One was a big, burly man with deep creases of worry crinkling up his forehead so that his eyebrows almost met above his nose. The other person was Hyldi, the High Witch of Askarlend and Tia’s fifth aunt. Tia stared in amazement. The fearsome witch was tiny! Hyldi strutted towards Yufa’s box-stall like a bantam hen, as though swaggering would make her appear taller and more important. Her clothes were in gaudy shades of pink, yellow and purple, all mixed up together, and her fair hair was topped by a huge bun. It reminded Tia of a gigantic honey cake and she had to squash her lips together to stop herself from laughing. Then Tia stopped laughing. The ridiculous bun was pierced by a golden comb mounted with a huge, shining red jewel. The magic ruby! The High Witch stamped her foot like a little child. ‘Why has no-one been able to tame this animal?’ she shouted at the big man. ‘She’s a spirited horse and misses her rider.’ ‘You should beat the creature into behaving!’ The man shook his head.
