The Midnight Chimes

by Paula Harrison

  A desk stood by the window. Out in the garden Josh’s class were doing PE while a man with grey hair pushed a wheelbarrow round the edge of the lawn. I leant closer to the window to get a better view, and jumped as a little crab-like creature scuttled across the desk, weaving past a photo of Cryptorum, Miss Smiting and a woman with curly hair. The whole of the creature’s shell was covered by an unblinking blue eye.

  “Don’t worry. That’s just Eye,” Cryptorum told me. “He won’t hurt you. He was a vampire’s pet until I rescued him.”

  The thought of the creature as a pet made my head whirl. I watched it run down the leg of the desk and disappear underneath.

  “Sit down.” Cryptorum waved to a brown leather sofa. He locked the white cupboard and pocketed the key before seating himself in the armchair opposite. I didn’t think I’d ever seen his eyebrows look so wild and bristly. It was like they had a life of their own.

  Aiden, Nora and me looked at each other. Then we sat together on the sofa.

  Cryptorum stared into the empty fireplace. I nudged Aiden. I couldn’t stand this silence.

  “Stop it, Robyn!” Aiden whispered.

  “What’s that?” Cryptorum fixed us with a glare. “How can you expect to become a Chime if you can’t sit still for five minutes? It requires skill, hours of practice and great bravery.”

  I gripped the edge of the sofa, longing to tell him that if he didn’t think we were good enough he should just let us go, but two things stopped me. First, he was looking pretty fierce. Second, I wanted to know more about what a Chime did.

  “How do you know we’re not brave?” The words popped out before I could stop them. I felt Aiden twitch beside me.

  Cryptorum’s eyebrows rose. “What’s your name?”

  “Robyn,” I said. “And this is Aiden and Nora.”

  Rising to his feet, Cryptorum began to pace up and down.

  I whispered to Aiden. “This was your idea. I’m missing a recorder lesson for this!”

  Aiden rolled his eyes. “You were the one that wouldn’t wait till tomorrow.”

  “Guys,” Nora muttered. “Look at the bats!”

  A black shape swooped past the window, then another. Cryptorum leant close to the glass, muttering something under his breath. He turned, his hand on the sheathed blade that hung under his coat. “You mustn’t go anywhere until I return. Do you understand?”

  “What about lessons?” Aiden started to say, but Cryptorum was already out the door.

  I went to the window. A cloud of bats was flocking at the far end of the garden. More bats poured from beneath the roof of the barn, joining the whirling mass, and then they zoomed away towards the edge of town.

  “I don’t get it!” I peered out. “What are the bats up to? Why does Cryptorum keep them?”

  Aiden joined me at the window. “It’s definitely weird that he left so fast.”

  “That’s weird?!” I said. “What about the monsters in the basement? What about the eye-thing he keeps as a pet? The woman with the green tongue and lizard eyes who runs his house? There’s a billion things about this that are weird. You could make that man Emperor of Weirdness! You don’t even need to mention him leaving fast.”

  Aiden grinned. “Just breathe, OK? At least we’re starting to get some answers.”

  “You mean that we’re special because we were born at midnight? That’s the craziest answer ever!”

  “It looks like the bats help him,” Nora said suddenly.

  “Wait – what?” I stared.

  Nora was standing by the bookcase looking through a large, leather-bound book. “You said why does he keep the bats. They help him.” She turned another page. “Bats have echolocation, which means they bounce sounds off things to find their way around. Looks like they use a similar method to find creatures of the Unseen World. The monsters give off a vibration that we can’t detect – but the bats can sense it. That’s what it says in this guide to Chiropterology.”

  My mouth dropped open.

  Nora shelved the book and picked up another one. She opened it at the first page. “Hey, this one has a bunch of useful information. . . Where Chimes come from.” She started reading aloud. “The first Mortal Clock was invented by accident by the master clockmaker Josef Dusek of Prague when the grandfather clock he was making was struck by lightning in 1405. Josef happened to be a Chime himself, and as soon as the clock struck midnight he was able to perceive the creatures of the Unseen World. For the next three hundred years, Chimes often took up the same craft, and a hidden fellowship of Chimes passing as clockmakers developed.”

  “So they all sat around making these Mortal Clocks,” I said. “Not exactly brave and adventurous, is it?”

  Nora flicked a look at me and carried on reading. “Their first major challenge was stopping the spread of vampires across Europe during the years of the Black Death, a terrible disease that ravaged the fourteenth century.”

  “Good to know they did something useful.” I joined her by the shelf and ran my finger across the books. Most were very old – many had broken spines and brown pages. I didn’t understand half the titles but a few looked interesting – ones on enchantment, beasts and the undead.

  I picked a book called Enchantments and Illusions in the Unseen World and opened a random page. “Edible spells can be hidden in many foods,” I read out. “That’s crazy! There are spells you can actually eat.”

  “Ooh, can I see that?” Nora asked so I handed her the book. “Amazing! You can prevent an edible spell from working by biting into the food but not swallowing it. . .”

  I’d stopped listening properly because I’d seen a book on the top shelf with a beautiful silver sword on the spine. I got on tiptoes to pull it down. It was titled: Super Sword Moves that can Save your Life. “Hey, Aiden,” I said. “This is awesome!”

  “No, this is awesome!” Aiden held up a large bow. “Look how perfectly this has been made. I bet you can shoot a really long way with it.” He slotted an arrow against the wood.

  “Where did you get that?” I put down the book.

  “Here by the desk.” Aiden pointed.

  “You shouldn’t touch that.” Nora looked nervous. “What if Mr Cryptorum comes back?”

  “I bet he won’t be back for ages.” I glanced out of the window. The bats weren’t flocking over the trees any more, but there was no sign of Cryptorum. I took the bow from Aiden.

  “Hey! Watch the trigger,” Aiden said.

  My finger knocked the arrow before he’d said it. The bow string twanged and the arrow whooshed through the air. It landed right in the forehead of the man in the painting – the man that was probably Cryptorum’s father.

  There was a horrible silence.

  Cryptorum came striding out of the trees at the bottom of the garden. He glared at the children doing PE.

  Aiden and me dived for the arrow at the same time. We pulled and pulled but it wouldn’t move. Pushing a chair up to the fireplace, I climbed on and tried to wrench the arrow free.

  Nora ran to the window. “He’s coming back! Hurry!”

  I tugged harder. “I . . . can’t . . . get . . . it . . . out!” I muttered between clenched teeth.

  A door slammed downstairs.

  Me, Nora and Aiden looked at each other. “He can’t kill us as easily if we’re back in our classrooms,” I gasped. “Run!”

  Our New Club Has the Dumbest Name Ever

  hen we got back to class we found the music teacher had already gone. I couldn’t stop glancing at the door and I couldn’t concentrate on the capital cities of the world, which Mrs Perez was trying to teach us. I had that horrible squirming feeling that you get in your stomach when you’ve done something wrong. What would Cryptorum do when he got back to his study and found an arrow sticking out of the picture of his dad?

  A few minutes before the end of school I whispered to Aiden, “I have to go and tell him it was me. If I don’t come back alive then you can have my light-up pen with the ink eraser and my
glow-in-the-dark felt tips.”

  “Don’t be daft. He won’t kill you,” Aiden said.

  I wasn’t so sure.

  “So, Robyn,” said Mrs Perez, who’d spotted me whispering, “tell me what you’re going to be doing after school with Miss Smiting and Mr Cryptorum. How did you get picked for that anyway?”

  “Um . . . we were really helpful to Mr Cryptorum and this is our reward,” I said, making it up on the spot.

  Mrs Perez nodded. “I hear it’s a nature study, so what will you be looking for. . . ?”

  I stared at her. A kobold, a scree sag and a boggun. Well, I couldn’t say that.

  “Mostly bats, miss,” Aiden said quickly. “Mr Cryptorum loves them. That’s why he keeps them in that barn in the garden.”

  “You have been so helpful, children.” Miss Smiting had entered noiselessly and was standing in the doorway behind us. “And that isss why we would like to turn it into a regular club. So we will sssee you after school starting from tomorrow.”

  Mrs Perez looked surprised, as if she’d expected us to have messed up. “Well done, Robyn and Aiden. I’m glad that this after-school activity will be a regular thing for you. Don’t forget to tell your parents that you’ll be staying late.” She closed her textbook with a snap. “Home time! Pack up your things, everyone.”

  There was a rush of scraping chairs and things being stuffed in bags. Hector checked that Mrs Perez wasn’t listening before leaning over. “You’re going to Bat Club! That is so lame.”

  Sally-Anne was smirking too and my cheeks reddened. “Wow, Hector,” I snapped back. “Is that the best you can do for an insult?” I shoved past him and caught up with Miss Smiting in the hallway. “Um, about the arrow. . .”

  She studied me. There was a hint of a smile in her green eyes. “I have removed it. In future you will not touch a bow indoors. Iss that clear?”

  I nodded. “I’m really sorry.”

  “Being sorry afterwards iss no good to me, Robyn Silver.” She added in a lower voice. “No need to mention thisss to Mr Cryptorum.” Then she glided away down the corridor.

  I grinned. I had to admit I thought she was pretty cool.

  As Aiden and me made our way to the front entrance, the news about “Bat Club” was already beginning to spread to kids in other classes. I reckoned we mostly had Sally-Anne to thank for all the people muttering and shooting looks at us. She loved spreading gossip. Luckily, some kid got out a yoghurt which exploded on the front steps, and everyone forgot about us after that.

  As we walked down Demus Street, the clock on the Grimdean tower began its deep, powerful chiming. It’s golden face and hands glowed in the afternoon sunlight. I decided I would go to the club. Now I knew what kind of horrid things were out there, I figured it only made sense that I learnt how to defend myself. I was still freaked out though. I wasn’t sure which was weirder – knowing that monsters really existed or knowing I was one of the special ones who could see them. I’d never been special before. Not at anything. If Aiden hadn’t been there too I would’ve thought I’d dreamt it.

  Mum made a roast dinner that night. Dad wasn’t home yet but we started without him. Rain was whipping against the window and the kitchen boiler was making its usual rumbling sound as the tiny orange light flickered into life.

  I watched Josh take five stuffing balls from the dish and hide them in his lap under the table. There were supposed to be two each, but I had bigger things to worry about. I was looking for my moment to mention Bat Club. I waited till Mum came to the table with a dish of carrots. “I’m staying for a club tomorrow, so I’ll be back late,” I said.

  “What’s that, honey?” Mum put down the dish. “Ben, don’t take all the roast potatoes. The rest of us want some.”

  “It’s just they’re so nice,” Ben said, spooning them straight from the serving dish into his mouth.

  “Annie, why don’t you let me pour that? What were you saying, Robyn?” Mum turned back to me.

  I opened my mouth to try again.

  “I got another merit at school today,” Sammie butted in, “for my history assignment.”

  “That’s brilliant!” Mum beamed.

  “So . . . can I dye my hair?” Sammie carried on. “Petra’s done hers purple and it looks really nice.”

  “I’m staying late at a club tomorrow,” I said again.

  “Don’t INTERRUPT!” Sammie snapped at me. “I was talking first.”

  I glared. “No you weren’t!”

  “Girls, don’t start arguing,” Mum sighed. “What sort of club, Robyn?”

  “It’s a sort of nature thing,” I said. “Mr Cryptorum’s running it.”

  “It’s called Bat Club!” Annie piped up.

  My heart sank down to the floor. Annie must have heard all the gossip on the way out of school. There was no way Sammie would let this go. “It isn’t just about the bats. It’s about lots of other creatures too,” I said. At least that part was true. “Aiden’s joined as well. So can I go?”

  Mum added some carrots to Annie’s plate before sitting down. “And this club is really called Bat Club? It’s an actual club – not just something you and Aiden have cooked up between you?”

  I gritted my teeth. “It’s a real club.” I couldn’t bring myself to say Bat Club.

  “Can I go?” asked Annie.

  “Bat Club!” Sammie grinned. “Bats for the batty! Suits you perfectly, Robyn.”

  Ben laughed. This annoyed me. He hardly ever took Sammie’s side over mine.

  Mum shot me a look as she helped herself to some peas. “I don’t know. By the time you leave Grimdean House it’ll be dark, and I don’t want you walking around on your own that late.”

  “I’ll walk back with Aiden so I won’t be on my own,” I said.

  “Why do you want to go anyway?” Mum frowned. “I wouldn’t have expected you to want to spend more time at school. If you’re staying late so you can muck around you should leave the space at the club for the younger ones.”

  “Like me!” Annie spooned her carrots back into the serving dish.

  “Annie, don’t do that!” Mum said. The back door opened and Dad tramped in, his blue boiler suit covered in rain spots. “There you are! I was starting to think they’d never let you come home.”

  I reached for the dish of peas. Maybe if Mum saw me eating vegetables she’d be nicer about letting me come home late. Unluckily I knocked the dish with my arm and tipped it over, sending peas rolling off the table on to the floor.

  “Robyn! Get a brush and sweep those up. Honestly! Every dinner time food ends up everywhere.” Mum sighed.

  I made a face and grabbed the brush.

  “Ugh – rotten day!” Dad rubbed a towel over his damp hair. “We had to help sort out damaged power line poles on the edge of town near Blagdurn Heath. Something’s damaged them – taken chunks out of the wood all the way to the top.”

  Mum got a plate for him and started filling it with food. “Was it vandals?”

  “No, not unless they can climb the poles.” Dad took the seat at the end of the table. “This old guy who lives nearby told us that giant porcupines have been spotted on the heath.” He gave a short laugh. “So it must be wood-eating porcupines causing all the damage. Either that or squirrels with steel-plated teeth!”

  I was only half listening. I had to get my parents to let me stay for the club but there was no way I could tell them what it was really about. I stared at the potatoes on my plate. I’d been born at midnight and this was my chance to find out if I’d be any good as a Chime. Sammie was always coming home with ace report cards and doing competitions at her gym club. Ben was one of the best runners in the county and even Josh played football. Annie was the cute one and got loads of attention for being the youngest, but I’d never done anything good. I was just Robyn the disaster zone – the one who knocked stuff over and made a mess.

  Now I had this one special thing – the first time I’d ever been important – and I couldn’t even tell
them.

  Sammie was arguing with Mum about dying her hair. I could see Mum starting to weaken. Sammie does this – just goes on and on and on until people give in. The problem was that once Mum gave in on one thing it got tricky to persuade her about anything else. I had to get in there first. If I could get Dad on my side, that might work.

  “So can I go to the nature club after school?” I interrupted loudly. “Mrs Perez thought it would be a really good idea. Me and Aiden got chosen over everyone else in our class and we’ll be learning stuff about frogs and owls and mice and insects.” I had no idea whether you could find all those animals in the Grimdean garden but I carried on anyway. I needed one more push – something to make the club sound really educational. What was that thing Nora had said about the bats?

  “I think I’ll learn loads.” I gave my parents an innocent, wide-eyed look. “The bats that live in the barn there use echolocation to fly around.”

  They all stared at me. Even Sammie looked surprised for a second.

  “What’s this about a club?” Dad asked.

  I repeated what I’d said to Mum, throwing in some extra words like habitat and hibernation.

  “I don’t see why she shouldn’t go,” Dad said. “Aren’t we always telling them to try and learn something at school?”

  “All right, you can go,” Mum told me taking a crumbled stuffing ball out of Josh’s lap. “Sammie, I don’t want you dying your hair some horrible colour. I know your school won’t like it and they’ll probably send a letter home. No, that’s final.”

  Sammie shot me a poisonous look as if it was my fault. She caught up with me on the stairs after dinner. “You’re such a little freak – joining a Bat Club! I know you’re just doing it for attention.”

  I laughed. “Yeah, whatever.”

  “Showing off with your echolocation. I bet you don’t even know what it means.”

  She was right. I thought it had something to do with echoes but I wasn’t exactly sure. I reached the top of the stairs and went into my bedroom, but Sammie still wouldn’t leave me alone.