The Broomstick Collection: Books 1–4. Nathan Reed
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Название: The Broomstick Collection: Books 1–4
Автор: Nathan Reed
Издательство: HarperCollins
Жанр: Детская проза
isbn: 9780007405855
isbn:
“Ig-Fo-Li. Re-Pa-De,” Jessica chanted back. “And what are all these other long ones for?”
Miss Strega’s bony fingers slid over the twig. “Turn Right, Turn Left, Fast Forward, Fast Reverse.”
“And these short twigs in the front, are they any use?”
“Of course, my dear, everything under the sun is of use. But don’t worry your enchanting little head about them yet. They’re for advanced fliers only. Twirling, zooming, spinning, ducking, diving, bucking, moon-vaulting, star-falling. And that one is the Eject twig for unwanted hangers-on. Goblins, joy-riding dragons, any sort of pest that tries to hitch a lift.”
Jessica looked at her broom admiringly.
“Don’t touch any of them, mind,” warned Miss Strega. “At least, not until you’ve got a hang of the basics. I think that’s where the girl who ended up on the Eiffel Tower went wrong. Probably hit the Moon-Vaulting twig by mistake. And now, allow me to accompany you home. Your mother will be wondering where you are.”
Miss Strega fetched her own broom from the cupboard under the stairs and put on her flying helmet.
“That’s another thing,” she remarked as she fastened the strap under her long chin. “That hat you have is quite unsuitable for flying, not to mention, awfully old-fashioned. I’ll look out something better for you tomorrow.”
Jessica followed Miss Strega to the door. On the High Street, they mounted their brooms, tweaked their Ignition twigs and sailed up into the twinkly night sky. High above the rooftops, Jessica pressed the Pause twig and looked down. The hardware shop was in darkness, a black space between the neon lights of the toy shop and the estate agent’s. All over the town, cats padded silently in the long shadows beneath the street lamps as they set off on their secret night adventures, but they all looked up and mewed as Jessica passed over them.
“Don’t forget: Flying Lesson Number Two tomorrow,” Miss Strega called as Jessica began to descend.
When Jessica turned up the next afternoon for her second Flying Lesson, she found Miss Strega hovering on her broomstick in front of the wall of drawers. “Winking cats and frisky bats,” she said, “I can’t find the blinking helmets anywhere. Hop on your broom and give me a hand – remember Ig-Fo-Li …”
Jessica flew up beside Miss Strega and paused. She forwarded and reversed along the rows of drawers, examining the labels. “Sink Plungers, they’ll be Lungs of Skunk. Soup Ladles, oh, of course, Pup Saddles.” She stopped. “Miss Strega, what on earth are Stencil Hammers?” she asked.
“Well done, Jess. Stencil Hammers are Learners’ Helmets. I must admit the spelling leaves a lot to be desired but never mind, just choose one that fits and follow me up to the roof.”
Jessica opened the drawer. The helmets were hard on the outside and padded inside, but instead of being round like motorbike helmets, they tapered off into long pointy ends. Jessica found one that fitted and did up her chin-strap before joining Miss Strega on the roof.
The first part of the lesson was practising take-off and landing. Jessica felt as awkward as a swan trying to take off from a lake. She couldn’t stop huffing and puffing and her legs beat the air as if she was pedalling an invisible bicycle.
“Keep your back straight, knees together, legs tucked up,” Miss Strega repeated endlessly.
“I’ll never get the hang of it,” Jessica was thinking when suddenly, it all came right.
“Very stylish,” Miss Strega declared as Jessica swooped down and made a perfect landing. “You’re a born flier. Now, let’s take to the air and try something else. Your Zoom control is directly below the Lift twig. So,” she lined herself up beside Jessica, “once again, Ig-Fo-Li and ZOOM.”
They rose off the roof together like a pair of silent rockets and zoomed off towards the stars. But they had not gone very far when Miss Strega gasped. “Oh no, here comes trouble.”
Hurtling towards them was a gang of goblins, screaming and yelling and shrieking. They flew straight down between Miss Strega and Jessica, cutting them off from one another.
“Oh look, it’s a witch-in-training,” they jeered, crowding around Jessica. There were so many of them she couldn’t fly in any direction. If she steered right, they blocked her. If she veered left, they blocked her.
“Ascend,” Miss Strega shouted.
But the goblins flew up like a cloud of locusts and settled on her head and back and shoulders.
“Get off!” Jessica screamed at them, trying to push them off and keep control of the broom at the same time.
Miss Strega zoomed alongside her. “Fast forward, that will shake them off.”
Jessica hit her Fast-Forward twig and shot off, scattering all the goblins into the dark. Scattering almost all the goblins. When she looked over her shoulder, she could see that one of them had managed to cling on to the end of her broomstick and was scrambling back on board.
“Hit the Eject twig,” shouted Miss Strega, “it’s the sh—”
But Jessica, grappling with the goblin who was now clambering over her shoulders, accidentally hit the Diagonal Lift. The broomstick flew up and off at a sharp angle, spiralling out of control like a deflating balloon.
“Get off, you,” Jessica hissed as she struggled to regain control of the twigs. The goblin, knocked forward by the unexpected diagonal lift, was now lying across the twigs, causing the most tremendous problems. As he shifted position and tried to sit up, he clutched wildly at the controls. The broom lurched to the right, to the left. It ascended and descended. It fast-forwarded and reversed. Miss Strega, shouting directions alongside, was having great difficulty in predicting which way Jessica would move next.
“The Eject twig,” Miss Strega roared. “It’s the shortest one on the b—”
But Jessica was already plummeting out of the sky, with the goblin clinging to the Descend twig, laughing hysterically. Jessica looked down. They were out over the open sea. It looked very cold and black and wet. She lurched forward to grab the goblin’s scaly neck and hurl him off, but he was too fast for her. He jumped from the Descend control and tweaked a twig that Jessica had never used. The broom suddenly stopped. It began to rotate slowly on its own axis. It built up speed, gradually going faster and faster, until finally Jessica and her pesky joyrider were spinning crazily in the darkness.
“Wey-hey,” shrieked the goblin. “Wow.”
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