Disclaimer: I don't own Charlie Bone
Chapter 7:
By Saturday the plans had been completed. Charlie would use the mirror to meet everyone outside of the three thirteens using the mirror at 10:15. His aunts were late risers, and Charlie knew that they all went out on Saturdays. At least they used to. That was years ago, but old habits die hard. When his aunts left the Emma and Olivia would tail them, Emma in bird form and Olivia in disguise. This was what worried Charlie the most. It wasn't breaking into the houses or sneaking away, risking getting caught by his parents. Eustacia was clairvoyant, sometimes her power being stronger than other days. If this was one of her good days then they would all be in trouble, especially Olivia.
Charlie looked at his clock. 10:14. Really time? It had a funny way of doing things, time. When you wanted it to go slowly so that you could just revel in a few good moments, it seemed to speed up. When you wanted it to go fast as in Charlie's case at the moment, it went by way too slow.
"Should've taken more time to prepare," Charlie muttered to himself as he watched the clock turn to fifteen after. He and Dagbert would be venturing into Venetia's house where there was no telling what could happen considering all of the 'ingredients' Charlie knew his aunt kept for her experiments. He shuddered just thinking about it. Venetia was probably the most cunning and dangerous of any one of his aunts.
Charlie put his hand under his pillow and took out the mirror. He saw no reflection, just a swirling gray fog that thinned as he pictured Billy's face. Seconds later he was gone, reappearing next to his adopted brother in Darkly Wynd. Everyone was there, hidden in the shadows of a large tree, Fidelio, Emma and Gabriel sitting up in the first few branches so they could see the houses through the leaves without the risk of being seen. Dagbert was sitting on the ground against the trunk, idly picking at strands of the somehow dry and dead grass. He must've used his endowment to remove the water.
"Nice timing," Olivia commented as she watched Charlie shake his head to rid himself of the dizzy feeling. She wasn't currently in her disguise which Charlie figured was in the bag at her feet.
"Yeah. Had nothing else to do other than stare at the clock."
"Getting dressed might've been an idea," Tancred said. Charlie shrugged. He was still in his sweatpants and the wife beater he went to bed in the night before. The only difference was that he'd hastily thrown on a jacket when he woke up an hour before.
"Just wasn't feeling it. Anyway, nothing so far?"
"We've seen them moving around inside, but they haven't come out yet." Gabriel informed him and Charlie peeked around the side of the tree. Indeed, there was movement that he could see in Venetia's house. Charlie backed up again so that he was out of sight. Couldn't risk getting caught now.
"I guess we wait then," Charlie said, settling down in the dried grass and leaning against the tree, tilting his head against the rough bark. Sleep hadn't come easily the night before. He'd been too worried about today. Resting now would be a good idea.
It was a good hour before anything happened. Olivia had slipped into her disguise of an old woman, a gray wig topped by a purplish hat that managed to keep her face in shadow. She wore a large purple dress patterned with various flowers and gave the effect of one of those loving grandmothers who made the cookies.
Also in this time Emma had changed into a small, inconspicuous, brown bird. She currently sat in the tallest branches of the tree, ready to give the call if anything were to happen.
Charlie looked at Olivia. She would look out of place in Darkly Wynd and Greybank Cresent. It would be dangerous for her, even following at a distance. "Liv, maybe you should go ahead. Wait for them at the beginning of Greybank Cresent near the cathedral. You know?"
"I've been thinking the same thing. But what if they take the car?"
Charlie hadn't thought of that. But now that he did a slow grin spread across his face when he thought of the second youngest Yewbeam sister's driving. "She will leave a trail for you to follow. And that's also why we've got Emma trailing them too." Nice save. Mustn't let them think you haven't thought this all the way through. He had to act like he had everything planned, like his uncle would have done.
"Someone's coming," Fidelio whispered down to them just as they heard the soft call of a bird. Those on the ground pressed as close to the tree as possible, scrunching together so that they weren't seen. They all waited for the sound of the car starting but it didn't come, but they did hear the three sisters talking all at once as they walked on. Poor Eric had to listen to that. Even though Charlie hated the kid, didn't mean he didn't feel for him in this instance.
"Liv, go now. Get to the cathedral to wait for them," Lysander whispered urgently.
"Stay behind the houses and don't be seen. Use the shadows," Charlie added watching a brown bird fly off out of the corner of his eye. He silently wished Emma good luck before saying to Olivia, "Be careful, Liv. Eustacia may be the most dangerous of them all right now and maybe Eric, but Venetia is more cunning than any of them and Lucretia wasn't known as a dragon for nothing. Good luck."
"You too," she told him with a quick hug before taking off, disappearing behind one of the boarded up houses and looking nothing like an old woman. Charlie heaved a deep sigh before nodded to everyone else.
It was Charlie's job, along with Claerwen to unlock all of the doors. So he first went with Lysander and Tancred to Lucretia's house and asked for Claerwen to unlock the door. There was a click and Charlie immediately went to Eustacia's to do the same for Billy, Fidelio and Gabriel. Then it was to Venetia's. Dagbert was waiting for him anxiously, repeatedly trying to crack his knuckles and neck even though it was no longer working.
Claerwen floated onto the doorknob. By now she knew what to do and Charlie didn't even have to murmur the words before there was a click. Charlie turned the knob and the door swung in.
"That's the smartest wand I've ever met," Dagbert said jokingly before they fell silent once again.
The house was dark and gloomy as to be expected. There was a bitter smell that hung in the air and irritated Charlie's nose. He tried not to breathe in too deeply, afraid the air might possibly be tainted with whatever poisons Venetia used in her experiments. Then he remembered that people actually lived in this house so that probably wasn't likely.
"Watch it," Charlie whispered warningly as he watched Dagbert nearly walk into a coatrack that was filled with various coats. "Try not to touch any clothes you see lying around."
"Right," Dagbert nodded taking a step away from the possibly poisoned garments, remembering from the one time he'd been here. "So where do we start?"
Charlie looked around. There were two doors on his left and two more on his right. Down the hall was a staircase and even though Charlie was having a strong feeling about searching upstairs he said, "You take the doors on the right. I'll take the left." They had to be thorough, no matter what feelings he had. Though the one thing that shook him, were the thoughts of getting caught.
Dagbert nodded and they split up. Charlie entered what was apparently Venetia's sewing room. Shelves lined the walls holding jars of... Charlie didn't even want to know. He just kept his eyes away from them and the labels. But eventually his curiosity got the best of him and he peered into the closest one. It was filled with some sort of reddish orange liquid and floating in it looked to be a… finger? Charlie jumped back. What the hell kind of things did Venetia experiment with?
Not seeing the painting anywhere, Charlie went through a door on the other side of the room. He found himself in a room empty of everything but the various paintings that lined the walls. Most were portraits of stern looking men and women, probably past Yewbeams or people relates to them. But there was no painting of Badlock. Charlie quickly backed out of the room. A place filled with portraits probably wasn't the greatest place for him though he mostly had his endowment under control.
Twenty minutes later Charlie and Dagbert met again in the main hallway. The house was bigger than it seemed with more rooms than they'd have thought. Many of these rooms seemed to be just for storage and they'd had to look through everything to make sure that there was no painting. Dagbert was looking completely disgusted, probably having seen something similar to the jar Charlie looked in.
"This house is creepy and messed up!" Dagbert whispered. Why were they whispering, neither knew. "I saw a jar in there that said 'Horse Feces'! What in the he'll could that be used for?"
Charlie shook his head. "I know what you mean. I saw a finger of all things!" he shook his head again and looked up the stairs. They had to hurry up. "Let's go."
Dagbert stepped back and swept his arms in a grand and mocking gesture that told Charlie to lead the way. So he did, taking each step lightly as to not make noise. Once again, why? There was nobody there to hear them. At the top they separated again. Charlie found himself in a bedroom.
In the corner there was a twin-size bed which told him he was in Eric's room. Also the small stone figures lined around the room gave it away. But it seemed nothing like a kid's room. The walls were all dark gray and bare. There was little furniture other than the bed a small desk and the dresser. Was this really Eric's choice, or his aunt's?
A sudden crash and the sound of screaming had Charlie racing from the room. He listened for a moment trying to figure out where Dagbert was. Once he did, he burst into that room. Dagbert was holding his face, thrashing around in pain. Broken glass lay scattered close by, with something that resembled black worms squirming around in the middle of the mess. Charlie skidded to a halt by Dagbert and pried his friend's hands from his face, hardly aware that his cell phone was ringing.
The same worm-like things were on Dagbert's face, small strings of blood coming from where they were digging into the skin. Charlie tore at them with his hands, ripping them from Dagbert's face. He felt them biting his hands and when he tried to throw them they just stuck. But he kept tearing at them until Dagbert was freed from them. He helped Charlie pry them from his hands and once they did, the worms just shriveled up and turned to dust.
"You alright?" Charlie asked, panting. Dagbert just nodded, attempting to wipe the blood from his face, only succeeding in smearing it. Charlie looked at his bloody hands. They were a complete mess of cuts and blood. His phone rang suddenly and he answered it immediately.
"Charlie! Why didn't you answer?"
It was Olivia. "We ran into some trouble," Charlie said. "Why? Are they coming back already?"
"Yes! Everyone else is already here! You have to get out of there now!"
"Got it."
"Be careful."
Charlie nodded, forgetting for the moment that Olivia couldn't see him. He hung up and pocketed his phone. "They're coming back already for some reason. We've gotta haul ass before they get here." Charlie helped Dagbert up, ignoring the pain in his hands. He hoped that whatever those things were, they weren't poisonous.
Just as Dagbert opened the door, a small gust of wind blew around the room. Charlie almost blamed Tancred before remembering that the storm boy wasn't with them. He glanced warily at Dagbert who had also felt the wind and the other boy shrugged. Charlie looked around the room. The upper floors of the house were still practically newly built. It couldn't have been a draft. Well it could be possible, but Charlie didn't think that was it. The wind seemed… unnatural.
In the farthest corner of the room sat something covered by a gray sheet, stained with age propped against the wall. The object hidden beneath it was rectangular in shape and about four feet across. This was it, it had to be. Charlie stepped closer, ignoring Dagbert's warning hiss. Not much time left. He grabbed one end of the sheet and swept it away from the object, creating a cloud of dust. Charlie coughed and waved it away with a grimace.
It was indeed, the painting of Badlock. Charlie didn't let his eyes linger on the dark landscape, fearful that he might be sucked in. Instead he threw the sheet back over it and bent to pick the painting up. It was chained to the wall, almost like a prisoner would be shackled to a wall. What the hell Venetia?
"Leave it!" Dagbert hissed. "We have to go, Charlie!"
"You go!" Charlie told him urgently. Dagbert began to shake his head but Charlie went on, "They will know that we were here and they will move the painting. I have to take it now or we'll never get it."
"Yes we will! Now come on!"
Charlie shook his head. They were wasting precious time by arguing. They didn't have time to spare like this. He lifted his shirt and took the mirror of Amoret from the waist of his pants. He handed it took Dagbert. "Take this with you. If I'm caught then at least they won't have that."
"Charlie…"
"I know what I'm doing. Just go. I'll see you and the others in a bit at the bookshop. Now go. Take the backdoor."
Dagbert, stuck between staying and helping his friend or leaving and keeping the mirror safe and himself, stood completely still for a few moments. Charlie shoved him back a few steps, urging him to go. So he did. Dagbert bounded down the stairs and out the back door. He peeked around the side of the house. The Yewbeam sisters and also Eric were making their way down the street. Staying out of sight, Dagbert ran, using trees, shrubs and houses as cover until he had long passed the sisters. Then he, as Charlie put it, hauled his ass out of Darkly Wynd.
Once in Greybank Cresent, Dagbert collapsed in the grass behind a bush. He was still bleeding from the cuts on his face and he was completely out of breath. He could hardly believe what he'd just done, looking at the mirror. Why had Charlie given this to him?
Hands grabbed his arms and Dagbert gasped. It was only Tancred and Gabriel. Everyone else was behind them looking at him in shock. He did look a mess. His two friends pulled Dagbert to his feet and looked at him with concern.
"What happened to you?" Emma asked.
"And where's Charlie?" Billy put in. They all looked around, half expecting Charlie to show up right then. He didn't and Dagbert struggled to catch his breath. He told them all that had happened and they listened in stunned silence.
Fidelio looked toward Darkly Wynd. "Oh shit."
"I'm going back to help him," Olivia stated, beginning to march in Charlie's direction. Lysander reached out and pulled her back, a bit reluctantly. "Sander! Let me go!"
"We're all going to the bookshop," Lysander said firmly. "If we go there now we might just put Charlie in danger."
"Or we might save him from danger!" Billy countered.
"No. Let's go to the shop, tell his uncle what's going on and wait."
•••
Once Dagbert had left Charlie was able to think more clearly. There was no way he could have figured out anything with the chance of one of his friends getting hurt because of a promise he made.
Charlie picked up one of the chains. They were took thick for him to break and he didn't have the time for that anyway. Why did his aunts always have to make everything so damn difficult for him?
Claerwen fluttered over and landed on the chain. Charlie grinned and thanked her. Such a helpful wand. "Claerwen, Torrwch y gadwyn!" there was a bright glow and the chains burst apart, sending pieces flying in all directions so that Charlie had to shield his face. Now there were only a few inches of chain hanging from the back of the painting and the wall. Next step: get the hell out of the house!
Downstairs the front door could be heard opening and Charlie froze. Well… his first option was out. As was his second which had been the back door. So the whole downstairs was no longer an option.
Footsteps on the stairs and whispering. Oh shit. They knew somebody was there. Charlie looked around for any escape. All he saw was a closet and a single window. That could work. Charlie picked up the painting and ran to the window, opening it as wide as he could. A bit of a far jump, but hopefully he and the painting could make it.
The footsteps were drawing closer as Charlie held the painting out the window, praying that it did not break upon impact with the unforgiving earth below. He dropped it and watched as it fell through the air, flinching when it hit the ground. No damage as far as he could see.
Behind Charlie the door crashed open. He was crouching on the windowsill, preparing to jump when someone grabbed his jacket. He lifted a foot and kicked out behind him, feeling his foot connect with something and hearing Eric shout in pain. Hah! Good for the little-
"Eric Stop him!"
Charlie jumped then, not staying to wait for the stone animator to recover. He hit the ground hard and gasped, the air having been driven from his lungs. Not his best idea ever. Charlie quickly checked himself to make sure everything was working right. Once satisfied, he picked himself up, grabbed the painting and ran, listening to his aunts scream. Finally though, he had the painting and he was free. Time to get the hell out of Darkly Wynd and to the bookshop.
Suddenly he crashed into something rock solid. Literally. Above him, casting a dark shadow, was a man made of stone.
•••
Olivia was pacing, along with Fidelio and Billy in the back room of the shop. They had come to tell Paton what was going on but found Julia running the shop and Paton apparently out. Julia had called him and he was on his way back from wherever, but there was still no sign of Charlie.
"Where is he?" Emma muttered, glancing up at the doorway and seeing no one, just as she had not twenty seconds before.
Tancred stood up from the floor. "Alright, he should have been back by now. He must've gotten into trouble."
"Thought you knew me better than that."
"Charlie!" Olivia gasped, running up to him but stopping short. On one side he was being supported by Julia, on the other what had to be the painting of Badlock. He was battered and bruised, covered in dirt and some blood, and looked ready to pass out. Julia helped him to the couch where he dropped the painting on the floor and fell face-first onto the couch with a low groan.
At that moment Paton rushed in, a worried expression on his face. He saw Charlie and sighed with relief. At least he was safe now, and not with his sisters.
"Hey there Uncle P," Charlie said with a weak smile. "Where've you been?"
"Talking with your parents actually," Paton said, drawing up a chair and sitting in front of his nephew. "Nothing too important." Charlie knew that this was probably a lie. His uncle didn't usually drop in on his parents if it wasn't important. "But when we went to talk to you, my boy, you weren't there. I had a few guesses as to where you were, though I didn't say anything to your parents. Then I got the call from Julia and left them worried sick."
"How long before they call the police?" Charlie asked with a grin. His uncle hadn't sold him out this time, but now his parents were probably going insane.
"They'll be calling everyone they know first, so you've got maybe ten minutes to tell me what happened today. I see you've got the painting."
"Yeah. Just got a little beat up while obtaining it. That's about it."
"So they know we've got the painting," Olivia said slowly. Her eyes shut tight in horror. Who knew what lengths they would go to to get it back. But she didn't understand why it was so important now, with the count gone.
"We'll have to keep moving it then," Lysander decided. "Who's first?"
"Not at my house," Charlie growled, staring down at the sheet covering the painting, now even more stained with dirt and blood. "It's got this sort of pull on me even now."
"I'll take it," Fidelio offered after a long silence where everyone looked at one another to decide who should take the painting. "I'll put it in the attic."
Charlie nodded and sat up with a grunt. "I should get home before they call the police." he looked at Emma and Olivia. "On Monday I want to hear all that happened."
"Be careful Charlie, my sisters will be in a rage after this," his uncle warned him. Charlie nodded and, using Billy as a crutch, left the bookshop.
A/N: Another chapter up. Finally. I've been so freakin sick this weekend it's not even funny! And I used the translator on my Ipod for the welsh so it may not be right, but it should mean Break that Chain.
10-10-11
