Charlie Bone and the Shadow of Badlock

Charlie Bone and the Shadow of Badlock (US: Charlie Bone and the Shadow) is a novel by Jenny Nimmo, the seventh in her Children of the Red King series. It was released on August 25, 2008 in England.

Summary
Otus Yewbeam, an ancestor of Charlie Bone and husband of the Red King's daughter Amoret, is trapped by Count Harken in Badlock. Charlie meets him when he is completely, involuntarily sucked into a painting of Badlock. When he manages to escape, he finds he must return because Benjamin's Dog, Runner Bean, has become trapped in the painting. Meanwhile, Pets Cafe is closed down and a man on a motorcycle runs over Mr. and Mrs. Onimous. They both survive the attack; Mr. Onimous has a little help from the Flames. Charlie's moth is captured by Dagbert Endless so that he can bargain with Tancred to get his golden sea urchin back. The moth escapes, but Tancred unknowingly makes the trade. When Dagbert gets his full powers back, he locks Tancred in a basement room and floods it. Emma, in the form of a small bird, flies all the way to Thunder House, where she tells Tancred's father of the incident. They both hurry to Bloor's Academy in order to try and save Tancred. They get there too late, finding Tancred dead. Mr. Torsson storms out of the academy, literally, leaving much damage. Billy returns home with Charlie in order to try and communicate with Runner Bean, who is still in the painting. When they go to visit Mrs. Kettle, they are attacked by Eric, who is controlling a giant statue of Harken's military leader, Oddthumb. Late one night Billy decides to go and see the painting where it is kept in Charlie's cellar. Runner Bean is ejected from the painting and Billy is sucked in. He meets Count Harken and his family, becoming close friends with the Count's granddaughter, Matilda. Charlie decides he must go back into the painting, where Billy is being held. When he returns to the cellar, he finds that the painting is gone and no one seems to know where it is. Creeping around in Grandma Bone's room, Charlie finds information of a secret meeting. When he tells Mr. and Mrs. Brown about this, Mrs. Brown goes undercover at the meeting, which turns out to be a gathering of evil magicians headed by Titania Tilpin. The painting is there and so is the Mirror of Amoret. Mrs. Brown is discovered and is chased out of the chapel where the meeting is being held. She is saved by Mrs. Kettle and soon returns home safely. Upon learning that the painting is in the chapel, Charlie, with the Mrs. Kettle's help, breaks into the chapel and goes into the painting. He takes Solomon, the blue boa, for invisibility. Charlie is shocked to learn that Billy refuses to return home because he has been put under Count Harken's spell. Forced to leave without Billy, Charlie and Otus Yewbeam attempt to travel back in time so that Otus can be with, and die with, Amoret. They end up right in the middle of one of Titania Tilpin's secret meetings, but they are rescued by Lysander. Uncle Paton drives them back to Charlie's house, where they are confronted by Grandma Bone, who is furious when she discovers Otus, in her house. In a moment of defiance, Paton pushes her into the cellar and blocks the door with a heavy cabinet, instructing Maisie to keep her in there until they get back. Paton, Otus and Charlie travel to the castle of mirrors, followed by the Red Knight on his white horse. Charlie uses one of the memories imprinted in the castle's mirrored walls to return Otus to the time of Amoret. Paton then drives Charlie to Thunder House, where there is apparently a celebration taking place. The book ends with Charlie meeting the rest of his friends where he discovers that Tancred is still alive. It it known that Norton the doorman for the Pets Cafe is evil. Charlie saw Norton when he was trying to rescue his ancestor Otus.

This book leaves some storylines on a cliffhanger, such as the issue of Billy in Badlock, how Tancred returned from the dead, and Mrs. Tilpin trying to fix the mirror. It is expected that these issues will be resolved in the next book in the series, Charlie Bone and the Red Knight.