Midnight for Charlie Bone (Children Of The Red King, Book 1) (20 page)

            "No," said Charlie.

            Grandma Bone banged her fist on the table. This was followed by several seconds of deadly silence. Charlie thought it was about time he left. He pushed back his chair and stood up.

            "Wait!" said Aunt Venetia. "I've got a present for you, Charlie." She bent down and pulled something out of the large bag at her side. "Here you are."

            A brown paper parcel came sliding across the polished table. Charlie stared at it. "What is it?" he asked.

            "Open up!" Aunt Venetia winked at him.

            Charlie swallowed. It had to be something nasty He pulled at the string and the paper fell open, revealing a folded blue cape.

            “A cape," said Charlie. "But I've got one."

            "A dreadful ratty thing," said Grandma Bone. "Dr. Bloor said you were to have a new one, and Aunt Venetia has kindly made one for you."

            "She's very good with her hands," said Aunt Lucretia. AuntVenetia's smile was so wide, Charlie could see the lipstick that had come off on her teeth.

            "Thank you," he said uncertainly.

            “A pleasure." Aunt Venetia waved him away. “You can go now, Charlie." Charlie left, clutching his new cape. He ran upstairs and found that the ratty blue cape had been removed from his closet. He examined Aunt Venetia's gift, but there seemed to be nothing wrong or different about it. Charlie mentioned the cape to his mother when she came to help him pack his bag.

            "It's very kind of Aunt Venetia," she said thoughtfully, "but not at all like her. I've never known her to give anyone a present, even at Christmas."

            "Perhaps they don't want to be ashamed of me,"

            said Charlie, "seeing as Aunt Lucretia's a matron at the academy."

            "That must be it," said his mother. "The Yewbeams are a proud family." But Charlie couldn't help wondering.

CHAPTER 19

INTO THE RUIN

            When Charlie got to the academy the next morning, he noticed that there was a buzz of excitement in the hall. Children were finding it very hard not to talk, they kept nudging one another and pointing to the long table that had been placed against one of the paneled walls. It was covered with small glass lanterns.

            "It's the ruin game tonight," Fidelio told Charlie. They had reached the coatroom, which was full of chattering children.

            "What happens?" asked Charlie, thinking of the girl who never came out.

            "I don't know how to play it."

            "It's not really a game," said Fidelio. "It's more of a hunt. At the center of the ruin a medal has been hidden. The winner has to find the medal and get out of the ruin before an hour has passed. Each department takes it in turn. Tonight it's drama, tomorrow it'll be art, and it's us on Wednesday It's not easy Last year no one found the medal, and the year before someone found it, but it took them three hours to get out, so it didn't count."

            "Is it worth it?" asked Charlie. "It's just a medal."

            "The winner gets a whole year free of detention - unless they do something really bad. They also get days off, and free stuff like new instruments, or paint boxes or dressing-up clothes. Plus, it just makes you feel good."

            "Oh." Charlie had a sinking feeling. He told himself he was silly There would be a hundred children in the ruin. How could anyone get lost? And yet people had disappeared in there. And someone could turn into a wild beast and go in to find prey.

            "Don't look so grim, Charlie," said Fidelio. "Tonight, we'll watch from the gallery in the art department. It overlooks the garden. You'll enjoy it, I promise you."

            After supper that night, the children from the drama department filed into the hall and collected their lanterns. The gallery overlooking the garden began to fill up with spectators as, one by one, the children with purple capes emerged into the garden. Charlie was glad that Olivia had decided to wear sensible shoes-the sort of shoes she could run in, if anything chased her.

            The single file of flickering lanterns moved across the grass like a long glittering snake. And then, gradually the head of the snake began to disappear, as children were swallowed by the dark walls of the ruin.

            "Now what?" said Charlie breathlessly.

            "We wait," said Fidelio.

            They didn't have to wait long. Some of the younger children began to run out of the ruin very soon after going in. They were either scared of the dark or of getting lost. Their names were ticked off as they ran back into the hall. Lanterns were nervously returned and sheepish children went eagerly to bed.

            Olivia was one of the last to come back. Fidelio and Charlie were waiting on the stairs that led to her dormitory.

            "I didn't like it out there tonight," she said. "There was something behind those walls that gave me the creeps. I kept seeing this shadow - it was there one minute and then it was gone."

            "What sort of shadow?" asked Fidelio.

            “An animal," said Olivia. "Maybe a dog -I don't know I didn't get to the center, no one did."

            "Well, I'm glad you got out," said Charlie, glancing at Olivia's sensible shoes.

            "I kept close to Bindi," said Olivia. "I feel safe with her because she's endowed. Manfred gave me such a nasty look when he was handing out the lanterns, I thought I'd had it."

            "Not you, Olivia," said Charlie.

            The next night it was the art department's turn to play the ruin game. Fidelio and Charlie were joined by Olivia in the gallery Charlie was relieved to know that Emma Tolly wouldn't be among the medal hunters. He wondered if she was still with Miss Ingledew If his uncle had anything to do with it, she would be. Uncle Paton was a very powerful person, in his way.

            Nothing eventful happened in the second ruin game. No one found the medal. And everyone came out safely.

            And then it was Wednesday night. As the line of children in blue collected their lanterns, an icy wind swept across the hall. It was going to be freezing outside and Charlie was glad of his warm cape. This time it was Dr. Bloor himself who stood by the table, handing out the lanterns. He gave Charlie a grim nod as their hands touched, and with sudden insight, Charlie guessed that it wasn't Dr. Bloor he had to fear. In fact, the big man seemed almost wary of him. The door into the garden was opened and the first children stepped out into the night. There was no moon or even any stars, and they looked up into a sky that was entirely black. The ground, however, had a pale glow, and lifting his lantern Charlie saw that snow had settled and frozen into a thin crust. It crunched beneath their feet like broken glass.

            "I'm right behind you, Charlie," Fidelio whispered. "Keep going." Charlie turned and saw Fidelio's cheerful face illumined in the lantern light.

            "Good luck!" Charlie whispered. "Hope you find the medal."

            "Silence," said a stern voice. "Talking or whispering will be punished." They had reached the entrance of the ruin. Manfred stood to one side, ticking off names on a long scroll as children passed him. Above his head swung a large lantern, and Charlie saw that Zelda Dobinski was standing behind Manfred, holding the pole that supported the lantern. She gave Charlie a chilly stare as he stepped through the stone arch. He found himself in a paved courtyard surrounded by tall, thick hedges. Facing him were five stone arches, separated by four stone seats. Fidelio nudged Charlie and nodded to the middle arch. They set off. At first it appeared that they were the only ones to have chosen the middle arch, but gradually they began to find little groups of children, hurrying across their path or scurrying beside them. Some of the children were even running in the opposite direction.

            "Do you think we're going the right way?" Charlie whispered.

            "Who knows?" replied Fidelio.

            They turned a sharp corner and made their way through a passage so narrow that the walls brushed their elbows as they passed. Now and again they would emerge into a glade where a fountain splashed into an icy pool. A great stone fish was Charlie's favorite and Fidelio had to pull at his cape to get him away from it. Sometimes they would stumble against a crumbling statue or a mildewed urn, and as time went on, a deep silence began to fall about them. They could no longer hear the swish and patter of hurrying feet, or the hushed muttering of other children.

            "How do we know we've reached the center?" Charlie whispered.

            "There's a tomb," said Fidelio. "That's all I know"

            “A tomb? I wonder whose?"

            "Charlie!" Fidelio said out loud. "Stand still. There's something wrong with your cape."

            "What?" Charlie swung around and stared at his cape. It was glowing. Tiny brilliant threads ran everywhere through the fabric, giving it the appearance of a strange, sparkling cloud.

            "My aunt made it," said Charlie. "But why did she do this?"

            "Maybe so someone could follow you in the dark," said Fidelio, "or hunt you."

            Charlie pulled off the cape and flung it to the ground. "Well, they're not going to get me," he declared. "I might freeze to death but I'm not going to be caught."

            "You can share mine if it gets too cold," said Fidelio. The next passage they chose was more like a tunnel. They had to almost bend in half to avoid bumping their heads on the low-beamed ceiling. Charlie began to feel breathless in such a confined space. He hurried forward and emerged into a circular glade. Three statues stood in the center, though by now Charlie could hardly make out what they were. He realized his candle had nearly burned through.

            Expecting his friend to come out of the tunnel behind him, he called, "Hey Fidelio, look at this."

            There was no answer. Charlie peered into the tunnel. There was no light, no Fidelio.

            "Hey come on. Stop fooling around!" Charlie dashed back into the tunnel. With his free hand he groped at the walls and at the dark space in front of him. Had his friend fallen or slipped into another passage?

            "Fidelio! Fidelio!" called Charlie, not caring about punishments. His calls were met by silence. And then his candle went out. Charlie realized that he had known, all along, this would happen. He had broken the rules, like his father before him. He had rescued Emma Tolly and now he was to be punished. But he wasn't going to give in without a fight. Flinging down his useless lantern, Charlie began to feel his way back through the tunnel. At some stage it must have branched off into another open passage because he could smell fresh air again, though it wasn't exactly fresh, but more a mixture of leaf-mold and damp stone. Turning a sharp corner, he caught sight of a light and, hardly able to believe his luck, he ran toward it. The lantern was standing on a great stone tomb.

            Someone bobbed up from behind it, and Charlie saw Billy Raven's white head. The round frames in his spectacles glowed like tiny moons.

            "I found it," cried Billy He held up a shiny gold disk on a chain.

            "Well done," said Charlie. "I've lost my lantern, Billy. “Can I come with you?"

            "It's mine," said Billy He grabbed his lantern and leaped away.

            "It's OK. I won't take it, Billy!"

            Charlie watched the light bob away from him, and then it vanished. He had no idea which way Billy had gone. It was impossible to guess. There wasn't even a sound to guide him.

            And then there was a sound, the soft tread of hurrying feet, four of them. And there was the low breath of a panting animal. Charlie leaped forward. Stumbling and reeling he ran from the soft footfalls and the sour smell of a beast.

            Fidelio had given up looking for Charlie. He thought perhaps his friend had found his way out of the ruin already Something strange had happened in that narrow tunnel. He'd been pushed through a gap into another passage, but he couldn't see who had pushed him. He asked several children if they'd seen Charlie. They hadn't. "Billy Raven found the medal," someone said. Hmm, thought Fidelio. I wonder how?

            He seemed to be the last one to leave the ruin. "Has Charlie Bone come out?" he asked Manfred, who was now crossing names off the scroll.

            “Ages ago," said Manfred.

            “Are you sure?"

            "Of course I'm sure," Manfred snarled.

            Fidelio ran indoors. He asked everyone he met if they'd seen Charlie Bone. Everyone who knew Charlie by sight swore they hadn't seen him.

            "What's up?" asked Olivia when she saw Fidelio's grim expression.

            "Charlie's still in the ruin," he told her.

            "No. But it's been ages. They said everyone was out."

            "Not true," said Fidelio. He ran up to the dormitory Billy Raven was sitting on his bed. Several boys stood around him, admiring the medal that hung from a chain around his neck.

            "Have you seen Charlie Bone?" Fidelio asked them.

            "No," they all replied.

            Billy Raven just shook his head.

            "Congratulations," said Fidelio. "I see that you won." He sank onto his bed. He didn't know what to do.

            Half an hour later, a voice called, "Lights out in five minutes." Fidelio dashed into the passage. "Matron," he said. "Charlie Bone hasn't come in."

            The tall woman in her starched blue uniform didn't even turn around. "Oh dear," she said and marched on.

            Fidelio clutched his hair. "Don't you care?" he shouted. She ignored him. "You're late," she said as Gabriel Silk came hurrying down the passage.

            "Sorry Matron," he muttered. "I ask you," he said to Fidelio, "even after tramping around that dingy ruin for hours, they made me finish my homework." He noticed Fidelio's distraught face.

            "What's going on?"

            "Charlie's still in the ruin," Fidelio told him.

            "What?" A change came over Gabriel Silk. There was a determined glint in his gray eyes, and he appeared taller and more upright than before.

            "We'll see about that," he said gravely and he began to march back down the passage.

            Fidelio followed, wondering what Gabriel was going to do. At the top of the stairs Gabriel turned and said, "Fidelio, go back to the dormitory You can't help now"

            "I want to come with you," said Fidelio. "Charlie's my friend."

            "No," said Gabriel solemnly. “It's not your place. It would be dangerous. You must leave it to us."

            Gabriel seemed to have acquired a very compelling stare. Fidelio stepped back. "Who do you mean by 'us'?" he asked.

            "The children of the Red King," said Gabriel, and he ran down the stairs.