Chase Tinker & The House of Magic

by Malia Ann Haberman

  The two-inch door popped in front of him. It was a shiny, lemon-yellow car door.

  Chase was reaching out to pound on it when something jerked him awake. His eyes flew open. It was hard to see in the darkness at first, now that the moonlight was gone, but it didn't take long for him to realize a man with cruel, light-blue eyes stood over him. The man's eyes seemed to shimmer, as if tiny, flickering blue fires were lit behind them.

  "Argh!" shouted Chase. He tumbled to the floor.

  Andy lurched up in bed. "What—what's going on? Who's yelling?"

  "Quick! Get down here. Someone's in the room," Chase whispered from where he crouched between the two beds.

  "What the heck!" Andy scrambled out of bed and landed on his knees next to his brother. "Who is it?"

  "I don't know," Chase answered, peering around the bottom of his bed, his heart pounding like a jackhammer. "I woke up and this scary guy was bent over me looking like he wanted to strangle me."

  "Was it Doctor Dan?" whispered Andy.

  "No. It was somebody I've never seen."

  Barely breathing, they listened for even the slightest creak or sound.

  "Sounds like no one's in here but us," said Andy. "Are you sure you weren't dreaming?"

  "It definitely wasn't a dream," said Chase. He rose cautiously and stared around the room. His eyes had gotten used to the darkness making it easier to see the outlines of the walls and furniture. Andy was right. No one else was in the room.

  Andy peeked around the edge of the bed at Chase as he tip-toed to the bathroom and checked inside. He yanked back the shower curtain, but no one lurked in the tub. Everything in the bathroom and the bedroom was exactly the same. Except, one thing was different: the sliding door hung wide open and the curtains billowed in the light breeze blowing into the room. They looked like ghosts drifting back and forth.

  Running to look out, they saw the walkway was empty, and so were the yard and beach way below. "I don't see anyone," said Andy. He squinted up at Chase. "It must've been your imagination, or you had a nightmare."

  "I didn't imagine it and I wasn't having a nightmare!" Chase growled. "And if I was, how do you explain the door being open? It was closed when we went to bed." He shut the door and turned the lock.

  "We have to tell Grandfather we had a burglar," said Andy, fear in his voice. He pressed his face against the glass to peer outside again.

  "I'm not so sure he was a burglar," Chase said, able to think more clearly now that his heart was no longer thumping like mad. "I don't know where Grandfather's room is, but Janie might. Come on."

  When he was out in the hall, he changed his mind. "On second thought, let's go to the attic instead," he said, switching directions and hurrying off down the dim hallway.

  "Wait, I don't understand!" hollered Andy. "What about the burglar? And, anyway, you can't get in the attic."

  "I think I can now," answered Chase. "You can stay here if you want."

  Andy glanced back at their shadowy room, which may or may not have been visited by a frightening intruder. "No, I'll go with you," he said, scampering after Chase.

  When the boys reached the top of the spiral stairs, Chase stopped abruptly. Something wasn't right. Closing his eyes, he tried to remember his premonition and the feelings and images that were always way too real. Everything became crystal clear. He knew what had changed. It was nighttime, so no sunlight gleamed through the window. The only light was an eerie glow coming from the painting itself. And, Andy was with him. In the premonition, he'd been alone.

  He wasn't sure what to think of this. Usually what he foresaw was pretty much exact. Did this mean it wouldn't work if something was different? He shuffled across the floor and stood in front of the picture. Running his hand through his tousled hair, he concentrated with all his might and thought, "Door, show yourself!"

  The two-inch door zipped in front of him; a glowing, lemon-yellow car door.

  Andy's eyes lit up and he jumped to Chase's side when he saw the painting respond. "A car door!" he cried. "But I don't remember walking through a car door the other day. Knock on it quick, before it goes away."

  Chase rapped the secret knock.

  "Whew! You're okay," said Andy, looking Chase up and down. "After what happened to Janie, I was worried you might turn into something freaky, like a green blob with twelve eyes or a slimy, three-headed slug. Hey! Wait a minute!" While he'd been talking, the car door had transformed and grown into a tall, brown, wooden door with a shiny brass knob. Andy propped his hands on his hips and stared at the door. "It—it changed!"

  Chase grinned. "This is ingenious! While Janie knocked on regular doors, it was really one of the different doors that turns into a regular door."

  "Let's go inside," said Andy, reaching eagerly for the handle.

  Chase shook his head and stepped back. "Nope. Not yet. Not without Janie. After what she went through today, she deserves to be with us."

  "Oh, all right," muttered Andy, his shoulders slumping.

  The boys watched the door shrink and then change back into a car door. As they walked away, the doors shuffled around until the one special one again blended in with the rest.

  What they didn't see, as they headed down the stairs, was a shadowy face that appeared at the window, stared into the house, and then moments later, disappeared.

  "I need to talk to Janie," said Chase when they reached their room. "It's late. You should probably go back to bed."

  "Okay." Andy sidled into the bedroom and clicked on the light. "But I'll leave the light on for you. You know, so you can find your way back."

  Chase ducked his head to hide his smile. "Sure, Andy, leave it on for me."

  "And, uh, Chase?"

  "Yeah, shrimp?"

  "How did you know what door to knock on?"

  "Good question," said Chase. "I promise I'll tell you later. Now go to sleep."

  Andy sped across the floor, hopped into bed and threw the blankets over his head. "Just in case the intruder comes back," he called to Chase, "I won't have to see his ugly face."

  Smiling and shaking his head, Chase headed to Janie's bedroom down the hall. Hoping Janie wasn't sleeping, he knocked softly on the door. He heard scrambling and a quiet, "Come in."

  He opened the door and slipped inside. He thought he would find Janie still cowering in bed, but the room was empty. "Janie?"

  "Here I am," said Janie's voice next to him.

  He leaped back. "Sheesh! Don't scare me like that! Um…are you invisible?"

  "Yeah. This is the Invisibility Room. Now I can talk to you without hiding under the blankets," she said, her seemingly disembodied voice drifting about the room.

  "Are things any better?" he asked.

  "My nose shrunk to three inches and my earrings aren't dangling on the floor anymore," said Janie. "And the spots have faded to a lovely shade of lavender."

  "That's great! You sound much better too."

  "If I wasn't invisible, you'd see I'm shrugging and smiling," she said, with a joking lilt in her voice. "So why the late visit? Can't sleep because you're too distraught about poor little me?"

  Chase plopped onto the bed. Squeaking and chattering erupted from a small lump. "Oops! Sorry, Maxwell," he said, shifting sideways and leaning against the bedpost. "Okay, first, an intruder was in my room tonight."

  "What!" yelped Janie, causing the mattress to press down eerily as she sat on it. "An intruder? Are you sure? How did he get in? What did you do?"

  He told her about the open sliding door and waking up with someone standing over him, but left out the part where he fell out of bed onto his head.

  "I leaped up and yanked Andy from his bed because I knew I had to keep him safe," he went on, thinking a little exaggeration wouldn't hurt. After all, he didn't want to look like a big wimp. "I yelled, 'I've got a weapon!' By that time, the guy was out the door. I ran after him, hoping to catch the creep on the walkway, but he disappeared before I got there."

  "What did he look l
ike?"

  "The room was pretty dark, but from what I could tell, his face was all twisted as if he hated me or something!" He sat forward and scrunched his face to imitate the intruder's. "He had blue eyes and longish blond hair too. Though, it's hard to say for sure. It happened so fast. But right before…I was having another premonition dream."

  "What!" Janie yelped again. "Another premonition dream? When did that start?"

  "When I first got here and started sleeping in the Premonition Room," he said. "And, they've been coming true. The one tonight was about the attic. And guess what? We can get in there now." He lounged back with a smug smile and crossed his arms.

  "How do you know it works?" asked Janie. "After all, look at me. Well, not now, but you know what I mean."

  "Do I appear to be changed in any way?" he asked, raising his arms.

  "Uh, no…wait, you were already upstairs? Without me?" she squeaked, sounding like Maxwell. "What—"

  "Don't worry. I didn't go in," Chase cut in. "I figure we'll sneak up there when you're feeling better." He jumped off the bed. "Anyway, I'm out of here. I just wanted to keep you posted on what's happening."

  "Wait," said Janie as he opened the door. "Did you tell Grandfather we had an intruder?"

  "No, I was too excited about getting into the attic," answered Chase, pausing in the doorway. "But he looks so worried all the time, I hate to bother him with something else. I'm sure it'll be okay. I'll be more prepared if it happens again."

  "He still needs to know someone is getting past some of the house's enchantments," she said. "Maybe it was one of the...Dark Enemy." Her voice dropped to a shaky whisper as she said the last two words.

  Chase stared across the room, his mind racing. "You know, you might be right. This man wasn't an ordinary person. He had…he had this aura of evil around him. I've never felt that from anyone else. Not even Doctor Dan." He paused for a long, tense moment. "That's why we need to get into the attic and get some answers."

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  Benjamin

  "Come on, Chase," said Andy while bouncing on his brother and tugging on his blankets. "You have to wake up!"

  Chase grabbed the bedspread and held on tight. "Go away, dork. I'm not done sleeping. What time is it, anyway?"

  "It's 9 O'clock and you need to see something," said Andy, prying at Chase's clenched fingers.

  "I don't want to. It's too early. And anyway, you ruined an awesome dream I was having."

  "Whatever," said Andy. "This is much better than any crummy dream."

  "You wouldn't know because you weren't there." Chase flopped back and forth as he attempted to shake Andy off the bed.

  "Please. I promise you'll like it."

  With a loud sigh, Chase flung back the covers. "I'd never be able to get back to sleep after this anyway," he growled.

  "Cool," said Andy, grinning as he jumped to the floor, not at all put-off by his brother's grumpiness. "Come to the kitchen when you're ready." He practically skipped from the room.

  Storming into the kitchen thirty minutes later, Chase opened his mouth to yell at Andy, but stopped halfway. Standing in the room, grinning from ear to ear, was his mom. Grandfather and Persephone were there beaming at him too.

  "Mom!" he exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

  "She came for your birthday," said Andy, looking smug. "I knew you'd be surprised."

  "My birthday's not for two days," said Chase as his mom wrapped him in a tight hug, pinning his arms to his sides.

  "Chase, I'm so happy to see you!"

  He gave her an awkward pat on the back. "Um, I'm happy to see you too, Mom."

  Anne leaned back and smiled at him. "Your grandfather came for me. Teleporting is something else, isn't it?" she said, fluffing her ponytail. "I was sure I'd left my hair somewhere behind."

  Chase grinned at her. "That's how I felt."

  "Mom wants us to show her some magic rooms," Andy cut in excitedly. "She'll love the extra arms one. She could sure use those at the hospital when she's cleaning bedpans."

  "Gross!" said Chase, frowning at his brother. He turned back to his mom "How long can you stay?"

  "Three days, then back to work," she answered. "It's sure a lot cooler and quieter here than in New York."

  "We'll have to take you to Seattle to do some sight-seeing," said Chase, hopping onto a stool. "Grandfather's been wanting us to go up in the Space Needle ever since we got here."

  "He'll probably make you go see the flying fish too," whispered Andy, behind his hand.

  "I heard that," said Grandfather. "But before we get to see any fish, flying or not, we first get to eat these delectable blueberry pancakes. So dig in."

  They were filling their plates and arguing about their favorite baseball teams when Janie barreled into the room. She crashed right into Anne, who was balancing a cup of hot coffee and a plate of scrambled eggs and pancakes in her hands.

  Janie grabbed for the falling plate. "Oops! Sorry I wasn't watching—oh, um…hi," she said, looking confused when her gaze landed on Anne's unfamiliar face.

  "Oh my goodness!" exclaimed Anne as she plopped the coffee cup onto the counter and rubbed her hand where a few drops had scalded it. "And who are you?"

  "I'm Janie. Clair's daughter," said Janie. She jumped out of the way when a mop swished over to clean up the food splattered on the floor. "My mom and I are staying here right now too."

  "Ben—Benjamin's sister is here?" said Anne, glancing around while everyone else exchanged looks. "I've never met her. He never wanted to get together with any of his family. He'd get all tight-lipped and grouchy whenever I mentioned it."

  "You know he wanted to keep all the Tinker magic stuff from us, Mom!" said Chase, scowling.

  "Yes, well, Clair's been very ill," said Grandfather. He hurried to Anne's side and grasped her elbow. "Why don't we discuss a few things in the study, Anne, while the kids have breakfast."

  "Uh…okay…but I don't…" Her voice trailed off as she sent Chase a quick, puzzled look before Grandfather hustled her from the room.

  Chase stared after them. It looked like Grandfather was finally ready to break the news to his mom about his dad. She sure was going to be mad they'd kept things from her.

  "So, Janie, what's up?" he asked as he grabbed the maple syrup. "Yesterday you looked like a carnival sideshow act and now you look like you again."

  "Last night when Mom was sleeping, I snuck into the Healing Room for a little bit." Raising her arms, she pirouetted gracefully.

  Chase smiled. "Cool! I thought for sure you'd look that way for days."

  "Me too," she said, with a grimace. "I thought I might need to borrow Andy's invisibility cap." She perched herself on a stool and grabbed a pancake. "So I guess Grandfather's still doesn't plan on telling us what's going on with my mom."

  "Maybe not," said Persephone, "but we still need to trust that he has a good reason."

  "I'm having a very hard time trusting him right now," muttered Janie, ripping her pancake apart.

  Not knowing what else to say about Grandfather and the secrets he continued to keep from them, the kids finished their breakfast in silence. They were cleaning up when the door swung open again.

  "Children," said Grandfather, "Anne would like to go upstairs and meet Clair, and I think you should come along as well."

  "I thought she was still unconscious or whatever," said Chase, with a sideways glance at Janie.

  "Actually, I saw her this morning and she's much improved. I would have told you sooner, but I felt she needed a bit more time before everyone barged in," he answered as he sent Janie a smile. She crossed her arms and stared at the counter.

  "Sounds good, Mr. Hiram," said Persephone as she shooed several sponges and flapping dishtowels into the magical Tidy Closet before closing the door. "I'm ready to go."

  "Yeah, me too!" Andy added. "Chase, we finally get to hear about our dad."

  Chase's heart skipped with excitement. At last, the good news they'd all been
waiting for! It would be the best early birthday present anyone could possibly give him. He jumped up to follow the others, but stopped when he realized Janie wasn't doing the same. "Come on, Janie, I know you're still mad, but you need to be there too."

  "You heard him. Grandfather lied right to our faces!" she said, glaring at him. "It's too messed up for me."

  "But don't you want to figure out what's going on?" he said. "And you know you have to talk to her sometime, anyway, so it might as well be now." Before she had a chance to tell him to mind his own business, he grabbed her hand and dragged her through the door.

  A few minutes later they joined the group standing around the Healing Room's four-poster bed. Clair, propped up by several pillows, was gazing at each anxious face when her eyes stopped on one. "Anne! You—you're Anne?" she murmured, her voice sounding raspy from disuse.

  "Yes, yes," said Grandfather. "Your sister-in-law, Benjamin's wife."

  "Benjamin," said Clair. "Yes, Ben."

  "Where the heck is he?" Chase blurted out. "What happened to him?"

  "Chase!" exclaimed Anne. "Calm down! Your aunt has been very sick. I'm sure she'll tell us when she can." Anne turned questioning eyes to the woman in the bed. "You will tell us, won't you?" She swallowed the lump in her throat. "You've seen him?"

  "Yes, I saw him," said Clair, plucking at the bedcovers and bunching them between her fingers. "I'll tell you what I can remember."

  "Do—do you know what happened to him?" asked Andy.

  She turned her head and looked at her youngest nephew. "I'm sorry, I don't."

  Chase wondered if it was possible for all the air to be sucked from the room because suddenly, it was very hard to breathe. After all this time of holding on to hope, he sure wasn't ready for this. "What does that mean?" he blurted out. "You have to know what happened to him! You went to rescue him, didn't you?"

  "I did. Rescue him, that is," Clair answered so quietly they had to lean over the bed to hear. "It took a lot of searching, and waiting. I wanted the ones who had him to capture me too, so I could help Ben escape."

  "Where did they take you?" asked Andy.

  "They were holding him captive near a town called Blackshire in southern England in the dungeons of an old, incredibly disgusting building," said Clair, wrinkling her nose. "And when we had a chance, we walked through the wall and escaped the cell he was in."