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

no to her question. “We should get out of the middle of town.” She said as she tugged on the arms of her friends and moved toward the tavern on the far side of the village. Jaeger started to squawk at them as they ducked into the doorway. “Hush! We’ll be back out for you in a moment!” She hissed at the bird who had landed on the roof of the tavern.

Inside the tavern the dank smell of the dusty floors made Fig sneeze as he snuck in around the legs of his human. The lighting was dim, as it always was, and the clientele sat in the shadows – some drowning their sorrows, some were sitting in small groups – whispering to one another. The awkward feeling of being watched didn’t improve for Thea when she was in the tavern, but, at least there, she could also hide in the shadows with her back to a wall. The group settled into a small table at the back of the room which was even more poorly lit than the rest of the place.

“Can we eat an actual meal here? Without your raven bullying us?” Charles’ stomach audibly growled as he spoke.

“They do have a really good roasted chicken here.”

Thea looked around and found someone that worked there. She placed an order for three chickens and a few bowls of stew. She wasn’t sure when the next time would be that she would be able to eat a full meal again, so she decided to load up with as much as they could afford. She could still feel the burning feeling that she was being watched, but never saw anyone watching her when she would look around.

Thea made her way back to the table with a few glasses of a sweet tea that the tavern brewed. “This village always gives me the creeps. It’s like everyone who is up to no good makes their way here but tries to act like they haven’t done anything.”

“Everyone has a past, Thea. Maybe some of them are trying to be better, but people have already judged them, so they come where they are accepted.” Dean quickly took a drink from his mug as she turned and gave him a dirty look.

“Like how Sorgin helped us against the coven.” Charles shrugged. “Everyone has some good in them, right?”

Thea started to laugh and was struggling to control herself – she shook her head and was in disbelief at how Charles could think like that. “You can’t be serious? Sorgin helps herself! She wanted her head to be reattached and wanted us to be gone from her chateau, so she could go back to living her life. There wasn’t anything about her actions that was selfless.”

Dean leaned back in his chair and was watching Thea as she debated with his brother. He was going to argue with both of them, but started to focus on Fig, who was wandering around the tavern, smelling the base of each of the tables, his fur was starting to stand on end as he was hiding in the shadows. The cat made it to the far end of the room where there were two hooded creatures – Fig was low to the ground as if he was going to pounce on them. The greasy cook came out with the food they had ordered and shooed Fig back to the table.

“Keep track of your animal.” His voice was much higher than Thea had expected.

“I’m sorry! Fig get over here!” her voice carried through the room.

The group started to eat their meal, with Thea dropping chunks of chicken onto the floor for Fig to eat.

“Where do you think Jaeger is going to bring us next?” Dean got out between bites.

“I’m not sure. I don’t speak raven well.” She smirked at her own joke. “Hopefully, we are going in the right direction and he understands what he’s supposed to be doing.”

The four of them devoured the stew and all three of the chickens. She felt full, but couldn’t stop eating. She started to feel sleepy and was yawning as she was talking to her friends.

“I don’t know what we’ll have to do when we get there.” She said through a yawn, covering her mouth that was still full of food.

“We’ll figure it out when we get there. There can’t be that many members of The Circle of Owls left…once we find Cricket we should find your grandma.” Dean too was yawning as he spoke.

“I’m sure I can help you find your auntie.” Said one of the two hooded figures that Fig had been scouting out from across the room. The shorter of the two removed her hood to reveal a familiar face to the group – Sorgin was standing in front of them, her hair was perfectly pinned to her head and she pushed the trappings of her cloak back to reveal her walking stick with the skull for a handle.

Thea jumped to her feet and lit a fireball in her hand – the men pushed away from the table and started to draw their weapons. “We don’t want to hurt you, Sor….” The taller of the hooded figures removed her hood to reveal Cricket herself standing in front of them. The other creatures within the tavern had evacuated the scene.

“Hello, Thea.” Cricket said with a smile.

Thea couldn’t focus on the faces of either of them. She shot the fireball at where she thought Cricket to be and drastically missed, setting a beam on fire behind her. Dean swung his blade, but weakly…it fell short of his target. Charles fell over where he stood – snoring as he hit the floor. Thea looked down at her hands and only saw a blur. Fig was laying on his side under the table, not moving. “What is going on?” She was able to get out before she too fell to the ground with Dean falling on top of the table – breaking it into splinters as