"If you say so." Mrs. Vertigo clasped her face in her hands. "And I suppose we must just sit here and wait?"
"That's about it, Mrs V," Tancred said cheerfully. "I think we'd better be off now, so if you two girls ..."
"Ready in a minute." Olivia pranced out of the room and up the stairs. She returned a few seconds later wearing a silver-gray bomber jacket, black boots, and a white faux fur hat with earflaps. "Ta-da! I'm ready!" she announced.
Emma smiled. It was so good to have the old Olivia back again.
With brief kisses for her parents, Olivia followed the others out into the fog. Their next stop would be at number nine Filbert Street.
Charlie was waiting for them in the open doorway. As soon as he saw the group arrive through the fog, he called up the stairs, and his uncle appeared, wearing his black fedora and long coat. He was carrying a stout walking stick that Charlie had never seen before.
Alice Angel came down the second flight, followed closely by Billy. When she reached the hall, Olivia caught sight of her and jumped up the steps, crying,
"Alice! Alice! I'm so happy to see you!"
Alice gave her a hug. "I'm happy too, Olivia, dear."
Maisie and Cook came out of the kitchen, and Maisie said plaintively, "What are we going to do, Cook and me? Just wait and wonder? And what about Grandma Bone?"
"She won't give you any trouble," Alice told her. "We'll be back, dear Maisie. Please don't worry."
"I'll be with you." Cook took Maisie's arm. "We'll keep the balance together."
Maisie looked briefly reassured; nevertheless she watched anxiously from the door as the two groups met at the foot of the steps and then proceeded up Filbert Street together.
"Good luck!" called Maisie and Cook.
Seven children and two adults turned and waved to her.
They walked on in silence, an unusual state for some of them. Even Olivia had nothing to say, though she clung to Emma's hand. The gravity of the situation had finally struck home, and all of them were preoccupied with their own thoughts.
Halfway up High Street two figures loomed out of the fog. One very large and one small. Mrs. Kettle and Dagbert had been waiting for the others. As they drew closer, the sight of Mrs. Kettle's cheerful face and strong, broad shape brought a sudden babble of chatter from the group, and they increased their pace.
"Is Julia all right?" Uncle Paton asked Mrs. Kettle.
"Just fine," she replied. "Piminy Street's deserted. There's no one there to worry her now."
"That means they're all on the Heath," said Paton.
"It does indeed," Mrs. Kettle agreed. "But we can cope, can't we?" She pulled back her coat and patted her hip, and they all saw the bronze hilt of a great sword sheathed in a leather scabbard attached to her belt.
Charlie realized that, apart from Mrs. Kettle, none of them had a weapon of any kind. "Shouldn't we have one of those?" he asked, staring at her sword.
"You have your endowments, my dear," said Mrs. Kettle.
"They don't amount to much," Charlie muttered. He was thinking of himself.
Traveling into pictures wasn't much use in a fight, nor were Gabriel's psychic powers. And what about Billy? Communicating with animals wouldn't help when there were no animals around.
"Listen, my dear," Mrs. Kettle said gravely. "You are children of the Red King. That's all you will need when the time comes. Isn't that so, Alice?"
Alice gave one of her enigmatic smiles. "Of course!"
And so they set off again, Dagbert falling into step beside Charlie. What should we call him now? Charlie wondered. Because Dagbert no longer had the fishy smell that made people hold their noses whenever he was near. His skin had lost its green tinge, although it was very pale. Charlie couldn't imagine what it must be like to lose your father in such a dramatic way. "Water boy,"
he tried out, murmuring to Dagbert. "Can you still... you know?"
Dagbert nodded. "I haven't lost THAT!"
There was a distant shout. Looking back, Charlie saw Runner Bean bounding toward them. Benjamin and Fidelio were following fast behind.
"Uncle!" Charlie called to Paton, who, together with Mrs. Kettle, was leading the group. "There are two more of us—and a dog."
Uncle Paton stopped and the group behind him came to a sudden halt. They all turned to the two boys racing up to them. Fidelio and Benjamin arrived, gasping for breath and grinning, while Runner Bean bounced around, joyfully barking his head off.
"You left without us!" Benjamin complained.
"Maisie told us where you were heading," added Fidelio. "You might have let us know."
Lysander stepped forward and said, "Sorry, guys. You can't come. You're not endowed."
"So what?" said Fidelio.
"You won't be safe," said Tancred. "You need protection."
"We've got Runner Bean," Benjamin said stoutly, "and we won't be left out."
"What about your parents?" Alice asked gently. "Did you tell them what you were about to do?"
"We left notes." Fidelio glared at them defiantly. "And we're coming. So that's that."
"I'm sorry, boys," Uncle Paton began, "but you—"
He was cut short by an explosive crash from behind. The traffic lights had toppled over and now straddled the intersection. The lights themselves had broken off the pole and lay in the middle of the road. The misty figures of Mrs. Branko and the twins could just be made out, standing beside the fallen lights.
"We can't go back now," Fidelio said happily. "So you'd better let us join you."
The three adults accepted this, and Benjamin and Fidelio tagged on behind Charlie. He had to admit that he was glad to have his two best friends with him on what he guessed might be the longest day of his life. They were now a group of fourteen, if you counted Runner Bean.
On they went. Everyone had fallen silent again, but at their backs the Brankos were doing their worst. Chimneys toppled, signs fell from shop windows, doors caved in. Charlie tried to ignore the sounds. And then suddenly one of the lampposts just ahead fell to the sidewalk, its glass shattering into thousands of tiny shards. This was too much for Uncle Paton.
Leaping into the road, he glared at the Brankos before lifting his gaze to a
lighted window high in a building beside the telekinetic family. With a deafening explosion, the windowpane burst, showering the Brankos with glass.
Yelling and cursing, they retreated down the street.
"We'll get a bit of peace while they're licking their wounds," said Uncle Paton, resuming his steady march up High Street.
When they passed the square that led to Bloor's Academy, Charlie half expected Manfred and Mrs. Tilpin to come racing out. But no one appeared. A little later he became aware that two more people had joined their ranks.
Looking over his shoulder, Charlie was astonished to see Dr. Saltweather and Senor Alvaro.
"Dr. Saltweather, I didn't know... ," said Charlie.
Lysander, Gabriel, and Tancred turned and stared at the two teachers. Emma and Olivia just gaped.
"Let's go!" Dr. Saltweather commanded. "Don't stop for us."
Sehor Alvaro smiled at Charlie, saying, "Forward, Charlie Bone."
Their pupils ran to catch up with Paton, Mrs. Kettle, and Alice, who were all striding purposefully onward, though Billy had stopped for a moment to speak to Runner Bean.
The Heath lay on their left, just beyond Bloor's Academy. It was a wide stretch of tough grass and low, windblown shrubs, over a mile long. In the distance a line of rocks protruded from the earth like the spines of a great serpent. The fog made them appear almost to float above the ground. The whole place seemed to be deserted. There was no sign of the Red Knight. The group stood at the edge of the road, watching and waiting.
A warning growl rumbled in Runner Bean's throat and then they saw the dogs.
Two rottweilers were bearing down on them from the direction of the Heights.
They looked like the most bloodthirsty dogs Charlie had ever seen. He imagined their great teeth tearing into his flesh, into everyone who stood there too stunned to move. Behind the dogs came Dorcas Loom and her two large brothers.