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

went over to her bag. She pulled out a vial labeled “valerian root” sprinkling a fair amount into a glass of water, before drinking the whole thing. She laid back down into the warm blankets with her cuddly cat; she could feel her eyelids becoming heavy as she gently petted Fig’s soft fur. This time, she slept through the night – no more dreams, just the blackness.

CHAPTER THREE

Thea had slept hard for the remainder of the night, not waking until well past breakfast time. Fig was already awake, watching the penguins outside the window – chattering little cat noises as if he was telling the birds he wanted to eat them. She got out of bed, dressed, and was out of the room in record time. “Come on Fig! We need to get downstairs.” The little orange cat reluctantly left the windowsill, as he followed her down the hallway toward the stairs. She was in such a rush that she barely noticed that her pants and shirt clashed, before running back to her room for a different shirt. She picked out a neutral beige one over the bright orange she had originally put on – blending in is easier to do when you aren’t being flashy. She decided to grab a few outfits and stuffed her bag full before she left. The Ice King had everything perfectly in her size – even the fur lined boots which she grabbed as she ran down the stairs, with Fig in tow.

When Thea and Fig reached the soldier’s meeting room, Charles, Dean, Irving, and the soldiers were already surrounding maps around a large table and were arguing amongst themselves on where to start.

“What are we going to do if Lilly Quinn decides to come up the mountain? We need to track her down before she decides to feed on Izotzan souls!”

“We need to find my Penelope!” The Ice King hit his fist on the table as he spoke. “That Grimalkin hasn’t bothered us, and we shouldn’t bother it!”

“What about the Circle of Owls? What if someone here is a part of them? How are we going to protect our people?”

“The Tree Elves of the South said they saw Lilly.”

“But the Golden-Winged Fairies said they saw someone looking like Penelope by the Winding Woods.”

“The talking bushes said they saw her to the north of the Kingdom of Owls.”

“Who listens to talking bushes?”

“The Bumble showed just the image of some strands of red hair he found in the snow!” The small Izotzan woman was flashing her enchanted mirror to the table.

“The Grimalkin and the Circle of Owls seem to be following that girl you let in here…..” the soldier immediately stopped talking when he saw the face of the Ice King.

Thea quietly walked to the table and listened to the chatter, until all the men realized that she had joined them and slowly stopped talking.

Thea could feel all eyes on her as she meekly looked across the table, stopping at the Ice King. She noticed that he was dressed for travel, wearing a thick shirt with a parka-styled coat draped over his shoulders.

“What about my friend? She’s my family and we need to find out what happened to Robin….and your friend Edward too.” Her gaze went to the map, not making eye contact, and her voice, though it cracked when she first started to speak, was strong and assertive in nature.

All of the side conversations started again, as the Ice King walked away from the table and started to write the names of the parties on a board of ice hanging on the far wall. He placed his two fingers in his mouth, and whistled so loudly, some of the icicles hanging from the ceiling fell to the ground and shattered. “We’ll go after all three,” he said sternly. “There are enough soldiers here to protect the castle, as well as to go out and search for them.”

“I’m going after the Grimalkin!” Charles called out from the back of the room. “I think I owe her a visit.” He wrapped his hand around the handle of the sword hanging from his waist. Thea recognized it as one of the blades Irving had shown him from above the mantle the night before.

“I will be tracking down my beloved.” Irving stated, as he pointed at a few of the soldiers to stand with him.

“I need to find my friend.” Thea said, looking around the room for volunteers.

The Ice King was busy dividing the soldiers amongst those who would go with Charles, who would stay behind, and who would accompany Thea.

“I’ll go with you, Thea.” Dean said, with his boyish smile. Thea could feel her face flush again.

Thea watched as the old man, who she loved as a grandfather, adjusted a heavy blade on his belt. Irving wobbled slightly under its weight. She got a wave of apprehension as she watched him struggle with it. “I appreciate that Dean, but I need you to go with the Ice King, and make sure that he comes back in one piece.”

For a moment Dean frowned at the request, until he saw how Thea was watching the Ice King. “If that will make you happy, I’ll do it.” Dean gently touched her arm before walking over to join Irving.

Thea saw Percy from across the room, she smiled at him and went over to hug him. “You’re coming with me on my adventure! I need you to show me the way through the snow.” As she pulled away from their embrace, she could see Dean’s face across the room; he did not look pleased that Percy was hugging Thea back.

“I will definitely be joining your group, but we only have a few of us available. With the Ice King taking ten men, and another ten going with your friend Charles, that doesn’t leave very many to stay and keep the Izotzans safe.”

Thea looked around the room and saw that there were mostly young soldiers left in the room without an