BOOK SUMMARY To escape the wrath of Egon, Clara finds herself Deep in the Black Forest. It is a world of mystery and magic; creatures and animals, fairy tale princesses, and a Snow Queen. Prince Dustin, the Nutcracker Prince, is determined to protect Clara from Egon. Vicious and vile, Egon is not far behind and determined on getting revenge. Clara, a sweet and timid 12-year old, soon discovers that her uncle is a wizard in this far away land and that he is at the center of the chain of events. This thrilling fantasy adventure re-tells the story of the fairy tale, The Nutcracker, taking the reader along for the ride…a classic for all seasons! Excerpt © Reprinted with permission. All rights reserved. Chapter 10 - Egon Egon, spewing and cursing, trampled through the halls of the Castle of Bosartig. He was rage walking. All the mice in the kingdom that saw him from a distance backed off and quickly fled the other way, probably hoping they had not been spotted. Those less fortunate, quickly learned the folly of being in the path of a mouse gone mad. Egon had already given orders to have all the mouse soldiers ready by the time he made it to the front of the castle. The mouse soldiers were lined up row by row by the time Egon made it out to the castle's courtyard. Many gulped when Egon appeared. "Mice!" Egon bellowed. "Yes, King Egon." The mouse soldiers shivered as they quickly knelt in unison. King Egon thrust his sword in the air above his head. "We are on our way to the Ice Palace. Nordika thinks her army can protect Dustin and that young girl. Can she protect them?" Egon said with an evil laugh. The mouse soldiers said nothing. They hung their heads low. "You!" Egon hollered as he pointed to one of the mouse soldiers up front. All heads immediately turned. Some mice could be heard sighing with relief. Egon was not speaking to them. The soldier Egon pointed out quickly ran forward. Directly in front of Egon, he knelt down on one knee and bowed his head. "Yes, King Egon," he said meekly, almost in a whisper. Tears could be seen welling up in the soldier's eyes. "I remember you from our last battle," Egon continued as he walked from side to side with his head held high. The poor mouse soldier softly responded, "Yes." "Stand and look behind you!" Egon ordered while he rammed his sword into its holster. The mouse soldier jumped up and looked at the rows of mouse soldiers still kneeling with their faces partly lowered. "Now, tell me what you see." The mouse soldier looked perplexed and gulped. In a shrill and confused voice, he responded, "Mouse soldiers?" Egon walked from left to right and templed his sharp claws, tapping them together in front of his chest. "Yes, mouse soldiers," he affirmed in a commanding low voice. "And none of those faces will be here tomorrow if we don't get that girl and Dustin by the stroke of the next hour." Egon then charged forward. The mouse soldiers followed quickly behind him. Their long tails swished from side to side, leaving marks in the snow.