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The Dead Eye






 

The week stretched out — happy, full of anticipations, and at the same time the most endless week in Tanya’s life. Only that she was a little confused, — how will the Durnevs take her disappearance? Is it worthwhile to warn them or better even to say goodbye?

And then the following evening when Aunt Ninel, in a good mood, was reading a magazine, and Pipa beside her was writing a letter to her mysterious G.P, Tanya could not hold back and asked:

“If I were to disappear suddenly, how would you take it? ”

Aunt Ninel stopped reading and with curiosity looked sideways at her over the magazine.

“Disappear to where? And who needs you? ” She snorted contemptuously.

“Most likely she’s talking about the colony. But then it would not be unexpected, but completely expected, ” added Pipa and, judging by the venomous expression of her face, she immediately began to bring this detail into the letter to her mysterious G.P.

At the same time Tanya noticed that Pipa and Aunt Ninel exchanged quick glances as if they were keeping a shared secret from her. A very nasty little secret, as far as it was possible to judge by their faces.

“Very lovely! Others may not, but the Durnevs will only be glad if once I’m found missing! ” Tanya decided, immediately calmed.

Returning from school, she no longer spent time on lessons but immediately armed with the magic book and, snapping her finger at it, uttered: “ Chilloutum! ” In that moment the very thick book A Thousand Tips for a Young Hostess, containing the secrets of darning by small cross, transformed into the priceless The Reference Book of White Magician. Here indeed it was actually possible to learn about everything in the world! Not without reason the library genie so unwillingly handed out this book, knowing that it, though not for long, would be in the world of the moronoids.

But the magicians from Tibidox knew excellently how to protect their secrets in whatever world — human or magic — they were found. And Tanya was soon convinced of this.

On Wednesday returning from school later than usual — she was forced to be on duty in the biology lab, — Tanya heard two voices from Pipa’s room. The first, capricious, screechy, clearly belonged to Pipa herself, and the other, unpleasant and harsh, to her best girlfriend Lenka Mumrikova.

“And it’s here she lives, at yours? Fie, what ugliness! ” Lenka said.

Tanya quickly pressed her ear against the door slot in order to not miss a sound.

“Aha. On the balcony. I don’t let her in my room. I don’t want to sleep together with this fool, ” She heard the grumbling of Pipa.

“And in winter? ”

“In winter she sleeps in the dark room. Well, I always persuade my parents to get rid of her somewhere... To the orphanage there or somewhere else.”

“And will they? ”

“Mama is for, but father says: not now, must wait until after the elections, — then it’s possible to send her packing. He said that he knows of an outstanding boot camp for children with criminal inclinations, where all the beds stand in a line, you get up at five in the morning, and have a compulsory hardening by icy water before bedtime. Those who seriously disrupt the discipline, for example unevenly placing boots in front of the bed or not saying: ‘Yes! ’ when the diary is called for, are forced to polish with a toothbrush the floor in the sports hall.”

Tanya shuddered. Here is what kind of “surprise, ” it appears, Aunt Ninel and Pipa have prepared for her. Well no matter, in several days she would not be here already. If only everything would turn out with the spells of passage and flight! Tanya already mastered how to pronounce a few words simply, but she still had to tune her thoughts by definite means and force the magic ring, which had been behaving extremely wilfully so far, to obey.

“That she needs, this Grotter! Will have to phone that boot camp so that they will handle her stricter there, ” said Mumrikova.

Knowing that if she entered the room now, Pipa and Lenka would guess that she was eavesdropping, Tanya remained in the hallway. Meanwhile the voices moved to the window. A door slammed and Tanya surmised that the classmates were already on the balcony.

“This is her cot? ” Lenka asked with disgust.

“Aha, ” confirmed Pipa. “You want to look at her case, which she trembles over so? I recently had a look at what she had in there, only imagine, a huge double bass! I have no idea where she took it from.”

“Found in the dumpster, ” said Mumrikova, and both girls laughed disgustingly like horses.

“Let’s do something with her double bass! I must get even with her for scalding me, ” proposed Pipa.

“What, badly? ”

“I felt nothing at all. The tea was almost cold and I was even in pants. Only must get even all the same, ” said Pipa, and the idiotic neighing laugh was heard again.

The cabinet began to creak and Tanya understood that they were trying to open the door. But it was precisely impossible. After the incident with the disgusting dwarf chewing up her diary, Tanya cunningly adjusted one of the nails so that it began to serve as a bolt, and, not knowing the secret, it was impossible to open the cabinet.

“Doesn’t work! She locked it! Here’s a scoundrel, treats the balcony as in her own home! Well no matter, in the boot camp she will have only one night table! ” Pipa puffed with irritation.

A sound was heard as if someone was kicking the cot with all their strength. Something heavy fell on the floor. While Tanya attempted to think what it could be, Mumrikova exclaimed:

“Look, a book! Interesting, what’s she reading? Oh, A Thousand Tips for a Young Hostess! Most likely it describes how to polish floor with a brush, spool spaghetti, or nail a torn slipper.”

“A book? Where? Aha! ” Pipa triumphed. “Let’s ruin it! If someone lent it to her, he’ll know about getting mixed up with this slob. How would we do it? Rip it — too boring, cross out the pages with a pen — too long. Aha! Better smear it with glue! ”

“Better let me, ” Mumrikova proposed ingratiatingly. “Grotter nevertheless won’t know that I was here, and you’ll seemingly have nothing to do with it. You didn’t do it! ”

“Exactly! So let’s do it! ” Pipa agreed. “Take the glue from my table! Outstanding glue — Super-cement, grips immediately and forever... Quick! Got it? And now drip right here and...”

Tanya came to, suddenly understood that they found her Reference Book of White Magician, which she, instead of hiding in the cabinet, left under the pillow. Here is a fool! Left without the book, she would not know how to prepare for the passage, and then... On top of that the genie would go nuts — she remembered perfectly what Bab-Yagun told her about the damaged pages.

Afraid she was too late, she rushed into the room, but, not yet reaching the doorknob, heard a wild, almost superhuman howl. More precisely, two wild superhuman howls merging into one.

The tube with the Super-cement glue flew swiftly over Pipa’s head, generously spilling on her hair. The book, exactly like the jaw of a bulldog, closed on Lenka Mumrikova’s hand. Mumrikova howled and swung her hand, but the grasp of The Reference Book did not slacken. Pipa, on whose head the glue was flowing, had time already to grow hoarse and only squeaked faintly when it dripped onto her nose.

Pushing each other, the friends rushed about in the room and on the balcony: Mumrikova tried to free herself from the book, and Pipa was dodging from the tube of glue, which, like a dive bomber, already went on the third round and clearly did not intend to stop.

Chilloutum! ” Tanya whispered softly.

Having grown heated the book did not hear or pretended that it did not hear. Only when Tanya repeated the spell a third time then the reference book unwillingly relaxed the pages and jumped by itself into her hand, far-sightedly remaining for the time Tips for a Young Hostess. At the same time the tube of glue dripped the last drop onto Pipa’s head and fell onto Pipa’s table, innocently lowering itself in its previous place next to the container filled with felt-tip pens.

Pipa, deep-purple from horror, slowly settled on the carpet next to the enormous pink dinosaur, a gift from the famous TV personality Prushkin, who needed something from Uncle Herman. With hatred staring at Tanya, she obviously wanted to say something, but could not decide because she saw that book in her hands. Finally, remembering about the glue flooding her entire head, Pipa on all fours quickly crawled away into the hallway. In the bathroom the tap began to drone.

Meanwhile Mumrikova decided to look at her freed hand. It would have been better if she did not do this, because immediately a new howl, not a bit quieter but even louder than before, resounded along the balcony and the entire apartment of the Durnevs. Along the back and the outside of Lenka’s hand, with the only exception of the cushions of her fingers and the nails, thick reddish fur curled.

“I-it-is all you! You! ” Mumrikova showed Tanya the overgrown fingers, the fur growing longer with each second, and, again squealing, threw herself into the hallway after Pipa.

 

 

* * *

 

“And now it’s possible to do some work. I think they’ll not bother us anymore, ” said Tanya, turning to the book. It accordingly flew over to the windowsill and was opened on the chapter Flight spells and spells of passage.

For flights on accessory flying instruments please obey the following rules. Sit down on top of the instrument and firmly clasp it with your legs. Take in your hands the controlling object (the handle of a vacuum, a bow, etc.). Should hold it firmly and lightly at the same time, closer to the middle. Avoid abrupt movements, but simultaneously block constraints. Remember, the instrument is capable of throwing you off if you behave apprehensively or in a cowardly manner.

Check the correctness of the binding of the talismans. Remember that an untied talisman can lead to a drop. Thoroughly calculate the spells from the weight and speed of transportation.

The fastest spell “Speedus envenomus” is suitable for swift displacement of magicians and light-weight objects to great distances. This super-high-speed spell demands considerable skills of control of the flying objects; therefore novices are prohibited to use it to avoid a more than probable fatal outcome!

The medium in speed and safety spell “Hastenus plodus” is suitable for adult magicians and objects of average weight. If you need to, for example, transfer an elephant, you are afraid of heights, or your flight means is badly fitted out for high-speed accelerations, you should use the spell “Pilotus kamikazis.”

To avoid sudden drop in the case of bucking of the instrument or going against a strong wind do not forget to utter the safety net spell “Oyoyoys smackis thumpis.” A safety net spell will not be able to prevent a drop, but it will soften its consequences. All spells should be accompanied by green flashes of the magic ring on one to a spell. Avoid both redundant number of green flashes and occurrence of red flashes. Red flashesa ritual of black magiccan distort spells and lead to unpredictable consequences.

Before proceeding to practice, it is obligatory to become acquainted with the chapter “Safe landing or braking spells.”

“A nightmare, how much studying is necessary! Of course, later I’ll learn by heart, but better write a crib sheet for the time being! ” Tanya thought, just impatient to proceed faster to practice.

Grabbing a pen, Tanya was about to start writing the spells on her palm, but suddenly sensed the smell of burnt plastic. And in a second she went “Aw! ” and dropped the pen. Not having yet flown as far as the floor, the pen became a dark smoking piece of plastic. To the smoke snaking from it rising into the air was added the words:

Magic secret! Strictly forbidden to copy spells!

Bending maliciously, the exclamation mark glided to the side and stole up Tanya’s nostril, after forcing her to sneeze. The inscription melted away.

“Also what regular things for me to find... It can’t be helped, I have to learn by heart, ” Tanya muttered, puckering from the unpleasant smell of cinder.

Cramming the spells, Tanya took the double bass from the case, sat down on it and took the bow in hand. Moreover she did not take it on the edge as she did before but in the middle. It made not the slightest impression on grandpa Grotter’s instrument.

Tanya took a deep breath of air and, estimating which of the three spells would be most suitable, decided to choose the medium Hastenus plodus. Just she herself, of course, was light, but on the other hand the instrument was heavy. And later, if the double bass jerked too abruptly out of place, would she be able to hold onto it?

Almost ready to blurt out the spell, Tanya recalled that she forgot to check whether all the talismans were in place and to pronounce the safety net spell.

“Here’s a blockhead! ” She scolded herself, got down from the double bass and started to inspect it attentively. But, in spite of all searches, it was impossible for her to discover a single talisman like those on the bed of Bab-Yagun. Again re-reading the chapter in the magic book, Tanya discovered a postscript at the end: Talismans can be absent in some of the most perfect models of flying objects, see list on page 1092.

The girl was ready to swear that earlier there was also no mention of this postscript. The book was clearly playing tricks, being lazy to immediately highlight the entire text. Opening to page 1092, Tanya discovered her instrument — double bass mast. Th. Grotter, 1654 — in the list of flying instruments without talismans. There it was placed in the eighth place after the manned dish of D.Ogg, the dental armchair of S.T.Utter, and the Trojan horse of Ch.E.At.

Clarifying that talismans were not needed by her, Tanya again occupied the place on the double bass and, carefully waving the bow, pronounced: “Oyoyoys smackis thumpis.” After waiting several seconds to find out whether something took place confirming that her spell included insurance and ended with nothing, she decided and shouted:

Hastenus plodus!

Immediately after pronouncing the spell, Tanya closed her eyes tight for a moment but opened them right away, realizing that the double bass did not even tremble, remaining in its earlier position. If it rose at least a centimetre, it would already be a success. But no — it clearly did not intend to set off anywhere.

Tanya felt that her hands were shaking and even her chin was trembling. This second failure discouraged much more than the first. “They don’t work for many, but there’s nothing to be done here. It either is or isn’t! ” She recalled the words of Bab-Yagun. But what if... what if she doesn’t have it? What if she did not inherit the gift from the Grotters?

“Perhaps I’m completely not of the magicians? Perhaps I’m quite ordinary, without any abilities? ” Tanya thought with horror. Now for some reason she was definitely certain that the double bass would not fly anywhere, but if so, then she would remain in the human world forever and would soon be polishing with a toothbrush the floor of a sports hall.

“Interesting, there at least they hand out toothbrushes or must I stock them myself while I’m still here? ” A panic thought flickered in her. Feeling that her forehead was damp, Tanya raised her hand in order to wipe it, and — she suddenly noticed that she did not have the magic ring on her hand. So here is the problem! How could she expect to fly without a magic green flash! Clearly, without the ring the spell did not have the equal amount of power.

Dashing to the cabinet, she moved aside the secret nail and extracted from the pocket of her oldest jeans, which even Pipa would be squeamish to take in her hands, the wooden box with the letters “LeoGr” hidden in there. Having put on the ring, Tanya immediately bent her finger, afraid that it would jump off, and, getting ready to pronounce: “Hastenus plodus, ” energetically waved her hand.

Green sparks flew out from the ring. Not one as required, but at least a hundred. Two or three of them burnt Tanya’s nose, several dozen singed the double bass, and the rest with a loud crackle scattered in the air.

“Hey! What’s with you, gone completely nuts — to shake me so? What am I to you, a rattle? ” Suddenly someone’s squeaky voice muttered. But even Tanya understood after a moment that it came from the ring.

“You... eh... it... can talk? ” She could not believe it.

“And it’ll be known to you I’m the ring of Theophilus Grotter. He presented to me his voice, his character, and the ability to speak for five minutes a day. Precisely five minutes and not a second more, ” the ring answered with the tunefulness of a lock that had not been greased for a long time and, not answering a single question anymore, with the squeaky voice struck up an ancient song in an incomprehensible language.

“Well, and grandpa Theophilus had a voice! Indeed a character! ” Tanya said to herself with relief, when five minutes finally elapsed and the ring became silent, after growling finally in Russian: “And so without anymore nonsense! And that you will crash and then find out what’s the price of white slippers nowadays! ”

“Well, that’s it! Now or never! ” Tanya said, mad at herself.

Firmly taking the bow, she was already prepared to blurt out: “Hastenus plodus, ” but here a strange thing happened. The medium safety spell “Hastenus plodus” by strange means suddenly tumbled out from her memory.

“Do you intend to fly or plod? ” As if she heard someone’s mocking whisper. “It’ll be faster on crutches! Want to fly, so fly! ”

Tanya yielded, and immediately from her tongue completely unexpectedly another got away, the extremely dangerous and unpredictable spell — “Speedus envenomus.”

 

* * *

 

Almost instantly the magic ring spat out a green spark, and in the next moment Tanya perceived that the double bass broke loose from its place and rushed outside through the window opened wide. Immediately the wind by short furious gusts-slaps attempted to throw her off, but she held on firmly.

Branches, windows, roofs, heaps of leaves on the lawn, wet cars, birds, and antennas, flashed by. Orange and dark-blue strips launched from heaven knows where were in a swirl. The sky and the earth suddenly changed places, and where, according to Tanya’s assumption, asphalt should be, cloud suddenly floated out. Ah, it is simply her turned upside down in the air!

With great difficulty Tanya managed again to return to the normal position. Although was it possible to consider normal what was taking place? With amazing speed, each minute risking running into a highrise or getting entangled in an electrical wire, she rushed over the city. The double bass, sensing on itself an inexperienced rider, as if wanting to throw her off, either fell into an air pocket or rocketed upwards so steeply that Tanya’s back was literally hanging above the ground and she again began to see houses turned upside down.

Attempting to cling to the double bass and at least somehow to hold on to it, she nearly dropped the bow, but right away remembered that she must not do this. Without the bow she would instantly lose control of the double bass, and then it would be even worse... Although is it possible to say that she was mastering it? It was flying more to wherever it wanted...

Feeling herself on top of a missile — to where Baron von Mü nchhausen was on his slow shot! — Tanya suddenly recalled that she did not say “Oyoyoys smackis thumpis” and because of her own stupidity she remained without insurance. She tried to utter “Oyoyoys smackis thumpis” right there, but gusts of wind beat into her face, into her mouth, and blew the words away. Moreover she was clutching the double bass by the hand with the magic ring, holding the bow in the other. If she now unclenched her hand to shoot out a green spark, it would simply be carried away.

Tanya was in a flap. Here indeed was exactly the very time to find out the price of white slippers. Galloping headlong, the double bass was clearly not under control, so far miraculously avoiding collisions, nevertheless sooner or later it would run into something. Or she herself, getting tired, would unclench her hand.

“Perhaps it’s not so bad in the boot camp for children with criminal inclinations! ” The thought flickered in her. “But only I doubt Uncle Herman will begin to jump onto the roof now with a net in order to catch me and send me to the boot camp.”

Unexpectedly the double bass abruptly nodded off downward and then quickly sideways. Trying to hold onto it, Tanya suddenly grasped that she recently made exactly the same movement with the end of the bow downward and to the side. Desiring to verify her own guess, she again carefully guided the bow a little upward, and... the double bass, immediately ceasing to lose altitude, started to climb.

So it is! The double bass obeyed the bow, repeated all its movements! Especially if it was accompanied by the leaning of the entire body to the same side. So, it means all the absurd figures traced by the double bass in the air, all these “barrels” and failures were explained by her trying not to fall, confusedly swinging the hand with the bow. And she... she even wanted to drop the bow. With the thought of what would happen if she had done that, Tanya shuddered. The unguided double bass would begin to somersault exactly as the falling bow, and then... Then in exactly the same manner it would ram into the ground.

But for some reason fear had already retreated. Looking beneath her, an enormous widespread city and white clouds flowing around pierced by long, whimsical broken-through rays of a sun suddenly peeping out, Tanya at once experienced the delight of swift flight. It was a new, unknown feeling — the intoxicating rapture of speed, complete merging with the clouds, the sky, the powerful airstreams which either shot up from the ground or, on the contrary, started out softly but firmly forcing to the ground. It seemed to Tanya that once she had already experienced this feeling and she only forgot as a result of strange coincidences.

Easily and confidently tracing out figures with the edge of the bow as if she had always done this, Tanya bathed in the air-flow. The double bass, becoming suddenly amazingly obedient and had seemingly grown quiet, obligingly fulfilled her smallest desire. It either traced a loop in the air, or came down with a whistle, or, like a flying carpet, began to softly gain altitude. It seemed to Tanya that she and the double bass became one. It was as if a part of her, like the body of a stallion for the centaur or the fish tail for the mermaid.

“Really can anything compare with the beauty and power of flight of the double bass? ” Tanya thought. With a narrow, slightly hooked nose like that of a hawk, gradually widening behind, it literally pierced the air. Its wide base reliably and tightly caught the air-flows and slid on them, like a light boat it was sliding along the waves. A smooth narrow spot in the center was seemingly created for sitting on top. In many respects it was not inferior to a saddle. Only there was no stirrup here, well, and stirrups on the double bass would look foolish, on top of that for sure it would thunder at high speed.

Tanya thought with sympathy about those old-fashioned sorcerers, that they fly on brooms. What, in essence, is such a broom? A stick with a bunch of twigs attached to it, which for sure begins to shake and dangle, this bunch will hardly catch an air pocket or meet a lateral gust.

Even the icy wind, earlier blowing right through her and penetrating to the last vein so that it seemed she would suddenly become a piece of ice frozen to the double bass, now already for some reason bothered her little.

When she, venturing a risky experiment, rushed past with the speed of a rocket above the ground, she nearly flew into Genka Bulonov, who had just walked out of the entrance. Only miraculously, directing the double bass sharply to the side, was it possible for Tanya to avoid a collision. Bulonov was knocked down by the gust of air. Opening and closing his mouth like a fish thrown onto sand, he sat on the asphalt and looked thunderstruck at the small point disappearing in the sky. But what was Bulonov to Tanya!

She already did not feel sorry that she chose the fastest spell. To drag along on Pilotus kamikazis... Well indeed not! If Bab-Yagun used it, then, most likely because the iron bed nevertheless could not develop a decent speed, and even the commentator of dragonball matches had not yet restored his form after the encounter with angry witches and vampires dissatisfied with him.

She was not an elephant and not Aunt Ninel heavily flying into the supermarket... Imagining in the air Aunt Ninel, who with a face twisted from horror, crushing the dachshund to herself with one hand, and holding her skirt with the other, Tanya laughed and began to trace a beautiful eight. She already almost saw how she would do it. A takeoff, then a loop with a short turn of the head downward, again a loop, already down with the head, and then exit to the usual position at the same place.

Suddenly, when Tanya had already straightened out the double bass, a dark shadow flickered over her head, and in the next moment something forcefully hit her face and the hand griping the bow. Something sharp ripped her jean jacket on the chest and slid along her cheek. Instinctively shrinking back to protect her eyes, Tanya in an instant saw a non-blinking yellow, maliciously looking eye. A disgusting, sickening smell struck her nostrils. Pain pierced her hand and she almost dropped the bow.

Acting intuitively faster, Tanya bent down to the double bass and attempted to speed it up in order to break away from the dark shadow. But the double bass had not yet come out of the eight. Its reserve of speed was clearly not enough.

Again the dark shadow flickered... Tanya, like the last time, did not understand how she would have time to swing around and how she would manage to develop this speed.

This time the sharp blow was inflicted from below and fell on her leg in passing. The blow was so powerful that the strings of the double bass began to hum. The double bass tilted from this blow, and immediately again the immobile yellow eye emerged from somewhere. The hand with the bow suddenly became terribly heavy and somewhat disobedient.

Before Tanya was able to become aware or at least be frightened, the double bass somersaulted twice in the air and rushed to the ground. The yellow eye lit up with triumph and disappeared. With a loud howl falling downward, Tanya already saw the dark asphalt square between two houses rushing up to her at breakneck speed.

But, when there remained not more than ten metres to the ground, the double bass suddenly slowed down the drop. Still one stunning loop, so abrupt that her brain nearly overturned in her head — in any case, it was precisely such a feeling, — the magic instrument of Theophilus Grotter, ceasing to lose altitude, soared up into the sky. Strings buzzed in an overstrained way, furiously... It seemed they would now break from indignation. Obviously it was necessary for the instrument to invest all its magic power to get out from the dive.

Tanya decided that by some miracle, even, probably, by chance, she pointed the end of the bow upward and did this sufficiently smoothly and confidently that the double bass would obey it.

“Well, why did I begin to fall... Ah yes, the shadow, ” Tanya muttered.

And only now, when it became clear what she had escaped from, an icy wave of horror swept over her. Tanya began to turn her head, peering into the sky with fright. The clouds were like cotton wool whimsically painted with violet, pink, and blue watercolours. Solar rays made their way through confusedly. No, the dark shadow was nowhere — it sprung up from who knows where and disappeared so mysteriously and without a trace.

Her hand became more benumbed. It obeyed so badly that it was possible to decide that it did not exist at all, and in its place was attached something foreign and hindering. Tanya lowered her eyes and saw blood oozing out of three deep cuts on her wrist. There was even a scratch on her face: over the cheek spread a strange coolness, seemingly stretching out into a thread. Something sticky persistently dripped onto her collar.

Looking intently at the scratches on her hand, Tanya understood suddenly what they had meant to do. They wanted to knock the bow off her, and so, to kill her cold-bloodedly and prudently. Moreover, someone who knew the secrets of magic flights clearly attempted to destroy her. The plan almost succeeded. If Tanya had not swerved abruptly and had not tugged at the bow completely by accident, then, most likely she would have already been a stain on the asphalt.

The one who decided to kill her had thought over the smallest details. By some means he even knew how to temporarily penetrate her consciousness and compel her to say “Speedus envenomus” when she was going to utter the safer “Hastenus plodus.”

“You study your spells, but don’t take it into your head to fly by yourself! You hear? Don’t do it at any price! Somebody will be pleased if you smash yourself up, ” She distinctly recalled the words of Bab-Yagun. He warned her, so why did she not listen?!

After what happened, Tanya did not have any desire to continue the flight. Discovering that she had managed to remain among the living, the dark shadow could again return any minute and finish what it started. Estimating in what direction the house of Uncle Herman and Aunt Ninel stood, she swung the double bass around and, attentively peering at the clouds to see if a terrible dark spot would appear among them, she flew in the return direction. Her hand throbbed with continuous pain, changing in time to total numbness.

Already before the landing itself, Tanya expected still one more surprise. She suddenly remembered that she never learnt the braking spells. That is, to take-off she did, but here how to come down now — unknown. It seems that the spell “ Speedus envenomus ” was too swift for the double bass to stop itself. More likely she would simply be flattened against the asphalt or greet the wall of the house at a mad speed.

Aiming as if she was contriving to land more successfully, she twice flew around the block. The asphalt courtyards were badly suited for landing, just as the small park enmeshed with electrical wires. The prospect of hanging from a high-voltage line attracted her even less than the possibility of breaking into smithereens.

“Likely today I’m nevertheless fated to become a flat cake or at the worst be charred! And Pipa will have an excellent excuse to miss school, setting off for my burial. She will bring along Lenka Mumrikova. They’ll both gobble up potato chips and throw candy wrappers into my grave, ” Tanya thought gloomily.

Not wanting to give such pleasure to Pipa, she decided to fight for her life with all her might and suddenly recalled the safety net spell which she had not used so far.

Picking the moment when it was safe to unclench her hand with the ring, Tanya let out a green spark and exclaimed:

Oyoyoys smackis thumpis! ”

The double bass confusedly started to swerve in the air, and in a second an unknown force decisively pulled her off it. The wind began to whistle. Windows of the multi-storey house, lit up by the fragmented sunset, flashed by. The asphalt of Rublev Road relentlessly moved up to the girl.

“A-a-a! ” Tanya yelled, dropping the already useless bow and covering her face with her hands. Before her internal eyes already loomed the caustic face of Pipa, who, unnoticeably sticking out a tongue the colour of liver sausage, was placing two carnations on her coffin.

But suddenly, already close by the ground itself, Tanya’s drop slowed down, and she, almost not experiencing pain, pounced with her side upon something soft, having come down deeply in it. Next to her, the double bass had fallen, discontentedly humming with the strings, and the bow floated like a flickering thin line. Irresolutely looking around, Tanya saw that she was sitting in the body of a truck standing by a traffic light. It was filled to the edge with black bags of fallen leaves, which they were transporting for the city...

She was being transported. Although was it possible to call this luck?

“A safety net spell will not be able to prevent a drop, but it will soften its consequences, ” she recalled the line from the magic book.

 

* * *

 

The incident with the dark shadow attempting to kill her spoilt Tanya’s mood for a long time. There was no doubt — she had an enemy in the magic world and the enemy was powerful. She immediately recollected the dream of Uncle Herman, the theft of the gold sword, and the evasive words of the academician warning her about danger. Everything took place so swiftly in the air that Tanya was never able to understand to whom the furious yellow eye belonged. To a bird? Well, was it a bird?

Tanya no longer dared to fly, although the air beckoned her. Now and then she wanted terribly to sit down again on the double bass and cry: “Speedus envenomus! ” — but the recollection was still too fresh. It is not worthwhile to tempt fate a second time. The most that Tanya would allow herself was, in the middle of the night to take off above the balcony and fly several times around the house at a low altitude, using the slowest and safest spell “Pilotus kamikazis.” The magic double bass barely dragged along on this spell. In general it was not necessary to speak of any acrobatic manoeuvres: the strings of the double bass immediately began to hum indignantly. Tanya so felt an urge to accelerate, but... she did not permit herself. Instead she repeatedly practiced the braking spell “Bangus parachutis.” Right after her utterance it was necessary to point with the bow to where she wanted to land. The instrument first hovered motionlessly above this place, and then slowly and reliably it began to descend until the feet touched the ground. True, there was an even speedier braking spell “Bangus parachutis forte, ” but it was extremely inconvenient, since the double bass immediately broke through into an air pocket, fell down like a rock, and just as abruptly froze a several centimetres from the ground. At the same time, Tanya had the sensation every time that her interior remained somewhere in the air and now would tumble directly onto her head.

The Durnevs no longer caused Tanya any trouble — they now had their own problems piling up. After that incident with the Reference Book of White Magician Pipa’s hair was glued together so hard that there was no possibility whatever to comb it out. The head was as if frozen in a glass helmet, which, when they tapped on it with a pencil, emitted a “tum-tum” sound. There was nothing to be done, it was necessary to take Pipa to the hairdresser and, in spite of all protests, to give her head a close shave. With the shaved head, with the multicoloured pimples of different sizes, shining like lamps on the New Year tree, the daughter of Uncle Herman looked so nightmarishly that Tanya now and then even began to pity her.

However, Lenka Mumrikova had considerably less luck. For two days she did not go to school at all, and then she appeared in a glove and did not take it off during all her classes. Tanya could conclude from this that Mumrikova could do nothing with the fur on the hand.

For whatever reason not entirely clear to Tanya neither Pipa nor Lenka told anyone about the mysterious reference book. Both looked askance at Tanya from a distance with hatred; however, they were afraid to approach her. At night Pipa sneaked to the balcony and, trembling from fear, shut all the latches, and placed a hammer near her bed.

As far as Genka Bulonov was concerned, now the only thing he did was to be under foot near Tanya. Good though that he kept silent at the same time, only winked mysteriously as if hinting at a common secret. Moreover, sometimes for a bigger mystery he winked both eyes quickly. But really what was Bulonov to Tanya now?

And here finally came the morning of that day itself, when Bab-Yagun was to come flying. The long-awaited morning of the long-awaited day.

For breakfast Aunt Ninel was so not herself that she did not even begin to feed Tanya the day-before-yesterday semolina kasha, which the dachshund refused, but gave the same omelette as Pipa’s. Already at the end of breakfast a greenish-yellow Uncle Herman appeared in the kitchen, silently drank tea and, not looking at anyone, went out. When he left the kitchen, Tanya accidentally noticed that his right pocket was bulging slightly and there stuck out the top of a carrot, which Uncle Herman embarrassingly tried to cover with a hand.

“And why is Uncle Herman not in the Duma today? He has elections soon! ” Tanya wondered.

Aunt Ninel grew red and set on her with fury.

“WHAT? What did you say? ” She growled.

“I simply asked why he’s not at work. But you don’t have to answer if you don’t know, ” Tanya was confused.

But Aunt Ninel obviously already considered that nevertheless the truth would not be hidden. She took herself in hand and even smiled timidly, apologizing with the smile of a lion that had recently bitten off the head of its trainer.

“Eh-eh... why not? Yesterday at the council session Uncle Herman... eh-eh... accidentally broke the microphone. They sent him... eh-eh... to the hospital.”

“They sent him to the hospital because he broke a microphone? ” Tanya was astonished. Aunt Ninel was clearly holding something back.

“What, don’t you understand Russian? Well, march to do your lessons! And you only try to talk about this in school! ” Finally losing patience, Aunt Ninel began to yell.

“To talk about what? That he’s in the hospital? Or that he broke the microphone? ” Tanya did not understand.

“O-U-T! ” Aunt Ninel shouted.

Tanya flew out like a cork into the room and bumped into Pipa there. Pipa quickly darted away from horror behind the armchair.

“What’s with Uncle Herman there? Crack, or I’ll cast a spell! ” Tanya asked severely and, using Pipa’s fright, took aim at her with a finger. Pipa squealed, not taking her eyes off the finger. Now it was possible to frighten her with any nonsense. And yet Tanya so far knew not a single spell except those connected with flight.

“A-a! Don’t, I’ll talk...” the daughter of Uncle Herman squeaked. “Really you don’t know that papa, during the pre-election appearance, gnawed through the cord of the microphone, and then snacked on a folder for papers. And all this was within sight of hundreds of people... And later... he ran up to and jumped over the old man to whom he intended to present an almost new sweater. And it’s all because some idiot in the hall accidentally took a carrot from his pocket... Such people should be shot. And now mama fears that he will lose the election.”

“Here’s to you and Lisper the Rabbit! ” Tanya thought with admiration.

Yes, she definitely began to like Uncle Herman. Pity even flew out from this to Uncle Herman. Now an outstanding method was known to Tanya, how to twist his brain and win his confidence. It sufficed only to treat him with carrots.

 


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