Jack Staples and the Ring of Time by Mark Batterson

Author:Mark Batterson [Batterson, Mark]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: C. S. Lewis, Fantasy, Young Readers, Allegory
Publisher: David C. Cook
Published: 2014-09-01T04:00:00+00:00

Alexia stood on the topmost branch of a birch tree, her sling ready in one hand as she idly thumbed a stone with the other. She’d been standing in the tree for more than an hour and was beginning to wonder if the old woman had tricked her. Maybe she’d just wanted to leave Alexia behind.

As they’d walked into the woods, Alexia had kept as close an eye on the old woman as she had on the surrounding forest. After ten minutes of walking, Mrs. Dumphry had stopped. There was nothing different about this part of the woods that Alexia could see, but the woman seemed to be able to hear, or perhaps sense something. Leaning close, she’d whispered, “The Oriax are hard to kill. But if you hit them squarely between the eyes, they will die quick enough. However, if your stone lands even an inch off center, the beasts will barely feel it.” Mrs. Dumphry’s eyes searched the forest as she spoke. “They are close now. At least one pack has been hunting us since Ballylesson.”

The old woman pointed to a nearby tree and asked Alexia if she thought she might be able to climb it. Alexia sneered and, without waiting for more instructions, she’d quietly taken four running steps and leaped for the closest branch, climbing silently. In a matter of seconds she was standing high in the tree. As she’d climbed, she’d pictured herself looking down to see Mrs. Dumphry staring up in wonder. But when she turned to look, the old woman was nowhere to be seen.

An hour later, Alexia was still standing on her branch and wishing she had stayed to hear more of Mrs. Dumphry’s plan before running off. Alexia’s anger began to grow. How long must she wait here? Although she didn’t trust the woman, she wasn’t at all excited about being alone in the woods with those Oriax nearby.

Alexia’s anger with Mrs. Dumphry wasn’t the only thing on her mind. The old woman had said she could save Megan. That was the only reason Alexia had decided to go with her. And now, here she was hiding in a tree in the middle of the forest! Her confusion and anger fed on one another until she was spitting mad. When she scanned the ground, her breath caught. A large number of Oriax were striding through the forest and would soon pass directly beneath her.

Some of the beasts moved with the fluidity of cats, while others plodded as steady as horses, jumped about like rabbits, or slithered along the ground. Yet whether they looked awkward or stealthy, they barely made a sound. Alexia counted thirty, but she was sure there were more, farther out in the darkness.

She once again wished she hadn’t left Mrs. Dumphry so early. Had she stayed, she might have learned how many Oriax were in a pack, or what the old woman expected her to do when they arrived.

As she shifted her footing to get a better view of the beasts below, something pulled at the corner of her vision.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.