Felix Brightwood's Arc

Chapter 1 of 2

Felix Brightwood wanted to make friends with the beast that scared all of Oozebloom. No one else did. They locked their doors when the tavern talk turned to the rogue creature in the hills. Felix just grinned and packed a bag. The problem was simple. He had only heard rumors. He didn't know where the beast lived. He could walk for a week and find nothing but wet boots. "You'll get lost," his mother said. She stood on the porch of their small cottage, arms crossed, a smudge of flour on her cheek. "So I'm coming with you. Someone has to keep you fed." Felix hugged her. Then his bright orange cat wove between his ankles, tail high, strange glowing lines flickering across its fur. "Loki's coming too," Felix said. "He always knows where things are." But a cat and a cheerful mother weren't enough. Felix needed someone who had actually seen the beast. In the whole town, only one person had. They climbed the hill to the fancy manor at the edge of Oozebloom. Gareth Thornwood answered the door before Felix knocked twice. He was old and broad, with a gray beast, scars on his arms, and a belt strung with old fangs. He looked Felix up and down like prey. "Beast hunters don't help beast lovers, boy." "I don't want to hunt it," Felix said. "I want to be its friend." Gareth barked a laugh. Then he saw the cat's glowing marks and stopped. "That thing. Where'd you get it?" "He found me," Felix said. Gareth stared a long moment. His hard face softened, just a little. "I tracked that beast for twenty years. Never landed a blow. Never wanted to, near the end." He rubbed his beard. "I know its den. North, past the split rock, behind the old falls. But nobody walks in and walks out." "Then walk in with us," Felix said. "So we don't get lost." Gareth looked at the boy, the mother, the alien cat. Something old and tired lifted off him. He grabbed a coat from a hook. "Fine. One last trip to that den. But when it eats you, I said so first." They walked two days. Loki led, glowing brighter as they neared the falls. Behind the water sat a dark cave mouth, ringed with strange star-speckled plants that shimmered like the cat's fur. Felix stepped inside. A deep voice rumbled from the shadows. "Company. Finally." Felix froze. The beast was huge, but its eyes were kind, and it was smiling. "Do you know," it said, leaning close, "how long it's been since anyone said hello?" Felix grinned so wide his cheeks hurt. "Hi. I'm Felix." The rumor was solved. The den was found. And the beast, it turned out, only ever wanted to talk. But talk led to a new problem. As the creature spoke, its huge tail knocked loose a stone. Deep in the cave, something else stirred, and it was not friendly.