Charlie Bone and the Time Twister (Children of the Red King, Book 2) (19 page)

"He is normal," said Charlie. "He's just . . ."

"Out of time," said Henry. He sat on the bed and announced, "I'm free. I'm safe. The Bloors think I've gone back, so they won't be looking for me."

"I don't understand," said Charlie. "How did you get here?"

"It's a long story" said Henry and he began to describe his extraordinary adventure.

"You say a bird rescued you!" Benjamin exclaimed. "It must have been Emma!" said Charlie.

Benjamin and Henry looked baffled, so Charlie explained.

"I'd like to thank all your friends," said Henry "the ones who helped me."

Charlie told him there wouldn't be time to meet his friends. "Tonight Uncle Paton's taking us to a place where you'll be safe," he said. "We have to go before Grandma Bone finds out that you're in the house."

"Where will I go?" Henry looked worried.

"You're going home. To the house by the sea. And I'm coming with you. Just for the day It'll be the very first time I've seen my great-grandpa."

Henry frowned. And who's he?"

"He's your brother, James."

"James?" cried Henry "Little Jamie? He's still alive?"

If it hadn't been for Runner Bean, Henry might never have seen his brother again. With a low rumbling growl the dog stared at the door. Charlie pushed a startled Henry under the bed, and the door opened.

Grandma Bone stood on the threshold, glaring at Runner Bean. "You're a liar, Charlie Bone," she said coldly "You did have a dog in here. Get it out. Now!" She looked around the room, her long nose wrinkling like a pug's. "Who else are you hiding? What's been going on?"

"Nothing, Mrs. Bone," said Benjamin. "My dog's scared of storms so 1 brought him over here to take his mind off it."

"Storm's gone!" bellowed Grandma Bone. "Hadn't you noticed? Now go home."

"Yes, Mrs. Bone." Benjamin shuffled meekly past the tall woman in the doorway Runner Bean bared his teeth and directed one of his best growls at Grandma Bone's skinny ankles.

"Aaaah!" she shrieked, backing out of the door. "Get him away from me."

When Benjamin and his dog were safely out of the house, Grandma Bone looked in on Charlie and told him to get ready for bed.

"Yes, Grandma." He closed the door and ran to the window. Benjamin had just reached the other side of the road when Charlie looked out.

"Ben!" he called. "Pass on the news, will you? Tell the others what happened?"

Grandma Bone gave up wondering about all the creaking and whispering that went on in the house that night. As far as she was concerned, Henry Yewbeam had disappeared into the past — or the future — so whatever was going on was all childish nonsense and she couldn't be bothered with it. She drank a stiff whiskey and went to sleep.

A J0URNEY TO THE SEA

Charlie told the rest of the household about Henry's arrival, and, one by one, they began to visit the boy from the past.

Paton came first. He stood in the doorway for a second, blinking speechlessly and then he strode up to Henry exclaiming, "My dear, dear fellow, I can't believe it. This is just too wonderful for words." He shook Henry's hand vigorously "I've heard so much about you. My father idolized you, you know."

"Did he?" said Henry "1 suppose I'm your uncle."

While Paton was still chuckling over this, Amy Bone looked in.

"This is my mom," Charlie told Henry.

And you're Henry" Mrs. Bone gazed at Henry as if she couldn't quite believe her eyes. All that way," she murmured. "All those years, I should say. So it really can happen."

Was she thinking of his father?
Charlie wondered.
Was she wishing that he too might come twisting through time to be with her again?

As Henry and Mrs. Bone solemnly shook hands, Henry said, "Mrs. Bloor told me she knew . . ." and then he seemed to change his mind.

There was no time to ask Henry what Mrs. Bloor knew because, at that moment, Maisie arrived on the scene.

"He looks a bit like Charlie, doesn't he?" she said.

"Mm. Just a little," said Amy.

Wherever Henry had come from, it didn't matter to Maisie ; he was a boy in trouble and therefore in need of a hug. “You poor, poor thing," she cried, almost squeezing the life out of him. "You look half-starved. Come to the kitchen this minute and I'll cook up a feast."

"I don't think that'd be a good idea," said Charlie. "Grandma Bone might come down."

"Drat Grandma Bone," said Maisie. "What's she up to now? If she so much as lays a finger on this poor boy I'll give her a good wallop."

" Maisie, dear, please lower your voice," said Paton in a quiet, but commanding tone. "If you want to help, you can bring a snack up to Charlie's room. And we shall need food and blankets for a long journey to the coast. I did mention it before."

“Yes, Paton," Maisie said patiently "I hadn't forgotten."

"Come on, Mom, we've got work to do," said Amy.

The two women went downstairs to prepare a picnic basket while Henry chose some of Charlie's clothes to wear in his new life.

"It'll be so strange," he said to Charlie. "I was always the oldest. 1 took care of James. What's he going to make of it all?"

"I can't wait to find out," said Charlie.

At ten minutes to twelve, Charlie and Henry climbed into Uncle Paton's midnight blue car. They were followed by a pile of blankets and pillows and a huge basket of food.

"You help yourselves whenever you're hungry," said Maisie as she stuffed cushions behind their heads and tucked blankets around their legs.

Paton was already in the driver's seat glancing impatiently at his watch. He was a man of habit and he liked to leave for the coast on the stroke of midnight. As the great cathedral clock began to ring out across the city he said, "Snuggle down, boys! We'll have breakfast by the sea."

The car doors were slammed and Mrs. Bone and Maisie waved and blew kisses from the curb, as Paton drove slowly up Filbert Street. In case of lamp accidents, he liked to keep to the side roads, and after driving down several badly lit alleys, they were suddenly deep in the countryside. Here there were no lights at all, except for the odd twinkle from a cowshed or a porch light.

Charlie was beginning to drift off to sleep when a question popped into his head. "You told my mom Mrs. Bloor knew something," he said to Henry "What did she know?"

Henry yawned. "It was about your father," he mumbled sleepily "Just before she disappeared she said there was something she meant to tell you. I think she knew where your father was."

Charlie sat bolt upright, throwing his pillow to the floor. "Didn't she tell you?" he demanded.

"No," Henry murmured. "She just vanished."

"What did she say exactly?" Charlie asked frantically.

There was no answer. Henry had fallen asleep, and Charlie didn't have the heart to wake him.

"Did you hear that, Uncle Paton?" said Charlie. "Mrs. Bloor knew where my father was — or is."

"I heard, Charlie. Perhaps it means that he isn't very far away We'll find him one day That's a promise."

Charlie thought he would never sleep after this amazing piece of news, but before he knew it, his eyes were closed.

Whether he was awake or dreaming, Charlie could never be sure, but at some time during their long journey to the sea, his uncle began to talk about the Red King. Perhaps Charlie had mentioned the vanishing tree he had seen in the snow or the strange red tree that had appeared in the king's portrait, but Paton's words remained very clear in his head.

"I believe he is a tree, Charlie. That's what my books seem to tell me. When the king lived in the great forests with only the trees and his leopards for company, he became a part of the forest himself Can trees move, you might ask? Who can say? Who is to know if a tree standing in a field at dawn, cannot later be seen in a castle ruin, or in the shadows of a great park? Perhaps, one day you'll find out."

When Charlie opened his eyes again, he saw a great sweep of gray sea. They were traveling along a narrow cliff road and light was beginning to fill the sky He nudged Henry who was still asleep beside him. Henry stirred and rubbed his eyes.

"Look!" said Charlie. "The sea!"

Henry looked out of the window "I know this place," he cried. "We're nearly home."

" There's a few miles to go, yet," said Paton. "Let's have breakfast."

There was a shout of agreement from the boys and soon they were enjoying Maisie's feast. A cold wind was howling outside, and so they ate in the car, watching the huge foamy breakers crashing onto the shore below.

When breakfast was over they set off again. The road ran beside the sea almost the whole way and Charlie never tired of watching the waves, the tumbling cliffs, and the misty islands far out in the water. And then they turned a corner and Henry cried, "We're here!"

Ahead of them was a small bay where the sea was calm and blue. As they drove down toward the beach, sunlight spilled over the horizon and the water became a sheet of sparkling glass. It was like entering another country Gone were the dark clouds and the winter wind. Gone were the wild waves pounding the shingle.

"What's happened?" said Charlie. "Everything's gone calm."

"Like a spell," breathed Henry.

They parked on a patch of grass beside the beach. On the other side of the road, Charlie could see a white house perched on top of a steep cliff.

"Is that it?" he asked Henry.

Henry just nodded.

They crossed the road and climbed two flights of whitewashed steps set into the cliff Uncle Paton went first with Charlie following. But Henry hung back. He seemed to be afraid of what he might find in the house at the top of the steps.

There was a porch with a blue painted door at the side of the house. Paton let himself in and Charlie stepped in after him. They went through another door and into a room that seemed to be full of sunlight.

An old man came toward them. His hair was white and his eyes were gray and although he was obviously very old, his face looked young, somehow as though all his wrinkles had come from smiling and sea weather.

"I saw you arrive," said the old man, giving Paton a big hug. "So this is Charlie. Well, well, well! At last we meet!"

"At last," said Charlie, while his great-grandfather clutched him to his chest.

Henry was standing just inside the door. He was staring at the old man. And then the old man saw him, and they just gazed at each other, without saying a word.

At last Henry said, "Jamie!" as if somewhere under all those wrinkles, he’d suddenly seen his little brother; the boy he’d left behind when he went to play his last game of marbles.

James Yewbeam still couldn't speak. His eyes had a glittery tearful look, and Paton took Charlie aside while the two brothers hugged each other.

It was almost too much for the old man. He sank into an armchair and shook his head, over and over again. "I can't believe it," he said. "It's really you!" He reached into his pocket and brought out a small leather bag. "Look, Henry I've still got the marbles."

Henry sat on the arm of his chair. "I'll teach you how to play Ring Taw" he said.

“About time, too," said James with a laugh.

And then another extraordinary thing happened. A door opened and Cook walked into the room. Or was it Cook?

"Cook?" said Charlie.

"Not Cook," said the woman. "I'm Cook's sister, Pearl."

"So that's why the sea was so calm," Henry murmured.

Pearl nodded and gave him a big smile. It turned out that Pearl had been James Yewbeam's housekeeper for twenty years. Ever since his wife died.

They all began to talk about Henry's future. How he would go to the local school beyond the bay.

"It's small and friendly" said Pearl. "Henry will fit in perfectly He can start in the summer term, when Charlie's filled him in a bit about all these newfangled things like cell phones and videos and whatnot."

It was decided that Charlie would come to see Henry once a month, every time that Paton visited his father.

"And over the holidays, too," said Henry "Charlie must come here over the holidays."

"Of course," said Paton.

Charlie had never had a vacation by the sea. It was something he'd always dreamed about, but he'd never really believed it would happen. He looked through the window at the sparkling water and the sandy beach.

He didn't have to wait long to visit the beach. Old James Yewbeam had been awake all night, and now, after all the excitement he fell fast asleep in his chair. Paton went upstairs for a snooze before his long drive back to the city and Pearl began to prepare a meal.

"You two should go down to the shore," she told the boys. "You both look as if you could do with some fresh air."

They didn't need any more encouragement. Charlie and Henry spent the rest of the day on the beach. They skimmed pebbles across the water, jumped over rock pools, and explored the caves that Henry knew so well.

All too soon night clouds began to roll in across the water, and Uncle Paton was calling the boys to supper.

They sat around a table in the bay window where they could watch the moonlit water. There were candles on the table but the rest of the room was in darkness. Old Mr. Yewbeam always removed the lightbulbs on Paton's visits. As Charlie dug into the delicious supper that Pearl had prepared, he couldn't help thinking of Cook in her little underground rooms, far away from the sea and the sun.

"I wish Cook could find a place like this to live," he said.

Pearl told him that Cook was very happy where she was. She loved keeping an eye on the children at Bloor's Academy "We talk on the phone for hours," said Pearl. ”And Treasure — that's her name — Treasure tells me everything that's been going on with you children of the Red King, and sometimes I think it's me who's missing out."

"But now you've got Henry," said Charlie.

"Now I've got Henry" Pearl 's eyes twinkled. “And I can see that he's going to be quite a handful."

They all laughed at this, and then Uncle Paton stood up, saying, "Come on, Charlie. We've got to get you home, or you'll never be awake in time for school tomorrow."

"School," sighed Charlie. He wished he could have stayed a little longer.

The two brothers — one so old and the other still young — stood at the top of the cliff steps and waved good-bye as Paton and Charlie climbed into the midnight blue car. Charlie snuggled down in the seat beside his uncle and the car roared into life.

"I think Henry's going to be OK, don't you?" he said.

"OK?" said Paton. "He's going to be absolutely splendid. Well done, Charlie!"