s a weapon," James answered too calmly, ignoring the fact I had just yelled at the most powerful magi in the world. "I have never seen one before but it’s our version of a nuclear bomb. An Amplifier detects and amplifies the emotions of magi, pushing them to extreme states. Fear becomes terror, anger becomes rage, and sadness becomes despair. Because of that, their magic escalates and uses too much energy. If turned on forten minutes, everyone translating during those ten minutes will implode."
The room fell silent after James's explanation, the weight of his words settling heavily upon us.
The Board members exchanged grim looks before one of them finally spoke. "Humans were spared. However, of the five thousand magi living in Antwerp, half were dead within the first few minutes. The Radicals left the Amplifier turned on for almost half an hour, killing almost the entire magi-population. We were lucky the United Chiefs weren’t in town or they would’ve been wiped out as well.”
She paused. “Aside from the United Chiefs, only those you see before you and a handful of civilian magi managed to escape to Alliance,” her voice wavered, the horror of the events evident in her tone.
“Everyone else is dead.”
FORTY-SIX
JAMES
Amplifiers.
Of all the things I’d anticipated the Board might call us in for, I’d never expected news likethat. 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.
