by Jenny Nimmo
"Could be a doctor of math or music." Charlie didn't want to raise his mother's hopes.
"But it's worth a try." Amy ran to the phone in the hall.
While Amy was on the phone, Grandma Bone shouted, "Have they gone, those beasts?"
The Flames growled at the sound of her voice. Leo gave the saucer one more lick before leaping after his brothers into the hall. They held their tails high and
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their heads erect. They might have failed this once, but they still had their pride. Charlie quietly thanked them, and let them out.
"He's coming." Amy replaced the receiver. "His name's Doctor Tanaka."
Doctor Tanaka was a young man with a broad smiling face and a neat gray suit. At first glance he didn't seem to be at all the sort of person who could deal with anything out of the ordinary. But Amy hadn't been wrong. When he saw frozen Maisie, Dr. Tanaka merely lifted an eyebrow. "Ah!" he said. "Cryogenics. Reducing a person's temperature to below freezing, but in this case, supernaturally."
"Will she die?" asked Amy, hardly able to say the last word.
"Not necessarily," replied the doctor in his light, efficient voice. "When the power is broken, she will return."
"The power," Charlie murmured.
Doctor Tanaka turned to him and smiled. "The power," he repeated. "Someone in this city is
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extraordinarily, supernaturally powerful. I know, of course, that there are quite a few unusual people about. Children of the Red King, I believe they are called. In fact, I am probably standing in a house where one - or two - are living?"
Paton inclined his head.
"In my experience there is no power on earth that cannot be broken," the doctor went on cheerfully. "And two endowments are better than one."
"In the meantime," said Amy, glancing at Maisie, "what should we do with my mother?"
"Make her comfortable," said the doctor.
It was decided that the bathtub would be the best place for Maisie, owing to the droplets that still continued to pool around her feet. Before he left, Dr. Tanaka helped Uncle Paton carry the icy body upstairs. They had to wear gloves and it was no easy task to maneuver her into the tub. Charlie gently pushed a cushion under Maisie's head, and Amy covered her with a blanket.
"I hope I will have the pleasure of buying many
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more vegetables at your excellent shop," the doctor told Amy before he left.
"I hope so, too," said Amy, returning the doctor's elegant bow.
No sooner had the doctor gone than a phone call from the store informed Paton that the prawns held no toxic substances whatsoever. They had been fed to laboratory rats with no ill effects. In fact, the rats had thoroughly enjoyed them and, if anything, had become slightly bushier and brighter after eating them.
"They were probably starving," muttered Charlie.
"It only took one prawn," Uncle Paton declared. "And Maisie had to eat it. My money's on Venetia."
"But Great-aunt Venetia only poisons clothes," Charlie reminded him. "Why should she change to prawns?"
"No idea," growled Paton.
Charlie felt uncomfortable using the bathroom with Maisie in it, so he went up to the top floor, where his mother and Maisie slept, and used their toilet. So did Paton.
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That night, Grandma Bone grumbled that it was too cold on the top floor and she needed a bath. "Kindly remove the frozen person," she demanded.
Paton refused and Grandma Bone had to use the toilet next to the cellar. She went without a bath.
Charlie felt his eyes closing as soon as he got into bed. He sleepily ran through the day's events and suddenly remembered Naren. Was it only that morning he had crossed the bridge into the wilderness?
What had she said? Don't close your curtains tonight. So what could her endowment be? Could she fly, or send messages on moonbeams? Wearily, he staggered out of bed and went to the window. The white moth drifted onto one of the curtains as he drew them back. Outside a dusting of frost already glittered on the branches of the chestnut tree. It was going to be another cold night.
Charlie climbed back into bed and fell asleep. He awoke to find the room bright with moonlight. As he glanced around him he saw thin black shadows
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snaking toward his bed. Charlie shrank against the pillows, as the shadows climbed the bedpost and crawled across the covers. Like tiny, oddly formed creatures, they swarmed over Charlie's hands and ran up his sleeve, but he could feel nothing.
Shadows, he thought. Only shadows.
He watched the tiny shapes move onto the wall behind him. They began to jostle one another, almost as though they were seeking the right place in the swirling crowd. While Charlie gazed in amazement at the moving shadows he became aware that the shapes were letters. Gradually, their feverish activity began to slow and Charlie could make out the words of a message.
It's me, Narew. This iswhat I can do. Were you scared when you saw my little shadows? If you whisper at the wall, I shall hear you.
"Hello, Naren," Charlie whispered uncertainly. The letters rearranged themselves and Charlie read:
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Hello, Charlie. Ihope you got back safely. If anything troubles you, let me know and I can tell my father. Although he hates to come into the city, he will help you.
Where to begin? wondered Charlie. He decided to tell Naren about frozen Maisie. When he had whispered every detail of his grandmother's terrible misfortune, the shadows on the wall remained perfectly still for a full minute, as though Naren was trying to make sense of the message.
At last the letters began to move. This time the words were formed very slowly,
What you say about your grandmother is so bad. I will talk to Bartholomew tomorrow Perhaps he can send advice.
"But I'll be at school tomorrow night, how can you... ?" Charlie heard footsteps in the hallway
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outside his room. Suddenly the door opened, and he whispered rather louder than he intended, "Good-bye!"
Grandma Bone walked in. "Who were you talking to?" she demanded.
"No one, Grandma," said Charlie. "Maybe I was talking in my sleep."
"But you're not asleep. You're sitting up in bed. What's that on your wall?" Grandma Bone peered at the wall above Charlie's head.
Charlie glanced over his shoulder, hoping desperately that Naren's letters had disappeared. Luckily, she must have understood his hurried good-bye, because the tiny shapes were beginning to fade.
"They're shadows, Grandma," Charlie said quickly, "from the branches of the chestnut tree."
"Stupid boy! You've left your curtains open. How can you sleep with the moon pouring in like that?" Grandma Bone strode across the room and pulled the curtains tightly together. "Now, go to sleep."
Charlie lay down and closed his eyes. When
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Grandma Bone had gone, he opened them briefly. The room was so dark he couldn't even see the wall. In another second, he was asleep.
The next morning Charlie was so tired he completely forgot about frozen Maisie, and then he walked into the bathroom and saw her lying there. Her face looked bluer than the day before, or was it his imagination? He found he couldn't even brush his teeth with Maisie's icy stare at his back, so he ran up to use the bathroom on the top floor.
Amy was still in the kitchen when Charlie went down to breakfast. "I'm not going to work," she told Charlie. "I can't leave with Maisie like she is. Oh, Charlie, what are we going to do?"
A pot of parsley sitting on the windows ill gave Charlie an idea. "Vervain," he mumured. "Do you remember, Mom, when Uncle Paton w
as bewitched last year?"
"As if I could forget," she said.
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"And I stole some vervain from Great-aunt Eustacia's garden, and we made some tea and..."
"Uncle Paton was cured!" cried Amy.
"Well, Fidelio's mom put some in a pot for future use," Charlie went on excitedly. "If you went to Gunn House, I bet Mrs. Gunn would still have some. Fidelio says she puts it in his sandwiches, sometimes, as a kind of pick-me-up."
"Charlie, you're a genius!" His mother gave him such a squeeze, he swallowed half a slice of toast at once.
"I'll go straight over to Mrs. Gunn's after breakfast," said Amy happily. "In fact, I'll go right now." She looked out the window. "Billy Raven's outside. You will keep Maisie's little problem a secret, won't you?"
"Of course," mumbled Charlie. As if he'd want anyone else to know his grandma was permanently occupying the bathroom.
Amy dashed into the hall and flung on her coat.
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As she let herself out, Charlie could hear Billy's small voice asking if it was all right for him to come inside.
"Of course, Billy, of course!" said Amy.
The front door slammed and the next minute Billy was standing in the kitchen, looking sheepish.
"Benjamin doesn't have to go to his school for another half an hour," Billy said dejectedly, "so Mrs. Brown said I'd better come over to you, so we could catch the Bloor's Academy bus together."
"Couldn't she take you?" Charlie spread honey on his second piece of toast.
Billy shrugged. "Don't think she's going in today."
"Well, we've got another three minutes," Charlie said cheerily. "Do you want some cereal? It's got strawberries in it."
"No thanks." Nevertheless, Billy came and sat at the kitchen table. He was wearing a blue coat that looked several sizes too small for him.
"Did you have a good weekend, then?" Charlie asked.
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Billy gazed sadly at Charlie's toast. "Well, yes, in a way. But Rembrandt wasn't very happy. Can I stay with you next weekend, Charlie?"
"OK." Charlie swallowed his last bit of toast and licked his fingers. "We'd better get going."
Billy got up and made for the door. "Can I use your toilet?"
"NO!" cried Charlie. "That is, yes. Use the one next to the cellar."
Billy stood motionless beside the door. "What's wrong with your upstairs toilet?"
"Blocked," said Charlie.
While they ran up Filbert Street together, Charlie tried to get more information out of Billy. Why hadn't he enjoyed his stay with the Browns? And what had happened to Rembrandt?
"I enjoyed most of it," panted Billy. "But Benjamin's mom and dad asked me so many questions, and Runner Bean and Rembrandt kept arguing, and it's really tiring listening to animals argue."
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"It must be," said Charlie sympathetically.
"Runner Bean's so boisterous," Billy went on. "Rembrandt's quite exhausted."
"Did you leave him with the Browns?"
"No, he's in my pocket.
Charlie stopped running. "Billy, you can't keep a rat in the dorm."
Billy drew up beside him. "I know, I know. I'll give him to Cook when we're in the cafeteria."
Charlie thought this could be risky, but said no more.
"Runner Bean's not a very nice dog, you know," Billy muttered as they began to run again.
"He's a great dog," said Charlie. "You're just looking at it from a rat's point of view."
"Don't see how else I can look at it," argued Billy.
The blue academy bus arrived at the top of Filbert Street and the two boys raced toward it.
When they got to school, they found that Dorcas Loom had done her worst. The story of Charlie and
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the animals had spread through the academy. Every coatroom was full of it. Charlie Bone had been seen with all his friends' pets, so where were the others?
At first break, when Charlie stepped outside, a large gang approached him. He saw Dorcas and Joshua with a Branko twin on either side of them. And Charlie's old enemy, Damian Smerk, was there, with Bragger Braine and Rupe Small behind him. There were at least ten others, some of them fourth and fifth years whom Charlie only knew by sight. Joshua's magnetism had obviously drawn them together. They weren't the sort who would normally bother with a mere second year, like Charlie.
Asa Pike pushed his way to the front of the group. "So, Charlie Bone, what have you got to say for yourself?" he snarled.
Before Charlie could speak, a gust of wind rushed around his ankles and Asa staggered backward as a blast of cold air practically knocked him off his feet.
Behind Charlie, a familiar voice said, "He's got nothing to say. So get lost!"
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AMY IS BEWITCHED
Charlie found himself standing between Tancred and Lysander. Their presence was very welcome.
"Keep out of this, Torsson," Asa spluttered through mouthfuls of cold air. "You haven't even got a pet."
"Well, I have," Lysander shouted.
"We want to know what he's done with our animals," screeched Dorcas, clinging to Bragger Braine's sturdy arm.
"Tell us!" Idith and Inez shouted above the wailing wind. "Tell us! Tell us! Tell us!"
Charlie covered his ears. He could feel the twins' eyes upon him. Lysander and Tancred felt the force of their black-eyed stare, too. All three took a step back, and then another. Not to be outdone, Tancred tried another trick. A sudden torrent of rain fell onto the chanting crowd, soaking them to the skin.
Gasping with shock, the gang began to scatter, leaving the endowed children standing together in a
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resolute line. Asa, Joshua, Dorcas, and the twins, their hair dripping, their clothes sodden, and their faces gleaming with water, glared at Charlie, who couldn't stop himself from smiling.
Without any warning, Joshua Tilpin launched himself straight at Charlie. Caught off guard, Charlie fell to the ground with Joshua on top of him. The two boys rolled together, over and over, in the wet grass.
Deciding that Charlie's size gave him a distinct advantage, Tancred and Lysander allowed the fight to continue. Joshua was such a weedy boy, they felt he didn't stand a chance. The others, however, were convinced that Joshua's endowment would give him the strength he needed to beat the truth out of Charlie Bone.
"Tell us! Tell us, Charlie Bone," they droned. "Where are the animals?"
"I don't know." Charlie landed a punch on Joshua's puny shoulder.
Three more boys arrived on the scene: Gabriel, breathless and chewing his fist; Fidelio, mouthing the words,
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"What's going on?"; and Billy, creeping between the two of them and anxiously swaying from foot to foot.
Fighting Joshua was like heaving a ton of bricks about. How could such a small boy weigh so much? Charlie wondered. He pummeled his adversary's back, he pulled at his skinny arms, kicked his twiglike legs. But Joshua seemed to suck all the energy out of him. When he lay on Charlie's chest, Charlie felt as though a massive wall were crushing the life out of him. He struggled to get his breath, his hands clawing the air, and then, with one mighty effort, he bunched up his fist and punched it into Joshua's face.
"Aieeee!" Joshua's screams were unearthly. He rolled off Charlie, clutching his nose.
Charlie staggered to his feet. He felt five hands patting him heavily on the back and almost fell on his face again.
Lysander gave a whoop of victory. "Well done, Charlie!"
"Serves the little scab right," added Tancred.
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Joshua was still on the ground, sniveling miserably. Dorcas helped him up and he stood glaring at Charlie as he wiped his bloody nose. "One day, I'll get you, Charlie Bone," he grunted. His tone was full of menace, but he looked so pathetic, Fidelio burst into laughter.
"HOW DARE YOU!" No one had noticed Miss Chrystal striding up. "You, Fidelio, of all people! How dare you laugh at an injured boy!" She turned to the others. "What's been going on?"
Everyone shouted at once. One side accusing Charlie, the other denying he had done anything wrong.
Miss Chrystal held up her hand. "Asa, you're the head prefect. Why didn't you stop the fight?"
Asa was momentarily at a loss. At length he said, "I tried, but these kids" - he indicated Dorcas and the twins - "wanted to know why those kids" - he pointed at Charlie - "had got their animals back. It's generally believed, Miss, that Charlie Bone has got something to do with all those pets disappearing."
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Miss Chrystal swung around and stared coldly at Charlie. "Have you?"
Charlie was shocked by the expression on Miss Chrystal's normally pretty face. She looked cold and spiteful. Her pale blue eyes were half closed and her shapely mouth had become a thin, hard line.
"I haven't got anything to do with animals coming or going," Charlie claimed.
Miss Chrystal stared at him for a bit longer and then marched off, without another word. Curiously, Joshua ran after her. Grabbing her arm, he cried, "I'm hurt. You've got to do something."
Miss Chrystal stopped and spoke to him in a low voice. Charlie couldn't hear every word, but he thought she said, "Pull your self together, Josh. Remember who we are."
Joshua's arm dropped to his side and he looked down, biting his lip.
The horn sounded for the end of break and, as everyone made for the door, Charlie saw Miss Chrystal fondle Joshua's hair. She looked up and caught Charlie
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watching her. This time her expression was one of outright hatred.
"Round one to you, Charlie," said Fidelio as they stepped into the hall. "Well done!"
Something told Charlie that there were many more rounds to come and it was by no means certain that he would win the next one.
