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

of the shirt made her hair shine. She had a well fitted skirt on that went down to her ankles, with black pointed boots sticking out from underneath. She had a brooch pinned to the pocket of the shirt. She walked with a small cane that had the sculpture of a skull for the handle. The woman paused in the doorway as if she was posing for their approval.

“Hello. How may I help you?” the woman crisply greeted them as she stoically walked over to the open seat on the couch across from the young witches.

“Sorgin? Do you remember me?” Robin asked excitedly. Sorgin pulled out a pair of glasses from her pocket and placed them on the end of her nose as she looked Robin up and down.

“Robin? Is that you child?” Robin’s face lit up as if she had been accepted to an elite club. Robin got up and crossed the coffee table to hug Sorgin. The elder witch uncomfortably hugged Robin as she lightly patted her back.

“Sorgin, this is Thea. She could use your help.” Robin gestured to where Thea and Fig were sitting. Thea nervously waved her hand at Sorgin and then quickly put her hand back on her lap when she didn’t see any type of acknowledgement from Sorgin.

“How do you do?” Sorgin asked as she looked Thea over. Thea smiled at her and thanked her for the tea and welcoming her into the house.

Robin told the old witch how she has been able to start conjuring with all of the elements, however was not able to control two of them. Sorgin, for the first time since the two showed up in her house, seemed to have a genuine interest in Thea being there.

“All four elements?” Sorgin questioned as she looked over the top of her glasses. “Charles?! Make up the guest rooms!” Sorgin called gently down the hall at her manservant. Thea looked around but couldn’t see the man anywhere. “Show me.” Sorgin said to Thea. “Show me your strongest element.” Thea slowly nodded at her; feeling very intimidated by the way that Sorgin carried herself. Thea stood up and conjured a fireball in her left hand and held it in front of her. She focused her energy onto the ball and made the flames form into two people dancing in a circle, as if they were at a ball. She then shook her hand and the flame disappeared.

“You need some polishing on your timing, but very well done. It will take some time to train you,” Sorgin said. She smiled for the first time.

    Robin was up and moving around the room looking out the windows and peaking down the halls. “Where is everyone?” Robin questioned. “There’s usually creatures and witches all over the grounds.”

Sorgin shook her head no. “This hasn't been a school in fifteen years. I’m just a retired lady in a big house. Come, I’ll show you around.”

     The girls uneasily looked at Sorgin’s many collection cases and her paintings that hung on the walls as Sorgin recounted where she got each item, and explained how priceless each one was. This continued on through dinner. They ate at a proper dining room table and had quail with roasted potatoes.

“Thank you, Charles,” Robin said as he placed a bowl of pudding in front of her for desert. Sorgin was still talking about her collections and rambling on about how she got her silverware from a gnome, who got caught in a trap out in the forest; Sorgin had released him.

    When dinner ended Sorgin led them to the back of the house. “This is where we will practice,” Sorgin said to Thea. “We will start tomorrow at nine precisely.” Thea looked about the backyard which was on the shore of the lake. There were ducks in the bay and a large, red barn on the bank. “I don’t suppose you would be alright with the cat staying out there in the barn?” Sorgin asked, as she sent a dirty look to Fig.

“I prefer that he stays with me.” Thea responded quickly.

“I supposed that would be fine; he is house broken, isn’t he?” she said condescendingly towards the cat. Fig growled in the direction of Sorgin.

“He’s a great cat; he’ll be well behaved,” Robin chimed in, as she shot Fig a look to behave himself.

Thea enjoyed watching Robin as she followed Sorgin around. She seemed star struck as she attempted to get Sorgin’s attention. Yet something was off.

Sorgin had retired early and left the girls alone in the parlor.

“This is strange, Robin. I feel horribly uncomfortable here.” Thea said, as she carried Fig over to the couch. “This woman seems more concerned about how to impress you with what she has, instead of remembering who you are.”

“She doesn’t seem the same.” Robin stated, with a perplexed look on her face. “She use to be so full of life and excited to teach. I wonder what happened to her.”

They heard Charles clear his throat from the doorway. “Follow me to your rooms, please.” He said as he led the girls out of the parlor. They walked up the stairs to the third floor of the building and found gorgeous suites with conjoining doors between the rooms. Thea’s room had an actual lamp, and its own bathroom attached to it. The bed had a canopy with curtains that made the bed look like a fancy tent. Fig hopped down out of her arms and ran over to the bench next to the window and looked out.

“Good evening, Miss.” Charles said as he shut the door. She heard a click of the door behind him. Thea went over and opened the door between their rooms.

“Did he just lock us in here? Like we can’t leave our rooms?” Robin crept over to the door and jiggled the handle. It was in fact locked.

“What the hell