Cloud Lands Saga Box Set Books 1-3

by Katie Pottle

  Master Sanjen laid a hand on his shoulder and met Cadin’s eyes. “Cadin, things are evolving on the Tlalocs front, and you need to exercise caution around them. You of all angels should understand this.”

  Cadin’s emotions stirred. “It’s not like I don’t want to be cautious! Actually, that’s why I stopped suppressing my Aura!”

  Master Sanjen’s blue eyes flashed. Cadin took a deep breath—realizing the Master of the Core wouldn’t appreciate being yelled at. Master Sanjen’s voice was firm, but slightly shaky. “And how exactly does flaunting the reason they tried to abduct you in the first place make you cautious?”

  It was a reasonable question, Cadin had to remind himself so he didn’t yell again. “I traveled to Air with my parents over break and some…interesting things happened.”

  Master Sanjen nodded but did not say anything.

  “Well first, I found a cave with strange lights emanating from the surrounding walls.” Cadin’s eyes drifted towards the clear sky as he tried to remember the details. He heard a quick intake of breath. “My Aura reacted to the cave and it felt both stronger and weaker…or maybe restless after that. I struggled with keeping it suppressed after I left the cave. I didn’t connect all the dots about my Aura and the cave until we met up with Mira. My parents trust her and she knows things.” Cadin paused to collect his thoughts. He couldn’t quite identify the emotions on Master Sanjen’s face—forehead furrowed, but eyes somehow still wide. “Mira told me she could feel my Aura and recognized it had actually been activated in a Cavern of Airist…Arist-ewe.”

  “Aristue?” Master Sanjen offered.

  “Right—a Cavern of Aristue. She told me I would be stronger and more prepared if I stopped suppressing my Aura. And, well—it has worked.”

  “Worked how?” Master Sanjen had let go of Cadin’s shoulder and started walking up the path again. Cadin followed—quickening his pace to keep up.

  “I feel stronger, and I’m doing better at school and with Qualifier challenges that had been stumping me before.”

  “I see. I’m not sure about this Mira and her telling you to release your mixed Aura. She may have ulterior motives.”

  “I don’t really see how. She didn’t even know I had a mixed Aura until she observed it was out of whack. She even knew that it had been activated in the Cavern before I showed her its true color. Mira’s all right. You can even ask my dad about her if you need to.”

  “I certainly will when I get the time.”

  Cadin was surprised when Glade Commons High School came into view.

  “What are we doing at my school?”

  “I have some business here today.”

  “On the weekend?”

  Master Sanjen nodded but did not elaborate. Cadin didn’t really expect him to. Then he had an epiphany. “Does your business happen to take place in the non-winged gym?”

  Master Sanjen’s eyes grew wide for only a fraction of a second. The tall warrior shook his wings—the veretal coating glistening in the sun as he turned to Cadin.

  “Yes, the Core is utilizing the school’s gym for a short amount of time. It is important you keep this information to yourself. It must appear to everyone that the Core does not have an abnormal presence on Glade.”

  Cadin thought for a moment. “I don’t think you guys are as inconspicuous as you hope.”

  Master Sanjen appeared to be considering his observations but kept quiet.

  Cadin feared the Tlalocs coming, but he also felt a surge of anger towards them. He didn’t want to run away and hide—he wanted to face them. “I could help if you’d let me.”

  Master Sanjen shook his head. “The Core has this part well under control. There would be nothing for you to do but stay safe. There will be a time for your action, Cadin of Glade. Just be patient. And as for your Aura—I still don’t believe it is a good idea to not suppress it; however, it is your choice.”

  “Thank you for believing in me,” Cadin said.

  He gave a stiff nod and glanced towards the entrance of the school where one door was slightly ajar. “I must go. Good luck finishing up the Qualifiers—I will be keeping tabs on your results.”

  Cadin sat down in one of the bigger chairs made for angels with wings to accommodate his growing and painful wing calluses. Many of their classmates had already sprouted their wings, and continuously fiddled with and preened their new feathers until they were either satisfied they were cleaned, got used to them being there and bored of rearranging them, or they started losing new feathers due to excessive contact.

  He had a friendly bet going with Treven and Lep as to who would sprout their wings first. Sun, Xeno, Vincent and even Jade already had theirs. Vincent hadn’t shown up to school for three days after his wings sprouted. He said he had been in a wing-coma for two of them, but Cadin had the feeling that he wanted more time to learn how to manage his new wings before using them in public.

  Cadin smiled as Lep sat next to him in a slotted chair. He figured Lep only did so because he saw Cadin doing it—not because his wing calluses were itching too much to rub up against anything.

  “Stop lazing about and get over to the Gathering Hall with the rest of the school,” Instructor Nightan said, scowling from the doorway of his classroom.

  “I didn’t think we had an assembly today,” Lep said.

  “And now you know why I have been sent to gather the unobservant stragglers. Notices were posted at the school entrance. Let’s move!”

  They jumped to their feet to follow Instructor Nightan through the crowded halls.

  “Today’s announcements are about the Warrior Path Glade Qualifiers!” Most everyone in the room cheered loudly.

  “With the Red Qualifier concluded, one team has already placed three times and officially qualified for the Calvarian Commons Games. Give a hand to Oblivion. Gregor’s team cheered so loud that the boos from Vincent and Treven were not heard. “Several other teams are still in the running—and the Yellow Qualifier will determine which teams earn enough points to compete in the Final Glade Qualifier. The teams that have placed in at least one Qualifier still have a chance and need all your support. Please give a big hand to the Strikers, the Fast, Furious Fighters, and Dragon Fire!”

  “There is no doubt any team to earn a qualifying spot will represent Glade well at the Calvarian Championships.” Headmaster Tripharian paused while a cheer broke out over the crowd.

  “Dragon Fire?” Lep said.

  “Hey guys,” Bart said as he pushed his way through the crowd. “I was tired of being the No Names—hope you don’t mind.”

  “Dragon Fire, I like it,” Lep said.

  “Yeah, good job,” Cadin added as he gave Gur an affectionate rub on the nose.

  Headmaster Tripharian held up his hands for silence. “Every Warrior Path team is still competing either for seeding for the Calvarian Games, qualifying or academic credit—so don’t let up on your training. The Yellow Qualifier will be held tomorrow at noon!” Cheers erupted around the room, but Headmaster Tripharian continued. “We also have a very special visitor with us to guest judge this event—Master Sanjen of the Core!”

  There was a roaring cheer as Master Sanjen stepped forward, his eyes sweeping the crowd and pausing on Cadin for half a second.

  “The Core is proud to sponsor the Games where young Warrior Path angels are rewarded for outstanding performances. I wish you all the best of luck and hope to be working with many of you in the near future.”

  “Short and sweet,” Bart said. “I like him.”

  After school, many of the Challenge Club students wanted to stay to work with bows and on dodging arrows, moving target shots and using light, wispy clouds for the Yellow Qualifier. Instructor Kade graciously offered to stay with them and allow them access to the school armory.

  Sun had them working on drills involving cirrus clouds—trying to quickly jump from one thin cloud to another without falling through. Sun and Cadin were by far the fastest; while others were a bit clunky
in their approach.

  “Bart, you have to run through faster!” Sun exclaimed as Bart dangled with one leg through a cloud. “You can’t stomp on wispy clouds.”

  “Sorry,” Bart said as he dropped to the ground.

  “That’s okay. You are doing better than the beginning of practice anyway.”

  “We all are,” Treven chimed in.

  “I’m glad you thought of this drill today, Sun,” Vincent said. “I bet they will summon cirrus clouds to the field for the Qualifier.”

  “Let’s celebrate by grabbing something in town. There is a great pastry shop next to Peye’s.” Treven didn’t wait for an answer as he dragged Sun behind him.

  “A little help first?” Instructor Kade asked with a handful of equipment.

  “Right, I forgot.”

  They all helped pick up the school gear before heading into town. Instructor Kade joined them on the walk, saying he had business in town.

  “Be safe and I will see you tomorrow for the Qualifier,” Instructor Kade said as he took off and flew towards the transport docks.

  “I wonder why he didn’t just fly into town from school,” Sun muttered.

  “He was probably worried we would get into trouble again. We do have all of the original Glade Palace culprits in our group,” Vincent mentioned.

  “Yeah, I will not be breaking in anywhere again. My community service of beautifying the town was wretched.” Xeno shook his head.

  “And by beautifying you mean?” Bart asked

  Xeno scrunched up his nose and pointed to the central fountain they were approaching.

  “Cleaning up feces mostly. That fountain fills up with bird poop so fast it made my head spin!”

  Cadin had gotten distracted by some activity near the docks.

  “Hey Sun, can we visit your dad?”

  “Yep, though it looks like the docks might be a bit busy today.”

  “You’re right!” Treven said, squinting his eyes against the sun. “Are those Core airships?”

  “I think so.” Cadin took in the dull grey airships with reinforced hulls, ropes and attachments he had never seen on an airship before.

  “Those are called Zed-wings,” Sun said, following Cadin’s gaze. “They are the fastest large ships in the clouds today. My dad loves to tinker around the insides of them whenever he gets a chance. Their design is not public information.”

  A man with a white Aura and wispy hair waved and ran over to them from the dock house.

  “Hi, Dad.” Sun ran up and hugged the man before dragging him towards them.

  “Dad, I think you know most everyone except maybe Xeno, Treven and Vincent. Guys, this is my dad, Ari.”

  “Nice to meet you. And nice to see you boys again too!” Ari smiled at them and then held his hand out to Gur. The dragon jumped over and climbed onto his head.

  “Gur, what are you doing?” Cadin reached to take him down, but Ari waved him away.

  “No worries. This our game we developed while Sun was practicing flying the other day.” Ari raised one hand slowly, and Gur stepped to the other side of his head. Ari used his other hand to tickle the dragon while he was distracted.

  A man approached from the docks with a practiced gait and piercing eyes.

  “Excuse me while I take care of business. Come back and visit!” Ari handed Gur back and approached the gentleman and shook his hand.

  Several men and women wearing normal clothes but sporting Core haircuts unloaded the airships at a steady pace.

  “Come on, let’s grab some pastries before all of the good ones are gone,” Treven said as he patted his stomach. “Can’t waste away before the Yellow Qualifier.”

  Cadin took one last look at the Zed-wings and crew members before jogging after his friends.

  Part Three

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  Wings

  “Stop rubbing your calluses!” Sara reprimanded Cadin for the third time during dinner. “You’ll inflict a wound which could become infected and hinder your wing development.”

  “That can’t really happen,” Cadin said as he reached a particularly itchy area. Gur ran down his shoulder to help. Gur made a game of chasing Cadin’s fingers with his claws, which made for satisfying scratching sessions, so Cadin encouraged him even though his mom disapproved. “Can it, Dad?”

  “Listen to your mother,” Tal said as he finished polishing his latest piece of commissioned armor.

  Cadin stopped scratching whenever his mom was around, but continued to let Gur help him the rest of the time.

  “Good night, Gur.” Cadin set his dragon in his nest, the rocks cool against the back of his hands. He stretched onto his stomach, leaving his covers off in the sweltering air. He fell into a restless sleep—dreaming of shooting a bent arrow that curved around every target in the Yellow Qualifier, but hit none.

  Waking in a sweat, Cadin groaned as a strong pressure sped through his back with moments of sharp pain. A loud retch ripped through the air as his back split open. It sounded more painful than it was—the calluses having formed enough to prevent any real damage to his tissue.

  His wings, finally free, began to spread and expand. Hundreds of delicate white feathers separated and straightened.

  “Are you al…” Tal began to ask, barging in his room. “Oh, congratulations, young man.”

  “Well done, dear,” Sara said, peaking around Tal’s arms. “The painful part is over, but they will feel unfinished for a few days,” she said with a far off look in her eyes.

  “Can I fly with them?”

  “Depends on how much they spread through the night. It may be tomorrow, or you may have to wait a day or two. We will see in the morning,” Tal said.

  “Don’t stay up too late grooming,” Sara said with a smile before they went back to bed.

  Cadin beamed, admiring his new wings. The thought of grooming before the Qualifier was enticing; however, he was exhausted and spasms of heat kept rippling across his body.

  Tomorrow, Cadin thought before settling into a deep sleep.

  Cadin woke up and quickly turned to make sure his wings were not just one of his dreams. He flexed and his wings rose slightly as thousands of beautiful white feathers quivered. Gur retreated off the bed and let out two loud thrills.

  “It’s okay, Gur. It’s just my wings.”

  “He was letting me know you had finally woken up,” Sara said as she entered his room with a wet wash cloth draped over her arm.

  Panic seized him. Did he oversleep on a Qualifier day? He peeked out the window and let out a sigh of relief. The sun was only just rising. He had plenty of time. I might even be able to fit in a couple of test flights before school!

  “How are you feeling?” Sara sat down beside him and placed her hand on the back of his neck.

  “Great. Though, I’m extremely hungry.” Cadin wondered why all the fuss.

  “I can imagine.”

  “Is it common to be hungry after wing emersion?”

  “It is. However, I think you are hungry due to your wing-coma. You have been in a blacked-out sleep state for three nights since your wings emerged.”

  Cadin was shocked, his mouth hanging open.

  “I didn’t. I can’t have! The Qualifier!”

  “Calm down, Cadin. Your friends will be here in few minutes and they can tell you all about school.” She rubbed the cool, wet cloth across his forehead.

  A knock on the door echoed up the stairs.

  “Get dressed, and I will let them in.”

  Cadin, Sun, Bart and Lep sat outside watching the sunrise and eating breakfast. They had all visited Cadin before and after school once they learned of his wing-coma.

  “I can’t believe I wasn’t there for you guys during the Qualifier. I’m so sorry.” He had ruined all their dreams of qualifying for the Calvarian Games.

  “We are not useless without you, buddy.” Bart broke out into a smile and gave him a friendly nudge.

  “What, you mean…did you?” Cadin lo
oked quickly from Bart to Sun to Lep.

  Lep broke down first, laughing. “Yep, we placed with just the three of us!”

  Even though he had missed the Qualifier, with all the detail Lep put into recounting it, Cadin imagined being there for every maneuver and arrow let loose. Apparently, no one came close to Sun in the rating, which Cadin didn’t have a hard time believing, but also both Lep and Bart did better than anyone else in the competition next to Sun.

  “We got second place!” Lep exclaimed. “They asked us if we were going to bow out since we didn’t have all four players. We were all like—of course we are still going to compete! Cadin would be so mad at us to hear that we didn’t compete just because he was in a wing-coma.”

  “Heck yeah,” Bart added in between mouthfuls of scrambled eggs.

  “So, it was entirely obvious in this Qualifier who came to the Challenge Club practices and who didn’t—but even still Sun was the tip of the cloud!” Sun blushed at all the praise but remained quiet during the retelling.

  “She was like this crazy warrior, Cadin!” Lep said as he stood up and reenacted some of Sun’s most magnificent moments. “She was knocking other warriors on their butts, targets out of the sky—she was absolutely fierce!”

  “That is amazing!” Cadin said as he looked at Sun. She turned away from his glance and Cadin thought he saw a tear in the corner of her eye.

  “What’s wrong, Sun?”

  “I was just so worried when you didn’t show up for the Qualifier—and when we came over here and you wouldn’t wake up for anything. It was scary.” The tear that had been building finally tumbled over her pink cheek.

  Cadin reached over and pulled Sun into hug.

  “Don’t worry about me, Sun. I’m tougher than I look.”

  Sun smiled and wiped her eyes.

  “Thanks for picking up the slack guys. I promise that I won’t let you down again.”

  “So, you had better practice with those new wings since we only have the Final Qualifier left,” Bart said between mouthfuls.