The Circle of Owls (The Grimalkin Book 3)

by Dani Swanson

  She watched from the trees while her eyes changed to solid black, and she crept down on all fours as her human features started to fade away, and all that could be seen was the Grimalkin. The shadowy cat kept behind Cricket as she fumbled to press the knots of the tree, trying to get the old door to open. Beneath the weight of the mighty cat, a twig snapped – echoing through the otherwise still part of the forest. The Grimalkin let out a low throaty growl as Cricket turned to see who had joined her.

  “I’ve been expecting you, Lilly.” Cricket started to bow in front of the Grimalkin as she took off her large hat. A swarm of fairies along with a pair of harpies came flying out of it; The fairies were shooting arrows from either side of the Grimalkin while the harpies made the wind blow around her, forming a cyclone that she couldn’t escape. Dirt and leaves danced around the Grimalkin, blinding her, causing her to become confused. They blew the wind up higher than the trees, carrying the Grimalkin in their blasts. “Now!” Cricket’s voice could be faintly heard through the howls of the wind.

  With that command, the harpies ceased their winds and the body of the Grimalkin came speeding down toward the ground, however, like all cats, she was still able to flip herself over and land on her feet. A large troll came out from the shadows, jumped on the Grimalkin’s back and wrestled with the creature until he was able to attach a black collar onto her neck. The growls from the Grimalkin changed to the screams of a female voice as the shadowy cat slowly changed back to the slight figure of Lilly Quinn.

  Sorgin emerged from the bushes, with a solemn look on her face.

  “What’s the matter with you?” Cricket’s voice was light as she smiled at her latest conquest.

  Sorgin shook her head and forced a slight smile as she delivered the news that they couldn’t find a way into the castle.

  “That’s all right, my dear Sorgin. I feel that we have an even better item here than a castle. I have all three.”

  “Quite the collection, indeed.” Sorgin couldn’t help but smile despite the anxiety she could feel brewing in the pit of her stomach. The imp in her would always appreciate a good collection. “What are your plans now?” She asked as she looked over her shoulder to the castle wall. She could see the shadows dance on the trees from the creatures within the castle, walking along the wall.

  “Now we see if we can get that crystal to work properly, and then we’ll bring all three of them into the room.”

  As the borgs and trolls began to gather where Sorgin and Cricket were talking, a single arrow landed in the ground near Cricket’s feet. On the end was a letter tied with string.

  Leave the Kingdom of Owls NOW! You have been warned!

  ~Lola

  Cricket created a thunderbolt in her hand and shot it toward where the arrow had come, but the bolt disappeared in a poof of smoke as it got close to the castle wall. “I should have fed her to the Grimalkin when she was still a squirrel.” Cricket’s tone was playful as she ran a fingernail down the cheek of Lilly Quinn, who was sitting on the ground, restrained by a troll – silently crying. “Don’t cry dear -you’re going to get what you want soon enough.”

  With a nod, one of the borgs brought the horses to Sorgin and Cricket, and they started down the road leading back to their house. The troll picked up Lilly and put her over his shoulder. Lilly refused to react and laid there as dead weight the entire trip back.

  “Now that you have all of them, will you give me my powers back?” She could hear Sorgin’s voice up ahead. Lilly turned her head and saw Cricket take a small bag from around her neck and poured a lavender powder into her hand. She blew it into Sorgin’s face as the old imp-witch inhaled every speck she could. Her aura started to glow a bright yellow, that could be seen by the naked eye before settling back to her normal self. Sorgin looked different to Lilly now. Like she gained years of her life back. Sorgin felt the void within her start to fill, making her whole – colors seemed brighter and she could smell the flowers of the forest around her in a new found sweet bouquet.

  “Don’t disappoint me again, old friend. I don’t like having to do things like that to you.”

  “I wouldn’t dream of it, dearie.” Sorgin smirked, with a smirk as she looked ahead through the trees while rubbing the top of her skull cane. Little did Cricket know that the imp-witch’s powers had begun to rejuvenate immediately after she had lost them. She could feel the extra power surge through her all the way down to her toes. Her skin became brighter and looked tighter on her face as if she had started to age backwards. She felt stronger than she had ever felt before.

  Lilly laid her head back down in a heap and stopped listening to what was being said. She now understood why Cricket had so many followers – She had something that belonged to each of them and that’s how she continued to have control over them.

  The trip back to the house was much faster than the trip was to the Kingdom, as Cricket was eager to go and finish her plans. She whisked off to her private chambers and locked herself in. Meanwhile, Lilly was brought down to a room not far from where Thea and the others were being held. She knew that they were all in there, she didn’t need to ask.

  Sorgin waited until nightfall, and crept her way through the halls, down to where Agatha was being held. She took her walking stick and gently placed it over the keyhole and was able to unlock the door without the use of a key. She pushed the door open to find Agatha, sitting in a chair, talking to someone that only she could see. She was startled and jumped to her feet when she saw Sorgin.

  “What are you doing down here? You’re going to end up in one of these rooms if she sees you.” Agatha’s voice was a low hushed whisper. Sorgin checked the hall behind her before shutting the door.

  “She won’t be able to – At least not yet.” Sorgin said as the skull on the end of her staff start to glow. “We need to get out of here, and fast! She caught Lilly now. It’s only a matter of time before she cracks the spell in that book you found for her.”

  “I wish I never found that book.”

  “Well it was hidden at my chateau! You shouldn’t have been snooping around for it!” The look of disappointment was like what she use to see from her mother.

  “I didn’t know that you were part of the Circle back then. How was I supposed to know?! I was just following orders from her.” Agatha made a wildly pointing gesture up to the ceiling, to where she just assumed Cricket would be. “I was told that I was going to be a supreme by helping her, and that I would get all of the powers you were taking from my sister.”

  “Yes, that is the beauty of Cricket, isn’t it? She makes sure you believe what you want, and only know enough of what she’s doing to believe her story.” Agatha was rubbing her head, looking past Sorgin – She couldn’t hear what the imp-witch was saying. All she could hear was Robin yelling at her from within. “I know how to help you with that.” Sorgin said as she pushed by her, taking the seat that Agatha was sitting in before. She reached up to the bun of her hair, removing a small vial from within.

  Robin was screaming at Agatha. “Don’t drink anything that she gives you! Do you know what happened to me last time she did this?! I had that bag sticking out of my arm and was paralyzed from it! Don’t be stupid!”

  Agatha started to rock back and forth. “It will make all the voices you’re hearing stop. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised. Then we can get out of here; go find a new kingdom to live in.” She had her hand stretched out to Agatha, who was trying to ignore Robin’s shrill protest.

  “How do I know you’re not still working for Cricket? Can I trust you this time?” Agatha was rocking back and forth on the floor as she looked Sorgin in the eye.

  “That witch has nothing to offer either one of us anymore. She had me walking around here as her personal servant ever since you all took over my chateau. She’s learning how to take people’s powers without the Grimalkin – she’s successfully turned two little brownies into Grimalkins. She doesn’t need Lilly to do her bidding anymore. We all want the power, bu
t no one should have ALL the power. She is going to end up with all the power, and the rest of us are going to be in a very bad spot if we’re still here. We need to get out of here to survive. That you can trust.”

  Agatha paused for a moment before popping the top off of the vial – the sugary sweet scent of cinnamon rolls filled her nose as she brought the vial to her lips. Robin was nowhere to be seen, but Agatha could still hear her screams. The liquid inside tasted nothing like it smelled. The sour flavor of vinegar and cabbage burned her throat as she fought not to gag. “It’s not working, I can still hear her! She’s louder now.”

  “Nothing is instantaneous, give it a moment to work it’s way through your system.” Sorgin calmly used her cane to get to her feet before retrieving another item from her hair – this time it was a small bronze key. She ignored Agatha’s cries of pain as she flipped her hair out of the way and unlocked the collar around her neck. It flashed a bright green before falling to the floor.

  Agatha’s head started to pound with pain as she rocked back and forth. “Now you’re ready.” Sorgin helped Agatha to her feet and stared at her forehead that now had a massive vein protruding from her head. She could see it pulse with the rhythm of her heartbeat. “Hold still, this might sting a bit.” Sorgin said as she held Agatha’s head in place – Agatha could only make out her lips moving. The pain was so strong that Agatha’s ears were humming with the sound of white noise.

  The skull on the end of her walking stick started to glow blood red as she laid it upon the pulsating vein. Agatha’s skin burned and the stench of burning flesh filled the air. She muttered an enchantment in elvish before she was pushed back with an exploding force that knocked her back into the chair.

  The room filled with an orange glow as the vein in Agatha’s head split open, folding down in half as if someone had neatly undone a zipper on her skull – the shell that once was Agatha gently glided to the floor as two beings with fiery red hair emerged from the orange glow.

  “There we are. I’d say there are no hard feelings anymore, and we all can help each other get out of here as friends?” Sorgin’s voice was proud as she looked over at the twins, hugging in the center of the room.

  “How? How did you do that?” Agatha stammered, as she was touching her sister’s hair.

  “The reverse of what you did to keep your sister as a part of you.” She said shaking a finger at Robin. “Banshee tears and fairy dust mixed with nails of a tree elf.” Sorgin smiled at Robin. “I’m glad you learned something from all those books in my home. And your hidden collection was found – I didn’t know you were into the dark arts Robin.”

  “You did this? But why?” Agatha’s voice cracked as she looked into her sister’s eyes. Her tears were cooling her face as they rolled down to her chin.

  “I was hoping that I would understand you better – get my powers back that I’ve been slowly losing since we were trapped at Sorgin’s. I didn’t want to lose you! You will always be a part of me.” Robin paused for a moment and then hugged her sister in the tightest hug she had ever given to another person. “I didn’t realize that you hated me so much until you were a part of me. I didn’t know that you were that angry at me.”

  Agatha pushed out of the embrace and looked at her sister. “It’s not that I hate you, it’s just that….”

  “No, you do! I felt it inside of me….in my soul.” She took a moment to wipe the tears from her cheeks. “Whatever I did to make you so angry, I’m sorry! You’re my sister and I love you.”

  “I’d hate to break this family counseling session you two have going on, but we need to get going if we’re going to make it out of here alive. Cricket’s going to have my head if she finds out I’m helping you.” The imp-witch giggled at her own joke as she started out the door.

  “Wait, why are you helping us?” Robin asked in a meek voice as she started to the door.

  “Because that Cricket is getting too big for herself and is trying to be the only one with magic around here.” Sorgin poked her head out into the hallway to make sure there wasn’t anyone out there before she made her way out the door.

  “What about the others?” Robin questioned as they quietly started down the hall.

  “I don’t have time for all of that, I’m getting out of here. You have all the same knowledge as Cricket does….you can stay and deal with her!”

  Sorgin’s pace increased as they neared the stairs.

  “Will you at least open the doors for us? Please Sorgin!” Robin pleaded as she stopped in her tracks.

  “Robin, she’s right, we need to go!” Agatha was tugging on her sister’s arm.

  “You don’t care! I’m going to help the people that have cared about me!”

  Robin started to pull on the doors as she passed them, trying to get in, but all were locked.

  Sorgin stopped at the bottom of the stairs and turned around to watch Robin struggle with the doors as Agatha was already out of sight upstairs. “Now we’re even for what I did to you before.” Sorgin said as the skull on her walking stick started to glow a blood red – all the locks throughout the dungeon clicked open at the same time. Robin turned to thank Sorgin, but the imp-witch was already gone. Fairies, elves, borgs, humans, witches and a whole slew of other creatures came pouring out of the cells – all adorned in little black collars.

  Robin could see her friends, coming out into the hallway with the mass of creatures, making their way for the stairs. Her little grey cat even found her and rubbed on her legs.

  “What are you doing here?! Thea exclaimed as she wrapped her arms around her friend. “It’s a long story, but it’s me! Like just me! Agatha is gone, and we should be gone too!”

  “Where did she g…..” Thea wasn’t able to finish her sentence as the collar on her neck, and all the other collars throughout turned lime green and the smell of burning flesh filled the air.

  “Everyone go back to your cells, NOW!” Cricket was standing at the top of the stairs with a little brownie man that was holding the controller that was zapping everyone. Robin watched in horror as her friends were laying on the floor, clenching the collars around their necks. “You. I’m assuming you’re Robin as I just saw Agatha running out of town. You bring Thea, and Lilly with you. You can even bring your cat.” Robin helped Thea to her feet and went down to the end of the hallway where she saw Lilly sitting on the floor, rocking back and forth with all of her fingers shoved between the collar and her burned skin.

  “Oh mother, would you please join us too.” Cricket sweetly called out to Penelope who was the only one that didn’t get shocked as she didn’t come out of her room when the doors opened. “I would like to have a word with you.”

  Reluctantly, Penelope poked her head out into the hallway. She locked eyes with Thea and smiled at her with a slight nod. Though Thea couldn’t remember anything about her, she knew that it was Penelope.

  They followed Cricket to the great room, which was starting to fill with the owls returning with spirit crystals for their mistress. One by one they would swoop down, dropping pieces of purple crystal on the floor with a loud clank.

  “Did all of you know that owls are very intelligent creatures? Especially this little guy here.” Cricket walked over to a tiny brown owl which wasn’t much bigger than her hand, who was perched on the back of her chair. “Thanks to the little bit of power I took from the imp-witch, I can speak to animals now….and this little guy right here told me that he wasn’t big enough to pick up the shards of crystal that he found in the Kingdom of Owls…..but he was big enough to bring me something else.” She paused for a moment and looked at the faces of the women who stood before her. Annoyance grew as none of them were asking her what that item was. “Mother aren’t you curious?”

  Cricket stared into her mother’s eyes waiting for her to reply. “No Cricket, I am not curious. I can understand what the owls are saying, and I already know what you have. A mouse told me what you had before you ever came to the dungeon. What I don’t know is
how you are handling it and our collars are still working, and your house hasn’t fallen down on top of you.”

  “What are they talking about?” Lilly whispered to Thea.

  Thea didn’t need to ask what was going on, as she already figured it out. Cricket had the golden acorn.

  “I had the dwarfs bring it back to the Wisp in the forest. There is no need for such a thing here. The important thing is I’ll now be able to get back into the Kingdom of Owls and fix my spirit crystal that my darling niece destroyed.”

  “I’ll destroy it again!” Thea exploded with anger and fear. “I’ll do it again!”

  “You can’t without your magic. Besides, the rest of the Circle members are already making their way to the Kingdom of Owls as we speak. I’m going to need a lot more space to finish my project. And you, I have you to thank for it!” She walked over to Robin and wrapped her arm around her shoulder. “If you hadn’t figured out how to absorb your sister, I would never have figured out the magic part. Taking a creature’s soul is one thing, but being able to strip them of their magic? That is greater than immortality by itself!”

  One of the massive Great Grey owls flew over to Cricket with the tattered book and dropped it into her hands.

  “The copy of this book I had didn’t make sense until I read your note about swallowing the mixture instead of inhaling it. Then you can absorb the power! Genius! Too bad you didn’t have the drive like your sister, we could have done wonderful things together!”

  “I can’t do it anymore. I can’t be your pawn. You’ll have to kill me Cricket! I can’t do it. I won’t!” Lilly was pacing between Penelope and Thea.

  “You won’t have to Lilly; my daughter has finally figured out how to get all our powers.”

  Lilly stopped in her tracks and stared at Penelope. “Hasn’t she taken enough?” Was all that Lilly questioned in a harsh whisper before she sat down on the cold floor.