Hilda - The Challenge (25 page)

Johan stared at the man in the blue robe and
the black cloak, an equally black hood over his head. "I'm afraid
there is not much I can see of your friend, honourable witch."

Hilda frowned without showing it. The man had
a point there. Well, there was no harm in this, she decided. The
witch turned to William and nodded slightly.

William did the best thing possible: he let
the hood slide off his head by using magic. The two people in the
shop gasped for air, they were not used to being near witches and
wizards, so seeing magic used at such close range was something awe
inspiring for them.

Johan, more used to special effects like
that, nodded at the 'wizard'. "Good day, honourable wizard."

"Good day, Johan. It is good to meet you."
William was at a loss how a proper wizard would address an ordinary
he did not know, so he kept things a bit reserved and distant.

"Where he comes from," Hilda quickly pitched
in, "the magical people are not so keen on telling others their
name. He is still getting used to our village."

Johan nodded and William got the hint. "My
name is William."

The two people in the shop whispered among
themselves.

Johan stared at the two people and tried to
shake his head violently without any witch or wizard noticing it.
He knew that Hilda did not like it when ordinaries near her were
whispering. The two people failed to notice Johan's gesture. Hilda
and William didn't.

The wicked witch stepped up to the two
people. "Sorry if I interfere. Is there a problem here?"

The tallest man looked at Hilda. "No, no,
everything is fine, honourable witch."

"Really. You could have fooled me, the way
you were whispering. Don't you know that it is very impolite to
whisper with a witch present? Especially this witch?"

"Yes, we do, but-"

"Ah!" Hilda's voice became sharp as a razor.
"You know! And yet... tsk tsk tsk." Her wand appeared. "I think it
would be very good if you were to wait outside. Don't you agree,
William?"

William decided to follow Hilda's lead and
made his wand appear also, keeping a rather relaxed stance for
now.

Hilda grinned. "And do let me give you a
hand..." Her wand twitched a bit, and the man who had talked to her
slowly levitated a few inches. She looked at the open door, and the
man floated calmly to it. He suddenly found himself outside the
mirror-maker's shop and he plopped on the street.

William did nothing but keep an eye on the
other man. After all, he had done hardly anything. Well, he had
done the whisper bit also.

Hilda turned to the other man. "See... I
really have a problem with whispering people. Especially if they
are talking about me or my friends. And as you were indeed
whispering about William the Wizard, I can only do one thing."

The man felt an invisible hand grab him in
the collar, lift him, and moments later he too stood in the street,
next to his friend.

"Do call again," said Hilda, "but not when
we're here."

The two whisperers stood outside the door for
a few more moments, still not sure if this had really happened.

William, curious about the two, was focussing
on them. Hilda sensed how he was not paying attention to anything
inside the shop. Then there was a very rapid sequence of things
that happened.

A strange sensation made Hilda look at
William. William looked at the open door and lashed out with his
wand. He knew that magic was inside him, it acted through him. He
had an idea of what had happened.

"What?", Hilda asked in her direct way. She
had sensed the jolt.

"Not sure..." William walked out the door,
Hilda on his heels, leaving Johan wondering and stuck with his
mirror.

The two men stood frozen in motion. The small
man had his hand around William's broom, the tall man had lifted
his foot to kick and probably break Hilda's broom.

William's hand, the one carrying the wand,
trembled slightly. "I thought I felt their intent and just acted."
It sounded as if he was apologising. He felt the power of the magic
in his body, it permeated his entire being, and it held the two man
where they were.

People appeared in the street, looking at
what was going on near Johan's shop. Even Johan deserted his mirror
as he noticed there were people gathering in front of his workshop.
As he saw the situation, he cursed.

All this happened in less than twenty
seconds.

"Okay. Nobody touch them," Hilda said, rather
unnecessary. She removed her broom from the danger zone that was
the large man's foot, and then she magicked William's broom from
the smaller man's hand. "You can release them now."

William's sudden anger that was feeding the
magic only subsided slowly. He was certain that a proper wizard
would be much more in control. As the hold on them unbound, the two
men started moving again, slowly at first and more normal as
William's hold fell away. It had a dramatic effect which left a
profound impression with the bystanders.

The two men stared at the witch and the
wizard. They stood with their backs against the wall of Johan's
shop and kept their mouths shut.

"Very nice," Hilda muttered. "So now we have
two people here who are not only disrespectful towards the local
witch, but who also find some childish pleasure in destroying the
property of the witch. And the wizard." Hilda turned to the large
group of people that by now had assembled. "Do you want to take
care of these people?"

A murmur went through the crowd. The people
were aware that the two men would be better off if the villagers
were to punish then, but that it would be awkward for them to
punish the two as they had offended the witch.

"I thought so." Hilda turned to the two men
again.

William had kept his eye on them, and his
wand also, although he was not sure what he could do if the men
decided to try and make a run for it.

The wicked witch slowly recited a spell, her
wand pointing at the two men. Then she nodded, satisfied. "You'll
know what people mean by 'I smell a rat'," she said. Hilda winked
at William. "We're done here."

The gathering made space for them to mount
their brooms, and they took off, leaving the village behind.

Once they were airborne and without a doubt
out of hearing range, Hilda almost jumped William: "Suck an elf,
William, how did you do that? How did you know that?"

"Do you believe me when I say I don't really
know?"

"Hmmf. In your case I'll have to," she said,
not happy with the reply. "That was one magnificent action,
William. If you had done that in full control of magic, I would
have been terribly proud of you."

"Oh, thank you very much," he grinned.

"Oh, shush you, I'm now just averagely proud
of you, live with it." Her shrieking laughter sounded almost nice
in his ears.

William then asked Hilda what she had mean
with the 'I smell a rat' phrase. "It does not make any sense to
me."

"Oh, that. Just petty stuff really. By the
evening these two men will be smelling bad. And I mean really bad.
Nothing like a small token of my not appreciation for what they
tried to do. It is highly insulting if an ordinary tries to damage
or take away the property of magical people, William, and don't
forget that."

"Uhm, I think that there somehow is that
awareness inside me. Not sure where it comes from, but when I
noticed what they had in mind, I reacted before I could think. As
if the wand was directing me."

"That, my sweet man, is impossible. A good
wand will amplify you, but not direct you. The wand you have was
Gerdundula's, and she would not let a wand direct her. What
happened came from you, take my word for that."

"Hilda. I believe you. I have not doubted you
so far, and there is no reason for me to begin now." William looked
at Hilda and seriously wondered about something.

"What is it, William?" Hilda startled William
slightly. She had sensed his unease through the link and reacted to
it.

"The feeling that came over me. The thing I
reacted to back in the village. Is that something brought about by
magic?"

Hilda thought about the question. She had
never wondered about things like that one, it had always been a
part of her. "Maybe it is coming to your surface because of magic.
I'm not really sure."

As they were going over possibilities and
improbabilities that way, they were approaching the new slope where
the shepherds were herding their flock of sheep.

Hilda brought the brooms to a halt. "I have
to tell you my plan for them for the day. They always expect me, us
now, to launch some kind of attack. They're always waiting for it,
even if they soil their pants about each one. I have a different
tactic for today, shake them up in a different way..."

She shared her plan with William, who
couldn't help but love it. "That is so wicked, Hilda."

"Isn't it?" Her face radiated her being
thrilled with the plan. "Give it your best, sweet man, I'll love
you extra for it."

William pulled the hood over his head, with
his hand this time. Then they slowly flew over the last hill-top
that separated them from the sheep and their managers.

The sheep were all gathered near the bottom
of the shallow valley. The shepherds and their dogs were having a
moment to relax and drink something as they saw the two shapes
slowly approach. As they did not anticipate anything happening
fast, they were not in a rush to get on their feet. In fact, they
knew that whatever they'd do, it would probably have minimal impact
on the actions of the witch and her uncanny wizard companion.

Hilda and William slowly and silently circled
the herd. They were rather high up and moved so slowly that hardly
any of the animals reacted to their presence, and the ones that did
just looked up and let out an annoyed baahhhh.

They came close to the group of people who
were sitting near a small fire over which the kettle with tea hung
from a rugged chain supported by an iron tripod. The men and women
looked at the mysterious couple in silence. Some of the dogs jumped
up and barked at the strange flying apparitions. One of them even
walked along with them, looking up as if it was expecting
something.

The shepherds talked among themselves. This
was not the way the witch acted. Would there be something wrong? Or
perhaps it was an effect of the wizard that was with her?

As the group was indulging in their guessing
and discussing, William and Hilda completed their round along the
herd of sheep. In silence they hung in the air, exactly opposite
the camp of the shepherds that tried to be very inconspicuous about
keeping an eye on them.

Hilda turned to William. "Let's go make
pretty colours, my sweet man."

William grinned and felt mischief bubbling up
inside him, something he had not felt for ages. He let his mind
slide into a mood, envisioned something happen.

Hilda watched William's face and was
delighted to see his grin slowly change into a wicked smile. "Oh,
yes, that is the attitude," she whispered. Coloured smoke appeared
behind their brooms, and she made them move over the herd of
sheep.

In a slow slalom they passed over the sheep,
William creating the coloured smoke and Hilda directing their
course. The shepherds were now conspicuously watching the two,
eyeing the smoke that spread out over the herd and not knowing what
to make of that. Their surprise would come later.

After flying over the herd just once, the two
brooms pulled up, the smoke stopped coming from the ends, and then
the witch and the wizard left the valley.

The shepherds walked into the herd. To their
shock they found that the smoke had not only been smoke. They had
many sheep now with purple and yellow wool.

Hilda shrieked with laughter as they sped
over the trees on the way back to the house. "Are you sure that the
colour will go away again in a few days?"

"Hey, I'm still in training, I'm sure of
nothing," William grinned. "I did have the intent for that. Maybe
we can go back in a few days and have a look."

"Bad plan, William," the witch said. "It
would make us look curious. It's better to have a look through the
mirror and see if it worked."

"Oh, right, the mirr-aaaahh!!!" William had
not intended to end his words like that, but his broom swept
sharply to the side, shocking him. In a reflex he grabbed the
broomstick with both hands and stabilised its flight path by
pouring thoughts and directions into it. "Goddammit! What was
that?!", he swore as he brought his broom back, next to
Hilda's.

"That, sweet man, was your beloved little
witch. And I have to hand it to you that you picked up this little
witch-inflicted mishap quite nicely." Hilda grinned and blew him a
kiss.

The man in the black cloak needed a few
moments to get the deeper meaning of her words. "You threw my broom
off course?"

"Uhuh!", Hilda nodded, happily smiling. "Was
that cool or what?"

"I almost fell down. That's a new approach to
cool," William frowned.

"But you're still flying, sweet man. Do you
think I would have let you fall?"

"No, you wouldn't. I am sure of that."
William nodded.

"Well, that's good. Come, we're going down."
Hilda pulled her broom in a shallow descent, flying ahead of
William and landing nice and gentle on the grass in front of the
house.

William landed right behind her. "Thank you,
sweetheart."

"Thank me? For what?"

"For making the landing a nice one."

Hilda grinned. And grinned harder, until she
stood laughing, her broom bobbing next to her.

"Did I say something funny? Or do I have
cream on my nose?" William wondered what her source of
entertainment was.