Читать книгу God Loves Angels - Enrike Fluence - Страница 4

On the morning of the next day, grandmother fussed like never before. I packed my things for Nordlig school. And the blues attacked me. When I packed the most important things, I wandered from the hallway to the kitchen and back, yawned and looked sadly at my breakfast. I was not hungry. And even more – to leave home. I, of course, agreed with my grandmother, the school of wizardry is something to which I must finally devote myself and not hide from the unknown to me «Black magicians of mechanical sciences.» I didn’t even know what it meant, «mechanical sciences». Grandma never answered my questions. And about them, and about dad and mom. More precisely, about their death. I was already sure that these «blacks» had killed them. I would not have thought that their goal was to kill me too, but the zeal with which my grandmother fenced me off from the outside world, the enchantment and isolation in which we stayed for a couple of years, told me more than my grandmother. The enemy needed me too. Perhaps they wanted to exterminate all Berlings. Or maybe there was more to it.

After the news breaking news about the Johnsons, Grandma became alarmed. She immediately decided to send me to the school where she studied herself. Granny was scared, that’s for sure. She was more afraid now than ever. Why? She knew these Johnsons. All I knew was that someone was kidnapping children my age. And I can be next.

My grandmother phoned her friend the night before, who was supposed to help me get to school. So we got up early today. The friend waited two hours, but he never showed up. I already thought that he would not come for me at all.

And yet, I diligently combed my hair in front of the mirror. My chestnut locks fell in waves over my shoulders and shone in the light of gold. They always shone, even in rainy and gloomy weather. And I really liked that. Only I could boast of this. And also my grandmother. Her hair, too, had a golden sheen.

Now the bouncy hair was giving me a slightly messy look. Grandma came to the rescue. She pulled the strands behind my ears and secured with two thin hairpins.

«Never use magic on your hair, Rosie. And a pair of almost invisible hairpins will add more elegance than a curl spell or long-lasting hairstyle. Remember?

– Sure. I will definitely consider. No hair magic.

– Franklin will be here soon! At any moment! – Grandmother suddenly exclaimed, looking at the clock in the corridor. Wait, though. Not. She looked out the window. Outside there was a clear sky and forest. How she saw Franklin, I did not understand.

– Who? Is this your friend who should come for me?

– One very reliable friend! – The grandmother specified with an important look. – And he is also an aeronaut!

I frowned. I don’t remember that I’ve ever heard anything about Franklin or any balloonists. The first time I hear about him – here’s your reliable friend. Sounds like a bodyguard. But I, and of course my grandmother, know perfectly well that I am afraid of heights. I don’t want to float in the air, even with a trusted friend.

«Will this Franklin take me to school by air?»

– Not just to school. Do not forget! To Nordlig L & Payordkanten!

I nodded, agreeing that this very school is a significant institution in the world of wizards. And then she thought: shelter? What kind of school could it be that has the word «refuge» in its name? Was it not for nothing that my grandmother was going to define me there? And not just so she studied there herself? Maybe she was also hunted when she was a girl?

Then I realized that I was fantasizing and climbing into such a jungle that it is better not to meddle in. Breakfast! That’s what I need to distract myself. I went into the kitchen and sat down at the table. The oatmeal is already cold. And a glass of milk just came to my taste. A suitcase with my belongings stood in front of the front door. So does the sports bag. And I finally relaxed. Grandma disappeared from sight. And I, holding a glass of milk, indulged in dreams. School Nordlig. A beautiful castle. Against the background of mountains covered with snow caps, clouds, curly and imposingly floating over the horizon. A bunch of cheerful boys smiling at me… And where did my grandmother go?

I heard an unusual sound, a pop, and then a whistle of wind was heard.

– Grandmother? – I got up from the chair and ran out into the corridor. The whistle began to subside until it echoed over the trees. The door to the street was open. I ran to the threshold. Grandmother stood on the lawn and talked sweetly with a gray-haired little old man. And above them!.. A blue-red balloon hovered. Huge, but not blown away. And here it was not without magic. The old man nodded and smiled. Grandmother held his hands. So romantic! It was like meeting lovers. This is what a romantic date looks like in my opinion. The only thing missing is candles and a table with champagne. Then I noticed how my luggage jumped by itself into a square basket under the ball and fear attacked me. Is it possible for me to ride a balloon? In the clouds, high above the ground?

– Grandmother! – I exclaimed pitifully. But the rising wind drowned out my plea. I winced. Without losing hope to decide everything in her favor, she went to her grandmother.

– Rosie, there you are! – The grandmother smiled. – Obedient girl!

Old Man Franklin examined me with interest. His shaggy brows came together on the bridge of his nose. And the wind around began to intensify.

– Greetings, dear lady, and I ask you to board my ship! – Suddenly cried Franklin. I froze for a second, but immediately bowed. You must always be polite. Without this, no one will respect you either. I remembered this lesson of my grandmother.

– Honey, let me hug you, goodbye! – Grandmother stretched out her hands to me, I stepped towards her arms. The rumble of the wind died down. Then I realized. That this wind was magical.

– I’ll miss you. – said touching grandmother. I pulled away and saw tears in her eyes.

– Don’t, grandma. I hugged her again. I wanted to say something else, to find words of consolation that could calm my grandmother, but I could not. I got a lump in my throat, and suddenly it stabbed in my eyes. – I… not on…d o … – I whispered stifledly. Thoughts were confused and I said nothing more. I just sobbed. And even louder than grandma.

Here I am so strong. Grandma stroked my hair gently. And I could not stop my tears.

– Rosalia, my dear Rosalia, my girl … – Affectionately my grandmother calmed me down. I will miss you and I will also be calm knowing that you are at school.

– Don’t miss me, please. – I whined. – This will make me very bad.

– Well, well, don’t worry about me. – Granny said deliberately cheerfully. I heard that her voice had grown stronger, and almost no trace of sorrow remained in it. This made me happy. Still, grandmother is a strong person. And I came up with an idea.

– Promise that you will write me a letter. By email. – I demanded.

– Traditions! Remember this. Respect for tradition is part of discipline and proper parenting. Therefore, no internet.

– Well, grandma. Even one email?! You are the only native person! At least one is possible?

– I’ll call you. On Saturday. Good? I’ll ask Brutilde to call you on the phone, or I’ll think of something like that.

– Good. So the phone is an old-fashioned thing?

– Rosalia!

– That is, I mean, traditional? – My lips slightly stretched into a smile.

– Yes. The phone is much closer to tradition than your internet. – Grandma was still holding me by the shoulders. Then she nodded in agreement and said: – Write me your email address.

– Grandmother? – I did not believe it and wiped my eyes.

– It’s just in case. Suddenly Brutilde will be busy.

I ran to my room and hastily wrote my email address on a small piece of notebook paper.

– I’ll hang it on the fridge. – I said, running past the open door and stopping for a second to triumphantly wave a leaf. Grandma was busy talking to Franklin. I ran into the kitchen, hung a piece of paper with a magnet in the very middle of the refrigerator (here my grandmother will definitely notice it right away) and ran back.

– Forward, on a journey! Franklin yelled at me quite cheerfully. My grandmother called me over, sneezed and spoke in my ear:

«I put you a little present in your suitcase. Don’t look at it until you arrive at school!

I took one last look at my grandmother, into her watery eyes, and jumped into the basket of the balloon. I was bitter to fly away from my grandmother. It’s even worse to see her crying in front of our house. The lawn remained far below and I, a coward, immediately fell to the bottom of the basket. I could not look at the distant land. Franklin exclaimed cheerfully:

– To the north! Wow-oh!

He pulled on the side cable. And the sails opened behind the ball. Blue and red. Semitransparent, as if not material, but illusions. The basket shook slightly. The sky above with a blue blue sparkled with green waves, lilac sparks. I closed my eyes. She bent her head to her knees, just not to see these glow. It seemed to me that the ball could fall and break on the ground at any moment. I started humming an unlucky children’s song, just to distract myself and…

– Wow-oh! Great view! The northern shores and mountains are amazing as always! Grandpa Franklin wheezed. «Does the young lady want to see this picture? Nordlig Castle on the horizon! Majestic as always!

I caught the name of the school and leaned over to the edge of the basket. A gust of wind hit me in the face, and I immediately lay down on the floor again.

Grandpa Franklin stood over me and pulled one cable, then another. The wind tugged at his gray hair, and the wizard was happy.

– Let’s sit down on the front lawn, young lady! And you, as I see, are already being met!

How? Already? So fast? Less than five minutes of flight? Then I noticed that the flashes of the blue sky disappeared, the green color too. A clear blue sky has appeared overboard and black trees can be seen at the edge of the view.

The pitching stopped. And I looked around the lawn with joy, and then jumped out of the basket onto the soft green grass. My suitcase and bag landed nearby. I waved goodbye to Grandpa Franklin.

– Thank you! – I shouted, trying to shout over the wind and glad that I left the aeronautical board. He rose higher and higher into the sky. Franklin waved to me too. He shouted something, and his balloon spread the sails. Another minute, and I have a clear sky over my head. Franklin was swept away in the winds in an unknown direction.

I turned to the gray stone building. The castle is really beautiful. On the steps by the door stood a lone figure in a blue robe. Enchantress. She looked at me. And I went to her.

«Miss Burling, Madame Director is expecting you. Please follow me. – She said and disappeared in the doorway. I turned to my things, and they obediently floated through the air past me to the door, as if it was said to them. I ran after.

Finding myself in the large front hall of the castle, I admired the huge bronze clock, towering between the columns and arches. On the wall hung a huge tapestry with the school’s emblem – a huge gilded globe, against the background of the sun, whose rays in sharp lines diverged in all directions, and in the center there was a beautiful letter N with curls. Around this sun was the inscription: «Nordlig ly på jordkanten». This whole composition was cast in gold and glittered in the lights of a huge chandelier on the ceiling.

My suitcase crashed against the left wall of the hall. The sorceress who meets me is gone. I was at a loss for a minute, but realized that the door in front of which my suitcase stood was where I should go.

I went over and knocked on the door.

Chapter 3. In the office of Brutilde

I entered the office of the director, Madame Brutilde Escalotte, a sorceress of the highest order, as the golden plaque at the door said. The room in which I found myself was round, all in dark brown tones and with only one narrow window, filled with flowers so densely that it was impossible to see what was outside. The chocolate-colored bookcases filled with books and stacks of yellowed papers lent the cabinet a tangible library aura. A light rustled in the small fireplace. A chandelier hung over the table itself, illuminating the room, cabinets and table with the yellow light of an electric lamp, not penetrating into the shadows under the table and the mysterious gloom above the ceiling.

A thin lady was seated at the table on a high-backed chair. She was the same age as my grandmother, but in her stern form and sharp-sighted look, one could feel energy and power. Brutilde looked at me.

Hello Miss Burling. I’m tired of waiting for you. – said the director imperiously, calmly and unhurriedly. She tapped her finger lightly on the table. I noticed that on her thick wrinkled fingers large emeralds on the rings shimmered with a dull light. My grandmother has a similar ring. I greeted and handed to Brutilde a letter written by my grandmother, my application for admission.

– Have a seat.

On the left, I noticed a black figure. At first it scared me. I thought that someone was hiding against the wall. But it turned out to be just a raincoat hanging on a hanger. No, most likely, on a hook, because underneath the hanger legs were not visible. Someone from afar could have mistaken him for a man in a long cloak. But I saw that there were no boots under it. And the cloak itself was a thin shapeless matter and was too thin to hide a person under it. At the top of the cloak was a black head – a helmet-like mask, but made with small triangular ears and a pointed nose. The black eye sockets were empty. This made me happy. I felt creepy when the thought came that there was someone else in the office besides me and Madame Brutilde. This head itself was staring at the floor in front of it. She probably hung on the same hook as the cloak. To myself, I called this outfit «Black Fox». It was the fox that reminded me of the head-mask. I had no time to think why the director would need such an outfit. But this made Madame Brutilde seem even more stern and stern to me.

Brutilda unrolled the pages on the table in front of her. She put on her glasses and stuck her pointed nose into the large swirls of grandmother’s ink.

– Thirteen years! Good age, but you should have enrolled a year early! – There was a remark.

All the stern look of the headmistress and her tough remark upset me. Really, they won’t take me to school? Will they refuse, as if I have no magical powers? Is it because I’m late?! And what will grandma say? She will probably cry. How do I get home?

– Hmm, your birthday fell on an important astronomical date! Very rare. Appreciate it! I think your rebellious age will not be a hindrance.

Brutilda put the papers in a drawer and lifted her spectacles to her forehead, peering into a thick open book.

– Hmm, right and… Right. – Concluded Brutilde. At these words, the book rose above the table and floated in my direction. A large feather, probably a peacock, which served as a decoration for a gilded glass inkwell, suddenly hovered over the book. The book lay flat in front of me, the pen froze in the air. I was dumbfounded at the first moment.

This is the moment when I sign my magic contract. The moment from which I am under the tutelage and protection of the castle and at the same time I am responsible for my actions to the school and its director. My grandmother used to tell me about the importance of her signature. It was a long time ago. I didn’t take her words seriously. And now, when the thick book lay in front of me, I felt cold inside. Feeling the stern gaze of Brutilde on me, I obeyed my choice. My grandmother’s choice, first of all. I will study at Nordlig and become a strong sorceress, a tall lady.

I took a long and fluffy feather floating in the air above the book and wrote my first and last name. I tried to print the letters more beautifully, but it didn’t work. First, the plumage was constantly moving and blocked my view. And most importantly, the tip of the pen was scribbled over the paper. The result was like a chicken’s paw. I looked at the signature with disappointment and resentment and hardly recognized my name in them. It was impossible to fix anything.

– well! – exclaimed Brutilde. The pen and the book spontaneously flew to a small desk cabinet in the corner of the room. The director handed me a folded sheet of paper. – This is your schedule. It lists all the assigned hours. Do not be late, we are strict with this. You can check the exact time of Nordlig with the clock in the front hall. We all live and work for them.

I nodded.

– Your new school uniform is in your suitcase. And Madame Rector, Mrs. Argento, will show you to your chambers.

Brutilde looked at the door. I turned around, but there was no one there. And it couldn’t have been, I would have heard if someone had come in. I turned back to the director.

– Good luck in your first year of knowledge at Nordlig.

Brutilda smiled. Her eyebrows rose a little, and the gesture changed her face. It became kind and caring. Brutilda now looked more like my grandmother. A smile appeared on my face too. I feel better. I do not know what I expected from the meeting with the director, but my spirits improved.

– Thank. – I answered and left the office.

They were already waiting for me in the corridor. A tall, thin sorceress in a dark green robe; with a fashionable, miniature, the same emerald color, a hat shifted to one side, which did not hide the shiny bronze-colored hair, but emphasized their extraordinary splendor. Madame Argento.