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

“It’s hard to say who, or how many people walked through here. The snow has drifted over the tracks.”

“Well let’s go after them!” Thea scooped up Fig and placed him on her shoulders as she started to tromp through the snow faster than her normal pace.

They started down the path and could feel light rumbles coming from below the mountain. “That must be why the cave was shut off with the rocks. We better get out of here before there is an avalanche.” He pointed back to the cave.

A dark shadow flew over the icy snow. They all looked up to see the shimmery belly of a dragon gliding through the sky, disappearing over the peak.

“That was beautiful!” Thea was awestruck as she continued down the path, looking over her shoulder to where the dragon had flown. “What kind of dragon was that?”

“That is one of those Blue-Scaled dragons that your friend went out to search for. I seriously thought that they were all extinct! It’s good to see one flying around these parts.”

The low rumble of the mountain started again, growing stronger the longer it shook. The snow started to slide down the path, faster than Thea and Percy could move their legs.

“We need to get off this mountain!” Thea started launching fireballs in front of her, melting the snow on the path so that they could place their feet on hard ground. Fig had jumped off Thea’s shoulder and started to run in front of them. This continued down the rumbling mountain as the avalanche came rolling down behind them. The snow was knocking them down as they ran. Percy fell hard and wasn’t quick enough to his feet. He was quickly covered in the snow; Thea could no longer see him. She too lost her footing as the snow tripped her. She fell hard and flipped over to her back. The wall of snow was crashing down around her – She put her hands out in front of her, screaming as she shielded herself. Fig, in all his fiery glory, stood over the top of Thea, melting the snow before it could hit her. She screamed again, and the power of the Ether pushed all the snow back up the mountain and into the sky, where it was taken by the wind to the other side of the mountain. Percy’s body was there on the path, he held his chest as he gasped for air. “How….did you….do that?!” His breaths were labored as he pulled himself to his feet.

“I don’t know.” Thea’s voice was barely above a whisper as it felt as if the wind had been knocked out of her.

Fig was still amped from the snow, he was pacing in his large form, melting everything that was frozen on the path. “It’s okay Fig, calm down boy.” She reached out her hand to welcome the cat over to her side. He reluctantly went over to her as he shrunk back to his normal form.

The entire mountainside was free from any snow. The dead grass was exposed, and the yetis climbed higher into the trees; their white fur had nothing to hide them. “Seriously, how did you do that? I should be dead!” Percy sat down in the muddy path next to Thea – her arms were shaking as she rested from the spell.

“I have no idea how that happens. When I get really scared or angry, it just comes shooting out of me. It feels like all my innards are trying to escape my body through my fingertips! Everything just goes black for a moment….and then everything is alright when I wake back up.” She stroked her cat’s fur as she blankly stared up the mountain. “Sorry, it takes a few minutes until I get all the feeling back into my body after that happens. It takes a lot out of me.”

“You take as long as you need. That was the most amazing thing I have ever witnessed! I don’t know why everyone is always so afraid of witches! Simply amazing!”

Thea gave him a weak smile. “Well, just like all people or creatures – the bad ones are the ones that get talked about the most. The rest of us get a bad rap to go along with it.” She held her arm out as he gingerly helped her to her feet. Their clothes were now wet and muddy, with their hair disheveled. Percy had a few scrapes and bruises from his fall that Thea quickly healed for him. She unstrapped her walking stick from her bag and used it to support herself down the path.

“We can rest if you’d like. We don’t have to keep going right now.” Percy tried to offer Thea a hand as they continued down the path.

“I’ll be okay in a few minutes. I want to get off this mountain.”

It was silent as they continued down the path. Thea smirked at the yetis and bazzles trying to hide in the trees. “I’d love to see them throw snowballs at me now.” She stuck her tongue out at one the yetis who then tried to hide his beady red eyes.

Percy sheepishly smiled at Thea. “Thank you.”

Thea returned a furrowed brow to him.

“You have saved me a couple of times on this trip. Thank you.”

Thea smiled at him. “We’re in this together….you saved me too.”

The awkward silence continued for over an hour until they reached the base of the mountain. The achy pain slowly started to leave Thea’s body and she was able to walk normally again. The snow was back and Fig had climbed his way back onto Thea’s shoulders. “You should have left your boots on.” She said as she tapped the cat on the nose. He wrapped his body tighter around her neck, before shutting his eyes and going back to sleep.

“Do you see that? Look!” Percy ran to one of the bushes along the path and retrieved three strands of red curly hair.

“She’s been here!” Thea no longer