Midnight for Charlie Bone. Jenny Nimmo

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      Contents

       Cover

       Title page

       Books by Jenny Nimmo

       Copyright

       Prologue

       1 Charlie hears voices

       2 The Yewbeam aunts

       3 The flame cats

       4 The inventor’s case

       5 Trapped in the dark

       6 A ruined half-term

       7 Hypnotised!

       8 Breaking the rules

       9 The Red King’s room

       10 Skeletons in the cupboard

       11 Clues at last

       12 Mind games

       13 The inventor’s tale

       14 Billy’s dark bargain

       15 A ringing, chanting, shining knight

       16 War

       17 The inventor’s daughter

       18 The Red King

       19 Into the ruin

       20 The battle of the endowed

       21 The longest night of the year

Prologue

      Long, long ago a king arrived in the north. They called him the Red King for he wore a scarlet cloak and his shield was emblazoned with a burning sun. It was said that he came out of Africa. This king was also a marvellous magician and each of his ten children inherited a small part of his power. But when the king’s wife died, five of his children turned to wickedness and the other five, seeking to escape the corruption that surrounded their evil siblings, left their father’s castle forever.

      Broken-hearted, the Red King vanished into the forests that covered the kingdoms of the north. He did not go alone, however, for he was followed by his three faithful cats; leopards to be precise. We must never forget the cats!

      The manifold and fabulous powers of the Red King were passed down through his descendants, often turning up quite unexpectedly, in someone who had no idea where they came from. This is what happened to Charlie Bone, and to some of the children he met behind the grim, grey walls of Bloor’s Academy.

Charlie hears voices

      On a Thursday afternoon, just after tea, Charlie Bone saw smoke. He happened to be looking out of his window when a dark cloud lifted above the autumn trees. The wind blew it south and it moved through the sky like a great, floating whale.

      Somewhere, on the other side of the city, there was a fire. Charlie could hear a fire-engine racing towards it. He had no idea that in mysterious and unexpected ways he was connected to it, and would soon be drawn to the place where it had begun.

      Charlie slept well, got up next morning and went to school. After school, Charlie and his friend, Benjamin Brown, walked home together, as usual. The cloud of smoke had gone, but the sky was stormy and dark. A fierce wind sent red and gold leaves bowling down Filbert Street.

      Benjamin crossed the road to number twelve, while Charlie stopped at number nine. Most of the people who lived at number nine complained about the large chestnut tree in front of it; how dark it made their rooms, how damp and creaky it was, and how it СКАЧАТЬ