Chase Tinker & The House of Magic

by Malia Ann Haberman

  Everything changed.

  He now strolled down a shady sidewalk with Andy, Janie and Persephone. Laughing and talking, they paused in front of an ice cream parlor.

  "Hey, let's get some ice cream," said Andy. Not paying any attention as he yanked open the door, he crashed right into someone coming out. SPLAT! Andy was dripping from head to toe in chocolate, vanilla and strawberry ice cream. Chase looked straight into the cold, blue eyes of Doctor Dan...

  Chase jerked awake, sweat beading on his forehead. Never in his life had he dreamed such vivid dreams. It was as if he actually had been there. He stared at the starry ceiling, remembering every detail. Man, what an imagination he had sometimes. It must've been something he ate. Thinking of food made him realize he was kind of hungry. He decided to sneak down to the kitchen for a midnight snack.

  Slipping from his bed, he glanced over at Andy's bed. Soft snores were coming from beneath the blankets. Chase tip-toed across the floor, eased the door open and crept out into the hallway. He made his way to the stairs, straight down and to the left, no, the right.

  He groped his way along a dark hallway. "I knew I needed a map," he muttered as he wandered into a large, shadowy room. It had a damp, earthy smell. The moonlight glistening through the many windows made it possible to see all sorts of plants that looked more like terrifying, grotesque monsters than bushes and shrubbery. This was clearly not where he wanted to be.

  Turning to leave, he paused. "Wait a second," he said, frowning. "Isn't this just like my dream?" But before he had a chance to figure out anything else, he was grabbed from behind and hoisted into the air. His heart gave a crazy jolt.

  "Hey! Let me go!" he shouted. "I can't breathe, you jerk! Put me down right now!"

  With his arms pinned to his sides, he kicked and squirmed, but all the wiggling only caused him to be squished tighter as whoever held him began swinging him back and forth. This was unbelievable!

  "I need help! Can anybody hear me? Help! Help! Please?"

  "Chase? Is that you?" The room filled with light.

  "Janie!" bellowed Chase. "Am I glad to see you!" He looked down. "I—what—" Curled around his chest were thick, green tendrils, and looking back, he gasped at the tree-trunk-size stem of a gigantic plant.

  Janie leaned against the doorframe and smiled. "Got yourself into a little predicament, hm?"

  "I was looking for the kitchen and ended up here." He couldn't take his eyes off the bizarre thing holding him captive. "And plants aren't supposed to grab people!"

  "Great-Great-Grandfather Fergus was a botanist and he experimented a lot," she said. "He enchanted the singing plant trio too. This is his cuddleupus. It's a good thing I heard you yelling or you might've been stuck here in the greenhouse all night." She stepped into the room just as the plant decided to twirl Chase around and then roll him up and down as if he were a yo-yo.

  "Yiiiikes!" yelled Chase. "This sucks! Make it stop!"

  "Don't worry," she said. "I'll get it to release you. It only has to be tickled in the right spots." Nimbly dodging waving tendrils, she reached underneath the thick appendages and ran her fingertips up and down them. The plant loosened its strangling grip.

  Chase fell to the floor, but he recovered quickly and scooted out the door. "That's easy for you to do," he grumbled, rubbing his sore arms. "You weren't tied up and ready to become its next juicy meal."

  "Don't be ridiculous, plants don't eat people," she said as she joined Chase in the hallway. "The cuddleupus only likes to play and hug."

  He stared into the room and shuddered before backing away. "Whatever. I'm never going in there again."

  "One day you might," said Janie as they headed to the kitchen. "That's the Time-Travel Room."

  "Time-travel!" he exclaimed, goggling at her. "Is that possible?"

  "In that room it is."

  "Have you tried it out?"

  "No," she said, shaking her head. "Grandfather says time is not something to be messed with. It sure would be a cool way to see history first hand, though, wouldn't it?"

  "Yeah it would," said Chase. "Much better than reading dusty old textbooks."

  Later, after digging through the refrigerator and finding a few chicken legs and carrots to gnaw on, he found his way back to his bedroom, after only five wrong turns.

  He shook his head as he climbed back into bed. Now, on top of everything else, he had even more to think about. Time-traveling. Hugging plants. And dreams coming true. Wow, if the rest of the summer was anything like today, he'd better prepare himself.

  CHAPTER NINE

  Rooms of Magic

  Unbelievable! thought Chase as he trudged down a staircase. Lost again. "How in the heck does anyone find their way around this place?" he muttered. Rounding a corner, he stepped right in the middle of a small red carpet. It jumped up like a giant grasshopper and zipped down the long hall.

  "Hey! A real flying carpet?" he exclaimed as he bent his knees and flung out his arms to stay standing.

  The rug flew over a table. He ducked to avoid bashing his head on the ceiling. He and the carpet soared around several corners and up a staircase. Moments later, the crazy carpet hurtled through a round doorway and into a room where Chase thought he saw tiny, sparkling fairies buzzing around in a meadow, but before he had a chance to get a better look, he was already zooming from the room. Fairies? Yeah, right, he thought. Like those really exist.

  The carpet careened up and down several more halls and stairways. At last, it jerked to a stop. Chase somersaulted off and belly-flopped onto the floor. "Holy moly!" he wheezed out as he climbed unsteadily to his feet. "What a ride." Following the scent of bacon, he bumbled his way to the kitchen where he found the other kids finishing with breakfast.

  "Geez you're lazy." Janie waved a half-eaten hunk of toast at him. "We wondered if you were going to sleep the day away."

  He plopped onto a stool at the island counter in the middle of the huge kitchen. "Weird dreams," he mumbled. Glancing sideways at Persephone, he quickly combed his fingers through his messy hair.

  "We're making plans to explore the house today," said Janie. "It'll be fun with the four of us."

  "Don't you know the powers in most of the rooms already?" he asked as he scooped scrambled eggs onto a plate. He was hungry enough to eat the whole platter.

  "Not even close."

  "You and Persephone should've gone exploring together," said Andy.

  Janie shrugged. "We haven't had much time for that, what with finishing school and other things."

  Chase took a big bite of his eggs. "Your mom is an awesome cook," he said to Persephone. "These are excellent."

  "She is a great cook," she answered, spinning on her stool, "but even you could make a fantastic meal in here."

  "I don't know how to make anything."

  "It's—"

  "It's the house," interrupted Janie. "It even puts magic into the food! It's impossible to undercook, overcook or burn a single crumb in this kitchen."

  Mrs. Periwinkle came through the door, rattling a tray of dirty dishes. "I got your mother to drink a little juice," she said to Janie as she dumped them into the sink.

  "How's she doing?" asked Chase.

  "Same as yesterday," said Janie. "I don't know when she'll be able to tell us what happened. I'm worried she has amnesia and won't remember me."

  "That girl is in a bad way," said Mrs. Periwinkle, shaking her head. "I don't imagine she'll be ready to talk to anyone for a long time."

  "Have you called James to tell him what happened?" asked Persephone.

  "Yeah, but no one answered," said Janie. "I left a message."

  "That's right, Grandfather mentioned James yesterday," said Chase. "Why isn't he here now?"

  "He lives with our dad," said Janie. "In Chicago. Dad came over from England to go to college here. He met Mom there, and then they got married kind of young. They divorced when I was five and James was seven. He wanted to live with my dad and I stayed with my mom. James is supp
osed to be here in August. But it won't matter if she doesn't recognize us."

  She slumped against the bar and nibbled on her toast.

  "Where do you and Aunt Clair live?" Chase asked, snatching up some bacon and toast and making a sandwich for himself before Mrs. Periwinkle cleared everything away.

  "In San Francisco. Mom's a graphic designer there," she said.

  Persephone hopped off her stool and grabbed Chase's arm. "Come on, you guys. Are we going to sit here all day yakking or are we going exploring?"

  "Uh, exploring, of course," Chase mumbled around a huge mouthful of sandwich.

  "Hey, Janie, how come you've never been here until your mom left?" asked Andy as they tromped from the kitchen and headed up a staircase.

  "Mom's always been really mad about what happened between Grandfather and Uncle Ben," she said, glancing over her shoulder at him. "She thought Grandfather should've been more understanding. But at least he always came to see me on the holidays."

  "You're lucky," said Andy. "So you always knew you were magical?"

  "Sure. My mom never tried to hide it from me. I know, you'd think I'd be better at my power. But Grandfather says it's one of the most difficult ones, and I've never practiced much."

  "What power does your brother have?" asked Chase.

  "I don't know," she said. "I've never asked him, and we haven't seen each other in a long time. I don't want to talk about it, okay?"

  The boys' eyes met. No matter what, Chase couldn't imagine not seeing his little brother all the time. "Yeah, no problem," he said.

  Halfway through the third flight of stairs, they found their way blocked by a huge, sparkling mirror.

  Chase stared at their reflections. "Now what? It's a dead end."

  "This is one of the secret doors you'll find around the house," said Persephone.

  "That's right!" exclaimed Janie. "I remember Grandfather telling me about some of them." She tapped her finger on her lips. "This must be the Self-Esteem Looking-Glass. You have to look in the mirror and compliment yourself." Gazing at her reflection, she said, "Janie, you have an adorable nose." She gave Chase a push. "Now you say something."

  He shoved his hands into his pockets. "Um, Chase," he mumbled, hoping Persephone didn't think he was a total dork, "you have, um, nice hair."

  Andy laughed. "Nice hair. How lame is that?" Chase glared at Andy as he took his turn at the mirror. "Andy, you look way cool today."

  Persephone barely held back her laughter as she took her turn. "Persephone," she said, smiling and winking at Andy, "you have nice hair."

  The mirror rippled and melted away, showing them the second half of the staircase.

  "Very funny, guys," said Chase, between clenched teeth. "Come on, Andy. Let's go."

  He pulled his snickering brother up the stairs. After a few more twists and turns, they stopped in front of a tall, arched doorway.

  "Let's try this one," said Persephone.

  It was one of the house's round castle-like turrets, furnished with several armchairs, tasseled footstools, a table and lamp, and an old spinning wheel. Chase wandered to a mullioned window and peered out. Grandfather was working in the garden far below.

  "Okay," said Janie, "Grandfather said the clues to the magic are in the wallpaper."

  Chase turned back to the room and began studying the walls. The wallpaper was gold with blue stripes and in between each stripe were pictures of chairs, lamps, shoes and books. He looked closer.

  "Hey!" he exclaimed. "This is Augusta's room. I mean, look. All these drawings are moving somehow. Like this chair, I think it's skipping. Grandfather said she made stuff come to life."

  "You know, I think you're right!" said Janie. "This cute little teacup looks like it's dancing."

  "How do we make it work?" asked Andy, pushing a footstool with his toe.

  "That, I don't know," said Chase. "There are lots of words for things that are moving."

  "Those are called verbs," said Andy smartly.

  "I know," growled Chase, glowering at him. "But we probably have to say the right one, like when we say Invisible or Shield."

  "Maybe we only need to tell them what to do," said Persephone. She pointed at the footstools. "Walk, footstools!" The tasseled stools wiggled their stubby legs and marched across the floor.

  "You did it!" said Andy.

  "Play leap-frog, footstools!" Without missing a beat, the stools switched to jumping over and over each other.

  Janie's mouth dropped open. "What? How'd you do that?" she cried. "No one told me you had powers."

  "Grandfather gave Persephone a little piece of magic," said Andy. "She's wearing it around her neck."

  "What do you know, we knew something Miss Know-it-all didn't," said Chase, looking smug.

  "You knew too, huh?" Janie propped her fists on her hips. "So, what, it's gang-up-on-Janie day?"

  "No, it's not like that," said Chase. "You act like you know everything. And for once, you didn't."

  Janie narrowed her eyes. "That's real fine. I only wanted to help you guys!" She pointed at the lamp. "Bounce, lamp! On them!" The lamp leaped from the table and bounced up and down on Chase's, Andy's and Persephone's heads and shoulders. Its flowery, fringed shade flew into the air and dropped right onto Chase's head.

  "We're sorry! We're sorry!" they yelled, dashing around the room as the footstools galloped behind Andy, nipping his ankles. Lunging for the door, the three kids tumbled into the hall, leaving the wild furniture behind.

  "Great hat, Chase," said Andy as he rolled on the floor, laughing. "You should've seen your face!"

  "Me? What about you?" said Chase, joining in the laughter. He yanked the lampshade off his head. "I've never seen you run so fast."

  "If you ask me, you both looked pretty goofy," said Persephone.

  Janie appeared in the doorway. "Uh…sorry I lost my temper, guys."

  "And I'm sorry I called you a know-it-all," said Chase. "It's just that…"

  "…I am," she said, hanging her head. "I just wanted to help. I'll try not to do it anymore, okay? If you guys promise not to keep secrets!"

  "Deal," said Chase.

  "I really am sorry," said Janie as they ambled down the hall.

  "Aw, don't beat yourself up over it," said Persephone, patting Janie's arm. "It was totally worth it seeing Chase flapping around with a lampshade on his head."

  Chase smiled at her. He was feeling more confident about hanging out with Persephone. His tongue sort of felt normal again.

  The four of them were snickering and giggling when they rounded the next corner. "Hey! Look at Chase!" exclaimed Andy, pointing at his brother.

  "Look at you!" said Chase. "And Janie. And Persephone!"

  Andy's shorts and t-shirt were gone. He was now dressed in a dashing, black and white tuxedo. Janie had on a purple genie's outfit and shoes that curled up at the toes, while Persephone was clad in a swashbuckling, red and black pirate's costume, complete with sword and eye-patch.

  "I'm James Bond! Cool!" said Andy. "But, Chase, what are you?"

  Chase glanced down at the long, pink granny dress he now wore. "What the heck?"

  "Nice bonnet," said Andy, grinning mischievously. "Much better than a lampshade."

  "Look, I'm a blood-thirsty pirate," said Persephone. She swished her sword around. "Ahoy, maties! Shiver me timbers and all that rot!"

  "This sucks!" cried Chase as he yanked the pink, flowery bonnet off his head. "Why wasn't I switched into something good? Like an astronaut…or a cowboy?" A second later, the frumpy dress magicked into blue-jeans, boots, a cowboy hat and a red flannel shirt. "This is more like it," he said, yanking the hat lower over his eyes. "Much cooler."

  "At least you're not wearing dorky shoes," said Janie as she waved her foot in the air. She skipped over to him and caught his arm. "Now come on, Wild Bill, let's head out."

  Their clothes returned to normal as soon as they left the hallway. Chase frowned at his smirking brother. "I should've been James Bond.
"

  Reaching the next room, they crowded around the doorway and peered into the shadowy space. At least twenty tall, shiny cabinets were crammed against the walls, and they were filled with dishes and glassware.

  "Wow! It's like a china and crystal store in here," said Janie. "This must be worth a fortune!"

  "Let's see what's on the wallpaper," said Chase, running to an empty spot between the cases. "Pictures of people...shooting stuff out of their noses? This guy has…bananas. And this other guy has worms. How weird is that?"

  Across the room, Andy was studying another picture. "Hmm...this person looks like he's blasting out some kind of liquid." He opened a cabinet door, took out a tall glass and held it under his nose. Squinting with concentration, he said, "I want some…root beer!" A brown stream shot from his nose and into the glass. Andy eyed the foamy contents then lifted it to his mouth and drank every drop. He smacked his lips. "Yum. Tastes like root beer."

  "Sick!" cried Janie. "That came out of your nose!"

  Laughing, Chase got a glass of his own. "Butterscotch pudding!" Orange goo flowed from his nose. He grabbed a spoon and took several huge bites. "Delicious!"

  The girls grabbed their throats as they gagged and choked.

  "Oh, yuck! That is way too gross!" said Persephone. "How about something less revolting? Bubbles." Dozens of colorful bubbles popped from her nostrils and floated around the room. "See? Much better."

  "Cool," said Andy, holding a bowl underneath his nose. "But I'd rather have a bunch of chocolate-covered peanuts! And some gummy bears! You should try this, Janie. It's awesome!"

  "Oh, all right," she said. "I guess I can give it one little try." She pulled a bowl from the cabinet next to her. "I would like…onion soup." Steaming soup gushed from her nose. Scrunching her face, she gingerly took a sip. "Hey, you're right, Andy, this is good."

  "Onions! Now that's what I call gross," said Chase.

  After a few more experiments, including baseball cards, plastic bugs, hot-dogs and fries, the kids were back in the hallway and on their way to another room.