There was a sound like a marshmallow gently landing on a plate, and everything in front of him went white. Then the white turned red, streaked with black, and the terrible noise clapped its hands across his ears. A crescent-shaped piece of something glowing scythed the top off his hat and embedded itself in the nearest house, which caught fire. There was a strong smell of burning eyebrows. When the debris settled Rincewind saw quite a large hole in the wall. Around its edge the brickwork, now a red-hot ceramic, started to cool with a noise like glinka-glinka.
