Andy thinks he's lost forever when his aunt's chimney transports him and his dog, Chip, into the magical world of Emerraine. To get home, he must save the Hearthstone Village with Elsie, a young witch, and her Familiar against a dark plot that has b...
Ups! Ten obraz nie jest zgodny z naszymi wytycznymi. Aby kontynuować, spróbuj go usunąć lub użyć innego.
A RED CANOE BOAT was docked on the shore, and Andy ran for it, even though his limbs were shaking. Often, he would stumble on the dirt, but he would quickly pick himself up for fear those evil flowers would find their way to him. He could still hear their moaning cries, each voice distinct from the other.
With his frail, bony, and shaky fingers, Andy fumbled around the rope's complicated knots and untied it from the post on the dock. The boy stepped carefully into the canoe and sat down. He lifted the oars and pushed against the dock to move the boat to the water. As he rowed farther and farther into the middle of the lake, Blooms Garden faded from sight as yellowing vines curtained the path towards the maze-like garden.
The leaves on the tall, green trees surrounding the lake blew gently in the wind, and the steady breeze managed to ease his frantic heart of the thumping pain.
Despite the aching of his tender muscles, Andy continued paddling the oars while his neck craned to the opposite shore, never letting his eyes leave his goal. The silver moonlight cast a spotlight on the shore as if encouraging Andy that a prize of guaranteed safety would be rewarded after this hardship.
But after that, what now? He wondered to himself, worrying too much about this journey's outcome. How would Andy find Elsie, Hex, and Chip? How could a powerless kid be able to continue on this journey? In all honesty, Andy only managed to stay alive because of Elsie. He was good at nothing but tinker, creating wild inventions that he could not even use in a situation like this, memorizing paragraphs from textbooks, and solving complex math problems. The monsters in this world wouldn't ask him first what America's capital was before eating him! Or what the square root of one hundred was.
Think, Andy. Think! he told himself. I thought you were smarter and better than most kids your age?
Andy continued rowing as the soft water danced him in smooth jazz of whistling night air. Even if his arms felt like snapping into two and his breath was now coming out as heavy puffs, the young boy was relentless as he kept going.
The lake was as silver as a diamond flame. No sound rang out from the shimmering emptiness of space around it. Unruffled by wind or rain, it was still and restful. The only sounds were the bumbling of bees and the heavy echo of a raven cawing.
Andy froze, his breath tied into a hitch. Raven? It brought a sense of dread just with the sound of that bird. He could still remember, as clear as a polished mirror, how those ominous birds attacked with their pincer-sharp claws and how they bore their bright red eyes hungrily at them.
He swiveled his head like a creaky, rusting robot. A single crow, much scarier and bigger with falling black feathers, was perched on a thick branch. Its wide beaks were parted open, and gooey and smelly saliva dripped from it.
A small whimper escaped from his chapped lips as he contemplated whether to row back or continue heading in his destined direction. The boy pinned the bird with his eyes. He imagined he had powers to make someone frozen on the spot just by looking at them.
