Free Hilda - The Challenge by Paul Kater

when
Hilda hit the brakes. Both brooms hovered over the trees William
had seen from his bedroom, the ones that looked normal and strange
without being able to tell what was odd about them.
    "Something's different there," said Hilda,
"you stay here." She dropped to just over the treetops and slowly
moved her broom towards the house.
    "As if I have a choice," William grinned to
himself as he watched how the witch worked her way towards her
house. He was extremely impressed with her ability to handle the
two brooms, keeping him where he was and also flying her own, her
mind obviously geared to what would be the matter at her house.
    To pass the time, he took the two pieces of
the wand from his pocket and tried to fit them together. The two
pieces remained two pieces, but at one of his attempts the broom he
was on shuddered. Not sure if this was something he had done, he
thought it best to put away the wood and watch Hilda's actions
instead.
    Hilda was as close to her house as she could
without being seen. There was a broom outside the door. And it was
not one of hers, which was unheard of. No witch would leave a broom
like that near the door of another witch's house. She was in doubt
what to do now. Facing another witch was not the problem. But
leaving William where he was was not a solid plan then, as her
attention would become to widespread, and he'd have an ungentle
encounter with the earth. And it might also break the broom.
    "You'd better be holding on," she muttered,
as she made the other broom slowly move downwards and glide to
where she was.
    William remained silent, despite the slight
startle he'd had when his transportation device suddenly started
moving. As his broom pulled up next to the one of Hilda, she looked
at him and put a finger on her lips. He nodded, and they gently
went down to the earth. Hilda handed him her broom and pointed to
the trees. He had to hide there, with the brooms. He nodded a
confirmation and went to where she wanted him, doubting that his
blue and black attire would keep him out of sight adequately.
    Hilda did not seem to worry about that. She
straightened her back, popped up her wand and marched towards her
house. William felt sorry for the person inside that would have to
answer to her. Hilda was in battle-mode.
    The witch stopped at the door and looked at
the broomstick that was so casually leaning against the wall. She
grinned. "Damn you. I should have known. You are so frickin'
curious."
    "Hello, Hilda," said the house, "we have a
visitor."
    "I know," she said, her smile widening. The
door opened and she went in.
    "BABS!!", she screamed at the top of her
lungs.
    "HILLY!", Baba Yaga screamed at the same
volume.
    A cacaphony of cackling laughter followed,
which for the uninitiated translated into an awful sound resembling
death, destruction and the downfall of anything sacred. The two
witches danced around, their shrieking seemingly endless until the
welcoming ceremony these two had thought up so long ago was
complete, leaving the area in an eerie silence.
    William bravely stood behind his tree, hands
over his ears to block out the worst of the audible havoc. As the
pressure on his eardrums suddenly subsided he dared to breathe
again and take his hands off his ears. He did keep them raised, in
case the sound would happen again. It didn't. The next thing he saw
happen was that Hilda came out of her house and beckoned him to
come over, after which she quickly went into the house again.
    William grabbed hold of both brooms and
walked over to the house. He wondered about the odd broom that was
next to the door, put the two he carried next to it and went
inside. "Holy Bejeebus", he said. At the table with Hilda was the
most hideous woman he had ever seen. Even his wildest and most
creative nightmares could not conjure up something like that. She
looked like a skeleton with skin and clothes on, had a big head
with the occasional hair. The woman looked like one big wrinkle
although her nose