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

A fire rages at Bloor’s Academy.

At home the next day, Charlie Bone opens an envelope he expects to hold a photo of his friend Benjamin’s dog, Runner Bean. Instead, he finds a picture of a man holding a baby. To his shock, he hears a man’s and woman’s voices from the photo, discussing the baby. Charlie’s paternal grandmother, Grandma Bone, becomes interested and asks if her previously ordinary grandson may have inherited the powers of her family, the Yewbeams, after all.

When Benjamin comes over and takes Charlie to help him walk Runner Bean, Charlie hears more voices from a photograph in a discarded newspaper: Manfred Bloor, the Head Boy at Bloor’s Academy, talking about the fire. Charlie tells Benjamin about the voices from the photographs. Grandma Bone’s reclusive brother, Uncle Paton, arrives and ushers Charlie home.

Uncle Paton takes Charlie home, where the boy finds his family, including his mother, Amy, and his maternal Grandma Maisie, preparing for the arrival of the three Yewbeam Sisters. Grandma Bone explains that her sisters are coming to test Charlie’s abilities, hoping that he is one of the magically gifted “endowed” so they can send him to Bloor’s Academy. When the sisters arrive, Charlie is instructed to look at old family photos, and he hears music and laughter. After the assessment, Charlie learns from his mother that the Yewbeams have controlled their family’s life ever since his father, Lyell, defied their ancient rule and married outside the family’s gifted bloodline. Lyell’s mysterious death left Amy and Charlie dependent on the Yewbeams, who now insist that Charlie attend Bloor’s.

Later that night, Charlie secretly follows Uncle Paton out of the house and notices his uncle’s strange ability to cause street lamps to brighten and shatter as he passes. When Uncle Paton notices Charlie trailing him, he turns and asks why the boy is following him.

Uncle Paton explains his ability to Charlie: He can intensify the power of lights around him. Paton says his talent frightens others and drove him into isolation. He only leaves the house at night to avoid unnecessary light. The next day, Charlie stays behind while his family goes out to shop and answers the door for an unusual man named Mr. Onimous and his three brightly colored cats known as the Flames. The cats rid the house’s pantry of mice, and Mr. Onimous notices the photo of the man and the baby. He says the cats recognize Charlie’s connection to the photograph and believe the lost baby is now at Bloor’s Academy.

Encouraged by Mr. Onimous to find the photograph’s owner, Charlie ends up at a bookshop owned by a woman named Julia Ingledew. She tells Charlie the baby in the photo is her niece, who was given away by Miss Ingledew’s brother-in-law, Dr. Tolly. She regrets not taking in her niece and has been searching for her ever since. As thanks for returning the photo to her, she gives Charlie a robotic dog toy as a gift for Benjamin’s birthday. She also gives him a heavy silver case that she believes contains whatever Dr. Tolly traded in exchange for his daughter. Miss Ingledew pleads with Charlie to keep the case safe.

Charlie leaves Miss Ingledew’s bookshop, struggling to carry the silver case in his bag. He runs into Benjamin and Runner Bean, and the boys take the heavy bag back home, unaware that Asa Pike, Manfred’s henchman, is following them. However, Runner Bean chases the stalker off. Charlie leaves the case at Benjamin’s house and heads home, where Grandma Bone reprimands him for letting the cats into the house. She tells him she can’t wait until he’s out of the house and at Bloor’s Academy, when he will only be allowed home on weekends.

At Benjamin’s birthday, Charlie gives him the robotic dog. Runner Bean is upset by the presence of the metal case, which has begun to make tapping noises. When the boys try to open it, they realize it’s locked. Charlie later asks Uncle Paton to go with him to the bookshop to get the key from Miss Ingledew, and she gives them a bag of unmarked keys to try on the case. Paton asks Miss Ingledew if he might return to visit her. As he and Charlie leave, Paton causes a streetlamp to shatter.

Charlie and Uncle Paton return home. Paton explains how he discovered his talent on his seventh birthday when he broke all the lights and scared the other children. He urges Charlie to keep his own ability a secret and only to use it when necessary.

The following day, Charlie avoids Grandma Bone’s questioning about the keys and rushes to Benjamin’s house to open the case. When Benjamin is upset at the news that Charlie is leaving him behind and going to Bloor’s Academy, Charlie clears up the situation by explaining that his family will be kicked out of the house if he doesn’t. They look for the case, but discover it disappeared from the closet where they left it. The boys hear a tapping from the cellar and find the case. While Charlie tries the keys, Benjamin holds off Aunt Venetia, one of the Yewbeam sisters, who came to question him about Charlie’s whereabouts. Benjamin denies having seen Charlie, giving Charlie time to continue his search. However, none of the keys open the case. After the failed attempt, Charlie tries to sneak home through Benjamin’s backyard, but Aunt Venetia captures him.