Solis arrived just as Telsan was explaining what he knew to Colla and Phoenix. The woman had found them not long ago, nervous and jittery. Rings drooped below her bloodshot eyes, indicating she had gone without sleep for many hours.

"Sorry if I'm late," Solis said as he alighted on the steps beside the group. They had planned to meet in this plaza, a short flight west of Solis' home. They could have met right at his house, but that would have resulted in some needless distractions. There was time for visiting afterward. Of course, they also could have met up sooner . . . but she did insist I could go home first . . . no. One look

"Right, um—" Colla coughed mid-sentence, lifting her chin sheepishly after an unexpected cough. "Let's all hear what Telsan had."

All eyes swiveled to the birdman, who glanced around with shut beak before saying, "I've told the other two already, Colla. I'm . . . well, I have a bad feeling about all this. Just keep in mind, we might not be getting Faridi back."

The woman nodded as if she understood, but her head clearly was not in it. Phoenix appeared to have filled her in somewhat, but when Telsan revealed his theory and its implications, she openly wept, pawing at her eyes with her wrists. The last time Solis had seen a woman cry like that was when Grandmother Fey passed from this world. She took her final flight seven years ago with dignity, after making sure to hug each of her grandchildren goodbye and admonishing them to "Be brave and strong—see the world, and don't let the Magnates tie you down too tightly."

Colla, meanwhile, had also lost a grandmother not long ago. Now she surely realized, though she refused to admit it, that she might lose her love as well. And all because of some stupid rules of the Magnates . . .

They headed out east, making sure to veer south of the Lightwing residence. They didn't have to pass far from it, as nearby roosts on the edge of town obscured the lower view. They made for the Skyfall, whence a crisp breeze blew today, not cool but strong enough to make Solis' eyes want to shut. Any Tapiq past his early teenage years had no trouble with such weather, however. Winged men were heavy enough to trivialize much of the wind resistance birds had to deal with, and people like Colla with her wind abilities, or Phoenix with her magical wings of flame, defied the laws of gravity outright. No one had ever explained just how those worked . . . elementalists and their mysteries.

The sun was bleeding golden rays through the western verge of the cloud layer, nearly done with the Hiding, as the four winged folk dove over the Skyfall. Phoenix's fiery wings burst to life from beside Solis, warming his skin and causing air distortion. As they flew, Solis was struck by a strange flashback of his grandmother, a time when he had stayed alone with her. His parents had gone away, taking little Floris with them, and Caris promised not to tell if she didn't have to go. Later, of course, she had been more jealous than he'd ever seen. Well, at least till today . . .

Where she had taken him that day, he still couldn't say, but on that foggy morning his heart beat like a drum as the old woman led him away from Ameros, or so he thought. It was hard to see anything in the fog, aside from her ashen wings, which bled grey dust and seemed to blend with the fog. He had never seen wings like hers . . . and when he asked, she always said they hadn't always been like that. Mother would answer similarly, saying it was a Magnate thing, but he could tell she didn't know either. The other Magnates had normal feathers on their wings, after all.

Into the misty sky they had flown, coming at last to an outcropping of jagged brown stone that seemed to materialize out of nowhere. The "hidden island," she had called it. And yet, island though it may be, she did not take him up to light upon it, but instead pressed a withered palm against the rough stone and spoke something. The words escaped his mind as soon as entered them, and he couldn't have said even then what they were, much less understood them. The stone twisted and shifted in reply, making a path inward for them, and Fey bid him enter.

And then . . .

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Man . . . I almost forgot about that day. Yet how could he? Memories of his childhood came to him upon occasion, mostly memories of Grandmother back when she was alive. He rarely thought about just how much the former Magnate had shaped his dreams and aspirations. He liked to think he was dedicating his life to her, though most would say that that was a waste of a life. She used to take him with her when she met with her colleagues, and he would listen to their bizarre conversations, wondering what half the words even meant. He wished he could recall more, but the bigger he had grown, the more Melka and the others frowned on Fey's doing so. Caris adored Fey as well, but the Magnates only allowed Solis near them because he was a child. And oh did they regret that . . .

Presently, they came to the new island of Grimstaf VI, named after who knew what and crafted from the bones of the Earth, molded stone. And certainly not hidden. This island had been made in a day or less—Solis wasn't exactly certain—seemingly just to showcase the power of the Harbinger and all those who came from the Earth.

They landed on the eastern fringe of the island, a table of stone that led to an incredibly wide set of rough-hewn stairs. Colla glanced around nervously, and Solis couldn't help a glance over his shoulder. With the relatively thick cloud density today, he was pretty sure nobody would have seen them come here, but who was to say?

"You really . . . think there might be something here?" Colla asked with a wavering voice.

"I guess we'll find out," Solis muttered.

CHARACTERS

* Solis Lightwing (SOLE-iss)—The main character, a white-winged boy of unceasing curiosity who longs to see inside the forbidden Earth.

* Telsan (TELL-suhn)—Solis’ best friend, a young man of the Bird Tribe.

* Phoenix Dolce (DOLE-chay)—Friend of Solis and Telsan, a Flameborn girl of sixteen years. Daughter of Falla Dolce.

* Caris Spinner—Solis' older sister, who lives on a neighboring island.

* Andréas Spinner—Or just spinner, as most call him. Caris' husband.

* Kip—Their older son.

* Donald—Their younger son.

* Pim Lightwing—Solis' mother, daughter of the deceased Magnate Fey.

* Arthur Lightwing—Solis' father, head of the Lightwing household.

* Faridi (fuh-RID-ee)—A Tapiq man who frequently volunteers for lookout duty. Now missing for a few days.

* Colla—A female Tapiq; a friend of Faridi.

* Filian Cornel—A wealthy merchant's son. A rival of Solis.

* Gustaf Cornel—Filian's father. Holds much sway in Megeth.

TERMS

* Earth, The—An immeasurable continent that looms over the entire sky. Forbidden to all save those whom the Magnates choose each year.

* Megeth (meh-GETH)—Hometown of Solis and his fellow Tapiq people.

* Ameros (AM-uh-ros)—Largest island in the southeastern quadrant of the sky, where the Tapiq village of Megeth lies.

* Fenaback—Also called the Isle of Colors, this island is home to many elementalists, including powerful families such as the Dolce clan.

* Tapiq (tuh-PEEK)—The tribe of winged men who dwell in Ameros and the surrounding islands. As with most tribes, they have adopted some from other tribes and races as their own, while others are visitors.

* Magnate—Overseers of the ten tribes who have ascended to the Earth and returned, bearing supposedly infinite knowledge that they choose to keep hidden.

* Elementalist—One born with a Kinship to an elemental force. They usually lack wings.

KINSHIPS

* Flameborn—Kin of flame. They form their own wings as needed from tongues of fire that sprout from their backs.

* Dustborn—Artists of soil and dust. They fly with wings created from nearby dust particles.

* Windborn—Wind kin. Unlike other elementalists, these often grow wings just like any other, though some possess a heightened ability allowing them to fly without wings—and thus lacking them.

* Waveborn (aka Watchers)—Keepers of the invisible wards that protect the sky islands from falling hazards. Also, those with the rare ability of sound manipulation.

* Dewborn—These control moisture and redirect water.

* Stormborn—Creators of small storms and electrical currents.

* Snowborn—Bringers of frost and snow on a small scale.

* Sunborn—Manipulators of light.

* Beastborn—These rare kind, seen largely in the northwestern isles, come in different orders according to a certain class of living creature.

* Cragborn—Manipulators of stone.