The Hunt of the Grimalkin (Erresuma Book 1) by Dani Swanson (read aloud books txt) 📕

“This is silly,” Thea sighed.

“Just focus….then snap your fingers.” Thea let out a sigh and let her shoulders relax down into a slump. “I guess you are too weak to do it,” Robin mocked.

“Shut it Robin.” Thea focused on the pierced mark of her palm. She tried to will the blood in her body to push towards her palm. Thea then made one strong shake of her hand and snapped her fingers. To her shock and delight a red flame appeared in her hand as a small orb. She raised it close to her face, and stared at it wide eyed. “Whoa. That’s awesome.” She whispered.

“I know, right?” Robin whispered back. Thea could see Robin’s unfocused smile through the flame. Thea watched the flame for a few more seconds until her skin started to blister. She shook her hand in pain and sent the fire ball flying off into the woods.

“Again.” Robin said in an authoritarian tone. “You’re getting so close.”

Thea shook her head at her as she was shaking her burnt hand.

“That really hurt, and my skin is coming off my hand.” Thea replied with a sulk.

“You HAVE TO keep going! This stuff is so important for you to learn!” Robin answered back to Thea. She moved closer to Thea and examined her burnt hand. “It will heal just fine, Lady. You have to learn your magic. There is so much time to make up for!” Robin was trying to sound excited.

“Time to make up for? For what?” Thea looked at Robin with her head tilted to the side.

Robin paused for a second before continuing on: “You were just so powerful before, we don’t want you to be vulnerable, anymore.”

Thea gave Robin a look of disbelief, but continued on with making fireballs with her raw hand.

Why does she care so much? She knows how to do magic.

She continued practicing until her hand had started to bleed through the oozing blisters. Having had enough for one day the girls retired, much to Robin’s displeasure.

“Wake up!” Robin yelled. “We’ve got training to do.”

Thea slowly rose from her bed up in the loft. “Why are you up already?” Thea questioned in the middle of a yawn. The sun was barely up over the horizon. Fig meowed in protest as Thea started to get out of bed. As she began to stumble down the stairs to the main level of the house she had to duck; there was a staff flying through the air at her head!

“What the hell are you doing?!” she yelled at Robin.

“We’ve got training to do!” Robin squealed in happiness as she bounded from foot to foot, holding another staff in her hands.  “Let’s go!” Robin sprinted for the door.

Thea rolled her eyes at Robin’s energetic bounce as she tied her hair up in a bun on top of her head. There was no need to attack me, she thought. She picked the staff up with her bandaged, blistered hand, and slowly followed out the door behind Robin. The air was crisp and the crickets were still chirping from behind the blades of grass. It was too early to be out of bed.

“Alright Lady, let’s see what you got.” Robin had the staff held in both hands out in front of her. She lunged at Thea, who shrieked and blocked the attack with her own staff.

“Really?” Thea asked. “Why are we doing this?” She questioned as the wood cracked against each other.

Fig perched himself up in a window to watch the two dance through the field.

“You used to know how to do this, Thea.” Robin grunted out in rushed breath as she spun in a circle and swung at Thea with an overhead attack. “You used to be good at this!” she hissed out as she swept Thea’s legs out from under her.

Thea hit the ground with a loud thud and her head bounced off the earth. “Ow!” Thea groaned as she grabbed the back of her head.

“Come on.” Robin said as she held out her hand to help Thea up. “You have to learn this.”

The girls continued to practice their moves as the sun came up and moved to the noon sky. They took a break for lunch, and Thea chewed on some more leaves to settle her pain. Her muscles ached and her head was pounding again. Sandwiches of smoked ham and Gouda cheese were made – strawberries with chunks of dark chocolate for dessert. Fig lapped a bowl of cream at the end of the table. He sat there like he was people too.

“Are you ready for more, Thea?” Robin was braiding her hair; looking at Thea with wide-eyed curiosity.

“Um, no.” Thea stated as she rubbed her lower back. “I think I’m good with this for a while.”

Robin seemed uneasy by this response. “Alright, we should do some more studying than. We’ve got to make sure you remember as much as you possibly can.” Robin stated.

Thea was perplexed. The stuff they have been doing seemed to be for fun, up to this point. “Why are you so concerned about what I remember, and what I can do?” Thea questioned. Her brow was furrowed.

Robin let out a soft sigh as she sat down, and thought about where to start. “I just don’t want to see you get hurt, again.” She replied carefully. “You need to be on top of your game, in case Lilly comes back looking for you.” Robin’s answers were very slow and carefully planned out. The look on her face was of guarded concern, as she watched Thea’s face to see how she was reacting to the statement.

“Why do I have the feeling that you are not telling me everything that you know?” Thea questioned as she stood to clear the plates to the sink.

Robin seemed to be torn with