Page 168 of Cerulean Truth
"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 eruptedthe 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 realthreat, 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.
We rushed through the exit, sprinting up the stairs with the remaining eight hot on our heels. The narrow staircase worked to our advantage, preventing them from leveraging their numbers.
"Keep moving!" I urged, glancing back to ensure we were all still together. Ignoring the throbbing ache pulsing through my side, I focused on Emma instead. We were too far away from entrance and the Boarders were catching up quickly.
As we neared the top of the staircase, Maria turned to face the pursuing magi. Her face was pale, but her eyes were resolute. "Go! I'll hold them off!" she shouted.
"No, Maria, you can't! The bubble—" Maurice started, but she cut him off.
