by Paul Kater
courtesy of Rebel who copied them from a torn original. Hilda recalled how they had taken people to the air on a wooden frame tied to their two brooms. This looked a lot like it, be it that there were no brooms but metal bars. She wondered if the thing would be able to fly.
Kerna just stood and watched, silent, trying to ignore the black animal on her shoulder.
"Now you go back inside, Rebel, and let me see if this thing will actually do what I want it to do," said William.
"Back inside? No way. I'm here, I worked on it, so I am going with you!"
The wizard turned to Hilda and while pointing at Rebel, he said: "You never mentioned having a sister, sweetwitch." That made Rebel stare and Hilda grin.
William then charged the metal rig and when he then told it to rise, it did. Reluctantly, but it rose. He carefully sat himself on it. It held. "Okay, Rebel. Careful."
With a serious streak of envy Hilda watched Rebel sit on the rig and then the contraption started going up. As the winds caught it, the thing was shaking and trembling. In her mind Hilda knew exactly how she'd counter that, without thinking she'd- but she did not need to.
William took control and the metal flight-thing stabilised. He made it rise, turn, go forward and backward and then he was satisfied. With the device hovering in front of the opening in the building, Hilda and Maurizio took a seat. Kerna was less inclined to risk her life on that, but her loyalty to her task won in the end. As soon as she was on the rig, Obsi tiptoe'd over to William and took possession of his lap.
Hilda took pity on Kerna. "Hold my hand if you feel nervous."
The rig slowly rose up into the Lycadean air. As they gained altitude, Hilda saw more pyramids around. They were further apart than the cluster of pyramids they had departed from. Long lines lay on the ground, running from one house to the next.
"William, can you get closer to these things?" Hilda pointed.
As they closed in, Kerna explained that those were the tunnel tubes she had mentioned. Once near to one of the tunnels, it was obvious that Kerna had not exaggerated. There were many cracks in the semi-transparent tubes. They could make out people walking through them quickly.
"They have breathing masks with them, for when the air gets toxic," Kerna said.
"Oh..." William pulled a magical airbubble around the contraption, just to be safe. "And how do you know the air is toxic?"
"In that case the doors won't open," Kerna said.
"Right... until the sensor or whatever is responsible fails and opens the door," Maurizio pointed out. This brought about a painful silence. Hilda broke through that by asking Kerna where the nearest forest was. She had to see trees again, and a lake if possible, and green grass.
"There is none that I know, honoured witch. Maybe Davdruw knows, or someone in the high council."
"No Forest?" Hilda spoke capitals, her face displaying momentary horror. "How can you people live like that?"
Kerna said that they had always lived like that, inside the houses, at least as long as she could remember.
"William, can you take us back again? I have seen enough..." Hilda hated having to ask, but her wizard did not mind, she knew that.
Soon they had returned to the enormous pyramid building. Kerna showed the others how they could open the door. They entered, leaving the flying rig outside and close at hand for an eventual next trip. No sooner had they reached one of the main corridors, when a couple of desperate men charged towards them. "There she is!"
William stopped them with a whammy of wizardly magic, causing the two to bounce off a wall of energy and tumble to the ground. "Now what's the rush, gentlemen?" he asked.
Kerna looked frightened. "These are men of the council's guard!"
"Oh? You can actually tell all these folks with blue hair and silver clothes apart?" Hilda asked. They all looked quite the same to her. Except for the hair.
The two men picked themselves up from the ground. "Honoured witch," one of them said, "we have orders to take you to the spiritual leader, Davdruw."
Orders did not work with Hilda. The men were about to learn. "If he wants to see me, tell him to come here. Or better, to our room, because that's where we're going." She started walking, her companions following her. Then the witch stopped. "Kerna, perhaps you should go first. I'm lost."
"But-" one of the council's guards said. Nobody paid him any mind.
When the group reached their rooms, they found Davdruw pacing about on his long legs. "Oh! Honoured witch! You have been found!"
Hilda looked up at the man. "Was I lost then?" She gladly ignored the fact that she had stated just that not long ago.
"We could not find you," Davdruw corrected himself. An undefinable emotion was on his face for a moment. It was clear he did not like to be questioned. "Where have you been? I have dispatched the high council's guards to look for you."
"Well, they found us, when we came back in," Rebel said from the couch she had claimed as her own.
"BACK IN?" Davdruw's eyebrows tried to crawl to the top of his head. After staring at Rebel for a long second, he focussed on Kerna. "Where have you taken them?"
"Hold it, Davdruw," Hilda interfered. "We wanted to go out. Kerna has nothing to do with that, it was my idea."
"She should have stopped you!" The man became visibly and audibly agitated.
"Stop her? Good luck," William said as he changed a few bowls of oatmeal into mugs with coffee and tea. Hilda nabbed a coffee one after hugging him for it. Kerna was curious about the tea, Rebel and Maurizio also picked something up. Davdruw seemed shocked by the lack of shock the others showed over him being shocked.
"Honoured witch," the tall man said, "please do not go outside again. It is too dangerous."
Hilda slammed her mug on the table. The coffee did a double somersault and landed in an artistic puddle on the surface. "You are really doing your best to get on my shit list, Davdruw." Hilda was proud of that word she had picked up from William. "You first use that prophecy excuse to bring me here. Then you expect me to save your world, and when I go out to take a look at the damage you try to confine me to this large and unfriendly place? If you are so smart that you think you can order me around and tell me how to do this, why don't you go and save your world yourself?"
A slow clapping from Maurizio. "Brava, brava."
Davdruw looked at Kerna. She had positioned herself behind William and looked determined to stay there. Davdruw's influence was fading, and he knew it. "Very well. Very well. But do inform me, honoured witch, when you want to go out again. I can arrange for a group of guards then."
"Can they fly?" the witch asked.
"Fly?" Davdruw frowned. "No."
"Splendid."
18. Uh-oh
The five had enjoyed a nice dinner together. The five? Yes. Hilda, William, Maurizio and Rebel. And Kerna. The young woman had teamed up with the witch and her companions.
Davdruw had swallowed hard to accept that, but with everyone in favour there was nothing he could do.
During the evening, Hilda and William had not noticed anything remaining of the earlier hostilities between the captain of the Mimosa and the woman from the future.
As they went to sleep, Hilda asked William for some modifications to the bed. It ended up being a copy of their bed at home.
"Do you think we will wake up soon and just be home again?" Hilda asked William.
"Would be nice, sweetwitch, but somehow I have the feeling that is not going to happen."
"Too bad," she mumbled.
Something crashed on the floor, a cat complained loudly.
"That was yours," said Hilda.
"I hope they'll let us sleep," William simply said.
-=-=-
The next morning Kerna showed up again, accompanied by Rebel and Maurizio. Rebel had dressed in a silver ensemble that was so common on this planet. Her brown hair was still brown. Maurizio had his trusty red coat on. He was eyepatchless though.
"Good morning, team," Hilda welcomed them. "Wi
lliam's just making breakfast, go tell him there are more customers."
Rebel and Maurizio grinned, while Kerna walked over to William. The wizard grinned; he had already heard and seen them come in. The young woman stood and watched how he baked eggs. The misbehaving food generator had partly been transformed into a normal kitchen, which was quite abnormal for Lycadean standards. He sent her to the table with a tray laden with mugs and the message that breakfast would be done soon.
Once he was done with breakfast, the others were done with it quickly also. Kerna clearly had hoped to be invited: she attacked her plate with a vigour that was amusing.
The room then announced that Davdruw was asking permission to enter, which was granted.
"Oh," was his first reaction as he saw Kerna at the table with the others. He did not have to elaborate on that word, his face said it all, and it did not say happy things.
"Do sit down, Davdruw," said the witch, "if you can find a chair big enough for you."
William assisted in making a larger chair.
"So why are you here so early?" Hilda continued her questioning. Before the tall man could answer, she added: "Why are you the one who is doing all this arranging and fussing, anyway? Aren't you supposed to be the spiritual leader? That would mean other work, right?"
Davdruw, his eyes examining the contents of the table and plates, sighed. "Alas, honoured witch, there is not much spirituality on Lycadea lately. We are more concerned with surviving, and as I am the one who is most in touch with the prophecy, I am automatically the person who has to see to you. And your safety," he added with emphasis.
