Chase Tinker and the HOUSE OF DESTINY

by Malia Ann Haberman

  "So that was all pretend?"

  "Yep. Pretty good, huh?" She smiled and patted his shoulder. "Don't worry. I'm on your side all the way."

  "Awesome! Between the two of us, the jerk doesn't stand a chance." He frowned. "What about Andy?"

  "Since Nori likes Alex, and you know Andy's close to her, I think he just wants to be there for her."

  "Crap! I hate the thought of him hanging out with a Marlowe all day! Keep an eye on him, okay? We need to be vigilant now that we have evil living under our roof."

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  A Sight for Sore Eyes

  "Why do we have to study outside?" asked Persephone as she and Chase headed across the yard toward the beach. She eyeballed the dark clouds off in the distance. "We're supposed to have rain showers today."

  "Doesn't matter," said Chase. "I need some fresh air. I've had to sit in a stuffy classroom for three weeks now and I still have a bunch more to go."

  "And whose fault is it?"

  "Don't start," said Chase, holding up his hand. "I know I screwed up. Besides, I have to get out of the house. It's beginning to smell like Marlowe."

  Persephone grinned. "Nose like a bloodhound, huh? All I can report is if he is here to cause trouble, then he's an excellent actor, because he's been a perfect gentleman so far."

  The two kids jumped down onto the beach. Chase turned to walk backward so he could look Persephone in the eyes. "I bet he's getting us all relaxed and happy and then, Pow! He zaps us all into piles of ashes."

  Persephone stopped and pulled a blanket from the bag she was carrying. She flung it out and spread it on the ground. "Maybe, but I'm just telling you what I've seen, which is nothing."

  Chase stared out across the Sound as he curled his toes into the sand, enjoying the scratchy feel of it. "Give him time." Plopping down next to Persephone, he took his math book from the bag.

  "Do you think he knows the booby traps are still there?" asked Persephone.

  Even though his mom had made Chase wash more windows for turning Andy into a flower pot, Chase hadn't unset his goo trap. Besides that, he'd reset the walkway one. "If he does, I don't mind at all. Hopefully it'll help keep him in line."

  "What if he morphs into smoke?"

  "He should still get caught. I don't want to be hanging out in front of his door for nothing." Chase had spent every night sleeping in the hallway, but Alex had started waiting to come out of his room until Chase was off to school. Every day before heading downstairs, Chase took a moment to check the walkway for a pot full of daffodils.

  Persephone pulled a notebook from her bag. "Well I can't get all the destiny stuff off my mind. It still frustrates me that Nori won't tell us anything."

  "It's still bugging me, too," said Chase.

  "I've tried to get her alone to talk, but she always drags Andy or Alex along."

  "It's probably because I already cornered her once about it."

  "You did?"

  Chase nodded. "I told her I didn't believe that's what all those scribbles meant. She got mad and yelled 'Surrender or die' at me. It's supposedly part of one of my destinies."

  "That's it?" asked Persephone, frowning. "But what does it mean exactly?"

  "Beats me. She told me I'd find out. But so far, nothing. I thought maybe Alex was part of it, but now…anyway, can I ask you something?"

  "Ask away."

  "Do you think Nori would make a better Keeper than I would?"

  "What brought that on?" asked Persephone with raised eyebrows.

  Chase picked up a rock and tossed it across the beach. "Haven't you noticed how powerful she is?"

  "You're not so bad yourself."

  "Yeah, but I've been thinking a lot about it, and I feel I won't make as good a Keeper as she would."

  "You know, Chase," said Persephone, "if you let yourself think those kind of thoughts, then you will be a sucky Keeper. Have a little faith in yourself, and quit worrying about it."

  "Yeah, yeah," he mumbled. "I'm finding it to be a lot easier said than done."

  "Most things are." She touched his arm. "But when it's time, you'll be ready. I bet every Keeper-in-training feels the same way at one time or another." She glanced at his watch. "Hey, we better get to work. I have to get ready for my date later."

  "You have another date?"

  "We're going to a birthday barbecue," Persephone answered nonchalantly.

  "You and Josh the Jerk?"

  Persephone smacked his shoulder. "He's not a jerk. He's—he's confident."

  Chase snorted. "Confident. Yeah, right." He grabbed a pencil and started scribbling math problems. "I'm confident he's a jerk."

  "Sometimes you are—" She stopped and looked up. "Oh my gosh! What's that?"

  Chase squinted at the large, deep-purple cloud that had appeared about twenty feet above them. It hovered there, casting an ominous shadow.

  "It looks a lot like when the Marlowes morph," he murmured. "It has to be Alex."

  The roiling mass shifted from side to side before swirling closer. Chase and Persephone ducked as it swooped toward them, skimmed along their backs, then flew up into the sky again. It stretched into a long, snake-like entity, then dove and twirled and twisted around the two kids, tightening around Chase's neck like a boa constrictor. He and Persephone struggled to break away from it.

  "Aaahhh! Get away!" screamed Persephone.

  Chase shivered as the coldness of the smoke seemed to seep into his every pore. "All right, jerk! Enough messing around or I'll zap your butt back to where you came from!"

  They heard a giggle as the vaporous substance darted away again. "I—I don't think it's Alex," said Persephone, her voice trembling.

  Before Chase had a chance to answer, the smoke swirled to the ground and transformed into two beings.

  "Oh my gosh!" breathed Persephone. "Janie?"

  The one person Chase thought he would never see again stood there holding a white flag of truce. She was dressed in snug black jeans and a black shirt that resembled a corset, with ties down the front. A lime-green patch covered her left eye. Her dark-brown hair was pulled back into a ponytail, accentuating the thick, jagged scar that ran across her temple before disappearing beneath the eye patch. She was also leaning on a cane.

  A jumble of emotions rocketed through Chase: shock, elation, astonishment, fear, relief. His heart felt like it had jumped into his throat and then dropped into his stomach.

  "Happy to see me?" said Janie with an impish grin.

  "But you're—you're…dead!" Chase choked out.

  "Do I look dead?" She turned to the person next to her. "What do you think, Ethan? Do I look like someone who's deceased?"

  Ethan studied her a moment. "Maybe a little round the eyes."

  Janie laughed and gave him a playful shove. "I only have one eye, silly. Thanks to my awesome cousin, Chase Tinker. Too bad one-eyed Aunt Augusta isn't alive. We'd have so much to chat about." She swung back to Chase and Persephone. They couldn't help but scoot back as she limped forward several steps. "So, why did you think I was dead?"

  "Because I killed you," muttered Chase.

  "What? Speak up. We can't hear you," Janie said in a sing-song voice.

  "Because I killed you!" Chase snarled between clenched teeth. "You tried to kill me and then Andy without any remorse, so I attacked you for it!" Just thinking about what she'd done to Andy made his blood start to boil. His insides tingled with the familiar buzzing sensation that meant his powers were building inside him. Except, he didn't want them to. He'd gotten a reprieve. Janie's blood was no longer staining his soul, and he never wanted to go down that terrible road again.

  "Yes, you tried to kill me," said Janie, her voice now sounding completely emotionless. "But don't worry. I don't want revenge or anything. Not even for my ruined eye." She waved the flag. "See, I brought this to show you I mean it."

  "It was an accident," said Chase. "I was so angry, I lost control of m
y powers. I never wanted to hurt you. We're cousins. And we were friends. I thought. You have no idea how it's eaten at me all this time."

  "I don't care. I'm not here to listen to your excuses," said Janie, clicking her fingernails on the top of the cane.

  "Why are you here, then?" asked Persephone.

  "Chase had the nerve to come to Blackshire again," answered Janie, "so I thought I'd return the visit."

  Persephone turned to stare at Chase. "You went to Blackshire? Are you crazy? When?"

  "I'll tell you later," he said out of the side of his mouth.

  "Besides," said Janie, "aren't I allowed to come see my other family? I would've come sooner, but I've been recuperating. I'm doing lots better now, though. Thanks for asking."

  "Something tells me this isn't a social call," said Persephone.

  "Astute as always, Persephone," said Janie sarcastically.

  "You're right, I am," said Persephone, raising her chin.

  Chase's eyebrows shot up. He was impressed by Persephone's bravery, but he didn't want to get into a battle with Janie and Ethan. If anything happened to Persephone, he'd never forgive himself.

  "You know," said Persephone, "I've often wondered why Mr. Hiram never told any of us about you being half Marlowe. It's because of this exact reason. No matter what, you never would've been able to handle it."

  "I think I've handled it just fine," said Janie, narrowing her eye.

  "I think," said Persephone, "you were destined to turn to dark magic. No one, not Mr. Hiram, or even your mom, would've been able to stop you."

  Janie's face glowed like a blazing sunset, but instead of losing her temper, she took a deep breath and stepped back. "I'm not here to get into any deep, soul-searching discussions with either of you. Ethan and I came to deliver a message to Chase."

  "So, get on with it," said Persephone. "We have better things to do than to sit here yacking with you."

  Ignoring Persephone, Janie pointed her finger at Chase. "Surrender, or die. It's your decision. Every Marlowe will be here on the last day of August. You have until then to get everyone to vacate the house, or you, Chase Tinker, will die."

  Chase's heart began to pound. The destiny had shown up at last. Did it really mean he had only weeks left to live?

  "Yeah, right," said Persephone with a disdainful swish of her hand. "Mr. Hiram has more power than any of you will ever have."

  "Maybe he used to," said Janie, shrugging, "but with the Shard and the magic we've stolen, our powers have grown stronger than ever. And we have some amazing new tricks up our sleeves. Should we show them, Ethan?"

  "Do you think they can handle it?" he said with a snicker.

  Janie gave Chase and Persephone a sly look. "Probably not. Why don't we save it for our next visit? What do you say, Chase? Don't you love surprises?"

  Chase opened his mouth to retort, but Persephone beat him to it. "Why don't you scamper back into your rat hole, Janie?"

  "And why don't you tell your girlfriend to butt out, Chase!" Janie snapped back.

  Chase turned at least three shades of red. "She—she's not my girlfriend."

  "But you wish she was."

  "Shut up," Chase said under his breath. His magic started to surge again. Stay cool. Just stay cool, he told himself.

  "Persephone, did you know Chase is madly in love with you?" said Janie.

  Chase gave Persephone a sidelong look. In spite of the imminent danger, he found himself wondering what she thought of this news. At the moment, she just looked angry enough to attack Janie herself, even without magical powers.

  "Yep," continued Janie. "Ever since he first met you, he's been drooling all over himself."

  "Why don't you ask her out for a bit of snogging?" said Ethan as he eyed Persephone. "I sure would."

  Persephone looked like she was about to lose her breakfast at the very thought of it.

  "Because he's a big, yellow chicken," Janie answered for Chase. "And when the time comes, we'll see exactly how big of one he truly is." She grasped Ethan's arm. "Remember, Chase, the worst is coming."

  Persephone shook her head. "I can't believe Andy has always believed you'd move back here and everything would go back to normal. You are such an evil witch."

  "Andy's alive?" exclaimed Janie.

  "Foiled again, huh?" said Chase. His anger rose up again at the memory of his brother almost dying. "Losers!"

  "Shut up!" screamed Janie, losing her cool for the first time.

  Powerful ribbons of magic swirled around Chase. The space around him began to shrink at a rapid rate. It tightened until the air was squashed from his lungs and his eyes bugged out of their sockets. He gazed at Janie's one piercing eye. The hate and coldness in it made him shudder. Was she waiting for him to beg for mercy? Well, that's not gonna happen, he thought. Now or ever.

  "Knock it off, Janie!" shouted Persephone. "We've had enough of your ridiculous games!"

  Grinning wickedly, Janie grasped Ethan's arm. Instantly, they transformed into a deep-purple cloud and, in the blink of an eye, whisked away.

  Chase slumped to the ground and sucked in air until he thought his lungs would burst.

  "Oh my gosh!" said Persephone, scanning the sky. "I can't believe what a horrible person she's become."

  "Yep, she's a piece of work all right," Chase gasped out.

  "Are you going to be okay?" asked Persephone, concern in her voice.

  He nodded and pushed himself to his feet. "But I—uh—gotta go," he said, looking everywhere but at her.

  "What? Where? We need to tell everyone about this. Chase—?"

  He was already running away down the beach.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  It's Never Easy

  She's alive she's alive she's alive she's alive.

  As he ran up the hill, Chase's mind and heart sang with these words, replacing all the pain, guilt, and anxiety he'd felt from the moment those deadly lightning bolts had blasted from his eyes and sent Janie flying into that fountain so many months ago. He wasn't a murderer! For the first time in a long time, he felt—free. Even though he'd never be able to look Persephone in the face again. He knew he probably should have waited for her, but he would have to deal with it later. He needed to talk to Grandfather, and to have some words with Nori, too.

  As he jogged up the deck's stairs, he saw the French doors leading to Grandfather's den were partway open. As he drew closer, voices inside grew louder. Without stopping to think, he darted across the deck and pressed his back against the wall. He edged along it until he was able to hear every word.

  "—can't take it anymore," said Nori's voice. "I wish I'd never absorbed those stupid destinies. It's like—it's like they've taken over my mind. Sometimes they're all I can think about and I just want to scream out my frustrations!"

  "I realize this is a challenging burden you're bearing, but there is nothing I can do to reverse it," answered Grandfather's sympathetic-sounding voice. "I truly wish there were, but what's done is done, my dear."

  "Ugh! I don't understand. Why does everything have to be so difficult?" said Nori. "I hate knowing all this—this crazy family information. I'm constantly worrying I'll break down and tell things I shouldn't. Then on top of that, I'm trying my best not to be alone with Chase or Persephone so they don't ask me anything. Now they hate me and Chase thinks I'm a liar."

  Chase burst into the room. "That's not fair! We don't hate you. We're bugged you know personal stuff about us, that's all."

  Nori sniffed and wiped her teary face on her shirt sleeve. "You were eavesdropping? On my private conversation with Uncle Hiram? Nice, Chase. Who do you think you are skulking around out there, you—you—skulker!"

  "I didn't mean to! At least, not at first," said Chase. "I was coming to tell Grandfather something. And you, too!"

  "What now?" said Nori, rolling her eyes. "Is the sky falling?"

  "Darn close," he retorted. "Janie's alive!"


  "Did I hear you correctly? Janie truly is alive?" exclaimed Grandfather. "How do you know?"

  Chase waved his hands in the air. "She was just on the beach threatening Persephone and me."

  "Oh, my word," said Grandfather. "I'm so happy to hear this wonderful news. Not the threatening part, of course. But I could never be certain if she was truly gone or not. When I attempted to perform her power for Andy, I was unable to, but since it is one of the most difficult to execute, I thought it might be because of my weakened condition."

  "Wait, wait," said Nori, shaking her head. "You're saying Janie died? When did this happen?"

  "When we were in Blackshire," answered Chase.

  "Months ago?" said Nori. "I knew nothing about this. No one ever said anything to me!"

  "But she didn't die," said Chase. "Although, I was so sure I'd killed her. But I didn't mean to."

  "You thought you'd killed her? This is totally crazy."

  "And, I have something else to tell you," said Chase. "The destinies. I was wrong to not believe you." He pointed a shaking finger at her. "But you know what? What you told me about the 'surrender or die' one is way wrong, too!"

  "What happened down on the beach, Chase?" asked Grandfather.

  Chase took a deep breath and let the story pour out of him. "I think she's even crazier and more evil than she was in Blackshire," he said after he finished. He glared at Nori. "So does that stupid destiny say I'm supposed to surrender? Or die? Because I sure as heck am not going to do either of those. So you're way off the mark on that one! Maybe you should go up there and read it again!"

  "I wish I'd never told you anything about it!" yelled Nori. "I was just so mad at you for not believing me."

  "So why wasn't all the crap about me thinking I killed Janie and all my suffering for it written on the Relic, huh?"

  "I don't know!" snapped Nori. "How am I supposed to know why some things are on there and some aren't? Oh, forget it." She stormed from the room, muttering under her breath. Chase wasn't sure, but he thought he heard "jerk" and "idiot" somewhere in there.