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

size or power – he even nodded at her in acknowledgement as an old friend before he swung a tree trunk at her leg, dropping her down to one knee. The growl that came from her throat shook the ground as she stood back up. She called out to her dragons who came to her rescue, igniting the beast from every angle. She turned her back on him, shrinking back to her normal size and followed the members of the Circle into the darkness of the forest as his yelps echoed in her ears.

Agatha had run as fast as her feet would carry her to the old entrance of the Circle of Owls and found Dean and the cats running toward the trees. She knew in her gut that was the way to go to find Thea and the others. She crouched behind a fallen tree when she saw a couple of high-powered elves searching through the brush, and she could see Thea, Penelope and Lilly being guarded by a few members of the Circle.

Agatha motioned for Dean to go the other side of the clearing and wait there. Fig and Tinker were ready to pounce as they moved around the perimeter. She sent mudtrolls marching – they broke sticks as they walked and made the dwarfs jump with each step echoing behind them. Her trick had them distracted enough that she was able to grab Penelope and get her hidden in the shadows – Dean rushed over to them and unlocked her collar right as Cricket had lit it up with a shock. The collar fizzled with the current and faded into dust that blew away with the wind.

“Fools!” She screeched as she flew fireballs into the darkness – hitting many of her own followers in the process. “I need all of them here!” Dean barely missed getting hit by a rouge fireball, as he dived to get out of its way. He didn’t land right, slipping and hitting his head hard onto a rock – knocking himself out cold.

With a flick of her wrist, Cricket had removed the collar from Lilly Quinn, but already had her silvery hair in her grasp as she blew a powder into Lilly’s face. The powder didn’t react with Lilly as it had done before with Sorgin. She sneezed but then stared at Cricket with a hypnotic look on her face. Cricket pulled Lilly’s face near her own, placing her lips near Lilly’s and inhaled a long breath. Blackness started to seep from the thin-lipped witch as Cricket’s eyes started to change to a milky grey. Lilly started to be lifted from the ground when everything around them stopped. The deafening sound of silence rang through Cricket’s ears as everyone froze in their spots; she was surrounded in the darkness with Lilly suspended in the air near her face, and Thea laying on the ground with her cat, looking at the green shocks that were suspended in the air. The fighters from both sides were immobile mid battle – fireballs and thunderbolts frozen in time.

Two figures emerged from the darkness – Their hands held out in front of them as the white light of the Ether was coming from their hands. Penelope and the Baba Yaga were walking toward Cricket as they – together- had stopped the flow of time around them. The movement of the forest, the noises from all of the creatures went to an earsplitting buzz. Everyone could see what was happening, but movement was not an option.

“You cannot do this Cricket! It is not your place!” Said Penelope, as her arms shook from the flow of power shooting through her.

“Her power is strong if she is still able to move.” The words of the Baba Yaga had barely left her lips before Cricket started to speak.

“You are the one that they call Godmother, no? I understand what you are saying as I have learned from the imp-witch when I took part of her powers. If I am able to move in your spell, I must be strong enough to move you!” Cricket threw fire at the Baba Yaga, but this time it streamed blue from her mouth, just as the Grimalkin would have. Cricket’s eyes were not fully black, but still a milky grey as her body glided up in the air from the force of the magic.

The force of her flame caused the Baba Yaga to go flying into the trees as the smell of her burnt flesh filled the air. Her magic had stopped, leaving Penelope to try to hold off Cricket alone. Everything started to move in slow motion as Cricket took cautious steps toward her mother.

Fig had started to grow into a massive cat, standing over the top of Thea, protecting her. Agatha was able to wake Dean as she shook him and slapped his face. Dean and Agatha charged at a snail’s pace from their own hiding spots with their sights set on Cricket.

Cricket playfully shot fireballs at her mother as Penelope’s arms shook harder than before – she wasn’t strong enough to hold the spell on her own. Cricket made it to her mother just before she lost control of the spell, blowing the dust into her face. Cricket whispered, “I love you, mommy.” Right before she started to steal her powers. As the misty rose essence came out of Penelope – she lost all control and time started back at its normal pace. Dean ran with his sword drawn, to strike Cricket in her back. He was met with the sharp pain of an arrow hitting him on his spine from an elf in the darkness. He fell and all that could be heard was the cry from Thea as she lay helpless on the ground, watching him fall. Agatha was able to shoot a thunderbolt that took out the lock that Cricket had on Penelope. The elder witch took a large gasp of air when she was released and stumbled back