by Dani Swanson
“What is that?” Thea said as she pointed to a grassy roof of a hut in the middle of the valley.
The blue color in Percy’s face ran out of his cheeks, leaving him to appear as white as the snow. “Get to the trees. NOW!” He snapped in a lowered voice.
Thea didn’t question his reaction like she wanted to. She could see the physical fear all over his face. She picked up Fig and quickly made it to the line of the trees across the valley.
The hut in the middle of the valley was almost hidden among the tall grass. It was circular with some sort of bones made into a makeshift footing, holding the hut off the ground. There were a few windows in the thatch walls and a small stone chimney with a curling stream of smoke rising to the sky.
“Baba Yaga’s hut! I didn’t know she actually lived in this valley – I thought she was a fairy tale! We need to get back up in the mountains before she realizes that we’re near her.”
“Are you okay? She doesn’t know that we’re here. It’s fine Percy.” Thea was rubbing his back, waiting for the color to return to his face. “I’ll throw fireballs at her if she comes out.” She tilted her head to the side as she tried to get Percy to smile.
“That won’t stop her! She eats other witches! And Izotzans!” Percy’s stare at the hut was as hard as stone – he started backing farther into the trees as he spoke to Thea.
Thea set Fig down on the ground. The cat tilted his head back, smelling a wild scent, with his mouth opened as he tasted the air. Within a moment he was running through the trees and back toward where the hut stood. “Fig. Fig! Get back here!” Thea tried to catch him, but the cat was gone into the long grass. Thea looked back at Percy for a moment with hesitation, then started to jog after her cat.
“You can’t go out there! She will EAT you!” Percy snapped at her.
“I have to get my dumb cat! You can stay there if you want.” Her pace increased to a run as she followed the orange tail through the grass. “Fig!” she hissed after him.
Percy bit his lower lip with frustration as he drew his sword and started after the two. “So, this is how I’m going to die. Awesome.” Percy shook his head and charged the path through the grass after the flowing raven hair that bounced ahead of him. He was regretting that he agreed to go on this adventure. Thea had no idea the dangers that were ahead of her. When she finally reached the hut through the tall grass and the trees, she could see Fig, rolling in a bush of catnip- belly exposed, at the feet of Baba Yaga.
CHAPTER FOUR
The outside of the cave’s entrance had random bones and debris scattered amongst the few bushes that were able to grow through the snow. Breathing was hard for Robin to do, as the air was very thin above the clouds. She had Tinker wrapped inside her jacket, trying to protect the little cat against the icy wind that was blowing hard enough to push them over. Robin’s eyelashes were sticking together each time she blinked, and the feeling in her limbs had left her hours ago.
“We made it! We’re finally here!” Her eyes started to tear up until she reminded herself that her eyes would freeze shut.
“I doubt that any of the dragons stayed here. There wasn’t anything moving the entire climb up here. They would have nothing to eat – therefore would die up here. This was a waste of time….and body heat!”
Robin was starting to get annoyed with all the negativity. “They have to be here. If we don’t find them here, then there aren’t any dragons left in this mountain range. We need to get this back to one of the mothers before they all die off!” Robin gently took her bag off her back, removing an egg that was as big as her head. It shimmered in the blustery snow, showing off the scales on its shell in different hues of blue. She hugged both the egg and the cat close to her body as she cautiously entered the cave. The inside smelled damp with a small amount of smoke that burned the inside of Robin’s nose. She set Tinker down and slowly felt her way along the wall of the cavern.
She could feel her heart beat hard in her chest. Her short breaths were audible and echoed through the cave. She wanted more than anything to find one of the blue-scaled dragons; no, she needed this cave to be the one that had a dragon in it. She had been through so many caverns on every peak of the mountain range. All she wanted to do was to go home to her friends and to not sleep on the floor of a cave for one more night. She blindly walked through the dank cave sliding on the slick floor.
“You’re going to break that egg if you’re not careful, dummy.”
“Will you please, shut up!” She shouted with a glare on her face. “I’m so tired of you putting me down!” She went back to walking into the cave, briskly walking on the icy floor. “I wish you would try to find a way to be help……” the heel of her boot got stuck in a crack of the floor, causing her to tumble over a rock – sending the dragon egg flying into the darkness. A loud thud was heard ahead.
“No, you’re not going to break the egg Robin. I’m so sorry that I said that.”
“SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP!” Robin screamed. Her voice echoed and shook icicles off the ceiling. Tinker hissed and jumped out of Robin’s grasp.
She wasn’t returned with any banter but was greeted in front of her by the muzzle of a dragon. “Oh…hi…..”
The dragon’s muzzle alone was as large as Robin’s entire body. The scales were harder than stone but felt soft to the touch -as Robin reached a shaky hand out to touch the dragon on the nose. The dragon’s eyes were a sharp orange with a long skinny pupil that fixated on her. Its nose had smoke coming out of its nostrils as it was smelling the scent from Robin’s head.
“You better run….”
“Shut up!” Robin hissed through gritted teeth. A nervous smile crossed her lips as she was gently stroking the silky scales of the snout of the dragon. “I brought you an egg.” Her eyebrows were raised, and her voice was airy as she spoke to the dragon. Tinker had already retreated out of the cave. “Is the egg alright?”
The dragon slowly backed away from Robin, as if it was understanding every word that was being said to it. Robin gingerly walked along the wall, feeling for the egg, hoping that she wasn’t going to find it broken. She picked up every rock that felt to be the egg, then gently set it back on the floor when she realized it wasn’t what she was seeking – trying to not startle the dragon with any sudden movements.
“Here it is! It’s okay!” Robin’s eyes started to water as she was crying with joy. The dragon came back into Robin’s view from the darkness and opened its mouth, exposing many rows of jagged teeth with a spliced tongue. “Here….it’s yours.” Robin was shaking with her nerves taking over her body.
The dragon reached out a scale covered arm, with three digits at the end of it. It swiftly grabbed the egg from Robin’s hand and took it back into the depths of the cave.
Robin let out a sigh of relief as she had done what she set out to do. The dragon came back into focus and nuzzled Robin with the tip of her snout. It was making a pleasant bleating sound that mimicked the sound of Tinker purring.
“Make sure that you tell the dragon how you got the egg in the first place! How you have us tromping around in the frozen tundra because you were hunting for eggs! Yes, that’s right! She stole that egg from a dragon in the first place! She was going to cook it up!”
“STOP IT! WILL YOU STOP?!” Robin shrieked. She turned back to meet the stern glare of the dragon. Its eyes narrowed as the smoke from the nostrils started to increase. “I didn’t mean any harm.” Robin’s voice was breaking as she talked. “I brought you the egg, so it would hatch….” She had her arms up in front of her, as she defensively backed away from the dragon.
“You better start running, Robin.”
Robin agreed and gave into the advice and started to run as fast as she could across the cave. The dragon started to chase after her. The floor shook, and rocks fell from the ceiling as the dragon followed. The dragon snapped its jaw right behind Robin’s ankles, just missing her by less than an inch. The cave narrowed the closer to the entrance the dragon
got. It was done chasing Robin and let out a stream of fire behind her. Tinker came charging back into the cave and jumped in between her human and the fire. She grew to the size of a lion- launching shards of ice off her silvery fur, fashioning a wall that slowed down the flames. Robin was able to escape the cave, without being touched by the fire.
When Tinker emerged from the cave, she was back to her normal, small size, dripping wet from the melted ice. She took a moment to smooth her fur back into place, before meeting Robin at the entrance.
Robin picked up her little cat, thanking her for saving her life. She snuggled her into the liner of her jacket. She looked around the mountaintop to find that they were alone. The only movement was caused by the artic wind bustling about the mountain top. She gave a defeated sigh as she started to walk away from the smoking cave entrance.
“Coward!” She cried out into the void…..her own word came echoing back to her as if the mountains were telling her that Robin herself was the coward.
Robin heard a rumbling coming from behind her in the cave. She darted to the side of the entrance and hid behind a bush. The dragon squirmed through the tight opening of the cavern, the egg still clutched in its claws, and took flight. Its ample wings sparkled in the sunlight as it caught the force of the North wind – soaring out of sight.
Robin and Tinker cowered in the bushes until the shadowy figure of the dragon could no longer be seen on the horizon.
Chapter Five
Lilly had been spending all her time following around the members of the Circle of Owls. Her anger had grown into an obsession. After being awake for over a week straight, she found herself perched in a tree outside of the Chateau MelBel, in her human form, watching through a window as the Circle of Owls set up operations in Sorgin’s home.
The members of the circle momentarily went back to their homes, for those of them who still had homes to go back to. Many had been a part of the circle for so long that it was all they knew. Lola was still making the Kingdom of Owls a haven for those who needed it, as she worked on an antidote for the curse Cricket had placed on her. The Golden Acorn’s powers weren’t promised to work forever, and she feared that the circle would return.
Cricket was once again wearing her peacock mask as she watched Lilly - she was glad that Lilly had seen that the Circle had been re-established under her rule. She, unlike the majority of the members, was not scared of Lilly Quinn or the power of the Grimalkin. In fact, she was fascinated by the powers that Lilly had. Not only could she take the lifeforce from another living creature, but she could suggestively control many creatures by looking deep into their eyes. Cricket, who was a master of mind control in her own right, had to learn her powers through spell books….and was awestruck by anyone who had natural talents, and did everything in her power to have them and to learn from their talents. If she couldn’t control Lilly anymore, she was going to find a way to have her powers.
“Are you not a little bit nervous that she has tracked ALL of us down?” Sorgin removed her mask as she joined Cricket at the window. She leaned on her walking stick with the skull handle. Cricket could feel the surge of energy come from it. Sorgin adjusted the scarf in her reflection of the window pane; ensuring that it was properly covering the scar around her neck.
“Not in the least. She can’t get in here. Eventually she will weaken and then we will get her collar back on her….she’s not strong enough to penetrate our spell. As long as we work together, we will be able to capture her again. Cricket and the Imp Witch smiled at Lilly before covering the window with the curtains.
Lilly laid back, stretching her legs out on the tree branch in front of her. She would avenge her mother regardless of how long it would take.
Chapter Six
Robin’s curly mess of hair danced in the breeze from the cavern opening; the coals left in the fire brightened to match her hair as the air passed over them. Tinker was curled up in the nook of her arm, nuzzling her wet nose against her human, trying to wake her. “I had a nice dream Tinker…..we were in a nice fluffy warm bed.”
“That would be nice, wouldn’t it?” Robin gently opened her eyes to the familiar voice. “How nice of you to join us again…..did you get tired of the snow?”
Robin pulled herself up on her side as Tinker moved closer to the coals. Robin stared across the cave with a defeated look on her face. “What do you want? I returned the egg. I thought you were going to be done with me after I returned it….” She went to the pile of wood she had collected the night before and started her fire again. The snow had started to fall again outside, making her want to continue down the mountain even less than before.
“You have to finish writing the story in your book for me.”
“What’s the point? She’s never going to get a chance to read it at this point. We’re lost in the mountains.” Any expression that Robin would have normally had, was gone from her face. She looked as those who had been stupefied by the Grimalkin – blankly staring into the fire.
“I thought that you wanted to help Thea find the truth to her past? She’s never going to get her memory back…..they made sure of that. You are going to have to teach her the history.”
“How is that going to happen if I’m dead?! I don’t even know how long I’ve been up here! I can’t feel my toes anymore and I’m starving!”
“Check your bag before you have a meltdown.”
“What? Why were you in my bag?”
“Because I knew you would be hungry….check your bag…”
With trepidation, Robin went into her bag and found some berries, and some meat that Robin couldn’t readily identify.
“Where did you find this? What is this?” Robin was skeptical of the food given to her but was still finding a stick to roast the meat on while she was asking her questions.
“It’s food that I got from out there…just eat it.”
Robin sat silently as she ate the smoky tasting meat, feeding a few pieces to the little grey cat.
“Do you feel better now?”
Robin nodded as she gnawed meat off the bone. “Yes. Thank you.” She muttered between bites.
“Can we finish the story now? Read me what we have so far.”
Robin took her free hand and dug through her bag, pulling out the little black-bound book that she had been documenting her adventure in the mountain in. She placed her hand on her throat as she cleared her voice before she started to read:
“The Secret Society of the Circle of Owls”
“In the beginning, the circle was started to oppose the evil that had taken over the kingdoms. Witches, fairies, elves, and even humans were a part of the Circle of Owls.” Robin looked up from the top of the book to see if there were any objections to her writing.
“The Kingdom of Erresuma had a dark cloud that had been hanging over it for decades. King Rupert was an evil man who did not care about the people in his kingdom. The crops were scarce, taxes were high, and the gloom that covered the sky kept any rays of sunshine or happiness from touching the earth below. The king and his goons of orgs and imps ran havoc throughout the lands; stealing any bit of wealth that the town’s people had and leaving minimal food for them to eat.”
“Many people and creatures left Erresuma in hopes of finding a better life in the surrounding kingdoms. As the great wall was being constructed they fled to the Kingdom of Owls…… wait….if the Kingdom of Owls is so bad, why would they go there? Your story doesn’t make sense.” Robin set the book on her lap as she waited for a response.
“Not everything starts out as bad, Robin. It takes time and changes for it to become bad….look at Lilly Quinn! She didn’t start out as evil, now she’s a Grimalkin. Things happen.”
With a shrug Robin picked the book back up. “Okay, fine….where was I?...Oh here: One of those who fled was a young witch by the name of Penelope. She had made her home within the walls of the kingdom, serving the queen who lived there. She worked as a seamstress, creating the most beautiful gowns for th
e queen and all the princesses. Penelope’s quarters were quaint and she shared them with other witches who fled Erresuma.
Penelope, along with her bunk mates, sisters named Melva and Mindy, would tell stories of their families by Dragon Tooth Lake and how they missed them. The stories travelers would tell of the torturous lives that were being lived back home made them sick to their stomachs. The king had built a wall around the entire kingdom and did not allow anyone in…and more importantly, anyone out.”
“Penelope, along with the sisters decided that they could no longer sit idly by as the stories of people dying made their way to them, while they were allowed to survive. They did their best to find a way to get their families out of the castle, but alas, the walls were strong and tall, with a magical force running along the tops that electrocuted anything that touched it. Penelope personally searched the wall’s perimeter as far as it went, to no avail. She spoke with her queen of her sorrows as she worked on a new gown for her. The queen was a kind woman who also came from the Kingdom of Erresuma and showed the young witch empathy -introducing her to a few creatures of the forest who were also feeling homesick and wanting to help those who were left behind as well. The creatures had found their new homes in the underground tunnels of the Kingdom of Owls. It was in the auditorium where the fairies were taking care of the kingdom’s owls….. why did they keep their owls in the tunnels of the castle? They’re birds….wouldn’t they be kept in the aviary? Your story doesn’t make sense.”
