Breath of Air (12 page)

Feeling disillusioned by just about everything at that moment, Capri tried to eat as much as she could, keeping her eyes down so as to avoid conversation. The moment she was done she excused herself and bolted out of the dining hall without looking back.

♦ ♦ ♦

CHAPTER SEVEN

Against what many expected, Capri did not run. In fact, she never once gave a single thought to leaving Euphora. Instead, she increased her determination to what she now felt was her duty and her mission: learn to be an Air Dryad, and find the demon responsible for her mother’s death and her kidnapping.

She knew that neither task was going to be easy, but she also knew that she had never really had a purpose before, and the simple fact that she could wake up in the morning and know her place in this world was sufficient enough to keep her going.

Her first week on Euphora was filled with challenging training sessions with her father, who was endlessly patient with her, something she desperately appreciated. She was still so unsure of herself, so afraid of doing something wrong, that any normal person would probably interpret her caution as an unwillingness to learn, whereas her father seemed to sense her true intentions, and as such, he was unfailingly kind.

On her fourth day back home, her father had shown her how to view a small scale model of the Earth through the smoke instead of individual places, and how to conjure up clouds and use wind to push them along to their destinations.

Capri soon discovered that it was not nearly as easy as he had made it sound.

“I think it’s going too far north.” She complained, her arms outstretched towards the smoke, her eyes intent on the realistic looking globe. “It’s going out to sea. But I think I want it to stay inland.”

“Then concentrate on it, and with your right hand push it just slightly to the south. It will do the rest on its own.”

She did as she was told, focusing all of her thoughts on shifting the storm clouds from the Indian Ocean back down into the western coast of Australia. The storm began to head south, and Capri turned to look at her father.

“Is that good?” She asked, concerned.

“It’s perfect.” He replied, smiling at her. “They’ve been without rain for quite long enough. This storm will do them good.”

“I can’t believe I’m creating weather patterns for places I’ve never even been before.” Capri giggled, looking back at the globe. It was nearly three feet in diameter, three dimensional, and looked just like what the astronauts must have seen from the Moon. And all the clouds gracing its surface were under her control. She felt giddy with power, while at the same time humbled by responsibility. The whole world was depending on her now.

There was a knock on the door behind them, and when Capri turned she saw Liam and Lucian enter, both looking casual and in good spirits.

“Oh, just in time!” Clynn exclaimed, rushing over to Lucian and patting his old friend on the back. “Capri has just sent a storm over to western Australia that will need an extra boost of moisture. Draught, you see.”

“I do see.” Lucian commented, smiling serenely as he approached the globe. “Liam, my boy, why don’t you assist the lovely young lady?”

Liam grinned as he walked over to stand beside Capri, winking at her. “No prob, Dad.” He said before he turned his gaze over to the globe, his eyes focusing intently on the cloud formations Capri had created. His arms lifted, hands spread, and Capri watched his eyes as they seemed to darken to an even deeper, more intense blue. Entranced, she looked back at the globe and watched the clouds darken just slightly and grow, becoming more and more menacing as they absorbed moisture from the sea. When Liam lowered his arms, the storm continued its progression towards land, only this time it was a lot more ominous.

“Wouldn’t want to be there tomorrow when that storm hits.” He commented, grinning as he turned to Capri.

She couldn’t help but smile too. “I wouldn’t either.”

“Children, why don’t you build a supercell together? Its spring, after all, and Clynn and I have been hopelessly late in getting started on storm season in the Midwest.”

“He’s right.” Clynn admitted, smiling sheepishly. “But this will be good for you, Capri. It’s one of the most challenging things we have to do.”

“Um…is a supercell some kind of cloud or something?” Capri asked, her brows knit in confusion. She had heard that term from somewhere…she just couldn’t remember where...

When Lucian and Liam started laughing, Capri blushed, feeling foolish once again.

Clynn patted her on the back, smiling at her kindly. “A supercell is one of the most dangerous cloud formations we use. It takes a good amount of skill to do it correctly, but I’ll help you. Besides, tornados can be fun!”

Her eyes widened in shock and she gulped, feeling a lump of anxiety form in her throat. “Oh, I hate tornados!” She managed, her hands wringing together as she stared at him.

Liam and Lucian laughed again, but this time she wasn’t embarrassed. Tornados were horrible; everyone knew that…she had always been glad that she lived in Richmond, where tornados were rare.

“It all goes back to balance, darling.” Clynn told her. “Tornados have their purpose, just like everything else. We will make a smaller one for now, if it makes you feel better.”

She nodded, looking at the globe again, her face pale.

“It’s not too bad.” Liam said as they stood side by side again, facing the globe. “Where are you thinking of putting this bad boy, Clynn?” He asked, lifting his arms and shifting the globe with his hands until the United States was visible.

“Nebraska is due for one.” Clynn remarked thoughtfully as he eyed the globe as well. “Capri, let’s start the formation near eastern Colorado, and have it shift north east into Nebraska, then due north up into South Dakota. We’ll throw in a few tornadoes along the way, keep it interesting. Liam will drop some heavy rains, some hail.” He stood directly behind Capri as she lifted her arms, focusing on the location he had mentioned she should start.

“Now, because this storm will take roughly two days to cycle through, we will construct it now and give it a direction, and it will take its course on its own. So go ahead and just as before, picture the moisture condensing in the atmosphere, forming the clouds. Okay, now begin a continuously rotating updraft into those clouds, mixing the warm and cold air. Looks good.”

Capri watched the aerial view of the storm she was building, and it was growing in size as she concentrated on rotating the air through it, her hands guiding the motion. She could sense Liam beside her, filling the storm with moisture to not only help build up the clouds but also for the rain. She chanced a quick glance at him, and noticed his vivid cobalt eyes were focused intently on the storm, his face unusually serious.

She turned back to the storm, concentrating once again.

“Excellent, both of you.” Clynn said suddenly, his hand resting on Capri’s shoulder. “Would you like to see how the storm looks from the ground?”

Capri nodded, and Clynn reached out his hands and with a flick of his wrist the globe faded into the smoke, and in its place the image of the plains of eastern Colorado appeared.

The storm was there, forming and shifting in the sky, darkening and growing in size as they watched. The grasses of the plains were blowing in the breeze, as of yet untouched by the impending storm. The clouds were funneling upward, forming a mushroom shaped mass that was glowing eerily in the afternoon sunlight.

“Now give it a direction.” Clynn said from behind her, his voice excited. “Send it north east.”

Capri focused back on the image of the clouds, and, with her hands, shifted the current westerly breeze towards the north east.

When a spear of lightning crackled within the center of the clouds as they slowly changed direction, Capri jumped, then giggled nervously at herself.

“I’ve always been jumpy around lightning.” She admitted, blushing when Liam grinned at her.

“Keep the updraft going, rotating it clockwise, bringing the warm air up into the atmosphere so it mixes with the cold air. Nicely done.” Clynn instructed, watching as his daughter continued to shift the wind. “Pay close attention, Capri, as the air you’ve just been sending up into the storm starts to create a funnel.”

She kept her eyes glued to the image, seeing nothing but the storm hovering over the plains, darkening and shifting underneath, while up above the cumulous clouds were white and textured as they hovered high up in the sky. Every few minutes, the clouds would flash as lightning speared from within, the bolts shooting towards the ground. She could even hear the faint roar of thunder as the storm became more and more ominous.

It was then that the rain began to fall, softly at first, then suddenly it was pummeling the grasslands unmercifully.

Capri glanced over at Liam, who was all concentration now, his hands clenching as if he was squeezing the rain from the clouds. Then his hands spread out and lay flat as he lowered them just slightly. The rain began to fall even harder.

Capri kept her arms out, her hands motioning cyclically to keep the air moving, and suddenly she watched as a funnel speared out from the clouds and touched down to the ground, sweeping up dust and debris into its depths.

She could feel the power of it in her arms, in her body, in her mind, as it twisted and fueled itself until it was three times, four times, ten times the size it was when it first touched down. She simply marveled at it for a moment, amazed that she could create such a monster, yet at the same time she could appreciate the beauty and the wrath of it.

“You can slowly pull back now, and it will continue on the path you’ve set for it.” Clynn said softly, just as entranced by the storm as she was.

She slowly lowered her arms, and she could feel the power leave her as she disconnected herself from her creation. The massive tornado continued along its path, dark as night and spiraling with ferocity, while lightning flashed and hail began to fall all around.

Shaking with adrenaline, Capri turned to her father and threw her arms around him, laughter bubbling in her throat.

“I did it!” She pulled away from him, her eyes dancing. “That was just…incredible!”

“Well done, darling.” He grinned at her proudly. “You are a fast learner.”

“Yes, she is a natural.” Lucian commented, beaming from beside his son. “You and Liam make a fine team.”

Capri glanced at Liam, who was looking smug as he turned to stare at his father. “Better than you old farts.” He joked, earning a playful punch in the arm from Lucian.

“Who’re you calling old?” Lucian pretended to look insulted. “Clynn, our children think we are old!”

Clynn laughed and shook his head, looking resigned. “I fear that is exactly what we are, my friend.”

“Nonsense!” Lucian retorted, his eyes dancing. “I may be old, but I am still young at heart.”

“Keep telling yourself that, Dad.” Liam laughed. “Maybe you’ll live longer if you believe it.”

“I may just outlive you, boyo.” Lucian eyed his son meaningfully. “Though, I think raising you and Blythe has shaved several years off of my life as is.” He added thoughtfully, looking a bit forlorn.

Liam turned to Capri and shrugged. “The regrets of an old man, so sad.”

“The ignorance of a young man is even worse!” Lucian wagged his finger at his son, looking just like a parent scolding a fussy child.

Capri giggled, enjoying the easy way Liam and his father teased each other. She turned to her own father, who was watching the interaction of the other men with wistful eyes. She realized then how hard it must be for him to know that she had been raised by someone else, in the human world, without his guidance or his love. Feeling suddenly so sorry for him, she wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tight, hoping he would understand how glad she was to finally be home.

♦ ♦ ♦

By the end of her first week, Capri had created a dozen or more storms throughout the world, and was in the process of monitoring her creations. Spring was a busy time for weather patterns, and so she and her father began working together once she got the hang of creating storms on her own. He would be on one side of the globe, creating a storm in China, while she was on the other side, working out wind gusts through the Rockies. Sometimes she would make a mistake, and Clynn would help her fix it, but for the most part she was doing exceptionally well.

He also taught her how to practice on a much smaller scale, creating mini storms right in front of her versus using the bird bath. They had practiced outside in the courtyard, and she had made a storm that only floated about two feet off the ground. She once again practiced rotating the air to cycle through the warm and cold, thus creating a mini tornado. She was delighted to watch the cyclone spin across the cobblestone walkway, picking up bits of leaves and dirt as it went. She also learned that, if she really wanted to, she could create a real storm right there on Euphora. Of course, her father warned her that Thea would not be very pleased if she did so, and that therefore it was best to keep to the smaller versions.

And so, after a long week of learning and practicing, Capri was excited to have Saturday to take a break and relax.

“What do you want to do today?” Liam asked her at breakfast that morning amidst the chatter around the table.

Capri looked up from her bowl of oatmeal and smiled, considering. “I’m not really sure…what is there to do?”

“Ooh! Let’s show Capri what’s outside the gate!” Blythe suggested excitedly, a piece of jellied toast in one hand and a banana nut muffin in the other.

“That’s right, you haven’t been outside yet, have you?” Liam asked, looking thoughtfully at Capri.

“What’s out there?” Capri asked worriedly, unsure if she really wanted to know. She hadn’t been outside the gates of the courtyard since the day Liam had brought her to Euphora, and all she remembered of the experience was a meadow surrounded by trees…

“Well, I told you how Euphora is a floating island, right?”

Capri nodded, feeling unsure.

“Good, then you won’t be too shocked when you see it.” He winked at her as he cut into his second omelet.