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

of a beautiful maiden; she was laughing and smiling with the music. Her skin had a blue hue that extended out to the tips of her hair. The balloon was almost as tall as a small child at this point. It started to spin in a circle, keeping in time with the music that was playing from within. As it spun faster and faster the music’s tempo increased, until it started to miss notes. The people stopped their clapping and dancing to look at the balloon and to see what would happen next. The face in the balloon was no longer smiling. Her face had twisted to a face filled with excruciating pain. She was screaming and yelling within the balloon. The smell of sweet cookies in the air was no longer there, replaced with the smell of a dead skunk started from the balloon. Black smoke started to follow as the balloon was now the same size as Thea.

“Run,” Robin whispered from her lips. “Run!” she screamed louder at the group of people.

They were stupefied in their spots. Robin reached over the counter and grabbed their staffs; tossing one at Thea who grabbed it out of the air. The balloon’s smoke took over the air of the market place. The ravens were diving at the balloon and dropping rocks onto it. Fig was standing on the counter, ready to pounce. His deep throaty growl echoed.  The face in the spinning balloon went from screaming to hysterically laughing. The balloon swelled and the smoke was filling their lungs causing them to cough and hack for air. The size of the balloon could not stretch any farther. “BOOM!” It exploded with a force that knocked people over. The laughing head was now audible and was attached to a body.

The people who were dancing about before were laying on the ground; gasping for breath and coughing through the thick, black smoke. Thea had her staff out, ready to attack. Robin was leaning against the booth with a scarf wrapped around her face. Thea recognized the woman that was standing in front of her. It was the caramel skinned woman who had visited her the last time she was at the market. The Crow Witch was sitting where the balloon had once been and was laughing with her head held back. The ravens were still swooping at her with their rocks in their beaks. One of their rocks made a direct hit with her eye and her laughter stopped. She started to swat at the incoming attacks – the black smoke started to billow off, and people were able to breath. The Crow Witch started to focus her attention on Thea.

“Do I have your attention now?” the Crow Witch asked.

She lifted her arms above her head and lightning started to come in from the sky as thunderbolts filled her hands. “We’ve been looking for you, Thea!” she shouted as she shot a bolt at Thea’s feet.

Thea rolled out of the way of the attack. Robin lunged forward at the Crow Witch and her staff made contact with her ribs and then the side of her temple. The other thunderbolt that the witch had in her hand went rouge, and connected to the side of a booth down the way; splinters of wood shattered through the air and impaled some of the spectators.  The Crow Witch fell onto her side with a grunt. Thea attacked her from the other side.

“I don’t know what you want from me!” Thea yelled at the witch as she too connected her staff with the witch’s head. “But you are not going to hurt these people!”

The witch got to her feet from a squatting position and then lunged onto Thea’s back – digging her nails into Thea’s skin around her collarbone, bringing them down to a scuffle on the ground.

“I need you alive for Lilly!” the witch yelled

People were running and screaming as the booth that had caught the thunderbolt was now flaming wildly. The wooden covers of the booths were slamming shut as people hid with their children– peering out to watch the commotion still happening.

Thea was bleeding and had the Crow Witch still fighting with her from her back. Robin was screaming at the witch as she was beating on her back with her staff. The Crow Witch removed one hand from fighting with Thea and made a swooping motion towards Robin. Robin’s staff went flying to the left and Robin’s body went flying to the right. Fig had leaped off the counter and sunk his teeth into the Crow Witch’s neck. She squealed in pain as she grabbed the little cat from the scuff of his neck and sent him flying back into the booth. Thea was grasping at the witches hands that were now wrapped around Thea’s neck; crushing her trachea. Robin got to her feet and her rage was showing through her eyes. Her fiery hair was standing on end and she had her hands out to the sides of her hips facing out towards the ground. The dirt and the mud started to rumble and rise up along with her.

“Fight with me!” she commanded as small mud trolls started to form and attack the Crow Witch.

She released her grip from Thea’s neck and the smoky air started to fill Thea’s lungs with a gasp. She backed up and got to her feet. She grabs her staff and swung it at the Crow Witch. She felt the surge of power run through her arms and out the tip of the staff shooting a massive fireball towards the witch. The flame struck her in the face and knocked her backwards over her heels. She screamed in pain as the smell of burning flesh filled Thea’s nostrils, while jabbing her staff into the stomach of the witch. The mud trolls, one by one, started to jump on top of the Crow Witch, pinning