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

that her body was killed at somepoint in time—yes; but her evil soul was then released,and, therefore, became alive!”

Tabitha’s eyes reflected back to the old storiesshe was told; the ones concerning Will, Anvil, and herfather, Sonny, and how they defeated the witch-lady.

“So after she was killed, her spirit—which yousay would then be alive—it was then crushed andburied, just lying under that pile of stones in the canyonnarrows until someone like me and my friends camealong?”

Aleeria nodded. “So it would seem, child.”

Tabitha sighed and looked into the sorceress’seyes. “My friends are now under some spell of thiswitch—she’s using other spirits to control them; theytook an evil spell of hers to my homeland of Iron andAnvil to ruin it, and it seems to have already happened!We saw giant volcano gas clouds in the sky—they maybe coming this way!”

Aleeria’s eyes suddenly bloomed in a wild colorof orange. She swirled about over the bridge’s stonerailing, her hands grasping the sides of her head. Shethen froze in mid-air and released her arms to the sky.

“I, too, saw those the other day!” Aleeria voiced,floating back over to Tabitha. “I wondered about thosevolcano mountains; I had once lived in the Land of Ironand Anvil. But the witch…why, I wonder, did she notdeliver the spell herself? Or travel to the volcanicmountain mines with your friends, too?”

“She can’t,” Tabitha replied. “She is under asacred spell from them ancient stone trader ghosts thathide out in the caves of the narrows; one of them helpedme to escape from the witch. It told me of an oath kindof spell that they made to keep the witch sealed whereshe had died—err, I mean, where her spirit wassmothered by the river stones.”

Anvil let out a tiny whistle making Tabitha’sheart jump. She looked over to him. The robot seemedas if it were growing restless; he was bobbing about inthe air, and his eyes were zooming in and out at her.

Hmm, he’s probably a bit spooked with the spiritnearby, Tabitha thought.

“Listen, Tabitha, I am not dead—not any longer.”Aleeria placed her hands on Tabitha’s head and lookedinto her eyes with sincerity. “Believe me or not, butnow is not the time to argue who is dead and who isalive; we all exist, and all of us on different planes ofthis realm. In any case, if this witch is free and iscausing harm, then yes—I will travel with your party tohelp you!”

Tabitha slid herself off the stone. “Let me wakethem—they have to meet you! We need your help, andI think you just gave me an idea!”

Aleeria nodded; she stayed behind on the bridgewith Anvil, while Tabitha skipped off to awaken theothers. Tabitha first stopped to give comfort to Stella,who had remained cautiously curled up underneath thewagon cart.

~ CHAPTER XI

~ The GREAT RIVER

After Will and Tinspar had been awakened fromtheir deep sleep by Tabitha, they were happily relievedthat the sorceress had been found. They had all gathered by the entrance to the bridge—save for Anvil, whohad remained by the wagon cart, loading their belongings into it with his spidery-iron limbs.

They had listened to the strange philosophy ofthe sorceress; hearing her tell them of how she believedherself alive and no longer walking dead, as it were,like those who remained “trapped” inside their ownbodies, as she put it.

Will and Tinspar had just accepted how thesorceress thought; they did not bother to discuss herways of thinking any further. They had been excitedenough just to have her accompany them to stop thewitch for the good of the realm. And Tabitha…she hadbeen overjoyed that her “crazy” idea for putting an endto the witch was also accepted.

“It just might work, young child!” Tinspar hadgleefully said to Tabitha, his bug-like head bobbingabout on his crane-like neck. “We have to at least giveit a shot!”

Although Will had accepted Tabitha’s idea, hehad not been so high-hearted to jump for joy about it. Itwould mean having to lose a very near and dearcompanion, if it was pulled off in the manner that thesorceress said it would be.

“I just know I’ll feel quite sad, for some time,”Will had stated, his gaze falling upon his good pal,Anvil. “At least for any of the remaining years my oldbones have left in them…”

For two days and two nights, after they hadcrossed the ancient stone bridge, they traveled througha vast landscape of giant flowers and gardens filledwith bubbling waterfalls. There they had encountered afew lone and haggard strangers who had offered toguide them through the wilds for a heavy fee. Ofcourse, they had declined, not having any coins to partwith—Will and Tinspar had already felt they weredrawing closer to the great river as it were.

On the third day, Will had accepted room andboard from a village of cave dwellers that lived amonghigh-walled cliffs overlooking the great river. Thevillagers had gladly let them use a vacant cave to eat inand rest in exchange for a few of the party’s remainingice crystals. ‘A nice little fee,’ as Tinspar had said.

The villagers, however, had looked upon Anvilwith great suspicion. They had never seen such a thingas a robot, and they were constantly trying to poke andprod at his metallic body. Anvil would occasionally letout high-pitched whistles and bleeps that would alwaysscatter the villagers far back into their own caves.Tabitha would giggle, and Tinspar would let out a songlike laugh that echoed throughout the cliff dwellings.



On the morning of the fourth day, as a heavyblanket of gray fog rolled upon the wilderness belowthe cliff dwellings, Will and the others were nowmoving along the banks of the great river. They werewell rested, but now they had to find some means ofquickening their pace: the dark and dooming volcanicclouds were growing larger and closer in the sky behindthem, and ash was beginning to fall upon the wilds likesoft, blackened snow, carried about by the stormy windsfar above.

We need a raft, and fast! Will thought fitfully tohimself as he scoped both sides of the wide river forany signs of a raft that the cave dwellers may have kepthidden nearby.

“Keep