Midnight for Charlie Bone (Children Of The Red King, Book 1) (2 page)

            "He didn't say that," Charlie murmured, and he suddenly sat on the ground, with his back to the wall. He held the paper at arm's length, dismayed by the words that were creeping out of the picture. Someone's going to pay for this.

            "How'd you ...?" Benjamin began.

            "Shut up, Ben," cried Charlie. "I'm listening."

            "What to?"

            "Shhh!"

            As Charlie stared at Manfred Bloor, he heard a lot of shouts and then a woman's voice broke through the others,
Are you accusing someone, Manfred?

           
You're right, I am,
said a husky voice.

           
Why do you think it wasn't an accident?

            The husky voice again.
I'm not stupid, that's why.

            A man said,
The fire department told us a candle was probably blown over. Don't you believe this?

           
ENOUGH'
. Whoever said this had such a deep and chilling voice, Charlie dropped the paper. It whirled away and flopped into the gutter.

            "Charlie, what's going on?" asked Benjamin.

            Charlie gave a deep sigh. "I'm hearing voices," he said.

            "Oh, no." Benjamin sat beside him, and Runner Bean crouched beside Benjamin. "What sort of voices?"

            Benjamin never, ever said, "That's garbage." He took life seriously which wasn't always a bad thing.

            Charlie told Benjamin about the photograph of Runner Bean that had gotten mixed up with a man and a baby. “It was going to be a surprise birthday card for you," said Charlie, "and now it won't be. I'm sorry."

            "Doesn't matter," said Benjamin. "Go on about the photograph." Charlie explained that he'd heard voices when he looked at the man and the baby He'd even heard the baby cry and maybe a cat purring.

            "Weird," Benjamin breathed.

            "I made myself believe I'd just imagined it," said Charlie, "but when I saw the newspaper, it happened again. I could hear reporters talking to that boy on the front page. I could hear his voice, too. He sounded kind of mean and sly And then someone said, “Enough!” And that was the worst voice I ever heard in my whole life." Benjamin shivered and Runner Bean whined in sympathy.

            The boys sat, side by side, on the damp pavement, not knowing quite what to do. The wind flung leaves at them, and thunder rumbled in the distance. It began to rain. Runner Bean nudged Benjamin and whined. He hated getting wet. And then, during a particularly loud clap of thunder, a man appeared in front of the boys. He was wearing a dark raincoat and his wet hair was plastered over his forehead in wide, black bands.

            "It's raining," the man announced. "Had you not noticed?" Charlie looked up. "Uncle Paton!" he said in surprise. Uncle Paton was Grandma Bone's brother. He was twenty years younger than she was and they didn't get along. Paton led a secret life, even eating apart from the others. He never went outside in daylight.

            "You're wanted at home," Uncle Paton told Charlie. Charlie and Benjamin stood up and shook their cramped legs. This was the third unusual thing to happen today It wasn't nearly dark enough for Uncle Paton to venture out.

            Charlie wondered what could possibly have happened to cause such drastic action.

CHAPTER 2

THE YEWBEAM AUNTS

            It was difficult to keep up with Uncle Paton. He swept through wind and rain as if he wore hip boots.

            "I've never seen your uncle outside in the daytime," Benjamin panted.

            "He's a bit strange, isn't he?"

            "A bit," agreed Charlie, who was rather in awe of his peculiar uncle. He hurried as Uncle Paton had already arrived at the steps of number nine. Benjamin fell behind. "Something's up with your family,” he called to Charlie. "I hope you can still come to my birthday."

            "Nothing can stop me," said Charlie, reaching his uncle.

            "No dogs," said Uncle Paton, as Benjamin and Runner Bean came leaping up to them.

            “Aw, please?" asked Benjamin.

            "Not today This is family business," Uncle Paton said sternly. “Go home."

            "OK. Bye, then, Charlie." Benjamin trailed away followed by Runner Bean, his ears down and tail between his legs. A real hangdog.

            Uncle Paton ushered Charlie into the kitchen and then disappeared upstairs. Charlie found his mother and two grandmothers sitting at the kitchen table. Maisie looked very put out, but a secret smile played on Grandma Bone's thin lips. Charlie's mother was nervously stirring a cup of tea. Charlie couldn't imagine why His mother didn't use sugar.

            "Sit down, Charlie," said Grandma Bone, as if she were about to put on a show entirely for his benefit.

            "Don't let the Yewbeams get at you!" Maisie whispered. She took Charlie's hand and patted it.

            "What's going on?" asked Charlie.

            "TheYewbeam aunts are coming," said his mother.

            "Why?" asked Charlie.

            The Yewbeam aunts were Grandma Bone's three unmarried sisters. Charlie only saw them at Christmas, and he'd formed the impression that they were deeply.disappointed in him. They always left a strange assortment of gifts: paint sets, musical instruments, masks and cloaks, and even a chemistry set. Charlie had found none of these things the least bit useful. He liked soccer and TV and that was about it.

            Grandma Bone leaned across the table. Her eyes sparkled mysteriously. “My sisters are coming to assess you, Charlie. And if it is found that you are worthy-that you are, as I suspect, endowed - then they will provide the necessary funds to send you to Bloor's Academy."

            "Me? At Bloor's?" Charlie was aghast. "It's for geniuses."

            "Don't worry love. You won't pass the test," said Maisie confidently She got up muttering, "Of course, it's old Maisie who has to do all the preparation for our Lady Mucks, isn't it? I don't know why I bother." There was to be a dinner for the aunts, Charlie's mother explained. The best silver, the finest crystal, and the treasured china, would be carried up from the cellar and laid in the chilly dining room, a room that was only ever used when the Yewbeam aunts came. Maisie was defrosting chicken and fish and goodness knows what else, as fast as she could. Charlie would have been worried if he hadn't been completely convinced that he wouldn't pass the aunts' test. He remembered how he'd tried to paint a picture for them and failed miserably How he'd unsuccessfully attempted to play a violin, a flute, a harp, and a piano. He had put on the masks they provided: animals, clowns, pirates, cowboys, and spacemen, but only managed to act the part of Charlie Bone. Finally it had to be admitted that he was not gifted.

            So as he waited for the great-aunts to arrive, Charlie was not as fearful as he should have been.

            Benjamin, on the other hand, was extremely fearful. Charlie was his best friend, his only friend. Anything that happened to Charlie would, indirectly happen to him. Sinister events were closing in on his friend. Benjamin sat by his bedroom window and watched Charlie's house. As darkness fell the streetlights came on and lights winked on in the building behind the chestnut tree: in the basement, the attic, and all the bedrooms. What was going on? The wind intensified. Thunder and lightning coincided. That meant that the storm was right above. Benjamin clung to Runner Bean, and the big dog hid his face in Benjamin's sleeve.

            The street was now deserted except for three shadowy figures. On they came, a line of black umbrellas hiding all but the hems of three dark coats and six boots: four black and two red. In spite of the wind, there was a strange rhythm in their movements, almost as if a dance were taking place beneath those wide umbrellas. The figures stopped beside the chestnut tree, as Benjamin feared they would. And then they climbed the steps to Charlie's house.

            For the first time in his life, Benjamin was glad to be himself and not Charlie Bone.

            At number nine the table was set, and damp logs smoldered in the fireplace. When the doorbell rang, Charlie was sent to answer it. The three great-aunts swept into the house, stamping their feet on the tiled floor and shaking out their wet umbrellas. Their coats were hurled across the hall, landing on Charlie as if he were a coatstand.

            "Pick them up, boy,” commanded Aunt Lucretia, as Charlie scrambled beneath the wet garments. "They're valuable moleskin, not rags."

            "Now, don't be harsh, Lucretia," said Aunt Eustacia. "Charlie's got a secret to tell us, haven't you, dear?"

            "Urn," mumbled Charlie.

            "Don't be shy,” Aunt Venetia, the youngest, came swaying up to him. "We want to know everything."

            "Yewbeams, come in. Come in!" Grandma Bone called from the dining room. The three sisters sailed through the door: Lucretia, the eldest, first, Venetia, the youngest, last. Snatching glasses of sherry from Grandma Bone, they gathered around the dwindling fire, shaking their damp skirts and patting their abundant hair: Lucretia's white as snow, Eustacia's iron-gray Venetia's still black and folded around her head like a raven's wings.

            Charlie backed away and headed for the kitchen where Maisie and his mother were busy around the stove.

            "Take the soup in, will you, Charlie?" asked his mother. Charlie didn't want to be alone with the great-aunts, but his mother looked hot and weary so he did as she asked.

            The soup tureen was very heavy Charlie could feel the glint of Yewbeam eyes following him around the long dining-room table. He put the tureen on a -mat and ran to get the bowls before Grandma Bone could complain about the drop of soup that had spilled. When everything was ready Grandma Bone rang a bell, which Charlie thought was rather silly, Everyone could see that the meal was on the table. "Why do we need a bell?" he asked.

            "Tradition," snapped Grandma Bone. “And Paton has no sense of smell."

            "But Uncle Paton never eats with us."

            "Today," said Grandma Bone emphatically, "he will."

            “And there's an end to it," said Maisie with a grin, which soon faded when the four sisters glared at her.

            Uncle Paton arrived looking irritated, and the meal began. Maisie had done her best, but ten minutes was rather short notice to create a meal of any distinction. The soup was salty the chicken dry and the pudding had a sad, drowned look. No one complained, however. They ate fast and heartily.

            Maisie and Charlie's mother cleared the table. Paton and Charlie helped. And then it was time for the assessment. Charlie discovered that his mother was not allowed to be present. "I won't go in there without you!" he said. "I won't."

            "Charlie, you must," said his mother. "The Yewbeams have a lot of money I have nothing."

            "It beats me why you want Charlie to go to that ridiculous academy,” said Maisie.

            "For his father's sake," said Charlie's mother. Maisie clicked her tongue and said nothing more.

            Charlie's father was dead, so why did it matter so much? His mother wouldn't tell him. She gave him a little push toward the dining room and in he went.

            "I want my mom in here, or I won't do it," said Charlie.

            "My my a boy who wants his mother," Aunt Venetia cooed.

            "A boy who wants his mother is a baby,” said Aunt Lucretia sternly. “Time to grow up, Charlie. This is a Yew-beam affair. We don't want distractions." At this point Uncle Paton tried to slip away but his oldest sister called him back. "Paton, you're needed. Do your duty for once." Uncle Paton reluctantly slid into the chair she indicated. Charlie was made to sit on one side of the table, facing the four sisters; Uncle Paton sat at the end. Charlie wondered how the assessment would be conducted. There appeared to be no musical instruments, no masks or paintbrushes on the table. He waited. They watched him.

            "Where did he get that hair?" Aunt Lucretia asked.

            "His mother's side," said Grandma Bone. "A Welshman." She spoke as if Charlie were not there.

            Ah!" The three great-aunts sighed, disapprovingly.

            Aunt Lucretia was fumbling in a large leather bag. At last she drew out a brown paper package tied with black ribbon. She tugged the ribbon and the package fell open, revealing a pile of ancient-looking photographs. Grandma Bone pushed the package over to Charlie, and the contents fanned out across the table.

            "What am I supposed to do with these?" asked Charlie, who had a very good idea what they wanted him to do.

            The great-aunts smiled encouragingly.

            Charlie prayed that nothing would happen; that he could just glance at the dusty-looking collection and look away before he heard voices. But, one quick look told him that the people in the photographs were making a great deal of noise. They were playing instruments: cellos, pianos, violins. They were dancing, singing, laughing. Charlie pretended not to hear. He tried to push them away from him, toward Aunt Lucretia. She pushed them back.

            "What do you hear, Charlie?" asked Grandma Bone.

            "Nothing," said Charlie.

            "Come on, Charlie, try,” said Aunt Venetia.

            "And don't lie," said Aunt Eustacia.

            "Or we'll make you cry,” snarled Aunt Lucretia. That made Charlie angry He wasn't going to cry for anyone. "I don't hear nothing," he said, shoving the photographs away.

            “Anything," said Aunt Lucretia, shoving them back. "You don't hear anything. Not nothing. Grammar, boy Has no one taught you?"

            "He clearly needs to attend the academy,” said Aunt Eustacia.

            "Just look at them, Charlie, dear," said Aunt Venetia sweetly. “Just for one minute, and if nothing happens, we'll leave you in peace and just..." she waved her long white fingers, "melt away."

            “All right," Charlie said grudgingly.

            He thought he could get away with it; just look at the photographs and block out the sounds. But it didn't work. The sounds of cellos, pianos, sopranos, and great gusts of laughter came bursting out at him, filling the room. The great-aunts were talking to him, he could see their thin lips working away but he couldn't hear their words above the dreadful clamor of the photographs.

            At last Charlie seized the pile and flung them, facedown, onto the table. The sudden silence was a wonderful relief. The great-aunts stared at him, quietly triumphant.

            It was Aunt Venetia who spoke first. "There, that wasn't so bad, was it, Charlie?"

            Charlie realized he'd been tricked. He'd have to watch out for Aunt Venetia in the future. She was obviously more cunning than her sisters. "Who are all those people, anyway?" he asked miserably.

            "Your ancestors, Charlie," said Aunt Lucretia. "Yewbeam blood ran in all their veins. As it does in yours, dear clever boy." Her attitude had changed completely But Aunt Lucretia being nice was just as scary as Aunt Lucretia being nasty.

            "You can go now, Charlie," said Grandma Bone. "We have things to discuss. Arrangements to make for your future."

            Charlie was only too glad to go. He leaped up and marched to the door. As he went he caught sight of Uncle Paton's face. He looked sad and far away and Charlie wondered why he hadn't said a word the whole time he'd been there. Paton gave Charlie a quick smile and then looked away Charlie hurried to the kitchen where Maisie and his mother were eagerly waiting for the results of his assessment.

            "I think I've passed," he told them glumly.

            "Well, I'll be," said Maisie. "I thought you'd get away with it, Charlie. Was it the voices?"

            Charlie nodded miserably.

            "Those crazy Yewbeams." Maisie shook her head. Charlie's mother, however, was not so unhappy. “The academy will be good for you," she said.

            "No, it won't," said Charlie. "I don't want to go. It's a boring old place for geniuses. I won't fit. It's halfway across the city and I don't know anyone there. Suppose I refuse to go, Mom?"

            "If you refuse... all this could disappear," said his mother, waving in the general direction of the kitchen cabinets.

            Charlie was astounded. Were his great-aunts witches, then? Making houses disappear at the touch of a wand, or maybe an umbrella?

            "Do you mean the house could disappear?" he asked.

            "Not exactly,” said his mother. "But our lives would change. Maisie and I have nothing. Not a bean. When your father, Lyell, died, we were at the mercy of the Yewbeams. They provide for everything. They bought the house, they pay the bills. I'm sorry Charlie, you'll have to go to Bloor's if that's what they want." Charlie felt very tired. "OK," he said. “And now I'm going to bed." He had forgotten about the orange envelope, but when he got to his bedroom, there it was on his pillow His mother must have rescued it from the piles of food and dishes on the kitchen table. Charlie decided not to take a second look at the man and his baby He would take the photo straight back to Kwik Foto tomorrow and maybe get Runner Bean in exchange. When his mother came up to say good night, Charlie made her sit on his bed and answer a few questions. He felt he deserved to know more about himself before he set foot in Bloor's Academy.