Charlie Bone and the Red Knight by Jenny Nimmo

Author:Jenny Nimmo
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Fantasy & Magic, Juvenile Fiction, School & Education, Action & Adventure, General
ISBN: 9780439846721
Publisher: Orchard Books
Published: 2010-05-04T04:00:00+00:00

12

THE SEA-GOLD CHARMS

Charlie went down to breakfast the next morning, he found Alice in the kitchen. A pot of tea had been made, oatmeal was cooking on the stove, and slices of golden-brown toast filled the toast rack on the table.

"Good morning, Charlie," Alice said brightly. "Watch the oatmeal for me; I'm going to take Maisie a cup of tea." She spoke as if she had lived at number nine for much longer than a night.

"Morning, Alice." Charlie took up a wooden spoon and began to stir the oatmeal while Alice slipped out, carrying a cup of tea with two biscuits on the saucer. Her footsteps were so light they could hardly be heard on the stairs.

By the time Alice came back, Charlie had eaten his oatmeal. The plows had been working through the night and the roads were clear, although the side streets were still covered in snow. The sky was bright blue and the sun made roofs, walls, trees, and hedges blaze with light. Alice opened the window and breathed in deeply. "I love the smell of snow," she said.

Charlie sniffed the cold air and agreed with her. The world smelled deliriously fresh. He ran upstairs to fetch his schoolbag. As he pulled on his blue school cape, he found that he was glad of its warmth. Sometimes other children in the street would tease him for attending Bloor's Academy and wearing a fancy cape. And Charlie would stuff the embarrassing garment in his bag, trying not to draw attention to himself. But today he felt warm and confident.

The house was still very quiet, almost as if it were buried in snow. There wasn't a sound from Grandma Bone's room.

Alice came to the kitchen door just as Charlie was leaving. "Watch Olivia for me, Charlie," she said. "Don't let anything... anyone ... I hardly know what I'm saying because it's obvious that she's become one of THEM now.

But I'd like to know how it happened, so that I can deal with it."

"I'll do my best," Charlie promised. He still couldn't believe that the Olivia he knew would allow herself to be TAKEN OVER.

On the other side of the road, Benjamin was throwing snowballs for Runner Bean to fetch. "No school for me today," he called happily. "School's closed 'cause of the snow."

"Lucky thing," Charlie shouted back. He knew the blue bus would be waiting for him at the top of the road. Only an avalanche would close Bloor's Academy.

Charlie hardly saw Olivia during the day. Sometimes he'd catch a glimpse of a bleached blond head above a purple cape, but then she'd be gone, swallowed in a sea of purple. Drama students surrounded her like bees around a honeypot. It wasn't until the homework hours began that Charlie discovered what he was really up against.

After dinner, Charlie climbed the back stairs up to the King's Room, where the endowed children had to do their homework. He was halfway up when a voice behind him whispered, "Charlie." He turned around and saw Emma's pale, distraught face.

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