KILLYAN PICHÉ's Arc

Chapter 1 of 8

Killyan had wanted one thing since the day he heard the story: to tame the wild cat that lived in the forest outside Assypond. People said it was gray with blue eyes and little glasses, smart as a person. Killyan was seven. He had never seen it. He had no idea where in all those trees it hid. That was the problem. He could not chase a cat he could not find. He sat on the porch of the riverside farmhouse, knees pulled up, staring at the dark line of trees past the chicken fence. The forest was huge. He pushed his glasses up his nose and sighed. His red hair stuck to his forehead. Chickens scratched near the barn. The woods kept their secret. A motorcycle rumbled up the gravel. His aunt Catou swung off it, green hair wild, boots crunching, a toolbox under one arm. She came to the farmhouse often, mostly to escape her boyfriend and drink beer with the family. She worked steel and fixed things, like Killyan's dad did. "Why the long face, bud?" she asked. She dropped the toolbox on the step. "I want to find the forest cat," Killyan said. "But the forest's too big. I don't even know where to look." Catou lit up. "The gray one with the glasses? I've seen its tracks." She crouched beside him. "Cats don't wander for no reason. They follow food. And that cat hunts bugs near one weird plant." "What plant?" "Big purple thing. Glows at night. Eats bugs itself." She grinned. "Find the glow, you find the bugs. Find the bugs, you find the cat." Killyan's dad came out the door, wiping grease on his jeans. Ruan listened, pulled the cigarette from his mouth, and nodded slow. "Catou's right," he said. "I've seen that bloom. By the river bend, where the water pools." He pointed past the barn. "Follow the bank. You can't miss the light." "Can we go? Now?" Killyan jumped up. "Before dark," Ruan said. "The plant only glows at night. Grab a jacket." They walked the riverbank as the sun dropped. Catou carried a flashlight. Ruan carried nothing but his calm. Frogs started up. Then Killyan saw it, through the trees across the pool. A huge purple plant, six long arms curling, glowing soft blue and violet in the dark. Moths spun around its open mouth. "There," Killyan whispered. His chest pounded. And there, crouched low under a fern beside the glowing plant, two blue eyes caught the light. Gray fur. Small glasses. The cat watched him, still as stone. Killyan had found it. For one breath, neither moved. Then the cat's ears flattened. It hissed, turned, and bolted deep into the black trees. Gone in a second. Killyan stood frozen at the water's edge. He knew where the cat lived now. But it had seen him. And it did not want to be found.