by Katie Pottle
Cadin turned away as tears gathered in Sun’s eyes.
“It’s good to see you.” Sun’s voice broke.
A breeze rustled his shoulder as Sun hurried by him. Cadin quickly waved his goodbye before hurrying after his teammate. Francisco had his hand on Grace’s shoulder—her expression sad, yet hopeful.
“Sun?” Cadin called as he walked out of the restaurant.
“She’s over there with Cora,” Lep said, leaning against a tree next to Bart.
“Should I go over there?” Cadin asked, taking in Sun’s hunched form and quivering breaths.
“Probably best to give them a girl moment,” Bart said. “Let’s pop into this store before we have to head back to the Arena.”
“Yeah, okay,” Cadin said as he motioned to Cora where they would be. She nodded and then turned her attention back to Sun.
He hadn’t checked the sign before entering, and was shocked to find birds of all sorts flying overhead. There was a net above Cadin’s head, allowing the birds to fly freely above it without escaping.
“Welcome to Exotic Pets and Plants,” a soft ringing voice said from behind an impeccably clean counter. Cadin turned as a short woman with frizzy hair jumped down from a stool to greet them. Without the stool, she only came up to Cadin’s shoulder. “Can I help you find anything? We have the widest variety of pets, high quality pet food and care products, as well as beautiful plants and fountains.”
“Um, well, I’m not sure,” Cadin said. “Is it okay for my dragon to be here?” Gur was eyeing the birds flapping above, but hadn’t moved from Cadin’s shoulder.
“Perfectly fine. Pets are allowed so long as they are well behaved. I do have a fine selection of dragon pellets if you are interested?”
“Thanks, but I think we will just look around for a few minutes.”
“Certainly. My name is Rosa. Call me over if you need any help.”
“Thank you, Rosa.”
“My pleasure.”
“Oye, Cadin!” Bart was waving to him from the far side of the store. “Come check these out.”
The back wall was covered in meticulously planned habitat cages filled with all sorts of different animals. Lizards zipped up and down large leaves and branches, while flying squirrels practiced gliding in a tall, long enclosure.
“Look at these,” Bart said.
Bart was gesturing towards a dark cage with rocks and hardened cloud built up around most of the walls. Lep squatted down with his hands cupped around his eyes as he peered into the cage.
“Bats?” Cadin guessed from the habitat.
“Yep; but not only bats.”
Cadin bent down next to Lep and put his hands up to block out the light. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust. Water dripped from the ceiling into a shallow pool on the bottom of the cage. Everything was surrounded by smooth, wet rock. Towards the top, small figures hung—the common bats wrapping their leathery wings around themselves.
A bright pink light appeared in the far corner. Lep nudged him. “There it is,” Lep whispered.
Cadin still wasn’t sure what it was. The pink light become two small slits of what he realized were eyes. Eyes that were staring right at him. They flew close to him in a flash and Gur chirped loudly in his ear. Cadin had fallen back onto his butt with the creature’s quick advance.
“That…that’s a nightgloom!” Cadin exclaimed.
“A micro-nightgloom.” Rosa was standing just behind him. “We are not authorized to carry any larger breeds than the micro for obvious reasons.”
Cadin turned from Rosa back to the nightgloom who was eyeing—not himself as he originally thought—but Gur. The animal was similar to Gur; however, the nightgloom had distinct traits for a creature of the dark.
“They are a type of dragon, right?” Lep asked Rosa who made herself busy by organizing a shelf behind them.
“Correct. An Areo-type dragon to be exact.”
The pink eyes dimmed more and more the longer the micro-dragon stayed next to the bright light of the store. It was small, only about the size of Cadin’s hand, though it moved like a predator stalking the front of the glass with slow, intentional movements. Its black scales were small and smooth, the tone broken up by the occasional dark gray.
“Hey, guys,” Cora called from the front of the store. “It is time for us to meet up with Instructor Kade.”
“Okay,” Lep called.
Cadin turned to Rosa. “Thank you.”
The small angel nodded. “Come back again soon.”
Sun’s eyes were puffy and slightly red. Cadin wanted to say something, but had no idea what would help. Bart and Lep kept looking at their feet or the fountain, avoiding Sun. He figured that might be his best bet. Gur on the other hand had no such problems with offering Sun comfort. The dragon took off from Cadin’s shoulder and landed on her outstretched hand. Running up her arm, Gur gently brushed the top of his head on her cheek. She sighed and smiled, rubbing under his chin.
“Uh, how are you doing?” Cadin asked, sitting on the stone bench perimeter of the large fountain. Araina and her team were not back yet.
“I’m okay. She just caught me by surprise—being here of all places.”
Cadin couldn’t believe he knew so little about Sun’s mom. Sun had only mentioned her once before, and he had never brought up the subject. He hadn’t ever known what to say.
“I found you something,” Cadin said, reaching into his pocket. He handed it over without another word.
Sun opened her hand and peered at the smooth stone.
“You gave a girl a rock?” Lep said from over his shoulder.
Cadin felt the heat rise to his cheeks. He turned around and gave his friend a good shove. “It’s a skipping stone.”
“A perfect skipping stone,” Sun said in a hushed voice. “I love it, thank you.” Instead of skipping the stone across the fountain, she put it in her pocket.
“I’m just saying,” Lep said—not taking the hint, “that when you come to the pink perfume capital of the System and then give a girl a rock, it’s no wonder you’ve never had a girlfriend.”
“Lep!” Sun scolded.
Cadin’s blushed, which he knew even his caramel skin wouldn’t completely hide. He promptly put Lep in a headlock. Lep was caught off guard, and Cadin got a tight hold. “Just because you and Valentine went on two whole dates before we left doesn’t qualify you as a boyfriend authority.
“Hey!” Lep said, grabbing Cadin’s arm and trying to wrestle out of the lock.
“Hm, hm!” Instructor Kade cleared his throat loudly.
Araina’s team had joined them. All four girls held small pink bags and looked down on them with haughty sneers. Cadin quickly released Lep who stood up and straightened his shirt.
“Just gearing up for the Arena!” Lep said.
“On that note, let us make our way back. Remember not to fly directly over the Arena.” Instructor Kade eyed Sun and Lep. “Follow me.”
“Wonderful! My favorite visiting teams!” Roger, their Condor liaison said as they touched down in front of the Arena. Cadin was happy that Mr. Smiley was nowhere around. Roger waited for the clouds and dust to settle before walking over to them. “You are a few minutes early, and down a couple of members, I believe.” He craned his neck over the group.
“Yes, they should all be joining us soon from the C.V.” Instructor Kade said, folding his veretal coated wings tightly behind him. The quiet ring of metal sliding across metal filled the air.
Cadin wondered what advantage or disadvantage veretal coating might have in the Games. Most Commons level students didn’t develop a full coat before graduating, and many angels from the Lavine and Arkta Quads never grew the protective and heavy layer over their feathers. Being the youngest team in the Games, all his teammates sported the bright white, veretal-free feathers across their wings. Bart’s wings were getting shinier, but still not metallic.
“Cadin?” Sun nudged his shoulder.
“Sorry, what?”
&nb
sp; “Roger said that since it is starting to rain, we can wait in the entranceway for the rest of the Glade members.”
Cadin tilted his head back. Petite drops scattered across his face and rolled down his cheeks. “I love the rain.”
He heard Sun inhaling deeply next to him. A unique smell of the cloud-lands activated in the rain, saturating the air with the sweet scent of mist, earth and plants.
“Come on, you two!” Instructor Kade shouted to be heard from the overhang of the Arena. The drops had increased in size and frequency, muffling all other sounds around them.
Sun nodded to Cadin and they both sprinted towards the overhang.
The rest of the Gladers had arrived, included Tal.
“Your mom had to stay with Aaron and Ali, but sent me to help out,” Tal said to Cadin.
“Welcome, Glade Warrior Path students,” Roger said. He stood by the largest set of double doors Cadin had ever seen. Dark, well-worn wood, with large metal rivetsr rose two stories in height. “The Condor Arena plays host to many of the largest events in the Contra Quad. This summer it is specifically outfitted and reserved for the Warrior Path and later for the Guardian Path Calvarian Games.” He pressed his hand against a cloud matrix on the side of the door.
Cadin anticipated a creaking when the massive doors began to open, however, they were silent—allowing for the various noises from within the Arena to reach them untainted.
Blasts of air, clanging of swords and an unidentifiable rustling piqued Cadin’s interest. He was in the middle of the group as they headed through the doors, and any attempt to see over or around the others was blocked by one wing or another.
“The tunnel to the battleground of the Arena is to our right; however, for first impressions we are going to head over here to the spectators’ entrance.”
They wove through stairs of bronze patina-coated cloud-walls until they came to a flyway. Roger stood off to the side, allowing them to circle around and gaze up at the largest spiral flyway that any of them had ever seen.
“Even though the Arena is open to the sky, for security reasons, no one is allowed to fly in, out or even over the top. Therefore, group flyways are a must,” Roger said. “Everyone can fly up to the top level labeled Skyview Twenty.”
Cadin entered the flyway after Lep—expecting to have to pump his wings the whole flight up—only to feel a rush of warm air raising up and providing lift. He sighed and left his wings open to glide lazily up. Gur flew next to him, spitting a fireball or two in excitement.
The exits were clearly marked with an up arrow next to every floor. Eventually ‘Skyview 20’ was the last exit. “Come on Gur, no more playing around.” He snatched the dragon mid-flight before following Lep to the landing. The warm air sucked back into an exchange above them.
“That was awesome!” Lep said.
“Artificial thermal,” Instructor Kade offered from behind them. “Easier to carry un-winged kids and allows elderly angels to still fly rather than take the stairs.”
Cadin moved forward to allow the others to land. He turned to face the Arena for the first time and was stunned. It was a massive space filled with all manner of clouds, obstacles and machines along the curved walls. A large cloud towered up through the center—pointier than most clouds with what appeared to be tunnels running through it. A red Aura angel popped out of one of the holes facing them, and flew up towards the top of the cloud. He appeared to be after a glowing cube at the apex. Another red warrior tackled him mid-air before he could reach it.
“Everyone is now here,” Roger announced from behind him. “And I see you have noticed the match before you.”
“Yeah,” Gregor said in a low tone. Instructor Kade turned sharply towards him, but Gregor continued anyhow. “What are a bunch of red players doing in the Arena during our practice time?”
Their liaison’s face still held the smile; however, his eyes narrowed.
“They are here for you, of course,” Roger responded slowly. “It is tradition during each cloud-land’s first tour of the facilities for a hosting team to volunteer to demonstrate the unique features of the hosting Arena.”
A red-faced Instructor Kade migrated towards Gregor. “I need a word with you,” Instructor Kade said quietly. He then turned to Roger. “Yes, and we will all be grateful and courteous towards our hosts for taking the time to show us around.” It was not a request.
“Yes, sir,” Gregor said, and others chanted after.
Roger’s features softened again. “And you lot are lucky. The number one seeded team requested to show Glade around since they participated in your Qualifier last year.”
“Great,” Lep said in a slow draw.
Roger missed the tone completely or had chosen to ignore the hostile undertones. “Yes, they are a gracious group of young angels. Let’s go down to see them, shall we?”
He headed along the back of a row of seats towards a large down arrow.
“Why can’t we just fly down from here?” Araina asked, leaning over the railing.
Roger gently pulled her back. “There is fine-grain net that prevents entrance or exit to the battleground. We wouldn’t want spectators interfering with the matches, would we? We must use the tunnel.”
Instructor Kade and Gregor held back a few moments while everyone else followed Roger. Cadin took one last glance at the Arena from this height, imagining everyone watching their team winning the Warrior Path Games.
The down flyway was a wide path angling down along the exterior of the building. Several platforms leading outside were closed off. Cadin imagined having multiple entrances at different levels would reduce bottle-necking after an event.
They exited seamlessly and walked towards a large tunnel that also had to be opened by Roger’s hand on the cloud-matrix next to rising metal portcullis. “I believe the engineers behind this Arena couldn’t help themselves with modeling it around the human Roman Colosseum,” Roger said with a chuckle. “Locker rooms are to the right. This is where the teams will be preparing before each game. The entrance to the battleground is this way. Just follow the light.”
Cadin took a breath as they stepped onto the battlefield, as Roger called it. The floor of the Arena was not fully hardened cloud-land, nor soft, fluffy natural cloud. It was a firm hybrid that allowed for easy cloud-shifting without having to worry about falling through. He was itching to reach down and attempt to connect with it.
“Inferno, assemble!” Someone called from within the Arena.
Red Auras popped out of nooks and crannies throughout the large battlefield. What had felt like many, turned out to only be four red Aura warriors. The four that Cadin wanted to beat the most. Ryker’s team, Inferno.
Ryker stood to the far left with his falcon sitting unflinchingly on his forearm. All four team-members wore gleaming armor that appeared thinner than what Cadin was used to. The armor of Ryker and the girl next to him were bright red, whereas the other two boys in line wore blue.
“I believe you are all familiar with this type of Alpha Armor from your final Qualifying round,” Roger said. “Inferno, if you could do a brief demonstration?”
Ryker nodded and stepped forward, lifting his arm so his falcon took off into the sky, circling above him. One of the blue-clad students stepped forward and unsheathed his sword.
“All weapons have been blunted in the Light Bay station set up over there.” Roger pointed to a raised platform near the entrance.
“Gentlemen,” Roger said.
Ryker swiped his blade quickly at his team-mate. The blue armor registered the hit and faded to a slightly lighter blue.
“Note the right armguard also has a light meter in the newest version of this armor that you will be using in the Games.” Cadin craned his neck to see light bar spanning the demonstrator’s forearm. It had eighty-five percent white lights, and fifteen percent red. “Remember ‘red equals dead’ when it comes to your life-meter.”
The blue armor boy took a swing at Ryker’s chest plate. The r
ed armor faded and the light-bar corresponded accordingly.
“The full life colors of blue and red make it easy to spot your opponent. As the remaining hit points in the armor is diminished—so too is your visibility across the battlefield.”
“Ready?” Ryker asked quietly of his team-mate.
“Yes.” The blue-armored student stood wider and set his jaw.
Cadin sucked in his breath as Ryker took five vicious swipes across the chest at an incredible speed. The color of the armor faded quickly to silver with only the smallest tint of blue remaining. There was only one small light left in the light meter on his arm.
Roger cleared his throat. “When your armor zeros out…” Ryker took out a dagger and threw it at the center of the armor. “Then the joints of the armor freeze and you are considered ‘dead’. The armor prevents you from moving, and the rules state that you do not attempt to take any further action within the round. Does everyone understand?”
“Yes, sir,” Sun said. “Um, will we get to practice with the armor during our Arena time?”
“Yes. We want every team to have equal advantages when it comes to knowledge of the equipment and features of the Arena. Any other questions about the armor?”
“The metal looks thin,” Araina said. “Will it protect us properly?”
Roger stepped forward and unstrapped the blue armor off the Inferno student. The boy was wearing padding under the armor. “The newest version of the Alpha Armor has this shell and then separate padding. It makes it fast to change out between players. We provide the basic padding to all competitors; however, you are allowed your own padding if it is approved by the Games committee before use. He walked over to the tall boy that was now without the shell of the armor. “As you can see, Anton here has opted for a carbon matrix weave padding. It is stronger and lighter than the standard padding.” A smile pulled up the corners of Anton’s mouth.
“Not to mention, way more expensive,” Cadin heard his dad whisper behind him. “Looks like I know what to sponsor you guys with.”
Cadin smiled to his dad, but kept his eyes on the red team.
