The Circle of Owls (The Grimalkin Book 3) Dani Swanson (best books for 8th graders .TXT) 📖

chest. Her scream came from the back of her throat and lasted for what seemed an eternity, before it turned into a cackle that stopped Thea’s breath. Baba Yaga suddenly stopped her laughter to turn her head to where Thea stood. The giant witch tilted her head to the side and smirked at Thea, as if she could still see her. Percy had not stopped throwing rocks, trying to distract Baba Yaga from the rest of the group. Fig had tried to place himself in front of his human, but when Baba Yaga started to grow in size, he ran for the tree line.

“We should follow him….” Thea’s voice was calm, trailing off as she stared into the black, gaping holes on the face of the growing Baba Yaga.

Baba Yaga started to chant again in the Elvish-fairy tongue – her voice booming through the tree tops.

Percy dropped what was left of his rocks to grab Thea’s hand; with her eyes locked on Baba Yaga she was frozen in her place – hypnotized by the words coming from her mouth. “Let’s go Thea! She’s too powerful!” Percy picked the witch up and placed her over his shoulder before following after Fig to the trees.

The four took shelter in an opening in a cave at the foot of the mountain they had been heading toward. Percy set Thea down on the floor of the cavern and shook her shoulders hard. “Thea, snap out of it! You need to wake up!” Fig was butting his head against her fallen hand as Thea stared out the opening of the cave – fixated on the spiral of smoke coming from Baba Yaga’s hut.

Thea could still hear the words coming through the trees. She felt the nudging from her cat but could not move. There was a taste on the back of her teeth – metallic and rust – the bitterness of blood.

Percy was screaming as he shook her shoulders; his words were meeting deaf ears. Thea’s breathing slowed. She could feel her soul leaving her body through the top of her head, she could see her body below her, slumped against the wall of the cave with her little cat nudging her hand and her mighty raven squawking, trying to wake her with Percy’s slaps across her face.

Fig stopped nudging, and looked up at Thea’s soul, fixated on her aura rising above her body. He let out a throaty meow before his fur turned to fire, he then started to nudge Thea’s arm – the smell of her skin burning filled the cave.

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! FIG! STOP!” Percy was trying to grab the cat but couldn’t handle the heat from the fire.

Thea looked down at her body, and at the cat. She was peacefully floating through the air before she was violently jerked back into her body. She opened her mouth and gasped for air, before screaming and pulling her arm away from Fig. The life came back to Thea’s eyes, her skin covered with oozing blisters, and Fig’s fiery fur calmed to its normal silky texture.

“What was that?! Are you, all right?!” Percy wrapped Thea in his arms and sat there in an embrace for a few moments, while examining the blistering skin of his friend.

“I think I just died!” Thea’s voice was hoarse from the screaming as she too was examining her arm. “I think Fig just saved me!” She pushed away from Percy and scooped up the cat; holding him tightly against her chest- Fig started to purr – but only for a moment before wanting to be put down. He curled up on her lap and laid his head down. Jaeger swooped by for a moment, dropping a piece of paper by Thea that she didn’t notice, before flying out the cave’s entrance and out of sight.

“Died? How?” Percy sat down next to her; he winced from the scrapes on his back as he sat down.

“I’m not sure, but I was floating up there, watching you.” Thea started to rub her cheek where Percy had been slapping her – a bruise was already starting to form.

“Sorry about that.” He said through an awkward grin. “You wouldn’t wake up.”

“Apparently, I needed something a little more painful.” She had her arm up next to her head, watching the blisters grow up her arm. “Let me see your back.” She had her hand on his shoulder, pushing him forward away from the wall.

“I’m alright. It’s just some scratches.” His cheeks flushed to a darker shade of blue.

“I can’t fix myself, but I can fix other people. Lean forward, we both can’t be out of commission.”

He leaned forward, exposing his bloodied back between the shreds of fabric left from his shirt. His normally blue skin was covered in red. Thea placed her hands on his back, feeling the surge of power run through her, increasing the amount of blisters on her arm, and was able to heal him quickly. She spit up the black bile she had grown accustomed to.

After she rested for a few moments and wrapped her own wound with some honey, she tossed a shirt to him out of her bag. “That’s a woman’s shirt, I’ll be fine without it. I have my jacket on.”

“I know you have icy blood and all, but it is still a wintery scene out there and you need to cover your skin. Please put that on.” She held her head for a moment, trying to fight the urge to pass out. “Don’t be alarmed if you can’t wake me, it’s normal, I promise.” She staggered to her bag and covered herself with the patchwork blanket, and immediately went to sleep. Fig sat on her hip, standing guard.

Late in the morning, Percy was struggling to light a fire next to the shivering, sleeping Thea. Without saying a word, she tossed a fireball from her spot. “That would have been nice to have earlier.”

Thea shot him a disgusted look. “It wouldn’t have mattered, Fig’s fire just bounced