Charlie Bone and the Blue Boa

by Jenny Nimmo

This normally wouldn't have worried Charlie. But under the circumstances, he had to go to school. There was a blue boa to be tamed, there was Ollie Sparks to rescue. "But . . . " he said.

  “And that confounded woman's in it, too," growled Grandma Bone. "A book was seen lying on her counter, with a picture of the herb you stole, openly displayed."

  Charlie couldn't be sure, but he thought he heard the faint tinkle of broken glass while his grandmother was shouting. He was just wondering who had seen the book at Ingledew's and passed on the information when his grandmother suddenly thumped the table and shouted, "WE WONT HAVE IT! THIS CONTINUAL MEDDLING, THIS DISOBEDIENCE, THIS, THIS . . . WHY CAN'T YOU TOE THE LINE?"

  Charlie was about to give a feeble answer when a voice from the doorway said, "Aha!"

  There stood Uncle Paton, in a shirt so white it was almost blinding. His hair was two shades blacker than it had ever been, and he looked at least three inches taller. So tall, in fact, that he had to duck his head to get under the doorframe.

  Grandma Bone looked as if she'd seen a ghost. 'You're better," she croaked.

  “Aren't you pleased?" said Paton.

  Grandma Bone nervously licked her lips. "But . . . but . . .”

  "Thought he'd done me in, didn't you?" said Paton advancing on his sister. "Thought he'd turned me into a flabby fluttering, half-baked yes-man?"

  "I don't know what you're talking about," she said.

  "Of course you do!" Paton thundered. "You set it up. You planned it all. You brought that evil, shape-shifting hag into our midst. What were you up to, EH?"

  "Stop it!" cried Grandma Bone. "I — I could ask you to leave this house!"

  "And I could ask you to do the same thing," roared Paton, towering over her.

  Charlie watched in fascination as his grandmother gave a strangled gasp and ran out of the kitchen with both hands over her heart.

  Paton gave Charlie a beaming smile and began to make himself a cup of coffee.

  "It worked!" said Charlie. "The vervain. It really worked!"

  "Something worked. I feel as bright as a button,” said Paton, who looked nothing like a button

  "I was afraid Skarpo might have tricked us,” said Charlie. "But maybe I should trust him now. Wow, Uncle Paton! It's great to see you well again "

  "It feels great, Charlie. Thank you." Paton made a little bow and brought his cup to the table. "So. are you going to tell me how things stand at Bloor’s Academy?"

  Charlie did his best to bring his uncle up to date with everything that had been going on while he lay on his sickbed. He was just describing events in Eustacia's garden when someone stumped downstairs and walked out of the house, slamming the front door behind them.

  Through the window they saw Grandma Bone marching up the street in her new straw hat — black with purple cherries on it.

  "She's off to Darkly Wynd, no doubt," said Paton. "To hatch another plot. I bet my recovery will give them a nasty shock, especially that hag Yolanda." He chuckled.

  "Uncle Paton, do you think you could talk about what happened in the castle now?" Charlie asked tentatively

  Paton scratched his chin and said, "Yes, Charlie. It's about time." He drained his cup and set it back on the table. For a moment he stared into space, and then he began, "Imagine tine castle as I described it, dark without and dark within. I arrived at dawn but there's never a sunrise at Yewbeam Castle. The sky turns a dull yellow and no birds sing. The wind shrieks over the stones. There are no trees, no leaves or flowers, only the dead grass.

  "The road ends at a narrow footbridge, so I left the car and walked the half-mile to the castle. Thirteen steps carved into the rock lead up to a door that is never locked. After all, who would want to enter a place like that?" Paton paused and hunched his shoulders.

  “And then?" said Charlie.

  "It all came back to me, Charlie: my mother's horrible fall, and my father rushing away with me. I almost turned and ran, but I had to find out if Yolanda had left and why she was coming south after all these years. I called, but there was no reply. The place seemed deserted. And then it began. First laughter like I had never heard. More like howling, it was. And then a roar, and the screams of a thousand animals that you could never name. And out of this awful noise a voice called, 'What do you want, Paton Yewbeam?'

  "I stood my ground, but I can tell you, Charlie, my stomach was churning. And I said, is that Yolanda's voice?' 'No,' came the reply Yolanda's had an invitation she couldn't refuse.' And then the awful laugh came again.

  "I ran for the door but something pushed me back. I brought out the wand and tried to strike the invisible thing in front of me, but the wand hissed like a thing on fire and burned my hand. After that . . . " Paton sighed and shook his head. "I don't know how long I was there. I lay on the stone floor, blind and never knowing if I was awake or dreaming. My body was either burning or freezing. Sometimes, I would see him but he never looked the same. One minute he'd be a child, then an old man. One day there'd be a great black dog beside me, then a bear. There'd be a raven tearing my head, a wolf gnawing my bones. But every time, as soon as he'd gone, I'd crawl a little closer to the door.

  "Eventually I reached it. I pulled myself up by the great iron handle, turned it, and fell through the door. I stumbled down the thirteen steps, and then I ran. Don't ask me how I could feel him behind me, burning my neck, scorching my shoes. I got to the car and tumbled in. The nightmare had only begun. He jumped on the roof and smashed the windshield with his fists. I don't know what shape he was — a monster, by the sound of it. He rolled off and ran in front of me, hurling rocks at the headlights. He threw flames at the tires and the way ahead was lit by a thousand sparks.

  "We reached another bridge, and when I drove over it, he fell away Perhaps his power couldn't survive beyond the borders of his land. But I heard him call after me, and I'll never forget that awful, wailing voice." Paton shivered and closed his eyes.

  Charlie waited expectantly but then he could wait no longer and begged, "What did he say?"

  Paton gave a droll smile. "He said, 'If you harm my dear one, you'll pay for it with your life.'"

  “And who is he?"

  "Oh, didn't I say?" Paton grimaced. "He's Yolanda's father, Yorath, a shape-shifter so old he can't keep his own shape but has to borrow from other — beings." Paton looked at the burn marks on his right hand and repeated, "Yes, other beings."

  "Wow, Uncle Paton," Charlie said gravely "It's amazing that you didn't end up dead."

  Paton nodded. “Amazing indeed. I don't know what kept me alive, Charlie, unless it was the memory of my mother and . . . and a certain other person." He cleared his throat. "Yolanda may have come to help Ezekiel, but now that she knows what you can do, she'll want to take you back, you know"

  "To Yewbeam Castle?" squeaked Charlie.

  "We won't let it happen," said Paton firmly "And now, on a brighter note, you've got things to do, Charlie, plans to make for rescuing the invisible boy If you ask me, Billy Raven is the key"

  "Billy how?"

  "He can talk to creatures, can't he? Get him to talk to that boa. It can't be all bad."

  Charlie sat thinking about this while his uncle went to the stove and made himself an enormous breakfast, to make up for all the days he'd been without. A little later Mrs. Bone came downstairs from her room on the top floor. She'd heard none of the shouting and slamming that had gone on earlier and was so astonished to see Paton up and about and better than ever, she almost fainted.

  Grabbing a chair, Amy Bone sat down heavily and muttered, "That strange gentleman from the painting can't have been so bad after all. Oh, Paton, I'm so glad you're well. We'll all sleep easier in our beds now that you're back in form."

  Charlie wondered why Skarpo had stopped being a bad-tempered trickster and decided to be helpful. Was it when he saw the wand in Charlie's hands? And if so, why?

  At one o'clock Charlie politely declined Paton's offer of a special lunch, ordered by phone from the grandest
store in town, and set off for the Pets' Café. He had too much on his mind to enjoy a rich meal. Orange juice and cookies would do nicely

  All his friends were there, sitting around the largest table in the room, with birds, gerbils, rabbits, and Fidelio's deaf cat sitting on shoulders, heads, and laps. Runner Bean greeted Charlie in the usual rough, wet manner, pawing, licking, and barking, until Charlie bought him a large cookie and threw it under the table.

  "Is everyone ready?" said Lysander rather severely "We've got urgent matters to discuss. Tancred and I have made a list, and we'd like some input from the rest of you." He placed a sheet of lined paper in the middle of the table. It read:

  Everyone stared at the list, written in Lysander's admirable calligraphy They passed the paper around the table until they had all read it thoroughly When this had been done, their faces looked either doubtful or downright gloomy

  "It's not that bad," said Charlie. "For one thing, I know where the boa is, and I can find it again."

  "But how do we tame it?" asked Emma.

  "Billy," said Charlie. "He can talk to animals."

  "So how do we persuade Billy to do that?" asked Olivia. "I mean, would you like to have a conversation with an oversized, invisible-making snake?"

  "I trust Billy now," said Charlie. "I really think he wants to help us."

  "Rembrandt," Gabriel said thoughtfully "We'll tell Billy if he helps us, he can have Rembrandt. He'd do anything to see that rat again; he loves it."

  "Good idea, Gabriel," said Lysander, "but with Weedon and Manfred on the lookout — not to mention that awful Belle — where on earth is Billy going to keep the rat?"

  Charlie thought of Cook. "I know somewhere," he said, but when they all looked at him for more information, he said, "Trust me."

  "OK," said Lysander. "Now we have to find a way of getting the boa out of the academy"

  "I've got an idea," said Charlie. "I'm working on it."

  His friends stared at him with questions forming on their lips, but Charlie added quickly "I can't tell you anything yet, but I know I'll be able to work it out." Once again, he was thinking of Cook.

  "Now we come to Ollie." Tancred pointed to number five on the sheet.

  “Actually I've thought of that," said Emma. Reddening slightly as everyone turned to look at her, she put an enormous spider on the table.

  There were several loud gasps, and a wild blast of air blew the paper off the table as Tancred yelled, "Yikes! How's that going to help?"

  "Give her a chance," said Olivia, retrieving the paper.

  "It's not real," said Emma, slipping her finger into the spider's body "It's like a finger puppet, only Ollie can put it on his toe. Then he can walk through the main doors whenever one of the staff goes out, and they'll just see a spider instead of a toe."

  "Brilliant!" said everyone except Tancred, who obviously had a thing about spiders. "A leaping spider," he muttered. "I mean, it's hardly going to walk like a real spider if it's on the end of a great leaping foot."

  There were shouts of, "Don't be so picky!" "It's a great idea!" "Got a better one?" "It'll work!" and "You haven't got to wear it, Tanc!"

  "What about Ollie, then?" said Tancred. "Where's he going to go when he's out? We won't be around to help him. We can't get out dressed as spiders."

  Olivia said, "We've thought of that, Emma and me. He can go to the bookshop. It's easy to find because it's right beside the cathedral, and you can see that from anywhere in the city"

  "I've told my aunt if someone rings her doorbell after hours, but there's no one there . . .”

  "Except a spider," muttered Tancred.

  “Anyway," Emma went on. "She'll look after him until we can get him — visible."

  Charlie's mind was racing. His uncle would soon have to buy a new car. Suppose he bought a van? Mid-semester was coming up. Would a journey to Sparkling Castle be possible, for eight children — and a dog?

  "I think we've got enough sorted out to start our little operation," said Lysander. "Let's begin on Monday night, with numbers one and two. The finding and taming of the boa."

  Charlie had a problem. How to get Billy up to the west wing attics without being seen?

  "Distraction," said Tancred, who seemed to have recovered his composure. "Leave it to us, Lysander and me. We can do it, can't we, Sander?"

  Lysander nodded.

  They left the Pets' Café in very good spirits, each one of them eager to begin the week ahead. At that moment, none of the seven children wanted to consider the pitfalls of their mission. They could only imagine the visible Ollie Sparks, reunited at last with his grieving parents.

  While the others went home to feed their pets or work on the end-of-semester play Charlie took Runner Bean for a walk. When he returned the dog to the Pets' Café, Mr. Onimous popped out from behind the counter.

  "Something's going on," said the little man. "If you need a hand, Charlie, you know where to come."

  Charlie thanked Mr. Onimous and ran back to Filbert Street, eager to see if his uncle's amazing recovery had lasted.

  It had.

  When Charlie looked into the kitchen he was astonished to see his mother and Paton having tea with Grandma Bone. Perhaps it would be more accurate to say dessert rather than tea. It was a hot afternoon, and Paton had ordered several tubs of liqueur-laced ice cream from the same grand store that had provided his lunch.

  Charlie was invited to join them and he sat opposite Grandma Bone, who was guzzling a large bowl of green-and-brown-striped ice cream, topped with almonds. She didn't so much as glance at Charlie but kept spooning the ice cream into her mouth at a rate of two spoonfuls a second, by Charlie's reckoning.

  "Chocolate, cherry rum, and walnut? Toffee, apple, brandy and almonds? Or coffee, orange, whiskey and peanut?" Paton asked Charlie.

  Charlie chose the chocolate and began to dig in. It was the most delicious ice cream he'd ever tasted; he hoped Paton's recovery meant that more of the same would be arriving at number nine every weekend.

  Grandma Bone's bowl was now empty She stared at it rather sadly and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. Charlie thought she looked tipsy When she got up, she swayed a little as she moved to the sink. She had still not said a word or even looked in Charlie's direction. What had happened to her?

  Charlie's mother said, "That was just about the best thing I've ever tasted. Thank you, Paton."

  "You're very welcome." Paton winked at Charlie as Grandma Bone made slow and stately progress past the table and out of the room.

  "What's happened to Grandma?" Charlie whispered.

  His mother put a finger to her lips.

  Charlie grinned. It was only then that he noticed the wicker basket sitting just inside the door. It gave him an idea. When his grandmother had finally tottered upstairs and closed her door, Charlie asked his uncle where the basket had come from.

  "It's a food hamper, Charlie," said Paton. 'The store sent it around with my lunch."

  Charlie went to investigate. The hamper hadn't been entirely emptied. There were still several jars of jam, a fruitcake, and two packages of cookies left inside. Charlie picked out a jar of Best Strawberry Conserve.

  "Whole strawberries," Charlie murmured. "Uncle Paton, could I have this jam?"

  "Of course, Charlie. I think I can guess what it's for."

  "And the hamper," said Charlie. "Do you think you could get the store to send an even bigger one to Cook at Bloor's Academy? The very biggest they've got?"

  "Charlie, whatever for?" said his mother.

  "Charlie's got a plan," said Paton. "We'll just have to go along with it and not ask too many questions, Amy"

  Mrs. Bone shook her head. "I hope it won't stir things up again," she said. "Grandma Bone's settled down nicely this afternoon."

  "Too nicely," Charlie muttered. “And too quiet. Something's brewing, you can tell. I wonder what the aunts are up to."

  CHAPTER 16

  THE NIGHT OF WIND AND SPIRITS

&n
bsp; On Monday Charlie took the first available opportunity to speak to Cook. In the middle of lunch, he slipped into the kitchen on the pretext of fetching a mop for a spilled glass of water.

  Cook saw Charlie standing by the door and came over. Anyone observing them would have wondered why they appeared to be having such a deep discussion about mops. But the lunch ladies were too busy to notice anything unusual. Charlie did most of the talking and Cook nodded now and again, eventually patting Charlie on the shoulder with a reassuring smile.

  Charlie said, "Thanks, Cook!" and left the kitchen — without a mop.

  Billy Raven was sitting between Gabriel and Fidelio at their table, and when Charlie joined them, he noticed that Billy seemed very depressed. But then he hadn't looked happy since Rembrandt had gone.

  It was Gabriel who brought up the subject of the black rat. "Would you like to see Rembrandt again?" he asked Billy

  Billy gave a rueful nod. "He was my best friend. I could talk to him about practically anything. He was so clever. But how can I see him? They won't let me out of here." Billy's ruby eyes filled with tears.

  "It could be arranged," said Charlie. "Cook says she would keep him for you, and you could see him every weekend. But you'd have to promise never, ever to tell anyone where he was."

  "I wouldn't!" said Billy crossing his heart. "I swear!"

  "If we arranged this for you, you'd have to do something for us," said Fidelio.

  "What would I have to do?" Billy immediately looked anxious.

  Charlie suggested they discuss things outside.

  Olivia and Emma were sitting under a tree when they saw Charlie and his friends come through the garden door. The girls would have joined them, but they noticed Billy was with them and decided to stay where they were rather than intrude on what looked like a tense situation.

  Billy was very pale; he kept shaking his head and nervously biting his nails. And then Gabriel said something and Billy calmed down. He gave a resigned sort of smile, nodded, and hung his head.

  When the hunting horn sounded, the girls rushed over to Charlie just before he stepped into the hall.