Charlie Bone and the Beast (The Children of the Red King, Book 6) Part 4 pps

"All the same." Mrs. Kettle drained her cup. The tea didn't appear to have had a bouncy effect on her at all. In fact, she looked quite dejected. "Cook's such a good friend," she re- peated, shaking her head. To cheer her up, Benjamin asked if she had any electric kettles. Mrs. Kettle looked quite indignant. "Do you call them kettles? I certainly don't. A kettle boils when a hot stove tells it to, not when a button is pressed." Benjamin gave an apologetic smile. "Sorry." Charlie decided it was time to leave. They had come for Rembrandt and they had got him. He stood up and thanked Mrs. Kettle for the tea. "You're very welcome, Charlie Bone," said Mrs. Kettle. "You'll come again, won't you?" Charlie said, "Yes, of course." 154/506 Mrs. Kettle led the way back into the shop but, just as he was about to pass through the archway, Charlie stopped. He felt something to the left of him, tugging in an extraordinary way. He had to steady himself against the wall, and an odd tickle in his 115 throat made him cough. He turned his head, very slowly, and saw on a round shadowy table, a dark, lumpish thing. Looking closer, he saw that it was an ancient kettle, blackened by smoke. "I told you my best kettle was behind the scenes," Mrs. Kettle said softly. "THAT'S your best kettle?" Charlie moved closer to the blackened thing. "Oh, yes, by far." Mrs. Kettle spoke so quietly Charlie could barely hear her, and yet he sensed her excitement. "It was made by my ancestor Feromel more than five hundred 155/506 years ago. Feromel was a blacksmith and a magician. He made many magical iron pots. Goodness knows where they are now." She came and stood directly behind Charlie. "You're a traveler, aren't you, Charlie? I wondered if you would feel it." "Feel it?" Charlie ran his hand over the charred, rusty-looking handle. The lid had a round polished knob in the center. Charlie gently lifted it. He gazed into a circle of dark liquid. "It's full," he said. 116 "It's always full," said Mrs. Kettle. "Always. It can't be emptied. It can only boil dry. But the day when that happens will be the end " Billy crept up to them. "The end of what?" "The world?" Charlie's gaze was held by the smooth black water. "The end of a life," said Mrs. Kettle. "Put the lid back, Charlie, and take it with you." 156/506 "Me?" Charlie quickly replaced the lid. "It's yours, Mrs. Kettle. I can't take it." "Just for a while," she said gently. You must, Charlie. Feromel would want you to." "But why?" Charlie stared at the round, black thing, his hands at his sides, his fingers twitching anxiously. He didn't want the an- cient kettle with its ability to foretell a death. How many lives had been lost, he wondered, while it boiled away, merrily, in dark, smokey places, poisoning the air with its sin- ister steam. "It's not a bad thing, Charlie." Mrs. Kettle lif- ted her 117 precious heirloom and held it out to Charlie. And then his tingling fingers had closed around the handle. "I hope it will never boil dry for you, Charlie," said Mrs. Kettle. "These are 157/506 dangerous times for people like you, espe- cially with that fish boy around, so it's bound to get warm. It has no need of a stove. It will sit wherever you want. If there is a hint of danger in the air it will heat up. The hotter it gets, the more you will need to look out for yourself." She smiled at everyone. "Now get along with you, my dears. And I'll keep an eye on the fish shop." They thanked Mrs. Kettle for the tea and, a few moments later, Charlie found himself walking down Piminy Street with a black kettle swinging from his hand. At the end of the street, they turned a corner and ran straight into Emma and Olivia, with two very small children. "Oh, no, not Charlie Bone," said Olivia, and she ran off in the direction of High Street. 118 A STONE TROLL 158/506 lilivia was starting to annoy Charlie. "Why did she flounce off like that?" he said. Emma gave him a sulky look. "Why do you think?" Charlie was exasperated. "She can't believe I said those things about her. Dagbert made it up. He lied. YOU didn't believe him, did you, Emma?" "Well ," she said awkwardly. "I always be- lieve it when people say I don't look nice, or I'm stupid, or " "You shouldn't, you stu -" Charlie stopped himself. "I mean you mustn't." "Dagbert lies all the time," said Billy. "He called Billy a freak," added Benjamin. "And Billy wasn't upset," said Charlie. "I was," muttered Billy. Charlie pretended he hadn't heard. "And I really like the way you're doing your hair, Em." 159/506 119 Emma looked more cheerful. She almost smiled. "I'll explain it all to Liv. She's very sensitive about her appearance. But, to tell the truth, I think she enjoys a bit of drama. She'll soon get bored with being angry, and then she'll act like it never happened." "I hope it's soon," said Charlie. The small boy by Emma's side had been star- ing at the black kettle. He suddenly said, "What's that?" "This?" Charlie swung the kettle self-con- sciously. "It's just an old kettle I'm borrowing." "Very, very, very old," the boy observed. Emma cried, "I'm sorry, I forgot! These are your cousins, Charlie." "You mean Great-aunt Venetia's children?" Charlie began to take an interest in the 160/506 waiflike pair. "I'm Charlie." He grinned at them. "So - my great-aunt is your new mother." "We know," said the girl. "I'm Miranda and this is Eric. We're going to get our dog." "You wouldn't come with us, would you, Charlie?" Emma smiled persuasively. "I don't like Darkly Wynd, 120 and now Olivia's gone " She hugged herself and shivered. "Of course we'll come," said Charlie. Darkly Wynd was not the sort of place people liked to visit on their own. A dark, narrow al- ley led into a courtyard where tall, gray buildings gathered around a square of rough cobblestones. Most of the houses were boarded up, their doors nailed shut and their windows barred. 161/506 At the end of the courtyard a block of build- ings stood facing the alley. They had tall pointed turrets, iron-framed balconies, and long windows, their pediments adorned with strange stone figures: trolls, goblins, dwarves, demons, and unlikely beasts. Aunt Venetia's house, on the right, had a shiny new roof; it looked a lot cleaner than Aunt Eustacia's house, in the middle, or Lucretia's, on the left. "Great-aunt Venetia's had her house done up," Charlie remarked. "It looked awful after the fire." "Fire?" Miranda's small face puckered with fear. "How did it happen?" 121 "Oh, er, just an accident," Charlie replied evasively. Emma gave him a look that said "thank you for not going into detail." 162/506 Three sets of steps led up to three black doors, and a number thirteen, in polished bronze, was fixed to the center of each door. "Three thirteens," Billy whispered. (It was the sort of place that made you speak very softly.) "Doesn't the mailman get confused?" "Probably," said Charlie. A sudden, frantic whining came from inside the third number thirteen, and Miranda cried, "It's Chattypatra! You can hear her." They ran across the courtyard and stopped at the foot of the steps. Runner Bean began to bark excitedly. His tail wagged so fast you could hardly see it. "Your uncle said the key was under the troll," Emma told Charlie. "What troll?" And then Charlie saw it. A squat, evil-looking lump of stone standing in a dark corner of the porch. 122 163/506 [...]... very cozy scene, with the warm 1 34 stove humming quietly in the background and the candle flames bathing the room in a comforting glow And then Charlie had to go and close the curtains, and the safe, snug mood was banished in an instant for, staring up at the window, were two faces; their pale, yellowish eyes had an animal gleam, and their low brows were covered in tufts of hair Charlie screamed 180/506... get back at them Benjamin already had indigestion It was the only drawback to visiting Charlie, the gut-churning scenes with Grandma Bone 131 The rest of the meal passed very pleasantly By the time they'd reached the plum pudding, Charlie had told his uncle all about the visit to Mrs Kettle and the rescue of Chattypatra "Let's have a look at this kettle," said Uncle Paton, when the last bit of plum pudding... perhaps it was the cool look in Eric's eyes and the way the small boy kept glancing at the kettle "Here!" Emma passed the kettle back to Charlie 125 "That has to be the weirdest kettle ever It's gone cold now." 168/506 Charlie' s fingers closed over the freezing handle He didn't mention the kettle's strange history The two groups of children parted when they reached High Street Charlie, Benjamin, and Billy... rather proud of myself." Grandma Bone' s face softened a little School work was a priority in her book She wasn't 173/506 entirely put off the scent, though "Why did you say it was nothing if it's for school?" Charlie was stumped He looked at Billy and Benjamin, hoping for assistance They stared back, in helpless silence Charlie was saved by Runner Bean The big dog hated Grandma Bone The very smell of. .. increased their pace 135 "Oh, no, you don't!" Charlie reached the door just in time to see his uncle leap down the steps and pursue the strangers At this moment, they dropped on 181/506 all fours and put on a tremendous burst of speed But Uncle Paton's legs were the longest in the city In three bounds he had caught up with them "Gotcha!" he cried, grabbing one of the strangers by the scruff of the neck Charlie. .. lucky to survive The front door slammed, and heavy footsteps could be heard marching across the tiled hall Charlie- tried to move the kettle farther under the table with his foot But he was too late The next minute the door flew open and Grandma Bone stood there glaring at them Her eyes immediately fell on the black kettle 172/506 It was uncanny how she always noticed the things that Charlie didn't want... think." Charlie stared at the troll "What's there to think about? The key's under the troll." Emma began to mount the steps "No, Em." Charlie grabbed her arm "Take this." He handed her the kettle "Wow, it's heavy." She touched the blackened side "And it's warm." 165/506 "I know." Charlie had noticed the kettle getting warmer Did it have something to do with Great-aunt Venetia's house? He climbed the steps... thought of the two small children in Darkly Wynd He hoped Chattypatra would be allowed to sleep with them Charlie watched Benjamin go through his front door and turned to climb the steps of number nine A movement down the street caught his eye Something bobbed behind a tree, a low, shapeless thing He quickly stepped inside and closed the door It was time for candles Maisie switched off the kitchen lamp and. .. turned to the group behind him, all looking up expectantly, except for Eric who was gazing at the troll with an odd, distant expression Charlie took a breath, bent down very quickly, and pushed the troll backward And 166/506 there was Great-aunt Venetia's front door key He picked it up and flourished it at the others Everyone cried, "Hooray!" and rushed up the steps Charlie fitted the key into the lock,... turned it, and the door swung open without so much as a squeak, let alone the sinister creak that he expected A small, white dog shot out of the house and leaped into Miranda's arms 1 24 "Oh, Chatty, Chatty!" Miranda's eyes were in danger of overflowing Eric merely smiled in an offhand way Runner Bean was beside himself with joy He tore away from Benjamin and leaped at Miranda, nuzzling the dog in her . his hand. At the end of the street, they turned a corner and ran straight into Emma and Olivia, with two very small children. "Oh, no, not Charlie Bone, " said Olivia, and she ran off. rough cobblestones. Most of the houses were boarded up, their doors nailed shut and their windows barred. 161/506 At the end of the courtyard a block of build- ings stood facing the alley. They had tall pointed. climbed the steps while the others remained on the sidewalk, watching him silently. 123 He bent toward the troll and stopped. The troll had blinked. Could it have been a trick of the light? Charlie& apos;s