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

back over and satback down. He placed a blanket over the boy, thenthrew one over his own body.

“Oh…thanks,” Jonathon said quietly, tugging atthe blanket. “I forgot how it’s going to be getting awhole lot colder the farther we travel up north…”

Will grinned, and picked up his own fishing pole;he stared off at the line as he dragged it back up.

“Yes sir, it is going to be a mighty fierce and coldtemperature the closer we continue up this old river!”

Jonathon pulled his own fishing line in, and thentossed it back into the river—he watched it settle like afeather gently falling on the water.

“That really was a neat trick that Tabitha did,” hesaid humbly, staring at the line.

Will looked over to him and smiled. “Yes, I’dhave to say it was a fine display of sorcery…” Hethrew his fishing line back into the river. “That magicis her calling; it’s something she is tuning to the rhythmof her own soul—much like yourself!”

Jonathon turned to Will, a questioning look in hiseyes. “What do you mean, Will—myself?”

“You have a calling, too,” Will said. “It’s muchlike we all do. You just have to listen to your heart andsoul, and only then will you know what that calling willbe…”

Jonathon nodded, looking back over his shoulderto Tabitha. She stood near Anvil and Aleeria; they wereboth watching the robot as it twirled pieces of fruit andfish into the air with his metal limbs.

“Yes, she is quite a gem,” he said. “I’m glad Ican call her my sister.”

Will clapped him on the back. “That’s the spirit,kid! Now let’s catch us some fish and we’ll fix up a bigol’ feast!”

---------

Three days had passed since the party had startedout upon the wide river. They had now entered an areathat was much narrower, and where bits and pieces ofice would occasionally float past the raft. On eitherside of the river, giant stone pillars loomed high into thesky casting dark shadows upon the water. The windsfrom the north had picked up considerably bringing agreat chill, and the party had to add a few extra layersof blankets to their freezing bodies.

Anvil, who had a thin coating of frost over hisiron-plated body, kept watch through the shadowy riverpassage, while Tinspar continued to guide the raft,peering from beneath the hood of his heavy cloak.

The others remained occupied, mostly listeningto Aleeria as she told them tales of a dead realm fromthe days of old—tales when sorcery was once veryvibrant and alive throughout the lands.

Tabitha was most pleased to hear the stories—shehoped to one day be a part of such fantastic fables!

By nightfall of the fourth day, as the partyapproached deeper into the darker wilds of the north,the raft began to bump into larger patches of solid ice.

Anvil became alarmed; he started bleeping andwhistling, spinning his eye-lights about.

Will set aside a few metal scraps he’d beentinkering around with—scraps he had collected alongthe way through the wilds—and ambled over to therobot. He looked around at the surface of the river,seeing the ice patches floating by.

“Oh, it’s only larger pieces of ice bumping theraft about,” he muttered to Anvil, his breath streaminginto the cold air.

Then his eyes suddenly brightened. “Wait aminute…that can only mean we should be nearing theglacier!”

Anvil whistled cheerfully in reply.

“How we looking up there, ol’ Will?” Tinsparhollered from the rear of the raft, curious to the oldman’s sudden antics.“Any sign of our glacier?”

“Not yet!” Will shouted back. “But keep youreyes aglow, we should be closing in on it fast! Theselarge ice patches are a sure bet!”

---------

The following morning, the light was filteringthrough a layer of grey clouds that blanketed the icecold sky. Tabitha and the boys were sleeping near a fewof the crates that contained the party’s water and food,as well as the crate that carried the body of the spider—Haley made sure to keep himself far from that crate,fearing the spider might come to life and try to finallyfinish him off!

Will stayed up front with Anvil, keeping watchfor any sign of the great glacier, as Tinspar continuedkeeping the raft on course. Aleeria was floating in theair, alongside the raft; her bluish form and red willowyhair billowing in the wind.

Tabitha awoke, and glanced over to the sorceress.She noticed that Aleeria seemed to be staring off intothe distance; looking beyond a few low-lying hills withsuspicion in her eyes.

“What are you staring at, Aleeria?” Tabithaasked.

“It’s the dark vapor trail of the witch-ladymonster,” Aleeria replied. Her words immediatelyroused the attention of the others.

Tabitha and the boys jumped up, moving over tothe edge of the raft, straining to see. Will and Tinsparstayed put, focusing off to the area that the spirit waslooking.

“That dark, smoky streak in the sky?” Tabithaasked suspiciously, looking at a faint, dark line streaming south through the lower parts of the sky. “That iswhat is connected to the witch?”

“Yes,” Aleeria said. “It’s coming from out of thecauldron of the two witches in the north. It’s linked tothe witch-lady’s pumpkin monster that you guys sawback home…”

“Home,” Tabitha whispered, reflecting upon herfolks, Kelsey and Sonny. She lowered her head insilent prayer for them. When she looked back up, hereyes were misty, and she had to blink away a few tears.

Will hobbled over to the edge of the raft. Heplaced his round-rimmed spectacles on and peered outacross the distant hills.

“Yep—you are right, indeed! It’s linked to thoseothers! It’s their own terrible puppet line directing themonster that the witch has become!”

Blood-red streaks of lightning suddenly zippedand zapped out from the dark trail, some reaching farbelow the view of the hills. The boys shot up onto theirfeet and hustled over to Tabitha’s side.

“That’s part of her!” Jonathon shouted, tugging atTabitha’s cloak. “She was using that same kind oflightning to destroy all the robots back home!”

Tabitha nodded, her focus kept upon the sky asshe reached over and grasped Jonathon’s arm tocomfort him.

Aleeria spun around to the others, her eyes werebrimming with alarm.

“You three—” she voiced firmly to the threeteens. “Stay