Stella and the Golden Crystal
by
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"Come on." Stella whispered. She hopped along the rough path, heading for the patch of darkness that was swallowing the slower Vanderbilt, as he rounded the bend that marked the curve around the mountainside. Stella ran faster, not wanting to be left behind in the gathering shadows. She glanced behind her, checking that Petra and Theo were following; they were on her heels, clearly as spooked by the rising gloom as she. She skidded to a clumsy halt, inches from the broad back of Vanderbilt, who stood solemnly alongside a dark, shimmering pool of water. The far end of the pool bubbled and churned where the frothy waters of the falls punctured its surface. Delicate ripples of dancing waves swirled out from the epicenter, mellowing and widening to the banks of the pool, which glowed green and gold in the sinking sun. The noise of the thundering water filled the hollow, the sides of which rose steeply in slabs of damp, dark granite, woven thickly with lush moss. "Saone left her mark everywhere, including this remote corner of her realm." Bijou replied, faintly, his voice barely audible beneath the chorus of the falls. "The goblins didn't always hold sway in these parts. That is a relatively recent development, in the big scheme of things." "This is where she blossomed, isn't it?" Stella whispered, suddenly. A tingling had been growing in her paws, stemming from the earth, itself. The presence of something powerful... magical, shimmered around them, enveloping the forest in a warm energy. It was the first time Stella had felt such calm since they had left the comforting confines of the Palace Tree. Even the safe darkness of Merrow's tunnels had not filled Stella with a peace such as this. Stella was certain, more certain than she had ever been before, that this was where it had all begun, the faeries, Saone... and the Crystal.
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About the Book
Imagine a boundless palette upon which musings can soar, where young minds turn toadstools into tables for mice or mossy banks into condos for moles. Enter a world where faeries dance over sparkling streams, their wings shimmering, while malevolent beasts of legend peer out from the dark, craggy caves in some forgotten valley. In the tradition of Redwall, Wind in the Willows, and Mistmantle Chronicles, with a little splash of Lord of the Rings-style adventure, comes Stella and the Golden Crystal. Stella is a small gray squirrel, a reluctant heroine who must embark on a quest to recover the missing Crystal D’Or, a mystical gem of great power stolen away by the goblins who dwell in the high mountain caves in the distant Valley of No Trees, a place no young squirrel would dare go alone. The goblins are bent on discovering a way to turn the faerie magic of the Crystal D’Or to ill. A clumsy rabbit, a pair of fellow orphan squirrels, a beaver, an ermine, and a marmot make up some of the unlikely allies who join Stella in her attempt to save the Woodland Realm.
About the Author
Karina Wetherbee lives in Colorado, with her husband and three children. She is a professional photographer, whose fine art photos can be purchased as prints, greeting cards, and thematic photo books. In 2004, Karina published The Minefield of Memories, which has received many accolades from its readers, educators, and book groups.