The Iron Compass Chronicles

Chapter 1: The Locked Trunk

The attic smelled like dust, wood, and old summers long forgotten.

Jack Mercer wiped sweat from his forehead as he pushed aside a stack of

cracked wooden boxes. Sunlight slipped through the small round window, light

ing the air with floating specks of dust.

“Grandpa sure kept everything,” Jack muttered.

Below him, the house creaked. His parents were out, and he had been told—

very clearly—not to go into the attic.