Charlie Bone and the Beast (The Children of the Red King, Book 6) Part 1 doc

Charlie is often afraid ofthe Bloors and their allies, but, so far, he hasresisted all their attempts to crush him, forhe has friends among the descendants of theRed King, friends who us

Charlie Bone and the Beast

(The Children of the Red King, Book 6)

manfred bloor Teaching assistant at Bloor'sAcademy A hypnotist He is descended fromBorlath, elder son of the Red King Borlathwas a brutal and sadistic tyrant

naren bloor Adopted daughter ofBartholomew

Bloor Naren can send shadow words overgreat distances She is descended from theRed King's grandson who was abducted bypirates and taken to China.

charlie bone Charlie can travel into graphs and

photo-pictures Through his father, he is descendedfrom the Red King and through his mother,from Mathonwy, a Welsh magician andfriend of the Red King

idith and Telekinetic twins, distantly related

to Zelda

INEZ BRANKO

Dobinski, who has left Bloor's Academy

ix dagbert endlessDagbert is the son of LordGrimwald,

who can control the oceans His mother

4took the gold from drowned men's

teeth and made them into charms to

protect her son Dagbert is a drowner

dorcas loomAn endowed girl whose gift isthe ability

billy ravenBilly can communicate withanimals

One of his ancestors conversed with ravensthat sat on a gallows where dead men hung.For this talent he was banished from hisvillage

lysander sageDescended from an Africanwise man,

Lysander can call up his spirit ancestors.Gabriel silkGabriel can feel scenes andemotions

x through the clothes of others He comesfrom a line of psychics

joshua tilpinJoshua has magnetism He isdescended

from Lilith, the Red King's oldest daughter,and Harken, the evil enchanter who marriedher

EMMAtollyEmma can fly Her surnamederives

from the Spanish swordsman from Toledowhose daughter married the Red King Theswordsman is therefore an ancestor of all theendowed children

tancred torssonA storm-bringer His inavian ancestor was named after the thun-der god, Thor Tancred can bring wind, thun-der, and lightning

Scand-Olivia vertigoDescended from Guanhamara,who fled the Red King's castle and married

an Italian prince Olivia is an illusionist TheBloors are unaware of her endowment

xi PROLOGUE

Charlie Bone lives in a city that holds manysecrets They are hidden in the walls andburied under centuries of dust

The city began nine hundred years ago with acastle It was built by Charlie's ancestor, theRed King, so-called because of his red cloakand the burning sun emblazoned on hisshield The Red King was African; he wasalso a magician

When the king's beloved queen, Berenice,died, he went to grieve in the forest He be-lieved that his ten children were safe in thehands of wise councillors and kind nurses.Besides, each child had been endowed with

an extraordinary power

At that time, the country was a violent andlawless place; murder and robbery were rife.

On his way home, the king found that hisconsiderable powers were needed to help thepoor and oppressed

xii He donned a suit of chain mail and a met with a plume of red feathers Then, con-juring up an invincible sword, he rode out todefend the troubled and helpless people.For five years the Red King fought tyrants,murderers, and plundering nobles When hefinally returned to his castle, he found thatfive of his children were gone and the otherfive were using their endowments to wreakhavoc on the surrounding countryside It wasthese children and their heirs who began thecity's history of dreadful magic and wicked-ness Unable to fight his own children, thebrokenhearted king left his castle forever

hel-Charlie's grandmother and her three sistersall have a part in the evil While Lyell Bonewas spellbound they sent Charlie to Bloor'sAcademy a school run by a family with an es-pecially violent past Charlie is often afraid ofthe Bloors and their allies, but, so far, he hasresisted all their attempts to crush him, for

he has friends among the descendants of theRed King, friends who use their unusual en-dowments to help him

xiii With his own talent for traveling into thepast through pictures, Charlie is beginning tolearn the city's secrets It is a dangerous pur-suit, but Charlie has his friends to supporthim and a firm trust in the enduring power

of the Red King

xiv

1

NOT-QUITE-HUMANS

You might think it was rather careless ofCharlie Bone to lose his father a second time,especially when he had only just found him.They had been apart for ten long years, spell-bound years for Lyell Bone, a time spent indeep forgetfulness, when he could remembernothing of his past or even recall his name.This time, at least Charlie knew where hisfather had gone He was taking Charlie'smother on a second honeymoon What could

be better than to get away from cold, darkFebruary days, to watch whales and dolphinsroll through a sunlit sea? They had askedCharlie to join them, of course, but he hadpolitely declined His parents needed to bealone and, besides, there were things that hehad to attend to at home A few mysteries toclear up

At that moment Charlie was standing by thegate of the house where he was born It was

an old, redbrick building, with a steep slateroof and four steps

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up to a blue front door Charlie and hismother had left the house when he was two,and he couldn't remember it at all Even thename was unfamiliar to him: DiamondCorner - it stood on the corner of DiamondStreet and Lyme Avenue

Charlie was twelve now, a boy of mediumheight with dark, unruly hair and walnutbrown eyes A boy who was ordinary in everyway except one: He was a picture-traveler, atalent he had inherited from the legendaryRed King

Beside Charlie stood a very tall man withstrong, finely chiseled features and straightblack hair that almost touched his shoulders

He wore a long, dark coat and the brim of hisblack hat had been pulled down, as if to

shade his eyes, though there was not theslightest glimmer of sunlight on this murkySunday afternoon.

"Needs a lot of repair," the man remarked,looking at the dark holes where slates hadfallen from the roof

"You won't have to wait long," said his uncle

"They're starting work next week, builders,painters, plumbers, and roofers."

"Let's have a look." Charlie opened the gateand walked up the overgrown path His unclefollowed, jangling a bunch of keys As theydrew closer they noticed a light in one of thelower windows

"Someone's in there." Charlie ran up to thedoor His uncle, only a pace behind, leaped

up the steps and fitted one of his keys intothe lock The blue door swung open andCharlie stepped inside

A stale, mildewy smell filled the hallway Thefloorboards were damp and dusty, and strips

of ragged wallpaper hung from the stained walls Charlie trod as lightly as hecould, but the bare boards creaked withevery step he took He quickly opened a door

dark-to his left and looked indark-to the room where hehad seen the light It was empty Uncle Patonnodded at a

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half-open door on the other side of the room

"The kitchen," he whispered

A shuffling sound could be heard It was ficult to make out where it came from.Charlie sprang across the room, his uncle's

dif-heavy footsteps pounding after him But thekitchen too was empty A sharp bang sentCharlie bounding through the kitchen andinto the hallway The back door swung open,hitting the wall behind it with another loudbang A blast of cold air hit Charlie as hesquinted outside He was just in time to seetwo figures slip through a broken fence at theend of the yard.

"Hey!" cried Charlie, running through a sea

of long, dried grass and weeds When hereached the fence he peered into the narrowgap But the intruders had vanished

"Could have been tramps." Uncle Patonkicked at a pile of newspapers in a corner

"Let's go, Charlie."

"Can't I go upstairs?" begged Charlie "I want

to see if I can remember the room where Islept."

"Go on, then." Uncle Paton followed Charlieup

5

the stairs When he reached the top, Charliestood and stared at the two doors in front ofhim There were two more leading off a hall

to his left, and another on his right He chosethis last one

"You did remember, Charlie!"

"I just guessed," said Charlie He pushedopen the door "OH!"

It was impossible to move any farther intothe room Every floorboard had been lifted.Some stood against the walls, others layscattered on the narrow planks that suppor-ted the floor

"How very odd!" Uncle Paton peered overCharlie's

shoulder "I didn't know the builders hadstarted

"I don't like to think of strangers coming inand trashing my old home," said Charlie.

As they went downstairs they kept an eyeopen for any sign that the boards might have

been pulled up And this time they noticedthe splintered wood, the nails that had beenunscrewed, and the slight wobble in thebanisters.

"It might be a good idea to change the locks,"said Uncle Paton, when they were standing

in the street again "I'll tell the agents."

They began the walk home to number nineFilbert Street Uncle Paton was thinkingabout the intruders and failed to notice thatthe streetlights had come on Before Charliehad time to warn him, his uncle carelesslyglanced upward and the light over his headgave a loud pop and exploded

Uncle Paton ducked as a shower of glassrained down on his head "Bother! Bother!Bother!" he cried

Paton Yewbeam, another of the Red King's7

descendants, had inherited an unfortunateendowment If he so much as glanced at alight that was on, whether it was in a win-dow, a building, on the street, or at home,the element would reach such intense heatthat the bulb inevitably exploded So Patonrarely left home in the daytime Trafficlights, brake lights, and shop windows wereall at risk from his unhappy talent And hefound it very embarrassing.

This time Uncle Paton's accident had vealed something In the bright flash thatmomentarily filled the street, two figurescould be seen cowering beside a hedge Themoment lasted less than a second but theirfaces were printed sharply in Charlie's mind.They looked not quite human

re-Charlie had blinked against the shower ofglass that fell onto his uncle When he

opened his eyes again, the figures hadvanished.

"Come on, Charlie, let's get out of here beforesomeone sees us." Uncle Paton took Charlie'sarm and pulled him away from the scene ofhis crime

"Someone did see us, Uncle P.," said Charlie

"I

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think it might have been THEM You know,the intruders But they weren't exactlypeople If you know what I mean."

"I do not." Uncle Paton gripped Charlie eventighter "Quick, quick! Over here."

Charlie found himself being dragged acrossthe street A fast approaching car gave awarning hoot, and Uncle Paton hauled himonto the sidewalk

"What did you say about not-exactlypeople?" Uncle Paton tugged the brim of hishat Now even his nose was hidden.

"They were weird, Uncle P.," Charlie panted

"I can't explain."

"Try," commanded his uncle "I want toknow what kind of creatures we're upagainst."

Uncle Paton set off again at his usual neck speed Charlie had to make little skip-ping movements in order to keep up withhim "It's not fair," Charlie complained

break-"Your legs are twice as long as mine."

"I want to put distance between myself andthe streetlight," Uncle Paton snapped Heturned a corner

9

and slowed his pace "Now, try again Whatmade these things inhuman, Charlie?"

"They were a bit hairy for one thing," saidCharlie "And their eyes - their eyes, well, Ithink they were too far apart for a human,they were more like dogs - or, or -"

"Wolves?" his uncle suggested

"Maybe," Charlie said cautiously "If wolveshave yellow eyes."

"Hmmm Why do I think that the Bloorshave something to do with this? Tell me, didyour father mention anything that he mighthave left at the old house?"

"Nothing," said Charlie "But then there were

so many things that he'd forgotten." Hesmiled to himself It was enough that hisfather had remembered his mother and him-self "His memory is coming back, though.Every day something new pops into his head.Maybe when he comes home again he'll becompletely recovered."

"And that's what they're afraid of." UnclePaton came to a standstill.

10

"Who? What?" asked Charlie

"Listen, Charlie We believe that ManfredBloor hypnotized your father because hecaused old Ezekiel's accident But I havecome to believe that there was more to it Ibelieve your father was hiding somethingthat the Bloors wanted Perhaps they hopedthat under hypnosis he would reveal its hid-ing place But this never happened And nowthey're afraid that he will remember and findwhatever it is before they do."

Charlie couldn't imagine what had led hisuncle to his conclusion But Paton Yewbeamhad an inquiring mind He was writing a his-tory of the Red King, and his room wascrammed with huge books that covered every

subject Charlie had heard of, and a lot morethat he hadn't.

Diamond Street lay on the outskirts of thecity, and it took Charlie and his uncle nearly

an hour to get home By that time dusk hadfallen and a thick mist was creeping throughthe streets Curiously it

"Back?" said Paton loudly "Why on earth "

"Shhh!" Maisie put a finger to her lips

"Come in here."

Charlie and his uncle followed Maisie intothe kitchen The table had been set, and

while Maisie ladled mushroom soup intothree bowls, she told them about GrandmaBone's dramatic arrival.

Grandma Bone was Paton's sister She wastwenty years older than he, and they'd nevergotten along She didn't even get along withher only son, Charlie's father As soon as he'dcome home after ten long years imprisoned

in Bloor's Academy, Grandma Bone hadmoved out She'd gone to live with her threesisters at the end of a grim and gloomy alleycalled Darkly Wynd

were sorry, she said I am, I said I thoughtyou'd gone for good "

Charlie began to giggle Paton asked, "Butwhat is her reason, Maisie? Why has shereturned?"

"A wedding!" said Maisie

"Whose?" begged Paton

"Your youngest sister, Venetia She's gettingmarried next week."

Charlie choked on his soup "Great-auntVenetia? Who on earth would want to marryher?"

"Who indeed, Charlie love," said Maisie "Butsome poor man is soon going to rue the day."

"How extraordinary." Paton stared at Maisie

in disbelief

"Grandma Bone is very put out," Maisie went

on, "but her sisters are all for it apparently."13

"Phew." Paton blew on his soup, whichcouldn't have been that hot because he'dalready swallowed several spoonfuls without

a murmur He was trying not to show it, butanyone could see that he was utterly baffledand extremely shocked

Uncle Paton's four sisters were each as bad

as the other They loathed their only brotherand spent their lives tormenting him just be-cause he didn't agree with their morals andmade very sure they knew it All four of themwere mean, spiteful, arrogant, dishonest, andgreedy In fact, Charlie couldn't find enoughwords to describe how horrible they were.None of them had ever given Charlie a kindword, let alone a birthday present, not evenGrandma Bone

Maisie had saved the best part of her nouncement till last "The worst of it is, he's