Chase Tinker & The House of Magic

by Malia Ann Haberman

  She handed the book to Chase. He stared at Clair's picture, frowning.

  Andy picked up a stick and scribbled absentmindedly in the wet sand. "Even with all this, we still don't know much of anything," he mumbled.

  Chase climbed from the boat and shoved the license and passport into his back pocket. Grabbing a rock, he tried to skip it across the water. It caught on a wave and sunk. "We need Aunt Clair to wake up!" He pitched another rock into the choppy Sound.

  "The Healing Room should help her get better faster," said Persephone. "Then hopefully it won't be too long until she can tell us what happened."

  Chase continued to throw rocks. He didn't want to look at her because whenever he did, his tongue felt like a huge cotton-ball. "Does it bother you to live in this house and not be able to use any of the magic?" he asked.

  "But I can."

  "Janie said you and your mom aren't magical," said Chase, looking puzzled.

  "Janie doesn't know everything." Getting to her feet, Persephone pulled out a necklace she had hidden beneath her shirt. Hanging from the long, golden chain was a coin-size, toffee-colored object. "It's a piece of the Relic. Mr. Hiram gave it to me when I turned thirteen. He said because I was like a member of the family, I deserved to share in the magic."

  The boys gazed at the glowing disk.

  "Way cool!" said Andy. "What can you do with it?"

  "Like you, it makes me part of the house's magic. I carry it with me wherever I go," she said, brushing her finger across its shiny surface.

  "You must know all the magical rooms then," said Chase.

  She shook her head. "I've never done much exploring. It's not a lot of fun by yourself." She dropped the necklace under her shirt again. "Should we head back?"

  "What should we do with the coat?" asked Andy.

  "Bring it," said Chase. "We can ask Clair about it when we get the chance. And we should probably move the boat so it doesn't float away."

  "Good thinking," said Persephone.

  Puffing and panting, the three kids tugged the motorboat farther onto the beach.

  "The water in it should dry up if the sun keeps shining," Persephone said, brushing sand off her hands.

  Andy plopped onto the driftwood and wiped his brow. "Whew, that was heavy." He glared at Chase. "Dude, what the heck? Why didn't you use your tele-brain power?"

  "I've never moved something that big," said Chase.

  "Size matters not, Grasshopper," said Persephone.

  "Thanks, Master Yoda, but I think you're getting your movies a little mixed-up."

  "Ah, Star Wars fan, huh?" she said, a teasing lilt in her voice.

  "Yeah, I like old movies." He smiled shyly at her as he scooped up the coat and they headed back along the beach. "My dad loved—" He stopped abruptly. "—I mean—loves old movies. He got me hooked on them."

  "Our little town doesn't have a movie theater," she said, "but maybe we can see if anything good is streaming on Netfilms this week."

  "Sounds like a plan to me," said Chase, relieved the other two had ignored his slip-up.

  "So, Persephone, does your dad live here too?" asked Andy.

  Persephone shook her head. "He died a few months after I was born."

  "Oh," said Chase. "Sorry to hear that."

  "No big deal," she said, shrugging. "It was a long time ago. He was from Egypt. My mom said she met him at a friend's wedding and they fell madly in love. Then a few years later, he was killed in a car crash."

  "That's awful!" said Andy.

  Chase nodded sympathetically while hoping that being fatherless was one thing he and Persephone would never have in common.

  When they got back to the study, Grandfather was there relaxing at his desk and reading the newspaper. His ink pen was busily scribbling a letter for him. "So, what do we have here?" he asked when he saw Chase carrying the soggy coat.

  "We found this in a motorboat down on the beach," said Chase. "It had British money and these in the pockets." He handed Grandfather the driver's license, passport and money and hung the coat across the back of a chair.

  "Hm, interesting," said Grandfather as he stared at the license. "This is the first time I've seen anything of him in over fifteen years." He ran his thumb across the smooth picture. "He's wearing his hair a lot shorter these days."

  "We have lots of pictures of him at home," said Andy, "but Mom took them down after he disappeared."

  Grandfather leaned back in his chair. "I guess the question is, why is this here," he said, tapping the license, "and not Benjamin?" He placed the card, the passport and money onto his desk and got to his feet. "It's a mystery I'm sure will be solved in due time. Right now, I have something else I want to show you."

  Following him, they climbed staircases and zigzagged down hallways until they came to a wide hallway that looked as if it stretched across the whole house. The walls here were plastered with pictures of men, women and children wearing clothing from different periods in time.

  "This is the Tinker family Hall of Portraits," said Grandfather.

  "Look at all the pictures!" exclaimed Andy.

  "Every Tinker's portrait ends up here at some point," said Grandfather.

  "Here's one of my favorites," said Persephone. She stopped in front of a portrait of a beautiful, young woman sitting in front of a stone fireplace. She had on a bright-red evening gown. Her waist-length, light-brown hair hung over one shoulder and she was smiling at someone outside the picture.

  "Whoa! Who's the babe?" said Chase.

  Grandfather cleared his throat. "Ah, your grandmother."

  "Oops. Sorry, Grandfather," he said, holding up his hands and backing away. "No disrespect or anything."

  "No need to worry," Grandfather said, smiling fondly at the portrait. "Sierra was quite fetching in her day."

  Chase wandered farther down the hallway and stopped in front of another portrait. The woman in the picture was one of the ugliest ladies he'd ever seen. Her dark hair was pulled back into a skull-hugging bun, which emphasized her very prominent nose and the hairy red wart on the end of it. She also had a grim, thin-lipped mouth. But, what made her look most alarming was the black patch covering her left eye.

  "Who the heck is this scary-looking hag?" he called over his shoulder. A hand shot from the painting and walloped him on the head. "Hey! It hit me."

  Grandfather came to stand beside his grandson. "Why she's your Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Great...Great Aunt Augusta. She was very sensitive about her looks."

  "She is ugly," said Chase, rubbing the side of his head. Whack! She smacked him again. "Ow! That hurt! How is she doing that?"

  "She was a very powerful Keeper during her lifetime," said Grandfather, with a knowing nod. "Plus, her special power was making inanimate objects come to life. I believe that's why her picture does that. She never married."

  "No wonder. Look at her," said Chase, ducking so he wouldn't be clobbered again.

  Andy and Persephone hurried over. "Oh, wow!" said Andy. "What happened to her eye?"

  "You know, I'm not sure. She was always quarreling with someone," said Grandfather vaguely.

  Chase looked at him out of the corner of his eye. Something in Grandfather's voice didn't sound right. For the first time, he wondered if their grandparent was hiding something from them.

  "Anyway," said Grandfather, clearing his throat again and moving on, "I wanted to show you this family photograph."

  Staring out of the poster-size picture, looking prim and proper, and much younger, was Grandfather and Clair and Benjamin. Ben looked to be around Chase's age and he had his hand behind Clair's head, giving her a pair of rabbit's ears. "He sure could be a rascal," Grandfather said, with a reminiscent smile.

  "He looks like Chase and me!" said Andy.

  The backs of Chase's eyes burned and his throat tightened as he gazed at the younger version of his missing dad. He has to be alive, he thought. He just has to be.

  "Oh, man, what's with these two, Grandfath
er?" called Andy from farther down the hall.

  Chase and Grandfather joined Andy and Persephone in front of a large portrait of two scowling ladies. Hands down, they had to be the weirdest looking people Chase had ever seen. One had long, black hair growing out of her nose, and her eyelashes were so long she had to tuck them behind her ears. The other had thick, curly hair sprouting from her ears and a snow-white beard hung to the tips of her old-fashioned shoes. As if this wasn't strange enough, they also had extra arms and hands sticking out everywhere on their bodies.

  "Sisters Zelda and Fiona Tinker," said Grandfather, shaking his head sadly. "They spent practically every moment of their lives fighting about all sorts of things. One day Zelda caught Fiona wooing Zelda's beau out behind a tree in the garden. It became a dreadful battle after that. They hexed each other for months. One day the Relic took away their ability to do any magic at all and left the ladies looking this way for the rest of their lives. And, even though they were the two oldest, they lost all their rights to ever becoming Keeper of the House."

  "Must've been hard to buy clothes," said Persephone, "what with all those extra appendages."

  "They probably had to have things special made," said Chase.

  "Why didn't they at least cut that yucky hair?" asked Andy, wrinkling his nose.

  "They tried," answered Grandfather. "It sprouted right back." He glanced at his watch. "We better get on to dinner, kids. I'm sure Mrs. Periwinkle has done something most delicious with our fish from the market."

  Frowning, Chase stared at the strange portrait for another few seconds. He was finding out that not only was magic dangerous, but it looked as though it also had a very disturbing side to it. A small shudder raced through him before he turned and hurried after the others.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Dreams

  When they reached the dining room, they found Mrs. Periwinkle and Janie there talking with a pompous-looking man in a neatly pressed suit. He looked to be in his mid-thirties. He had thick blond hair brushed back from his face, a smooth, square jaw, and a wide smile filled with brilliant white teeth that he flashed at them when they appeared in the doorway.

  "Doctor Dan's staying for dinner," said Janie as soon as she saw them.

  "That's fine, Janie," said Grandfather. "Daniel's always welcome. By the way, I would like you to meet my grandsons, Chase and Andy. And this is Dr. Daniel Brown, boys. He'll be looking after Clair."

  A sudden chill shot through Chase's body as the doctor's eyes swept over him. "Uh, nice to meet you," Chase mumbled. He shivered and slipped into a chair, which he was happy to see was behaving itself this time. I wonder if this guy knows about our magic, he thought as he gave Doctor Dan a sideways glance.

  "More grandkids, Hiram?" Chase heard Doctor Dan murmur to Grandfather while everyone else seated themselves.

  "I thought it was time for a visit," Grandfather answered, with a quick smile.

  "Mmm, smells good, Mom," said Persephone. "I'm starving."

  The table was loaded with dishes piled high with mashed potatoes, gravy, green salad, biscuits and vegetables. Grandfather's fish, grilled to perfection, its spicy scent wafting through the room, rested on a platter next to him.

  "We're anxious to hear your prognosis of the patient," said Grandfather, frowning as he offered the platter to the doctor.

  "Clair's been through a lot," said Dan as he scooped a chunk of fish onto his plate. "I've given her antibiotics for the pneumonia, but she's also been through some mental and emotional trauma. We'll have to see how she's doing in a week or so."

  "Does Aunt Clair have amnesia?' asked Chase. He poked his fork inside a bowl of broccoli and cauliflower.

  "Until she's conscious and coherent, there's no way to tell," answered the doctor. "I'm sorry I can't be of more help, but for now, it's wait-and-see time."

  "Is she suffering from a head injury?" asked Grandfather, watching Chase. "I don't believe it has any onions," he whispered out of the side of his mouth.

  "No, nothing I could see," said Doctor Dan. "She's muttering some crazy things, though. Where has she been?"

  Grandfather glanced at Daniel. "As far as we know, she was on vacation to England."

  "I guess the one person who knows what happened is Clair," said Doctor Dan. "She should make a full recovery, at least physically."

  "The kids found a motorboat down on the beach," said Grandfather. "It must be what she arrived in."

  "She's lucky she made it here in the storm considering how sick she is," said Mrs. Periwinkle. "I'll stay with her tonight and keep an eye on her."

  "Me too," added Janie.

  "Good," said Doctor Dan. "I want you to call me immediately if she worsens."

  As soon as everyone finished eating, Mrs. Periwinkle slipped into the kitchen and brought out a large, triple-decker chocolate cake. She placed it on the table right as Doctor Dan's cell phone jingled.

  "Sorry, everyone," he said, "but I have to skip dessert. It's my emergency service. Thanks for dinner, Hiram, Miranda, kids. I'll swing by in a couple days to check on Clair."

  Chase watched the doctor leave the room. He couldn't put his finger on it, but for some strange reason, he didn't trust the man. Although Dan had a friendly smile, it never reached his icy, rather sinister, light-blue eyes.

  "So does Doctor Dan know we have magic?" Chase asked Grandfather when he was sure the doctor was gone.

  Grandfather shook his head. "Even though he comes to the house often just to visit, I always use special enchantments to keep him from seeing or knowing about anything magical."

  "He's so nice and polite," said Mrs. Periwinkle while taking packages from a drawer in the sideboard. "Andy, I made this cake in honor of your half-birthday. And here are a few gifts for you."

  "Wow!" said Andy. "A cake and presents for me?"

  "A boy doesn't have his Dimidiatus Anniversarium every day," said Grandfather proudly.

  Andy tore open the first package. Out popped a green bow-tie and a pair of matching suspenders. "Um, thanks, Grandfather. It's just what I wanted."

  Chase and Persephone grinned at each other as Andy reached for another gift. In this one he found a basket full of golden caramels.

  "Made from my special secret recipe," said Mrs. Periwinkle.

  "Yum! Thanks." Andy ripped the paper from the last package and pulled out a black baseball cap with Tinker written across it in white letters.

  "Put it on," said Grandfather, "and say 'Invisible'."

  Looking puzzled, Andy slipped on the hat. "Invisible." He vanished.

  "Cool!" said Chase.

  "What do you mean?" asked Andy.

  "Look down and you'll see, dork."

  "I can't see myself!" Andy cried. "How do I change back?"

  "You say the opposite," said Grandfather, chuckling.

  "Visible!" He reappeared. "Whew, I'm back!" he said as he patted his arms and chest.

  Andy passed the cap around, giving everyone a chance to try it on. Even Mrs. Periwinkle gave it go, giggling girlishly when she disappeared.

  All through dessert, Chase couldn't stop yawning, while Andy almost went to sleep right in the middle of his cake.

  "It appears to be bedtime for some of us," said Grandfather. "Remember, Chase and Andy are still on New York time."

  "Yeah, but I think I need some help finding our room," said Chase sheepishly.

  Grandfather led the way as they hiked through the house to the boys' bedroom on the fourth floor. It had two large, four-poster beds, a dresser and mirror and its own old-fashioned bathroom. The high ceiling was speckled with twinkling stars and shimmering planets circling on the midnight-blue surface, and a sliding-glass door opened onto one of the outside walkways.

  "Here you go, boys," said Grandfather. "I thought you would feel more at home bunking together. Sleep well." He gave a quick wave before leaving them on their own.

  Chase hoisted his bag onto his bed and unzipped it. "Whoa, baby!" he said as he pawed through the clothes.
"Wait just a darn minute. Would you look at this?" He yanked shirts, shorts and jeans from the bag and tossed them onto the bed. Every bit of clothing he'd packed was now completely brand new; even his underwear, his dad's shirts and the socks Maxwell had stolen.

  His eyes bulging, Andy checked his own suitcase and found the same thing. "Wow! How do suppose this happened?" Using his fingertips, he gingerly pulled a blue t-shirt from the case.

  "It's—it's...magic," answered Chase as he gathered his new pajamas, picked up his toothbrush and wandered into the bathroom. "What else can it be?"

  When he returned to the bedroom a few minutes later, it was empty. "Andy? Now where in the heck did he go?" Dropping to his knees, he peered under Andy's bed. Something crawled up his arm. "Argh!" he shouted, jumping onto the bed. "Big spider!"

  He heard laughter and the sound of someone rolling on the floor.

  "Andy!"

  "Visible," said Andy. "Spider! What a crack-up!"

  "Very funny!"

  "This hat is the best," said Andy while admiring his new headgear. "I can sneak around and people won't even know I'm there."

  "Oh…so all this magic is cool now," said Chase, a knowing look in his eyes. He hopped off Andy's bed and climbed into his own. "I thought you were freaked out by it."

  Andy ducked his head and shrugged. "It took a little getting used to, is all."

  "Well if you ask me, what we need most is a map of the house," said Chase as he pulled the blankets up to his chin. "Or we're gonna spend tons of time wandering around lost."

  He closed his eyes. Even though he was bone-tired, he thought he'd never be able to fall asleep with so much new stuff on his mind; especially the part about maybe becoming the next Keeper of the House, and having all the magical powers too. He had a hard enough time even controlling one power! And it was so quiet here without all the city noise he was used to hearing. His mind drifted away...

  He groped his way down a long, dark hallway. "I knew I needed a map," he muttered as he wandered into a large, shadowy room. He jerked to a stop and squinted into the gloom. The whole place was crammed with all sorts of plants. This was definitely the wrong way. He turned to leave, and was grabbed from behind. He struggled to escape, but the squirming only caused him to be held tighter and tighter.