The Midnight Chimes

by Paula Harrison

  “Put that away, boy!” Cryptorum barked, making us all jump. “I’ve seen people forget years of their lives after using one of those. A rose quartz crystal is the proper way to treat shock. I’ve been relying on it for forty years.”

  Annie and the others gazed into Cryptorum’s big pink crystal, which made their memories of the night fade and let them forget how scared they’d been. Then Miss Smiting drove us all home.

  When I knocked on our door, Sammie opened it wearing pyjamas. “Do you KNOW what time it is?”

  “Yeah, sorry.” I pulled Annie inside before she could close the door on us.

  “I’m telling Mum in the morning,” Sammie said fiercely. “You’re going to be in so much trouble tomorrow.”

  I led Annie upstairs and she climbed straight into bed fully dressed.

  “There was a party, wasn’t there? That’s what I remember. And then we ended up going to Grimdean House in a helicopter.” Her little forehead wrinkled as she yawned. “Was it a party, Robyn?”

  I went to the window. The snow was falling thickly like a moving white curtain. I was glad Annie was safe inside with me. I tucked the blanket round her and switched off the light. “Let’s talk about it in the morning.”

  “I remember a big house and lots and lots of sweets.” Her words started to slur with sleepiness. “It was mostly good. Except . . . I don’t think wishes should be something scary. Do you, Robyn?”

  In the morning snow lay deeply everywhere and the bright sunshine made it gleam like the icing on top of a Christmas cake. “Make sure you all put hats, gloves and boots on today. It’s cold out there.” Mum set another juice carton down on the breakfast table. Three pairs of hands reached for it but Ben got there first. “Were you at Aiden’s yesterday, Robyn? I fell asleep on the sofa and had a very strange dream – something about gingerbread.”

  I hid a smile. Obviously things were too hazy for her to get really cross with me.

  Dad rustled the newspaper and cut in before I could reply. “More bad news about the Ashbrook School building,” he said to my mum. “They’ve just discovered damage to the foundations. It’s going to take them months to fix it – maybe a year.”

  “They won’t get much repair work done in this snow,” Mum said. “Mrs Lovell must be desperate – stuck in that big old house and trying to keep that grouchy old man happy.”

  “Mr Cryptorum’s not that bad!” I said.

  Sammie stared at me. “Just because he runs that stupid Bat Club. What’s so great about bats anyway?”

  “They’re the only mammal that can fly,” I said, helping myself to extra jam. That shut Sammie up for a minute. She didn’t know I’d learnt the fact from Nora.

  “What are they going to do, though?” Mum said. “Josh, eat up please. I mean, Mr Cryptorum isn’t going to want the school in his house for ever. People are saying it was his assistant who arranged it anyway.”

  Dad shook his head and turned the page. For a moment I wanted to tell them the real reason we’d moved to Grimdean House: how Miss Smiting had decided that Cryptorum needed more Chimes and that’s how it had all begun. But they wouldn’t understand. They couldn’t even see my Chime world.

  I sighed. “I’d better get to school.”

  “Yeah, go and find your Bat Club friends,” Sammie said. “I’m sure they’ll be happy to see you.”

  I stopped in the doorway and looked back. Mum was spreading jam on Annie’s toast, while Josh and Annie kicked each other under the table. Dad was turning the pages of his newspaper, Ben was pouring more juice and Sammie was tapping out the rhythm to a pop song.

  I turned to go. I hadn’t admitted it to myself till now but I’d started to feel like I didn’t belong with them any more. There was a whole world I was part of that my family would never see. So how could they really know me at all? It was like there was an invisible wall between me and them.

  A little hand slipped into mine. “You were there in my dream.” Annie frowned like she was trying to figure something out. “You wanted me to be safe and you knew what to do. You always know what to do.”

  I stopped in surprise. “Of course I want you to be safe. You’re my sister.”

  Annie hugged me. “Can you read to me tonight?” She dropped her voice to a whisper. “And we can have a midnight feast!”

  I laughed. “All right then! As long as it’s a midnight feast with crisps. I’m sick of sweets.”

  She grinned at me. I felt a bit better as I went to find my gloves and hat. I guess some things had changed in the last few weeks and one of those things was me, but that was just the way it went sometimes.

  Cryptorum Tells Me a Secret

  he helicopter had disappeared from the Grimdean lawn that morning. It felt strange that all the kids and teachers carried on as if nothing had happened. Everyone was excited about the snow – especially the little kids – but the deadly vampire whose wishes could’ve killed everyone might as well have never existed.

  By the end of lessons there was a silver Rolls-Royce parked next to the limo out front. An expensive-looking black coat hung from the coat stand in the hallway. I was pretty sure it was Mr Dray’s.

  “Robyn!” Nora came running down the passage. “The BUTT kids are here. Aiden’s fighting Rufus – torchblade against ultrasonic!”

  “Who’s winning?” I sped after her.

  The door to the bat barn was open and Cryptorum was outlined in the doorway. At the far end of the lawn, two figures were circling each other in the snowy twilight. Tristan and Portia were standing to the side, cheering every move Rufus made whether it was any good or not.

  “Aiden agreed to fight after Rufus dared him,” Nora muttered to me. “Rufus went on and on about how Aiden’s improved blade could never match proper technological advances.”

  Both boys were in protective leather jackets and the expressions on their faces were deadly serious. At a year older and at least five inches taller, Rufus was getting in a lot more hits. I found myself wishing Rufus had dared me, and then I felt bad for doubting Aiden’s fighting skills.

  “Robyn?” Cryptorum was right behind me. I hadn’t heard him come over. “Go up to my study, please. There’s a ball of twine on my desk that I need.”

  “But, sir! I don’t want to miss this.” I kept my gaze fixed on the fight.

  Rufus swung his ultrasonic blade catching Aiden on the shoulder. Aiden dodged away and thrust under the older boy’s guard. The blow caught him on the stomach.

  “Foul!” Portia cried. “That hit was too low.”

  “It was not!” I yelled.

  “Robyn!” Cryptorum’s tone was stern.

  Reluctantly I dragged myself back to the house and ran upstairs to the north wing. Bursting into Cryptorum’s study, I went straight to his desk. If I was quick I might still catch the end of the fight.

  I stopped short.

  Dominic Dray was sitting in Cryptorum’s chair, his black hair perfectly combed. He was wearing an expensive-looking black suit and purple tie like something out of a clothes catalogue. His silver-topped walking stick rested against the side of the desk. He was examining a photo in a frame. It was the one of Cryptorum, his wife and Miss Smiting. Placing it back on the desk, he smiled at me. “Miss Silver, how fortuitous that you should arrive. Are you looking for me?”

  “No, for this.” I picked up a coil of green wire. I guessed it must be what Cryptorum wanted. I glanced through the window behind Dray. The fir trees at the end of the garden were fading into the dark and the bats were starting to circle.

  “And how did you enjoy my helicopter last night?” Dray studied me, his hands clasped neatly together. “It was much preferable to trekking all the way home on foot I’m sure.”

  “It was great – thanks.” I looked away. There was something about him that made me uneasy.

  “And the other advantages we have – the scanners and the ultrasonic blades – I’m sure you can see the benefit of these things. Perhaps you wish you had them too.”


  I frowned. “Rufus is fighting Aiden with an ultrasonic blade right now and he hasn’t won yet.”

  Dray waved his hand dismissively. “It’s not just the blades! We have a state-of-the-art training facility in the grounds of Kesterly Manor. There are environmental controls in the combat studio which create rain, snow, heat – whatever conditions you need to train in. We have an underground bunker with a full-sized town mocked up inside.” He grasped his cane, stood up and came round the desk to meet me. His voice softened. “Can you imagine how wonderful it would be to train at Kesterly? I would like you to join us and become one of the best.”

  I hesitated. “You’re really asking me to join?” For a moment I pictured myself in a combat studio with every kind of equipment inside. I’d never seen the place, but in my imagination it looked pretty great. “But didn’t you train Rufus and the others from when they were little? I’ve only just started.”

  “That will not be a problem,” Dray said. “You already have potential and I think you would benefit greatly from what Kesterly can offer. Shall I tell Mr Cryptorum that you are moving to further your training?”

  The image in my head burst like a throwaway wish. “It sounds nice, but I can’t,” I said flatly. “My friends are here. My family’s here. I can’t just leave.”

  “I understand it would be difficult.” Dray’s blue eyes glinted. “But what if we could explain it all to them nicely? Give you a scholarship to my school, perhaps?”

  “I’m sorry. I just don’t think it would work.”

  Dray stepped towards the window, leaning on his cane. “So you would put all your faith and Wendleton’s future into the hands of a man who hasn’t told you any of his secrets?” He turned to look at me. “Where does he keep the caged wish these days?”

  I didn’t reply. I was so surprised that I glanced at the white cupboard on the wall without meaning to.

  Dray smiled. It wasn’t a nice smile this time. Taking the twine from my hand, he advanced on the cupboard. Shimmying the end of the wire in the padlock, he had the door open in less than a minute. The wish tumbled over and over inside the glass case. It had a beautiful green sheen on its surface but I’d seen beautiful things that were deadly before. I still couldn’t make out the picture inside it.

  “I don’t—” I broke off. I’d been about to say I didn’t care what the secret wish was but the truth was I did want to know. “It’s none of our business.”

  “What if it’s something that would endanger people’s lives if it ever got loose?” Dray said. “Because I guarantee you it would.”

  My stomach lurched. Was the wish dangerous? I didn’t want to believe him but he sounded pretty sure. “Even if that’s true it’s still not going to persuade me to go to Kesterly Manor. Those kids you’re training think they’re better than everyone else.” I kept my eyes fixed on him in case he tried to free the wish. If it was dangerous like he said, it was best off in its case.

  It was strange how everyone who came in here wanted to see it – first Miss Mason with her shadow and now Mr Dray – and yet only people close to Cryptorum were supposed to know it existed. The whole thing was odd . . . but maybe that was it! That was the connection!

  The pieces started slotting together in my head. “Miss Mason – I mean Pearl – knew about this wish. The first time I saw her shadow-walking she was looking for it. It was you that told her, wasn’t it?” I stared at him. “That’s how she knew. That’s probably when she became fixed on learning about the power of final wishes. And you told Mr Cryptorum that you’d found her lair in an empty farmhouse and that’s why he left town. It all makes sense. She never would have known about the last wish without you!”

  “How dare you accuse me of colluding with a vampire!” He pointed his cane at me. “You should remember who you’re talking to! I am not used to listening to this sort of nonsense.”

  But I couldn’t stop myself now. My pulse was racing. “You probably wanted the vampire to free this wish because you don’t like Mr Cryptorum. My little sister was one of the ones taken away by the vampire. Did you know that?”

  Dray jabbed his cane at me. “You have absolutely no proof that I had anything to do with it. You’ve made a disastrous choice not to join us at Kesterly and I will make sure you regret it for a long, long time.”

  The study door opened and Cryptorum stood framed in the doorway. “It is her choice though, Dominic. If she doesn’t want to train at Kesterly there’s nothing else to be said. And what’s this talk of proof about?”

  “I think he told the vampire about the wish in your cupboard,” I burst out. “I think he’s been tricking us all along.”

  Dray’s face darkened. “This is slander! Erasmus, we’ve been friends for forty years but if you cannot control your Chime pupils I shall not be coming back here.”

  “Friends are we?” Cryptorum’s craggy eyebrows lowered. “I’m not saying she’s right but friends help each other out when trouble comes and that’s not what you’ve done for me the past few days.”

  “I thought you’d be able to handle one vampire in your own town!” Dray sneered. “Clearly I was wrong.”

  The two men glared at each other and for a second I thought Cryptorum would pull out his frostblade. “You’d better go, Dominic, before I lose my temper,” he said at last. “I’ll take you to your car.”

  “I’ll see myself out, thank you!” Dray said icily, pushing past the other man and heading for the stairs.

  When he’d left, Mr Cryptorum paced up and down. Eye crept out from under the desk but quickly scuttled back into hiding again. “You may be right about what he did,” Cryptorum said at last. “I didn’t want to believe that Dominic would betray me – we’ve known each other for such a long time.”

  I clenched my hands. “If he told Miss Mason to come here then he’s not a true Chime!”

  “I know.” Cryptorum walked to the window.

  I picked the twine off the floor, where Mr Dray had dropped it. “He really wanted me to go to Kesterly Manor. He wanted me to train there.”

  “I thought he might ask you. I wanted you to have the choice.”

  “I didn’t ask for one,” I muttered. Did he want to get rid of me or something?

  “Come here, I want to show you something.” Cryptorum went to the cupboard with the wish. He placed his hand against the case and the wish pressed itself against the same spot on the other side of the glass. “Many years ago, my wife Rebecca was wounded by Pearl. This was her last wish before she died and, as you know, last wishes can be very powerful. I can’t allow this one to go free in case it comes true.”

  “Is it . . . dangerous?”

  Cryptorum sighed. “It could be. You see, Rebecca saw how much of a burden my Chime duties were. She saw how hard it was always to be fighting the next monster that no one else can see. So with her last breath she wished that I could be free of it all – free of my Chime powers.”

  “But that’s not a bad wish.”

  “No, it isn’t. But I couldn’t give it the chance to come true. Who would fight if I didn’t? Who would protect people? I felt I had a duty.” Cryptorum paused.

  I leaned in to look more closely at the wish. I could see the picture inside now. It was Cryptorum as he would have been without Chime powers. He looked younger, happier, and his eyebrows were definitely less scary. The clock outside struck the hour with deep, slow chimes. Cryptorum took his hand off the glass and the wish floated away again.

  “Your fighting skills are strong,” Cryptorum went on. “That’s why Dominic Dray wants you. He must have discovered from his students that you were the one that killed Pearl. You may find a lot rests on you in the future but at least you have something I didn’t.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Friends who have Chime powers too. I think you’re going to need them.”

  I didn’t have the chance to say any more because Nora raced in followed by Aiden. “Guess what?” Nora’s freckled face was pink. “Aiden be
at Rufus with the torchblade and then Rufus went off in a huff!”

  “Nice one!” I said.

  “Basically, I kicked some BUTT!” Aiden grinned. “You shoulda seen his face.”

  “He’s a bad loser,” Nora agreed.

  I followed the others out of the door but Cryptorum called me back. “Robyn?” His mouth twitched at the corners.

  I swung round. “Yes, sir?”

  “You did well on Blagdurn Heath. But don’t ever, ever borrow my best sword again.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Aiden gave me a blow by blow report of his fight with Rufus as we ran out of Grimdean House. Nora interrupted with extra bits here and there.

  “Rufus is a show off!” I said, closing the front door. “I just wish—” Then I stopped myself. It was wishing that’d caused all the problems in the first place. Maybe the world was better off without them.

  Nora glanced at me as if she understood. “I wish he’d stop being such a dork,” she said. “And I wish they’d cook Friday lunchtime food every day of the week.” The wishes popped out of her mouth and drifted into the air.

  We trekked down the snowy street. Christmas lights twinkled in the shop windows and carols drifted out of Lipson’s.

  Aiden joined in. “I wish I was having hot dogs for dinner with extra fries.” His wishes floated up to join Nora’s. They were round and shiny in the dim light.

  My spirits lifted. They were just wishes – little bubbles of hope that couldn’t hurt anyone. “Hey, think bigger!” I said. “I wish the Christmas holidays would come early. I wish the bats would raid the shops in town and bring us cake. I wish Lovell would dance the tango in our next assembly!”

  My wishes went spinning up to join the others. Then a gust of wind caught them all and took them away, soaring over Grimdean House into the darkening sky.

  KOBOLD

  Small but extremely vicious – they look like a spiky goblin crossed with a bad-tempered porcupine. Approach at your own peril – those teeth are sharp.