Charlie Bone and the Shadow (The Children of the Red King, Book 7) Part 9 pdf

"It's me, Charlie," called Charlie.Miss Ingledew crossed to the door and locked it.. "You'd better come and have some fast." Miss Ingledew led him through her liv-ing room and into the s

their heads up and their tails erect, theirfiery colors brightening the morning.

"Hi there, Flames!" Charlie called softly

"Thanks for the escort." He passed the turn

to Piminy Street with confidence and pressed

on to the bookstore

The cathedral clock chimed seven just asCharlie emerged into the square Ingledew'sdidn't open until nine o'clock Charlie began

to feel foolish But

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when he peered into the darkened store, hewas sure he could hear voices He rang thebell

The Flames padded across the cobblestonesquare and looked back at Charlie from adistance Miss Ingledew, wearing a red bath-robe, came into the store and stood behindthe counter She stared at Charlie throughthe window, not recognizing him

"It's me, Charlie," called Charlie.

Miss Ingledew crossed to the door and locked it "Whatever are you doing here atthis time of the morning?" she asked, notunkindly

un-The Flames, satisfied that Charlie was safe,went about their business

Charlie bounded down the steps into thestore "It'll take me a while to explain," hesaid

"You'd better come and have some fast." Miss Ingledew led him through her liv-ing room and into the small kitchen at theback of the house Charlie was surprised tosee Olivia and Emma eating

"And you're having a walk early for aSaturday," said Olivia.

Emma lifted a wan face and said, "I can'tsleep and that makes it difficult for anyoneelse to sleep Do you want an egg, Charlie?"Charlie was so shaken by Emma's mournfulexpression he didn't know what to say "No

er, yes urn, just toast," he mumbled

"Don't look so shocked, Charlie," Oliviabarked "How would you feel if someone youreally cared for was well, that you werenever going to see them again?"

"I'd feel bad," he said, taking the chairbetween them "I do feel bad," he added

"That's why I'm here."

"It's about Billy, isn't it?" Emma might havebeen

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grief-stricken, but she was still aware of

oth-er people's troubles

"It's just," Charlie began awkwardly, "thatBilly still has a chance."

"And Tancred hasn't," said Emma

"I don't mean that." Charlie leaned sideways

as Miss Ingledew put a stack of toast on thetable He suddenly realized that he couldn'tspeak about the sympathizers' meeting IfMiss Ingledew heard about Mrs Brown'shair-raising escape from Piminy Street, shewas bound to stop Charlie from attempting

to get into the Old Chapel

"What do you mean?" asked Olivia, frowning

at Charlie

"Don't look at me like that," begged Charlie

"You probably think it was all my fault,Tancred's drowning But I didn't know hewas going to meet Dagbert in the sculptureroom I was locked up I couldn't do anythingabout it."

"We don't blame you, Charlie," Emma saidgently "Have you tried to reach Billy again?"345

Charlie hesitated He couldn't mention theOld Chapel with Miss Ingledew hovering be-hind him "Not since I found Claerwen," hesaid

"You found her? Why didn't you say?" Oliviascolded

"I forgot." Charlie put his hand in his pocketand felt the moth's delicate feet touch hisforefinger "Here she is." He lifted her outand set her on the marmalade jar, where hersilvery wings caught the light from the over-head lamp

Both girls smiled at last "Awww!" theybreathed

"She really is beautiful," said Miss Ingledew,sitting opposite Charlie She swept back her

long chestnut hair and asked, "Is your uncleback, Charlie?"

"No We don't know where he is." Charlieshrugged "Maisie's tried to call his cell, butthere's never an answer We think he's hun-dreds of miles away, where there isn't a sig-nal Actually, I wish he would come back."

"So do I." Miss Ingledew stared at the moth

in a dreamy way for a moment, and then shestood up

"Definitely," Olivia agreed "Why don't theyget married?"

Charlie didn't know the answer to this "Ithink I'd better be going now," he said "I'llleave by the back door if that's OK."

"Why do you want to go that way?" askedEmma

"Why did you come here in the first place?"said Olivia "What for? Just to show us themoth?"

"I'm going to the Old Chapel on PiminyStreet," said Charlie in a low voice "I want to

go the back way so that no one sees me Thepainting's there."

Olivia raised her eyebrows "I suppose that'llhave to do for now."

The girls followed him to the back door atthe far end of the kitchen

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"You can lock it again, after I've gone," saidCharlie, stepping into the small yard behindthe store

"Won't you be coming back this way?" askedEmma.

"Urn Don't know I'll knock if I do." Charliemade his way past empty book boxes to thegate in the wall The gate was rusty from lack

of use and made a loud screech when Charlieopened and closed it

He was now in the narrow alley that ranbetween the backyards of Piminy Street andCathedral Close The girls could hear himpicking his way over the slippery, unevencobblestones, long after the dark morninghad swallowed him up

Emma whispered, "I don't like it, Liv It isn'tlight yet and the Piminy Street people are "

"Dangerous," finished Olivia "I think weought to contact the others."

"Who? Fidelio will be at a concert where, Gabriel's running around the citywith his petition,

Tancred's " - Emma gave a little sigh - "not

an option, and Lysander ah, Lysander!"

"Definitely," said Olivia

"Yes, of course, Lysander." Emma followedOlivia back into the kitchen, feeling a littleless anxious

Charlie was passing the yard behind theKettle Shop when a blue flame suddenly litthe window of the workshop Mrs Kettle ob-viously started work early It was comforting

to know that she was close by Charliewondered why he hadn't thought of Mrs.Kettle before He went up to the workshopwindow and looked in

The blacksmith, in her coveralls and visor,appeared to be welding a handle onto a largeiron kettle When she saw Charlie, she give alittle start, then put down her welding ironand came to the back door

"What the dickens are you doing here,Charlie Bone?" she asked, pulling up hervisor.

Charlie looked furtively over his shoulderand whispered, "I was on my way to the OldChapel."

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"I can guess why," said Mrs Kettle "Mrs.Brown spilled the beans Come in for aminute, Charlie."

Charlie stepped into the warm workshop Itwas here that Mrs Kettle had forged the in-vincible sword the Red Knight now carried athis side There were other swords hanging onher walls, Charlie noted with satisfaction,and large tools that could, no doubt, do seri-ous damage

Mrs Kettle gathered some of her smaller plements together and put them in a canvastool bag "You'd given no thought to the

im-method of entering that chapel, now hadyou, Charlie?"

"I had, but I didn't come to a definite sion," Charlie admitted

conclu-"No, you were going to wait till you got thereand then be caught, most probably while youwere just standing around thinking Well,you'll need these for a start." She held up aformidable-looking pair of pliers

Charlie was impressed Not only had Mrs.Kettle made no attempt to dissuade himfrom entering the chapel,

"Yes, Mrs Kettle."

"There's something else Wait here." Shewent through the heavy door into the KettleShop and returned a moment later, carrying

a large lidded basket "Solomon," she said

"You'll need him."

"The boa?" Charlie stepped back a pace

"Why?"

"Why, d'you think? Invisibility would be agreat advantage in a place like Badlock,would it not?"

"Of course," Charlie agreed "Yes, it would.But I can't talk to Solomon Only Billy can dothat."

"Use your moth They understand each

oth-er Both are ancient, both have known theRed King."

Mrs Kettle looked so grave and resolute,Charlie found himself taking the basketwithout another word They left the safety ofthe workshop and made their way cautiously

along the alley The houses on either sideloomed against a sky that was alreadylighter.

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It cast a gray wash over the cobblestonesbeyond reach of the single streetlight Hereand there a light could be seen in one of thewindows; the Cathedral Close citizens werewaking up, but if the inhabitants of PiminyStreet were awake, they showed no sign of it

"Here we are, my dear," whispered Mrs.Kettle

They had reached an ivy-covered wall where

a wooden door stood half open to the alley

"Well, I'll be They haven't even bothered toclose it," the blacksmith remarked in a lowvoice "I won't need the pliers after all Come

on, Charlie."

There were only a few feet between the walland the back of the chapel Charlie couldn't

see a door High above him an arched dow had been boarded with several sturdyplanks He wondered how they would reachit.

win-"Around the side." Mrs Kettle pulledCharlie's sleeve and he followed her aroundthe side of the building

Treading softly down the graveled path,

"Now for the next one." Mrs Kettle tappedthe keyhole beside the door handle Thiscalled for a slightly larger rod The black-smith turned it twice in the lock This timethe dust was pink and the opening click more

of a groan Mrs Kettle stood up and turnedthe handle The door swung inward andCharlie found himself standing on thethreshold of an ivy-clad stage

"There!" Mrs Kettle pointed to a large vas standing against the far wall of the stage.Charlie found he couldn't move

"Wickedness," said Mrs Kettle in a of-fact voice "People like that are bound to

matter-leave their thoughts around so folks like uscan't breathe the air that they have used Butyou can do it, Charlie You've gotMathonwy's wand She'll see you through."The moth was already out of Charlie's pocketand fluttering around his head, as thoughshe knew that the time for help had come.Charlie walked slowly across the stage Heput down the basket and turned the paintingaround to face him Once again he experi-enced the dizzying effect of looking uponsuch a dreadful world.

"The boa, Charlie!" Mrs Kettle called softly.Her large figure, almost filling the doorway,gave Charlie an immediate surge of courageand he opened the

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basket The blue boa slid out and waved itsfeathery head in the air

"Claerwen, tell the boa I want to be

invis-ible," said Charlie "Anweledig," he added,

remembering to use the Welsh "And you'dbetter tell him to become invisible himself

Boa anweledig."

The moth settled among the boa's feathers Itwas an odd sight Was she talking to him inher own magical language? It seemed to haveworked, for the snake regarded Charlie in aquestioning way and then ducked its headand started to coil itself around his feet Bit

by bit, Charlie's feet, in their gray sneakers,began to disappear

"Good-bye, Mrs Kettle!" Charlie called

"Good luck, Charlie," she replied, in a voicethat was already sounding distant

It was an odd sensation, seeing himself appear, and yet not unpleasant The snake'sembrace was cool and firm, and Charlie

dis-thought of it as a kind of friendly hug When

he felt himself to be completely

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invisible, he gazed at the painting, waitingfor the wind that had previously come howl-ing out of it

Nothing happened Not a whisper Not abreath Charlie was not wanted in Badlock.Was the shadow even aware of him, standingthere, at the very edge of his own time?

"Claerwen, let us enter," Charlie whispered

Then, using the Welsh, "Dwi isie mynd mewn."

The white moth flew across the painting Sheflew over the towers and mountains, overrock and scrub and stony plain She flewacross the lowering sky and her wings moved

so fast Charlie lost sight of her shape; all hecould see was a blur of glittering silver, and

he had to rub his eyes against the brightness

He could feel the boa, heavy on hisshoulders, and something sliding beneath hisfeet.

When he opened his eyes, he was travelingvery fast through a forest of naked trees,their branches burdened with frozen snow.And then came the wind

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CHAPTER 18

A TIGER WITHOUT A HEART

It was only at night that Billy heard the giant

He had questioned Dorgo, but the servantwould only shake his head regretfully andsay, "Giant prisoner long time He here nowfor punishment But he make no noise." Thelittle man placed his hands over his woolenhat, where Billy guessed his ears might be,and added, "I not hear."

Billy asked Matilda about the giant Shelooked puzzled "I've heard of a giant," she

said, "but he lives in a tower across the plain.

He is not a true giant; he is just a very tallman."

"Dorgo knows that he was brought to thepalace," said Billy "Can't you hear him, Mat-ilda? His voice is so low and sad?"

"No." Matilda stared at Billy for a moment

"Perhaps you can hear him because he isfrom your world, or perhaps" - she frownedthoughtfully - "perhaps it is because of yourpower, Billy If you

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can hear and understand the voices of tinycreatures, you can hear words that cannotreach people like me."

"Do you think the enchanter can hear him?"Billy asked

"Without a doubt," she said

They were in Billy's room, playing with some

of the toys the enchanter had devised for

them: miniature knights with miniaturehorses that moved at the press of a button,set into a small wooden box The horses hadtiny silver shoes nailed to their ivory hooves,and the sound of their galloping on thewooden floor always made Matilda laugh.The two children now went everywhere to-gether Billy had never liked anyone as much

as Matilda, except maybe Charlie ButCharlie hadn't come to rescue him Matildawas kind and generous When she listened toBilly's stories of life at Bloor's Academy, shealways wore an anxious frown, and at theend of the stories she would say, "You have

no home in the future, Billy This is yourhome for always now."

would have a moment of doubt He didn'tbelong here, in this palace of enchanted foodand magical toys, out of his time.

On the fourth night, the giant's voice was soinsistent, Billy got out of bed and tiptoed tothe door He looked into the hall Dorgo ap-peared to be fast asleep He was snoringloudly Leaving the door ajar, Billy crept pastthe slumped figure and ran to the stairway.Nothing stirred; the giant's voice was theonly sound Billy padded softly down thesmooth twisting stairs When he reached thebottom, he listened intently, trying to guesswhere the voice was coming from And nowthe giant's words reached him clearly

"Amoret! Amoret!" He was calling to hiswife

Something caused Billy to turn The fireswere out in the hallway of furs But in the

cool light of the false stars pinned to the ing, he could make out the

ceil-358

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dreadful heads with their glistening eyes.There was a sudden bright flash, and Billyleaped with terror

The enchanter stood at the far end of thehallway He was dressed in such glitteringmagnificence Billy could hardly bear to look

at him He wore a golden cloak embroideredwith silver, and his long green robe was en-crusted with diamonds A brilliant sunburstsat atop his gold-flecked hair and the head ofhis ebony wand was a star of mirrored glass.Billy tried to look away from the shining fig-ure, but he couldn't avoid the gaze of the ivy-green eyes They willed Billy forward, overthe carpet of furs, closer and closer to theenchanter

Without a word, the enchanter suddenlyturned into an open doorway Billy followed,but the bright figure had vanished, and Billyfound that he was alone in a forest "In apalace?" he asked himself "A forest in apalace?" He followed a path through treeswith unusual rubbery leaves, and then hewas in a moonlit glade If the moon beamingdown at him

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was false, then it was artfully made, for Billycould see the rifts and valleys of the samemoon that he saw from windows in the realworld

A bear walked into the glade; a black bear,

on all fours "A bear?" Billy whispered "Butthere are no animals in Badlock." And thenbefore he knew it, a tiger brushed past him,

so close he could feel its warm breath Theglade was suddenly full of sound, and

looking up into the trees, Billy could seemonkeys playing in the branches, brightbirds flying through the leaves, and a gleam-ing snake coiled around the trunk.

A herd of deer wandered into the glade Theybegan to crop the grass quite close to wherethe bear sat idly licking his paws The tigercrouched beside Billy Very slowly, he putout his hand and touched the striped head.The tiger began to purr It was a warm, com-forting sound and reminded Billy of thethree Flames He spoke to the tiger, using alanguage he hoped the animal would under-stand The tiger

They didn't understand him Had he lost hisendowment? Had the enchanter stolen itaway?

"They have no hearts," said a voice "They'llnever speak to you." Rembrandt was peekingout of Billy's pocket "I'll admit he's done afine job," said the rat, "but it's quite obviousthat they're just enchantments."

"Really?" Billy wondered if the enchantercould see him "But they're warm and the ti-ger purrs, and the birds sing so beautifully."

"Don't be disappointed," said Rembrandt, "atleast they won't eat you."

Billy walked farther into the glade A gorillalumbered out of the bushes, scratched itself,and plunged back into the undergrowth.Billy followed it

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and saw an elephant moving through the tant trees

dis-"I've always wanted to see an elephant,"breathed Billy.

"It isn't real Let's go to bed," saidRembrandt

Billy yawned He felt very tired But when heturned to leave the forest, he couldn't see thepath that had brought him to the enchantedglade As he stared at the undergrowth, a line

of bushes began to sway, as though a largecreature were moving through them Sud-denly, Dorgo's head popped up through thesea of leaves

"Master lost," said the little servant "Bedthis way."

Leaping toward Dorgo, Billy found that thepath was still there, under the thick springyleaves He was now so tired all he couldthink of was his cozy bed

When they climbed the marble stairway, thegiant's voice was lost in the patter of theirfeet, and

noth-Matilda was delighted She danced aroundamong the animals, stroking their heads andlistening to their chattering, singing, andpurring "How clever he is," she cried "Oh,Billy, the enchanter never did anything likethis for me or Edgar My brother is alreadyjealous of you Wait till he sees this forest."

"Perhaps it wasn't meant for me," said Billy

"Perhaps it was meant for all of us."