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Holly Horse Shoes Book Report

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CHAPTER TWENTY Holly Horse Shoes and Snapping Purple Crocodiles Wow. I’ll say this for Zander. He certainly knew how to spruce up a forest. The former darkness had been replaced by a pale yellow bloom sun and a cotton candy blue sky, with no trace of the twisting fog. It was as if the battle had never occurred. The castle rubble was now a photo-perfect backdrop, boasting soaring white spires, ornate turrets, a royal-blue rooftop, and mullioned stained glass windows. Surrounding the edifice were animal-shaped yaw hedges and a deep, broad moat filled with lotus flowers and twenty-foot-long purple crocodiles. A drawbridge lay across water. Zander turned to Mason and me. “You need rest. Then I’ll fix you some dinner.” He lead us over the bridge—several …show more content…

“Neither. And I’m afraid your both . . .” He paused when he noticed my shadow slid across the lighted glass of the library door. “Ah. Good, Aiden.” Zander opened the doors. “You’re awake.” Mason sat in a comfy leather chair looking tired. He wore the same jeans and a rumpled T-Shirt with specks of blue cake batter on the front. His hair was wet and flat on one side as if he’d fallen asleep in the shower. Zander looked dapper in a gold Embroidered western shirt, jeans, a leopard-skin duster that matched his skin, and a black Stetson cowboy hat. Zander picked up a steel guitar and struck a chord that shook the castle walls. I imagined him sitting on the steps of the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, plucking out a Honky Tonk tune—Hank Williams, perhaps—like a cowboy from a bygone era unfolding his song in twilight the color of plum pudding, or possibly blackberry jam. “What did I miss?” “Nothing,” he said, a little too cheerily. “Come and eat.” The castle kitchen counter was laden with a gigantic roasted goose, a perfect golden brown glistening with sauce, and long hot loaves of sourdough bread, plus an industrial-sized pitcher of grape Kool-Aid. For dessert there was blue cake and yellow ice cream. The smell of food made me temporarily forget my …show more content…

Mason nibbled on a wing, but he didn’t seem to have much of an appetite. “So . . .” I pushed my plate away. “Tell me about the goblin. Will he ever be back?” “Don’t be foolish, boy,” Zander snarled. “The only way for him to return is to find the door that leads out of the realm of darkness.” “Where’s the door?” “It’s where dark meets light.” “Oh,” I gulped, trying to grasp that. My thoughts felt poised, not able to attached to anything solid. “So—” So,” Zander’s hand tighten around the staff, “even if he finds the door he still needs a key and it was hidden to keep wickedness where it belongs.” I smiled. “See? Everything’s good!” Mason stared at his half-eaten wing. “I’m not sure if Aiden needs any more depressing news.” “Huh?” I asked. “What are you talking about?” Zander shook his head. “Maybe you can’t see it, but the power of Gordok’s shadow has completely encircled this castle. I am quite stuck. At least until the silhouette of his soul dwindles to a speck of dust and finally vanishes.” I studied the ice in my drink. “Which means . . . we’re stuck

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