The Heath Cousins and the Crystal Canyon: Book 3 in the Heath Cousins Series

By Eileen Hobbs

In book 3 of the Heath Cousins series, the four courageous cousins travel back to the magical land where they first met their friends Gemma and Jumani, the white wolf. This time they must find their way under a dangerous waterfall and enter the land through the Crystal Canyon. There they must face a dangerous enemy, Arach the crystal-spewing dra

• Language: English
• Publisher: Palmetto Publishing
• Release date: Mar 13, 2020
• ISBN: 9781641115025

Eileen Hobbs

Eileen Hobbs grew up in Thailand where her parents were missionaries. She likes to write books that have diverse characters and that take her readers to places they might not otherwise get to explore in real life. The Heath Cousins stories are all based on the growing-up years of her own children and their cousins. Eileen lives in Oklahoma with her husband, two sons, and two dogs. She teaches English composition to international students at a nearby university. She enjoys traveling, gardening, reading, and going to the beach.

Book preview

Chapter 1

A Rainy Day

Adelaide Bennington Winifred Heath, also known as Addie B. by her friends and family, was extremely irritated. She and her cousins Bodie, Beanie, and Jack had been at the cabin in North Carolina for two days, and so far, it had rained solidly the whole time. This was not the worst part for her since she was happily reading a book about Native American tribes she had found on a dusty shelf. The irritating part was her younger cousins who, because they had not been able to get out and explore the forest and hiking trails at all, had been constantly arguing and fighting over their video games. Some summer vacation, Addie B. thought!

You broke it! Beanie screamed at his younger brother.

I did not! Bodie yelled back.

I’ll never forgive you! Beanie said, tossing the video game console to the floor and stomping off. Bodie sat in the middle of the living room, his head bowed, trying to hold back his tears. Addie B. reluctantly left her comfortable chair to comfort her seven-year-old cousin. I’m going to go mad! she thought to herself, glancing out the window at the gray summer day. The constant bickering between her cousins was fraying every nerve in her body. To top it off, her oldest cousin, Jack, lay sprawled out on the couch, sound asleep and oblivious to all the noise around him.

Gemma…said…forgiveness…is the best gift, Bodie said. Why…can’t Beanie forgive me?

Addie B. smiled to herself, remembering their friend Gemma’s words of wisdom from their last visit to the Garden of Choice. Why had they not heard anything from Gemma in so long? she wondered again for the hundredth time. It had been over six months since they had gone to that magical land through the Kingsgate Bridge in her hometown in England. She missed her friend Mai Li from China whom she had also met there. Were they all okay? Would they ever get to go back again?

She turned her attention back to her youngest cousin.

You’re right, Bodie. But sometimes forgiveness takes time. Give Beanie some time. Okay? Come here. She patted the seat next to her. Bodie cheered up a little and sat down beside Addie B. on the worn sofa. The rain fell steadily outside, marked only by occasional rumbles of thunder. Let me read from my book to you. It’s about Native American tribes in the US.

You mean like Grandma Winnie? Bodie asked, referring to their beloved grandmother who had passed away a few years ago.

Yes! Addie B. said, turning to the page about their grandmother’s tribe in Maine.

She was from the Penobscot tribe, Addie started.

Pennob-snot? Bodie asked, crinkling his nose.

Addie laughed. No, silly. Penobscot. It means ‘the place where the rocks open out.’

Like the Moonstone Cave? Bodie asked, referring to the cave near their grandparents’ cabin where they first discovered the magical Garden of Choice and met Gemma; Jumani, the white wolf; and Jadira, the smelly buffalo creature.

That’s right! Addie B. continued. "Here are some words we can learn. Kwai kwai means hello."

Bodie repeated after her. K-why, k-why.

Exactly, Addie said.

What about here in North Carolina? What tribes were here? Bodie asked.

Addie B. turned to the chapter on the tribes of North Carolina.

It looks like there were several, including some of the Cherokee tribe. It says before the Europeans came here, around 1550, there were more than one hundred thousand Cherokees. By the 1800s, there were only twenty thousand.

What happened to them? Bodie asked.

Unfortunately, many of them died, Addie explained. They got sick from the diseases that a lot of Europeans brought with them. Many were forced to leave their land too.

Bodie was silent for a moment, thinking about what Addie had told him. Then he sat up suddenly.

Hey! What’s that?

He pointed to a yellowed paper, folded in half, that had slid out of the book that Addie had been reading. She picked it up carefully and opened it up, smoothing out the crease that ran down the middle. It had some pictures on it—a house, some trees, a river—and underneath the pictures were some strange words that Addie couldn’t understand. It looked like a very old map.

Is it a treasure map? Bodie asked excitedly.

Addie studied the yellowed paper. I’m not sure, she said. But I know how to find out!

With that, she jumped up and ran out of the room, carrying the map with her. Bodie smiled. He knew that look in his cousin’s eye. It meant—at least he hoped—that a new adventure was right around the corner.

Chapter 2

The Map

Addie B. ran up to the second floor of their cabin where her room was. Her parents and aunt and uncle were playing a card game at the kitchen table, and she could hear their laughter and the sound of the cards being shuffled.

Her room was small, but at least she didn’t have to share with her stinky boy cousins since she was the only girl. There was a small twin bed, an oval mirror, and a chest of drawers. A small square window looked out on the forest that surrounded the cabin and beyond that the blue-gray shapes of the Smoky Mountains, barely visible through the steady rain.

She reached into her bag and pulled out the small treasure box that her grandfather had given her. It had belonged to her grandma Winnie, and she never went anywhere without it. She opened the box and inside were the familiar objects—the locket with a W on it, a blue feather, and the first poem that had led them all to the Moonstone Cave. But underneath lay the object she was searching for. It was her moonstone ring.