“Never again!” she said.
“But I have something for you,” he said, his hands full of blackberries—many squished to liquid. “I can get more.”
Avery took his face in her hands and kissed his forehead with a smack. She wondered if she would ever stop smiling, and she wanted to ask a hundred questions. But there would be plenty of time for that.
She plucked a berry from his hand, savoring the taste of home.
“We should have a party!” Henry said. “It’s your birthday!”
It was indeed. She was fourteen. “What would we serve besides blackberries?”
She reached for more, but as she did she noticed that the mysterious black star—which she had discovered on her wrist the first day at the castle—was gone. And there was no sign it had ever been there.
“Strange,” Avery whispered, and a fat blackberry splattered in her lap.
“Oh no!” Henry said, “You stained your dress!”
Avery laughed. “Who cares? I already ripped the collar and the hem.”
“Henry!” came a familiar thundering voice.
“Father wants us home,” Henry said with a sigh. “He says Mother will have stories about her trip.”
“She’s coming home? You’re sure?”
Henry nodded, hopping foot to foot.
Avery stood and took his hand. Henry turned it over. “Where’d you get this?”
Her ruby ring sparkled in the sun. “A story for another day,” she said.
“Tell me! I like stories.”
As they started home, Avery told him of the whole pig served at the king’s feast and of breakfasts unlike any she had ever had. She told of chess matches, the royal wedding, and the storage room full of treasures.
“We could serve a whole pig at your party tonight!” Henry continued.
Avery smiled. “And how would we pay for it?” Henry shrugged.
“But hey,” she said, “a whole pig could feed a lot of people. Who would we invite?”
Henry appeared to think about it. “A boy came this morning to talk to you. We could invite him!”
Avery rolled her eyes. She didn’t care about boys in the village. Besides outrunning them all, she could outthink most of them.
“His name is Tuck.”
Avery stopped. “He came to our cottage?”
Henry leapt over a branch in the path, and so did Babs. “He was nice. He and his friend helped Father with the garden.”
“Who was his friend?”
Henry shrugged. “You can ask him yourself. They’re coming back.”
Kendrick. By now Kendrick had told Tuck she was home. Maybe a party wasn’t such a bad idea after all.
“Tell me more about the pig,” Henry said with a laugh that sounded like music.
And so she did, until the tree house castle was out of sight and they reached the field separating the woods from their cottage—small and plain and glowing against the blue sky.
And in the distance a woman stood out front, watching them. Waiting.
Avery grabbed Henry’s hand and broke into a run across the field, Babs following, barking all the way.
“Tell Father and Mother about the room of treasures!” Henry called out. “And the magical breakfasts!”
She wished she could tell them everything, but her father would probably laugh and say she was only imagining things again.
Father would also want to know why Avery’s dress was stained with grass and mud and blood.
She would explain it all later.
For now, racing toward her mother—who raised her arms to gather Avery in—she would just weep with joy to finally be home, reunited with everyone she loved best.
If you missed the first book,
The Glass Castle,
the first chapter is on the following pages.
Don’t miss out on the entire story!
Chapter 1
Captured!
Avery dragged her three-year-old brother behind a boxwood bush and listened for footsteps in the brittle leaves. She couldn’t be sure which was louder—the person on their trail or her own heart, galloping like a stallion in her ears.
With one hand over Henry’s mouth, Avery looked down at the nicest dress she owned. Not only had she torn the ruffles and destroyed the hem, but the white linen stood out in the shadowy woods, making her an easy target.
If she survived this afternoon and made it home tonight—and that felt like a giant if—her father would demand to know why her dress was stained with grass and mud and tinged with blood.
She would tell him the truth.
How could she possibly have known that a simple walk in the woods would turn dangerous? It was her thirteenth birthday, and she’d had no intention of spending the day cooped up in their small, dusty cottage, doing chores that would need to be done again tomorrow.
Now Avery was sure she heard twigs snap. Crows bolted, and she felt someone or something watching her. Her father would understand the ruined dress.
Clothes, after all, could be replaced.
People, as their family knew all too well, could not.
“Don’t let go of my hand,” Avery whispered as Henry wiggled. She squeezed his shoulder until he twisted his face and nodded.
He looked scared, and why wouldn’t he? Instead of playing with the paper boat tucked in his pocket, he was hiding in the ghostly woods while a cold wind whistled through the trees.
“I’ll figure a way to get us out of here,” Avery whispered next to Henry’s ear. “Just don’t make a sound, and do exactly what I say.”
Henry nodded, tears dotting the corners of his big brown eyes.
Normally, hiding behind a bush was a dumb idea. Tall and long legged, Avery was the fastest runner among her friends. No one laughed about her unusually big feet or made fun of her unruly inky hair, because she could outrun everyone, including the boys. She knew she could easily outpace someone in the woods—if she didn’t have Henry.
So, while the unpleasant sounds of the woods rose up around them, Avery hatched a plan.
They would move to the one place she had always felt safe.
It was now or never.
Wait, the wind seemed to whisper, but Avery didn’t obey.
Taking a deep breath and grabbing Henry’s hand, she ducked from behind the boxwood. Head bent and body low, she pulled her brother to the next bush and the next until they reached a butternut tree deep in the thickets—but not just any butternut tree. This was where their father had built the most spectacular tree house when Avery was a little girl.
Rising before them stood a castle tree house—two stories high with an open turret and stairs that wound through a trap door that led to a tiny chamber at its highest point. The castle included a sky bridge, a tower prison, a tunnel, and a library—perfect for a girl with a bright imagination and a hunger for stories.
In the castle Avery could be anybody she wanted to be. On sunny days, she pretended to be queen and made Henry one of her loyal subjects. She painted watercolor castles and wrote poetry while sending Henry to collect blackberries or fetch water from the nearby stream for their snack. At night, when the sky was as black as ink, Avery would lie on the roof and imagine the stars were diamonds in her crown.
This castle held many secrets—among them, it supposedly sat atop an intricate system of tunnels—but whether any of them were true, Avery had no idea. Most importantly, it was the last place Avery saw her mother before she left and never came back.
Today it would be a hiding place.
Avery decided she and Henry would stay in the tree house until night fell, and then they would sneak home where Avery would explain everything to their father. He would be angry at first but would eventually soften. He might even loan her the money to buy a replacement dress since she had saved her brother’s life.
Avery was just about to lead Henry into the arched doorway of the thick tree trunk when he yanked free of her grasp and raced into the open.
&n
bsp; “Bronte!” he shouted, dropping to his knees and wrapping his pudgy arms around the mutt that was the family dog.
As Bronte’s matted fur spattered Henry with mud, Avery’s hopes of her father’s forgiveness vanished.
She had been so sure she and Henry were in danger.
Dumb dog, she thought, both relieved and ashamed.
They were not being chased as she had suspected, but she had ruined her one good dress and Henry was covered in filth. Her father would say she had let her imagination get the best of her again, and she would spend the rest of her birthday alone in her bedroom, likely without any gifts or treats.
“Oh, Bronte,” Avery said, joining Henry in scratching Bronte’s floppy ears. She couldn’t stay mad at the dog for long. They were the same age and had been best friends for as long as she could remember.
“Let’s go home.”
“But why?” Henry said, his voice rising to a whine the way it did when he was made to eat his vegetables or take a bath. “You said we were going to play hide-and-seek. Nobody found us.”
“Good thing,” Avery said. “But now it’s time to go home for supper.”
This news made Henry smile. “We’ll have apple sausages and cheese,” he said.
Avery was about to tell him they didn’t know what their father had planned but that they would be grateful for whatever they were given. But then she heard it—
The snapping of twigs.
And she saw it—
The crows bolting.
And she felt it—
Someone or something was watching them.
And this time, Avery knew it wasn’t the dog.
She grabbed Henry around the waist and ran as fast as she could move toward the tree house. But just as she leapt inside and shouted, “Hang on!” everything went dark.
All that remained was a bell clanging in the distance.
Did You Miss the First Books in the Series?
The Glass Castle
The king is growing old and is concerned about who will replace him. His new wife wants to produce an heir to the throne. The only problem? Thirteen years ago, the king’s first wife gave birth to a son, and no one knows for sure what happened to him. Rumors swirl throughout the castle. The solution is simple: dispose of all thirteen-year-olds in the kingdom. Except, it isn’t that easy. Avery and her friends won’t go quietly. And what they’ve discovered could blow the kingdom apart.
Hardback / $14.99
The Ruby Moon
In this delightful sequel to The Glass Castle, The Ruby Moon opens as preparations begin for the upcoming Olympiads. When Avery learns that a male runner is needed for an important race, she volunteers so she can get close to the action…but can she hide her own identity? One slip-up could mean a trip to the dungeon—or worse. Much is at stake while the kingdom enjoys the greatest games on earth.
Hardback / $14.99
It All Matters to Jesus…
It All Matters to Jesus Devotional for Boys
Ever wonder if Jesus really cares about your new bike, your favorite app, or how you treat your little sister? Each of the 40 brief devotional chapters in It All Matters to Jesus offers reassurance that He does care whether or not you told a “little white lie” at school…how you treat Mom and Dad…how you spend your free time…your daily struggles and cares…He cares about every little—and BIG!—thing. Find the heavenly Father in life’s daily details and come to know just how much He cares for you!
Paperback / 978-1-63058-921-9 / $5.99
It All Matters to Jesus Devotional for Girls
Each of the 40 brief devotional chapters offers girls reassurance that it all really does matters to Jesus! How girls treat their siblings…What they write about in their journals…How they treat Mom and Dad…How they spend their free time—painting, drawing, dancing, spending time in God’s Word…Their daily struggles and cares…He cares about every little—and BIG!—thing.
Paperback / 978-1-63058-933-2 / $5.99
The Paper Boat Page 12
