ShadowRose18: sorry for being dead, AGAIN

This time it was for a violin exam and I was panicking for the three weeks leading up to it

And then I had to catch up on all the work that had piled up along with it… so yeah

Also, I have a question for you all to answer (along with your reviews?). Do you want me to write the sequel in the same story, like continue on, or create a whole new story?

The continuing on is an easier option for everyone (not having to redo story alert and whatnot) but it just means that chapter one of Demons of Curses (or whatever I decide to name it) will be like chapter 51 on JoM (I can rename it to the JoM trilogy if I do that though).

Because you are the readers, you guys decide :P

Series: Children of the Red King/ Charlie Bone Series

Author: Jenny Nimmo

Pairings: mainly TancredEmma but a bit of CharlieOlivia and BillyOC

Disclaimer: If I owned COTRK, Charlie probably wouldn't exist and Tancred and Emma would be together already. I also wouldn't have a fanfiction account and wouldn't have wasted hours and hours day-dreaming the rest of this story. So don't take down my story, 'kay? :)

Chapter 38 – Hiding in Fear

Dannielle froze, her eyes locked on the first step of the staircase.

'G-Grandma Bone,' Charlie said, his hand gripping Danni's shoulder tightly.

Grandma Bone stared at the small figure of Dannielle, her eyes narrowed.

'Who's that?' she snapped, glaring at the small party downstairs.

'Go back to sleep Grizelda,' Paton Yewbeam said, pushing the three children up the stairs.

'I will not sleep until I know what is happening in my house!' she yelled as the trio reached the last few steps.

'Our house, Grizelda,' Paton reminded her.

'What's going on?' Maisie Jones, Amy Bone and Lyell Bone came out of their bedrooms.

Grandma Bone huffed but put her large body to good use, blocking the staircase such that even small Danni couldn't slip past.

Dannielle took a deep breath and bit her lip.

Then she looked the grouchy grandma directly in the eye, raised her hand until it was touching the old woman's forehead.

Danni's pale blue eyes changed to a dark blue, almost black, as a strange voice came from within her.

'There is no child, no girl, no mind-reader named Dannielle Moren in this household,' Danni said in her strange voice.

'There is no child, no girl, no mind-reader named Dannielle Moren in this household,' Grandma Bone repeated, her eyes looking distant.

'And you are now sleepy and require rest for the day ahead,' Danni said, in the same strange voice.

'And I am now sleepy and require rest for the day ahead,' Grandma Bone repeated, with a far off look in her eyes. Then she turned around and entered her bedroom, gently closing the door behind her.

Every stood, stunned, for a few moments until Charlie managed to whisper, 'Wow.'

'What just happened?' Lyell Bone asked, a little worried about his mother.

'Which part needs to be explained?' Paton asked

'Let's start with who the girl is and why she is here and then we'll go onto what she just did to my mother,' Lyell answered.

'I can't answer any of those, sadly,' Paton Yewbeam said, turning to the three children.

The three exchanged glances before Dannielle bravely stepped forward.

'My name is Dannielle Moren –' she began, but was interrupted.

'Moren?! As in Letina and Jeretis Moren?!' Paton asked, shocked. Danni nodded.

'They're…my parents…' she murmured.

'Parents?!' Paton asked, surprised, while the rest of the family appeared confused.

'I have a good reason to believe that I was adopted,' Dannielle answered.

'Can we continue onto why you're in our house?' Lyell asked, worried that the girl would bring danger to his family.

This time, Billy spoke.

'You ran away right?' he asked, turning to Danni, his red eyes shining. Danni bit her lip and slowly nodded.

'Ran away?' Paton seemed to be thinking. 'Then who were those men that made you so uneasy?'

'My parents were mad at me, so I ran. It would have been the real thing,' she cried, looking at Billy desperately, 'if those men find me, I'll be taken back and then the punishment would be even worse!'

As she finished speaking, her body started trembling and Charlie put a supportive arm around her.

'What do you mean by the real thing?' Maisie whispered, seemingly not understanding why the child was so scared.

'She was warned last time,' Charlie said. Then, turning to Danni, he whispered. 'Show them.'

With Charlie and Billy beside her, Danni hesitantly pulled away her loose hairs to show the healing scar on her right eye. As the adults gasped at her scarred eye, she pulled up one sleeve to reveal multiple healing cut wounds and bruises.

'By Gods!' Paton breathed.

'There's more,' Danni whispered, 'but I think you understand. If I return, I'll never get out.' She said, looking at them with sad, pained eyes. 'As it is, others have already sacrificed themselves to get me out of that house,' she whispered, thinking of the faces of Rina and Jo.

'What do you mean?' Amy Bone asked. Dannielle's sad eyes just stared at the floor.

'If I'm caught,' she said, 'I won't –'

But the young girl was cut off by a yell and then loud banging at the door. Danni turned even paler than she already was, if it was possible, and stepped back into Charlie.

For a moment, the family just stood still as the loud banging continued until Uncle Paton snapped into action.

'Charlie. Take Dannielle into your room and hide her. Amy, Lyell, Maisie, go back to your rooms and if you come out, act like your life depends on it,' he said. The family solemnly obeyed as he descended the stairs silently, he took off his coat, entered the living room, turned on the television and grabbed an apple and took a bite as he opened the door.

Dannielle was shuffled into Charlie's small and messy room. In the small gap between his set of drawers and the wall, there was a large, deteriorating box that Amy Bone had brought back from the grocery store in the hope that Charlie would use it to clean his room. Charlie had not yet done so and the box was empty.

'Danni, hide in here,' he said, steering her towards the box. The small eight-year-old climbed into the box, trembling. She huddled in the box as Charlie and Billy threw Charlie's clothes over the top of the box. Then they climbed back into bed and waited.

'Open the door!' the men outside yelled.

'Coming!' Paton Yewbeam called back, annoyed. He opened the door to be greeted by a group of about 20 men at his doorstep. They looked like the American SWAT team or something, with their jet black clothes and array of weapons.

'What brings so many people to my house at this time of night?' Paton demanded, sounding grumpy.

As Paton glared back at the men, one whispered to the apparent leader, 'He's the one.'

'Excuse me, sir,' the leader said, trying to enter the house.

'Excuse me!' Paton Yewbeam replied blocking the doorway.

'Sir, did you or did you not take a small child, a girl about eight years old, into this household?' the leader asked, impatient.

'I didn't take a girl, but I believe I have the right to enter my own house,' Paton replied.

'Then please explain why you suddenly broke into a run upon seeing our men,' the leader asked, glaring at the tall man.

'I remembered that I needed to watch my show, and I'm missing it thanks to you men right now,' Paton replied crossly.

'Right, well then, we shan't bother you much longer, just allow us to search the premises,' the leader replied through gritted teeth, trying to enter the house.

'Excuse me, but I don't believe I gave you permission!' Paton replied.

The leader opened his mouth to give an enraged reply, but he was pushed aside by a small child.

Paton raised an eyebrow but remained cautious, after all, there was already one small child hiding in the house who had proved to be much more dangerous than any other.

'Mr Yewbeam, am I correct?' the child asked. Paton nodded. 'We merely wish to confirm whether or not Dannielle Moren is within this household. If you do not wish to allow these men within your premises, at least allow me to make a quick search and then we will leave your house and family alone.'

'You could be more dangerous than all those men combined,' Paton replied, knowing, somehow, that the child was endowed. The child smiled.

'But that does not mean I will use it,' the child replied. Paton tried to think of a response, and while doing so, the child slipped past the tall man and entered the house.

It was dark in the rotting box… and rather smelly, but it was better than being beaten half to death. Danni just prayed that Rina and Jo were okay.

She could hear the tall man, whom Charlie had called Uncle Paton, talking to someone outside. It sounded rather like an argument. Then the booming voices disappeared and another voice spoke, but much softer.

A few seconds later, the door opened and Dannielle held her breath while Charlie and Billy pretended to wake up groggily.

'Hiroshi?'

Dannielle couldn't help the small gasp that came from her mouth as Billy spoke.

'Hello,' the tom-boy replied.

Then, before Dannielle could register any other movement, the clothing above her head disappeared and the pale face of Hiroshi looked down at her.

Dannielle's white eyes looked directly into the other girl's, while Billy and Charlie waited silently for Hiroshi to call out to the guards that she had found Dannielle.

Seconds ticked by and Hiroshi continued to stare at Dannielle. Eventually, she threw the clothes back on top of the box and left the room. Charlie and Billy followed her, ready to defend the room in which Dannielle hid.

'Master Hiroshi, did you find her?' the leader asked from the doorway.

Paton Yewbeam, Charlie and Billy waited in anxiety.

'No.'

Charlie and Billy stared at the figure of Hiroshi and then exchanged glances. No? But Hiroshi had clearly seen Danni. Why?

It made no sense, but Hiroshi had claimed that she had not seen Dannielle and that was all that mattered.

As Hiroshi descended the stairs, she smiled rather eerily at the two boys. 'Goodnight,' she said and then left.

Paton closed the door behind the group of men and the child and for a few seconds was silent, before breathing out a huge sigh of relief.

'She didn't see her?' he asked the two boys at the doorway of the room.

Charlie and Billy exchanged glances. 'She did, but for some reason she said she didn't. I don't understand,' Charlie replied. Billy, meanwhile, had returned to the room and taken the clothes off the top of the box.

'You okay, Danni?' he asked. Still trembling, the young girl nodded as tears rolled down her cheeks.

Charlie and Uncle Paton appeared a few moments later.

From within the box, Dannielle's small voice combined with sobs, floated out to them.

'Thank you… Thank you….Thank you…'

ShadowRose18: BY GOD THAT TOOK WAY TOO LONG!

I apologize a million times

This is a really crap chapter, but I'm half-sick right now and thus not bothered to change it

Sorry, but a head-splitting headache and a severe case of hay-fever makes me feel like a pile of blergh (my own word which is equivalent to something icky)

Anyway, I am trying really hard and I know that some of you are really disappointed (especially since I haven't even had time to reply to all your reviews from the PREVIOUS CHAPTER (GRAHHH!!!!))

Which I will probably do after I post this, but anyway

I will probably start the next chapter (because it's still the long weekend and because the coming week is totally bludge) so if its possible I might get another chapter by this weekend, but don't get your hopes up. I have classes until the end of the year (last year we had the end of year activities thing, but not this year D:) so if I don't get it done by this weekend, you may have to put up without a chapter for quite a while

The next one will be on Hiroshi and then back to Danni

Because I'm feeling bad for kind of neglecting Tancred and Emma, I might start one of the oneshot ideas that are on my profile. Actually, I should probably finish Vampire. Gaaack! So much to do damnit….

Sorry guys (again) I totally understand if you scold me in your review (if your kind enough to review that is).

Anyway! I shall stop ranting and start writing, because no one is probably reading this anymore! Wooo! DX