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

noise alerted their attention to the darknessabove. This time they all jumped.

“My, oh my!” Will growled. “We had best getmoving! Who knows what all lurks up there in thosedreaded leaves!”

Tinspar had moved over to Anvil and directed therobot’s eye-lights upwards into the high-tops of thetrees.

There, far above, in the gloom of the blackenedleaves and trees, they all saw the movement of two oddshaped looking leaves. The two leaves dangled fromthe darkness of the trees like giant butterfly cocoonsready to burst open new monsters.

“What, pray tell, are those?” Tinspar hissed.“They look like some kind of leaf-like creatures readyto pounce upon our heads and smother us all indarkness!” He and the others backed away from thecart and the area where they stood.

“Where is that sorceress?” Will whispered. “Sheshould be back by now!”

As if in answer to Will’s question, Aleeriaswooped down from the darkness; she floated gently infront of the him and the others.

“You may want to sit down for this,” Aleeria said,fixing her gaze upon each of them. “Oh, and unhookthat robot of yours from the cart,” she said to Will.“We’re gonna need him.”

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The group had listened in spellbound disbelief asthe sorceress had explained to them what she had justseen above the tree tops, and of what she knew aboutthe two cocoon-like leaves.

She had told them that the volcanic gas clouds,containing the witch’s sleep spell, were now very closeto their area—and that the two cocooned leaves abovethem actually contained Tabitha’s friends, Jonathon andHaley.

“What!” Tabitha had screamed out when she hadheard this. “Get them down!”

“By all means!” Will had exclaimed. “Yes! Weneed to see them down here!”

Aleeria had quickly calmed the group with asimple relaxing spell: she needed to explain thesituation to them, so she had voiced a few words theirway that eased their fears slightly.

She had told them of how she came across two ofthe stone trader ghosts floating near the two swollenleaves. The ghosts had told her they had been freedfrom the witch’s spell that held them in possession ofthe boys; and this had happened sometime after a greatvolcano eruption.

Although the ghosts were free of any controllingspell the witch had over them, they had told Aleeriathey would not have abandoned the helpless boys whowere now under some strange spell themselves. Thewitch’s dreaded sleep spell had worked. The boys, andanyone else who breathed in the cloud gases from thevolcanic eruptions, were doomed to an eternal sleep.The pumpkin seeds had ignited the witch’s evil…onceagain.

So, staying in their own possession of the lifeless, sleeping bodies of Jonathon and Haley, the twoghosts moved the boys to the dark forest of giantleaves. There, the ghosts then moved out of the bodiesof the two boys, and using a secret spell, they hadsealed them within the great leaves as a means toprotect them.

When Aleeria had finished, they all stared at herwith wonder. Finally, Tinspar, sprang up from the wetground and rushed over to Anvil; he quickly busiedhimself untying the robot from the cart.

“So what happened to these stone trader ghosts?Where are they now?” Tinspar said frantically to thesorceress while he fumbled with the rope ties. “Can’tthey undo this protection spell and help the boys downfrom up there?” He shot a quick glance up to the twodangling leaves.

“I am afraid they fled,” Aleeria said. “They werefrightened off by the robot when its eye-lights beamedup into the tree tops.” She waved a hand towardsAnvil. “I do not think they are very fond of thismetallic magic of yours…”

Will nodded his head, remembering when Anvilhad spooked the stone trader ghosts in the river of thenarrows, long ago—they had scattered into their cavepockets.

“Listen, guys,” Tinspar said firmly. “Aleerianeeds our help then. We have to use Anvil to get thoseboys untangled from the tree limbs! This robot of yours,Will—it can do that.”

“And I can help guide them softly down,” Aleeriasaid. “I just need those steel-like tree limbs cut so theycan be lowered.”

Will looked over at Tinspar; he saw a steadfastglimmer of hope in his large eyes.

“It’s what you originally built this little robot for,was it not?” Tinspar said to him. “To help the orphanedchildren?”

Will could only nod, his eyes growing misty ashe looked Anvil over. Then looking to Aleeria, he sawher wavering in the air and staring back into his eyes,her arms folded, waiting for some firm answer. Hedarted a glance to Tabitha, who was shaking, tearsrolling down her cheeks.

“Well…” Aleeria said. “We can’t wait forever, orwe shall end up just as they are—forever asleep.”

Will looked back to the sorceress. “I know, it’sjust that if something were to happen to this poor robotbefore we get to our goal—”

“I know—” Aleeria moved over to him. “Thenthe whole realm would be forever lost.”

Will nodded. “But we also can’t leave thosechildren just hanging there like that!” he rasped; histhroat was dry. “We can’t leave them alone for anotherminute—let’s get Anvil up there and get them down!”He stomped over to Anvil. Opening a side panel in therobot, he pressed a few buttons; Anvil bleeped loudlyand began to lift into the air with great speed. “Nomatter what, we shall deal with this witch! We may stillhave time before it is too late!”

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After the boys had been released from the treelimbs with Anvil’s help, and lowered gently to thewagon cart by Aleeria’s magic, they had quickly beenunwrapped from their cocooned leaves. Tabitha hadwept upon seeing them laying there in a zombie-likestate, so pale, and their eyes staring blankly outwardsfrom ash-covered faces.

Before they had continued on through the forest,Will had fiddled with a few wires in Anvil, adjustingthe robot to move with greater speed. Will and Tinsparhad to trot fast to keep up alongside the fast-movingwagon cart. Tabitha and Stella had remained with theboys on the wagon cart, while Aleeria swept forward,high above.

Now the party was moving swiftly through thedark forest, with only one thought in their minds: defeatthe witch, and save the realm!

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By the time they reached the other side of thedark forest, the