Blat Magic: Part 1

By MICHAEL STEPHENS, Illustrator MICHAEL BUCHANAN

As she ran into the heart of Deep Forest, the woman pressed a bundle to her chest with one hand and grasped a thin-bladed sword with the other. The wind howled through branches, sometimes angry, sometimes sad.

It was midnight. Even if there had been enough light, she could not have seen over the tree roots that covered the forest floor. With each trunk big enough to contain a mansion of rooms and staircases, balconies and hallways, furniture and carpets, the woman was tiny by comparison. Storm clouds grumbled as the wind strained to herd them across the sky.

Occasionally a gap allowed moonlight to touch the forest floor. The woman kissed the bundle, murmured a few words instantly snatched away by the thunder, and set off again.

Publisher: HarperCollins

Price: $16.95

Age group: 9-12 years