"He forgot to ask me," sniffed Billy, picking a splinter out of his palm.90"FORGOT,"
said Mrs. Tilpin. "That's not very nice. I thought he was your friend."
"He is," Billy mumbled, "but sometimes he's busy."
"Aww!" said Dorcas. "Poor Billy."
Billy chewed his lip and darted a furtive look at the table. A vaporous green cloud was rising from the mirror and curling up toward the damp ceiling. Everyone turned to watch it, mouths open and eyes wide.
"What's that?" Billy whispered.
Mrs. Tilpin clasped her hands with a look of ecstasy. "That, Billy Raven, is a message from my ancestor. It seems that you have disappointed him."
"Me?" The chill that ran down Billy's spine had nothing to do with the temperature in Mrs. Tilpin's room. The sight of the green vapor terrified him so much, he even failed to hear the snap of wood as someone stepped over the broken door.
Suddenly, Billy's shoulders were grabbed from behind and the small boy gasped with shock.91"What are you doing here?" Manfred Bloor swung Billy around to face him.
"Why aren't you staying with Charlie Bone?"
Billy looked into the cruel black eyes gazing down at him. He had always been mortally afraid of Manfred Bloor; with his bony face and narrow shoulders, he looked more like an old man than a boy of nineteen. His long hair, tied in a ponytail, was already streaked with gray, and his tight black sweater only emphasized his scrawny frame.
"Well?" snarled Manfred.
"He ... he didn't ask," faltered Billy.
"Didn't ask. That's no excuse." Manfred glanced disdainfully at the children seated around the table. Then he noticed Dagbert and he gave a brief half-smile.
All that remained of the green vapor was a thin cloud that clung to the brick ceiling like a mildewy cobweb. Manfred didn't appear to have seen it. "Scram, kids!" he barked. "I want a private word with Mrs. Tilpin."92With a chorus of "Yes, Manfred," Dorcas, the twins, and Joshua gathered up their books and made for the door. Dagbert said nothing, but he followed the others as they stepped over the splintered planks. And then he looked back briefly and murmured. "She wants to let an enchanter loose on the world, what d'you think of that, Manfred?"
"I think it's an excellent idea," Manfred replied, with another of his sinister smiles.
"Really?" Dagbert raised his eyebrows and stepped into the dark hallway.
"You too," said Manfred, addressing the white-haired boy who seemed to be in a trance.
Billy shook himself. He looked around the room, as though he had no idea how he got there, and then walked slowly through the doorway.
"Tell Mr. Weedon to come and fix the door you broke," Mrs. Tilpin called after him.
"Yes," said Billy weakly.
Manfred lifted two of the wooden boards and laid them across the drafty gap. Rubbing his hands93free of dust, he came and sat at the table. "Very satisfactory," he said, his wide grin revealing a row of long yellow teeth.
"You're very pleased with yourself," Mrs. Tilpin remarked.
"Oh, I am. Didn't you notice?"
"Notice?" Mrs. Tilpin appeared to be more interested in her mirror than anything Manfred had to say.
"It's coming back!" Manfred gripped the edge of the table and leaned forward. "My endowment, Titania. Remember, you said it would return if I was patient. "Relax," you said. "Try it out occasionally, but don't force it." Well, I've just hypnotized Billy Raven.
Didn't you notice?"
"I suppose so." Mrs. Tilpin frowned into her mirror. "He's not happy," she mumbled.
"When those leopards attacked me, I thought I was done for, but it's quite the reverse. I'm stronger than ever." Manfred spread out his long, thin arms.
"I expect it was anger," said Mrs. Tilpin, without94taking her eyes from the mirror.
"Anger and fear, both powerful agents. They can channel the forces that lie dormant within us."
"Is that so?" Manfred frowned at the mirror. "What's going on, Titania?"
Her gaze still held by the mirror, Mrs. Tilpin said, "He was expecting Billy Raven. And I haven't given you permission to use my first name."
Manfred shrugged. "Apologies, Fairy Tilpin, but it suits you so well."
Mrs. Tilpin grimaced. She had never known how to accept a compliment. "I feel it when he's angry, right here." She jabbed her stomach. "He expected Billy today. When Eustacia Yewbeam took the painting, she assured me that the boy would be with Charlie."
"What's the hurry? We'll make sure the kid sees the painting next Saturday. He'll start talking to the dog and Harken will have him."
"The dog might not last a week," Mrs. Tilpin said sullenly. "Trolls eat dogs, you know."95"Poor doggie."
Mrs. Tilpin stamped her foot. "Don't be smart. Have you forgotten the enchanter is doing this for you? He has promised to hold the boy until that wretched will is found and destroyed. What do you imagine will happen if Lyell Bone returns and remembers where the will is kept? The game will be up, Manfred Bloor. Billy Raven inherits everything, remember. This house, the ancient castle, even the treasures hidden under old Ezekiel's bed."
Manfred lost his smile and a look of icy cunning came across his face. Mrs. Tilpin found herself holding the mirror tight to her chest, as though the green figure swirling in the glass could protect her from the boy's deadly stare.
"Lyell Bone will never return," said Manfred. "We'll see to that."96CHAPTER 5
THE PETS' CAFEIS CLOSED
Long after his friends had left, Charlie still wandered the house. Up and down the stairs, in and out of his room, and down into the cellar, where he would stare at Runner Bean's
image, at the strands of white hairs in his yellow beard, his shiny black nose, and the reproachful brown eyes that gazed into Charlie's.
"I'm trying to get you out of there, Runner," Charlie would murmur, but try as he might, he couldn't reach the dog trapped in Badlock, a place that might not even exist in the real world. Someone had created a barrier between Charlie and the poor creature he longed to rescue. Charlie had a very good idea who it was, for he met the same impenetrable wall whenever he tried to enter the Red King's portrait.
Uncle Paton had retreated to his room to consider the problem. In his opinion, Billy Raven was97the one to unlock the mystery of Runner Bean's incarceration, for there was a chance that the pale, white-haired boy might somehow communicate with the dog in the painting.
But Billy was imprisoned in Bloor's Academy, and there was no likelihood of his being released at this late hour on a Sunday. They would have to wait for next weekend, when Charlie must make sure that Billy came home with him.
"A week might be too long," Charlie declared, thinking of Oddthumb and his partiality for dog meat.
Maisie, her usually cheerful face creased with worry, turned on the kitchen television.
"There's nothing we can do for now, Charlie," she said, "so we might as well cheer ourselves up."
Charlie couldn't agree. He was about to go back to the cellar when Grandma Bone came downstairs, dressed up for an evening out with her sisters. Charlie stood by the cellar door, watching the tall figure stride to the front door. Though knowing it98would be useless, Charlie couldn't stop himself from calling out to her.
"Grandma! Please, please, do you know why my friend's dog got locked in that painting?"
Grandma Bone hesitated.
Charlie walked toward her. "If you know why it's happened, can you tell me how I can get Runner Bean out of there?"
"I hope you've done your homework," said Grandma Bone. "School tomorrow." She turned the door handle.
"PLEASE, Grandma!" begged Charlie.
Without another word his grandmother opened the front door and swept out, leaving the wind to slam the door behind her.
"Thanks, Grandma!" Charlie muttered.
He had only taken a few steps back to the cellar when the doorbell rang. Had Grandma Bone forgotten her keys? Charlie was tempted to ignore the bell, but it continued to ring in a rather frantic way. Whoever it was, with their finger glued to the bell,99they weren't going to give up until someone answered.