by Paul Kater
closed. A pop of the wand later the door was open, the alarm was off and the couple were inside only a sigh after that.
"Right then. Let's see what goodies we can find here."
14. Let's be concrete
The outlet store bathed in the cold light of the white fluorescent tubes overhead. The place was large and gave the impression of being organised. Everywhere there were large, high racks loaded with things. Each rack carried a professional, handwritten cardboard sign describing what was on the rack. The fact that the signs were there gave reason to believe that the contents of some of the racks were doubtful.
"So... clothes..." William started walking through the store. He used the system called pot luck for that, as there seemed to be not much reason behind the way things were stored in the large hall.
They did manage to find the clothes section.
Hilda wiggled her nose. "That smells like the grave of my great grandmother, William. And you think I am going to wear something that comes from that?"
"Yes. Because we can make the smell go away."
"Hmpff." Hilda quickly browsed through the racks of clothes. "Nothing here that a self respecting witch would wear, you know..."
William sighed.
"Don't sigh. You know what I mean. This is all so... ordinary."
"That, sweetwitch, was the plan, remember?"
"I know. But I never said I like it. Oh! Look here! I think we could both fit inside this thing!" Hilda held up a pair of pants that were amazing. Super-size and then some. She flipped up her wand and swooshed it over the giant garment. It then looked like something that would fit her. It was purple.
They rummaged through the racks a while longer and ended up with a couple sets of clothes each. William thought of shoes, but they would be able to adjust their normal footwear easily, without ill aftereffects.
The magical couple left the store. After William had locked it up again, they headed back towards their new homestead.
"You know what's crappedy crap now?", Hilda asked as they changed into some of their new clothes. "We can't fly around. It would cause suspicion when we look like this."
"It would help if we only fly in the areas where we won't be seen. Or take routes where no people live. As long as you can do the shrinking trick, we can take the brooms anywhere."
"Yes," Hilda nodded, "that's what I said."
William snickered and got slapped.
Back in their shed they stored the new clothes they did not need, as well as their normal attire. Then they headed out again, looking for locations where Zelda could have taken up residence after the destruction of her place at town hall.
The brooms could take them quite a stretch into town, as the hour of curfew had come into view. Most people of the town were determined to stay out of the harmful witch's way, and many soldiers were patrolling the streets to keep order. They did not have a difficult job. Yet.
Hilda and William dismounted their brooms. William tucked the shrunken brooms in his inside pocket and then pointed to where they should start climbing.
They had ended up on a very dishevelled street, where the entire layer of asphalt had been ripped out and smashed back on the ground on its side. Metal scraps of what had been cars stuck out everywhere, making progress very cumbersome.
The magical couple reached the end of the street and looked at a split in the road.
"Cinema is over on the left," William said and pointed to a large building. It was entirely dark on the outside. The bulk of it loomed high over the other buildings in the street, which were also darkened, probably with curtains, cardboard or stronger means. The whole street breathed a grim atmosphere.
"Do you think it is a good thing that I come along?", Hilda asked William. "If she's there and she senses me..."
"She knows you're out here looking for her. I don't think it will make a big difference. When she knows you are here, she'll make a move, and that's good. Saves us locating her the hard way."
Hilda nodded, and then clambered after the wizard who started making his way along the line of houses they were close to.
They had gone but fifty feet when a loud command was directed at them. "Halt. Who goes there?"
"Suck an elf," Hilda said. "Hey, are you one of those police folk?"
"No. I am- I am the one who's asking the questions here." The voice of the man behind the megaphone did not sound as convinced as he'd meant to.
"Good. Go find people who want to answer them and keep your voice down, man," Hilda threw at him before William could intervene.
The soldier lowered the megaphone and raised his weapon. The magical couple noticed that he was very good at raising it and William signalled Hilda that she should be careful now. "I demand to know who you are. You are trespassing. Curfew is about to begin, you should be inside."
William raised his hand to draw the soldier's attention. "Why are you out here then? Are you one of the poor souls who still believe this all is the work of terrorists, even when so many people already know there's a witch on the loose here? Or are you hunting the witch, like we are?"
"The witch-talk is a lot of nonsense," the soldier told them, and William sensed how Hilda started fuming. "We are here to keep order and protect people against the gas."
"Oh. Right. That is why they send you guys out on the street without gas masks, right? As examples what the gas will do to everyone. That makes sense."
"Can't I just whop him?", Hilda asked. "This takes so much time."
"Let's try and convince him, sweetwitch. If he knows and talks to his partners-"
"Hey, no talking among yourselves! Tell me your names!" The soldier hid behind his set of prescribed questions.
"We are Hilda and William," said the wizard, "we're unarmed and you are delaying us. Curfew is coming up."
"I know. I said so." The soldier became restless as these two people were getting to him.
"Crappedy crap," Hilda said, and through the link William knew what she was referring to. They jumped and landed in the pit in front of them, where once a proper road had been. Before they hit the bottom, Hilda had her wand in hand and sent a blast to the soldier that made him topple over.
The shriek of a mad broom-flying woman hit their ears and a bolt of fire hit the spot where Hilda and William had been standing a few seconds before, setting bits of pavement aglow and charring the wooden panels of a front door.
"Brooms."
The word was enough for William. Three seconds later they shot up from their pit and saw Zelda flying. She was just pulling her broom in a steep climb to start a quick turn for another round through the street. This time the soldier was her target. The man was fumbling with the safety of his weapon, and his shattered nerves did not help in getting the gun closer to firing.
Zelda aimed her wand at the man in green who was so engaged in messing with the gun that he did not see her coming. Just before she cast the magic, a shockwave hit her, making her broom shudder and the spell she was mumbling go unfinished. Another shriek escaped her lips.
Hilda and William came at Zelda from two sides, blasting streams of magic at the deranged woman on the broom. It all bounced off her, as she had her protection around her on full force, but the constant attack of the two magical people made it impossible for her to take any action herself.
"Damn you, Grimhilda!", Zelda screamed, her voice smashing into the buildings in the street and shattering windows. "You will not get me! And I will crush you and that wizard you have with you, I promise that!"
Zelda shot upwards, forcing her broom to its limits. Hilda and William followed her; they were not going to give up the pursuit they had going. Their prey was in sight and they wanted magical blood.
In the street, the soldier stared at the view that was unfolding in front of his eyes, as the last embers of dispersing magic crackled out of existence around him.
Hilda and William, with the benefit of their link, manoeuvered themselves in a plier-lik
e position as they were racing upwards to Zelda.
Zelda suddenly stopped her crazy ascent and looked at the two that came up to her. A smile came on her lips. "Yes, sweeties, come to momma..." She pointed her wand straight down and threw a spell. After that she simply reinforced her protection and waited.
"She's up to something, William," Hilda warned her wizard. "Be careful. She's crazy, she can do anything now."
It would take them only fifteen more seconds to reach the witch that hovered high over the city, waiting for them in very much a mocking gesture. Zelda's black dress waved around her, as her magic spun around her. Blue crackles danced over her fingertips and her smile turned into a full laugh. Another blast of energy went downwards and then she simply let herself fall downwards, dropping towards the earth like a brick of considerable proportions.
During the time that the magical couple was climbing up to Zelda, the first magical blast of the witch gone mad had summoned an immense lump of street to rise up. Faster and faster the block of concrete came upwards. The second blast of Zelda's magic had split the block into several smaller, but still considerable lumps that were now spiraling upwards along the paths where Hilda and William were approaching her.
As Zelda plummeted downwards past them, Hilda heard her shrieking laughter as she brought her broom to a halt. William also came to a stop. First he looked at Hilda, then at the dot that was Zelda. Then they saw the blocks of concrete that were almost upon them.
"William! Flee!" Hilda forced her broom away