The Hunt of the Grimalkin (Erresuma Book 1) by Dani Swanson (books to read romance TXT) 📗

Charles and Dean led the way as they followed the tracks to the south of the chateau. The trek was long, and it took them a few uneventful days before they were out of the trees. They entered into a grassy field that stretched as far as they could see. The sweet smell of the flowers made Thea feel sleepy as they pushed through the marshy ground.

They were four days into the journey, and they still had not seen a sign of the Grimalkin; the massive cat-like footprints always seemed to be a day old when they found one, regardless of how fast they were traveling. There were some cottages here and there, and at the end of the grassy field, there was the dirt road that lead into Owl’s Nest, the town where the twins had grown up many years ago.

“The footprints are headed right into the town.” Charles said, on bended knee, examining the dried mud on the road. “I don’t have a good feeling about that at all.”

“Hopefully she just passed through,” Agatha chirped, trying to be optimistic for the group.

“Yeah, she’s done a real good job of just ‘passing through’ places,” Thea said sarcastically as she continued down the road. “Let’s go see what damage she’s done.”

“You don’t have to be so mean to her, Thea. She’s sorry for what she did. You need to let go, and forgive her,” Robin whispered over Thea’s shoulder, catching up to her.

“I forgave her a long time ago. It doesn’t mean I have to forget what happened.” Thea gave Robin a sideways glance as they were whispering. “I have a feeling in the pit of my gut that I shouldn’t trust her. I had that feeling since I met her and I didn’t listen to it.” Thea trailed off, shaking her head in frustration.

The boys were far ahead playfully tracking the Grimalkin. They acted like twelve-year-olds whenever they thought no one was paying attention to them. Thea giggled to herself, and thought about how happy she was around Dean. Agatha was between the girls and the boys, pulling her wagon, and talking to Fig who was hitching a ride.

The closer they got to Owl’s Nest, Thea started to notice an unusual number of ravens and sparrows following across the field. Once they reached the next section of forest, there were hundreds of them on the branches.

“I think your friends are here, Thea,” Robin said over the squawking of the birds. Thea looked up to see the birds all looking down upon them from the branches. Thea recognized one of the large dark ravens that had been with them at the market. He had a bit of purple string hanging from his mouth. He called out when he made eye contact with Thea. Black wings delicately fluttered down to Thea’s shoulder, and he cautiously dropped something for Thea to pick up.

“What did you bring me, my little friend?” Thea asked, as she bent down and picked up the piece of ribbon. There was a small bronze key attached at the end of the cord. “Interesting,” she commented holding it up for the group to see. The massive bird then flew up to the top of Thea’s staff and perched there. “I guess you’re coming along too,” she said to her bird with a wink.

“You and your key collection.” Agatha said as she looked at the key. “What does this one open?” Thea shrugged her shoulders.

“I haven’t a clue, but if I have learned anything from this adventure, it’s to hang onto keys.” With that statement she pulled out her stash of keys, and tied the string to the other keys.

They made their way to the center of the square where the tracks traveled around the central fountain, then off in different paths between the buildings. The houses were painted with bright cheery colors, had window boxes with petunias planted in them, and little straw doormats on each threshold, yet it was eerily quiet throughout the streets.

“I don’t think she just passed through here, Agatha,” Thea said as she looked around the town. The birds had followed them in through the trees and were perched on the straw roofs. Fig was sniffing the ground around the fountain and following the girls as they wandered about.

“Do we start knocking on doors?” Dean questioned as they were peering around houses. “There doesn’t seem to be much movement around here.”

“I think we should keep going. I don’t think the Grimalkin is going to answer the door.” Robin said as she was looking at the paths and kicking stones. “How do the tracks go off, in two different directions?” She pointed both towards the east and the west of the town.

“We should split up, and see where they lead,” Charles suggested sitting on the edge of the fountain. “The sun is high in the sky, we should each go for two hours, and then report back here.” The group all looked at him.

“You want to split up and go find the Grimalkin? That sounds horrible. Someone is going to get eaten,” Thea responded. She stared off towards the east, where the tracks were deeper than the rest. “I’m going to head this way. You all should follow me, if you want to stay together. I think it is just plain stupid to split up.”

“There are tracks going in both directions. We need to see where they lead. More will get accomplished if we split up,” Dean spoke calmly, trying to persuade Thea into the separation.

“My head is hurting, so I’m not going to argue with you. I’m headed east. You guys do what you want.” Thea headed towards one set of tracks with her little orange cat right behind her. Robin slowly looked at the faces of her friends and then solemnly walked with Thea without saying a word.