Early Winter's Orb (Epic Fantasy Adventure Series, Knightscares Book 3)

By David Anthony and Charles David Clasman

When you hear the howl of snow beasts, run!

Unnatural snow covers the land. To save her people from endless winter, Emily must defeat the cursed Winter Orb. Armed with her bow and joined by her dog Leland and friend Daniel, an orphan more sneaky than a shadow, Emily sets out toward Mount Shadowvane, icy home of the Winter Orb.

To reach it, Emily and her friends will face nymphs, wingstingers, snow beasts, and a dragon. How can they hope to succeed?

• Language: English
• Publisher: David Anthony
• Release date: Nov 15, 2011
• ISBN: 9781301434268

David Anthony

David Anthony, along with co-author Charles David Clasman, has written over 20 books for kids in three series, including Mystery Underground, Heroes A2Z, and Knightscares.David Anthony received his first typewriter in the eighth grade and has been banging on keyboards ever since. As a child, some of David's best friends were books. He always loved to read. A friend first inspired him to write, and the steady encouragement of his parents and teachers kept him at it. Today he writes with the passion of his youth. No story can ever be too fantastic, too impossible, too spooky, or too silly.David currently lives in West Bloomfield, Michigan with a patient wife, a semi-patient son, and a demanding dog. At least two of them usually need a haircut. When not writing or reading, David plays tabletop games with his son, engages in social media, and roots for the Detroit Red Wings.

Book preview

Ffft-thew!

I love that sound. It’s the noise an arrow makes when it leaves my bow on a good shot. Not too loud or too soft and very little twang. When I hear it, I know my aim is perfect.

This morning I hadn’t heard that sound much. The cold and snowy weather had my concentration off. There wasn’t supposed to be snow for at least another month.

My parents tried to pretend that nothing was wrong or even unusual, but it was supposed to rain at this time of year, not snow.

I might be only twelve, but I knew that much. Fall had just begun. Something was terribly wrong with the weather.

I noticed the worried looks in my parents’ eyes when they glanced at the sky. Something dangerous was happening.

Woof! Leland barked at my side, interrupting my thoughts. He was waiting for me to tell him to fetch my last arrow.

Leland had been my best friend since my parents brought him home when I was seven. He was five now. That was thirty-five in dog years, but he still acted like a puppy.

Leland was a very big dog with lots of bushy yellow, tan, and brown fur. We weren’t exactly sure what breed he was, but his feet were as wide as my Dad’s hands put together, and he stood taller than my waist.

Leland was also the best guardian a girl could have. Most of the time he was a playful giant, but when I was in danger he became as fierce as a mother bear protecting her cubs.

Emily! Dad called from the other side of a thicket of bare trees. It’s time to leave.

Coming! I shouted. I scratched Leland’s big head. Fetch, boy. Go get it.

The dog bounded off through the dusty snow with his tongue hanging out, and I turned to rejoin my parents.

We’d camped the night before on our way to Willowhill, the nearest town on the Longrapid River. Normally the trip takes less than a day, but the unusual weather had slowed us down.

Except for the weather, I was excited about the trip. Once a year, Willowhill observed the Celebration of Leaves, an autumn festival, and I was going to participate in the festival’s Sling and Archery competition.

This was the first year I’d be old enough to compete, and I planned on winning. I’m not trying to brag, but no one my age was better with a bow.

Pushing my way through the snow-covered trees, I found my parents packed and ready to go. They were sitting at the front of the wagon. Dad held the horses’ reins in his hands.

I guess I look like both of my parents. I’m tall and slender like Mom, but my red hair and freckles definitely came from Dad.

Good practice, Emily? my Mom asked from behind her wool scarf. She was bundled up tightly against the cold. It’s time to go.

I was dressed warmly, too, but I wasn’t wearing a dress like she was. I never wore dresses, bonnets, skirts, or anything too girly. Archers need comfortable clothes that don’t get tangled up in their legs and feet.

I usually wore boy’s clothes and kept my hair in a ponytail. Maybe that made me weird, but I liked it that way just fine. No one could shoot like me. That was what mattered.

We spent the rest of the morning slowly creaking and bumping our way to town. I passed the time by waxing my bow and straightening the feathers on my arrows.

Our wagon pulled into town late that afternoon, but the dark grey sky hid the sun. A light snow continued to fall.

As its name suggests, Willowhill was built on a tall, round hill surrounded by willow trees. Some of its buildings even have great tree trunks growing in and around their walls.

Here, take this to pay Mr. Barleyhop for our room, Dad told me. Your mother and I will stable the horses. A small leather coin purse dangled from a thin cord in his hand.

I snatched the purse eagerly and attached it to my belt. You got it! I said. I’ll meet you there. C’mon, Leland.

Mr. Barleyhop owned the Eternal Flame Inn, the biggest and best inn in town. People from miles around stayed there during the Celebration of Leaves.

Best of all, my friend Daniel would be there. He was an orphan, but Mr. Barleyhop allowed him to live at the inn in exchange for doing odd jobs.

The inn was so crowded that I could barely push my way into the common room. That was where guests gathered to eat, drink, talk, tell stories, and listen to music.

People stood around discussing the strange weather in quiet voices. None of them seemed happy. It didn’t feel the way it usually did right before the Celebration of Leaves.

When I spotted Mr. Barleyhop across the room, I sent Leland ahead to cut a path through the crowd.

I reached for my coin purse and found it—

Gone!

Someone had stolen my gold!

2: Human Shadow

What was I going to do? Someone had stolen my coin purse and gold. Without them, I couldn’t pay Mr. Barleyhop for a room. Our trip to Willowhill was ruined!

The common room suddenly felt smaller, and I realized that I was surrounded by strangers. There was a thief nearby. It could be anyone.

Men with shaggy beards and faces wrinkled from working in the sun spoke in deep voices. Women glanced at me and whispered to one another. I didn’t recognize anyone, and their dark conversations made me uncomfortable.

It’s the end of the world … a woman shuddered.

… unnatural snow … a man muttered, shaking his head.

… Longrapid River running backward, said someone I couldn’t see.

Everyone sounded worried and tense. A soft whisper right in my ear startled me.

I’m a human shadow.

Who …? I spun around, but there was no one there. At least no one paying any attention to me.

I wanted to scream. Hadn’t anyone noticed that I’d been robbed? Hadn’t anyone seen the thief leaning over my shoulder?

I tried to calm down by taking a deep breath. That was when I saw him. The thief. He hurriedly slipped through a door labeled private and disappeared.

I only caught a quick glance, but he wore a dark hood pulled over his head and was moving fast. He was definitely up to no good.

I didn’t wait. I had to get my coin purse back. With Leland serving as my personal battering ram, I struggled through the crowd.

People muttered as I pushed my way past, but Leland’s size quieted them. No one wanted to disturb the giant-of-a-dog.

The private door was unlocked, and we entered. I’d have unslung my bow from my shoulder if I’d thought it would be of use indoors.

Although I’d stayed at the Eternal Flame with my parents many times, I’d never been through the private door. I’d always wondered what might be hidden on the other side.

Finally knowing was a disappointment. The room wasn’t large or full of gleaming treasures the way I’d imagined. It was a small library.

Books lined shelves on two walls, and a torch burned above a small fireplace on a third wall. For some reason, the torch didn’t give off any smoke, and its flame had a greenish tint.

I sighed heavily. The room was empty except for Leland and me.

Guess we lost—

Whoosh!

A section of a bookcase suddenly slid open like a door, startling me. Darkness filled the space beyond.

I told you I was a human shadow, said a familiar voice.

3: The Eternal Flame

I took a step back and peered into the darkness beyond the secret door. The light from the torch behind me didn’t brighten the area at all. The doorway was black.

Guard, I commanded Leland, but he just glanced at me curiously. He didn’t seem to sense any danger.

A quiet snicker drifted out from the darkness. Then it turned into a loud chuckle. My friend Daniel stepped through the doorway, his smiling face flushed with amusement.

Lose something, Emi? he asked with a smug grin. He twirled my coin purse by its string around one finger.

"Emily, I corrected firmly, planting my hands on my hips. Daniel liked to shorten my name to Emi," especially when he teased me. Which was often. He was always making jokes and acting like a wise guy.

That’s why I liked him so much.

He also liked to call himself a human something or other. Like human shadow. That was his favorite saying. I should have thought of it sooner.

These are dangerous times, Emi, he continued, ignoring what I’d said. Snow is falling. The Longrapid River is running backward.

He shrugged. One must be cautious with valuables, she said. My coin purse continued to spin around his finger, and he grinned. He was acting like a know-it-all, but I was going to turn the tables on him.

"If one doesn’t give back my coin purse, I said all syrupy, one will feel my boot against one’s shin."

Daniel’s grin widened, but I turned to Leland before he could respond.

Pounce, I instructed.

In a blur of fur and