Big Beasts

By Patrick Scott

In the biggest city in the kingdom...

Magic pulses at a low ebb so as not to even be noted by anyone. It provides convenient sources of light, smooth roads, and keeps more dangerous things at bay. Even on the outskirts where craftspeople and farmers make their home, nothing overly wild resides.

Then, Kylie finds herself spirited

• Language: English
• Publisher: Atmosphere Press
• Release date: Sep 15, 2020
• ISBN: 9781637529102

Book preview

PATRICK SCOTT

atmosphere press

Copyright © 2020 Patrick Scott

Published by Atmosphere Press

Cover design by Ronaldo Alves

No part of this book may be reproduced

except in brief quotations and in reviews

without permission from the publisher.

Big Beasts

2020, Patrick Scott

atmospherepress.com

This book is lovingly dedicated to my truest fans,

Kit and Kat. Your love and support

helped me chase down the dream. Thanks

for sharing all the struggle and joy with me.

1.

Kylie ran over the open field outside the small house built by her father. She loved the expanse and the feel of the soft ground under her bare feet. She giggled at the tickling of the individual blades. Kylie sensed adventure in the surrounding countryside.

Most of the kids in her class found rural life boring and longed for big walls and keeps of the city. They believed more hope and adventure hid within.

Kylie attempted to assure them that their assessment resided more in fantasy than reality. They responded with the same assertions about the countryside.

She pumped her legs, climbing a rolling hill along the border of the fields. Kylie made for the edge of the forest. The wild of the woods drew the girl like a wriggling worm on the end of a hook tempts a fish from the safety of the depths. She slipped between the trunks seeking something new. She avoided the places she had been before in favor of new adventures.

Where am I off to today? she wondered aloud.

She twisted around a half-fallen tree and ducked below a low-hanging branch. Every free moment found Kylie breaking for the depths of the woods. The dense trees and mixed gloom thrilled her as she picked her way over the leaf- and needle-covered ground. The occasional fresh needle poked at her bare feet.

Kylie reached the clearing. This place held a pure, natural magic the young girl never felt inside the city walls, despite its soothsayers and adventuring mages. The serene beauty masked deeper power throbbing below the surface.

She fought the urge to plant herself in the center of the hollow. She spent a previous day sitting in its center watching animals come and go. They considered her with mild surprise but continued on their way.

She selected a new path heading deeper into the woods. The trees grew tighter and the light faded like a cloud passing over the sinking sun. The changes enlivened Kylie. She sensed a secret deeper within the forest. An adventurer’s heart sang at the prospect of finding something her eyes never beheld.

She heard the rushing water before she saw the falls. Her pace increased with the throbbing impact of water on rocks. Kylie’s gait matched the quick steps of a light-footed dancer. Ferns popped up along the path. As the sound increased, a faint sheen of water covered the spreading leaves of the plants. She trailed her fingers over their damp surfaces. Her legs from the knee down grew wet as multiple leaves brushed her passing body.

She exited the edge of the woods. The majesty of the cascading water caused her breath to catch in her throat and her eyes to widen. Kylie craned her neck to see the top of the falls. Her head tilted down following the path of the falling water as it struck various irregularities in the elevated rock shelf. Her gaze ended at the pool at the bottom of the falls.

Kylie stepped nearer to the water. Fine mist from the falling water coated the girl like the ferns. Water seeping into her skin chilled Kylie. The splashing pool tickled her bare toes. Her light giggle filled the open area like the song of little birds floating on the rising mist.

An indistinct shape flashed under the water. Kylie frowned at the movement. She dropped to her knees, creating a muddy indention. Her dress absorbed some of the water surrounding her knee. She bent closer, straining to see the creature swimming in the pool’s depths.

Before locating the swimmer, a soft-furred beast hit her from the side. Kylie rolled with the thing hitting her, as her father taught her. A tangle of limbs and bodies, Kylie and the invader tumbled from the edge of the pool. The force of the ride forced the girl to close her eyes.

Once they came to rest, Kylie opened her eyes blinking several times against the drips of water falling onto her face from the overhanging fern fronds. The wavering leaves dominated her vision, but she felt fur-covered skin pressed near her own. She rotated her head to the right.

As she moved, Kylie felt her attacker shifting around her. Her eyes came to rest on a decidedly feline face with ears hanging beyond the edge of his face. Yellowish eyes considered her quizzically and blinked twice, one rapid blink and the other a more measured blink. His mouth opened to reveal long fangs.

What did you eat? Kylie asked. Her hand flew to her nose and clamped her fingers over it. Unfortunately, her fingers kept none of the stench at bay. It smells terrible.

Mrrrrow, the feline face replied.

Kylie untangled herself from the cat that reminded her of a slightly larger lynx seen prowling around the chicken yard at home. His mottled fur stuck in clumps to her wet skin. Wiping it from her, Kylie rose from the ground. The fur floated to the ground around her feet.

Why did you do that?

The cat remained silent. He glanced over his shoulder at the surface of the pool. He opened his mouth to give himself a long lick down his long limb. He stopped in mid-motion. His head rolled toward Kylie and then back to the pool as if his look alone imparted the explaination.

Kylie looked back at the pool. Several ripples covered the surface from the falling water. She took a step closer to the waterfall. The cat moved between her and the water. Yellow eyes looked back into her. Kylie thought she saw a frown resting between the furry pouncer’s eyes like a diamond pressing the long whiskers over his eyes toward his cheeks.

I don’t know why you don’t want me to go over there, but I thought I saw something, and I want to know what it is.

The cat stood back. He licked his leg in long, slow run from shoulder to paw. Kylie stepped passed him. As she moved beyond him, Kylie looked back over her shoulder. The cat’s eyes remained on her, but he made no move to stop her.

Reaching the edge, Kylie peered into the pool’s depths. Everything remained still except the vibrating surface. She noticed the divot where her knee sank into the mud. She rotated around the pool to her previous spot and assumed her previous pose. Her spine bent like the branch of willow attempting to touch the ground with its delicate leaves.

A splash erupted from the border of the water, coating Kylie’s head with moisture. Kylie looked to the point of the pool where an immense shape lifted itself into the air. She gasped and scrambled back. Her legs and arms moved in sharp jerks carrying her from the basin. She kept in motion until her back struck an object. Kylie glanced back into the warm, yellow eyes of the long-eared cat.

Is this what you were keeping me safe from? She looked at the monster in the pool with its bulbous eyes and streams of residual water dripped from hanging jowls. What is it?

Mroooww, the cat replied.

The water creature bent near to Kylie and she shrank back from the oncoming massive head. The beast rotated its head so Kylie reflected in its huge eye. A transparent eyelid slid over the dark surface, muting the shade of the eye. The head rotated again. Kylie watched the eyelid retreat back into the monster’s eye.

Wooorrrr, the water creature called to the cat.

The cat shook its head in reply, but remained silent. Kylie looked back over her shoulder at the cat. Its eyes returned her gaze evenly. She looked back at the pool creature. It studied her as impassively as the cat.

Are you friends?

Neither the cat nor the pool’s resident answered her. She blew through her nose, irritated with the two creatures. The bulbous-eyed water monster mimicked her exhalation, spraying her with water and other fluids. Kylie used her hands to push herself off the ground. She walked around the long-limbed cat, making for the edge of the clearing. She turned back to see a large fish resting in front of the cat. Kylie thought she heard a deep purr, but over the rushing water she was not sure whether that was what she heard.

Kylie spent the next several days considering the two creatures she met at the pool. She gave them various names with stories about how they arrived at the pool, became friends and countless other curiosities. She reveled in the possibilities and the joy of creation.

Her schooling and chores absorbed much of her time. Her father kept her hands busy, but the tasks never seemed burdensome. Kylie felt satisfied getting to help around the small farm and shop.

Where’re you trying to get out to, my captive? her father teased one day.

Just out, Kylie replied. It has been so long since I went out and explored.

Haven’t you explored enough? I thought you’d trod every path of the town and countryside. Can you hand me the bucket?

A playful twinkle appeared in the girl’s eye as she passed the bucket to her father. I think there’s still some areas I haven’t covered.

Where do you go?

The woods, mostly.

Her father shook his shaggy head covered with coarse brown hair. A girl and her secrets. By the way, I meant the filled bucket. I can’t clean the counter with an empty bucket.

Kylie reached over and grabbed the bucket from his hand. How was I supposed to know? You should have said so.

Her father shrugged and said, You can’t read my mind?

I haven’t gotten that good yet, Papa. She brought him the full bucket, careful not to slosh water over the edge onto the polished floor. Am I trapped until dinner again today?

I haven’t decided yet. Have you cleaned the shelf with the bowls?

Yes, Papa. I did it yesterday.

The crates?

The day before.

A wet cloth slapped the counter like waves striking a log on a pond’s edge as wind pushed the water. Her father’s smoothly muscled arms moved in tight circles. Kylie knew the counter, cleaned when her father arrived at the shop in the morning, gathered no real dirt or grime. She suspected other motives, but she kept this suspicion to herself.

Sweep up the wood shavings in the back and you can go see what the world’s hiding from you today.

She ran behind the counter. She leapt onto the riser her father built for a counter in another shop, so his little girl’s head popped over the counter at a younger age. Their eyes met his as a smile split her face. Kylie detected something in her Papa’s eyes that she thought she knew.

Are you well, Papa?

He gave her a half-hearted smile and said, I’m fine.

You’re a terrible liar. What’s the matter?

I’m just glad you’re here.

Kylie threw her arms around her father’s neck and squeezed it tightly. His strong arms encircled her. In his embrace, Kylie felt nothing outside touched her body, heart or mind. She scratched his head.

Thanks for being here, Papa.

He smiled warmly and said, Get the sweeping done and go on your adventure. Make sure you’re home for dinner or your mother with tear me into little pieces.

Yes, Papa. Kylie retreated from the counter. As she reached the door to her father’s workshop, she turned back. He continued scrubbing the countertop. Papa, she called. He looked over his shoulder at her. I miss him too.

I know you do, Kylie. Just be careful.

Yes, sir, she said and slipped behind the door.

Kylie swept for a few minutes before she heard the rough tread of boots on the shop’s wooden floors. The boots stopped, Kylie assumed at the counter, and started moving about the shop. Kylie waited for her father to greet the customer. Silence hung in the air like thunderheads waiting to unburden their loads.

What are you doing here?

I’m here to warn you, the stranger’s rough voice said.

Kylie leaned the broom against the back counter. She stole over to the curtain separating the shop from the work area. She dropped to a knee and peered between the thick, scratchy cloth and the smooth doorpost.

From this angle, Kylie saw a man of surprising stature. The light-haired man stood a full head and half over her father and his shoulders spread like two mountains. Kylie thought the man was familiar. She was not sure how though.

We need no warning.

You do and you know it. He’s coming and will get what he wants.

Kylie jumped at the sharpness of the man’s voice. She settled herself and hoped the curtain remained steady. She held her breath.

You’ve delivered your message, her father said. Now, leave unless you’re here for the purpose yourself.

That’s not why I’m here, the stranger responded.

Kylie watched the large man walk past her father. She shifted to the opposite door jam in time to see the man flipping a wooden spoon between his fingers.

He will be here for her soon. The stranger took three steps toward the door and stopped. You might want to recall he’s interested in both of them and you can’t watch them both.

Get out, he said snatching the spoon back. Get out now.

It might go easier if you were to just hand her over.

Her father pointed in an emphatic gesture. He seemed to be trembling at the man’s threat.

Your son is such a good boy. He always was. Shame things happened the way they did. That’ll all be fixed soon enough.

When the stranger left, Kylie struggled to breathe as though the shop itself had shrunk to half the size. She watched her father from her hiding spot and strained to read his expression. He shuddered as he stared at the shop’s entrance. Without warning, he made for the rear of the shop. Kylie leapt from her spot and grabbed the broom. She worked rapidly to appear as if her mind and attention had remained on her task the whole time.

Her father pulled back the curtain. He looked at Kylie. She stopped moving the broom and looked at him. His eyes rested on her face for a long time without speaking. She opened her mouth to speak, but only incriminating words tumbling through her mind. She waited for him to speak. In the silence, Kylie studied her father. His eyes sunk into his face like two deep wells of inky blackness. Crags along his eyes took on the appearance of valleys.

Did you hear that?

Hear what? Kylie lied.

You know what. You should have been long finished with the sweeping and out of the shop. Yet you’re still here. He pointed to the far corner of the shop with sawdust tucked under the edge of the counter before continuing. Now, Kylie, did you hear that?

Yes, I did, Papa, she said with her eyes avoiding his.

I need you to do me a favor, sweetie, he said gently. I need you to go home and tell your mother that Gellor was here. She’ll understand. Can you do that for me?

Yes, Papa, I’ll go right after I finish the sweeping.

No, I need you to go right now. Go tell her straight away. I’ll be home soon. Tell her that too.

Are you sure you don’t want me to finish the sweeping?

I’m sure, Kylie. This is more important.

Kylie rested the broom against the edge of the counter looking at her father. She sensed his pain. She longed to ease it. She started for the door at the side of the workshop, stopped and ran to her father. Kylie threw her arms around him. She squeezed him. His rough hand rested on the back of her head and stroked her long hair.

I’m scared, Papa.

Her father continued to stroke hair without responding. His silence made her think he missed her tiny words. She rested in his embrace, content to be held by him. The events of the afternoon seemed like they happened in another time, possibly to another father and daughter. Kylie felt a chill pass over her.

I am too, her father whispered.

2.

Over the next few days, Kylie felt herself being squeezed by unseen forces. She witnessed her parents huddled together, whispering and keeping vigil over her. She asked countless questions, trying to discover the source of their fear and how she might be prepared should she be taken.

Rather than addressing her legitimate concerns, she found them greeting her with silence. Kylie received no real answers. She struggled to hide her own mounting fears by believing her parents would not leave her to fend entirely for herself from this unseen threat.

After several times of being told not to worry and they would take care of her, she climbed into bed and closed her eyes to images of woods and sacred trees and a brother she barely recalled. Sleep crashed quickly over her shoulders and flitting mind. She dreamed, awoke and slept again, with more vivid and fantastical dreams, until the hints of sun brightened the edge of the earth through the window near her bed.

As she lay in her bed, her semi-sleeping mind considered an idea. The idea itself barely registered in the conscious portion of her mind. She let it flower and bloom. Once its roots gripped her mind firmly, she eased out of bed and got dressed in the early morning gloom. She grabbed two things from the kitchen and stuffed them in her dress’s pockets. The kitchen’s proximity to her parents’ bed required more stealth than Kylie typically possessed. She managed to secure the items and slip out of the house undetected.

The dew tickled her toes and the longer grass dampened the hem of her dress as she ran around the fields of the farmer on whose land they lived. She skirted the outer edge until she arrived at her path into the forest, her beautiful and mysterious forest. She found her way to the first clearing. Even in the dim light of dawn, Kylie spotted the spokes of the paths leading deeper into the woods. She struggled briefly to remember the one taking her to her destination. She remembered and forged ahead.

Kylie followed the sound of the waterfall before seeing it. She marvelled at the crashing water from the clearing. Her eyes scanned the woods for movement. Seeing none, she recalled things being similar the prior day.

She moved toward the waterfall. She knelt down close to the edge. Kylie, careful not to draw too near the water, scanned below the shaky surface in the predawn light. Unlike the previous day, she perceived no movement in the depths of the pool.

A sound, deeper than the plunging water, filled the morning air. Kylie tilted her head back looking to the sky. A first, she scanned the brightening sky, but saw nothing in her examination. She heard the cry. Bringing her head down slightly, the young girl noticed movement along the top of the waterfall. Kylie squinted to focus her vision. She watched the shape’s slow movements. It picked its way down few rocks cling to the side of the falls with strength to counteract its amazing size. It tested each hold prior to trusting its grip and position.

Kylie felt a mild brush on her left arm. She glanced quickly, not wanting to miss a moment of the oversized amphibian’s amazing feat. The girl saw nothing on her left, but sensed motion just outside of her peripheral vision. She jerked her head to the right. Her eyes locked with the long-eared cat from the previous day. Its eyes glittered like twin moons trapped in a night sky.

Mroooww, the cat said and turned back to the cliff.

Kylie looked at the cat for a moment longer before returning to the scaling water creature. It hung almost halfway down the rock face. The cat’s tail flicked her left arm again, but she kept her gaze fixed on the mottle-skinned beast’s climb.

Then, without warning, the climber released from the wall and sailed through the air. It reached the pool and slipped below the surface, making the barest ripple. Kylie marveled at the lack of splash. She wondered how a creature of such size and strength prevented announcing its presence in the water.

How did he do it?

Mroooww.

You don’t spend much time in the water, do you?

The cat blinked its eyes slowly. He brought a back leg up and scratched at his long left ear. The feline remained silent.

She turned back to the pool to see two bulging eyes and broad forehead breaking the surface. It looked like a small island with shiny stones residing at opposite sides of the mass.

Can you come out of the water? Kylie asked the submerged creature.

Bubbles rose to the surface in the location of the creature’s nose. Eyes blinked slowly as the cat’s and then his gaze turned to his companion. An unasked question passed between the two. Kylie felt movement next to her shoulder.

Without warning, the cat cried, Mroooww.

This simple sound imparted the necessary information to the swimming climber. It dropped below the water’s surface. Time dragged by as Kylie waited for the water beast to reappear. She leaned over the pool from her seated position hoping to see it swimming or about to return.

Instead of a dramatic arrival, the two eyes reappeared nearer the cat. The eyes and forehead drew to the shore. At the edge of the pool, it rose from the water. Once the swimmer stood more than halfway from its watery home, a fish flew from its mouth and landed before the cat.

The water beast climbed the remainder of the way out of the water. The creature towered over Kylie and the cat, which tore at the fish’s tender skin and flesh, unconcerned about the water being. The water beast kept the water at its back. Kylie suspected the water remained no more than a leap away for the massive creature. She felt safe before the two creatures.

I don’t know if you two can understand me. The water being’s expression remained unchanged, but the long-eared cat twisted it head left and right seeking to decipher what Kylie stated. She continued, Someone is sending things today, to take me far away from my family. I don’t want that to happen. I want to stay here with my mama and papa. Can you help me?

The cat looked at his compatriot and then back to Kylie. His head sank low as if preparing to attack. Instead, it emitted a series of gurgles and growls punctuated by some yips and cries.

The amphibian listened thoughtfully to her fish-eating friend. Her head turned to Kylie. Eyelids ponderously lowered and rose. Each act appeared to take supreme effort to complete. The water creature turned back to the cat and a single blat escaped her deep throat.

Kylie frowned at the exchange. The cat turned back to Kylie and nudged her arm. The little girl took this as permission to continue with her request. So she explained all she understood about the situation as she heard it from her parents. She drew a picture in the sand around the pool with a long stick of the hidden village with the great tree at its heart.

Do you know where the village is or do you think you can find it? Kylie asked.

The cat returned with an emphatic Mrrrrow. The water creature remained silent but moved its head slowly in what appeared to be agreement. Kylie smiled at her two new friends.

Then you two should probably get going. She glanced at the water being and added, Since it may take a little while for you to arrive at the village. Kylie rose. She hugged the cat tightly around his neck. She looked for a place to show similar affection to the still-damp amphibian. It offered the underside of one of its sticky feet. The little girl gave the cool skin a tender squeeze. Thank you. Thank you both for doing this.

She ran to the edge of the clearing. Kylie glanced back. The cat finished his fish with large bites. The water being placed its front feet on the wall of the cliff and hoisted itself from the pool to begin the climb to the top of the cliff. Kylie hoped for easy travel for both her new friends.

3.

Kylie picked her way through the forest and reached the edge of the trees as the sun peeked over the horizon in earnest. She ran home. She looked at the house as she topped the slight rise hiding it from the surrounding fields. She embraced the sense of all being well in the countryside.

Upon reaching the house, she slipped inside and found her parents still asleep. She grabbed the bucket to begin her chores.

Outside, she moved to the well located beside the house. Her hands pushed the well’s bucket from the stone wall surrounding their water source. The bucket unspooled the rope until a satisfied splash greeted Kylie’s ears. After allowing the bucket to fill, the little girl pulled the rope as her papa taught her. She braced one foot against the base of the well and the other foot dropped back. Her arms came one over the other pulling the water bucket to the lip of the well. She reached with her free hand. Kylie heaved the bucket free.

A tiny sound distracted Kylie from her task. She stood up straight and looked for the source of the noise. Scanning the countryside, she discovered nothing out of place. She threw a quick glance over at the door to the house and saw it remained closed.

Another sound, similar to the first yet different, caused Kylie to jerk her head forward. She looked down the road leading to the single farmhouse. The road remained quiet and abandoned. She reached down to grip the filled bucket by the rope threaded through a pair of holes in its sides. She began to pour the water from the well bucket into the house bucket.

Isst’s the girl.

She yanked her vision from the ground. Her body stiffened. Kylie felt the prickly discomfort of being watched by countless unseen eyes.