by Katie Pottle
“Wait, what?” Cadin shook his head. “That’s not until nine? What time is it?”
“It’s nearly noon.” Bart smiled and patted him on the back.
“I missed the Games? Why didn’t you wake me up?”
“We tried, but you were out. You will probably get in trouble for not being at the Arena to support a Glade team; but you kept swatting us away and mumbling about swimming with the dolphins.”
“Oh, sorry.” He vaguely remembered a dream about swimming in a vast ocean with some playful dolphins. None existed in the limited waterways on the cloud-lands; however, he and Lep had snuck to the edge of the clouds enough times to watch the dolphins at play below for Cadin to be totally enamored with them. He still couldn’t believe he had slept so late. The consecutive early mornings must have drained him.
“No problem,” Bart said. “You didn’t miss much.” He lowered his voice to a whisper. “They actually lost pretty badly. Sadie got trapped in a contracting tunnel, and the other team focused on zeroing out Araina’s team’s armor rather than the Energy Cubes.”
“Anger Cubes!” Sun said as she skipped up and patted them both on the back.
“Good morning. You seem chipper,” Cadin said as he let out a yawn.
“Good afternoon. And yes, I had a totally strange, yet satisfying morning sitting between my dad and mom and Francisco in the Arena. They were so weird towards each other, and possessive of me at the same time. But I just decided to not worry about all that crud and have a good time at the Games with my parents. And you know what?”
“What?”
“They all loosened up as the morning went on.” She smiled. “We were all even having a bit of fun together by the end.”
“Nice. Did you guys scout our competition?” Cadin’s stomach rumbled. He took a step towards the kitchen, but decided that the still ranting Araina was too much of an obstacle to deal with on an empty stomach.
“Yeah,” Bart said. “There are some strong teams that progressed.”
“There were even a couple of really good teams that lost,” Sun added.
“I feel terrible for sleeping in and missing the matches. We should check the bracket to see who we will face next,” Cadin said. “I think it was between Hot Shots and Light Blade. I can’t think before eating. Do you guys want to head into town with me to grab lunch?”
“Yeah, let’s go before Araina turns on us,” Bart whispered.
Cadin licked his fingers after throwing his last tomato for Gur to catch. They sat at a large table next to one of their favorite restaurants in town, joined by Sara, Lep and Cora—all of whom seemed excited by the idea of escaping Araina’s rant.
Lep sat up in his chair. “Hey, are the fringelanders still here?”
“Yeah, I think so,” Cadin answered.
“Why didn’t we invite ‘em to the party last night?”
Sun glanced at Cora and blushed. “I didn’t want to make waves with Freddy,” she said quietly.
“Freddy needs to grow up,” Cora said, leaning further into Bart’s side. “We almost lost because his focus has scattered and his leadership has turned into yelling fits.”
Everyone stayed quiet, not knowing how to respond.
Sara started gathering plates, and then appeared to remember she was not in her dining room and sat them back down. Instead she waved over the waitress and paid. “I have to pop by the bakery. Are you all going to stay in town for a bit?”
“Yeah. If it’s okay, I would like to try and find the fringelanders and hang out.”
“That’s fine so long as you all get back before sunset.” She ruffled Cadin’s hair and waved goodbye to everyone else.
He attempted to pat his dark hair down as they stood up and made their way towards the Industrial Docks.
Sun knocked on the dented walls of the large airship. The door rattled on the covered portion where the fringelanders slept at night. There was no response and Sun turned to them with a shrug.
“Maybe they are at the construction site,” Cadin said.
“Or the Competitors’ Village,” Bart added.
Sun flapped her wings to propel herself the rest of the way up the ledge. “I say we try the construction site first.”
“Deal!”
They made their way over to where the Condor Palace was rising well above the original fence lines. The opaque tarp still covered the top of the site. Guard angels patrolled above.
“Back for more, I see!” the ruddy foreman patted Cadin’s back hard. “Well, come on, then. Plenty of credit to hand out!”
“We should have anticipated this,” Sun whispered as they followed Roli towards the same bend in the back where they had practiced before.
Kevin, the weaver looked up from a set of blueprints he had sprawled out and smiled. “Welcome back.”
“I leave them in your capable hands,” Roli said before hurrying off.
“Actually, we came looking for our friends—the ones who came with us last time,” Lep said. “Have you seen them?”
“No, I’m sorry.” He glanced back at the plans. “But if you are not here to train, I must continue my review.”
“I’d like to practice weaving with you again, if it’s not too much trouble,” Cadin said.
Kevin glanced up and nodded once.
Bart and Lep took a step back.
“But today is our day off,” Lep said.
Cadin smiled. “I’m okay to stay here by myself.”
“I’ll stay with you and practice,” Sun said, taking a seat on an overturned bucket next to Kevin. “I need to earn more credit anyway.”
Sweat beaded on his brow as Cadin connected to the cloud and attempted to weave strands anchored at different points throughout his structure. Kevin had them working on the same small scale huts as the last time. Their stoic teacher explained that they needed to start thinking about each weave as a different material rather than all the same cloud.
“Pull on the elements and anchor the weave when you have what you want.”
Cadin attempted to anchor—which involved capturing the cloud with the right mix of elements without over hardening it so it remained malleable.
“Got it!” Cadin exclaimed—a dark tendril of cloud weaved through the air like a seaweed suspended in water. It clung to the base of Cadin’s workspace along with several lighter strands. Gur zipped around them, batting them down a couple of times as he passed by.
“Nice, Cadin,” Sun said. She shook her head. “I’m having trouble with the D-2s!”
Kevin craned his head over Sun’s shoulder. “Pull more water before you anchor.”
Sun nodded. “I’m trying, but it leaks out while I’m trying to tie it off.”
“Tie faster,” he said before turning back to his prints.
Weaving consisted of creating what Cadin thought of as a skeleton to a structure before layering walls and such over it. The skeleton was made from different elemental weaves that were anchored deeply to the cloud before being woven around the bricks and walls. There were different elemental requirements for each weave strand before Cadin could tie the strands off from the source. It was not easy, but highly satisfying when he got one right.
Several workers came in and grabbed finished prints from Kevin as their training rolled on. Ferris rushed in, grabbed a print from Kevin and was about to run back out when he noticed Sun and Cadin.
“Oh, hi. You looking for my siblings?”
“We were, but had no idea where they would be, so we decided to stay and work on our weaving skills with Kevin.”
Ferris chuckled. “Well, Devin and Crow got side jobs today hauling some rich ladies’ shopping bags around. They will be done in a couple of hours—I think. Want me to tell them to meet you somewhere when they finish?”
Sun nodded.
“Sure,” Cadin said. “Can you ask them to meet us at my parents’ booth in the C.V. if they finish up before dusk, or at our condos if they don’t get done until later?”
&nb
sp; “Will do,” Ferris said before rushing out.
“A good young weaver, that one,” Kevin said, nodding towards where Ferris had exited. “Too bad he wasn’t born to a System cloud.”
“What do you mean?” Sun asked. “Surely his skills will be utilized either way, right?”
Kevin shrugged. “Yes, of course. But on the System clouds he would have used his skills to thrive. On the fringelands he will use them to survive.”
“Oh,” Sun said, blushing.
“Why wouldn’t he just move here?” Cadin asked. It seemed so simple.
Kevin looked up, his eyes sad. “Citizenship is not easily obtained. Fringelanders are not treated as equals, no matter where they go. Surely you have noticed.”
“I…” Cadin paused when he felt a familiar energy through the cloud he was connected to through his weaving. “Master Emilio is here!”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Master Emilio
Cadin stood up and Gur raced up to his shoulder.
“What, where is Master Emilio?” Sun asked, wiping her hands and looking towards the entranceway.
“Not here here, but here on Condor.” Cadin swept his hands up.
“How do you know?” Sun’s eyes narrowed.
“I sensed his energy through the cloud.” Cadin had no idea he had gotten so tuned to his Gin Master, but he had no doubt what he had felt.
“Okay,” Sun said, drawing out the word as if she didn’t know whether to believe him or not.
“I’m sorry, but I must get going.” Cadin turned to Kevin, whose eyes had gone wide.
“I’m coming with you,” Sun added.
Cadin nodded, as he quickly stood.
“Thank you!” Cadin grabbed Sun’s hand and pulled her out of the construction site.
“Uh, so where to?” Sun asked.
“Good question.” Cadin glanced around.
“You don’t know?”
He shrugged. “I felt his energy ping the cloud. I think he must be somewhat close for me to feel him.”
“The docks maybe?”
“Right!” Cadin unfurled his wings and then froze. “But the Civilian Docks are on the other side of Condor. I think that’s too far.”
“You think he would come in to the Industrial Docks?”
“Maybe. Let’s swing by and check.” They flew rather than walked. Cadin circled a few times before landing.
“I don’t see any Glade airships,” Sun said.
Cadin ran up to a dock worker. “Excuse me, has anyone docked this morning who was not a usual customer?”
The burly man turned towards him and stroked his scraggly beard. “Not this morning, but this afternoon, a couple ‘o men docked that thing here.” He nodded towards a sleek gray airship. “I told ‘em this aint no Civilian Dock, but they paid me for the day, so I shut up about it.”
“Only for the day. Do you know where they headed?”
“Nope.”
“Okay, thanks.” Cadin turned to Sun. “I guess we could always wait here.”
“Why don’t you connect to the cloud again?”
“Right.” They moved out of the way of the docks and Cadin closed his eyes as he touched the cloud-land at his feet. A tingle ran up his arms, and he focused his energy—searching for Master Emilio.
A wave of emotion hit him and he disconnected. He glanced up at Sun who was looking down at him with concern etched across her face. “You okay?” she asked.
He nodded. “Master Emilio is somewhere in Ramia-Oh—and he is not happy.”
“Maybe we shouldn’t even be looking for him,” Sun said as they crossed by Travarti Fountain for the third time. “I mean, if he wanted to see you, he would be going to the Glade condos.”
“But it is Master Emilio,” Cadin said as if that explained everything. He was frustrated that he could not locate his elusive mentor. They passed in front of the Ambassador Hotel and Cadin froze. “Here—he’s in the hotel!”
Sun nodded without questioning his instincts. “Follow me.”
She grabbed his hand and pulled him up the steps and through the massive double doors. They were stopped by two guards inside. Cadin held his breath as Sun explained she was there to see her mom and signed a ledger. She handed over her I.D. card, and nudged Cadin in the shoulder.
“Oh, yes—here.” He pulled the lanyard over his neck.
The guard eyed Gur who kept still on Cadin’s shoulder.
“Does your pet have a leash?” The guard asked.
“Um, maybe—let me check.” Cadin couldn’t remember if he stuffed Gur’s leash in his day pack or not. He felt around in the bottom of the bag for a moment. “Got it!” He said triumphantly, securing Gur. “It won’t be for too long,” he whispered to Gur who was shaking his head.
“Don’t forget to sign out,” the guard said as he waved them through.
Once they got clear of the entranceway, Cadin slowed down to take in the details of the historic hotel. It was an old building by cloud-land standards with modern upgrades and amenities. The details along the moldings were stunning, and the ceilings had three-dimensional cloud-etchings. The chairs and couches in the lobby were plush with ornate pinwork along the edges and angled wing-slots. They looked insanely comfortable, and Cadin felt the urge to try one out until he heard raised voices.
“In the conference room,” Sun whispered, glancing over her shoulder at the entrance guards. They were too busy checking someone else at the door to notice that Cadin and Sun were not headed towards the flyway, but rather to the back corner of the large lobby where a wooden door hung slightly ajar.
Cadin held his breath as they got closer. One of the people inside was certainly Master Emilio.
“This cannot and should not be ignored any longer!” Master Emilio said. Cadin could tell from his timbre that Master Emilio was barely hanging on to his temper. Not a good sign for whomever was in there with him.
“And I can assure you the incident is not being ignored. We have officers investigating…” the man with a slightly high voice paused as he was interrupted.
“Wrath crap! You are brushing this under the rug, and you know it!”
Chair legs scrapped across the fine wood floors. Cadin cringed. “Sir, you have no right to storm in here unannounced, making demands and accusations that are frankly above your current clearance level.”
“I am not here in the capacity of the Core—just as a concerned citizen.”
“Then we are done here,” the man’s high voice said coolly. “If you have anything further, you may file an official complaint at Town Hall.”
Cadin grabbed Sun’s arm and urged her to back away from the door. They stumbled back into one of the couches as the door to the conference room flung open. Master Emilio stormed out, grinding his unneeded cane into the floor. A tall man followed in his wake, waving apologetically to the red-faced man standing behind a large table in the conference room—eyeing Master Emilio’s back.
Master Emilio’s eyes widened at the sight of Cadin and Sun. Cadin smiled weakly and waved from his awkward position on the couch. The tall man caught up with Master Emilio and Cadin was surprised he knew the young man who had not made a peep in the conference room exchange.
“It appears that we have unexpected company,” Master Emilio said to Eric, the young Thunder Channel engineer who helped them clean up their mess after the Tlalocs had attempted to raid Glade’s machinery. Master Emilio leaned down on the couch and said quietly to Cadin and Sun, “Walk with us.”
Cadin released Gur from the leash the moment they stepped outside. The dragon shot off into the sky, roaring in delight. Cadin opened his mouth to ask the myriad of questions rolling around in his mind, but Master Emilio held up his hand to stop him until they reached the outskirts of Ramia-Oh.
Master Emilio stopped and turned to Cadin, assessing him with his pale blue eyes that missed nothing. “Hello, young Cadin.” He turned and nodded to Sun as well.
“Hello, sir. I’ve missed you. What are yo
u doing here?” He said quickly.
“Oh, I have missed you too. As to why Eric and I are here, I think it is better for now that you do not know.” Wisps of frantic white hair escaped what appeared to be a practical solution of a pony-tail—though much of his hair didn’t seem to be cooperating. He made a swipe at the strands near his eyes and refocused on Cadin. “Let’s just say we are on a time-sensitive mission.” His eyes hardened and he looked to the sun. He turned to Eric and nodded.
“It was nice to see you again,” Eric said. “I’ll go prepare the airship.”
Cadin turned to Master Emilio. “Do you need any help?”
Master Emilio stood up tall. He narrowed his eyes at them. “Hmm,” he said, pondering the question. “Perhaps I could use your help. I am looking for something and we have several leads we are currently exploring; however, I am in need of more information. I had hoped to get it here, but have failed.”
“Why don’t you use your contacts within the Core?” Sun asked.
Master Emilio shook his head, allowing more strands of hair to fly free. “I have tried that avenue. Their resources are rather tied up right now. I am not acting within the capacity of the Core on this for several reasons.”
Cadin took a good look at Master Emilio and realized his Gin Master was dressed more as an explorer than in his usual Town Hall garb. He wore a vest over his shirt with several pockets, and pants made from a durable material Cadin had a difficult time identifying.
Master Emilio glanced over his shoulder towards the docks and then back at them. “Have either of you come across any fringelanders here on Condor?”
“Yes!” they both answered at once.
Master Emilio’s eyes widened a fraction. “Do you know where I could find them?”
“We are going to meet up with them soon,” Sun said quickly.
“I think he means someone a little older,” Cadin said. He turned to Master Emilio. “The Condor Palace is being built right now and they hired several weavers from fringelands. We just left a man named Kevin who has been teaching us to weave.”
Master Emilio took a step back. “Sun, can you fly down and inform Eric that I need to check out one more lead before we leave and he is to stay at the docks and wait for me?”
