Charlie Bone and the Shadow (The Children of the Red King, Book 7) Part 8 docx

"I can hearhis footsteps." And Billy did see, for a moment later, a patch on one of the marbled walls began to move,like worms 298 squirming in mud; a fuzzy cloud appeared, as though the

they have rough clothing; boys have to wearcoarse woolen stockings and scratchy tunics.Here, in Badlock, we are very advanced."

"Really?" Billy walked over to the fire andheld his hands before its blaze The chill thathad descended on him wouldn't lift He had

no home but this

Matilda hitched herself up onto the bed and297

swung her legs "You can be happy here,Billy, can't you? I am so lonely sometimes.Edgar will never be a friend, so I have none."She paused "And I am afraid of the en-chanter and his wife."

She spoke as though they were barely lated, Billy thought And yet, weren't theyher grandparents, the enchanter and hiswife?

re-"Where's your mom?" asked Billy

"My mother? She is dead, of a weakness ofthe heart My father, too He was a braveknight His name was Gervais de Roussillon,and he was killed in an unfair fight." Matildalowered her voice "My old nurse said the en-chanter had a hand in my father's murder.But I cannot tell for sure." She glancednervously around the room.

"What is it?" said Billy "Are you afraid ofsomething?"

"You will soon see," she replied "I can hearhis footsteps."

And Billy did see, for a moment later, a patch

on one of the marbled walls began to move,like worms

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squirming in mud; a fuzzy cloud appeared,

as though the marble were steaming, andthrough the cloud stepped Edgar

"You could have used the door," saidMatilda.

"I chose not to," retorted her brother "Youare required to dine, immediately." He threw

a look of contempt at Billy "Why are you notdressed properly?"

Billy gazed helplessly at Matilda

"He has not had the time," she said, jumpingfrom the bed "I will "

"Leave him," said Edgar "The servant will doit." Without another word, Edgar shuffledbackward, and with an awkward twist of hisshoulders and an ungainly swing of his rightfoot, he allowed the wall to swallow him up.Matilda grinned at Billy "Luckily, Edgar isnot careful with his talent I can always hearhim coming, and his exits and entrances arevery rude and clumsy Listen, you can hearhim even now."

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Billy could indeed hear stumbling footstepsretreating down the passage.

Matilda crossed the room and opened thedoor "You can come in, now," she called "I'llsee you in the dining hall," she told Billy

He was alone for only a second before asquat figure darted into the room and begantearing at his pajamas

"NO!" cried Billy

The small being looked up at him aghast.Billy couldn't tell if it was male or female.With a woolen cap covering its head and pre-sumably its hair, its face without eyebrows,and its body so wide and lumpy, it was diffi-cult to tell where its waist might have been orwhere its legs began

"You can wait outside," said Billy

To his surprise, the being shuffled out andgently closed the door

Billy took off his pajamas himself and put onthe blue velvet suit Next came the shoes.These were a

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problem They didn't fit very well and thelong toes made a slapping noise when hewalked It was like wearing flippers Billy feltsilly, but then bare feet would look even silli-

er, he realized To his dismay, he found therewere no pockets in his jacket or pants Hecouldn't possibly leave Rembrandt behind.What would he eat?

"Urn, excuse me," called Billy, not knowinghow to address the being outside "You cancome in now."

The thing opened the door a fraction andpeeked in Its eyes were the gray-brown color

of bark, but there was kindness in them

"Please, can you help me?" said Billy "I need

a a pocket or a bag or or something."

The creature came in and stood before Billy.

"Dorgo," it said in a masculine voice "NameDorgo, me What for you want pocket?"

Dorgo hadn't noticed the rat sitting on Billy'sbed, cleaning himself

"For him," Billy pointed at Rembrandt

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Dorgo gave an earsplitting scream andclutched Billy around the waist "What?What? What?" he cried

"He's only a rat," said Billy

"And what's he?" squeaked Rembrandt, ing at the trembling Dorgo

star-"A person," whispered Billy He gentlypushed the terrified Dorgo away, saying tothe creature, "He really won't hurt you, but Ineed to put him in something, so that I cancarry him with me."

Dorgo nodded Without raising his eyes fromthe floor, he walked over to the oak chest and

lifted the lid He proceeded to rummage inthe chest, like a burrowing rabbit, sendingshoes and clothing flying out in all direc-tions After a few seconds he reached thebottom and pulled out a leather belt with agold-braided pouch attached to it He held itout, still with his eyes lowered.

"Perfect Thank you," said Billy, fastening thebelt around his waist He grabbed Rem-brandt and popped him into the pouch

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"Now what?" squealed Rembrandt

"Food," Billy replied "I hope."

Dorgo had closed his eyes Billy touched him

on the shoulder "I believe the people hereeat rats," he said, "so please don't tell anyoneelse about it."

"Never, never, never," said Dorgo Heopened his eyes, rushed to the chest, flung

back its contents, and closed the lid "Follow,please Master dine now," he said.

To be called "master" was rather satisfying

It made Billy feel instantly taller and moreconfident "Lead the way," he said, morepompously than he intended

"Oh dear!" came the muffled remark fromthe gold pouch

Dorgo shuddered and scurried out of theroom He led Billy down the marble stairway,along the hallway of heads and furs, and intothe most astonishing room Billy had everseen Although, to call it a room wouldhardly be accurate It was a vast black-marble hall, with a high vaulted ceiling of303

glittering stars The walls were hung withweapons and precious objects: spears, shin-ing swords, shields decorated with mythicalcreatures, tiger skins, painted masks, a

golden wheel, horns of ivory, gilt-framedmirrors, tapestries embroidered with pearls,diamonds, and emeralds, and things thatBilly had never seen but could only assumewere used in warfare He stood in the door-way with his mouth agape.

The count was sitting at the far end of aglass-topped table at least twenty feet long

"Be seated, Billy Raven," he called, and hisvoice echoed up to the glittering ceiling, in-creasing the light from the golden stars

Lilith had her back to the door, Edgar andMatilda sat facing each other, halfway downthe table Billy was relieved to see an emptyplace setting beside Matilda's As he madehis way toward her, Dorgo followed - pullingout Billy's chair and pushing it in once hewas seated Matilda gave Billy a reassuringsmile

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Billy noticed that they all had a version ofDorgo standing behind them And there wereother servants standing at intervals aroundthe room They each held a golden tray Al-most everything on the table was made ofgold: the candelabra, the plates, bowls, cups,knives, and spoons There was so muchshine, Billy had to remove his glasses andrub his eyes.

"Have you ever had an enchanted dinner,Billy Raven?" boomed the count from theend of the table

Billy shook his head

"You are about to," said the count "What doyou wish to eat?"

"Urn, spaghetti, please," said Billy

"Spaghetti," said the count to a tall servant,dressed more grandly than the others

There was a long silence while the tall vant stared at his empty tray Then he

ser-cleared his throat and, lifting his head, sangout, "Not known."

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"Not known! Not known! Not known!" peated the other servants

re-Billy was embarrassed

"Another," the count commanded

Billy tried to think of something that one throughout the ages must have eaten

every-"Bread," he said

"Bread," boomed the count

The tall servant's tray instantly filled withblack loaves Dorgo grabbed Billy's plate,rushed over to the man with the tray ofloaves, put them all on Billy's plate, andbrought it back to him

"Countess?" This time the count's voice filledthe hall It had to, in order to reach his wife

Lilith recited a list of peculiar names Thecount repeated them, and the tall servant'stray filled with peculiar-looking fruits - orwere they vegetables? Lilith's servant rushed

to receive them and delivered them to hismistress

Edgar chose raggots, maggots, cabbage, and306

cheesum - all of which looked disgusting.Matilda chose Cordioni soup, which smelleddelicious, and the count went for the samestuff as his wife

Billy felt very self-conscious with his plate ofblack bread He had no idea how to eat it

"Dinner?" Rembrandt said hopefully

Before Rembrandt's squeaks became tooloud, Billy attacked a loaf Tearing it apartwith his bare hands, he managed to get asizeable chunk into the pouch on his lap

When Rembrandt squeaked his thanks, ilda giggled Edgar glared at his sister andsaid, "The boy is giving food to a creature.That is rude and wasteful."

Mat-Count Harken waved his hand dismissively

"No matter, Edgar It occupies our guest."Edgar sullenly pushed a spoonful of food in-

to his mouth But from the other end of thetable, the countess continued to stare atBilly, even while she ate her unpronounce-able meal Her look was so heartless, Billywished he were a thousand miles away,

as she had promised

After dinner, Dorgo led Billy back to hisroom The little servant turned down thebedcovers and left Billy with a single candleburning in a metal saucer on the chest Billychanged into his pajamas and got into bed.

He watched the candle flame burn lower andlower and wondered if he would ever sleep

He was very tired but his mind continued towander through the glittering rooms below

Charlie will come get me, he thought, cause he can travel.

be-Outside, the distant wind moaned across theplain And then, above the wind, came thesound of heavy feet, dragging themselvesacross the ground They were accompanied

by a scuffling and shuffling and the rattle ofchains

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Billy jumped out of bed and looked into thehallway Dorgo was sitting beside the door

His head lolled forward, but he was notasleep.

"What, master?" asked Dorgo

"I heard something," said Billy "Footsteps."

"The giant, master."

"Giant?" said Billy

"They bring him to dungeon He bad.Punished he must be."

"What did he do?"

Dorgo sighed "He hide boy-from-future, likeyou."

Charlie! thought Billy Charlie's ancestor was a giant.

"Sleep now, master," said Dorgo

Billy stepped back into his room and closedthe door

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CHAPTER 16

THE SPY

It was Saturday morning Charlie sat in hisroom feeling impatient and helpless Histhoughts kept returning to Tancred Howcould someone with such a powerful endow-ment have been overcome? Charlie could notbring himself to believe that he would neveragain see Tancred's cheerful face and shock

of blond, spiky hair, or the billowing greencape as Tancred's volatile nature brought onthe wind and the rain And then there wasBilly

If only the painting of Badlock could befound, Charlie was sure that his moth couldhelp him reenter the shadowy, sinisterworld He had no idea how he would findBilly, if he ever got to Badlock He supposed

he would figure out what to do when he gotthere

Charlie wondered if Grandma Bone had den the painting in her bedroom It was un-likely, but

Where to look? The painting was large andwould not be easy to hide Charlie looked

under the bed He counted ten pairs of shoes,but no painting He looked in the closet:more shoes, ancient dresses, two fur coatssmelling of mothballs, and too many skirtsfor Charlie to count He was about to closethe door when something caught his eye -310

at the top Printed below were the words:

Meeting of sympathizers to our cause

The Old Chapel, Piminy Street

Saturday 8:00

Bring card

""T."T.," Charlie murmured ""IT is forTilpin, and didn't someone say that Mrs.Tilpin's first name was Titania? He quicklymemorized the message on the card, re-placed it, and put the bag back into thecloset.

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Running to his room, Charlie jotted downthe words he'd memorized in exactly thesame order as he'd seen them "Aboutpostcard-size," he muttered, "and the print islike a newspaper." He realized that he wouldnever be able to attend the meeting himself

He needed an accomplice An adult No childwould be able to get into the meeting

Charlie knew exactly who to ask He decided

to wait until Benjamin came home Mr andMrs Brown would be working until then Inthe meantime, there was more homework todo

At precisely four o'clock, Charlie looked out

of his window and saw Benjamin amblingdown the street with his backpack slungacross his shoulder Charlie banged on thewindowpane and waved violently Benjaminlooked up and waved back He pointed atCharlie and then to number twelve Charlienodded and gave him a thumbs-up

Two minutes later, Charlie walked stairs and took his jacket from the hook inthe hall "I'm going to see Ben," he called out.313

down-"You are not," said a voice from the kitchen.Grandma Bone appeared in the doorway

"You are not going anywhere until you've ished your homework."

fin-"I have finished it," said Charlie

Grandma Bone stared at him through rowed eyes "I suppose you cheated."

nar-"How could I cheat?" asked Charlie "It wasall memorizing stuff You can test me if youlike."

His grandmother's eyes became even tinierslits Her lips pursed into a wrinkled bud.She did not want to test Charlie because herfavorite program was coming up on theradio

"So I'm going, OK?" Charlie gave her a forcedsort of grin

The wrinkled bud of his grandmother'smouth relaxed and she said, "Fish fordinner."

"Great!" Charlie made for the door Fish washis least favorite food and Grandma Boneknew it She must have bought it specially topunish him But he had far more importantthings to worry about

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Benjamin and Runner Bean gave him a greatwelcome, and as luck would have it, Mr andMrs Brown had just returned from a verysatisfactory bit of detective work Flushedwith success, they were now celebrating with

a festive cup of tea in the kitchen

While snacking on some tasty treats, Charlietold the Browns everything that hadhappened at Bloor's Academy before he'dbeen suspended He kept his voice verysteady while they gasped and exclaimed and

paced about, because he knew that if hestopped talking, his eyes would fill withtears, and before that happened, he wanted

to get to the real reason for his visit: the ished painting and tonight's meeting on Pim-iny Street

van-"Murder!" shouted Mr Brown when Charliehad come to the end of his shocking account

"We can't let them get away with it."

"I feel like going to see that disgraceful cuse for a headmaster right now," said hiswife

ex-Charlie shook his head "They'll say it was anaccident

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No one will be able to prove that Tancredwas drowned on purpose."

Mrs Brown patted her husband's hand

"Charlie's right The police will never believe

this Dagbert Endless boy has a a drowningpower."

Charlie pulled the hastily scribbled note fromhis pocket and spread it out on the table

"This is the message I found in GrandmaBone's handbag I thought if we copied it,someone could take it to the meeting andfind out what's going on."

Mr and Mrs Brown studied the note

"Sympathizers?" muttered Mr Brown, ing the stubble he'd had to grow on his chinfor his last case "Sympathizers with what?"

strok-"The cause," said Benjamin "You know, Dad.All the bad stuff that's been going on."

"Ah." Mr Brown scratched his stubble evenmore fiercely "And you think we might learnsomething of their future plans, Charlie? Getone step ahead, as it were."

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"That's part of it," said Charlie "But, ally, I thought you might find out wherethey've put the painting."

actu-"Oh, yes I could take a recorder Get proof ofthe drowning I've an excellent little instru-ment that fits into the arm of a pair ofglasses."

Something about this device worried Charlie.There were people on Piminy Street whowere gifted in ways that he could only begin

to imagine There might well be a clairvoyantamong them, or someone with superhumanpowers of detection He explained this to theBrowns, who reluctantly agreed that it would

be safer to leave the recorder behind

"Obviously, I can't go as myself," said Mr.Brown "I would be instantly recognized as anon-sympathizer."

"I don't think you should go at all," said hiswife "Even in a disguise you would be

recognized by people like that It's yourheight and the way you move."

After a brief argument, which Mr Brownlost,

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Mrs Brown went upstairs and returned teen minutes later looking nothing whatso-ever like her old self Three inches had beenadded to her height, not with high heels, butwith ingeniously built-up boots Her fair hairwas tucked into a severe gray wig, and herface given a dusting of dark pink powder thatmade her look hot-tempered and irritable.Her eyebrows were thick and black, her nosewas larger, and her lips had been reduced tothin, grayish lines

fif-For a moment Charlie actually believed thatsome evil-looking woman had broken intothe house When he realized who it was, he

joined in with Benjamin's applause Mrs.Brown's transformation was truly amazing.

"Trish, you've surpassed yourself," lated Mr Brown "You've even fooled thedog."

congratu-Runner Bean had rushed out of the roomand was now howling dismally in the hall-way It took a good long sniff of Mrs Brown'shand to convince him that the grim-lookingstranger was none other than Benjamin'smother

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It was decided that Mr and Mrs Brown (asherself) should drive to a quiet corner, nottoo far from Piminy Street Once there, Mrs.Brown would change back into her disguise,and making sure that no one was watching,she would leave the car and make her way toPiminy Street Mr Brown would drivearound for a bit, and then return to the same

quiet corner and wait for Mrs Brown toleave the meeting.

"I'll remove my disguise in the car," saidMrs Brown, who was getting quite excited,

"and we'll drive back to Filbert Street, justlike an ordinary couple who've been to themovies."

"Maybe Ben could sleep over at my house,"Charlie suggested

"Excellent," said Mr Brown "We'll leaveRunner Bean to guard the house."

Runner Bean pricked up his ears, but didn'tappear to object

Mr Brown printed out an exact replica of theinvitation card Charlie had described, and athalf past five,

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Charlie and Benjamin wished Mrs Browngood luck and walked over to number nine