Charlie Bone and the Castle of Mirrors by Jenny Nimmo Read Free Book Online

his eye. A small print of a horse lay beside the papers. Charlie picked it up. There were other pictures beneath, prints of horses' skeletons.
    At this point, Charlie should have left the room, but he had noticed a packet of photographs at the end of the desk. Charlie was not the sort of boy to hold back when he saw something interesting. And he was always interested in photographs. As he carefully lifted the packet, he failed to hear the soft swish behind him.
    The photos were disappointing. There were only two people in them: a man and a woman. They were both middle-aged and rather ordinary The man had thinning hair and wore glasses; the woman's face was round, her hair short and straight, and her teeth very long. In all the photographs, she was smiling. No, not smiling, Charlie decided. It seemed rather that she was holding something invisible between her teeth.
    In most of the photographs, the couple sat side by side on a sofa, but there were two taken in a garden and two more in a kitchen. Charlie was scrutinizing the empty-looking kitchen when he suddenly heard the woman speak.
    Smile, Usher. We want to put the boy at ease.
    I don't like children. The man's tone was light, his voice slightly nasal. Never have.
    It won't be for long.
    How long?
    Until he does what they want You'll have to use your talent — you know — to stop him from getting out.
    Talent? said the man in a whiny voice. What use . . .
    Charlie heard footsteps. He quickly put the photos back into the packet and placed it back down at the end of the desk. But when he went to the door, he found that it was stuck. There was no handle, no keyhole, no latch. He was caught.
    Charlie banged on the door "Hi! Anyone there? It's me, Charlie Bone."
    There was no answer.
    Charlie banged again. "Hi, Mr. Ebony sir Are you there? Manfred?"
    Charlie continued to knock and call for several minutes, and then he gave up.
    It began to get dark. Charlie sat in the chair and thought about the photographs. All at once, it came to him. They were Billy Raven's new parents. Billy had always longed to have nice, kind parents and a real home How could Charlie tell him the truth?
    As he sat in the gloom, wrestling with his dilemma, the lights across the courtyard went out one by one until Charlie was left in complete darkness. He made his way around the room, fumbling for a light switch. There didn't seem to be one. He pushed at the door. He knocked and called but no one came. The cathedral clock struck nine. Charlie sat on the floor and dozed.
    A sound from the courtyard woke him up. Clop! Clop! Clop! Charlie shook his sleepy head. Hooves. There was a horse in the courtyard. Charlie stood up. I le could just make out the window's pale rectangle of light, but it was impossible to see anything in the yard beyond.
    The cathedral clock struck ten and the hoofbeats faded. Charlie was about to shout again when the door swung open and a fierce light beamed in his face.
    "What the heck are you doing here?"
    Charlie recognized Dr. Bloor's deep voice. "I came to give Manfred some lines, sir, and then the door closed."
    "How did you get in?"
    "Mr. Ebony let me in, sir."
    "Did he, now?"
    "Yes, sir." Charlie wished Dr. Bloor would shine the flashlight away from his eyes.
    "Well, it's detention for you, Charlie Bone. You'll stay in school an extra night. Now get back to your dormitory"
    Dr. Bloor hauled Charlie out of the room and gave him a push down the passageway Charlie had almost reached his dormitory when the matron loomed around a corner and grabbed his shoulder.
    "Ouch!" cried Charlie. "If you were going to give me detention, don't bother. I've already got it."
    Charlie could hear Lucretia Yewbeam grinding her teeth. "Be quiet, until you're spoken to. Where have you been?"
    "Stuck in Manfred's office," said Charlie with a sigh. "He asked me to give him my lines."
    "Lines? On the first day of the semester? You're hopeless. I can't believe we're related."
    "Nor I," Charlie mumbled.
    "What