She hadn’t finished her sentence before the cage snapped closed and started to rattle. I hopped up with Samantha on my heels and chased after the cage as it crashed through the forest.
“Stop!” I shouted to the cage, but it just moved faster. Whatever was inside was making horrible screaming noises like it was having its skin ripped off by a rabid dog.
Samantha sprinted ahead of me and leapt on top the cage. It jumped and banged under her. “Shut up! Shut up! Just calm down!”
The cage gave one last jump and then was still. Samantha picked it up and we looked inside. It was a hairy, little, nasty bugger, with a long-horned nose and warts all over its body. As we watched it guzzle the remnants of the soup we made it, the goblin smiled and vanished from view.
“Where did it go?” I shouted. “I thought this thing was enchanted!”
“It must be invisible. Believe me, it’s still in there,” Samantha said. “The cage weighs a ton.”
“How do we make it uninvisible?”
“Let’s just get him back to Frank and figure out the rest of the recipe."
Chapter 27
“Hurry up,” I said as we trekked back through the woods. “We have to get this back to Frank ASAP.”
We heard a great crash of thunder, and there was burst of purple smoke in front of us. Out from the smoke stepped Hilda, every bit as perfectly quaffed as she was the last time we saw her, except now her deep blue eyes had turned to red, as had her clothing.
“I don’t think that will be necessary,” Hilda said. “After all, we had a deal, didn’t we?”
I nodded. “We did, but Frank said he could drain Katie’s ectoplasm without hurting her.”
“Tsk tsk tsk, and you believed him?” Hilda asked, taking a step toward us. “Frank means well, but he’s an imbecile. You should not throw your lot in with him. Now, hand over the cage and we will have an end to our arrangement.”
Samantha shook her head. “We don’t have to give anything to you. I paid you, and in return you gave me a recipe for catching a goblin. Our transaction is complete.”
Hilda brushed past me on her way over to Samantha, who was trying her best to hold on to the cage, even though it banged and rattled with the goblin’s attempts to escape.
“I’m afraid it’s not,” the witch said. “There have been some complications, and you will need to come with me.”
Samantha shook her head. “I’m not going anywhere with you.”
“Oh, poor dear,” Hilda said with a dangerous smile. “I’m afraid that wasn’t a request.” She touched the cage, and there was another flash of lightning. When the smoke cleared, she was gone, along with Samantha and the cage.
“Samantha!” I shouted, but it was no use. She was gone. “Sam!”
I ran over to the spot they had been standing right before they disappeared. There was nothing left except for Samantha’s purse and a small vial of white powder with a hand-written note attached to it which read, “Sorry for the trouble. Still, a deal is a deal. Here’s the goblin powder.”
I grabbed the purse and vial of ground-up goblin bones and ran back to my house. I had no way of communicating with Hilda, except on the forum which Samantha led me to before we first encountered her. I scrolled through the site until I found Samantha’s post and clicked on it. A screen popped up that told me I could only access the site if I were a member.
I clicked on the register button at the top of the page, but it took me to a new page that said, “No new registrations accepted. Please return next January when new applications will be considered.”
“Dang it,” I whispered to myself. The only person who could log in was Samantha, and she had been taken by Hilda. I needed to get to her house and find her computer, but I didn’t have a way to get over there. Then I remembered that Samantha had a car.
I opened her purse and pawed around until I felt keys and pulled them out. I had my driver’s license, but I barely drove anywhere. Still, that didn’t mean I couldn’t. I ran downstairs and out into the street. I hopped into Samantha’s car and turned the ignition.
“Come on,” I said under my breath as the car chugged to life.
I put the car into drive and lurched forward onto the street. It had been a while since I’d been behind the driver’s seat of a car, so my moves were choppy and unsure, but I made incremental progress toward Samantha’s house.
When I got there, I took the keys and tried each one in the door until I found the one that turned the lock. The lights were off, and it didn’t look like anyone was home, which was a relief because I wouldn’t know how to explain myself. Any explanation I gave would make me sound like a crazy person, anyway.
I ran into Samantha’s room and started the computer. Luckily, she didn’t have a lock on her computer, and I was able to sign right into her account and open her browser. I typed in the website and logged into her account. Her password was saved by Google Chrome, one of the creepiest and most useful innovations of the technological age.
Again, I scrolled through until I found Hilda’s account and clicked on it. This time I was able to send her a message.
Give Samantha back now!
I didn’t expect an immediate response, so when I got one it threw me for a bit of a loop.
No. She is my property until I get what I need from her.
Give her back, or I’ll find you and make you regret it.
After a few seconds, another response: I like you. You have the gumption of a witch with none of
