Jay Bell - The Cat in the Cradle

Dive into a good book at

www.swimmingkangaroo.com

The Cat in the Cradle

Swimming Kangaroo Books, March 2010

Swimming Kangaroo Books

Arlington , Texas

ISBN: Paperback 978-1-934041-87-1

Other available formats: PDF, HTML, Mobi, Kindle (No ISBN's are assigned)

LCCN: 2010924439

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data.

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

The Cat in the Cradle 2010 Jay Bell

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. This book may not be reproduced in whole or in part without permission.

Warning: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000. This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or events is purely coincidental. They are productions of the author's imagination and used fictitiously.

Cover art by Andreas Bell

The Cat in the Cradle

by

Jay Bell

Illustrations by Andreas Bell

To my mom and dad, who never said "no" to a book, and who would give them back when mean teachers took them away.

Chapter 1

Run Away

Humid night air danced across the rippling green waters of the lagoon, bringing with it the smells of summer and the sounds of night. Crickets competed with frogs in a contest of song, the two very different instruments blending together into a rhythmic pulse. Fireflies glided lazily through the pines and weeping willows that circled the lagoon, haunting lights that vanished before reappearing elsewhere. Sitting together on a blanket of fallen pine needles, a boy and his cat silently observed these surroundings.

The boy could hardly be called a boy anymore. Dylan was nearing his seventeenth year, and although his features were becoming more masculine, his steel-gray eyes still shone with innocence. His tanned skin hinted at a life spent outdoors, but the lack of muscles on his lean frame and the smoothness of his hands suggested that this time wasn't spent working. Messy brown hair covered most of his ears and reached halfway down his neck, adding to the evidence of a care-free soul.

Unlike the boy sitting next to him, the cat wasn't so easy to read. Kio's size made him stand out, an impressive two and a half feet from the top of his head down to his paws. He often was mistaken for a large dog. The cat's body was narrow and tight, his pure white fur short and neat. The feline mouth appeared to smirk beneath high cheekbones. Long, gently curved ears that ended in small tufts of fur twitched occasionally, orienting on distant sounds. The great golden eyes hinted at intelligence, something made plain when the cat opened his mouth and spoke.

"Out with it," Kio said, a slight purr lacing his voice.

"Out with what?" Dylan responded defensively.

"There is clearly something on your mind," the cat answered.

Dylan seemed about to say something, then shrugged, ran a hand through his tousled hair, and looked across the water's calm surface.

"Looks like you are going to make me guess," Kio said. "Very well then. Considering that you've sighed more than six times since we arrived here, I can deduce that you are discontent with something. You've been chewing your bottom lip, which you do when mulling over some great decision, and your posture reveals to me that it quite possibly has to do with travel."

Dylan's head whipped around. "You got all that just from observing me?"

"No," Kio snorted. "I got all that because you are extremely predictable. I know exactly what you are oh-so dramatically on the verge of suggesting because you do this every month."

"I may not be as predictable as you think," Dylan said, cocking an eyebrow and pursing his lips in what he hoped was a mysterious expression.

"Can you honestly say I was wrong?" Kio pressed.

Dylan struggled within himself before his shoulders slumped in defeat. "I want to leave the Lakelands," he confessed.

Kio's grin was victorious.

"Don't smile like that! I mean it this time!"

The big cat sighed. "I don't suppose you can simply recall the conversation we had about this last time, instead of us having to rehash it all once again?"

"Let's run away, Kio," Dylan pleaded.

Kio forced the grin off his feline face and tried to make his voice sound stern. "Run away from what, exactly? The luxury of being the son of the most prominent man around? The unbearable pain of having everything provided for you and not having to work? You've even talked your father into a break from your lessons!" he said with a huff, beginning to feel the emotions behind his words. "We have it really good here, much better than most people. We shouldn't take it for granted."

"You're right."

"Good. Glad we got through it quickly this time."

"No," Dylan said with a crooked grin, "that's not what I mean. You always win this conversation by saying how spoiled I am. Well, that's it. That's what I want to run away from!"

Kio's eyes widened. He felt as if he walked into a trap he had laid himself.

"I do take it all for granted. I don't know what it's like without the support of my father, and because of that I'm spoiled. What better way for me to learn my lesson than to set out on my own?"

Kio opened his mouth to protest, closed it again, and flattened his ears. "Tell me you're kidding. What about the lush meals Ada always cooks for you? Or the silk sheets on your bed? You really want to live without those?"

Dylan rolled his eyes. "I'm sure this has nothing to do with a certain litter box filled with pure white sand imported from the southern desert. And all this time I thought you were looking out for my best interests."

"Your welfare and mine are intertwined," the cat protested.

Dylan scratched Kio's ears affectionately. This was it. He could feel it in the night air. Dylan thought of the times when he liked being home. In the winter evenings, when he was standing outside in the snow and looking in at the warmly lit windows, there was nowhere else he wanted to be. But when the cold weather retreated and life crept back into the world, he felt a stirring in his soul; the pure potential of summer. He wanted to leave behind everything he knew, to be surrounded by the unknown, to become a stranger. Only then would he be free to reinvent himself.

"Just you and me, Kio. No money, no food, just a few changes of clothing and nothing more."

"All right," Kio conceded. "Let's do it."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." The cat cocked an ear. "Where are we going to go? I'm assuming that we're doing this in secrecy, right?"

"Yup. It's more fun that way."

"Well, where do you plan on going that we can't easily be found?"

A yearning leapt into his chest, one that Dylan focused on until he understood its source. Memories from two years ago rushed back; the feeling of a hand tightly gripping his, the smell of wine, a rough chin against his neck. He wanted to experience that again, to confront it instead of always hiding it away in his mind.

"Let's go see Rano," he suggested as casually as possible.

"That is either the brightest idea you've ever had or the dumbest, but the home of another Oligarch is probably the one place your father can't easily pry."

Kio was, of course, referring to his father's skill at blue magic. Scrying was child's play to him. Wherever Dylan went, all his father had to do was peer into his ceremonial bowl of water to see an image of Dylan's locationor anything else he wanted to observe.

"He won't have any reason to search us out because we'll tell him our destination."