Children of the Red King Book 02 Charlie Bone and the Time Twister

by Jenny Nimmo

  "Look out, vegetable," said Damian Smerk , almost knocking her off the steps. Damian was a bit of a bully particularly where girls were concerned.

  Olivia wasn't afraid of him. "I'd rather have green hair than a face like yours," she retorted, patting her freshly dyed spinach-colored hair.

  "Weirdo!" grunted Damian, marching off

  Fidelio made a face at Damian's back. "What's the news, then?" he asked.

  Olivia told them about the search for the marble. “It must be that thing that brought your cousin here," she said to Charlie. "You know, the Time Twister."

  While the boys stared at her, she took a breath and went on, "I met him by the way"

  "You met Henry?" said Charlie.

  "Yes, in the ruin. Manfred and Asa were looking for him. He said he'd been hiding in the kitchen, so Bindi and I took him back there before those two could catch him."

  "Well done," said Charlie.

  At that moment, Emma Tolly came up the steps and Olivia turned to follow her.

  "Emma, stop," called Olivia. "I want to . . ."

  But Emma had already gone into the hall where talking was forbidden.

  "I don't know what's the matter with her ," sighed Olivia. "She doesn't seem to want to be friends any more."

  "Maybe you're too weird for her," joked Charlie. "Look who's talking!" Olivia grinned and bounced up the steps into the hall.

  Charlie and Fidelio made their way to the blue coatroom where they found Gabriel sitting on a bench. He was holding the bag of Asa's old clothes and he looked worried.

  "What's up?" asked Fidelio. "Has Asa been after you?"

  "I reckon he has," muttered Gabriel. "Something attacked our goats last night."

  Charlie sat beside Gabriel. "None of them were killed, were they?" he asked gently

  "No, they were just scared, and they wouldn't be milked this morning." Gabriel sighed. "1 think I ought to give this stuff back, but I don't know how to. Asa might get nasty"

  "Give it to Olivia," Fidelio suggested. "She can slip it into the drama coatroom during break."

  "OK." Gabriel pushed the bag under the bench and followed the other two into assembly

  After assembly Charlie dragged himself off to his music lesson with Mr. Paltry—Winds. The old music teacher had decided to let him try the trumpet instead of the recorder, and Charlie liked this much better. His lesson was almost enjoyable.

  At break he found Gabriel and Fidelio wandering around the field. Gabriel still looked worried. He told Charlie he'd given Asa's clothes to Olivia and, as far as he knew, she had managed to hang the bag on Asa's peg.

  "So, everything's OK," said Charlie.

  "Not exactly. When I went for my piano lesson, Mr. Pilgrim wasn't there."

  Fidelio reminded Gabriel that Mr. Pilgrim had a terrible memory. He was always forgetting things.

  "Not lessons," murmured Gabriel.

  Olivia strode up, wearing a big smile. "Done," she declared. "I put the bag on Asa's peg, but guess what?"

  "What?" asked the boys.

  “ Asa came in just a second after I'd done it and he looked a real mess. He's got bandages on his hands and he was limping."

  This didn't surprise the boys. Charlie told Olivia about the Pets' Café, and Asa being chased by a pack of dogs. Olivia found this so funny she had a fit of giggles that turned into hiccups.

  When Fidelio and Charlie went to English, Olivia, still hiccuping , went to recitation. Gabriel was supposed to have mathematics but he was feeling rather odd. He wasn't wearing any secondhand clothes so he didn't understand why he had butterflies in his stomach and a tingle creeping up the back of his head. Before he knew it he was in the west wing and climbing the stairs to the top of the tower. The sound of a piano began to echo down the stairwell. Mr. Pilgrim was evidently back in his room. When Gabriel reached the top of the tower he knocked on Mr. Pilgrim's door. There was no answer. The piano music swelled and bass chords thundered out a finale. In the silence that followed, Gabriel opened the door. Mr. Pilgrim stared at him over the gleaming black piano.

  "Excuse me, sir," said Gabriel. "But you weren't here before, so I . . . um ... I missed my lesson, and I wondered if I could have it now?"

  "Now?" said Mr. Pilgrim, looking puzzled.

  "Yes. Please, sir."

  "Now. Yes." Mr. Pilgrim moved up the piano stool to make way for Gabriel.

  "Thank you, sir." Gabriel sat next to the piano teacher and, without waiting for instructions, launched himself into his scales.

  When the scales were finished, Mr. Pilgrim made no comment. He sat patiently listening to Gabriel as he played two complicated Bach figures.

  Toward the end of the second piece Gabriel felt a strange tension in the room. He came to the end of the piece and rested his hands on his knees, waiting for Mr. Pilgrim's remarks. Sometimes, the teacher said nothing at all.

  From outside came the chimes of the cathedral clock as it began to strike twelve.

  "I'd better go, sir," said Gabriel.

  "You played very well today" said Mr. Pilgrim.

  "Thank you, sir."

  Gabriel was about to get up when Mr. Pilgrim said "Gabriel, they have the boy!" "What boy sir?" "The one that was here."

  Gabriel suddenly realized who Mr. Pilgrim was talking about. "Do you mean Henry sir? Charlie Bone’s cousin?"

  Mr. Pilgrim frowned. "Henry? They took him, Gabriel. He needs help."

  "Yes, sir." Gabriel stood up. As he turned away Mr. Pilgrim caught his arm.

  "Wait." The music teacher took something out of his pocket and pressed it into Gabriel's hand.

  Gabriel could feel it was a large glass marble. It held a strange glow that cast reflections through his closed fingers.

  "Take it," said Mr. Pilgrim. "You can go now."

  "Yes, sir." Gabriel left the room. When he was halfway down the stairs, he sat on a step. He wasn't sure what to do. If Mr. Pilgrim was right, then Henry had been caught. The Bloors were searching for this marble — the Time Twister. Did they mean to send Henry back to a time where he couldn't survive?

  Gabriel slowly opened his fist. He glanced at the swirling shapes and colors, and then closed his fingers over the glimmering ball. "Better not look," he murmured, remembering what had happened to Henry

  A movement caught his eye and he looked down into the shadowy stairwell. Mrs. Bloor's pale face came into view. She smiled up at him. "You played beautifully today." she said.

  "Thanks." Gabriel stood clutching the Time Twister behind his back.

  Mrs. Bloor walked toward him, a curious look on her face. "What do you have there, Gabriel?"

  Gabriel slowly held out his hand, revealing the dazzling colors of the Time Twister.

  "You're not supposed to look at it," warned Gabriel.

  "Quite right," said Mrs. Bloor as she reached for the marble. "You shouldn't have this. It's too dangerous."

  Her fingers wrapped around the marble and it disappeared into her pocket.

  "It's a Time Twister," Gabriel said quietly "It can take you back to how you were before."

  "I know" She lowered her voice. "Cook told me. I thank you, Gabriel, from the bottom of my heart."

  Her slight black figure whisked away so quickly Gabriel hardly saw where she went. He felt a lot better and ran lightly down to the bottom of the tower

  "You're late," said Fidelio, as Gabriel put his plate of chips on the cafeteria table.

  Gabriel looked over his shoulder. The noise in the cafeteria was loud enough to drown his v
oice, but he had to be sure no one was listening. He sat between Charlie and Fidelio and, leaning forward, said, "They've got Henry!"

  "What!" cried Charlie.

  " Shhh !" Gabriel looked around the room. No one was paying them any attention. "Mr. Pilgrim told me. I don't know how he knew"

  "He's so peculiar he could say anything," said Fidelio.

  "He seemed very sure," said Gabriel.

  "Cook will know" Charlie stood up. "I'll take my plate into the kitchen and see if I can find her."

  "Better go now," advised Fidelio. "There's a crowd around the counter, so no one will notice you."

  Charlie walked toward the counter, and then quickly sneaked through the kitchen door.

  It was very steamy in the kitchen and he kept walking into busy lunch ladies carrying pans of hot food and piles of plates. "You shouldn't be in here," one of them said sharply

  Charlie scurried to the back of the room where he found Cook. She was sitting with a bowl on her lap, peeling carrots. Her eyes were red and she looked very unhappy When she saw Charlie she shook her head.

  "Is it true?" Charlie whispered. "Have they caught Henry?"

  "It's true, Charlie," said Cook. "They've got him. How did you find out?"

  "Mr. Pilgrim told Gabriel."

  "Mr. Pilgrim?" Cook looked puzzled. "That's strange. But who knows these days."

  "Do you know where they took him?" asked Charlie.

  "I can't be sure. But sometime after midnight I saw Zelda and Manfred come through the garden door."

  "That means he's in the castle."

  "I wouldn't be surprised." Cook shook her head again. " There's some nasty dungeons in that place, but the ruin is so big 1 wouldn't know where to start looking. Mind you, the cats probably know where he is. They'll take care of him."

  "What can they do if Henry's locked up?" said Charlie. "I've got to get him out, Cook."

  "Someone must, that's for sure. You'd better get back now; Charlie. We'll think of something. We mustn't give up hope."

  Charlie had no intention of giving up hope. He sneaked back into the cafeteria, took a cookie from the counter, and joined his friends at their table.

  "It's true," Charlie told them. "Cook thinks he's in the dungeons."

  "Then we'll get him out," said Fidelio confidently

  "We've got to find him first," Gabriel reminded them.

  "Come on, let's start now," said Fidelio. "We've got half an hour before the next lesson."

  They stacked their plates and went out into the garden. The snow had melted and the sun shone down from a bright blue sky It all looked very promising — until they reached the ruin.

  When they went through the great arch, they found Mr. Weedon in the courtyard. He was nailing several thick planks across the entrance to one of the five passages.

  "Buzz off Charlie Bone," said the gardener. "I'm busy."

  "We won't get in your way" said Charlie.

  "I said buzz off," shouted Mr. Weedon . "The place is getting dangerous. Why do you think I'm doing this?"

  They had a very good idea why Mr. Weedon was blocking an entrance into the ruin. They left the courtyard quickly

  "That's obviously the way to the dungeons," said Gabriel. "Now what are we going to do?"

  The three friends walked around the field in gloomy silence. Olivia came running up and asked why they looked so miserable. When she heard about Henruy she was stunned.

  "That's awful. How are we going to rescue him?"

  "We don't know yet," said Gabriel.

  Charlie found it difficult to concentrate on any of his lessons. Teachers shouted at him and badgered him. Twice he went to the wrong classroom. If Fidelio hadn't kept an eye on him, he would have been sent to the head boy and that was something he definitely wanted to avoid.

  There was a very bad atmosphere in the King's room that night. Lysander stared gloomily at his books, Bindi had a terrible cold, Emma worked away, silent and studious, and Asa grunted and fussed whenever he had to turn a page with his bandaged hand.

  Tancred's empty chair seemed to hold a huge emptiness that kept drawing attention to itself , almost as if a ghost were sitting there.

  The only happy person in the room was Zelda, who kept whisking everyone's books across the table. When she stared at Tancred's chair it whizzed around in circles, until even Manfred lost his temper.

  "Stop doing that," he snarled at Zelda. "It's not clever. It's just stupid."

  "It's called telekinesis!" Zelda retorted. "If you don't mind, darling!"

  "I don't care what it is," barked Manfred. "It's getting on my nerves. So shove it."

  Zelda made a face and went back to her homework.

  Charlie would have found this funny if he hadn't been so worried. The minutes ticked by so slowly he was sure someone had tampered with the clocks. He looked at the painting of the Red King, hanging above Tancred's chair. What would you have done? Thought Charlie.

  The mysterious dark eyes gazed out at him. The circlet on the king's head glittered as if it were real gold. Shadows moved in the folds of the deep red cloak. Then unbelievably the tall figure began to change shape and color, until Charlie became convinced he was looking at a red and gold tree. Why can't I hear him? he wondered. He closed his eyes. When he opened them again, the tree had gone. My mind's playing tricks, he thought.

  By the time eight o'clock came around, Charlie could hardly contain himself He rushed out of the King's room with Gabriel loping behind him.

  "Have you thought of something?" Gabriel whispered as they hurried up to the dormitory

  "I haven't got a real plan," Charlie admitted, "but I'm going to the ruin tonight, whatever happens."

  "I'll come with you."

  "No," said Charlie. "It's best if only one of us goes. You can keep an eye on things in the dormitory."

  "I don't like it," said Gabriel. “Anything could happen out there."

  “ Asa's injured. He won't be so dangerous." Charlie sounded a lot more confident than he felt.

  When Fidelio heard Charlie's plan, naturally he wanted to go with him.

  "No," said Charlie. "Two of us will attract attention. I think I should go on my own. Henry's my relation."

  Billy Raven came into the dormitory and watched the three boys sitting on Charlie's bed.

  "You look as if you're plotting something," said Billy

  "We're plotting your downfall," Fidelio told him.

  Billy scowled. "You think you're so clever, Fidelio Gunn."

  The dormitory began to fill up with boys getting ready for bed and the three friends said no more to one another.

  When the cathedral clock struck eleven, Charlie put his blue cape over his bathrobe, and slipped on his socks and shoes. Tiptoeing in heavy shoes wasn't easy, but Charlie managed to creep out of the dormitory without making too much noise. He was beginning to feel rather excited about the adventure ahead. He was certain that he would eventually find Henry And then he turned a corner and walked straight into Lucretia Yewbeam .

  "Where are you going?" the matron demanded.

  "I think I was sleepwalking," said Charlie.

  "Rubbish. What's that you've got?"

  "Nothing." Charlie held Cook's flashlight behind his back.

  "Give it to me. Now!"

  Charlie reluctantly handed over the flashlight.

  " Hm , interesting," Lucretia turned the flashlight over in her hand. "Where did you get it?"

  "I found it a
t home."

  "Did you now? Well, it's confiscated. Go back to bed."

  "But I can't see without my flashlight."

  "Then, sleepwalk. Go on!"

  Charlie turned back and felt his way along the dark passages. He had almost reached his dormitory door when he fell over something and crashed onto the floorboards. Picking himself up, Charlie groped in the darkness until he found what had tripped him up. A body lay sprawled across the passage.

  Whoever it was, lying so still, had a mop of hair and seemed to be a bit taller than Charlie.

  "Fidelio," breathed Charlie. "Fidelio, wake up!"

  Charlie tapped his friend's cold forehead and shook his arm, gently at first and then desperately "Wake up! Wake up!"

  The body didn't stir.

  Charlie ran into the dormitory and found Gabriel's bed.

  "Gabriel," he whispered harshly "Gabriel, help me!"

  Gabriel grunted and sat up. "What's going on?"

  "Fidelio's lying in the passage," said Charlie. "I can't wake him up."

  Gabriel grabbed his flashlight, swung his feet to the floor, and followed Charlie into the passage. Between them they managed to lift Fidelio and carry him back to his bed. Fidelio slept on. He was limp and cold and barely breathing. Gabriel shone his flashlight on Fidelio's face. His eyes were wide open but they stared out with a blank, fixed expression.

  "He's been hypnotized," gasped Charlie. "We can't leave him like this till morning, he may never wake up."

  Gabriel went to the bathroom and came back with a mug of cold water. "Sorry about this," he said under his breath. He poured the water over Fidelio's head.

  With a shiver and a moan, Fidelio opened his eyes even wider and looked up at Charlie. "What happened?" he said.

  “You tell us," said Charlie. "I found you in the passage."

  "I tried to follow you," mumbled Fidelio. "Manfred caught me. He held a flashlight up to his face. And made me look at him. His eyes were horrible — like coal, black and shiny"

  "You were hypnotized," said Charlie. "Do you feel OK now?"

  "Sleepy Got to get some sleep."

  "Me, too," said Gabriel. "Night, you two."

  Charlie got into bed. He took a long time drifting off to sleep. He was worried. Now even his friends were being watched. Someone was determined to stop him from rescuing Henry.