Cloud Lands Saga Box Set Books 1-3

by Katie Pottle

  Cadin shook his head. “That guy should not be allowed to eat those Carpathian beans that Alberta is so fond of cooking.”

  They looked up as the boy’s room doorway jammed with angels fighting to exit.

  “Told you I was fast,” Lep said.

  Tal and Sara rounded the path, holding grocery bags and a large tray.

  Cadin, Sun and Lep ran over and grabbed everything from Sara and then Tal.

  “Thanks, guys,” Tal said.

  “Sure. What’s all this?” Cadin asked, nodding to the bulky tray that Lep was setting down on the table.

  “Special breakfast for everyone before Round One—courtesy of our Condor hosts!”

  “Awesome!” Lep said as he pulled off the cover of the tray. “Hope the food is not spiked with something bad.”

  Sara shook her head. Steam rose from a huge mound of scrambled eggs and several plates of piled up breakfast meats.

  “Keep that covered until we are ready to serve it,” Sara said, unloading a bowl of sunfruit.

  “How did I not see you on your way to get this?” Cadin asked. “I’ve been here for an hour. I would’ve helped.”

  Tal patted his head. “Thanks, but your mom and I wanted an early morning fly together. We didn’t take this path on the way there.”

  “We are ready,” Sara said. “You guys are welcome to start. I’ll go and let the other girls know.”

  “I’ll get the boys,” Tal said.

  “No need, we are all here,” Instructor Kade said, followed by some roughed up Gladers. Freddy’s shirt was torn, Bart’s cheek was bright pink, and Ben was sporting toilet paper up a bloody nose. “I would let the room air out a bit before going in there.” He patted Tal on the shoulder and grabbed a plate.

  “Are you alright, Bart?” Sun asked after they all sat down.

  “Oh, yeah. I just got stepped on when I tried to go low to escape that wretched smelling room.”

  “All that commotion from one fart?” Sun asked.

  “It wasn’t just one.” Bart shook his head and put his fork down. “I think the first one stirred the wildlife from sleep because a huge spider scurried across the floor.” He motioned his hands a fist width apart. “It was a beast and it scared even more farts out of Ben.”

  Lep was tearing up he was laughing so hard. Cadin and Sun were trying to hold in their giggles until Bart finished.

  Bart felt his cheek and winced. “Well between the scared farts—which are even more stinky than normal ones, I swear—and the gigantiod spider freaking out and trying to find a way to escape—there was a mad rush for the exit all at once.”

  “Ha ha! I’m sorry…man…ha…ha!” Lep said.

  “Too bad Gur wasn’t there,” Cadin said, feeding his dragon some meat. “He would have caught that spider and eaten him up before anyone even noticed it.”

  “I would have put money on the spider,” Bart said.

  “No way,” Sun said.

  “Come on,” Cadin said.

  Bart’s eyes widened. “I’m telling you guys this thing was massive. I don’t know how I’m going to sleep in there tonight.”

  “My guess is you’ll be fairly exhausted after the Games, Bartholomew,” Instructor Kade said from across the table. “In addition, I have notified our Condor Liaison of the issue, and they will send someone over to take care of it today.”

  “The spider or the smell?” Lep couldn’t help but ask, wiping tears from his eyes.

  “Both, I hope,” Instructor Kade answered quietly.

  Cadin realized Instructor Kade had also been trapped in the room. He shuddered and was grateful he didn’t sleep in. He glanced down the table where Ben was sitting with a wide berth between him and his team.

  “Poor guy,” Cadin said.

  “Don’t worry, we can get him something in the C.V. today to raise his spirits,” Sun said. “But first, let’s focus on the First Round of the Games.”

  Dust danced in the light beams that filtered through the high windows in the locker room of the Arena.

  “Ten minutes,” Instructor Kade said from the door before retreating.

  Cadin’s pulse quickened as the crowd noise above them rumbled. It felt strange not having Gur with him. He rubbed his shoulder where the dragon would have sat.

  Cadin sat on one bench next to Lep who was uselessly sharpening his dagger only minutes before it would be placed in the Light Bay.

  Sun had her eyes closed and took deep breaths. The battle armor fit over her new shooting jacket.

  Bart met his eyes and smiled back. He held his two-sided spear.

  Cadin adjusted the armor padding that his father had made for him and rubbed his medallion for good luck. He managed to fit the Alpha Armor armguard snugly over his personal one that still held the medallion he had melded on the first day of school.

  Lep sheathed his dagger and put the sharpening stone away. “Ready,” he said.

  Sun opened her eyes. “Me too. Team cheer?”

  She stuck her hand out, and they all followed suit.

  “One, two, three, Dragon Fire!” Rang through the air.

  They stood and checked their gear one last time.

  “It is time,” Instructor Kade said, holding the Glade flag. It was green with radiating circles to symbolize the Guard Quad and sported a white leaf for Glade. “Follow me.”

  They walked together and took a turn where the tunnel broadened and the portcullis was lowered to stop their advancement into the battlefield.

  “We will wait here for your opponents,” Instructor Kade said as he turned toward them. “Good luck to you all.” He patted each of them on the shoulder before returning to the front of their line.

  Sections of the battlefield and the stands were visible through the spaces between the thatched metal gate. It’s packed! Cadin thought as he gazed at the plethora of angels waiting to watch them compete.

  Footsteps echoed off the walls of the tunnel behind them, and Cadin couldn’t help but turn. The four warriors that followed the Carpathian flag bearer were impressive with their contiguous red Auras and shiny blue Alpha Armor. Two held huge double handed swords, while the other two held spears and tear-drop shaped shields. They stopped at the portcullis next to Dragon Fire. Instructor Kade and the Carpathian adult nodded to each other.

  “Welcome back!” an enhanced voiced echoed through the Arena. “Match number six is about to commence so please take your seats.”

  Cadin took three deep breaths during the pause.

  “Please give me a big hand in welcoming our next two Warrior Path teams to compete in Round One of the Calvarian Games!”

  The portcullis slowly began to rise, dust and cloud falling and obscuring their view.

  “From our neighboring cloud-land, give it up for the seventeenth seeded team, the Carpathian Cadets!”

  “Hoo rah!” The red team shouted as they ran into the battlefield.

  The crowd shouted and stomped their approval.

  “And from all the way across the System, let’s hear a big cheer for these Glade warriors with the sixteenth seed, Dragon Fire!”

  Cadin ran into the brightly lit Arena and raised his sword to the cheering crowd. The applause might not have been as loud for them as the red team, but that was to be expected.

  Tsuyo lengthened to twice her normal size, and he heard a gasp from the audience.

  “They are not used to seeing a gin-blade I guess,” Sun said as she ran next to him.

  “Let’s hope we have even more surprises for them,” Cadin said.

  They approached the Light Bay. Next to it stood the officials from the head table at the Welcome Banquet.

  “Please hand over all weapons to be inspected and blunted.”

  Cadin handed over his gin-blade separately from his gins as per the new rules after he maimed Lep in the Qualifying rounds with one of his slice-gins by accident.

  A wind-swept official with several scars of his own inspected Tsuyo a moment longer than any of the other weap
ons. He nodded before gently placing it in the Light Bay. Cadin turned away as the glow intensified and coated the edges.

  The officials took their seats and Instructor Kade led Dragon Fire to their starting position.

  Cadin took a breath and looked over the battlefield. It was similar to their training sessions, but bigger. The tunnels were different, and he noted three bright, glowing Anger Cubes sunk half-way into the solidified cloud-mountain. Their bright red ‘Home Basket’ was just behind them. It was more of a tower than a basket with the slots for the Energy Cubes ranging in height up the twenty-foot structure.

  “The other two Anger Cubes must be on their side,” Cadin said as Instructor Kade flew back to the awning that held the Game officials.

  “Yeah, and a lot of contracting tunnels,” Sun said, pointing to the puckered entrances. “I think Plan Alpha will work.”

  “Got it,” Lep said.

  Cadin nodded.

  “Yes, Alpha,” Bart confirmed.

  The amplified voice rang through the stadium, “We have fifteen minutes on the clock!”

  Around the Arena, several brightly lit timers read—15:00.

  “The team with the most points, both from secured Energy Cubes, and net damage done at the end of the round, wins!”

  Next to each timer was a scoreboard. Dragon Fire was in bright red lettering with a ‘0’ under it. Carpathian Cadets shone bright blue.

  “Good luck, everyone,” Cadin said, as he took a ready stance and activated his gins. He had the gins circle around him, helping him focus on the moment.

  “Teams ready!” The voice rumbled. “And begin!”

  Lep and Bart raced for the closest Cube while Sun flew to a high point and nocked an arrow. Cadin connected to a contracting tunnel he hoped would spit him out the other side. The opening widened and he folded his wings tightly to his back and crawled in. The tunnel undulated around him, as if wanting to swallow and be done with him, but he kept connected and kept the walls in front of him from collapsing in.

  He came to a fork and chose the path that led up and to the right. Something flashed in front of the light at the end of the tunnel. Cadin paused and sent three of this gins out in front of him.

  “Ouch! Something got me!” A panicked voice said from outside the tunnel.

  “Was it that archer?” A deeper voice asked between grunts.

  “I don’t think so.”

  “Then forget about it and help me release this stupid Cube before they send someone around the mountain.”

  Cadin crawled close to the exit of the tunnel. He didn’t keep flying his gins, because the tunnel was too tight to turn around in and if they found him before he exited, he would be in big trouble.

  “Ouch! It’s charged with lightning, watch out.”

  “I almost got it.”

  Cadin started to open the sphincter exit slowly, but stopped when he felt the Energy Cube connected to the cloud. He hardened the remaining cloud around it—contrary to the two energies trying to release it. Cadin shuttered as a surge of lighting zinged towards him. He attempted to redirect it towards the Cube and dove for the exit.

  The bright sky and bolts of energy assailed his eyes.

  “Ahhhh!” One of the red Aura warriors yelled as the Energy Cube he had finally freed blasted him with lightning.

  Cadin unsheathed Tsuyo and swiped at the back of the angel not holding the Cube. The crowd erupted, but Cadin blocked it out. The boy quickly turned and raised his sword, anger flashing in his eyes. Cadin sent his gins out to slice his opponent’s armor, but they did not stop the sword from barreling down. He brought Tsuyo up in time to block, but the boy’s strength was immense, and the sword chopped into his shoulder guard.

  An arrow buzzed through the air and the angel engaging him arched back. Cadin took the moment to kick him and hop to his feet.

  The dark-haired boy tugged at the Energy Cube, which had become stuck back on the cloud. Cadin guessed he had dropped it after the first wave of lightning.

  A sucking sound followed a pop as the Cube pulled free. The angel opened his wings as he stumbled backwards.

  Cadin glanced over his shoulder and found the warrior still focused on Sun. Cadin sent his gins at the angel holding the Cube, trying to stop him from taking flight.

  The boy tried to swat the gins out of the sky, but they grew and wrapped around his chest.

  Cadin picked his moment, opened his wings and launched forward, slicing Tsuyo across the wrist holding the Cube. He grabbed the second handle, tugged the Cube free of the boy’s grasp and pumped his wings to gain distance.

  The boy growled behind him and broke free of the gin-trap.

  Cadin held onto the Energy Cube and flew towards the red tower. His pursuer cursed behind him as the Cube warmed in his hands. He only had seconds before it discharged.

  Green caught his eye below, and the sound of furiously flapping wings gaining on him prompted Cadin to spin mid-air and face his attacker.

  Surprise rippled across the warrior’s face as Cadin dropped the Cube and sliced his gin-blade along the warrior’s breastplate. The momentum carried the combatant over Cadin’s head. Cadin wanted to turn to see the results, but the first warrior he had attacked upon exiting the tunnel was barreling towards him with Sun not far behind. He parried the flyby attack, and turned to meet Sun mid-flight.

  “They’ve already stored one Cube in the blue tower!” Sun shouted, waving him to follow her. “That guy is speeding over to cover his teammate …re…ther…Cube.” Her voice was muffled, and she said something else but Cadin couldn’t hear it over the wind and the crowd noise.

  Cadin’s heart sank. The opposing team already had at least one Cube stored. He wasn’t sure if Bart or Lep caught the one he dropped, but—then he remembered he could check the score board. He glanced up and saw that Dragon Fire—Red had +76 damage to Carpathian Cadets—Blue -76 damage. He turned to check the Energy Cube score, but had to dodge an incoming dagger. It had been so fast he had needed to use his blade to knock it off course. Two more daggers flew towards Sun, but she spun in mid-air to avoid being hit.

  Below them, Cadin found one boy holding another dagger standing in front of a second warrior working to release an Energy Cube. The third warrior they had been following landed at their feet and said something to the dagger wielder.

  Two against three were not great odds, but they couldn’t let them get another Cube back to their base.

  Cadin gestured for Sun to follow him and retreated to a safe distance from the daggers.

  “Wait!” Sun shouted.

  Cadin felt a blast of air that spun his wings around. He attempted to quickly to orient himself, and cringed as he landed hard on his shoulder and rolled onto his back.

  “Ouch!” he heard from under him.

  He opened his eyes to see two very surprised faces and guessed the third boy who had been trying to release the Cube was now under him. He waited for the boy under him to attack, but nothing happened, so he swung his blade at the other two who now pounced on top of him. The tall one grabbed his right arm and knocked Tsuyo out of his hand while the other, wild-eyed one raised his dagger. Cadin flinched, but felt no pain. The wild-eyed dagger-wielder spun around—an arrow bouncing off his armor. Cadin yanked his arm free and grabbed the arrow out of the air and swiped quickly towards the face of the tall boy still trying to hold him down.

  Cadin freed himself and stepped back, over the angel he had originally fallen on. The boy’s armor was light blue and fully locked.

  Sun was above them with an arrow nocked and aimed at the remaining two warriors as Cadin took a step back, holding the arrow in one hand and summoning gins to his other. His gin-blade was laying on the ground next to the abandoned Energy Cube. No one moved for a moment as they all took in the situation.

  Cadin glanced at his armguard to find he had only thirty hit-points left. It was probably not enough to get into a battle with these two without zeroing out his armor. The timer beeped a warning in t
he distance, and the announcer’s voice cut through the air. “Three-minute warning!”

  Sun nodded her head slightly to him. Cadin took a breath and sent his gins flying at the boys. They knocked them out of the air, but it was enough of a distraction for Cadin to reach for the Energy Cube. He connected to the cloud surrounding the Cube as Sun’s last arrow bought him just enough time to quick-release it.

  The tall boy jumped on top of Cadin and grabbed for the second handle of the Cube. Cadin smiled as he let go just in time for the Cube to release a blast of wind, knocking the boy back. The tall boy dropped the Cube at Cadin’s feet. The wild-eyed boy, apparently out of daggers, reached for Cadin’s gin-blade and started swinging it at him. A ripple of anger gripped Cadin. Cadin grabbed the Cube and tossed it to Sun and turned to face the boy who held Tsuyo out in front of him.

  Shaking, Cadin held up the arrow. The boy smiled viciously and rolled his shoulders as his team-mate flew after Sun.

  “Got you now,” the wild-eyed boy sneered.

  Cadin jumped back to avoid the first chop. Not a nice slice like a katana was meant for, but it didn’t matter much when all you had was an arrow…and gins! Cadin backed up and summoned his gins, feeling a glimmer of hope. But they couldn’t or wouldn’t respond, and Cadin felt his own gin-blade cut through the arrow and pound into his chest-guard. Two more chops into his arm-guard and chest and he felt the joints of his armor lock up around him.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  Feast

  A gong sounded around the Arena.

  “Time’s up!” The announcer yelled, excitement layering his voice. “What a match.”

  Cadin felt the joints of his armor release and he pushed up to find the final score. ‘Dragon Fire’ flashed in bright red as the announcer continued. “And the young team from Glade moves on in the tournament. Give it up for Dragon Fire!”

  The crowd cheered as Cadin flew over to meet his teammates at the base of their tower. Three Anger Cubes nestled in their tower’s holes.

  “You got three?” Cadin couldn’t help the huge grin plastered across his face, even as the officials ushered them over to the Light Bay to take off their armor and check their weapons.