by Jenny Nimmo
"He's in there," whispered Emma. "I'm sure he is. Poor Billy."
"He's in there, all right," said Charlie. "That was the man I saw at Bloor's, the man who doesn't like kids."
"Now what?" asked Fidelio.
Runner Bean's anguished howling made it difficult for Charlie to think. Banging your nose on something you can't see is very frightening for a dog, and Charlie didn't know how to describe a force field in animal language. Only Billy could do that.
"I'll think of something." Charlie sounded as cheerf ul as he could.
They were all reluctant to leave the Passing House while Billy was still trapped inside, but there was nothing else they could do. Another plan would have to be made.
As C harlie stepped out of Crook's Passage, he looked back. The Flames hadn't moved. They were sitting in a row outside the door of the Passing House. Maybe they held the key to Billy's escape.
Billy had been watching his TV when he heard the dog. At first, the sound was only a series of anguished howls, but then Billy began to recognize Runner Bean's voice and to understand his dog talk.
"Ghost gate!" barked Runner Bean. "Ice wall! Fire wall! Hurting gate! Cat's trick! Pain! Charlie, help!"
Billy jumped up and ran to the window All he could see through the thick mist was a gray stone wall. His window was locked and he had no means of opening it. He went into the passage outside his room and tiptoed onto the landing. Looking down into the hall, he arrived just in time to see Usher de Grey slam the front door. Billy ran back into the passageway and stood with his back pressed to the wall, hardly daring to breathe. Charlie was outside, but would his visit cause trouble? The thought of more pain made Billy close his eyes in dread.
"Billy!" said a soft voice.
Billy opened his eyes and saw the small black cat at his feet. "Friends," she said in the smallest of voices.
Billy crept back to his room, followed by the cat. Without making a sound, he carefully closed the door.
"Sorry for hurting dog," said the cat. "Clawdia had to show Billy's friend the danger. Had to show Usher's secret wall. Please tell dog Clawdia is sorry"
"I'll tell him if I ever see him again," said Billy
"My friends are here," the little cat went on. "They stay. They help Billy to leave. Tonight, Billy must be ready"
"Tonight?" Billy shook his head fearfully And yet the longing to escape was so great, the thought of freedom was so intoxicating, that he began to laugh with excitement.
"Shhh!" hushed the cat. "Not yet."
"Where will I go?" asked Billy "If I leave here."
"Friends show you."
"Who are your friends?"
"Cats, naturally Copper coat, orange coat, golden coat."
"The Flames!" gasped Billy.
"Flames, yes. Clawdia will go now."
Billy opened the door, and the black cat stepped into the hallway "Don't forget," she said. "Tonight!"
"How could I forget?" Billy whispered.
BREAKING THE FORCE FIELD
Billy always ate dinner alone in his room. When he finished, he would take his tray down to the kitchen, and there he would do all the dishes while the de Greys sat at the table, working on their accounts.
On the night that Billy was hoping to escape, he noticed that Florence had a pile of forms before her. She leafed through the papers, licking her thumb and smiling with satisfaction.
Oaths, thought Billy He realized that somehow he would have to destroy his own oaths if he were ever to truly escape from the de Greys. But where was the bag with the oaths kept? He would have to find out.
Billy dried the last plate and put it in the china cabinet. "Good night, Mom! Good night, Dad," he said. (He found it impossible to call them by their first names, as they had demanded.) "Thank you for my nice dinner," he added.
"What was it?" asked Florence, without looking up.
“A sandwich," said Billy.
“Anything in it?" asked Usher.
Billy had to think hard about that one. "I think it was margarine," he said.
"Has the pain gone, dear?" Florence gave him a cursory glance.
"Yes, thank you, Mom."
"Let's hope you don't get ill again," said Florence, checking off one of the papers.
"Yes. Good night."
Neither of the de Greys paid Billy any attention as he left the kitchen. He walked across the tiled hall, telling his feet to behave the way they normally did, but his head was in such turmoil, he couldn't even remember how he used to walk. Once he reached the stairs, he took the steps two at a time, eager to make preparations for the night ahead.
The de Greys never looked in on Billy at night, but just in case, he wore his pajamas over his everyday clothes. Instead of getting into bed, he crept onto the landing and waited for Florence to leave the kitchen. At seven o'clock, she came out carrying the gray bag. Billy stepped into the shadows as she crossed the hall and went into a small office on the other side. She came back out without the bag.
Billy tiptoed back to his room. Leaving the door slightly ajar, he took off his glasses, laid them on his bedside table, and then got into bed. It was the longest night he could remember. The cathedral clock struck twelve, then one and two and three. Having given up all hope of rescue, Billy fell into a fitful sleep.
While Billy slept, the night clouds rolled away revealing a sky of soft, pearl gray The city was still swaddled in mist; only the roofs of the tallest buildings could be seen from above, their wet slate shining in the dawn light.
************************************
From the mass of yellow leaves that crowned an ash tree, a n orange cat emerged. With amazing agility it leaped onto a roof several feet away It was followed by a yellow cat and then another cat, the color of a dark flame. The three cats sped over the rooftops until they came to an open skylight. One after another, the cats dropped into an empty room at the top of the Passing House.
Usher de Grey was so confident of his force field that he never bothered to lock any doors. The Flame cats had no trouble making their way down through the house, but they were aware that the place was laced with a dangerous magic. For them, however, breaking a force field was as easy as stepping through paper.
The little black cat was waiting for her friends on the landing. "I will fetch the boy" she said.
Billy woke up with a start when Clawdia jumped on his bed.
"Time to go, Billy!" she whispered. He rubbed his eyes and put on his glasses. Then, slipping out of bed, he took off his pajamas. Suddenly the enormity of what he was about to do made him shiver with apprehension. He looked around the room, at the TV the computer, the books, and the games, all his if he stayed here forever. He was stepping into the unknown on the word of a small black cat. Could he trust her?
When he saw the Flame cats Billy's nerves were soothed by their comforting purrs and warm colors. Now; he felt he could do anything.
Florence and Usher de Grey slept very soundly proving that the old saying, "The wicked never sleep," can hardly be true. When Billy and the cats passed their bedroom, they dozed on, happily enjoying the sort of dreams that most people would consider nightmares.
In the cats' extraordinary glow, Billy could actually see Usher's force field. Sparkling blue lines were str ung across the hall like the threads of a giant cob web. The blue lines were especially thick where they covered the doors, and Billy's heart sank when he saw the door to the room where Florence had left the oaths.
The cats leaped neatly down the stairs, and when they reached the first blue strand, they bounded through it, leaving the broken strings hanging limply
in the air.
"Come, Billy It's safe!" said Aries.
Billy ran down into the hall and carefully followed the cats' passage through the force field. "Before I leave I must go into that room." He pointed to the office.
The three cats turned their golden gaze toward the door. It was Sagittarius, the yellow cat, who moved first. Standing on his hind legs, he tore at the threads covering the office door. Billy reached for the handle and the door opened. The gray bag was standing on the floor, just inside. When Billy picked it up, he found that the clasp came undone as soon as he pressed it. Florence obviously relied on her husband's power to guard the collection of oaths.
Billy quickly searched through the papers in the bag, and finding the forms that he had signed, he pulled them out. He was tucking them down his sweater when he felt the cats' eyes upon him. He looked up, realizing what they wanted him to do.
"I should take them all, shouldn't I?" he said. "So they will all be free."
"Yes, Billy," the cats replied in unison. “All."
"Make haste," added Leo. "Soon they will wake."
As he ran from the room, Billy put his forms back in the gray bag, then tucked it under his arm. The Flames were already tearing at the threads that covered the front door. When they had broken every strand, Billy seized the handle. An eerie wail echoed through the house as he wrenched open the door, and the black cat called, "Fly my friends. He is waking."
Billy lunged through the door with Usher's furious roar ringing in his ears. "The kid's out! Get up! Get up!"
Racing over the rough stones of Crook's Passage, Billy was glad to have the Flames' luminous glow show him the way, but he was still terribly afraid. Where was he to go now? And how would he get there?
Courage," said Leo, running beside him.
Sagittarius, the brightest, bounded ahead, while Aries brought up the rear, turning his head every now and again to observe the dark alley behind them.
Now they were out on the main road and running toward the cathedral. As they sped across the cobble-stoned square, the clock in the great dome chimed five o'clock, and a flock of jackdaws rose, chattering into the dawn sky Billy looked longingly at Ingledew's bookstore: He knew Emma Tolly lived there, but Leo warned, "Don't stop, Billy It's not safe yet."
Down to High Street and through the city Billy's heart was beating wildly He began to think that if the oaths didn't kill him, then this journey surely would. The mutter of an engine could be heard coming closer, second by second. Without slowing his pace, Billy looked back and saw a gray car emerge from the mist behind him. The de Greys.
"This way!" Sagittarius commanded, darting into an alley.
How they reached the road to the Heights, Billy would never know. He had never been much of a runner, yet he hadn't stopped running since he left the Passing House. Had the cats lent him their strength as they guided him through the foggy streets?
I.eo answered his unspoken question. "The Red King's strength, Billy"
When they began the steep climb up to the Heights, they passed a redbrick house with a high wall and tall, barred gate. " LOOM VILLA " said the sign on the gate. Billy was only a few yards away from the house when the gate burst open, and four black dogs erupted onto the road. Instead of running faster, Billy stopped, too terrified to move. The dogs' savage black eyes were fixed on him and their great jaws gaped, revealing long, murderous teeth.
The Flames surrounded Billy hissing dangerously The dogs lowered their heads and snarled.
"Keep moving, Billy" said Aries.
Billy shuffled backward, his trembling knees hardly supporting him. Just when he thought they might give way completely, a violent crack of thunder stopped the dogs in their tracks. A bolt of lightning lit the sky, and the black dogs raced for home, howling in terror.
"Now, Billy Run for your life!" said Leo.
Billy could see headlights creeping through the fog, and clutching the bag of oaths, he ran. The road became steeper, but he didn't slacken his pace. His heart thumped, his head spun, and his legs shook but he was running for his life, and this time he couldn't stop. The car kept coming, closer and closer through the fog. Soon it would be upon them.
Rain splashed onto the road. Thunder rumbled overhead, and Billy's tears mingled with the raindrops coursing down his face. "I can't go faster than a car," he sobbed. "I can't. I can't. They're going to get me."
"No," growled Leo. He looked up as a ball of fire came hurtling out of the thundery sky It hit the hood of the gray car with an earsplitting crack. The engine burst into flames.
Scarcely able to believe what he saw, Billy turned and sped up the hill. "It was Tancred, wasn't it?" he panted. "Tancred and his storms."
"The very same," Leo agreed.
The road curved sharply and to Billy hunched over the bag of oaths, it seemed like a spiral up into the sky. The rain was falling in sheets now, and borne on a sudden gust of wind, came a dreadful, threatening shriek. "You can't win, Billy Raven. Never, never, never." Florence de Grey was still on his trail. But without a car, the race was even.
With a burst of defiance, Billy bounded on up the hill, and as the wind intensified, he opened the gray bag and pulled out a handful of oaths. Holding them into the wind he let them fly away Never had he felt as jubilant as he did now He put his hand in the bag and released another sheaf of papers. Another and another, until the bag was empty and the air was full of fluttering, windblown papers. And Billy was sure he could hear the hopeful whispers of the tricked, dis possessed, and penniless people whose names were now being washed away by the rain.
“G ood! G ood!" the cats cheered.
With a big grin, Billy flung the gray bag into the storm, and a distant voice called, "Foolish boy! You'll be punished for that! Just you wait!"
************************************
It wasn't often that Charlie woke up as early as six o'clock on a Sunday morning. In fact, he couldn't remember a single instance when he had. So he had to bring his watch right up close to his sleepy eyes. The chestnut tree outside his window was thrashing about in the wind and thunder rumbled in the distance. And then the doorbell rang.
Swinging his feet to the floor, Charlie dragged himself over to the window and looked out. He was very surprised to see a familiar SUV parked outside number nine. There, on the doorstep, stood a rather wet and impatient-looking man. It was Mr. Silk, Gabriel's father
"Hello, Mr. Silk!" called Charlie.
“Ah, Charlie." Mr. Silk scratched the back of his neck as if he were not sure that he wanted to be doing what he was doing. "I've come to fetch you," he said.
"Fetch me?" Charlie was even more surprised.
"It seems —" began Mr. Silk.
He got no farther because the door was abruptly flung open by Grandma Bone. "What?" she said in her rude manner. Today it sounded even ruder than usual.
"I've come —"Mr. Silk tried again.
Again he was cut short. "What time of day do you think this is?" demanded Grandma Bone.
Fully awake now, Charlie began to throw on various items of clothing. Maybe something had happened to Gabriel or another friend who lived on the Heights. Tancred or Lysander.
Charlie ran down to the hall where Grandma Bone was still lecturing Mr. Silk on the selfishness of waking people on Sunday morning. Mr. Silk was now completely soaked and looking very depressed.
"Ah, Charlie, let's go," he said, turning away from the tyrannical woman.
"What am I to tell his mother?" shouted Grandma Bone.
"Tell her I'm at Gabriel's," said Charlie, rapidly following Mr. Silk. He had noticed a container of Uncle Paton's favorite peanut yogurt poking ou
t of his grandmother's bathrobe pocket, and just to put her in her place, he added, "I bet you got up early so you could finish off Uncle P.'s yogurt."
Grandma Bone shot Charlie a hateful look and slammed the door.
Charlie scrambled into the car, and Mr. Silk drove off. Thunder and lightning accompanied them all the way to the Heights, and with the noise of the engine and the rain drumming on the roof, Charlie had to shout to make himself heard.
"What's happened, Mr. Silk?" he asked.
"Difficult to say." Mr. Silk was very vague for a thriller writer. He resembled Gabriel, with his long face and forlorn expression. They even had the same overlong, floppy hair, though Mr. Silk's was a bit threadbare. He made up for this with a thick, drooping mustache. After some thought, he said, "There's a boy in Gabriel's gerbil house."
"What boy?"
"Little fella, white hair, glasses."
"Billy!" cried Charlie. "So he escaped!"
"Says he's got to see you. Gabriel begged me to come. Well, we couldn't sleep anyway with that storm going on. The storm boy, Tancred, says it'll calm down soon. It takes time apparently once he's got full-blooded thunder on the go. Understandable, I suppose."
"Yes." Charlie was impressed by Mr. Silk's understanding.
Half a mile past the gates of Loom Villa (where four rottweilers were barking their heads off), the SUV passed a wrecked car cordoned off with police signs. The hood had caved in, the paint was scorched, the windshield smashed, and the tires were just charred bits of rubber.
"Wow! That car looks as if it was struck by lightning!" said Charlie.
"It was," said Mr. Silk. "The driver is in the hospital, but his wife was unharmed, except that she seems to have gone completely nuts."
"Good idea for a thriller, huh, Mr. Silk?" Charlie asked.
"Mmm!" the thriller writer pulled his mustache pensively
Charlie got a brief glimpse of Lysander's house as they passed a pair of tall wrought-iron gates. Lysander's father was the famous Judge Sage and the house reflected his important position.