Free Witch Catcher by Mary Downing Hahn

kinkind.
her,
our enemy, our foe.
Her,
a witch of the twelfth degree. Listen to yer ownself, Jen—what do ye think of me?"
    She's scared,
I heard my own voice in my head,
not wicked.
That's what I'd told Dad about the girl in the painting. It's what I thought, not what Moura wanted me to think.
    Still a little uneasy, I managed a small smile. "I believe you're a fairy," I said, "but you're not evil, and I'm not afraid of you."
    "There now, that be better," Kieryn said cheerfully. "Never let a witch into yer head, Jen—especially one as twelve times wicked as
her
be."
    Somewhere behind me in the still woods, I heard Dad call my name. "It's my father," I told Kieryn. "He's looking for me."
    Without a word, Kieryn picked up Tink and peered at me. her pointed face framed by his ears. Silently she ran her hands over him, his back, his tummy, his head, legs, and tail. While she stroked him, she began humming to herself. The woods grew still and the air felt thick, the way it does before a thunderstorm. My scalp tingled, and the hair on my arms rose.
    Suddenly, Kieryn's body wavered as if I were looking at her through a campfire on a hot summer day. With a jolt strong enough for me to feel, she disappeared. In her place was a scrawny gray kitten with green eyes.
    Face to face with the kitten, Tink purred and touched his nose to hers. Not me. I got to my feet and backed away in disbelief.
    "Don't be afeared," the kitten cried in a raspy voice. "I'm still me."
    "How?" I stammered. "How did you do that?"
    The kitten shrugged. "I reckon if I understood the whys and wherefores of magic, I couldn't do it no more." Dad called again, closer.
    "Take me home with ye," Kieryn whispered. "Keep me safe from
her
and
him:
    I picked her up. Her body was as warm and fuzzy and soft as a real kitten's. "What shall I tell Dad?"
    "Tell him ye found me in the woods," Kieryn said. "Ask him to let ye keep me. But don't call me Kieryn. Her knows me by that name."
    "How about Misty? It suits your gray fur."
    Kieryn wrinkled her pink nose. "Truth's bells, is that the best ye can do?"
    I thought a second. "Mist, then. Is that better?"
    "I suppose it'll do for a wee while."
    "Jen!" Dad called. "Jen, where are you?" He sounded both worried and cross.
    "Coming. Dad," I called. "Coming!"
    I ran to meet my father. Kieryn clung to my shirt, her kitten claws digging into my skin like tiny pricking pins. Tink bounded along ahead, tail waving proudly.
    I met Dad at a curve in the path. "Where have you been, Jen? I told you not to go running off."
    "I'm sorry," I apologized. "I won't do it again. I promise."
    "What's that you've got?" Dad peered at the kitten cuddled in my arms.
    I held her up so he could see how pretty she was. "This is Mist. I found her in the woods down by the stream. She's half starved, poor little thing."
    Dad shook his head. "And you want to keep her, I suppose?"
    "Please, Dad, please? She's so sweet."
    "What about Tink?"
    "He loves her." I knelt down and Tink rubbed his nose against Kieryn's tiny pink nose. "See?"
    Dad reached out and stroked Kieryn's little head. Immediately, she began to purr as loudly as she could.
    "Listen to that. She loves you, Dad."
    Dad laughed. "Cats are such phonies. Once I say yes, she'll probably never come near me again."
    Kieryn kept purring, louder and louder till her whole skinny body vibrated.
    "Okay, okay," Dad said. "But we'll have to take her to the vet first thing tomorrow to make sure she's healthy. She'll need shots, too. And then, when she's older, we'll have her spayed."
    Kieryn immediately turned off her purr machine and pulled away from Dad's hand. I was sure she was struggling not to toss at Wm.
    He laughed again. "You'd almost think she understands English."
    I smiled down at Kieryn. "Cats understand more than people realize."
    "Let's go back to the house," Dad said, "and feed that poor starved creature."
    The path through the woods was too narrow to walk side by side, so I followed Dad home,