Above the Clouds: Night

Chapter Ten: Angel Tides

Avery's P.o.V Near the city

I ducked, swooping past Rachael, ducking under Misty, and snatching the Baybulb from Terence.

Oh, in case you were wondering, an explanation of Baybulbs: they're basically a ball of magic energy, solidified. Depending on how they're made, they could be the size of a clenched fist to as tall as an angel. The colour varies depending on the maker: as Rachael made this one, it's a patchy purple. We were playing a game with it, to help pass the time for the journey. Now however, approaching the city, play time was over.

"Are you sure about this Ava? We could always go somewhere less noticeable." Misty said.

"No. Anywhere that was smaller, new visitors would be known about within an hour. Anywhere bigger, we'd need identification. This is the best place, plus I want to catch up with Shar and you know how she is about leaving the city." Mist nodded, but I noticed similar looks of apprehension on my friends faces. "Cheer up, it'll all go smoothly. Sheesh, ye of little faith." I laughed as the mood lightened: then I felt a familiar push on the underside of my wings. Angling them, we rose in the updraft, ascending until we passed cloud line.

There, surrounded by rolling hills of white, sat Angel Tides.

It got its name from the air currents circling around it. It was unapproachable from all sides: the only way to get in was to fly underneath, then ride the thermals and updrafts all the way up to the oval of cloud the city was built upon. Excepting the cloud around it, the bottom of where the buildings were was a mix of solid ice and magic, giving it a shiny, sparkly, blue look. The ice-and-magic mix only went about halfway into the clouds, the top layer was normal. The gates to the place were also ordinary cloud, and it took a fine eye to see the difference. Luckily, it was a talent all angels possessed. Swooping low to the top layer, we passed a few columns of cloud before suddenly we were among the buildings.

It's rare to have a single sheet of cloud capable of staying in one place, and not to drift up and down at all: for this reason, there were streets and buildings that were elevated, floating separate almost. The ice and snow foundation was a good few metres tall, and coupled with these rises there was a gap almost between sky and city. It was surrounded by ice and cloud, safe and protected: and it was here the black market was situated.

Every angel city had something similar. Some, like Angel tides, were in the foundation: others were in the hills and banks of cloud, while more still were floating at the top of the city, level with the roofs of the skyscrapers. Black markets had one thing in essence though. The aurora they emitted was one of desolation, and excepting the people who's lives revolved around it, and those who urgently needed a solution that the F.o.A couldn't provide, very few went too near. I usually stayed away too, and would have been happy to never visit this one, but there weren't any other options. Especially since Shar refused to leave it to meet with me anyway else, but then again she didn't exactly fit in with angels from here. Her wings were black at the top, fading to red and then white at the bottom, and her short black hair and silvery grey eyes didn't steal your attention enough to hide the scars that littered her body. Some were indeed from scuffles with other people in the black market, but others... Weren't. She'd been a victim of abuse growing up, and the pain she'd felt was still extremely visible from the self-inflicted scars wrapping around her wrists and forearms. We'd tried numerous times to get her to stop, but in the end could only voice our disagreement.

We ducked under an overhang of cloud, and were suddenly in the market itself. When it was named the Black Market, it was literal: wooden and clouded stalls created a network of streets and alleys more intricate than the city above them. And, ultimately, more dangerous. The first place to go would be... Shar's stall. I say stall, dome might be more accurate. Over the years she'd collected items and materials and eventually seats had become walls and walls had become ceilings. Now she practically lived inside her merchandise.