Cloud Lands Saga Box Set Books 1-3

by Katie Pottle

“Why are you so worried, mom?”

  “I apprenticed with Miss Esperanza when we first moved here and I know how challenging she can be. Don’t get me wrong, she is very knowledgeable and has had great success rehabilitating adult cloud-creatures; however, I disagree with her policies on no angel contact with the new-born babies. I had to watch most of the baby creatures that came in either die, become overly aggressive, or too become depressed to survive in the wild.”

  “We can’t let that happen to Gur! Why does she even have to see him again? She might try to take him.” Cadin held the little dragon closer to him.

  “We have to let her know our decision to keep him. But she also must see him to check that he has healed. Don’t worry, Cadin. I won’t let her take him.”

  “You had better wait out here,” Sara said with a sigh. She held her hand out to Gur and he jumped from Cadin’s shoulder to her open hand. Cadin took a seat on the same bench that he and Sun had sat on a week ago. Strange noises were again coming out of the office behind the mysterious door. Cadin got up to investigate. Now closer, nearly at the door, Cadin heard voices mixed in with the sounds. Peeking around the door and into the room Cadin drew a quick breath at what he saw. He was wrong thinking that he had heard voices in the room, realizing that there was only a single voice. In the center of the large and cluttered space was an angel with a bright green Aura that highlighted the man’s clean, silver hair. The angel was talking to himself in a bit of an irrational manner, mutter things under his breath and then the next moment speaking quite clearly to what Cadin could only assume was the wall.

  It was not the crazy-looking angel in the center of the room that had surprised Cadin, but what was happening to the objects encircling the old angel. All around him things were floating and flying through the air! A large rock whizzed around his head—changing from bright yellows to deep reds, while the strange plant floating above the desk kept changing sizes. Pieces of wood banged on the back wall, knocking books off their shelves, while a beautiful ribbon of water swirled around all the other objects without touching them.

  Trying to get a better look at the flying water, Cadin grazed the door with his shoulder and the single voice that had filled the room came to a sudden halt. Cadin expected all the objects to come crashing to the floor; however, they all slowly sank down into organized positions around the room. Just as the ribbon of water was returning to a glass pitcher positioned on the desk, the old man’s keen blue eyes found Cadin.

  “I am sorry that I barged in on you, sir,” Cadin said. The man looked slightly taken aback that Cadin was talking to him. He didn’t move or speak as he stared into Cadin’s eyes with what Cadin felt to be a quite lucid glare. He fought a severe urge to run and willed himself to walk forward. Each step felt like his legs were filled with lead as he forced himself to come face to face with the old man who now looked positively shocked.

  “I…I am Cadin of Glade, son of Talvarian and Sara.” Finally getting all his words out, Cadin felt like a huge weight had been lifted from him. He realized that he had been sweating and wondered what exactly was happening and who the heck this was. Just as he was about to ask, the old man straightened up to a posture and attitude that felt quite respectable.

  “Ah,” he said, now moving behind his desk and gesturing for Cadin to sit in a chair that Cadin hadn’t even noticed before. “This makes much more sense now—yes of course,” he continued as if talking to himself as he rummaged through a drawer in his desk.

  “Excuse me,” said Cadin politely, “but, what makes sense?”

  With a slight smile slowly spreading across his face. “It makes sense how you were able to resist me. You must be the young man that broke into the Glade Palace.”

  “I…, but ..., well, how did you know that?” Cadin had no idea that it was such common knowledge.

  The smile on the old man’s face faltered just a bit. “There are traces of our existence that are overlooked by many—I simply pay attention.”

  Cadin had no idea what that meant and didn’t think that he was going to get a straight answer from this eccentric old man. Deciding that his best route was just to let him continue down whatever path he chose, Cadin just got comfortable and looked up expectantly.

  The old man seemed to understand and sat back as well before continuing. “You see, boy, these cloud-lands are alight with Auras of not only angels, but all cloud-creatures. Auras leave marks where they have been, and likewise, Auras can then be marked by powerful angels, creatures and even places that one encounters. You broke into a highly powerful place, and not being allowed there openly, the Glade Palace’s energy clashed with yours. Breaking into such a powerful establishment took someone with a strong, bright Aura,”

  “But,” Cadin tried to interject while the old man simply held up his hand.

  “You must wait until I finish,” the old man said sternly. “Now, where was I—oh yes, a strong Aura to break into Glade Palace and a strong Aura to resist my persuasion to leave upon entering my chambers.” He gave Cadin a small nod, giving what Cadin assumed to be permission to speak.

  “But, I don’t have an Aura yet,” Cadin said.

  He did a double take at Cadin, as if realizing that what Cadin said was in fact true. Then he wrapped his hands around what he had pulled out of his desk earlier and dropped the contents in front of Cadin on the desk. Little black and white stones that looked as though they were cleaved in half scattered across the desk. Cadin quickly caught a few that tumbled off the edge and then looked up into the wrinkle-lined face.

  “These are a special type of cloud-stones called gins. Pick them up,” he instructed, “the white ones in one hand and the blacks in the other. Now hold your hands out, palms up, and slowly close your hands around them. Good. Now young Cadin, close your eyes and focus on the gins.” Cadin did as he was told and felt the smooth marbles in his palms, noting the difference between the smooth round sides and the slightly rough flat sides. He also thought he felt some of the gins vibrating against his hands. Cadin started to feel a little light-headed until the man’s voice cut through the fog around Cadin’s mind.

  “Now I want you to think about your Aura, the power within you. Feel the ebb and flow of your energy and try to direct it towards your hands and the gins you hold.”

  Cadin worried that this was all a crock, maybe even a setup just to make him look foolish. His mom was probably going to walk in at any moment, looking for him, only to find that the crazy old man dancing around him and sticking snakes in his pants while his eyes were closed. He started wiggling at the thought.

  “Concentrate, boy!”

  After taking a little peek and seeing that there were no reptiles in sight and the eccentric angel was still sitting behind the desk, Cadin decided to give it a try. He felt very little until he remembered the Glade Palace and how he felt at the time. Soon he felt a tingle at the back of his neck, which he mentally pushed down his arms to his hands and the waiting gins. Suddenly the gins were vibrating madly and felt very hot. Not being able to keep hold them any longer, Cadin opened his hands and eyes at the same time.

  At once the gins from each hand shot towards each other in midair and Cadin saw a colorful bright light as they fell to the desk. Cadin looked at the cloud-stones that were once halves and now whole. They were no longer black or white, but different colors without any fuse line visible. Not all were the same shape. There were four that were spherical and the size of small marbles. Two were somewhat flattened, the edges slightly sharp. The last one was hollowed with an opening like a cup—and not much bigger than a thimble.

  “Outstanding!” the old man said examining the gins and Cadin simultaneously.

  “What just happened?” Cadin asked.

  “Just because your Aura has not shined through yet,” he said as he got up and started looking over his bookshelf, “it does not mean that you do not possess one. It is within you, a part of you and ever growing. Eventually it will become so strong that it can no longer stay c
ontained within your body, and shine through.” He grabbed something white off the bookshelf and walked around the desk to Cadin. “Your Aura may not be visible yet, but it is uncharacteristically powerful. Enough so to break into Glade Palace, to resist my persuasion, and even to fuse gins.

  “You fused these, Cadin of Glade, and they are now yours if you want them.” He revealed what he had retrieved from the bookshelf to be a small white leather pouch; though Cadin did not know what kind of leather it was, it shinned a bit as he set it down next to the gins as if a liquid metal was trying to surface from under the leather.

  “Would you like to have the gins?” He looking deeply into Cadin’s eyes as if he were looking beyond him.

  Cadin gazed at the beautiful stones and the pouch, and even though he did not know exactly what gins were, still he wanted them. He looked up nodded affirmatively.

  “Good. You may put them in the pouch, and I would not suggest keeping them anywhere else for now. Not until you understand more about them. If you would like to learn how to use them you may come back here and I will train you.”

  The offer seemed casual, but Cadin could feel the intensity in the old man’s eyes. “I would be honored to learn from you ….um, I am sorry but I don’t know your name.”

  He smiled and said “I am Master Emilio of Glade, and I accept you as my apprentice young Cadin.”

  CHAPTER NINE

  The Lost Art

  Cadin ran to Town Hall on the last day of his Break, not wanting to be late for his community service. He planned to stop by Master Emilio’s after he was done cleaning to set up his apprenticeship. Apprehension nagged at him while he wrestled with his schedule. There are too few hours in a day!

  It didn’t help that he had to leave Gur with his mom as the baby dragon recovered. The injuries didn’t stop Gur from racing to the door and up his leg every time Cadin tried to leave the house without him. Usually Sara could distract Gur with a warm bath while he snuck out.

  Cadin raced through the back door of Town Hall and into the janitorial office. The head janitor, Bruce looked at him with a smile while he grabbed his sides and tried to catch his breath.

  “So…sorry,” Cadin sputtered between breaths. “Dragon…problems…long story.”

  “Don’t worry,” said Bruce. He was young guy with a white Aura and laid back nature. He was sitting back with his feet up on the desk and curling weights with his scrawny arms. “Of course, Ruben insisted that I write you up for any tardiness to extend your community service hours, but he is a jerk. Besides, your contract has been transferred to another department.”

  “What, really?” Cadin said. He liked Bruce; and though the work was not the most fun, he would rather do this than work in the Corrections Department where they would all treat him like a criminal.

  “Yep, sorry dude. You got the weird guy in the Cloud-Shifting Department. Here are you transfer papers. You should probably head there now—who knows what he will be like if you are too late. Oh, and watch out for his office being monitored… he definitely feeds info to the Core.” Bruce’s left eye twitched. Cadin didn’t worry about the Core bit, as Bruce was a conspiracy nut and often gave Cadin strange advice on how to survive any upcoming invasions.

  “Thanks for everything, Bruce. Good luck on your workouts!”

  He got to Master Emilio’s door and wasn’t sure if he should knock first or just walk in. He was about to knock, when Master Emilio opened the door and waved him in.

  “Welcome back,” Master Emilio said briskly. “As you have the paperwork in your hands, you must know that your community service contract has been transferred. Apprenticing with me for the next four months will satisfy your contract, though it may be continued voluntarily after such time. Do you understand and agree to those terms?”

  “Yes,” Cadin said. It was probably better than cleaning toilets. And it helped his schedule a lot.

  “Then sign the paperwork and we will get started.”

  “We will not learn about your gins this lesson,” Master Emilio said as he watched Cadin pull out his clunky white bag. Cadin was disappointed, but did not say anything as he put his bag away.

  “Before you can learn to use your gins, you must first understand what they are and how everything in this System interacts.”

  “That makes sense,” Cadin said. “So, what makes my gins different from my marbles at home? Why can’t I take them out of this bag? And you keep saying that I can use gins…I don’t understand what you can use a marble for.”

  “Slow down and let me teach a few things that you must grasp before you can begin to comprehend what gins are and how you might use them. “When we first met, you asked me how I knew you had broken into Glade Palace. Do you remember what my answer was?”

  “Um, something about energy leaving traces,” Cadin answered, somewhat unsure. He hadn’t expected to be quizzed.

  “Correct. There are many different types of energies in the clouds and in particular on cloud-lands.” Master Emilio pulled out a piece of paper and pencil and placed them in front of Cadin.

  Maybe toilets were better, Cadin thought as he picked up the pencil and started taking notes.

  “There is a great deal of energy within a cloud. Though the surface of a cloud is usually calm, the inside is bursting with wind, water and sometimes lightning. Some creatures and individuals harness this energy to cloud-shift and create cloud-lands and other cloud-features. Angels have learned to tap into a cloud’s energy and use it as a power source that can be captured, stored and used when needed. Aside from the sun, the clouds are our greatest energy source.

  “Everything has energy. Inanimate objects have a less active energy, and living creatures have a much more active and easily detected energy. We are used to thinking of this type of energy as Auras. But even if you can’t see it, it is there.”

  “What does this have to do with gins?” Cadin couldn’t help but ask.

  Master Emilio shook his head. “You must work on patience, young Cadin. If you know that we will get to it, why do you have to ask?”

  Cadin blushed and returned to taking notes.

  “As I was saying—if you can sense that energy, then you may be able to connect with other creatures and even objects such as gins, similar to how you connect to a cloud and get those objects to do things that they would not normally do on their own.”

  Cadin wasn’t sure he believed what he was hearing and then he remembered when he first glimpsed Master Emilio. “Is that what you were doing the day we met?”

  “Yes.”

  “Wow, cool.” Cadin imagined making all the objects in his bedroom having mock battles in mid-air.

  Master Emilio seemed to read Cadin’s mind. “It is not nearly as easy as cloud-shifting. Most angels can intuitively sense other angels to some degree and a few can extend that to other creatures. Though a cloud is not technically a living thing, angels are creatures of the clouds, and so can also naturally connect with them. However, very few angels can sense the energy of non-living things, natural or angel made. Gins are unique non-living objects in that they are a rare type of cloud-stone that has an energy level that is closer to that of a living creature than an inanimate object and therefore easier to sense.

  “Now there are stages to having something move. The first is to sense the energy. The second is to connect with it. The third has two options. You can either force it to move, or you can ask it to move. There are differences in the results depending on what you connect with and what you intend for it.

  “In my experience, asking works better with living creatures, and forcing works better with objects. Clouds and gins are the exceptions, and a combination usually yields the best results. Now, before you try to connect with your gins—let’s see how you do with other objects and creatures.” Master Emilio walked around the desk. Cadin turned to see what he was doing, when everything went dark as Master Emilio slipped a blindfold over Cadin’s head.

  “First you must learn to rely on
other senses besides sight.”

  Cadin heard some rustling around the room and guessed that Master Emilio was placing things on his desk.

  “I have removed everything from the top of the desk except for four things. Now place your hands only on the desk—not the objects and try to sense each of them.”

  He did as he was told and placed his hands on the desk. He wasn’t quite sure what to do next. Everything smelled as it had before—like an old chemistry lab that had its share of spills and fires. What else can I do? Cadin wondered. Spreading his fingers out, Cadin felt the desk and tried to focus his energy to his hands. They warmed up a bit and he felt a faint pulse that rippled across the wooden surface. He focused and felt something fast and very energetic and a couple of other dull bumps.

  “I feel a couple of things on the desk,” Cadin said. “The first is really strong and fast and reminds of a big insect or small dragon running back and forth…only it feels bigger than that.” Cadin paused for a moment wondering if a cloud-rat was going to run over and start biting his hands.

  “Continue,” Master Emilio said calmly.

  “The other things just feel like bumps.” Cadin felt a little lame with his descriptions; however, Master Emilio’s voice did not sound disappointed when he told him he could take the blindfold off.

  Cadin rubbed his eyes and focused on the desk. To the left was a medium sized potted plant. Next to it lay the pencil and paper that he had been using; and the last thing was a long mask carved out of wood. Cadin peeked under the mask to see if it held the hyper little animal that he had felt. It must have run off the edge.

  “What are you looking for?” Master Emilio asked, a smile pulling at the edge of his mouth.

  “The fast energy thing that I felt.” Cadin answered as he continued to look around the room.

  “Oh, you mean the plant.” Master Emilio picked up the potted plant off the desk and handed it to Cadin. Cadin’s hands were still warm and he felt the fast and powerful energy of the plant through the pot. “I told you that all living things have energy that is faster and much easier to sense than objects. That includes plants.”