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

the weary travelers: they were all able tofit aboard its rough and very ancient, wooden surface;including the wagon cart, although the raft was a bitconfined.

Anvil kept watch up front, his red beams of eyelight piercing through the dense fog and wind-blownash. Aleeria sat near the robot, her ghostly formoutlined now by the rusted light of an iron lamp thatwas posted on a pole at the side of the raft. Tinspar wasat the rear of the raft, guiding it along; he was whistlingoddly to himself. He and Will had agreed uponexchanging duties of keeping the raft on a steady andsafe course, and each took turns using a long treebranch to maneuver the raft about.

“Isn’t this ash going to harm us?” Tabitha askedfrom the top of the wagon cart where she was huddledwith Stella.

They were peering out from several blankets thatwere wrapped around their heads, keeping the windychill from making them any colder; they watched theash as it fluttered about, coating everything in sight.

“I mean, it seems this ash might carry the spell ofthe witch, too—sorta like the icky gases from thevolcano clouds in the sky!”

“No, my dear, we should be fine!” Will said fromwhere he sat, leaning up against one of the wagon cart’siron wheels. He held an iron lamp in his frail hands,polishing it with a piece of cloth. “If any of that ashwere to have caused harm, it would have already doneso by now. We just have to keep moving before themgas clouds become far denser, and fall closer to wherewe are—it’s those that have the foul spell of the witchin em!”

Tinspar, who was humming an old, dreary songto himself while he guided the raft on its steady rivercurrent, looked about at the blackened, grayish ash thatfell lightly through the air. The ash made the overhanging tree vines look like scary looking, giant spiderlegs that dangled down towards the unwary river and itstravelers.

“I’m not the biggest of fans for all this ash,”Tinspar quipped, ducking low to avoid a few of thevines that passed overhead. “It can only mean that afew other lands have already fallen by now under thatwitch’s vile spell.”

Tabitha shuttered at the thought. “I hope we getthere soon and stop her!”

“We will, my dear child,” the sorceress said.“The plan you have in mind is one I think may just dothe trick!” She turned towards Tabitha and smiledsweetly.

Tabitha returned her smile, but with a shiver ofdread. “I sure hope so. I don’t know how my motherand father did all this before, but it sure seems like it’sgoing to be a tough time ridding her for good!”

Will grimaced, remembering how the witch inher ghastly form, before her spirit was silenced, haddived angrily towards him while he was rafting his waythrough the narrows of the canyons. It had been trulygreat timing and blessed luck the way she had beendefeated that first time. Now, it was to be a real battleof sorts—for the witch, it seemed, had grown far moreevil and full of fury than ever before.

They all remained silent for the rest of the nightas the raft continued on; drifting through the darknessand the fog and the horrible ash.

~ CHAPTER XII

~The WISP FLY BATS and BERRIES

The following night the party had stopped brieflyalong a narrow, but calm, stretch of the river to collectsome wild berries that Tinspar had spotted growing likemad from a few thorny bushes. He had come acrossthese particular berries once, long ago, when he was ayoung traveler; the blood-red berries were filled withthe rare energy and magic of the wisp-fly bats thatdwelled within the dark vine-tunnels hanging over thenarrowest parts of the river.

While Tinspar and Tabitha collected a knapsackfull of the berries, using an iron lantern to see by, Willstayed aboard the raft, fumbling about with some wiresinside Anvil’s rusty, plated armor. Anvil would bleepand tweet whenever Will connected a few of the greenwires with the purple ones. Aleeria floated nearby, overthe water, often mumbling to herself as if in deepthought. And Stella, she had gone off to prowl about inthe dense brush and fog of the embankment.

As Will was closing a panel on Anvil’s side, tinyflickering lights suddenly caught his eye. He shut thepanel and peered upwards; a flurry of fireflies zoomedstraight over the raft and continued on into the darknessahead. Anvil whistled, turning about to see their fadingline of light.

“Wow! Them fireflies are sure in a hurry!” Willsnapped. “Wonder what that was all about?”

Aleeria approached Will, her red hair swirling inthe foggy air. She floated down upon the raft.

“I think they may have been fleeing some sort ofdanger chasing them,” she stated eerily. “We shouldcall the others and get moving.”

Just then, Tinspar crashed through the brush. Histowering body sprang off from the river’s edge andlanded on the raft. Tabitha was clinging to his back,one hand clutching a knapsack full of the berries.

“Move! We have to go!” Tinspar shouted, fearfulalarm smeared about his face, and his skin glowing adull, greenish color.

He quickly bent his body low, allowing Tabithato scurry off his back and onto the cart; and then hehustled over to the rear of the raft. Grabbing the raft’spole, he plunged it into the water.

“Hold tight and stay low!” he shouted. “Coveryourselves with some blankets!”

Pushing down on the pole, the raft moved outfrom the river edge and into some of the river’s current.

Will and the Sorceress were frozen for an instant,staring at Tinspar. Tabitha threw a blanket to Will. Hejumped in fright when the blanket hit him and fell overhis head.

“What in the ringing bells below?” Will hollered.Parting the blanket from his eyes, he saw Tabithashaking in fear; her eyes were about to pop out from herface.

“What is it child?” he said, moving up to her.

“There!” Tabitha said hauntingly, pointing to thebushes.

The others turned, and saw several black, wingedcreatures swarming towards them. In the lead of theswarm was Stella, her body flashing aboard the raft likea streak of lightning. She landed on Tabitha’s lap, herfur standing out like an