Another excerpt from November Skies

*If you read and remember the first excerpt from November Skies, you'll probably be confused after reading this one and wonder how on earth it jumped from that to this. But don't worry. I meant to confuse you. So just sit back, relax, and read and enjoy your confusion while you still can, before everything becomes explained :)*

We woke up to light. A blinding light that was so powerful and so gentle at the same time. A light that radiated from a man, or perhaps he was a boy. He looked to be eighteen, and yet he had an indescribable aura around him that emanated wisdom and strength. Suddenly, the light faded and the boy could be seen more clearly. Blonde curls fell to his chin, and crystal blue eyes peered down at us from a finely sculpted face. I glanced around us, and saw white everywhere. Lightness and brightness were the two words that came to my mind as I examined my surroundings. We seemed to be lying in some sort of large, white castle. I sat up and felt the soft material beneath me, which was thick and soft, the kind of material one would think a cloud to be made of. Off in the distance, darkness swelled in the form of a rain-cloud and the realization of where I was dawned upon me. I was sitting in a castle made of clouds. I looked back to the boy in front of me in shock.

“Hello,” he said. His voice was deep and strong, and it echoed about the cloud room with haunting, resonating tones that somehow comforted me and put my bewildered mind to rest. Then I remembered that we were on a cloud, thousands of feet up in the sky and began to panic.

“Who are you? Where are we? Why are we here? How can we get back?” I asked in a rush, eager for answers. My frenzied voice alerted my friends and they realized where they were. Claire’s mouth dropped open in surprise, Will moved closer to me, and Beth, Rose, and Kathleen looked just about ready to cry.

“I am Michael, and you need not be afraid,” said the boy in a soothing tone with a gentle smile. His voice immediately comforted us, and we all managed to calm ourselves.

“This is the realm of the Caeli Custodes, or the Sky Guards, if you are not familiar with Latin. You are here because the sky has chosen you for an important mission, and you will return to your homes when that mission is completed,” Michael explained. We all smiled when we heard the gentle tone of Michael’s voice, and none of us seemed to fully grasp the meaning of what had just been told us. But Claire seemed to be able to hear past Michael’s voice and comprehended the actual words that the rest of us had been practically oblivious to.

“Wait, what mission? And how are we to know that you are telling the truth? Please, explain yourself further,” she demanded. Michael smiled.

“You are right to be concerned. I suppose if I were human and in your situation, I would be concerned as well.”

Rose’s eyes almost popped out of her head as she stared in astonishment at Michael. “Y-you mean you a-aren’t h-h-human?” she stuttered. Michael shook his head gently, and large, golden wings suddenly unfolded from his back. Rose nearly fainted, and Beth and Kathleen gasped. Claire’s mouth once again dropped open and I fell back into Will with shock. Michael quickly folded his wings back in.

“I am sorry, that was uncalled for,” he apologized. He cleared his throat, and then continued, “Every November, a ceremony in the skies honoring the Caeli Custodes takes place, changing the color of the skies. Humans have created scientific explanations for this changing color in the skies, something you do for everything mysterious and beyond your understanding. During this ceremony, a group of humans are chosen to pass onto their world belief, hope, and faith, without revealing the secrets and mysteries of what lies beyond their world. You have been chosen this year to fulfill this calling.”