by Jenny Nimmo
"You've broken the rules, Emilia," Mrs. Moon said coldly "Now, hurry up." With shaking hands, Emilia put on her clothes and went downstairs. Mrs. Moon grabbed her arm and took her out to the car, where Mr. Moon, a thin bespectacled man, sat waiting in the driver's seat. Emma and her bag were pushed into the back of the car and they drove off. Bloor's Academy looked huge and forbidding from the outside. A single light showed at the top of the tall, grim building, but otherwise it seemed silent and deserted.
Emma walked between Mr. and Mrs. Moon, across the courtyard and up the wide steps. Mr. Moon pulled a chain that hung beside the massive doors, and a bell rang somewhere, deep within the building.
Emma's heart sank when Manfred Bloor opened
335
the door. She glanced away from his coal-black eyes, expecting one of the horrible, numbing stares. But he didn't even try to make her look at him.
"Thank you," he said to the Moons. "Come in, Emilia!"
"Good-bye, Emma," said Mrs. Moon. She put Emilia's bag on the floor beside her. "Be good."
The heavy doors closed and Emma was alone with Manfred. "Why did you bring me here?" she asked. "In the middle of the night?"
"You broke the rules, didn't you, Emilia? You must be punished." Emma felt suddenly brave. It was a very unusual sensation. She also found that she was angry "I'm not Emilia," she said. "I'm Emma Tolly" Manfred laughed. It was a horrible, vicious sound. "We'll soon knock that nonsense out of you. Emma Tolly! I never heard such garbage. Pick up your bag and follow me."
Something inside Emma wanted to fight, but she
336
didn't see how she could. She was alone with Manfred, as far as she could see. Perhaps, later, she could find a way to escape. Manfred led her down passages she'd never seen, up dangerously narrow spiral steps, and through empty rooms hung with cobwebs. He carried a lantern in each hand, but Emma could barely see where she was going. There was obviously no electricity in this part of the building. Bats screeched and flittered across the crumbling ceilings, and the wind moaned through broken windows. At last they reached a small room where a narrow bed had been pushed against the wall. There was a pillow and a blanket, nothing else. The floor was bare, the walls great slabs of stone. Manfred put one of the lanterns on the floor. "Night, night!" he said.
"Sleep well, Emilia Moon."
He closed the heavy door behind him, and Emma heard a loud click as a key was turned in the lock. When Manfred's footsteps had receded, she tried to open the door. It was locked, just as she expected. Emma sat on the bed. She didn't cry She'd done
337
enough crying for one day She just sat and thought about all the wonderful things she was never going to have after all. The kind aunt, the friends, the adventures, and the amazing feeling of being happy
"They'll say I've disappeared," she said to herself, "and no one will ever find me."
She looked around her dreadful, dingy cell. Would she be kept here for ever and ever? Until she was very old?
"No," she said to herself. "I'm Emma Tolly now, and Emma won't stand for it. Emma is a persevering person." And with that she leaped up and screamed for all she was worth. "Help! Help! Help!" She could hear her own voice echoing through the empty rooms beyond the door. But there was no answer.
So Emma called out again, and this time she banged on the door. She rattled and knocked and kicked until her toes were bruised and her knuckles were red and raw And then she retreated and lay on the narrow bed, exhausted by her efforts.
338
She was just about to close her eyes, when there was a soft creak outside the door. Emma sat up. The key turned in the lock, the latch was lifted, and the door swung open.
Emma rushed across the room and looked out. There was no one to be seen. She picked up the lantern and swung it across the passage outside. No one -nothing -unless you counted the bat that hung from a beam. Bats can't open doors, thought Emma.
Holding the lantern as high as she could, she began to walk down the passage. "Who's there?" she whispered. "Who let me out?" This time she didn't dare to raise her voice in case Manfred came storming back. At the end of the passage she came to a staircase. Cautiously she began to climb down. At the bottom of the stairs, passages branched right and left. Emma hesitated and then took the right. It was very smelly Gaslight flickered from the walls and she wondered whether it was this that caused the smell.
And then she saw the monster. Or was it a dog? It was low and fat, like a pillow on very short legs, and its
339
face had all but disappeared, except for a long sagging nose. Emma gasped and shrank against the wall. But the dog hadn't seen her. She was about to creep in the other direction when a voice screeched,
"Stop. You there! Come back!"
Before tearing away Emma cast one quick look over her shoulder. She saw a man in a wheelchair, so old that his face was almost a skull. He had a woolen shawl over his shoulders and his long, white hair dripped like wax from a small woolen cap.
"It got out!" he shrieked. "The inventor's brat! Manfred, get it!" Stifling a scream, Emma ran. She crashed up the stairs, banging her lantern against the wall, along the passage and into the cell-like room, slamming the door behind her. And then she waited, knowing that very soon something bad would happen.
It wasn't long before Manfred's unpleasant face peered through the door.
"Ah, you're there," he said. "You'd better not try that again." 340
He closed the door with a bang and locked it, saying, "I'm taking the key so don't think you can let her out again. Any more trouble, and you won't get jam for a week." Obviously he wasn't speaking to Emma. Something hard crashed against a wall and Manfred yelled, "Stop it!" Another door banged and then there was silence.
Emma tiptoed to the door. "Who are you?" she asked. There was no answer.
"I'm sorry I got you into trouble," she said. Still no answer. Whoever was out there had either crept away or jam was so important to them, they didn't want to risk being deprived of it.
"Well, anyway thank you for trying to help," said Emma. She sat back on the bed. The candle in her lantern had almost burned out and she could hardly bear the thought of being in complete darkness in that cold creepy room. She stared up at the grim, gray walls, and then, in the dying candlelight, she noticed a small window behind the bed. If she climbed on her pillow she
341
could reach it, and yet she knew the window must be very high up. Far too high for her to jump.
"Charlie said I could fly" she murmured. As she said these words her fingers began to tingle and a strange throbbing passed through her arms, making them almost weightless.
Paton Yewbeam was taking his midnight stroll. He walked with a purposeful stride, and yet his mind was in a turmoil. On one hand he was feeling very positive; at last he was beginning to put things right, and his sisters knew where he stood.
A bulb exploded as he passed a lamppost. There was the usual clatter of falling glass, and then another sound, the patter of light footsteps. Paton sighed, but he didn't look back. If someone was following him, let them. They couldn't prove a thing. He began to mutter to himself. "If only I hadn't insisted on dinner. If we'd stayed at home, eaten by candlelight.... She thinks I'm a freak. Forget her, Paton. She'll never forgive you."
341
342
Paton became aware that the footsteps had caught up with him. A girl was walking by his side; she had a small, pale face and long, rather straggly fair hair.
"Excuse me," said the girl. "Can you tell me the way to Ingledew's Bookshop?"
"Indeed I can," said Paton. "I believe I was just on my way there."
"Oh, good," said the girl. "My name's Emma Tolly" 343
THE RED KING
It was half past midnight when Paton rang the bell of Ingledew's Bookshop. Of course, no one answered the door. And yet Paton happened to know that Julia Ingledew went to bed very late. She had admitted that she often read a book until tw
o in the morning. He rang again. A window above the door flew open with a bang, and Julia Ingledew looked out. "Who is it?" she asked angrily She saw Paton. "Oh, it's you. This is a fine time to come calling."
"Julia... er, Miss Ingledew, it's not really me. Or rather it is me, of course, but there's someone else who wants to see you." Paton stepped back from the door, gently drawing Emma with him. "Her name's Emma Tolly"
"What? I don't... I can't..." The window slammed shut. Hasty footsteps descended a creaking staircase, and the door flew open with a loud tinkle. 344
"Hello!" said Emma.
"Nancy? Oh, you're so like Nancy" cried Miss Ingledew. "Come in, come in, and you, Paton. Oh, I can't believe this. I just... oh, my goodness, I'm lost for words."
Julia drew Emma into the shop. She stared at her, touched her hair, her face, and then she hugged her. "It's really you. Oh, Emma, how did this happen?"
"I woke up," said Emma. "Charlie Bone and his friends helped me, and then this nice man brought me here."
"Thank you, Paton," Julia said fervently "Come and have a cup of tea or something. This is a celebration."
She took them through to her cozy room behind the bookshop, and Emma stared at the shelves of rich, mellow books, their gold-tooled letters glowing in the soft light. She breathed in the smell of old paper and leather and print and, with a deep sigh, she declared it to be the most wonderful room in the world.
"It could be your home, Emma," said Miss Ingledew 345
happily "If all goes well. Unless you want to stay with the people who adopted you."
"No, no, no!" cried Emma. "I never want to see that horrible house again."
"You must tell me all about it," said Miss Ingledew "I want to know everything. And you, Paton, I'm sure you've got a lot to do with this. Sit down, sit down." She rushed around the room removing books and papers from the chairs, plumping up cushions, and flicking dust from the lamp shades.
An hour later, Paton made his way home. He whistled a merry tune as the street lights flickered and crackled above him. He hadn't been so happy since he was seven years old.
Early on Sunday morning, Charlie woke up to find his uncle standing at the foot of his bed.
"Great news, Charlie," said Uncle Paton. "I haven't been able to sleep a wink. Emma Tolly is with her aunt, and we're going to make sure she stays there."
346
Charlie sat up. "How did it happen?" he asked. Paton told him how the Moons had taken Emma to the academy in the middle of the night. And how Manfred had locked her up.
"But she got out," said Charlie.
"Yes," Paton said slowly "and, at the moment, she won't say how But, Charlie, someone got wind of your little experiment, someone betrayed you, and I think you ought to find out who it is." Charlie had a horrible feeling he knew. It couldn't possibly have been Benjamin or Fidelio, or even Olivia. He would trust all three with his life. That only left Billy Raven. "It's Billy Raven," he said. "I feel sorry for him, Uncle Paton. He hasn't got any sort of home, and I think he's frightened of something. Did you see the car that arrived for him? It had smoked windows, and somebody inside stuck out a cane and hit me."
"The old man," Paton murmured.
"What old man? You mean Manfred's greatgrandfather!" 347
"I've got a few things to show you, Charlie. Come and see me after breakfast."
Charlie got dressed and ran down to breakfast. He was surprised to find Grandma Bone in the kitchen and even more surprised when she actually smiled as he dug into his sausage and fried eggs. Charlie was suspicious. He thought he'd get a lecture about breaking the rules. But perhaps she hadn't yet heard about Emma Tolly's escape. As soon as breakfast was over, Charlie went upstairs and tapped on his uncle's door.
"Come in, Charlie!" Uncle Paton's voice didn't sound weary and angry anymore.
Charlie could hardly open the door. There were books all over the floor. He had to tiptoe into the few empty spaces, while his uncle directed him: "Not there! Yes, that's right.... Mind that one, Charlie! I don't want to lose my place."
"What's going on, Uncle Paton?" said Charlie, sitting in a small gap in the papers strewn across his uncle's bed.
348
"You asked me about the Red King, Charlie, and I've made strides - great strides. Miss Ingledew helped me to find some of these books." He indicated the huge ancient-looking books beside his desk. "They're priceless, treasures really I've yet to translate them all, but a great deal has already come to light. I've made notes. Listen."
"They're in another language?" asked Charlie.
"Many languages. Now, listen. The Red King came to these islands, meaning Britain, in the thirteenth century They say he came from Africa, though from which part I can't be sure. He was called red because of his scarlet cloak and the blazing red sun on his shield. One of his companions was a knight from Toledo, the city of swords. The Red King married this knight's daughter, but sadly she died when their tenth child was born.
"The Red King left his castle and traveled the land, mourning his wife. There are many accounts of his strange deeds during this period: of the storms he invoked, of his gift for healing, and for his accurate 349
prediction of future events. It says here," Paton heaved a book onto his lap, "'the Red King could, with his black eye, render powerless any adversary' in other words, he could hypnotize." Paton put down the book.
"I could quote hundreds of instances of mysterious happenings, but what it all boils down to is that the Red King was a magician."
"And all of us endowed ones are somehow descended from him?" asked Charlie.
"Yes. But that isn't the end of the story" Paton leaned forward, cupping his chin in one hand and staring earnestly at Charlie. "The king was absent from his castle for fifteen years. He neglected his children who had, in various ways, inherited some, but not all, of his many talents. When the king returned, he found that his children were at war."
?At war?"
At war with their neighbors. They were using their talents to trick and to steal, to plunder, maim, and kill. The people in the surrounding countryside were terrified of them."
350
"Were they all bad then, those children?" asked Charlie.
"Indeed no. Only five were intent on achieving power. The others left the castle; they disappeared into the country Some even sailed to other lands, hoping to escape their terrible siblings and reluctant to use their strange endowments. But they couldn't escape, Charlie, because some of their children became wicked too, and often the children of the bad were born good. In this way the families were bound together, forever, never able to break free from their past; and so it has continued until today Just when a family thinks it is clear of wickedness, up pops a thoroughly bad one, with a talent to cause havoc." Paton shook his head. "So many warring families, so much heartache, so much distress."
"I'm glad I'm an only child," said Charlie.
Paton laughed. "If we stick together, we'll win in the end, Charlie!" He swung around to face his desk again.
"Yeah!" Charlie stood up and began the precarious journey across the floor When he reached the door he
351
turned and said, "What happened to the Red King, Uncle Paton? Couldn't he put things right, seeing as he had all that power?"
"He'd waited too long," Paton said solemnly. "He would have had to kill his children, and that he couldn't do. With his three leopards, the Red King departed from his castle, and was never seen again. Although there are accounts of an invisible presence in various parts of the country"
"You never said anything about leopards," said Charlie.
"Didn't I? Well, there we are. I forgot." Paton gave Charlie a mysterious smile. "This afternoon, I'm going to Ingledew's to help Julia with her arrangements for keeping Emma."
"Do you think it'll work? Will Emma really be able to stay there forever?"
"We'll make it work. The Bloors won't want the world to find out what they've been up to. They'll have to give
Emma up. As for the Moons, it doesn't sound as if they enjoyed being parents at all." Uncle Paton 352
looked very confident. In fact, he looked like a new man altogether. Charlie left his uncle to his books and went across to see Benjamin. To his surprise, there was no one in at number twelve, not even Runner Bean. It gradually dawned on Charlie that the Brown family had gone out for the day All together. This had never happened before. Benjamin had always been at home, whenever Charlie wanted him.
Charlie wandered down to the park, just in case Benjamin had taken his dog out for his first walk since the attack, but there was no sign of them. When he got home he found Maisie sitting in the rocker by the stove. "I don't feel very well, Charlie," Maisie said. "I think I'll skip lunch today and take a little nap."
This was unheard of. Maisie was never ill. Charlie watched his grandmother plod across the kitchen. What had happened to her? Over lunch, he and his mother had a long chat-about Emma Tolly 353
"It's like a fairy tale," sighed Mrs. Bone. "I hope it'll have a happy ending."
"She doesn't belong to the Moons," said Charlie. "She hates them. She belongs to Miss Ingledew"
"But can they prove it?" Amy Bone shook her head. "Who's going to believe stories about hypnotism and ... shining knights and ringing bells... and Dr. Tolly's message."
"No one will have to know Uncle Paton says the Bloors won't want other people to know what they've been up to, so they'll give up without a fight."
"I don't believe that," said Amy Bone. "Someone will have to pay for what's happened. Be careful, Charlie."
"Don't worry about me, Mom."
After lunch, Mrs. Bone had to go down to the greengrocer's. She'd promised to help with some packaging. "I won't be long, Charlie," she said. "Maisie's upstairs, if you need her."
The house was very quiet. Uncle Paton had already gone out. When Charlie peeked into Maisie's room he
354
found she was fast asleep. He crept past Grandma Bone's door. He certainly didn't want to wake her up. He ran across to number twelve and found that the Brown family was still out. The air was very still and cold and, as Charlie crossed the road again, tiny snowflakes began to settle on his head.