Midnight for Charlie Bone (Children Of The Red King, Book 1) (16 page)

            "Wow!" gasped Benjamin.

            “Amazing!" said Fidelio.

            "I wonder if it really will wake Emilia up," murmured Charlie. Fidelio was still shaking his head in disbelief. "How did he do it?" he muttered. "What's it made of?"

            "The face looks real," said Benjamin. "The eyes are so shiny."

            "Glass," said Charlie. “And the rest is just a sort of poly-something." He thought of all the strange metal shapes in Dr. Bloor's workshop. "I bet Dr. Tolly had been fooling the Bloors for years, sending them robots and metal figures and dressed-up skeletons, pretending they held the secret to waking Emilia up. Just to keep them off his back. But they got him in the end."

            "They got him, but not Tolly Twelve Bells," said Benjamin.

            Charlie closed the case. "Do you think it'll be safe here until next weekend?" he asked Fidelio.

            "Course it will. But we'll need a girl to help us if we're going to get Emilia here."

            "No problem," said Charlie. "Olivia Vertigo loves this kind of thing." The three boys made their way back through the musical house, and this time they met Mrs. Gunn, who had the same bright hair and freckles as everyone else in the family She was carrying a double bass across the hall, but took the time to pat each boy fondly on the head as he passed. When they left Gunn House, Benjamin and Charlie headed for number nine, where Maisie had promised a big lunch would be waiting for them. Soon Charlie and Benjamin were sitting down to roast chicken, potatoes, parsnips, and several other more unusual vegetables from Mrs. Bone's greengrocer. There were three dessert choices and the boys had all three: ice cream, pudding, and mango crumble.

            Uncle Paton called down that he wasn't at all hungry, so Runner Bean had his portion. Maisie wondered about keeping some food for Grandma Bone. It was most unlike her to stay in bed so long, she remarked. Charlie smiled to himself. "Why don't you give what's left to Runner Bean?" he asked. "I'm sure he's hungrier than Grandma Bone."

            "Good idea," said Maisie, and Runner Bean happily polished off his second lunch.

            Benjamin stayed for tea as well. That's when Grandma Bone woke up. She came staggering downstairs in a gray bathrobe. "What's going on?" she barked. "It's four o'clock. Why didn't someone wake me up?"

            "You were tired, Grizelda," said Maisie. "We didn't want to wake you."

            "Tired? Tired? I'm never tired," said Grandma Bone. Benjamin and Charlie escaped into the garden where they played all Runner Bean's favorite games. For a while it seemed just like every other weekend, as if nothing had changed since they met, when they were both five years old. Runner Bean had seemed a lot bigger then.

            But, of course, things had changed. Tomorrow Charlie had to go back to Bloor's Academy and tonight a complete stranger was coming to look after Benjamin.

            "Do you want me to come with you?" Charlie asked, when his friend decided he'd better go home.

            Benjamin shook his head, "It'll be OK," he said. "I've got Runner."

            "Look, if anything happens while I'm away I mean, if you need help, go to my Uncle Paton. He's not like the otherYewbeams. He's on my side."

            "OK," said Benjamin.

            As Charlie watched Benjamin and Runner Bean cross the street, he had a nasty feeling in the pit of his stomach. Something was wrong, but he couldn't say what it was.

            Benjamin climbed the steps, put his key in the lock, and went into number twelve. Charlie stared at the closed door and wished he had gone with his friend. And then he put Benjamin out of his mind, because there was something he had to tell his mother.

            He found her in the tiny bedroom at the back of the house. She had obviously gone there to escape Grandma Bone's ranting. She patted the bed and Charlie bounced up and sat among the piles of clothes that she'd been mending. He waited until his mother was sitting in her favorite chair -one of the few things she'd managed to save from their old house -and then he told her about Dr. Tolly's strange message.

            Mrs. Bone's expression of amazement turned to sadness as Charlie recounted the story of Emma Tolly He wished he could make her smile by telling her that his father was still alive, but he had no proof, yet. Sometimes he thought a little of the spell that had captured his father had reached out and caught his mother as well. She was so quiet and remote. One day he would find Lyell and rescue him. But first there was Emma Tolly to rescue. And that was something Charlie could do. Next week he would make sure Manfred found no excuses to give him detention. He would keep his head down, like Uncle Paton, and on Saturday they would find a way to get Emilia Moon to Gunn House.

            As he slipped out of his mother's room, she looked up and said, "Take care, Charlie. Don't do anything ... dangerous."

            Charlie grinned and shook his head. But he made no promises.

CHAPTER 16

WAR

            If Charlie had gone with Benjamin to number twelve, what happened that night might have been stopped. But who can say for sure? After all, theYewbeams were a powerful family.

            As Benjamin and his dog walked up the steps to their front door, Runner Bean gave an anxious whine and Benjamin wondered who the "nice" person might be that his parents had arranged to look after him. They stepped into the hall together. There was a smart black bag at the bottom of the staircase, but no sign of a sitter.

            "Hello!" Benjamin called out, tentatively.

            Someone walked out of the kitchen, someone tall, all in black, with gray hair piled on her head and big round pearls dangling from her ears. She didn't have red boots, but Benjamin knew who she was. Or rather he knew she was related to the woman with the red boots.

            “Are you – ?" he didn't know how to finish the question.

            "I'm your sitter, dear," she said.

            "But aren't you ...?"

            "Yes, I'm one of Charlie's great-aunts. So that makes it all very cozy doesn't it? You can call me Aunt Eustacia."

            "Thank you," Benjamin said nervously. “Did my mom and dad really ask you to come?"

            "Of course."She spoke a little impatiently. “Why else would I be here?"

            "It's just a bit peculiar," said Benjamin.

            Aunt Eustacia ignored this. "You'd better come and have your dinner," she said. "I've made some nice hot broth."

            Benjamin followed her into the kitchen and drew a chair up to the table. Runner Bean gave a small grunt and sat beside him.

            "Dogs shouldn't be in kitchens," said Aunt Eustacia. She poured some steamy brown liquid into a bowl and set it in front of Benjamin. "Shoo!" she said to Runner Bean. "Out!"

            Runner Bean growled, showing his teeth.

            Aunt Eustacia took a step backward. "What a horrible dog," she said.

            "Benjamin, get it out of the kitchen at once."

            "I can't," said Benjamin. "He likes to eat at the same time as me."

            "Ha!" Aunt Eustacia flung open the cabinets and, finding a can of dog food, she spooned some into a bowl marked DOG and put the bowl outside in the hallway. “Now," she commanded, shaking a finger at Runner Bean, "eat!" She pointed at the bowl.

            The dog rolled his eyes and moved closer to Benjamin.

            Benjamin decided it would be best to avoid an argument with Aunt Eustacia this early on, so he leaned down to Runner Bean and said, "Runner, go and eat your dinner. I'm OK."

            Runner Bean grunted and padded out to the hall, where he could be heard gobbling up the dog food. Benjamin wished he could have eaten dog food. It had to be tastier than the disgusting brown broth that he'd been given.

            When he'd finally managed to get all the broth down his throat, Benjamin was sent to bed.

            "School tomorrow,” said Aunt Eustacia. "You'd better get in early tonight."

            “Are you going to sleep here?" asked Benjamin.

            "Naturally," said the grim-looking woman. "I'm your sitter." Benjamin remembered that he had to pretend Tolly Twelve Bells was still in the house. "You stay down here, tonight," he told Runner Bean. He got the dog's basket and put it beside the cellar door.

            Runner Bean looked puzzled, but stepped obediently in his basket. Benjamin went to bed, but he lay awake, waiting for Aunt Eustacia to come upstairs. When he was sure she was in bed at last, he crept down to the phone in the hall and dialed Charlie's number.

            "Hello!" said Maisie's cheerful voice.

            "It's..." Benjamin got no further for a dark figure had appeared at the top of the stairs.

            “And what do you think you're doing?" asked Aunt Eustacia. At the other end of the line, Maisie's voice went on saying, "Hello!

            Hello! Who is it?"

            "Put down that phone," commanded Aunt Eustacia.

            "I just wanted to call my friend," Benjamin said. At this point, Runner Bean began to bark.

            "It's nearly midnight," shouted Aunt Eustacia. "Get to bed at once!"

            "Yes," said Benjamin miserably He replaced the receiver and trudged up to bed.

            On Monday morning, Charlie had to leave the house early A blue academy bus stopped at the top of Filbert Street at seven forty-five precisely; it spent another hour collecting musical children from various parts of the city.

            So Charlie didn't see Benjamin before he left, and barely heard Maisie when she called after him, "Benjamin called last night. At least I think it was him because of the barking." It was only when he was sitting on the bus that Charlie recalled Maisie's words and wondered what Benjamin had wanted.

            He ran into Fidelio as they were filing through the academy entrance, and they agreed to meet during the break and talk to Olivia Vertigo. Charlie didn't feel like a new boy anymore. Today he knew exactly where to go and how to find things. His music lesson with Mr. Paltry -Winds-didn't go too well, but he managed to avoid detention and he actually got a few things right in the English lesson.

            At break time, in the great misty garden, Charlie and Fidelio spied Olivia talking to a group of girls who all looked very dramatic; they had white faces and wore dangerous-looking boots, and they all had either bleached or colored hair. Today Olivia's hair was indigo. When Charlie beckoned to her, she came striding over the grass in enormous, thick-soled boots with metal toe-caps.

            "I bet Manfred will make you take those off," Charlie remarked.

            "I'll try to keep out of his way,” said Olivia. "So, what's new?"

            "Let's start walking," Fidelio suggested. "We don't want to look like conspirators."

            With Olivia clomping between them, the two boys took turns relating all that had happened over the weekend. Olivia was very excited. "You'll need me to get Emilia over to Gunn House, won't you?" she asked. "She'd never go with either of you."

            "That's it exactly!" said Charlie.

            He had noticed Billy Raven following them a short distance behind and wondered if he should tell the albino what was going on. But he decided against it. For now, the fewer people who knew their secret, the better. Billy would be coming home with him for the weekend. He would find out then. Olivia agreed to spend the rest of the week making friends with Emilia, so that she could visit her on the weekend. "It won't be easy,” said Olivia, "because Emilia's so sort of far away if you know what I mean.

            But I suppose she would be if she's in a trance." She strode off with a wave, so that she could spend the last two minutes of break with her drama friends.

            Charlie didn't meet with Gabriel Silk until he went into the cafeteria. The older boy rushed up to the table Charlie was sharing with Fidelio, spilling half his glass of water into his plate of chips. "Hi!" he said.

            "Everything OK? Anything I can do to help?"

            "Not at the moment, thanks," said Charlie.

            Gabriel looked unusually cheerful. Obviously he was wearing all new or very happy-feeling clothes. Charlie realized that Gabriel could be a very useful friend to have on his side. Already he was beginning to think of people as being on his side or against him. He wondered why this was.

            He didn't see Manfred until dinnertime, but to his great relief the older boy took no notice of him. Asa, however, kept darting sly looks across the long table. The meal was exactly the same as last Monday's: soup, egg and chips, and a pear.

            "It's always the same," said Fidelio. "Tomorrow it will be soup, sausage and potatoes, cabbage, and an apple."

            Charlie wished he could swap his gift for hearing voices to one of turning bad food into good. He closed his eyes and pretended that he could. He found that the flat, old egg actually tasted better. Now that he knew the way to the King's room, he found that he was the first one there. Almost. Zelda and Beth were playing some sort of game. They ignored Charlie. Zelda was dark and spiteful looking, and Beth was large and muscular with pale, frizzy hair. They were glaring at each other from either side of the table. In the center a wooden pencil box moved first one way then the other.

            Charlie sat down in the large space between them and plonked his books on the table.

            "Shhh!" hissed Zelda.

            The pencil box shot toward her.

            "Sorry,” said Charlie.

            The pencil box hovered and then moved toward Beth. She growled and, glaring at the box, sent it back to Zelda. Charlie realized they both had the same endowment, moving things with their minds.

            Other children began to drift into the room, ruining the girls'

            concentration. Tancred and Lysander came in together. This time Tancred grinned at Charlie. His hair looked more electrified than ever and Charlie noticed that it crackled slightly when Tancred tried to pat it down.

            "How're you doing, Charlie Bone?" asked Lysander with a big smile.

            "OK, thanks." Charlie smiled back.

            "Shut up!" said Zelda as the pencil box shot sideways, lifted into the air, and crashed onto the floor.

            "Crazy game," said Lysander.

            "It's not a game!" snarled Zelda, retrieving the pencil case. Charlie had managed to get a seat on the same side of the table as Manfred, so he didn't have to worry about the awful stare. He had a much better view of the Red King from this angle, and he found himself gazing up at the dark, mysterious face several times. It had a strange, calming effect on him and he was aware that his homework seemed much easier than usual. In fact, he got it all done before the bell rang. Fidelio and Charlie had agreed not even to whisper about Tolly Twelve Bells in the dormitory Billy was watching Charlie intently and just before lights out he came and stood at the end of Charlie's bed.

            "Is it still all right me coming for the weekend?" asked Billy.

            "Of course," said Charlie. "My mom says it'll be fine."

            “And... and are you going to do anything about Emilia Moon?" Billy sounded a bit awkward.

            Charlie said, "Not sure yet." There was something not quite right about Billy.

            Billy crept back to bed as a voice barked, "Lights out." A large hand came around the door and snapped off the lights. Knowing who the hand belonged to didn't help. Charlie imagined Aunt Lucretia sneaking along the passages, listening at doors.

            Before he finally drifted off to sleep he remembered what Maisie had said. "Benjamin called last night. At least I think it was him because of the barking."

            Why was Benjamin calling so late, and why didn't he leave a message? And why was Runner Bean barking? Charlie fell asleep before he could figure it out.

            Benjamin was not asleep. He'd had a very unpleasant day It was cold and windy and, as he walked home from school, he thought of all the good, hot things he could cook for himself and Runner Bean: sausages, chips, toasted cheese, chicken nuggets, and grilled bananas. Turn! Yum!" Benjamin said to himself. He'd managed to forget EustaciaYewbeam. But there she was, banging pots and pans in Benjamin's kitchen as though she were preparing a feast, not a measly bowl of broth. When Benjamin asked for a sausage she gave him a glassy stare and said, "Whatever for? It's not as if it's Christmas."

            Runner Bean leaped out of his basket, barking with joy and licking every bit of Benjamin that he could find: his face, his hands, his ears, and his neck.

            "That dog hasn't moved all day,” grumbled Miss Yewbeam. "I couldn't even get into the broom closet."

            "He's a very good guard dog," said Benjamin. Later he was bitterly to regret those words.

            That night he listened to Miss Yewbeam walking through the rooms. What could she be doing? She'd had all day to explore. He had an uncanny feeling that someone else was in the house. Eventually Benjamin closed his eyes and fell into an uneasy sleep.

            He was woken up by a terrible noise: a howling, screaming, whining sound. Benjamin leaped out of bed and ran to the top of the stairs.

            "Runner?" he called. "Is that you?" He was answered by a low snarl and then a series of earsplitting growls and barks. Something was attacking Runner Bean. Benjamin tore downstairs.

            "Runner! Runner, I'm coming," he shouted.

            There was a horrible scream, and a bang as the back door crashed open. Benjamin ran down the passage toward the open door. He almost fell over Runner Bean's motionless body.

            "Runner!" cried Benjamin, kneeling beside the dog's shaggy head. Runner Bean gave a sad little whine, and Benjamin, stroking the rough fur, found that it was covered in something sticky.

            The hall light was switched on and Miss Yewbeam marched down the stairs.

            "What's going on?" she demanded.

            "My dog's been attacked," cried Benjamin. "He's all covered in blood."

            "My my what a mess!" declared Miss Yewbeam. "We'll call the vet in the morning."

            "I can't leave him like this," said Benjamin. He ran into the kitchen and came back with a bowl of water and some old cloths. MISS Yewbeam stood and watched as Benjamin washed off the blood and applied antiseptic. Runner Bean's wounds were like huge bite marks. But what sort of animal could have gotten into the house? And why? Miss Yewbeam told Benjamin to go to bed. He refused. "I'm going to sleep down here with Runner," he said. He got a cushion and a blanket and lay beside the injured dog all night.