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

asked with a sneer.
    Benjamin croaked, "Busy."
    Mr. Ezekiel gave a nasty chuckle. "I know who you are. Your parents are private detectives. Hopeless sleuths. Where's your dog, Benjamin Brown?"
    Benjamin screwed up his face, gritted his teeth, and sent Fidelio a helpless look of despair. "Er..."
    Fidelio came to his rescue. "He's at the vet. Benjamin's very upset."
    Mr. Ezekiel threw back his head and cackled lustily. Weedon joined in with a deep chortle, while the boys watched them in baffled silence. What was so funny about a dog being at the vet?
    The curtains behind the counter parted, and an elegant woman with chestnut hair appeared. She was carrying a heavy gold-tooled book, which she laid very carefully on the counter. "Hello, boys. I didn't know you were here," said Miss Ingledew.
    "They're after your little assistant." Mr. Ezekiel snickered.
    Miss Ingledew ignored his remark. "I think this might be what you want, Mr. Bloor," she said, turning the book so that he could read its title.
    "How much?" snapped the old man.
    "Three hundred," Miss Ingledew told him.
    "Three hundred." Mr. Ezekiel slammed a mottled hand onto the valuable book, causing Miss Ingledew to wince. "I only want to know a bit about marquetry. Mother-of-pearl inlaid boxes in particular, dates and sizes, et cetera." He began to flip the pages over with his long, bony fingers. "Help me, Weedon."
    While the old man was occupied with the book, the two boys moved swiftly across the store and around the counter. Mr. Ezekiel began to whine about the small print as they stepped through the curtains and entered Miss Ingledew's back room.
    Here, there were even more books than in the store itself. Shelves covered the walls from floor to ceiling, filled with old, faded, yellow books, large on the bottom shelves and very small at the top. They gave the room a musty, leathery smell that was rather comforting. But it was, after all, a living room, so there were several tiny tables, a sofa, two armchairs, an upright leather chair, and a desk. Hunched over the desk was a black-haired man who, even sitting down, seemed exceptionally tall.
    The man paid no attention to the boys, but continued to pore over the papers in front of him.
    Fidelio cleared his throat.
    Without looking up, the man said, "If you want Emma and Olivia, they've gone to the Pets' Cafe."
    "Actually, Mr. Yewbeam, it's you we wanted," said Fidelio.
    "Ah," said Charlie's uncle. "Well, I'm busy."
    "This is urgent," Benjamin blurted out. "Charlie's gone into a painting, and so's Runner Bean, and they won't come out."
    "They will." Uncle Paton continued to scrutinize the papers. "Eventually."
    "You don't understand," said Fidelio in as urgent a tone as he could muster. "This time Charlie's gone right in - he's disappeared - vanished."
    Uncle Paton raised his eyes to peer at them over the top of his half-moon glasses. "Vanished?"
    "Yes, Mr. Yewbeam. Completely gone," said Benjamin, on the verge of tears. "There was this painting in your cellar, and Charlie's grandma, the nice one, asked me to go down and help because Charlie had disappeared. So I went down and
    Runner Bean followed me, and then he... went in, too."
    Uncle Paton frowned. "What sort of painting was this, Benjamin?"
    "A horrible one," said Benjamin. "Lots of dark towers and mountains. It had a name at the bottom. Badlock, I think it was."
    "BADLOCK."" Uncle Paton sprang up so rapidly his chair fell over and all the papers fluttered off the desk.
    "Is it a dangerous place?" Benjamin asked breathlessly.
    "The worst place in the world," said Uncle Paton. "Though I can't be certain that it was ever actually in this world."
    Benjamin's mouth fell open. He gaped at Paton Yewbeam, trying to make sense of what he had said. Even Fidelio was lost for words.
    "No time to lose. Come on, boys." Uncle Paton brushed aside the curtain and marched into the store, quickly followed by Fidelio and Benjamin.

CHAPTER 3
    SQUIRM STEW
     
    Julia Ingledew was anxiously