Disclaimer: I do not own any of the original characters or ideas from the Charlie Bone Books. They belong to Jenny Nimmo and I am not Jenny Nimmo.

Author's Note: If you don't mind could you please review this if you read it because, I don't know about you, but I just like getting reviews and I wanna know if you like it so I know if I should write another Charlie Bone fic after this one. Actually, even if you don't like it I'm going to write another because I just like writing them and I have ideas. LOL.

Anyway here is Chapter 4:

The rest of the day passed by boringly for Charlie. Uncle Paton didn't have anything interesting for him about the necklace. Charlie wished Gabriel had been able to tell them more about the strange stone. The information Gabriel did tell them was definitely something, though. Charlie just didn't know how it would help.

He woke up the next morning hoping Uncle Paton would have news for him. Charlie knocked on his Uncle's door quite early.

"Come on, Charlie," Paton sighed. Charlie pulled the door open. "I suppose you'd like to know something about that necklace?"

"I would," Charlie nodded.

"Well I can only tell you a very small bit. I haven't really found much, but I'll tell you what I can guess."

Charlie sat down and stared at him, ready for some information at last.

"A family," his Uncle began. "All the men were hypnotists. Every single one."

"Like Manfred?" Charlie asked.

"Not really," Uncle P told him. "This family was much more powerful than Manfred."

Charlie wondered if Manfred knew about this family, himself. If he did, he probably couldn't stand the fact some people were better than he was at hypnotizing.

"The women in that family were never hypnotists. Not one," Uncle Paton continued. "They were usually endowed, but never with the hypnotism gift."

"Why not?" Charlie wondered aloud.

"Who knows," Paton said. "They just never were. Anyway, awhile back, a pure evil boy was born into that family."

"As bad as Ezekiel Bloor?"

"No, worse," Uncle Paton said, seriously. "As the boy grew older his powers grew older and his heart grew colder. When he became a competent hypnotist as a man, he was known to torture people and eventually ended up capturing one in a stone. My guess is you came across his stone."

"So you're saying the stone I have has a person in it?" Charlie questioned.

"No, but I think it would be something more like someone's mind that would be captured."

"How did he do it, though?"

"Good question," said Uncle Paton. "I told you they were powerful and he was most likely the most powerful of all of them."

"Oh." Charlie wanted to know more about this strange family. "Does the family still exist?"

"Yes, but I can't quite remember what the name is. That's what I'll have to tell you later."

"So, how can I help the person in the stone?"

"There was a prophecy that..." Uncle Paton didn't finish.

"Yes?" said Charlie.

"Never mind, dear boy, I'll tell you later. I need to know more first," he said, beginning to straighten up books that were scattered in his room.

"Who did you say was probably at Bloor's?" asked Charlie, hoping for more information.

Uncle Paton stopped his cleaning and looked Charlie in the eyes. "We'll see. In the mean time don't concern yourself with it. That's just what my sisters wanted for you, a nice long hypnotizing sleep. Better yet for them, no one could blame Manfred for it this time."

Charlie nodded and left the room. That was a strange bit of a story he just heard. He didn't really want to see the stone again, so he found it in his room and slipped it into a small black, velvet pouch that he had gotten his mother's chain out of. Without thinking, Charlie laid the pouch on his dresser in his room and went downstairs.

Grandma Bone was sitting at the kitchen table when Charlie walked in. She gave him a disgusted look from behind a newspaper she was reading. Charlie ignored her and began looking for something to eat. Uncle P started saying something about a prophecy. Charlie hoped Uncle Paton would tell him about that soon. He figured that piece of information might be just what they needed.

Charlie spent the rest of the day doing basically nothing until it was time for him to go to the Pet's Café again. Charlie walked through the door and saw everyone sitting together including Tancred and Lysander. The only person missing was Fidelio.

"Got anything to tell us?" Lysander asked when Charlie sat down at the table.

"You bet I do."

Charlie quickly told them everything Uncle Paton mentioned this morning. He also told them about the prophecy.

"Ooh, a prophecy," Emma said. "I wonder what it was about?"

"I wonder who prophesized it?" Tancred added.

Charlie had never thought about that. It was probably just as important to know who prophesized it, as well as what it was about.

"Well at least we know something, now," said Gabriel. "I wonder why it can hypnotize you? If someone is really trapped in it, maybe the evil man hypnotized him or her in it, or something."

"You're brilliant, Gabriel!" Olivia said ecstatically. "I bet the person who's mind is in the stone is at Bloor's. Charlie, you said that your Uncle said something about someone being at Bloor's. What if that's it?"

"That's a fantastic idea," Charlie nodded. Everyone agreed except Lysander.

"Come on, Sander. Do you have any better ideas?" Tancred questioned.

"No," Lysander confessed. "It just doesn't seem possible."

"How is it not possible?"

Lysander just shrugged. He stayed silent when everyone else started talking about people who don't seem to have a mind and could be the victim.

"I bet it's...hmm...Zelda Dobinski. She probably wasted her mind away doing all that telekinetic stuff," Olivia said convincingly. Everyone laughed, even Lysander.

"Good one," Tancred told her.

"Let's be serious," Emma commanded. "This is Bloor's Academy. The genius school. You need a mind to get accepted."

"Ha! It won't work," Lysander shouted, causing a few people in the Café to glance at their table.

"What about the endowed?" Olivia offered. All of the friends glared at her. "Sorry, sorry just an idea."

"She has got a point, though," Gabriel said.

"I can guarantee you it is not me," Tancred assured them right away. "I wasn't put in the art department for no reason."

"That's right," said Emma. "You're an excellent painter, Tancred. And you carve beautifully, Lysander."

"You can draw fantastically, too, Emma," Charlie said.

"Thanks. Now what about the people who don't have talents as well as endowments?"

"Manfred can hypnotize so his mind can't be hypnotized, unfortunately," said Charlie.

"Same with Vanessa, but not unfortunately," Olivia told them.

"Oh yeah." Charlie had forgotten about Vanessa.

"She plays the flute well, though. I would call that a talent." Gabriel said. "I don't know why she's in the drama department."

"It obviously takes Billy brain power to communicate with animals."

"And even though it doesn't seem like it, Zelda definitely uses her mind."

"Asa uses his mind when he transforms."

"I play piano," Gabriel said.

"That leaves...Dorcas and Charlie.

Everyone looked at Charlie. He had no talents and nothing about his endowment could really defend him.

"Think about it, guys, Charlie's got to be thinking to find out about the stone to begin with. Besides, his mind travels into the portraits when he goes in them." Luckily, Tancred was thinking quicker than was Charlie himself.

"And Dorcas?"

"Who knows, but I don't think it's her," Lysander said positively.

"Why not?" Olivia demanded.

"Because I just don't. OK?"

"Yes, but why?"

"Because she was hypnotized by Yolonda and you need a mind if you're going to be hypnotized don't you?" Lysander said hotly. "Anyway, it's starting to get dark and I haven't pack any of my stuff for school, tomorrow. So, see you later." He left with his parrot screeching on his shoulder.

Lysander was right, it was almost dark and there was school the next day. Quickly the table emptied and everyone was on their way home. Charlie wasn't looking forward to passing the old Cathedral in the dark. He could faintly hear chords being played on the organ, which reminded him of his dad.

Once home, Charlie was shoved on his way up the stairs and in his room by Grandma Bone even before he had gotten a chance to say hello to Maisie or his mother.

"Where were you? You should have been home packing a long time ago."

"Sorry. I lost track of time," Charlie said deciding not to cause any more trouble. Grandma Bone sniffed, but left his bedroom closing the door loudly.

Charlie grabbed his bag and started stuffing clothes in it until he noticed something that was missing. The small black pouch that held the stone was gone from Charlie's dresser.

Charlie grabbed his doorknob, pulled, and went running out into the hall until he ran head on into his mother who was carrying a hamper of his washed clothes for him to pack.

"Where are you going so fast?" his mother asked.

Charlie wondered how he would explain everything about the necklace to her. "I was going to tell Uncle P goodnight," Charlie said getting up from the floor where had fallen after running into his mother.

"So quickly?" she asked again.

"I was really tired so I wanted to go straight to bed."

"You don't seem tired."

'Why was she making this so difficult?' he wondered.

"Maisie said you were out almost all day. What's going on?" she said.

"The Yewbeam Aunt's are up to no good again, Mom," Charlie whispered.

"Oh, I see. Will you tell me more?" Her expression changed to be more serious. "Well, I'm sure you're busy, so tell me next weekend when you come home from school."

Charlie agreed and hurried into Uncle Paton's room.

"Uncle Paton, I think Grandma Bone took the necklace," Charlie burst out as soon as he entered the room.

Uncle Paton held up his hand. "I have it, Charlie. I asked you to give it to me, so I went into your room to see if you left it. It was sitting right on your dresser, I noticed. A very unwise place to keep it."

"Oh yeah. Thanks for taking it then. Goodnight."

Charlie went back to his room and resumed his packing until, finally, he kissed his mother and Maisie and went to bed with the dreadful thought of school the next day on his mind.