Midnight for Charlie Bone: The Children of the Red King #1

In the King’s room, Charlie plans to sneak away to meet Fidelio, who’s supposed to give him a signal about the silver case. With Olivia and Billy covering for him, Charlie heads through the school’s labyrinthine passages to the music tower. From a window, he sees Fidelio and Benjamin gesturing strangely. Unable to understand them, he realizes he’ll need to wait until he’s home to know if the case is safe. Before he can leave the tower, Charlie is drawn by the sound of piano music from the top. He finds one of the teachers, Mr. Pilgrim, there, playing. When Mr. Pilgrim notices him, Charlie lies that he got lost. Charlie then returns to the King’s room, where Olivia and Billy say Manfred was searching for him.

Later, in the prefects’ room, Manfred tries to intimidate Charlie into revealing the location of the case, but Charlie uses his gift to resist his hypnotic gaze. Enraged, Manfred throws things at Charlie until Dr. Bloor intervenes and dismisses Charlie, saying his mother is waiting for him. Upstairs, the cook’s dog, Blessed, keeps Billy company as he stays alone over the weekends. While Billy reassures Charlie he’s used to being alone, Charlie is still sad about leaving the boy behind.