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

living in the many layers below the ground, that spread out farther than the entire village. The circle had grown back to a solid number of one hundred and twenty-nine creatures. The dwarfs had already started to create more of their black collars that couldn’t be broken, and the witches and imps had already started to curse them to control those who wore them. It was as if Thea and Lilly hadn’t done a thing to affect the Circle.

The Circle of Owls were not the only ones who were on the move. Lilly Quinn, in the form of the Grimalkin, had an exceptional sense of smell and had followed the sweet scent of Sorgin’s perfume when she noticed the decrease of activity at the Chateau MelBel. The sweet smell of peaches and petals was something unique that Sorgin brewed herself. Lilly tracked the group as they weaved throughout the kingdoms over several weeks, collecting more members at each stop along the way before settling at Monkey Tree Village. She, too, changed her appearance; she cut off her long, flowing, silvery hair into a short pixie style and colored it to a mousy brown color. She often wore a scarf tied as a headband that hid the points of her ears. She also pierced her nose, trying to distract people from knowing who she was. She spent a lot of time at the tavern in Monkey Tree Village, hiding her face whenever Sorgin or Cricket would enter to meet with shady looking creatures.

Lilly had started to wash dishes at the tavern to pay for her meals and to pay for a room in the back of the building. She went by the name Sam. She mainly kept to herself and always made sure she was on a break when one of the witches came in to do their business.

After a few weeks, Lilly witnessed Celeste meeting with Cricket. The two sisters sat in the corner and seemed very concerned as they whispered to themselves. Lilly moved closer to clean a nearby table and listened to their conversation.

“I have three of them trapped under the mountain….I think one of them is a female and can lay eggs!” Celeste hissed in an excited whisper.

“You think, or you KNOW?! We need to make sure that we are correct with our moves here, sister.”

“If you’re going to second guess me Cricket, you are more than welcome to go freeze your butt off in the mountains instead of me!”

“Well, one of us must keep mother under control, and you lost your powers, so how do you think that would work out?” Cricket smugly hissed.

“You say that like you don’t have one of your collars on her.” Celeste rolled her eyes as she sat back in her chair, taking a long drink out of her mug. Her green eyes were turning dark as she glared at her sister.

“You are the one that needs the scales of all those dragons. That’s the only way we are going to get your powers back. I can’t make a potion for you unless you have enough scales, and enough witches to take the magic from.”

“Do you really think it will work?” Celeste was now holding her mug with both hands, leaning in to hear what her sister had to say. “How are you going to trick the Imp-Witch into taking the potion?”

“Sorgin will do anything I ask of her…. First, we will get your powers back, then we will get our Kingdom back. Once we get that Lola out of the castle, we can go back to slowly taking over each of the kingdoms.”

“Do we have enough people to overpower her little army? That golden acorn she has keeps the kingdom safe from anything magical within its walls.”

Lilly was carefully taking her time to wipe down each table around where the two witches were sitting; often holding her breath to try to hear more of what was going on.

“Sam! Girl, come on, you have more dishes to do back here.” The burly cook yelled from the window behind the bar.

The witches stopped talking and turned to look at the girl who was busing the tables. Lilly dropped her head to not be seen, as she hurried to the back of the tavern. She cautiously watched through the small window as she washed the dishes. She saw the sisters finish their mugs of brew and depart the dark corner of the tavern with their heads covered by their cloaks. Lilly grabbed a bag of trash and scurried through the back door. She dropped the bag as soon as the door shut and ran around the side of the building. She saw Cricket head toward the house, meeting Sorgin outside the front door, and Celeste heading out of town toward the Izotza mountain. Lilly opened the door and grabbed her cloak.

“Where do you think you’re off to? We’re not done working here.” The cook said as he picked his teeth with a toothpick.

“I have to quit.” She turned on her heels and was out the door, following Celeste out of town. She hid her face with the hood of her cloak, keeping a safe distance behind. She knew that Celeste would be the weaker of the two, and thus an easier target for getting into the Circle.

Lilly followed Celeste through the trees and to the base of the Izotza mountain. She watched as Celeste cautiously peered into the darkness to see if anyone was watching her, and then she pressed a knot on a tree. With a slight rumbling, a door opened into the side of the mountain. Celeste entered before the entry closed behind her.

“Where are you going little witch?” Lilly waited a few minutes before going over to the tree and following the same path that Celeste had taken to get into the mountain.

Once inside, Lilly could see that the cave ran deep into the mountain. She could hear rumblings from down the path, but all she could see was the