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

With a howling and sinister cackle, the witchlumbered over the mountain tops. The ground shookand quaked violently. She stopped at the largest of themountains from where she had started from, resting hermountainous body upon its crater opening.

Without so much as blinking an eye, Tabitha,Jonathon, and Haley kept their focus locked onto thewitch…and waited.

And then without warning, the witch began tostrike everywhere with her tentacles of lightning—including the area where the three teens were layinglow upon the ground.

“Move!” Jonathon bellowed as a whip-crack oflightning snapped nearby, shattering a piece of lavarock.

They turned fast, and ran. But having forgottenall about the icy lava slope that lay before them, theyfound themselves tumbling down its steep surface intothe cold darkness far below.

~ CHAPTER IV~ ASH and ICE

When Tabitha, Jonathon, and Haley had arrivedat the bottom of the steep lava slope, they were slightlybanged up and a bit bruised. They had tumbled overlava rock as well as trees that had collapsed when thevolcanoes had erupted years before.

It was dark, so they switched on their helmetspotlights to view their surroundings. As far as theirspotlights would shine, the teens saw a grim landscapethat was covered in volcanic ash and ice. Thousands ofice-frosted trees laid scattered all across the dismalground like dark, grey ghosts patiently waiting tospring back to life.

Silence gripped the night air as they stared atwhat was a spooky sort of graveyard. They shiveredfrom the cold and the shock of what they had witnessedabove; all three of them thinking the same eeriethought: The witch-lady had returned! Somehow shehad been released from Anvil’s iron body—and for thesecond time, had risen from her grave!

“Okay, we have to get some kind of breathinggear—fast!” Tabitha exclaimed, breaking the silence.“That black smoke that was just released over theland—it’s a sure bet to be the sleeping spell the witchlady cast over the land, four years ago!”

Jonathon nodded. “Yep, I’d say so,” he said,recalling the pumpkin they had discovered in the deadwoods, and had then uprooted. It was a pumpkin thathe and Haley had placed into the volcanic iron mineswhile under the possession of two ghosts, and thatwere, themselves, under the control of the witch. Herespected the fact that Tabitha never mentioned his ownname, or Haley’s, whenever she referred to that wholeevent. Instead, she would only mention the witchlady—who, in all truth, really was the sole evil-doer,and not themselves.

Suddenly, Jonathon’s eyes brightened, and hequickly turned towards Haley. “Haley—we have to getto your uncle’s cabin! He may have some old mininggear stashed away somewhere!”

Haley shrugged, thinking for a moment on it.“Yes…yes, I think he does! He’s bound to have something there from his early days of working in thosedusty mines!”

Tabitha quickly perked up. “And hey—we canget some camping stuff while we’re at it, too!”

“Yep, we’re gonna need that!” Jonathon advised.“We can’t stay around here; we can’t even hideanywhere close to our homeland! It’s going to be verycold, and we may have a ways to journey before wefind any help.”

“Well, the cabin is about two miles from here,”Haley replied. “If you want, I’ll lead us there…”

Jonathon shook his head. “No,” he stated firmly.“I’ll lead, I remember where it’s at.”

“Let’s get moving, guys,” Tabitha said. “It’sgonna be a long night, and that black smoke is probablyhovering above us as we speak.”

“Let’s do it, then!” Jonathon said. “Remember tostay close behind me and keep quiet—we don’t knowwhat all could be lurking out there in the wilds, afterthat witch’s crazy tantrum!”

Tabitha cupped her hands together over hermouth to warm them from the chilled air. She dartedher eyes about the dark.

“You’re right…that witch-lady monster, with allher rumbling and quaking, probably stirred up all sortsof spooky creatures for hundreds of miles!”

Haley cringed at the thought of what Tabitha andJonathon said. “Well, I’m more than ready when youtwo are,” he said nervously.

Jonathon tipped his helmet to them, then turnedabout and started off. The other two quickly followed,crunching through the ash and the ice…into the darkoutskirts of the wilds.

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Once the three teens had reached the old cabin,they quickly scrounged about and found some rusty, oldmining gear; it had been buried back behind an ironstove. Although some of it was broken and useless, thethree had managed to gather the breathing apparatus’sthey’d been looking for. They were made of iron, andhad an odd-shaped, heavy appearance. However, whenthe teens had tried them on, they felt rather lightweight, and would prove favorable for their venture.

“They’re in fair enough shape for us to use,”Tabitha said, her voice muffled, and having a hollowed,tin-like sound due to the wiry, filtered mask that wasattached over the mouthpiece of the helmet. “Andbesides, they each have a tiny spotlight already attachedinto the top!”

“I’m not going to complain, nor am I going togamble on my safety against that wicked witch’s darkspell!” Jonathon said, his voice echoing oddly withinhis own iron helmet. “I am agreeing with Tabitha onthis one!”

Haley just huffed; he no longer seemed comfortable with the idea of having to wear an iron mask, as hehad called the headgear; and for who knew how long itwould have to be worn. The other two dismissed hisattitude, knowing the awful downside to not wearingthe breathing headgear.

They quickly snatched a few hooded and heavycloaks with which to keep warm for their travelsthrough the cold wilderness; and they also stashed sometools and blankets into a couple of knapsacks.

Outside, behind the cabin, they filled theircanteens with water from a ground well, and discussedthe best direction they should set out on.

They also wondered who best they should seekfor help. Tabitha mentioned the old blacksmith, Will—she felt fairly certain he’d still be among the living,possibly hiding out in the Land of Shadows with hisstrange, metal creations. She also mentioned an oldsavior of hers; someone from her previous adventure inthe wilds.

“Tinspar?” Haley said sourly when Tabithamentioned the name. “You mean that creepy swampbug that was with you the last time the witch made amess of things?”

Tabitha frowned, though they would not be ableto see each others full expressions, since the only spacein their iron