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

Lilly slowly changed back to her human form and showed her Elvish features to the Baba Yaga – she examined Lilly’s pointed features as she walked a circle around her, pulling at her short, silvery blonde hair and her pointed ears. The Baba Yaga could see through her animals and was using Tinker as her eyes.

You’re part elf too. That is new information to me.

“Agatha, who is this?” Lilly hissed through clenched teeth as she held her arms out to the side as the Baba Yaga poked at her.

“This is the Godmother of the forest, the almighty Baba Yaga! She created everything from the trees to the fairies, to the elves and the trolls. She is the protector of nature and everything that goes along with keeping the balance of the worlds together. She hates everything that the humans have done, and any of them that cross her path end up as part of her hut.” Agatha pointed over her shoulder as the Baba Yaga continued back to her giant cauldron and stirred the contents with a large wooden spoon. “She is from the ancient times of the fairies – that’s the language she’s speaking that you can hear in your inner mind. Spooky, but somehow she makes it, so you can understand what she’s saying.”

I make the animals understand me. The humans are too stupid to understand.

Her words went without recognition as she continued to robotically stir her cauldron, never taking her eyes off the pair.

“But you’re a human, and she hasn’t eaten you. How is that possible?” Lilly raised her eyebrow as she watched the Baba Yaga add unknown herbs to her cauldron as she stared back at Lilly.

“I’ve been through some trauma that makes me not someone that she would consider a threat. I brought her an injured dragon when I was just a child – I heard stories of her and I had to try to save the creature. I’ve been trying to help her protect the dragons ever since I found out that Cricket was trying to harvest the scales and the eggs of the blue-scaled dragons. This is where I kept disappearing to after we left the chateau when the others were out looking for you.” Agatha didn’t blink while she stared Lilly in the eye.

Godmother, how will we get those dragons out? They’re trapped in the mountain on the edge of Monkey Tree Village. The Circle had sent me there to harvest the dragon’s scales and they’ll be sending more there if I do not return.

Little one, we will free the babies together. Show me where they are.

The Baba Yaga lifted the cauldron from the fire as if it wasn’t hot and weighed as light as a feather. With a great ease she hosted the concoction into the air. She followed behind Agatha and Lilly, with Tinker trailing.

There was very little conversation as the trip continued around the mountain. The trip to the hut of Baba Yaga, and then back around the mountain had taken the entirety of the day and the sun was setting behind the trees. The mysterious pot that the Baba Yaga carried was still boiling in her hands, though her grip didn’t move from the edges of the cauldron as she squeezed her way through the opening of the tree. Lilly looked back as the Baba Yaga made her way through the entrance and could have sworn that she watched the tree’s entrance grow large enough to fit the cauldron and the Baba Yaga, then shrank back to its natural size. The Baba Yaga noticed Lilly’s gaze and smirked back at her, showing her crooked teeth.

Down the path with the boiling cauldron they went. Tinker stopped at the top of the ramp leading down and played with the baby dragons that were flying around the entrance.

Once the Baba Yaga made it to the landing, she placed the boiling cauldron down and then walked over to the dragons who were excited to see her. They nuzzled their noses against her arms greeting her with affection. She smiled at them as she gently stroked each of their noses. She started to grow in size, until she was able to touch the ceiling of the cave. She picked up her concoction in her cauldron and started to spread it against the cold stone.

All of you light the stone with your flames.

She returned to her normal size and joined the dragons shooting flames to the ceiling, as Lilly took the form of the Grimalkin and collected the power of fire from the other’s flames and shot her own blue flame from her jaw onto the rock.

You can too little one. We need your power. You have it now, I can see it.

Agatha who was not the best at conjuring fire on her own was now strong enough to throw fireballs without hesitation or burning of her skin.

The streams of fire lit the liquid that the Baba Yaga had smeared onto the rocks. Agatha had sweat dripping down her face that started to mix on her skin with the runny grey mush that was melting from the ceiling and dropping in loud plops onto the ground and landing on the backs of the dragons. The room filled with smoke and finally the night sky could be seen through the broken, melted rocks.

The dragons stopped breathing fire, then the Baba Yaga, and then the Grimalkin and Agatha. The dragons took flight with the majestic wind created by their massive wings. Agatha’s hair blew into her face and swirled into a rat’s nest on top of her head. She fought through the tangles to see the last of the dragons leave the cave, with their eggs in their claws as the tail went through the opening and into the cloudless night.

They stared in silence at the flying dragons and their children until they disappeared beyond the peaks of the mountain. The Baba Yaga ruffled Agatha’s