Children of the Red King Book 06 Charlie Bone and The Beast by Jenny Nimmo

Author:Jenny Nimmo [Nimmo, Jenny]
Format: epub
Published: 2009-10-28T10:30:00+00:00

Somehow, Charlie managed to drag a voice out of his aching body. "What do you want?"

"We certainly don't want you," one of the twins answered with a brittle laugh.

"You've got to make a promise," said the other twin whose voice was deeper and more aggressive.

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"A promise?" groaned Charlie.

It was Joshua's turn to speak; in a hard, expressionless voice he said, "You're to give up this foolish quest to find Asa Pike."

And if I don't?" Charlie muttered through chattering teeth.

"No ifs," said the twins in unison. "You WILL give it up."

There was a scraping noise high above Charlie. He turned his head just in time to see a large lump of stone dislodge itself from the high wall beside him. Charlie shrank back; covering his head with his hands, he waited for the inevitable blow to his skull.

The stone never reached him. A violent gust of wind swept down the alley; caught in midair, the stone was flung off-course and came crashing down beside Joshua Tilpin. There was a high-pitched scream as Joshua was lifted off his feet and carried away. The twins, clinging to each other, suffered the same fate. Charlie could hear their feet hitting the walls of the

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alley as they tumbled through the air, wailing like banshees.

There was a deafening crack of thunder and a cloud of black dust whirled overhead. The screams of the airborne children blended into a pitiful, endless wail that was gradually drowned by the crackle of thunder and the steady patter of raindrops on the ground.

Charlie drew himself into a miserable huddle and waited for the storm to pass.

It takes considerable energy to rouse such savage weather and the perpetrator was left feeling a little tired. He would rather let the storm die slowly than bring it to a sudden conclusion.

When Charlie finally summoned up the courage to lift his head, he noticed that the lantern, though covered in dust, still burned. Someone had brought it closer to him. He saw two long legs encased in a pair of damp blue jeans. Dreading an even worse attack than the one he had already suffered, Charlie's eyes traveled nervously upward. He saw a thick navy jacket,

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a gray scarf, and above the scarf, a smiling face topped by a shock of blond, spiky hair.

"Charlie!" said Tancred.

"Tancred," breathed Charlie, "is it really you?"

"Of course it is. Are you OK, Charlie?"

"Well, I'm not dead." Charlie attempted to get to his feet but needed Tancred's arm to steady him.

"How did you know I was here?" asked Charlie.

"Followed your moth," said Tancred. "I knew it was her immediately. She was in quite a state, fluttering around my head, butting my cheek; she actually bit my chin when she thought I wasn't going fast enough. As soon as I saw the great drop where the steps should have been, I knew something pretty nasty was going on."

Charlie looked back.

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