Hilda - Cats Read Free

Babs!" She waved over
the ball. "Hello Babsi baby!"
    "Hilda!! You are there, finally! Where have
you and your wizard been for so long? I heard all kinds of rumours
about that strange person Griselda having disappeared, and that you
are somehow involved in that?" The ugly witch sounded concerned
about the wellbeing of her friend.
    "You would not believe what we have been
through, Babs," Hilda said. She told her friend all the things that
had happened, what they had endured, and how glad they were to
finally be back home again. As Hilda was talking, William was
walking around, cleaning some things up.
    Babs kept peeking as she saw the wizard walk
along and suddenly had to interrupt Hilda's flow of words. "Hilly
baby, now you have to tell me something. I see your wizard walking
around, but what is that dark thing on his neck?"
    "Huh?" Hilda looked at William, who had
Obsidian Shadow draped over his shoulders. The cat lay there are
calmly as if it was on a cushion in front of a fireplace. "Oh.
That's Obsi."
    Baba Yaga frowned. "Obsi? What's an
obsi?"
    "It's William's cat. We ended up bringing two
black cats back here," Hilda explained. "His cat is Obsidian
Shadow. And mine is called Onyx Grimalkin. Grim, come here, girl,
and say hello to Babs."
    Grim leapt up into Hilda's arms and was
presented to the ugly witch, who stared at the black animal for a
while. "Grimhilda has a cat. Now that is scary," Baba Yaga finally
stated.
    "There is nothing scary about having a cat,
Babs," Hilda lectured, "cats are very nice and clean animals, and
they are a witch's best familiar."
    "Yeah, sure. I've come along without one fine
for all my life," Babs cackled, "but you go be happy with your
cats, Hilda. But now that Zelda has ended up somewhere in the hands
of a strange creature that took her into a mirror, what are you
going to do about her house?"
    "Her house?" Hilda wondered what she had to
do with Zelda's house.
    "Yes. Someone has to release the magic from
the house and dissipate it. Or take it in. If you leave it there,
anything can happen. Do you want to take the risk that some lone
wizard or magician comes along, assimilates the magic from the
place and turns into a second Lamador?"
    Hilda swallowed. That name still gave her a
shiver. The powerful sorcerer that once had served King Herald was
dead and gone now, but the fight she and William had had to put up
for that was etched in her memory. "You're right. We have to do
something about that. Quickly."
    "Good girl," Baba Yaga said with a nod. "Stay
in touch, Hilda. No running off and making your oldest and bestest
friend worry where you are, can we agree on that?"
    "I promise," said Hilda. "Unless there is an
emergency."
    "If there is an emergency, you have to let me
know. Don't keep all the fun for yourself!" With that, Baba Yaga's
face disappeared from the crystal ball.
    "Does this sound like we are going out?"
William asked.
    "Yes, that is how it sounds," said Hilda as
she draped Grim over her shoulders.

2. Zelda's
house

    As they were in the air, William kept
wondering why the cats wanted to ride along sitting in front of
them, on the bristles of the brooms.
    "I would not worry about that, William," said
Hilda in her usual approach. "At least this way we can keep an eye
on them."
    Grim, the cat on Hilda's broom, looked at the
witch and did a soft meow. Then she looked ahead again. "I wonder
what that was all about," Hilda muttered. "At least we're almost
there."
    Not much flight time later, they descended
towards and touched down in front of Zelda's house.
    "Hey house, have you heard already?" Hilda
asked.
    "Alas, yes. I have heard. News travels
rapidly these days," the house said in its Italian manner of
speech. "You were the last one that saw her, aren't you?"
    "William and me, both, indeed. Sorry for the
loss, I assume," said the witch, "but you may understand that I
cannot put my heart in this. She did try to kill us a few times too
many."
    "Tried, eh? She never was very good at