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

“What just happened?” she said in completesurprise. “Did that iron pole do all that?”

“Yes, young lady!” Tinspar twirled the pole infront of Tabitha—a big smile creasing across hiswarped face. “The oil from their bodies, along with themetallic magic of this here iron pole, caused them to goup in flames! Of course the rain helped a wee bit,” hesnickered. “Now let’s hurry and make haste!”

Tabitha shook her head. “Nonot just yet,” shesaid flatly.

Tinspar stopped twirling the pole and frowned ather in puzzlement.

She looked up at him square in the eyes. “I havesomething to tell you. Please, you have to help me…Ineed you to help me warn my homeland before it’s—”she stammered “—before it’s too late…”

Tinspar crouched down, so he could look herdirectly in the eyes. “Too late?” he asked with concern.“Too late for what, young lady?”

Tabitha sighed as tears welled up in her eyes.“They’re in grave danger of an evil witch…”

~ CHAPTER V

~ The WARNING

Dawn was approaching, as the red rays of anautumn sun sliced through the dark, ominous cloudsthat remained low in the sky. An old, rickety, woodenraft carrying Tabitha and Tinspar, as well as a few smallcrates, floated upon a fast moving river. Skeletal-liketrees haunted both sides of the river, looking as if theycould pluck any unwary traveler from the river for thesake of amusement…or worse.

Tabitha sat near the two of the crates at the frontof the raft. She was quiet and numb from all she hadbeen through. The two of them had been on the foggyand darkened river for a full two days and nights. Everynow and again she would glance upwards and shudder,as some of the withered and leafless tree branchespassed their skeleton hand-like shadows over the raft.

Tinspar stood tall as ever at the rear of the raft,guiding them along using the iron-bladed pole to pushthe raft with. He had a very determined and grim lookupon his face, and had to duck every so often when thetrees came obviously to low for his height.



When they started off down the river, Tinspar hadbeen quick to point out that it was a much less traveledriver among the many rivers that ran through the realm.And Tabitha had finally felt relieved, having told himabout what had happened to her friends, and about thewitch's return.

She spoke of how she had witnessed what shewas certain the witch intended to do:

By enslaving her two friends with the stonetrader ghosts that had been captured with a spell, thewitch would then have them under her wicked control.The witch would then be able to have the two boysdeliver to the volcanic mines her wicked magic; and itwould be through the control of the ghosts inside oftheir bodies.

The witch was planning to destroy the Land ofIron and Anvil, but Tabitha couldn’t be certain just howthe pumpkin came into play. However, she was sure itcontained the darkness of the witch!

Tinspar had listened with a quiet calm as Tabitharelayed to him her story—his eyes becoming moreanimated as she also relayed the story of her folks,Kelsey and Sonny: How they had helped destroy thewitch the first time with the aid of an old blacksmithand his robot, Anvil.

When she had finished, Tinspar then told her ofhow he believed this witch to be one of the samewitches that had cast a spell upon him years and yearsbefore; and that after the Land of Stars had beendoomed, that same witch must have narrowly escapeddestruction and gone into hiding.

“So you think the witch from the old orphanagein the Land of Shadows—you think it’s the same witchthat a long time ago had hurt you with her evil spells?”Tabitha had replied.

“Oh yes, young one—I do!” Tinspar had shotback. “The same one that had fled the Land of Iron andAnvil, not taking kindly to the newly discovered waysof iron and metal magic in that land. She went intohiding among the orphans as the overseer of thatmansion. There she devised her twisted plan to rule therealm! I, too, had heard the tales—and from a verywise source, at that!”

“What source?” Tabitha had queried.

“This pole here,” Tinspar had said as he gesturedto the iron pole, “is from a very old man—a formerblacksmith from your homeland by the name of Will.”Tinspar had smiled when he mentioned the name.

Tabitha had froze; her blue eyes widened withdisbelief. “Old man Will? Then you know of him!” shehad said excitedly.

“Yes, my dear!” Tinspar had stated reflectively.“He had come across my path years ago and had giventhis iron crafted pole to me as a gift from his heart; weexchanged many a tale or two, including that of thewitch. Old Will yet lives beyond the cemetery hillsnow…though he is quite old indeed.”

“We need to get to him—bring him with us backto my homeland!” Tabitha had hollered, jumping up anddown. “We can’t go to your place to rest now—weneed to find him; maybe he can help!”

Tinspar had sighed and scratched the top of hishead in thought. “Precisely what I have in mind, younglady. But I now see that to go to your homeland wouldbe quite unwise.”

Tabitha frowned, but kept her eyes on his.

“If what you say is true, and I have no doubt thatit is,” Tinspar continued, “then going there would onlyput us in harm’s way, too. We have to end this witchand her evil spirit before all is lost! Now sit downbefore you plunge into these sinister waters. The rootsfrom these river trees have a way of sneaking up out ofthe water and snatching younglings away—such asyourself!”

Tabitha had quivered at the thought, and hadquickly plopped down against the crates, darting hereyes back and forth to either side of the rapidly flowingriver.

“We shall seek ol’ Will out and hope he still haslife flowing in his old bones, yet!” Tinspar had hissedloudly.



Now, as the raft coursed along the river, Tabithacould only sit patiently and wait, praying for her familywho she feared she may never see again. A tinge ofheartache stung her senses. However,