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

“This is what was on the arrows that made you shrink down to our size,” he said. “Be careful. You only need a few drops to do it. It lasts for about an hour, and then you will grow back to your original size. It only works on humans though. Don’t let your cat get into it.” He smiled a devilish smile at the cat who had been trying to eat him since they met.

Moonshine had offered Doug’s services back to the road. The girls packed the rest of their items and started off. “You know, your bottle collection for spells is going to be amazing if you keep helping all of these creatures,” Robin said with a smirk, as they dug their walking sticks into the dirt. Fig was sitting on Doug’s back as the group made their way back to the dirt path. The ravens were flying overhead, following them and watching their every move.

“I think this is more useful than any bottle I get.” Thea said as she pointed to her feathered friends flying over head

They made it to the dirt road and let Doug off of the harness of the wagon. Fig went over and the two nuzzled their heads together; saying their good-byes.

“Thank you, Doug.” Robin said as she scratched under his tusk. With a grunt, the wild boar turned on his hoofs and was back into the thicket of the forest.

Through the sunflower field, over the tiny houses, they continued to the market with their raven protectors flying overhead. They made it to the booth right before the sun set. The trio made camp in the booth for the evening with a raven perched on each of the four corners of the tiny booth. Robin had pulled out some fabric from the bottom of the wagon and tied them from post to post of the booth to make themselves hammocks for the evening. Fig had settled in his normal spot on the oversized chair.

“This is like old times. Not that you remember it, but we use to camp in here once a month when we would do a big haul of product. It is sort of the middle point between our houses.” Robin said as she jumped into one of the hammocks, making the whole booth sway. She kicked her shoes off and had her stripped stocking foot hanging over the side. Thea walked around and tighten all the flaps of her booth and unloaded the wagon onto the shelves before climbing into her hammock.

Morning came and the witches were awakened by the clatter of the other merchants setting up their booths. The girls took down their beds and split some of the berries and bread they had left in their stash. They opened up their booth to see Eleonore’s smiling face across the way, setting up her own booth.

“Dearie! Good morning my dear!” Her sweet voice carried across the walkway.

“Good morning Eleonore!” the girls waved to her. Thea walked over and traded a bottle of their tonic for a few loafs of cardamom bread.

It didn’t take long for the market place to be buzzing with people looking for a deal, merchants pedaling their wares. Thea looked up to see her raven body guards still hanging out above their booth. She walked down the way and purchased meats, cheeses, preserve, and dried fruits. She bought a new barrette to give to Robin to tame down her wild hair. When she walked back to the booth, Robin was busy pushing the arrowroot tonic to heal pretty much any ailment that people had

 “Oh sure! It can help with that too.” Robin said to a man with a bandage on his shoulder.

“What happened to you?” Thea questioned the man.

“Ah I got hit with an arrow. Hunting accident.” He said with shifting eyes and hesitation.

“Here.” Thea said as she handed the man a different bottle with thyme inside. “Grind it up and mix a little water with it to make a paste. Put it directly on the wound. It will help it heal and numb the pain on the outside. The tonic water will help with the pain internally.” Thea said with a smile. The man nodded at her and gave Robin a small bag full of coins.

“What’s this?” Thea questioned as she picked up a small wooden box off the counter.

“I’m not sure; where did that come from?” Robin responded with a perplexed look.

Thea examined the box in front of her face. It was hand painted blue with golden inlays swirled across the wood.

“It was sitting here,” Thea responded as she gestured to the spot on the counter.

“What’s inside?” Robin asked as she looked around to see if anyone else on the street was paying attention to what they were doing.

“I guess there is only one way to find out.” Thea said as she opened the box’s latch. A small piece of confetti floated out of the box with a sweet smell of baked cookies. It floated up to the center of the walkway and started to expand in the air. People started to gather around and had their noses to the air. The wafting smell of cookies had attracted the majority of the market. Even Fig had gotten off his chair and was on the counter watching the show. The small paper started to blow up like a balloon and was the size of Thea’s head. Bright colors of yellow and pink illuminated from the contraption as it spun. The ravens started to squawk at the balloon as it now was growing larger. Music started to play from the balloon like a carousel. People started to clap along with the music and the children were dancing around.

Thea looked nervously at Robin who was infatuated with the spectacle. A face appeared in the middle of the balloon