Chase Tinker & The House of Magic

by Malia Ann Haberman

  Persephone set the container onto the table. She sent the boys a quick, impish smile then swung around and flounced back the way she came.

  "Call me if you need anything else," said Mrs. Periwinkle before following her daughter.

  Chase stared at the door, not noticing the chicken gravy dribbling from his fork onto the gold tablecloth.

  Janie grinned at the gaping Chase. "You can put your eyeballs back in your head, Chase," she said, with a teasing lilt in her voice. She leaned closer and whispered, "She's an older woman."

  "What? Older?" he said, blinking. "What do you mean by that?"

  "Persephone will be fourteen in September, and you're what, twelve?"

  "I'll be thirteen on July 8th!" snapped Chase. "Only a few more days. What about you?"

  "I turned thirteen on April 13th," she said, sticking her nose in the air. "So there."

  Chase put his head down and shoved a chunk of chicken into his mouth. So what, he thought scornfully. Not wanting to give Janie another chance to tease him, he ignored Persephone when she returned a minute later with a bowl of asparagus.

  As they ate, Janie regaled Grandfather with a rundown on everything she had done in the last few days, from planting tomatoes, to baking cookies, to knitting Maxwell a new red sweater. Outside, the threat of rain had turned into a downpour. Chase could hear the raindrops pinging against the windows, and even though he had to listen to Janie's constant chatter, he was happy he wasn't out in it. Feeling stuffed at last, he pushed away from the table.

  Janie pushed back her chair too. "Okay, if you're done, let's go find your socks. You coming, Andy?"

  "You bet!" he answered, jumping to his feet.

  Chase and Andy grabbed their plates. Their mother's voice saying "clean up after yourselves" was still ringing in their ears.

  "You guys don't have to do that," said Janie. "Kitchen Sink." She flicked her hand and the plates vanished. Looking at the boys' gaping faces, she understood what was going on. "You didn't tell them, did you, Grandfather?" she scolded, her fists on her hips.

  He shook his head. "Not yet. Why don't you bring them to the study after you've found Chase's purloined belongings, Janie. I have a few things you need to hear also."

  "Okay, Grandfather." She beckoned to the boys to follow. "Let's go, guys."

  This trip through the house was as cool as the first had been. Janie led them down a long, dark hallway where their bodies gleamed like neon lights and changed to whatever color they wanted, through two hidden doorways, and up a winding, S-shaped staircase that kept changing directions as if it were a slithering snake.

  "How long have you been living here?" asked Chase, goggling at three potted-plants singing an off-key Elvis Presley song. He was impressed by how easily she found her way through the gigantic house.

  "About five months," she said. "Grandfather brought me here when my mom went to look for your dad."

  "Grandfather told us about your mom," said Andy. He edged past the odd shrubbery. "Uh—why are the plants singing?"

  "Oh, don't mind them," said Janie, airily waving her hand at the plants. "They roam around the house serenading everyone. I kind of like it."

  Wanting to hear more about his dad, and not singing plants, Chase asked eagerly, "Have you heard anything from your mom?"

  "Nope, not a word." She pulled a purple cell phone from her pocket. "She called me a bunch of times when she first left." Janie sighed. "But I haven't heard anything from her in weeks. Whenever I call her, she never answers. I hope she's okay. And your dad too, of course," she added, slipping the phone back into her pocket. "Grandfather doesn't want me to worry, but I do. And I can tell he's worried too."

  "Do you think he'll go look for them himself?" Chase asked.

  She shrugged. "I dunno. He hasn't said anything, but he might have to if they don't come back soon. Wouldn't you think?"

  "I suppose." Staring at the floor, he thought of something else he wanted to ask. "So are Mrs. Periwinkle and Persephone magical too?"

  Janie shook her head. "No. Mrs. Periwinkle came to work here years ago when Persephone was a baby. They know about our magic, though."

  "I guess they'd have to," said Chase, "living in this house and all."

  Several more hallways later, they came to a bedroom with a huge four-poster bed. Like the formal living room, it had a stone fireplace taking up one whole wall. Unlike the other one, with its roaring fire, this one had dozens of baseball-size balls of flames bouncing behind the fire-screen.

  "This is Maxwell's room. At least he likes to think so," said Janie as she crossed the room with the boys trailing close. "He hides things under the bed."

  Getting down on their hands and knees, the kids peered into the darkness. Janie muttered something under her breath and snapped her fingers. A flashing-orange fireball popped into the palm of her hand.

  Chase and Andy jerked back. "Whoa!" said Chase as he eyeballed the strange ball of fire. "Where the heck did that come from?"

  "It's the power of the room," said Janie.

  "Power of the room?"

  "Don't worry, Grandfather will explain things to you," she said. "But in this room, you snap your fingers, say 'fireball' and it pops right into your hand. Try it."

  Chase did as she suggested. POP! "Nice," he said, smiling at the blazing ball. "Go ahead, Andy. You really gotta try this."

  "I don't know," said Andy, shaking his head. "Mom always says we're not supposed to play with fire."

  "But this is different," said Chase. "And it doesn't hurt. It actually kind of tickles."

  "O—okay…if you say so," Andy mumbled. Leaning back and stretching out his arm, and looking like he thought the fireball might attack him when it appeared, he clicked his fingers. A feeble spark later, he held a ball of flames. "Hey! I did it! Though, I wish it was a little bigger than a marble," he said, squinting at it.

  They dropped to their stomachs and looked under the bed again. Maxwell had stashed his loot too far under for the kids to reach.

  "Wow! Look at all this junk," exclaimed Andy.

  "And it looks like he took all my socks," said Chase, looking irritated. He spotted Maxwell curled up among his treasures. He was sound asleep. "Crazy furball!"

  "How do we get them out of there?" asked Andy.

  "I know how," said Chase. Squinting with concentration, in a few seconds he had things flying every which way. Something squishy bounced off his head while something else zipped past his ear. "Hey, he took my baseball cap, my hairbrush, and my toothbrush. Gross! He chewed on it."

  "Cool trick," said Janie as she dodged a sock-ball zooming by. "That's your power, huh?"

  "Yeah, telekinesis," he answered, gathering his stuff into a pile. "I still need to work a bunch on it, though. What about you? Is it the one you did in the dining room?"

  "No, vanishing is that room's power." She sat back on her heels. "Mine's called space manipulation. I'm not very good at it either."

  "Space manipulation?" said Andy, wrinkling his nose. "That sounds weird."

  She tapped her finger on her lips. "Let me see if I can explain it a little. It's like taking the closet over there and magicking it so it looks the same size on the outside, but it's much bigger on the inside."

  "Sounds like a cool power," said Chase.

  "Yeah, it is," she said, pushing her hair behind her ear. "There's other stuff, but I need to practice more."

  "I can freeze time," piped in Andy. "At least a couple times I did. I had my—my Dimmyditty something or other a few days ago."

  "Dimidiatus Anniversarium?" said Janie.

  "Yep, that sounds right."

  "Well, happy half-birthday, Andy. Maybe Mrs. Periwinkle will bake you a cake to celebrate." She held up a fluffy red slipper. "I bet Grandfather will be happy to see this." She dropped the slipper and picked up something else. "Oh, and my, uh, teddy bear. Shoot, Maxwell chewed off his other eye."

  Chase smothered a snicker as she tucked the stuffed animal under her arm and sen
t him a laugh-and-you're-toast look.

  "Hey, how do you get rid of these things?" asked Andy, blowing on his.

  "You can either say 'extinguish' and it goes out, or you can throw it at something." She hurled her fireball at a sock-ball. Bang! The socks exploded. Not even a cinder was left.

  "You blew up my socks!" yelled Chase. Sheesh! What was with this girl? "And anyway, isn't that dangerous?"

  Janie grinned. "Only to things, not people."

  He looked at his fireball and whispered, "Extinguish," even though he had the urge to fling it at his cousin instead.

  While they chatted, Maxwell tried to drag everything back to his hiding spot. After a few games of tug-of-war, and one more trip under the bed, Chase's things were finally back in his bag and stowed safely in his bedroom.

  "Sorry about Maxwell stealing all your stuff," Janie said on the way to Grandfather's study. "He's been acting funkier than usual lately. It's like he's smarter or something. Maybe the house's magic is seeping into him."

  Chase looked at Maxwell as he clung to Janie's shoulder. He blinked his beady black eyes and glared at Chase like he'd just taken all of Maxwell's possessions, instead of the other way around.

  Chase stuck his tongue out at him and almost fell over when Maxwell did the same thing back. Maybe Janie was right. Grandfather did say the house was full of magic. And using his ability back there had been a lot easier. Was it possible he was soaking up some of the magic in the house too? He sure hoped so, because he certainly needed it.

  CHAPTER SIX

  Keeper of the House

  "Oh, wonderful, you're here at last," said Grandfather when they entered the study.

  The warm, comfortable room had a desk, bookshelves, armchairs in front of a cozy fireplace, and French doors leading out onto a spacious deck. "I see you found the guilty culprit, and my long-lost slipper. Thank you, Janie." His eyes twinkled at Maxwell as he set his footwear on his desk. "Okay, everyone, let's go. No lollygagging."

  "Where?" asked Andy.

  "You'll see."

  He led them through the house to the spiral staircase. As they walked toward it, the steps began rolling upward.

  "It's an escalator!" exclaimed Janie.

  "Nice," said Chase as they each jumped onto a moving stair.

  "This is much quicker than walking," said Grandfather, "but it will make you a bit dizzy. I recommend hanging on."

  Everyone grabbed onto the handrails with both hands.

  "What about your motion sickness?" asked Andy as they twirled higher and higher.

  "Don't worry," said Grandfather. "I will prevail."

  Chase glanced over the side. The checkerboard floor was now far, far below. Whoa. Not a good idea to look down there, he thought while his lunch rolled over in his stomach. Instead, he stared at the ceiling as it grew closer. Much better.

  When they reached the top, Chase hoped he didn't look as green as everyone else as he looked around. They were in an alcove with nothing in it except a glittering oval window, and a huge painting that completely covered one wall. The colorful painting was dotted with hundreds and hundreds of tiny pictures of every sort of door imaginable.

  Grandfather strode straight to it. Chase, followed by the others, hurried after him, but before Chase had a chance to get a good look at the painting, Grandfather had already reached out a bent finger and knocked on one of the doors: two fast knocks, then two slow. Instantly, the door began to stretch and grow, sprouting bigger and bigger, becoming taller and taller, until seconds later, a regular brown door was there, right in the middle of the odd painting. All the other doors were shoved haphazardly aside to make room for it.

  Grandfather grasped the knob, gave it a twist and pushed the door open. They climbed through the opening and into a spacious attic. It had no other doors or windows and was empty except for one brilliantly glowing object sitting in the middle of the floor.

  Toffee-colored, it was about the size of a basketball. On one side, it looked like a crystal and had at least a dozen finger-length protrusions sticking out jaggedly; the rest of it was a smooth surface that had many strange symbols carved into it.

  "What is it, Grandfather?" whispered Janie breathlessly.

  Grandfather looked at the object with pride. "This, kids, is what we call the Relic. It's where our magic comes from."

  "Whoa," said the three of them in unison.

  "Magic comes from that?" exclaimed Chase. "How?"

  "We've never known how it does what it does," said Grandfather. "I do know how it came to be in the family, and this is what I want to show you."

  "What do all these weird lines and squiggles mean?" asked Janie as she leaned in for a closer look.

  "That I don't know either," said Grandfather. "It's just another of the Relic's many fascinating mysteries."

  Andy backed toward the door. "Are you sure it's safe? It looks radioactive or something."

  "No, no," Grandfather said. "It's perfectly safe."

  "Is it from outer space?"

  "I'm not sure of its origins, but I wouldn't have brought you here if it was dangerous in any way." He conjured cushioned chairs. "Now sit, listen, and learn. You too, Andy. Come along."

  When they were gathered around the Relic, Grandfather passed his hand across its smooth face. It changed to a smoky-gray and began showing scenes from the past.

  "Look, it's a magic TV," Janie said, giggling.

  "Shh!"

  "Five hundred and fifty-seven years ago," said a rich, deep voice from the Relic, "young Jedadiah Tinker lived in the highlands of Scotland. Even though everyone loved him for his kindness and generosity, he wasn't ready to settle down and spend his life as a farmer. What he desperately longed for the most was to explore the world.

  "He knew he might run into danger and pitfalls along the way, but he still packed some of his belongings and left home to pursue his dream. He had an exciting time visiting many countries and seeing fantastic, exotic places, but, for some strange reason, he had an uncontrollable urge to see the great pyramids of Egypt.

  "After his arrival, Jedadiah spent several days climbing and exploring the many pyramids. One afternoon, to get out of the burning sun, he plopped down to rest in the shadow of one of the largest. When he stood to move on, something about the stone he had been leaning against caught his attention. The enormous stone now looked as if it had some sort of door etched into the middle of it. He glanced at the surrounding rocks, but none of them appeared to have changed.

  "Curious, he quickly scooped away the sand drifts covering part of it. Maybe he'd found some sort of hidden entry. Sticking his fingers into one of the side gaps, he pulled with all his strength. The door opened several inches. Gritting his teeth, he grabbed onto the edge again and heaved and heaved until he'd finally pried it open enough for him to fit through. Just inside, he saw a blackened torch stuck in a groove that was carved in the side of the stone.

  "Glancing around, he took his flint from his bag, lit the torch and then ducked through the opening. In the flickering firelight, he saw a stone staircase leading down into total darkness. His heart pounded as he crept down the steep steps. At the bottom was a long passageway. Barely breathing, he followed the chilly, narrow tunnel until he came upon a tall, stone door. Holding up his torch, he saw that it had many strange-looking inscriptions carved into it. He tried to read them, but they made no sense. Hoping to see the writing better, he carefully rubbed the dust away.

  "Jedadiah's eyes widened when a bright light swept over him. 'What's goin' on?' he cried, his voice echoing down the tunnel. Loud scraping filled the air as the door swung open slowly and revealed an eerie, dark chamber. Holding his torch far out in front, he stepped inside.

  "The first thing that caught his eye was a round pedestal standing in the center of the room. It had an oddly-shaped object sitting on it. His gaze darted around the chamber. An old, dusty skeleton dressed in rags and curled up in one of the corners caused chills to race up and down his spine. He wan
ted to flee, but his curiosity was stronger than his fear.

  "He shuffled closer to the strange object. He jumped back when, without any warning, the thing began to glow with a bright, luminous inner light. Gulping, he reached out his trembling hand to brush the dust away from the smooth surface. It was warm to his touch. He didn't know why, but something about the entity made him feel comfortable and welcome. He glanced at the crumbling pile of bones. 'Was it you who hid this amazing relic here?' he asked.

  "Then, a bizarre, exhilarating feeling took hold of him. His whole body tingled and tickled as the heat from the object rushed through his blood and up to his mind. He instantly knew, without a doubt, that he must take the strange object home with him and keep it safe, forever.

  "Lifting it from the pedestal, he clutched it to his chest and hurried from the cold chamber and back out into the warm sunlight. Not wanting anyone else to find the secret chamber, he shoved the door shut again. Seconds later, it vanished.

  "Wrapping the relic in a shirt, Jedadiah tucked it into his bag. He knew he had to keep it safely hidden for the long journey home. But, times being what they were, he was attacked one night by three brigands who tried to steal his belongings. Though outnumbered, he was able to fight them off and escape unharmed with the precious relic. He didn't understand it; he felt stronger, more powerful, than he had been before finding it.

  "After many months, he made it home. When he unwrapped his magnificent treasure, sadly, a piece of it had somehow broken off. Still, he stored it safely in the loft of his small farmhouse.

  "One morning, several weeks later, Jedadiah awoke to find his old log home had somehow transformed into a beautiful stone house. He could hardly believe his eyes. Right after this, he discovered he now had the power to turn common rocks into gold with nothing except a touch and a thought. He used this amazing ability to help himself and others lead better lives. Knowing that it wouldn't be wise to share the true story, he told everyone he had made his fortune during his long travels.

  "When Jedadiah married, he and his wife had eight children. When the oldest, Liam, turned 10½, he also developed a special ability—the power to transform himself into any bird he wished. The other children acquired remarkable skills at the same age. Jedadiah could only shake his head in complete amazement.