Little Orphan Anvil: The Complete Trilogy by Joseph Beekman (good beach reads .txt) 📗

We have traveled some ways now to help theorphans from the vile nature of this lady. I know whatshe is capable of doing; and sadly, what she has done toour land back home. I feared the worst would happento you youngsters.”

The girl sat down at the base of the tree and theothers followed. The robot whirled its way around thetree and met them at the other side of it. It bleeped andwhistled, and then lowered itself to rest on the ground.

“Do continue, young lady,” Will said as he resteda hand on the robot. “We are most anxious to knoweverything you can tell us. The sooner we know, thebetter. Time is important—now more than ever!”

“Wait, Will,” Sonny stated, looking over to thegirl. “What’s your name, miss?”

“Oh my!” Will harped. “Where have I placed myway of good manners? Yes—what is your name, younglady?”

“Kelsey,” she said timidly. “I remember seeingyou and that robot with the lady one night, and she wasangry and you stomped off.” Will flinched at thememory.

“It was at the mansion, and it was some timeago,” she continued. “And not long after you had leftthe land, she started making us harvest those icky fieldsnear the mansion, and planting strange seeds in the soilevery night. Only at night we were made to plant thoseseeds! And in the morning we had to dig and water—over and over, for many days—nonstop!” Sheshuddered.

Sonny and Will listened intently, oblivious of agrowing presence that stalked the stillness of their darksurroundings.

“Well, the seeds soon sprouted and grew intolong dark vines that spread all over the fields,” Kelseysaid. “And then the vines sprouted big and scarylooking pumpkins! They were not pretty to look at, andhad an awful smell to them.” She shook her head indisgust.

“Pumpkins, you say?” Will said. “Hmmm—” hepondered aloud. “I wonder what that old lady is up to?”

“I think I have an idea, sir,” Kelsey said rathernervously.

“Well please, young miss—pray tell!” Willquickly blurted out.

She picked up the glass jar and held it tightly inher hands, staring at the firefly zipping about inside; itslight bounced reflections into her misty eyes.

“I overheard her one night in her living quarters—way before she started us planting those seeds in thefields. She seemed to be talking to someone, but Inever heard or saw anyone else nearby, or in her room.I don’t know…but I think she might have been talkingto herself, like she was going really crazy or something…”

The robot bleeped a few times, spinning its dometop around in the dark. Sonny looked over to the robotas its lights pierced about the pitch darkness. Hewalked over to it.

“What is it? What do you see?” Sonny whispered to the robot.

The robot-droid quietly twittered and bleeped inresponse.

Sonny struggled to see out into the dark foranything strange—at least stranger than a bunch ofmangled roots and branches—but nothing appeared.He shrugged and moved back over to sit beside Will,who had kept his attention on the girl’s every word.

“So the lady was saying that all the lands of thisrealm would soon be hers, and these seeds that you andthe other children would be planting—these wouldmake this possible?” Will said, making sure he’d heardcorrectly what the little girl had been telling him.

Kelsey nodded. “Yes, sir, she said this stuff. Shewas going on about how the pumpkins that we hadplanted would make everyone sleep forever! Only afterthe pumpkins grew and could then cast some weirdspell of hers, would she then be able to use her darkpowers to have the realm in her hands!”

Will and Sonny shared alarmed looks at eachother.

“So I was scared,” the girl continued. “Becauseafter the pumpkins began to grow, a lot of us kidshelping in the orchard fields began acting weird andsleepy all the time—like they weren’t even thereanymore! Even I was starting to feel really odd andtired, too. And the other kids I saw around, where Iwould be working—they wouldn’t talk, or anything!They just moved like puppets,” she whispered hauntingly.

Will nodded, staring at the firefly buzzing aboutin the jar. “I fear the lady has her dark magic over thatwhole land! But something is gnawing at me…” hepondered, scratching the top of his head. “Somethingelse; some other magic trick up her sleeve is allowingher to control the minds of those children—commanding them to work and toil in the fields while they’re inthis sleepy state.”

Kelsey nodded in agreement. “I had to escape orI would soon be like some of those other kids, and Imight start acting really spooky, too!”

“It seems from what I hear of your tale so far,”Will continued, “is that these pumpkins have one of herown spells in them, and that they can put anyone into aslumber of sorts. Yes…she must have some wickedway of controlling anyone that is under the spell ofthose pumpkins—some way to direct them to herorders,” he persisted, shaking his head in distress.“Hmmm…hopefully it’ll come to me soon!”

He paused in thought, tapping his finger on thetin lid of the jar that Kelsey held onto. “Where did youfind this little firefly?”

Kelsey turned her gaze to the firefly. “I found itwandering into these woods—there were a lot of themcircling about in the dark! They helped me get to thissafe tree spot where I’ve been hiding for awhile. Icupped this one in my hands and put it in this jar.” Sheheld the jar up to her face, staring into it as the flutterylight played tricks upon her pale face. “I had used thisjar to hide some of those pumpkin seeds. I had to showthe seeds to someone, anyone, to prove what I knewabout that lady and her ways!”

Will nodded. “Well, what did you do with thoseseeds then?”

She shook her head and replied, “I had to dumpthem so I could put this firefly safely inside the jar. Itwas like the fireflies knew I was good—like theysomehow knew I needed to find a safe place to hideout!”

Will patted her on the shoulder and smiled.“Well you are now safe