Midnight for Charlie Bone (Children Of The Red King, Book 1) (19 page)

            "Well, anyway thank you for trying to help," said Emma. She sat back on the bed. The candle in her lantern had almost burned out and she could hardly bear the thought of being in complete darkness in that cold creepy room. She stared up at the grim, gray walls, and then, in the dying candlelight, she noticed a small window behind the bed. If she climbed on her pillow she could reach it, and yet she knew the window must be very high up. Far too high for her to jump.

            "Charlie said I could fly," she murmured. As she said these words her fingers began to tingle and a strange throbbing passed through her arms, making them almost weightless.

            Paton Yewbeam was taking his midnight stroll. He walked with a purposeful stride, and yet his mind was in a turmoil. On one hand he was feeling very positive; at last he was beginning to put things right, and his sisters knew where he stood.

            A bulb exploded as he passed a lamppost. There was the usual clatter of falling glass, and then another sound, the patter of light footsteps. Paton sighed, but he didn't look back. If someone was following him, let them. They couldn't prove a thing. He began to mutter to himself. "If only I hadn't insisted on dinner. If we'd stayed at home, eaten by candlelight.... She thinks I'm a freak. Forget her, Paton. She'll never forgive you."

            Paton became aware that the footsteps had caught up with him. A girl was walking by his side; she had a small, pale face and long, rather straggly fair hair.

            "Excuse me," said the girl. "Can you tell me the way to Ingledew's Bookshop?"

            "Indeed I can," said Paton. "I believe I was just on my way there."

            "Oh, good," said the girl. "My name's Emma Tolly."

CHAPTER 18

THE RED KING

            It was half past midnight when Paton rang the bell of Ingledew's Bookshop. Of course, no one answered the door. And yet Paton happened to know that Julia Ingledew went to bed very late. She had admitted that she often read a book until two in the morning. He rang again. A window above the door flew open with a bang, and Julia Ingledew looked out. "Who is it?" she asked angrily She saw Paton. "Oh, it's you. This is a fine time to come calling."

            "Julia... er, Miss Ingledew, it's not really me. Or rather it is me, of course, but there's someone else who wants to see you." Paton stepped back from the door, gently drawing Emma with him. "Her name's Emma Tolly."

            "What? I don't... I can't..." The window slammed shut. Hasty footsteps descended a creaking staircase, and the door flew open with a loud tinkle.

            "Hello!" said Emma.

            "Nancy? Oh, you're so like Nancy,” cried Miss Ingledew. "Come in, come in, and you, Paton. Oh, I can't believe this. I just... oh, my goodness, I'm lost for words."

            Julia drew Emma into the shop. She stared at her, touched her hair, her face, and then she hugged her. "It's really you. Oh, Emma, how did this happen?"

            "I woke up," said Emma. "Charlie Bone and his friends helped me, and then this nice man brought me here."

            "Thank you, Paton," Julia said fervently. “Come and have a cup of tea or something. This is a celebration."

            She took them through to her cozy room behind the bookshop, and Emma stared at the shelves of rich, mellow books, their gold-tooled letters glowing in the soft light. She breathed in the smell of old paper and leather and print and, with a deep sigh, she declared it to be the most wonderful room in the world.

            "It could be your home, Emma," said Miss Ingledew happily. “If all goes well. Unless you want to stay with the people who adopted you."

            "No, no, no!" cried Emma. "I never want to see that horrible house again."

            "You must tell me all about it," said Miss Ingledew. “I want to know everything. And you, Paton, I'm sure you've got a lot to do with this. Sit down, sit down." She rushed around the room removing books and papers from the chairs, plumping up cushions, and flicking dust from the lamp shades.

            An hour later, Paton made his way home. He whistled a merry tune as the street lights flickered and crackled above him. He hadn't been so happy since he was seven years old.

            Early on Sunday morning, Charlie woke up to find his uncle standing at the foot of his bed.

            "Great news, Charlie," said Uncle Paton. "I haven't been able to sleep a wink. Emma Tolly is with her aunt, and we're going to make sure she stays there."

            Charlie sat up. "How did it happen?" he asked. Paton told him how the Moons had taken Emma to the academy in the middle of the night. And how Manfred had locked her up.

            "But she got out," said Charlie.

            "Yes," Paton said slowly, "and, at the moment, she won't say how But, Charlie, someone got wind of your little experiment, someone betrayed you, and I think you ought to find out who it is." Charlie had a horrible feeling he knew. It couldn't possibly have been Benjamin or Fidelio, or even Olivia. He would trust all three with his life. That only left Billy Raven. "It's Billy Raven," he said. "I feel sorry for him, Uncle Paton. He hasn't got any sort of home, and I think he's frightened of something. Did you see the car that arrived for him? It had smoked windows, and somebody inside stuck out a cane and hit me."

            "The old man," Paton murmured.

            "What old man? You mean Manfred's greatgrandfather!"

            "I've got a few things to show you, Charlie. Come and see me after breakfast."

            Charlie got dressed and ran down to breakfast. He was surprised to find Grandma Bone in the kitchen and even more surprised when she actually smiled as he dug into his sausage and fried eggs. Charlie was suspicious. He thought he'd get a lecture about breaking the rules. But perhaps she hadn't yet heard about Emma Tolly's escape. As soon as breakfast was over, Charlie went upstairs and tapped on his uncle's door.

            "Come in, Charlie!" Uncle Paton's voice didn't sound weary and angry anymore.

            Charlie could hardly open the door. There were books all over the floor. He had to tiptoe into the few empty spaces, while his uncle directed him: "Not there! Yes, that's right.... Mind that one, Charlie! I don't want to lose my place."

            "What's going on, Uncle Paton?" said Charlie, sitting in a small gap in the papers strewn across his uncle's bed.

            "You asked me about the Red King, Charlie, and I've made strides - great strides. Miss Ingledew helped me to find some of these books." He indicated the huge ancient-looking books beside his desk. "They're priceless, treasures really I've yet to translate them all, but a great deal has already come to light. I've made notes. Listen."

            "They're in another language?" asked Charlie.

            "Many languages. Now, listen. The Red King came to these islands, meaning Britain, in the thirteenth century They say he came from Africa, though from which part I can't be sure. He was called red because of his scarlet cloak and the blazing red sun on his shield. One of his companions was a knight from Toledo, the city of swords. The Red King married this knight's daughter, but sadly she died when their tenth child was born.

            "The Red King left his castle and traveled the land, mourning his wife. There are many accounts of his strange deeds during this period: of the storms he invoked, of his gift for healing, and for his accurate prediction of future events. It says here," Paton heaved a book onto his lap, "'the Red King could, with his black eye, render powerless any adversary' in other words, he could hypnotize." Paton put down the book.

            "I could quote hundreds of instances of mysterious happenings, but what it all boils down to is that the Red King was a magician."

            "And all of us endowed ones are somehow descended from him?" asked Charlie.

            "Yes. But that isn't the end of the story,” Paton leaned forward, cupping his chin in one hand and staring earnestly at Charlie. "The king was absent from his castle for fifteen years. He neglected his children who had, in various ways, inherited some, but not all, of his many talents. When the king returned, he found that his children were at war."

            “At war?"

            At war with their neighbors. They were using their talents to trick and to steal, to plunder, maim, and kill. The people in the surrounding countryside were terrified of them."

            "Were they all bad then, those children?" asked Charlie.

            "Indeed no. Only five were intent on achieving power. The others left the castle; they disappeared into the country Some even sailed to other lands, hoping to escape their terrible siblings and reluctant to use their strange endowments. But they couldn't escape, Charlie, because some of their children became wicked too, and often the children of the bad were born good. In this way the families were bound together, forever, never able to break free from their past; and so it has continued until today Just when a family thinks it is clear of wickedness, up pops a thoroughly bad one, with a talent to cause havoc." Paton shook his head. "So many warring families, so much heartache, so much distress."

            "I'm glad I'm an only child," said Charlie.

            Paton laughed. "If we stick together, we'll win in the end, Charlie!" He swung around to face his desk again.

            "Yeah!" Charlie stood up and began the precarious journey across the floor When he reached the door he turned and said, "What happened to the Red King, Uncle Paton? Couldn't he put things right, seeing as he had all that power?"

            "He'd waited too long," Paton said solemnly. "He would have had to kill his children, and that he couldn't do. With his three leopards, the Red King departed from his castle, and was never seen again. Although there are accounts of an invisible presence in various parts of the country."

            "You never said anything about leopards," said Charlie.

            "Didn't I? Well, there we are. I forgot." Paton gave Charlie a mysterious smile. "This afternoon, I'm going to Ingledew's to help Julia with her arrangements for keeping Emma."

            "Do you think it'll work? Will Emma really be able to stay there forever?"

            "We'll make it work. The Bloors won't want the world to find out what they've been up to. They'll have to give Emma up. As for the Moons, it doesn't sound as if they enjoyed being parents at all." Uncle Paton looked very confident. In fact, he looked like a new man altogether. Charlie left his uncle to his books and went across to see Benjamin. To his surprise, there was no one in at number twelve, not even Runner Bean. It gradually dawned on Charlie that the Brown family had gone out for the day All together. This had never happened before. Benjamin had always been at home, whenever Charlie wanted him.

            Charlie wandered down to the park, just in case Benjamin had taken his dog out for his first walk since the attack, but there was no sign of them. When he got home he found Maisie sitting in the rocker by the stove. "I don't feel very well, Charlie," Maisie said. "I think I'll skip lunch today and take a little nap."

            This was unheard of. Maisie was never ill. Charlie watched his grandmother plod across the kitchen. What had happened to her? Over lunch, he and his mother had a long chat-about Emma Tolly.

            "It's like a fairy tale," sighed Mrs. Bone. "I hope it'll have a happy ending."

            "She doesn't belong to the Moons," said Charlie. "She hates them. She belongs to Miss Ingledew"

            "But can they prove it?" Amy Bone shook her head. "Who's going to believe stories about hypnotism and ... shining knights and ringing bells... and Dr. Tolly's message."

            "No one will have to know Uncle Paton says the Bloors won't want other people to know what they've been up to, so they'll give up without a fight."

            "I don't believe that," said Amy Bone. "Someone will have to pay for what's happened. Be careful, Charlie."

            "Don't worry about me, Mom."

            After lunch, Mrs. Bone had to go down to the greengrocer's. She'd promised to help with some packaging. "I won't be long, Charlie," she said. "Maisie's upstairs, if you need her."

            The house was very quiet. Uncle Paton had already gone out. When Charlie peeked into Maisie's room he found she was fast asleep. He crept past Grandma Bone's door. He certainly didn't want to wake her up. He ran across to number twelve and found that the Brown family was still out. The air was very still and cold and, as Charlie crossed the road again, tiny snowflakes began to settle on his head.

            And then he saw them: three dark figures marching down the street. The Yewbeam sisters walked shoulder to shoulder, refusing to give way so that, in order to avoid them, other people had to duck into the road. Charlie thought he might be able to run into the park before they saw him, but it was too late, they had increased their pace. They met outside number nine.

            "Charlie, how convenient," said Aunt Lucretia. "We wanted to have a little chat."

            "In private," added Aunt Eustacia.

            "Oh," said Charlie. As he climbed the steps he heard them whispering behind him.

            They stepped into the hall and pressed their damp coats into Charlie's arms.

            "Nasty snow" Aunt Venetia remarked, as she flicked Charlie's hair with her long nails.

            "Come in," called Grandma Bone from the back room. "Hurry up, Charlie. We haven't got all day."

            "I know,” said Charlie, "seeing as Aunt Lucretia's a matron, and Aunt Eustacia's a sitter."

            The two aunts gave him very nasty looks but didn't say anything. It crossed Charlie's mind that he could quite easily run upstairs and lock himself in his room, but he decided he'd better get this unpleasant "chat" over with. So he dutifully hung up the moleskin coats and took his place at the table, opposite his three Yew-beam aunts.

            "Well, Charlie," began Aunt Lucretia. "You've been very busy lately haven't you?"

            "Poking your nose in where you shouldn't," added Aunt Eustacia.

            "I hope you're not going to make a habit of it," said Grandma Bone.

            "I'm sure he's not," said Aunt Venetia with a sickly smile. She folded her arms and, leaning them on the table, stuck her long neck out toward Charlie. "You were just trying to help a friend, weren't you, Charlie? We know all about Emma Tolly And we know where Tolly Twelve Bells can be found. It belongs to Dr. Bloor, you know"

            "It doesn't," said Charlie. "It belongs to Miss In-gledew and you're not going to get it."

            "Oh my!" Aunt Venetia threw up her hands in mock horror. "What a fierce boy Tolly Twelve Bells can stay where it is. We have no more interest in it, do we, sisters?"

            "None at all," they said.

            Charlie didn't believe them. Tolly Twelve Bells had played its part in waking Emma, and there seemed to be no reason to keep it. But, at the back of his mind, Charlie knew there was a reason. There was someone else to be woken up.

            He suddenly found himself saying, "My father isn't dead, you know" Grandma Bone's face went white. "What are you talking about?" she exclaimed. "Of course he's dead."

            "No, he's not. One day I'm going to find him."

            "Is this what your uncle's been saying?" asked Aunt Lucretia. "Paton is mad you know, quite crazy He doesn't know what he's talking about. You mustn't have anything more to do with him."

            "Promise you won't," said Aunt Eustacia.