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

Thank the spirits! he thought.

The three teens came crashing in upon him; theytumbled down into the lava pit.

Aleeria swooped around to Will’s side. “Myfriend, sorry for reuniting like that!” she teased,watching the teens scramble to their feet and shuffleover.

Will laughed, sloshing about in the muddy pit.“I’ll never mind reunions of that sort! Where’s ol’Tinspar at?”

They turned and saw Tinspar bouncing over themud-flooded landscape, aiming for their location. Butwith a quick surge of thunder that suddenly boomedthrough the air, he was knocked off his feet.

Rising up off the ground, he hustled even fasterfor the lava pit, but was quickly struck on his metallicleg by a lightning tentacle from the witch. His bodyignited with a bright, green glow, and he toppled overthe edge of the lava pit.

“Tinspar!” Will shouted, diving to aid Tinspar’ssmoldering body. “Are you okay, my friend?” Heshook him, seeing his eyes staring blankly up to the sky.

The others flocked around him, shaking his bodyand hoping to revive their towering, long-legged friend.

Aleeria cast a healing spell over his body—hiseyes instantly popped open with a loud smack.

“Wow!” he yelled out. “What in the seven realmsjust happened?”

Will let out a chuckle, shaking his head at him.He pulled Tinspar up off the ground, giving him a warmembrace. Then he turned him around to view what theothers were looking at.

Everybody remained still. Their eyes were allfocused on the witch-lady’s pumpkin monster, and thetiny, iron-bladed pole piercing from between her darklyhollowed eyes.

Anvil—you did it! Will thought excitedly.

The witch jolted, her pumpkin form beginning tolift up from the top of the mountain. She was using thevine tentacles as her supporting legs, attempting tomove from where she had planted herself weeks before.

From the dark and thundering sky, brilliant blueforks of lightning suddenly cracked out of the clouds,striking the iron pole. The witch froze. It seemed as iftime itself had stopped, and the lightning had been puton pause. The iron pole glowed brilliantly, vibratingand buzzing loudly.

And then the witch-lady, and her monstrous-self,imploded. Horrific red and blue lightning bolts shotoutwards from the pumpkin as the witch-lady’s souldissolved, scattering her nightmare to the darkenedrealms below.

Everyone stared silently, paralyzed with shock.The witch was finally, and forever, gone! The realmspirits had connected to the meteorite, and through it,they had erased the witch’s soul from existence!

Will followed with his eyes as the stone traderghosts cast the iron-plated bodies of the lifeless robotsfrom their spirited forms; they dropped them back to theground.

The ghosts were departing, going back to theirdark pockets of caves in the canyon narrows.

“But what of Anvil?” Will whispered with somesadness, staring at the empty remains of the scatteredrobot carcasses.

He knew, however, that if Anvil had perished,then the little robot had done so with honor, and, likeAleeria had said, not in vain.

“Don’t you worry, dearest Will,” Aleeria saidsoftly, drifting nearby. “If Anvil’s body did survive thedestruction of the witch, then I’m sure you’ll one dayfind out.”

Will turned to her. “Yes, I’m sure you are right,Aleeria. And if he didn’t—” He paused, studying herghostly form. “If he didn’t, then I’d say he is truly aliveand free!”

Aleeria bowed before him, smiling. “Now thereyou go—that’s the spirit, my friend.”

They moved out of the lava pit, looking about theland that had become a graveyard of sorts. The rain hadstopped, and some fragmented light, cast from the fieryafterglow of the volcano’s opening, fell gently upon theground and the village remains.

Tabitha and the boys had taken off their breathingheadgear, no longer fearing the sleep spell. The spellhad dissolved when the witch, herself, had. Theymoved back towards the volcano and its main tunnelthat led into the iron mines.

“We’re off to see about our folks, now,” Tabithasaid as they started trotting off for the mines.

After a moment, she turned around. “Are youguys coming, or just gonna wait there?” she snipped,seeing that the others had not moved an inch. “Comeon—hope awaits us!”

Will paused for a moment, staring up at thevolcanic mountain where he’d last seen Anvil in action.He was hoping to see some sign of him. But withTinspar and Aleeria nudging him forward to followafter the teens, he soon shook off the expectation thathe’d ever see his little robot again.

~ CHAPTER XIV

~ FATE RE----FORGED

A few days after the final showdown with thewitch-lady had taken place, the Land of Iron and Anvilbegan to see fragments of its old self sparkle back tolife. The villagers that had survived the wrath of thewitch, including those that had been spellbound by hersleep spell, had joined in the rescue of the trapped mineworkers. The rescue had been an ongoing, painstakingeffort.

Aleeria, being the spirit that she was, would slipin and out of the mines during the excavation, searchingfor the safety rooms where the mine workers wouldhave gone, if they had made it to them in time. Finally,after some thorough soul searching, she’d been able todeliver reports to those on the outside of the trappedminers—they had survived.

With the help of a few rewired and re-forgedrobot-droids, as well as a few pieces of survivingdrilling equipment, and Aleeria’s own magic, the maintunnel to the largest of the volcanoes had soon givenway. Will, Tinspar, and the three teens, who had beenpraying for a break into the mines, had been greetedwith the wondrous sight of the iron miners exiting thevolcano—among them was Sonny, Kelsey, and Haley’suncle.

Tabitha and Jonathon were simply electrifiedwhen they had seen their folks emerge; and when theysaw Haley reunited with his uncle. A great celebrationhad ensued, and all the lands throughout the magicalrealm had rejoiced knowing that the witch-lady hadbeen forever defeated.

Jonathon and Haley had been most pleased thattheir previously tarnished image had now been erased:they were now indeed heroes in the Land of Iron andAnvil, and not the bad omens they’d been viewed asduring the previous four years. They were also veryeager to get back to hammering out some brand-newrobot-droids!

Tabitha was soon to begin the rest of her trainingin the old ways