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

all of her emotion into the pit of her stomach and concentrated. She thought about her fight with the Crow Witch and started to feel hot within her core. Then she turned her palms up to the sky and tried to focus on the air. She imagined she was pulling all of the air from the sky into her hand as if a tornado was spinning down to her. The clouds started to form above the trees and Thea was shaking as if she was having a seizure. There was a loud crack of thunder and then a thunderbolt fell right in front of her, hitting the fire pit. The wood cracked and sparks were flying in all directions. Fig dove and took cover behind a bolder and Robin spun around and grabbed her staff, not knowing Thea was practicing a spell. The second thunderbolt that hit the ground lit up the entire forest. Thea dropped her hands to her side; she could hear the animals and creatures scattering out in the darkness.

“Well, so much for not letting anyone know we’re here.” Robin said as she grabbed her heart. “A little warning next time?”

Robin and Thea settled into the hammocks and Fig had jumped up onto Thea’s stomach.  The wind was gently rocking the hammocks and the crickets had finally started to sing again after the loud thunder that Thea had conjured up.

“I think you are onto it, Thea.” Robin started. “That was a good first try. You may want to find a lake or a stream though to do the water. It’s a little softer to practice with.” Robin yawned.

“How many supremes are there?” Thea questioned. “Like are there a bunch, or just a few? And how do you know? Do you just stumble upon your elements?” Thea’s mind was racing as she was trying to figure out what she could do.

“Usually, when you are a young girl, the elements let you know. I always was able to move rocks that would be much too heavy for someone my size to move. You, I remember, could light candlesticks by transferring fire with swift movement of your fingers.”

Thea was rocking back and forth in her hammock. “Just like everything in life, it has two sides to it. One side of your element can do well, on the other, you can hurt yourself. There have been witches who have drowned or burned themselves. I almost buried myself alive….oh and electrocuting themselves with thunderbolts,” she ended with a chuckle.

“Hey, I’m sorry. I thought it would turn out to be an orb like when I do the fire.” Thea said in a teasing tone back.

She started playing with the pendant around her neck as she was thinking about how she may control the elements. “Those mud trolls are brilliant. I want to learn how to do that.” Thea said to Robin.

“I’m sure you can Thea. You have always been more talented than me. Your fire is the strongest element, though.” Thea thought about what Robin said.

“Yeah, but I’d rather restrain someone with some mud trolls, instead of burning their face off. I can’t believe what I did to her face.” Thea said with a shudder.

“She got what she had coming to her. She attacked us first!” Robin was getting into her emotions again.

“Calm down!” Thea said teasingly. “You’re going to conjure up some creatures again.”

The girls talked and giggled until the wee hours of the morning when they drifted off to sleep as the wind rocked them back and forth.

There was a faint jingle in the air. High pitched jingles, getting louder, and louder. Thea stirred in her sleep. Something was tickling her nose, and she swatted at it.

“Meow!” Fig cried as he pounced, landing on Thea’s face.

“What the hell, cat?!” Thea screeched.

“Wake up, Human!” Thea couldn’t focus on the hot pink orb that was circling around her head. “Human!” the small voice screamed in Thea’s face.

“Willow? What are you doing here?” Robin was now up, and had a few hundred fairies pointing their poison tipped arrows at her face.

“Uh, Thea? Friends of yours?” Robin questioned as she stared back at the little fairies with wide eyes.

“Willow, what is going on? Let my friend go,” Thea demanded. With a nod the fairies dispersed from Robin’s face.

“We need your help, Human! The elves are back and they brought the nymphs with them!” Thea stood up from her bed.

“The name is Thea,” she corrected the fairy as she sat scratching her head and looking over to Robin.

“Willow, the elves and others have said that this was their land first, and that you tricked them out of it. Is that true?”

Willow’s jaw dropped for just a second as she looked over her shoulder at Thea. Then Willow squinted her eyes tight as she turned around to face the witches. “I don’t think the elves would tell you the truth when they were defeated. History is only told by those who have won the war,” Willow stated coldly.

“I’m not sure if that answers what I asked you,” Thea replied back.

“She’s a flipping fairy, Thea! You can’t believe anything that comes out of her mouth. They see humans as playthings, not as someone to respect.” Robin was aggravated and caught a small arrow into her arm for speaking her mind.

“Do as you want, Human. Just remember: the blood of the fallen will be because YOU didn’t come when your help was asked for.” Willow made a rude gesture at Robin before she whistled and the few hundred fairies flew off towards their fairy circle that Thea had visited before.

Thea looked in the direction that the fairies retreated. The girls could see explosions of bright light bursting a few miles in the darkness. They could hear the cries of the ravens from where they stood.

“We have to stop them from