Charlie Bone and the Castle of Mirrors Page 19

  "What hasn't?" said Felix dramatically. "Gabriel Silk's in a coma. Left the school."

  "What?" cried Charlie. "1 low did it happen?"

  "Something about a cape," said Felix. "But your Other friend, the stormy one . . ."

  "Tancred? What's happened to him?" Charlie dropped his sandwich and the cat pounced on it.

  "Gone berserk," said Felix. "It keeps raining on his friends. Fidelio's been soaked several times, so's Lysander, and that girl Emma Tolly has had a really bad time. Her fingers were struck by lightning."

  "Not her fingers!" Charlie could hardly believe it. What could possibly have happened to Tancred to make him torment his friends in this way? Charlie had been thinking about taking the rest of the week off from school, but that was out of the question now. He had to find out what was going on at Bloor's. Cook's words echoed in the back of his mind. "I’m the lodestone, Charlie. I keep the balance. Once that has gone, we’re lost."

  So, what had happened to Cook?

  Three against six," Charlie said to himself. "Seven if you count Manfred."

  "What's that, Charlie?" said Uncle Paton

  Charlie looked up "I've got to get back to Bloor's.”

  "Not tonight, dear boy," said his uncle. "The lights will be out. They probably won’t even open the door."

  “Tomorrow, then," said Charlie. "As soon as possible. I'll walk it I have to."

  "No need for that," said Felix. "I'll give you a lift."

  When Charlie and Uncle Paton got up to leave, there was an unpleasant noise under the table and Mr. Gunn sang, "Pusskins has eaten a parsnip again!"

  Charlie was relieved to see Billy join in the laughter. He was definitely in the right place — at least for no w.

  As soon as Charlie walked into number nine and turned off the hall light, Grandma Bone shouted at him from the living room. "Don't bother to tell me where you've been. I know You stupid boy"

  "Cut it out, Grizelda," growled Paton.

  Charlie was grabbed by Maisie, who drew him into the candlelit kitchen clasped in a bear hug. His mother joined in the hug, and when Charlie had been almost suffocated, he was allowed to sit at the table and drink a mug of cocoa.

  Naturally Amy and Maisie wanted to know everything that had happened, but Uncle Paton insisted that Charlie be allowed to go to bed while he told them about the Castle of Mirrors.

  Charlie's eyes were closing as he climbed into bed. The last thing he saw before he fell asleep was the soft glow of the white moth as it settled on his bedside table.

  * * *

  Felix Gunn was as good as his word. He turned up in a small, ml her battered French car, just as Charlie had finished his breakfast.

  "Who's that?" Grandma Bone demanded, as Felix whisked Charlie off to Bloor's.

  "None of your business," said Maisie.

  But, of course, Grandma Bone was bound to find out. Whether it was Felix's visit that drew her attention to the Gunns, Charlie would never know Perhaps the Bloors had never seriously considered the Gunn family as Charlie's allies, until Fidelio's brother arrived outside number nine. But once the Bloors began to take an interest in Gunn House, the consequences were disastrous.

  Charlie could feel the tension in the air as soon as he walked into assembly Fidelio gave him the thumbs-up sign from the stage, but everyone else stared at him suspiciously He felt as though he'd grown horns. "And I've only been away for two days," he said to himself.

  Charlie finally caught up with Fidelio during the first break.

  "I don't know who's been spreading the rumors, but there have been some wild stories going around about you and Billy," said Fidelio, as they walked across the grass together. "People were saying that you'd been expelled."

  "I'd better tell you the truth," said Charlie.

  Fidelio suggested they keep walking as there were eavesdroppers everywhere. In a few minutes, they were joined by Lysander. Charlie had never seen him look so downhearted. It was he who had found Gabriel lying senseless under a blue cape.

  "I was worried when he went up to the music room," Lysander told Charlie. "Especially when Fido had seen Dorcas Loom taking a cape into the tower. As soon as I found Gabriel, I told Dr. Saltweather. He called the ambulance."

  "You told the right person," Fidelio said gravely. "If you'd told Matron, poor old Gabe might never have made it to the hospital."

  It was a sobering thought.

  "There was a kind of earthquake that night," Fidelio added as an afterthought. "A great rumble underground. But in the morning everything looked normal."

  "Underground?" said Charlie, frowning.

  "And now look at Tancred." Lysander pointed across the field. "Tanc red and that little squirt."

  Charlie saw Tancred and Joshua sharing a joke with Dorcas Loom of all people. Joshua's sweater was plastered with dead leaves.

  "But how . . .."began Charlie.

  "Magnetism!" Lysander spoke through gritted teeth.

  "Joshua?" Charlie was incredulous.

  "You'd he surprised," Lysander said grimly "My mom knows all about it. You don't have to be strong or handsome or even clever. Some people have just got it. They can twist you around their little fingers."

  "But Tancred," said Charlie in disbelief. "He was helping us. How could he turn — just like that? I mean, it didn't happen to you."

  "I was prepared," said Lysander. "But magnetism is a powerful endowment. You must have felt it, Charlie. When Joshua smiles at you, there's a kind of tug that makes you want to be his friend, in spite of yourself."

  "I have felt something," Charlie admitted. "But I won't let him get to me."

  Lysander nodded in his wise and thoughtful way. "And nor will Emma."

  "Emma's stronger than she looks," said Charlie. "But Tancred. How could Tancred let himself be so — so taken in?"

  Lysander sighed. "Tancred's a good guy but he's just the tiniest bit vain. Joshua played on that. And now Tancred's putty in his hands."

  "I can't believe it," said Charlie. On the other side of the grounds, someone screamed. One of the smaller new girls had been knocked over by a large log. Idith and Inez stood smirking, a few meters away

  "It was them," said Lysander. "They're evil, those two."

  Olivia and Emma had seen the boys and were just approaching them when a cloud burst right above the girls' heads. As they ran forward, the rain moved with them, and the three boys turned and raced for the trees. Charlie caught a glimpse of Tancred's smiling face and Joshua Tilpin rocking with laughter.

  "He did it on purpose," cried Olivia as she bounded for cover. "Glad you're back, Charlie. Maybe you can do something about Tancred."

  Charlie didn't know what he could do. He looked around the circle of faces. It was good to know there were a few friends whom he could still rely on. And then he noticed Emma's hands. The tip of each finger was bandaged. Only her thumbs had escaped the lightning or whatever it was that had injured her.

  "Was that really Tancred?" Charlie stared at the bandages.

  "I don't know," said Emma. "One minute I was standing by the log pile, talking to Liv and the next there was a clap of thunder, a flash, and everyone screamed and rushed indoors. I felt a kind of stinging in my fingers . . .."

  "And I looked at her hands," said Olivia, pointing at Emma's fingers, "and they were bright red."

  "They're better now." Emma waggled her fingers. “And I can't prove it was Tancred."

  "It was him all right," Olivia insisted. "You've got to do something, Charlie!"

  "Me?" said Charlie as everyone looked at him.

  "You can begin by telling us where you've been," said Lysander.

  "OK."

  Charlie gave his friends a brief description of his ride on the shell beach and then the extraordinary Castle of Mirrors. There was a gasp of horror when he told them about Tantalus Ebony and Christopher Crowquill. No one knew what to say until Fidelio uttered a small grunt and said, "Just like that? It's too horrible.''

  Charlie didn't
tell them that he had believed Albert Tuccini to be his father. His disappointment was still too painful.

  "It's horrible, all right," said l.ysander. "But only too possible. We all know Albert Tuccini, don't we? He came to give us a piano recital during spring semester. Don't you remember?"

  It all came flooding back. "Of course," said Charlie slowly and sadly. "And the face at the window in my great-aunt's house, and the piano at the top, after the fire. It was Albert Tuccini all the time, not . . . not someone else."

  "Those Yewbeam aunts of yours!" Lysander raised his big, brown eyes to the sky. "They're criminals, Charlie. They've been taking advantage of that poor pianist, pretending to help him but all the time making money from his concerts. What a bunch of horrors."

  "You can say that again," said Charlie with a grimace.

  Tancred's mischievous shower had stopped by the time break was over, and the five friends were able to run into school without getting any wetter.

  Charlie decided that he must find Cook. Only she was wise enough to advise him now But when she didn't appear at lunchtime, Charlie was afraid that even Cook had fallen prey to the sinister forces that were creeping through Bloor's Academy

  Snack time was Charlie's only chance to get into the kitchen, so while Fidelio kept watch, Charlie slipped around the counter and entered the noisy kitchen.

  "What do you want, young man?" asked one of Cook's assistants, a thin young woman with a red face and fluffy hair.

  "I'm looking for Cook," said Charlie.

  "She's not been well, love. She went to lie down."

  "Oh." Charlie wasn't sure what to do next. Cook's secret rooms lay behind an insignificant broom closet. None of the kitchen staff knew of their existence. Maybe Cook was upstairs in the chilly room where the Bloors thought she slept. Charlie had a strong feeling that she would have gone to her cozy underground apartment.

  "Thanks," he said to the assistant. He made for the door into the cafeteria, but as soon as the woman's back was turned, he bent double and shuffled quickly behind one of the counters. He had to wait until another assistant moved toward the sinks; then he clashed to the broom closet, wrenched open the door, and leaped inside, closing the door behind him.

  A small peg at the back of the closet served as a doorknob, and when Charlie turned it, a door opened into a dark passageway. Charlie closed the second door. He was now standing in utter darkness. Cook usually had a soft light burning in the passageway Not today Charlie's uneasiness turned into a foreboding feeling.

  Groping his way along the wall, he stumbled down two steps, then inched forward until he could feel a small closet. He opened the door and stepped into what had once been a cozy living room. Today it was unrecognizable. For one thing, the floor sloped alarmingly All the furniture had fallen over and now lay in a mess at the lower end of the room.

  The feeble light from an overturned lamp showed Charlie a figure lying flat on the floor in front of the cold black stove. The dog, Blessed, sat beside it.

  "Cook!" cried Charlie.

  Blessed turned his mournful gaze on Charlie, as he rushed over to them.

  Cook looked dreadful. Her gray hair had turned completely white. Her usually rosy face was drained of color and she appeared to have lost a great deal of weight.

  "Charlie," moaned Cook. "You've come back."

  "What's happened, Cook?" cried Charlie.

  "The balance has gone. I told you, didn't I? We must keep the balance."

  "But I thought that you kept the balance. You said you were the lodestone," said Charlie wildly

  "I can't keep it if you're not here, can I?" Cook spoke in a thin, resentful voice. "You and Billy both gone, and that awful boy that magnet, taking over."

  "Sorry," Charlie mumbled. "I took Billy to the Castle of Mirrors."

  "So I heard. Alice Angel has told me everything. That poor Mr. Crowquill. Mind you, I knew there was something fishy about Tantalus Ebony. Help me up, Charlie."

  As Charlie pulled her to her feet, Cook said, "I was feeling so bad I thought I'd have a nap. The stove went out when all that happened" — she indicated the jumble of furniture at the end of the room — "and I couldn't get it going again."

  The floor sloped so badly Charlie had difficulty in keeping his balance, let alone holding Cook upright. While she clung to the mantelpiece he quickly fetched a chair and pushed some newspapers under the front legs. When the chair was reasonably steady Charlie helped Cook to sit down.

  She sank back and patted her chest. “aah! That's better." Blessed shuffled close to her chair. "This old dog has kept me company bless him." She stroked the dog's wrinkled head.

  "When did all this happen?" asked Charlie.

  "Monday night. After they found poor Gabriel. I can't say I was surprised, with you gone and the Torsson boy behaving badly"

  "I thought I was doing the right thing, taking Billy to the Castle of Mirrors," said Charlie.

  "Don't give me that, Charlie Bone," Cook said angrily. "You weren't thinking of Billy. You made yourself believe you'd find your father. You threw reason to the wind, didn't you? Once again, you rushed off without a thought for anyone else."

  Charlie gave a huge sigh. "I did want to help Billy Really It's just . . . well, 1 wanted to find my dad, too."

  Cook stared at him for a moment. "I can't blame you, Charlie," she said gently. "I'm sorry you didn't find your father."

  Charlie avoided Cook's eye and looked at his feet. "So what can I do now?"

  "I honestly don't know. We need another endowed child. Someone who can put friendship before self-interest. Someone who'll work with us, Charlie. Maybe then, things will balance out."

  "I think I know who might he endowed," said Charlie. "But they won't admit it."

  "Well, whoever it is, they'll need a powerful talent to turn things around this time." Cook got to her feet and smoothed her wrinkled apron. "You'd better get back now, Charlie. Blessed and I will follow at a slower pace."

  When Charlie finally managed to make a break for the kitchen door, he found Fidelio sitting alone, while the fluffy-haired kitchen assistant wiped down the empty tables. "And where have you come from?" she barked at Charlie.

  "He went to look for a cloth," said Fidelio, who had made a disgusting puddle of crumbs and orange juice on his table.

  "Boys," grumbled the woman. "My girls don't make this kind of mess."

  "Glad to hear it, ma'am," said Fidelio. "Good afternoon." And he dragged the speechless Charlie out of the cafeteria.

  "So what's going on?" Fidelio whispered harshly as the two boys walked along the corridor of portraits.

  "Cook's in a bad way" said Charlie gloomily. "And I've got to find someone who can turn everything around."

  "An impossible task," groaned Fidelio.

  They had almost reached the hall, and seeing Manfred striding down the staircase, Charlie whispered, "Maybe not."

  * * *

  Homework in the King's room that night was even more unpleasant than Charlie expected.

  "Good of you to join us, Bone," said Manfred when Charlie walked in.

  Charlie took a seat beside Emma while six unfriendly faces watched him from the other side of the table. Tancred sat alone, Charlie noticed, so there was still a hope that Joshua hadn't entirely won him over. On the other side of Emma, Lysander was keeping his head down. He bent over his work, refusing to look anyone in the eye.

  The twins began the trouble: Charlie's books were sent flying off the table and Emma was hit by a pencil case. When Lysander's exercise book was ripped down the middle and hurled to the ceiling, he lost his temper.

  "Cut it out, you trash!" he yelled at the twins, flinging a book at them.

  The twins ducked together. They didn't cry out or scowl or even frown. Their faces were completely blank.

  Manfred barked, "Next time you open your mouth it's detention for you, Sage."

  Lysander made an ambiguous sound and sat down.

  Joshua was smiling at Tancred, and
in the next few minutes, Charlie, Emma, and Lysander were the victims of a small downpour that soaked their hair and their work. Surprisingly Manfred came to their rescue.

  "Stop that, smart aleck," Manfred barked at Tancred.

  Somehow, Charlie survived the evening and then another whole day. But on Thursday night he lay awake, long after lights-out, trying to decide what his next move should be.

  He heard a car door slam. There were muffled footsteps in the courtyard below. Charlie ran to the window and looked down. Manfred and Weedon were dragging a small white-haired boy toward the main doors.

  Billy had been found.

  OLIVIA'S TALENT

  Felix Gunn was dismissed from Bloor's Academy Before he went, however, he managed to relay the grim events of Billy's capture to Fidelio and Charlie.

  In the middle of the night a wolf — or something like it — had jumped through the open window of one of the bedrooms. The Gunn children were not easily frightened. In fact, they were a brave and daring bunch. They had attacked the beast with anything that came to hand. Cellos, music stands, drumsticks, and even a French horn had been used to beat the snarling, creeping, dreadful creature

  But by the time Mr. and Mrs. Gunn had come to their children's rescue, Billy Raven had run howling out of the front door — straight into the arms of Manfred Bloor.

  "Flushed out," said Fidelio, "like a poor rabbit."

  No sooner had Fidelio spoken than Manfred stood in the doorway of the blue coatroom, where Felix had been relating his grisly tale.

  "Felix Gunn, you've been dismissed," Manfred said coldly

  "So I have." Felix made a little bow "Good-bye, boys. And good luck. You'll certainly need it." He picked up his guitar and hummed his way across the hall to Mr. Weedon, who was obliged to unlock and unbolt the heavy doors.

  "Stop gaping, you two," snarled Manfred. "Get to your classrooms."

  Charlie and Fidelio obeyed without a murmur.

  Billy didn't appear in school. He wasn't seen until Friday afternoon when everyone was dashing out to catch the school buses. Charlie happened to look up just as he passed the staircase, and there he was, a small figure standing in shadow at the far end of the landing. Charlie raised his hand, but before Billy could respond, Manfred shooed Charlie through the door.