Charlie Bone And The Red Knight (Children Of The Red King, Book 8) (14 page)

Charlie stepped away from the Sea Globe. Now he could see Lord Grimwald's face. It was gray with fury and terror. He lurched from side to side, his arms outstretched protectively, as he backed toward his precious globe.

The lines of warriors began to advance. Closer and closer to the globe. Charlie could feel the heat of their torches. Clouds of steam rose from the globe, and the spirits moved closer still. For a moment Charlie panicked. He didn't know where to go. They were almost upon him, their dark, impassive faces only inches away. And then they were flowing around either side of him, and he could taste the fire and smell the pungent scent of their robes.

They encircled the globe. Closer and closer. Their ranks were four men deep now as the circle became small. And still Lysander whirled, and still the drums beat.

Charlie could no longer see Lord Grimwald. He was trapped in the circle of warriors. They were so densely packed, their torches had become a ring of fire. There was a sudden, awful scream as the Lord of the Oceans was forced into the very seas that he had used to drown so many.

The scream became a gurgle, the gurgle a desperate thrashing, as the Sea Globe churned and boiled and swallowed its master.

Above the rows of spears and torches, Charlie could see the top of the globe. The blue water had turned a dull gray; it was now more steam than water. The patches of brown land were cracking and shrinking. Slowly the globe began to sink. Charlie dropped to his knees, desperate to see what became of it. Through the lines of white robes he glimpsed steaming oceans and scorching land. The Sea Globe was dwindling, sinking, and boiling away.

Minutes after Lord Grimwald's scream, the spirit ancestors still held their lines, and then, slowly, they began to move back. Once more Charlie felt them drift past him. The flames of their long torches were dying now, their white robes fading into clouds of steam. Charlie couldn't say when the drums stopped or when the warriors vanished, because he was staring at the Sea Globe, or rather at the space it had occupied. There was nothing there -- except...

A small glass sphere, slightly larger than a tennis ball, rocked gently to and fro in a pool of water. Dagbert lay beside it.

Charlie felt a hand on his shoulder and he looked up into Lysander's grave face. "You finished it," Charlie said, hardly able to believe what he had seen.

"There was no other way," said Lysander. He nodded at Dagbert. "But perhaps it was too late for him."

Charlie got up and ran over to Dagbert. His face looked utterly lifeless. And then, suddenly, his eyelids fluttered and his strange arctic eyes stared up at Charlie. "Am I alive?" he croaked.

"YOU are," Charlie said, helping Dagbert to his feet. He pressed the golden fish into his palm and then, seeing the crabs and the sea urchin floating at the edge of the pool, he scooped them up and gave them to Dagbert, saying, "You're safe now."

Dagbert thrust them into his pocket and then stood swaying slightly as he gazed around the ballroom. "Where is it?" he said, turning a full circle and looking down at the water around his feet. "Where's the Sea Globe?"

Lysander picked up the small blue-green sphere. He shook it free of water and handed it to Dagbert. "I think you'll find that this is it," he said.

Dagbert looked utterly bemused. He stared at the tiny globe and then at Lysander. "How did it... ?" he breathed, and then, "Where's my father?"

"The globe swallowed him," said Charlie in a matter-of-fact voice. There didn't seem to be any other way to tell a boy that he was holding his father in his hand.

Dagbert grimaced. "Then he's... ?" He looked at the globe.

"In there," said Charlie.

Dagbert shook the globe and turned it upside down, as though he half expected a tiny version of his father to drop into the puddle. Sparkling sea spray trickled slowly from the top to the bottom, but nothing fell out of the sphere.

"It's quite pretty," Charlie remarked. "Like one of those snowstorms in a glass snow globe."

"A sea storm," Dagbert murmured.

Lysander took Dagbert by the shoulder and nudged him toward the doors. "You can't stay here, Dagbert," he warned. "The Bloors will be furious that Lord Grimwald and his globe have gone. We'll get you out, but then it's up to you."

"Where will I go?" Dagbert asked desperately. "I don't know anyone in the city. I have no family."

Where could Dagbert go? Lysander and Charlie realized that he wouldn't be safe in the fish shop where he stayed on weekends. The Pets' Cafe was closed and he couldn't go to Charlie's house while Grandma Bone was there.

"I know!" cried Charlie. "The Kettle Shop. It's only a few doors up from the fish shop where you've been staying."

Lysander looked doubtful. "It's on Piminy Street, Charlie. A nest of vipers, if I may say so."

"I know, I know, but Mrs. Kettle is very strong," Charlie argued. "She's withstood them all so far. And I can't think of anywhere else right now."

For a moment Lysander looked thoughtful.

He stroked his chin in a manner reminiscent of his father, Judge Sage, when he was passing judgment. But whatever objection had passed through Lysander's mind, he quickly banished it and agreed with Charlie. "Tell her you've come from us," he said. "Show her the globe."

"Tell her..." Charlie hesitated. "Say "Matilda" and she'll know you're with us now."

Lysander gave Charlie a questioning look and Dagbert said, "Who's Matilda?"

"Never mind," said Charlie, going pink. "Just say it."

"OK."

They took Dagbert down the hallway and across to the garden door. There was no one about and they realized that the bell for dinner must have rung. The entire school was in the underground dining hall.

"How shall I get out?" Dagbert looked utterly exhausted. Pale and frightened, he stepped into the garden and looked back at Charlie.

Charlie told him where to climb the wall. He hoped the twisted vines of ivy would still show signs of his own speedy clambering.

"Hurry, Dagbert," urged Lysander.

They watched Dagbert run toward the trees, and then Lysander closed the door.

As they hastened across the main hall, someone came out of the side hall leading to the ballroom.

"Very impressive, Lysander Sage," Manfred said through clenched teeth. His whole frame shook with fury, fury at his own cowardice, for he'd been unable to screw up enough courage to face Lysander's spirit ancestors.

"You're too late," Manfred went on, enraged by Lysander's look of disdain. "Charlie's parents will never come home now." And he gave Charlie a terrible smile.

14

A PERPLEXING POSTCARD

Charlie watched Manfred step back into the side hall and swiftly close the door.

"It can't be true, Sander. Can it?" said Charlie.

Lysander put an arm around his shoulders. "You mustn't let yourself believe it, Charlie. There's no proof. Your parents might have been safe on shore when the storm blew up."

"Yes," said Charlie desperately. His head was spinning. He wanted to run home to Maisie and Uncle Paton. But would they know the truth?

When Lysander steered him down the corridor of portraits, he suddenly remembered the danger they were in. Someone was going to have to pay for the Sea Globe's destruction and the end of Lord Grimwald.

Lysander, sensing what Charlie was thinking, said calmly, "Don't worry. You've done nothing wrong, Charlie. I destroyed the globe, and the Bloors can't touch me. They're too afraid of my ancestors."

No one seemed to notice their late arrival in the dining hall. The staff sat at a table on a raised platform at the end of the hall. From here they could keep an eye on the tables below them. But today they were all too keen on their dinners to notice Lysander and Charlie slip stealthily in.

Charlie quickly cast an eye over the three tables running the length of the hall. On the left, blue-caped music students chattered over their stew. No one looked in his direction until Fidelio gave him a wave. As he made his way over to Fidelio, Charlie noticed Olivia sitting at the center table, with a Branko twin on either side of her. Lysander went to the art table, where Emma was sitting several places away from Dorcas and Joshua, whose left hand was all bandaged up.

"What happened, Charlie?" Fidelio asked in a low voice as Charlie squeezed onto the bench beside him.

"Tell you later," said Charlie, and then whispered into his friend's ear, "Lysander destroyed the Sea Globe -- and Lord Grimwald!"

"WHAT?" Fidelio stared at Charlie in disbelief.

At that moment, Weedon appeared through one of the doors behind the staff table. He moved quickly to Dr. Bloor's side and, bending over his shoulder, said a few words. Dr. Bloor leaped up, pushing over his heavy chair so that it fell on the floor with a loud bang.

The other teachers stared at him, and all the children watched the staff table expectantly. Dr. Bloor rushed out, followed by Weedon. An excited shouting and chattering exploded in the air. Prefects hushed and shushed in vain. Eventually, Dr. Saltweather stood up and clapped his hands. The hall fell silent. Dr. Saltweather commanded a great deal of respect. "Calm yourselves!" he bellowed. "Just because the headmaster has left the room, it doesn't mean that you can squeal like animals. Lower your voices, please."

There was a moment's hush and then the chatter was resumed on a quieter note.

Gabriel, sitting opposite Charlie, leaned over the table and asked, "Lysander found you, then, Charlie? What happened?"

"Thanks for telling Lysander, Gabe. He saved my life, and Dagbert's."

"Dagbert's?" Gabriel frowned.

"Let's talk later," said Fidelio in a warning voice. Several children were already looking at Charlie.

Gabriel glanced at the inquisitive faces and said, "OK."

After dinner, Charlie headed for the blue coat-room, with Fidelio and Gabriel following close behind. They had five minutes before they would be expected to start their homework. Almost without pausing for breath, Charlie told his friends what had happened in the ballroom.

For a moment they were too stunned to speak, and then Gabriel said slowly, "When I told Lysander you were going to the Music Tower I never imagined ...

I mean I just knew he was the only one who could help you."

"Weedon must have told Dr. Bloor," said Fidelio. "No wonder he rushed out."

"Manfred saw it all," Charlie told them.

His friends frowned at him, and Fidelio said, "Didn't he try and stop it?"

"Stop Lysander?" Charlie found that the cold chill of Manfred's words had suddenly lifted and he felt irrationally cheerful. "Nothing can stop Lysander."

Gabriel grinned. "Of course not," he agreed.

Charlie was reluctant to spoil their positive mood so didn't mention Manfred's dreadful prediction.

The three boys left the coatroom, and while Fidelio hurried to his classroom, Charlie and Gabriel made their way up to the King's Room. Just before they went in, Gabriel said, "Charlie, I forgot to tell you. I saw Cook after lunch. She's got something for you."

"What?"

Gabriel rubbed his head. "Postcard, I think she said."

"A postcard. What... ?" Charlie felt something sharp poke into the small of his back and he swung around to see Joshua holding a pencil in his bandaged hand.

"Are you going in or not?" asked Joshua sullenly.

Without replying, Charlie opened the door and Joshua pushed past him.

It was a surprise to see Manfred sitting in his usual place, as if nothing had happened. But he gave Charlie a cold glance when he came in; otherwise there was nothing in his manner to suggest that he had seen the giant Sea Globe swallow its master and then disintegrate. For a moment Charlie wondered if this was because the Bloors had no further use for the globe. If Lyell Bone had really drowned, then the pearl-inlaid box would never be found. But Charlie refused to accept this. He had decided that as long as he kept believing his parents would come home, then nothing could prevent them.

A quiet sniffle beside him made Charlie aware that Emma was dabbing her nose. He hadn't spoken to her all day and felt guilty for leaving her out of things. Nudging her gently, he whispered, "See you in the art room later, Em."

Emma nodded and smiled, and then, while Manfred's head was bent over his book, she whispered back, "It's the vest," and she looked straight at Olivia on the other side of the table.

Charlie frowned. He didn't have a chance to ask Emma what she had meant because Manfred was glaring at him again. So was Olivia. She wasn't herself, he could see that. Her skin was dull, and dark circles ringed her eyes. As she turned the pages of her book he caught a glimpse of the glittery thing she wore beneath her cape. Of course, a vest!

After homework, Charlie made straight for the art room. Gabriel and Lysander stayed behind to finish some work, and Charlie found that he was being followed by a group of girls. He looked back and saw Dorcas, the twins, and Olivia. They stopped at the bottom of the staircase that led up to the girls' dormitories, and when Charlie continued on to the art room, he could feel their eyes on him.

The art room was at the end of the hallway leading to Charlie's dormitory, so he hoped the girls wouldn't guess where he was heading. He quickly glanced over his shoulder and, seeing that the girls had gone, made a dash to the end of the hall and into a large room with long windows overlooking the garden. The place was crammed with easels and canvases, and Charlie quickly switched on one of the lights in case he tripped. It was easy for someone to hide behind one of the tall easels; for a moment, he wasn't quite sure if he was alone. "Emma?" he called softly.

There was no reply, so Charlie walked around the easels toward the dark windows. He had to pass a trapdoor covering the spiral staircase that led down to the sculpture room. The room where Dagbert had tried to drown Tancred. Or had he?

Charlie reached the windows and peered out into the misty garden.

Thick clouds obscured the moon and stars and he could see nothing beyond a row of stone statues directly beneath him. Old Ezekiel had a fondness for garden ornaments, and groups of figures, human and animal, had been placed about the grounds. Sometimes you would come upon a single statue in an unexpected place, and the gray form, appearing above shadowy bushes, could give you quite a fright.

"Charlie!" came a whisper.

"Em?" said Charlie.

Emma came tiptoeing toward him. "Come away from the window," she said. "Someone might see you from the garden."

Charlie hadn't thought of this. He backed behind a group of easels and found Emma crouching on the floor. She was obviously very nervous.

"What's been happening, Charlie?" She sounded aggrieved. "You were late for dinner, your sweater's got blood on it, and Dagbert Endless has disappeared."

Charlie hesitated. Emma looked so scared he wondered how he could tell her about his dangerous day without making her even more fearful.

"Charlie, please, what's been happening?" she begged.

So Charlie told her. He tried his best to speak calmly when he described the fight with Ashkelan Kapaldi, but he failed to keep the terror out of his voice when he relived the drowning sensation he felt as the roaring wave swept over him, and he could hardly contain his excitement when he recounted the astonishing shrinking of the Sea Globe.

Charlie needn't have worried. By the time he had finished, Emma's spirits had risen considerably. In fact she looked almost cheerful. "Oh, Charlie, perhaps we are winning after all," she said happily. "I was feeling so gloomy about everything, but now I believe we stand a chance, and if I can get that awful vest away from Olivia, she'll be her old self again."

"I saw something glittering under her cape," said Charlie.

"So that's the vest that you think has changed her?"

"I'm sure of it. I tried to get it away from her when she was changing in the bathroom, but she nearly tore my hand off."

"Hmmm." Charlie scratched his wiry hair. "Take a good look at that vest," he said. "Try and memorize every stitch and sequin. Then come over to my place on Friday night. Alice Angel is there."

"Alice!" Emma clapped her hands delightedly. "Oh, Alice can save Liv, I know it."

A voice suddenly cut across the room. "Charlie, are you there? Matron is on the warpath."

Charlie and Emma jumped up. Fidelio was standing by the door, his hand on the light switch. "Come on, quick," he said, turning off the light.

They ran for the door and as soon as they were through, Fidelio closed it quickly behind them. When the boys reached their dormitory, Emma kept running toward the next staircase.

"Where is Matron?" Charlie whispered.

"In the bathroom," Fidelio told him. "Rupe Small has lost his toothbrush, and Matron's waiting for him to find it."

Charlie grinned. But when they got into the dormitory, they discovered that the toothbrush had been found and Matron, otherwise known as Lucretia Yewbeam, was standing at the end of Charlie's bed with her hands on her hips. "Where have you been?" she demanded as Charlie walked in.

"Working," lied Charlie. "Mr. Pope gave me extra homework."

The lie worked. Charlie's great-aunt gave a nasty smirk and said, "Serves you right." He could only hope that she wouldn't mention the extra homework to Mr. Pope.

From the other end of the dormitory, Simon Hawke piped up. "Dagbert Endless isn't here."

"No," the matron said flatly and left the room.

"Odd," said Simon. "She doesn't seem bothered about the fish boy. Does anyone know where he is?"

"Probably gone home," said Bragger Braine.

"Can't have," argued Simon. "We're only halfway through the week."

"Haven't you noticed?" Bragger plumped up his pillow. "Lots of kids have left."

Charlie went to the bathroom. What did Bragger mean? No one ever left Bloor's Academy halfway through the week. It wasn't allowed. He took a long time brushing his teeth and combing his impossible hair. By the time he left the bathroom, the lights were out and some of the boys were already asleep.

Charlie didn't even expect to sleep. Scenes from his extraordinary day kept chasing one another through his head. One moment he felt elated, the next full of doubt. And then he remembered the postcard. How could he possibly sleep when news of his parents might be only a few steps away? Swinging his feet to the floor, he shuffled into his slippers and put on his bathrobe. Everyone brought a flashlight to school, and although the battery in Charlie's was running low, it gave him enough light to see his way down the unlit hallway to the landing.

Here was the tricky bit. A small light was always left burning in the hall, and at any moment a member of the staff could walk through one of the doors opening onto the hall and see Charlie. There was nothing for it but to hurry and hope. Taking a deep breath, Charlie tiptoed down the creaking stairs as fast as he could. Without pausing to look back, he flew along the hallway of portraits to the blue cafeteria. Raised voices could be heard coming from the direction of the green cafeteria.
Mr. and Mrs. Wecdon arguing again,
thought Charlie. He quickly slipped into the blue cafeteria and then into the kitchen beyond.

It was pitch-dark in the kitchen; a strong smell of cooked cabbage filled Charlie's nostrils and he pinched his nose. He hadn't visited Cook's apartment for some time, but shining his flashlight across the rows of closets, he quickly recognized Cook's entrance. He always felt slightly apprehensive when he opened this door because if anyone discovered Cook's secret, she would be banished from the academy.

The Bloors believed she slept in a cold little room in the east wing and were completely unaware of the wonderful labyrinth beneath the building.

Charlie stepped into the closet and, closing one door behind him, opened the other. Now he was in the softly lit hall that led to the next closet and then into Cook's room.

"My Heavens!" cried Cook as Charlie walked out of the closet at the end of her room. "What are you doing here, Charlie Bone?"

"The postcard," said Charlie. "Gabriel said you had a postcard for me."

"So I have," said Cook. "But you could have waited until tomorrow."

"I couldn't," said Charlie. "I'm sorry, but I had to know what my parents had written."

"Ah, you guessed. Yes, Maisie gave me the card when we met at our usual time in the market. Luckily, your other grandma didn't see it."

Cook reached for the postcard that sat on a shelf above her stove. "Sit down and read," she said, "while I make a cup of cocoa and then, seeing as you're here, we can discuss what's been going on. It hasn't entirely escaped my notice that a few reversals of fortune have taken place today."