Charlie Bone and the Shadow of Badlock (Children of the Red King, Book 7) Read Online Free PDF

And then, before Benjamin's very eyes, the yellow dog became a smaller, paler version of himself.
    "Runner?" Benjamin leaped toward his dog. He touched the tip of Runner Bean's tail, which was standing out as stiff as a broom, but in less than a second the tail had melted away and with it the whole of Benjamin's beloved dog.
    "RUNNER!" Benjamin shrieked, just as the front door slammed.
    "Oh my goodness!" Maisie clapped a hand over her mouth.
    She was roughly pushed aside by Grandma Bone, who had suddenly appeared beside her.
    "What on earth is going on?" demanded Grandma Bone.
    Benjamin stared up at the two women. Maisie was shaking her head, her eyes were very wide, and her eyebrows were working furiously up and down. She seemed to be warning him. Distraught as he was, Benjamin began to think, fast. It was always understood by Charlie and himself that Grandma Bone must know absolutely nothing about what went on, especially if it had anything at all to do with Charlie's traveling.
    Grandma Bone had caught sight of Maisie's eyebrows wriggling. "What's the matter with you, woman?" she snarled.
    "Surprise," said Maisie. "So surprised. Thought we heard a rat, didn't we, Benjamin?"
    Benjamin nodded vehemently.
    "I thought I heard a bark." Grandma Bone glared suspiciously at Benjamin. "Where's your dog?"
    "He... he didn't come with me today," said Benjamin, almost choking with distress. Could Grandma Bone see the unwrapped painting from where she stood? He didn't think so.
    "Unusual. Not to bring your dog. Thought it was your shadow?" The tall woman turned on her heel and walked away, adding, "I'd come out of that cellar if I were you. It's more than likely the rats'll get you. Where's Charlie, by the way?"
    "Gone to the bookstore," Maisie said quickly. "And that's just where Benjamin's going, isn't it, Ben?"
    "Er - yes."
    Benjamin dragged himself regretfully up the cellar steps. He felt that he was betraying Runner Bean, leaving him trapped inside the awful painting. But what else could he do? Charlie's Uncle Paton would provide an answer. He usually knew what to do when things went wrong.
    Maisie saw Benjamin to the door. "Take care, dear," she said. "I don't like to think of you alone in the city without your dog."
    "I am eleven," Benjamin reminded her. "See you later, Mrs. Jones."
    "I hope so, dear." Maisie closed the door.
    Benjamin had taken only a few steps up the road when he became acutely aware that part of him was missing. The dog part. He'd been without Runner Bean before, when his parents took him to Hong Kong. But this was different. This was in a city where almost nothing was ordinary. Without warning, people could suddenly disappear, streetlights could explode, snow could fall in summer.
    Ingledew's Bookstore wasn't far from Filbert Street, but today it felt as though there were a huge gap between Benjamin and safety. He was halfway down High Street when he saw two children on the other side of the road. Joshua Tilpin, a small, untidy, sullen-looking boy, shambled beside his taller companion: a boy with a pale, greenish complexion and an odd, lurching walk. Dagbert-the-drowner.
    Pretending he hadn't seen them, Benjamin walked nonchalantly on, but from the corner of his eye he saw Dagbert nudge Joshua and point across the road.
    Benjamin lost his nerve. Instead of continuing up the road, he darted down a side street. For a few minutes he stood in the shadows, watching the two boys. He was being silly, he told himself. Why should he be afraid of two boys from Charlie's school? He hardly knew them. All the same, they gave him the creeps. Joshua had a reputation for making people do things against their will, not hypnotism exactly. They called it magnetism. As for Dagbert, he drowned people. Recently, he'd tried to drown Charlie in the river.
    Glancing up the street behind him, Benjamin was relieved to find that he knew where he was. He began to run.
    "What's up, Benjamin Brown?" called a voice., "Lost your