Little Orphan Anvil: The Complete Trilogy by Joseph Beekman (best contemporary novels .TXT) 📕

It was night, and the air was bone-chilling. Atainted glow of light from an old iron lantern, that hungupon a wooden stick in the raft, illuminated their way.

“How much further, Tinspar?” Tabitha askedquietly, keeping her eyes focused as best she could onthe river ahead. “Seems we’ve been on this raftforever…”

“Now don’t go getting your spirits down just yet,young lady,” Tinspar said. “We have but just a fewmore dreary miles, and then we’ll be off and into thecemetery hills.”

Tabitha recalled Tinspar telling her about thespooky hills they would have to cross to get to old manWill—she shivered at the thought of having to crossthrough more ghostly landscapes.

“Oh yes, I remember,” she replied. “Hmm…wellI’m hungry, and sure do need to clean up; I feel likesome monster spit me out of its mouth!”

Tinspar chuckled. “Well look at me! Now youknow how I feel most days!” he said jokingly.

Tabitha smirked and pulled the hood of her cloakover her head.

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After some time, the dawn began to shed a fewstray strands of light through the distorted branches;which now seemed to connect from both sides of theriver in a sort of arch-like tunnel. Tinspar maneuveredthe raft towards a spot in the river that seemed ideal forbanking the raft and getting off. The water was a bitmore shallow and calmer at this point.

“Right up over there—” Tinspar said, graspingthe lantern stick and moving the lantern light closertowards the spot he was looking at. “Looks to be asmooth spot to embark.”

Tabitha stood up and craned her neck, looking towhere Tinspar aimed the light. She then stretched andshook her head, getting focused and ready for the walkahead.

As the raft was coasting into the landing spot,they suddenly felt it jerk to a stop. Tabitha wasknocked down against a crate with a thud.

“Are you okay, young one?” Tinspar quicklyasked, looking over to Tabitha.

Tabitha nodded, rubbing her shoulders a bit.“I’m okay, but what was that?”

Tinspar grabbed the lantern stick and leapttoward the water; he moved to where he could place thelight up on the shoreline.

“Just some of them skeleton-tree roots; no needto worry, we shall be on this shore lickety-split!”

Moving back to the raft, Tinspar began tuggingthe raft closer toward the branchy shoreline. Hegrunted and strained as he pulled on the underside ofthe raft.

“Hold tight, young one! I’m gonna bring the raftin closer,” he growled. His long legs made it seem toTabitha as if he were already walking or standing uponthe shore itself.

After a few more tiresome tries, Tinspar threw hishands to the air in disgust. “Dang thing—it won’tbudge! Well, we’re just gonna have take what little wecan carry from the crates.”

He propped open the tops of the crates. “Justgrab some of the dried food goods and we’ll stuff eminto your pack.”

Tabitha sighed and grabbed her pack. Theythrew a few loaves of stale fish, bread, and ginger teainto it.

“Okay, now clamor onto my shoulders and we’llbe off!” Tinspar said as he ducked down for her toclimb on.

Just as she was climbing onto his shoulders, hisbody went out from under him and they both fell intothe water with a big splash. Tabitha shrieked, her bodybeing pulled down under by a grimy, skeletal root thathad snagged hold of them both.

Tinspar quickly sprouted upwards out of thewater and ripped the root from where it had his leg.Then darting his head about the water, he saw Tabithasquirming with fright in the frigid dark water; her bodywas being tossed about like a rag doll by the scragglyclaw-like root.

With blinding speed, Tinspar pulled the ironbladed pole from its sheath on his back. He moved it towhere he could snip the root’s grip from Tabitha’s legs;her cries for help were warbled by the water.

“Hold on, honey!” Tinspar yelled, his body nowglowing a dull green.

In one quick and very careful move, he stompedhis foot down into the murky water where the rootbranch was. With the root held in place, he severed itwith the blades. Tabitha scrambled free and swamthrough the water to the shore. She was in a horridstate of panic, coughing water from her lungs and tryingto regain her senses.

Tinspar leapt over to her. “You’re okay! You’reokay!” he repeated as he patted her back and looked herover to make sure she was not hurt. “Just a few oddscratches—but you’re okay! Let’s get beyond thesehere trees to the base of the hills. We can make a fire towarm you up and get you dried out.”

Tabitha looked up at Tinspar; her eyes were redand swollen. “Ju-just…g-glad…wah-wah we’re d-ddone and away f-f-f-from that cur-cur-azy river!” shesaid, her teeth chattering from being wet and cold. “Letlet’ssss g-go!”

Tinspar sheathed the iron-bladed pole. Thenturning around, so his back faced Tabitha, he loweredhimself down to her level.

“Okay, climb up! You can ride on my shoulders;you’ll be safer as we travel through these woods.”

Tabitha clamored up his back. Then grabbing herknapsack and the iron lantern from the stick, Tinsparsped off into the woods towards the cemetery hills.

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As soon as they had exited the skeletal woods,they found themselves traveling upon an icy surfacedlandscape. Great hills rose in the distance, and a brisk,chilly wind whipped about the dusky air.

They had arrived at the base of an old, archedgateway made of stone where Tinspar had worked up alittle fire, and where Tabitha was able to get warm anddry off. The stone gateway looked as if it had eruptedout of the ground countless centuries before the realmhad ever existed—it was very ancient and had darkgreen moss covering much of it’s shaded surface.

Tabitha, who huddled near the remains of thefire, watched Tinspar as he stood gazing upon thearchway with wonder. She studied his profile withcuriousity. His bug-like appearance with the enormouseyes still amazed her; and though she felt a bit sorry forhim, she couldn’t help but admire him for his strengthand will to survive for so long and all alone wanderingthe wilds.

“This, my young friend, is one of the very, veryold gateways that