Chase Tinker and the HOUSE OF DESTINY

by Malia Ann Haberman

"Nah," said Benjamin. "Maybe when it's time for dinner."

  He closed the doors.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  Follow the Leader

  Chase's eyes flew open. He lurched up in his sleeping bag. His gaze darted from Alex's bedroom door to up and down the hallway. Several dimly lit wall sconces glowed just enough to show any shadowy movements or dark silhouettes that might be there. He squinted and listened for several moments, but as far as he was able to tell, no one else was in the hall with him. He hit the button to light up the face of his watch. Thirteen minutes until midnight. He'd been asleep for nearly an hour.

  He flopped back, almost squashing Maxwell, who was stretched out on his back in the middle of the sleeping bag. The ferret opened his beady black eyes and hissed.

  "Sorry. I didn't mean to disturb you," whispered Chase. "Maybe if you weren't such a bed hog."

  A week had passed since Nori's birthday party, and Chase still had a hard time believing how badly things had turned out. Not only had they not learned anything from Alex, but his dad had made him fertilize every plant in the greenhouse for punishment. He gave a quiet snort. Taking care of a bunch of crazy enchanted plants was now at the top of his chores-I-hope-I-never-have-to-do-again list.

  Even though the interrogation plan had been Persephone's idea all along, Chase continued to let everyone believe it had been his and he'd somehow managed to sweet-talk her into joining him. She wanted to tell them the truth, but he wouldn't let her. They already thought of him as a screw-up; why ruin Persephone's reputation, too? And on top of all that, Nori was probably never going to speak to him again. He had no idea how to fix things between them. He would never trust Alex, and unless he showed her his true hateful colors, she most likely would never stop caring about him.

  Pushing these disturbing thoughts to the back of his mind, Chase closed his eyes. He was hoping to doze off again when another sound caught his attention. Was Alex ready to make a move at last?

  He noticed a slight movement at the bottom of the door. Something was slowly and stealthily oozing out from underneath it. It's about time, Chase thought. I have you now, sucker! He forced himself to relax and take smooth, even breaths, as if he was in a deep sleep, adding a small snore every now and then for effect.

  Like thin, snake-like fog, the entity crept out from under the door. It paused for a minute, as if listening, before slithering along the wall's baseboard. Since it wasn't midnight yet, the booby trap didn't transform Alex into a puddle of goo. Chase would have to follow him.

  Chase waited until Alex had disappeared down the staircase at the far end of the hallway before slipping from the sleeping bag and jumping to his feet. He glanced down, wondering if Maxwell was up for some midnight detective work, but the ferret was sound asleep again, his pink tongue hanging out of the side of his mouth. "Looks like I'm on my own. Invisible," murmured Chase as he hurried off after smoke-Alex.

  At the bottom of the stairs, Chase squinted into the shadows and tried to figure out which direction Alex had gone. At last he saw the tail of the deep-purple fog disappearing around a corner. He quickly tip-toed after it.

  Chase pressed himself against the wall and edged along until he was able to peek around the corner. He watched as the cloud swirled upward and morphed back into human-Alex. With a quick glance over his shoulder, Alex headed down another staircase.

  Chase scooted to the top of the stairs and started down, wincing when one of the floorboards gave a loud squeak. He paused and waited, but Alex didn't reappear to check out the noise. Reaching the bottom, Chase jerked his head from side to side, but Alex was nowhere in sight.

  Crap! Chase thought. What a sucky detective I'd make. He was about to choose a direction he knew led to the spiral staircase room when he heard strange warbling coming from a hallway off to his left. He grinned. "Thanks, singing plants. For once, I think I might like you."

  He darted to the next corner and peeked around it. Alex had his hands up in a shushing motion in an attempt to quiet the noisy shrubbery. "Shh!" he hissed. "Please don't awaken anyone. That would be a disaster." When all the talking and waving only made the plants sing louder, Alex gave up and dashed off. "Bloody plants!"

  Chase nearly laughed out loud when the next hall transformed Alex into a pink and purple stripped rubber ball. "Crap!" exclaimed the ball as it ricocheted off the walls at least a dozen times before bouncing from the hallway. Morphing back into himself, Alex crashed to the floor. "This house is barking mad!" he grumbled while gingerly rubbing a lump on his head.

  Serves you right, thought Chase snidely as Alex rushed off again.

  After several more hallways, a few more staircases, and a backtrack because of an enchanted door Alex was unable to get through, Chase was beginning to wonder if the guy knew Chase was tailing him and wanted to lead him on some kind of crazy goose chase. "Get someplace already, will you?" Chase muttered. "I really don't want to play follow-the-freakin'-leader all night long."

  He was about ready to give up and go back to bed when Alex finally arrived at his destination: one of the house's many magical rooms.

  At last, thought Chase. Now I'll find out what you're up to.

  But when he peeked in, all he saw was Alex hugging Nori. Chase scrunched his face. Gross! The last thing he wanted to witness was another make-out session. Evidently, getting beaten up hadn't changed Alex's mind about kissing Chase's cousin.

  "What took you so long?" asked Nori. "I was starting to worry."

  "Lost my way," Alex said sheepishly. "This house is like an enormous, daft maze. I don't know how you find your way 'round it."

  Nori giggled. "I'd never admit it to anyone else, but I still get lost sometimes."

  Alex tugged on the ends of her hair. "I feel privileged you told me such secret information," he teased.

  Chase rolled his eyes. If all they were going to do was act like a couple of love-struck idiots, he might as well leave them alone and go back to bed. He was turning away when he heard Alex say, "Okay. Let's get started."

  Chase froze. Started at what?

  Nori reached out to give something to Alex. "Are you sure this is a good idea?" he said. "Chase already thinks I'm—"

  "Forget Chase. He's turned into such a jerk," she said. "If your family's going to be here in a few weeks to fight us, I want you to be able to help as much as possible. I don't think they'll be happy to see you with us."

  "But you need this magic more than I do," he said. "I don't think I could handle it if anything happened to you."

  Nori smiled. "I'll be okay. You can practice with my bracelets for now and then later I'll get Uncle Hiram to enchant some things for you."

  "No way am I letting that happen!" Chase snarled, storming into the room.

  "Chase?" said Nori. "What's going on?"

  "Oh yeah, you can't see me. Visible."

  "I tried to be careful, but he must have followed me," said Alex. "I thought he was sleeping."

  Chase crossed his arms. "I guess I'm a lot trickier than you."

  "A lot jerkier, too!" snapped Nori. "Why are you following Alex?"

  "You know why!" Chase snapped back. "And I can't believe you're showing him how to perform our magic!" His eyes landed on her red bracelet, which was enchanted with the killing fireballs. "You're not showing him the—the—"

  Nori glanced down at her arm. "No! Gosh, no! I made a promise and I'm going to keep it, no matter how angry I am at you."

  Chase sighed with relief. "Well, I don't want you sharing any more magic. I'm never going to trust him, okay?" He shook his head. "What I can't figure out is why you do, and why you're acting like it's no big deal to be involved with the guy."

  "Do you think this is easy for me?" cried Nori. "Most of my family hates me for caring about him!"

  "We don't hate you, but we have a good reason to hate him," said Chase, pointing at Alex. He flinched as if he expected Chase to turn him into the warty toad Chase's mom wanted him to be. "
He's part of a family who wants nothing more than to destroy us! Don't you get it? They want to steal all our magic, our Relic, and our house. And probably our free will, too, just because they can."

  Nori's shoulders slumped. "But Alex doesn't want to do any of those things."

  "What makes you so sure?" asked Chase, his voice filled with frustration. "All Marlowes are evil. They can't help themselves. And…I'm worried he's going to convince you to join them."

  "What? I would never do something so…crazy!" she cried. "Do you think I'm some spineless pushover?"

  "I hope not," said Chase. "But why else would he be here if not to cause trouble?"

  "You have no idea what you're talking about," said Nori.

  "Then enlighten me!" said Chase. "Since you know everything. I've asked my dad and Grandfather, but all they ever say is they have their reasons."

  "It's because Alex asked Ben and Uncle Hiram not to tell anyone else," said Nori. "He wants to forget, and be part of our family now."

  "Forget what?" snarled Chase.

  Nori and Alex glanced at each other. "I have to tell him," said Alex.

  He turned and yanked off his shirt.

  "Holy crap!" exclaimed Chase. "That's—that's—"

  "Ghastly? Repulsive?" said Alex bitterly. "Not lovely to look at?"

  Last summer, Ben had finally shown his kids the scars he'd gotten from the months of torture he'd endured while he was the Marlowes' prisoner. If those had been terrible to look upon, these were even worse. It was like someone had used Alex's back and shoulders as a carving board. The deep swirls and slashes of scarred, puckered flesh covered every inch of bare skin Chase was able to see. Some were fresher-looking, showing it hadn't been long since the last torturing. When Alex turned to face Chase again, he saw that the scars and sores continued around and across Alex's chest and stomach.

  "Had enough?" he growled.

  Chase gulped down his unexpected queasiness and nodded. "Your—your family did that to you?" he choked out as Alex slipped his shirt back over his head.

  "This is what happens when you go against the Marlowes!" said Alex. "Even when you're one of them. They hated me for wanting nothing to do with them or their dark magic. I fought them. I told them they needed to end what they were doing or I would do everything in my power to make sure they did. They're all crap!"

  "But why didn't your parents stop them from hurting you?" asked Chase.

  Alex gave a short bark of laughter. "Don't you think my mum tried? You should've seen what she got for her troubles."

  "And you left her over there by herself to suffer more?" asked Chase, raising his eyebrows. "That's real nice."

  Alex stared at the floor. "She's…dead."

  "Oh," was all Chase could say.

  Nori propped her hands on her hips and glared at Chase. "So, you happy now? Making him think about that again?"

  Chase crossed his arms. "Why couldn't he have told all of us about this? Why keep it a secret?"

  Alex snorted. "If this had happened to you, would you want people to know what sort of family you came from? The sort of family who would do this to one of their own? Would you want people to look at you with pity?"

  Chase had to silently admit to himself, if he'd been in Alex's shoes, he would've done the same thing. "I'm sorry for what you went through," he said quietly.

  Alex shrugged one shoulder. "It's over now. I don't plan on ever going through it again."

  If there was anything Chase didn't want to feel right now, it was sympathy for Alex. But that's exactly what he did feel. How was he supposed to hate the guy now, after seeing the mess his family had left him in? He needed to get out of there.

  "Okay, then. I'll, uh, see you guys later." He swung around and walked stiffly from the room.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  They Do Exist

  "Do you really trust him now?" asked Persephone.

  Chase raked his hands back and forth through his hair, almost pulling out strands. He'd never felt so conflicted. "Yes. No! Maybe…I don't know!" He flopped back onto the padded floor and stared at the padded ceiling. They were supposed to be working on Chase's homework in one of the magical rooms, one filled with all types and sizes of pillows. "But you should've seen him." He shuddered, thinking of what Alex had to have gone through to look so messed up. "He's a wreck! They tortured the heck out of the guy. No wonder he wasn't afraid of the cuddleupus. That probably felt like a nice little tickle party to him."

  Persephone shook her head as she tried to grasp what Chase was telling her. "But why would they do something so atrocious to their own family member?"

  "All the magic and free will they're adding to the Shard seems to be making them even more powerful and vicious. But maybe there's more to it than Alex is saying. Like I said, I don't know what to think about it anymore." He reached out and scratched Maxwell behind his ears. The ferret yawned and snuggled deeper into the pillows.

  "Could it be some sort of magic?" asked Persephone. "I mean, according to Janie, they have some new magical tricks up their sleeves. Maybe it was all an illusion."

  "It sure looked like the real thing to me," he said, sitting up again. "And unless he's convinced Nori to lie for him, she believes it's real, too."

  "If he is telling the truth, at least we'll have another person to help us fight."

  "Or he could be a coward and run off to hide out somewhere. I wish we had more of our own family members. I'm worried sick about our chances of winning. Grandfather says I need to think positive." Chase's shoulders slumped as he blew out a big puff of air. "Yeah, right."

  Persephone sighed. "I'd feel a lot better if we had more details on the Marlowes' attack."

  Chase nodded as he grabbed a book and waved it in the air. "And on top of everything else, I have this to worry about! A Midsummer Night's Dream. Ha! More like A Midsummer Night's Nightmare. This Shakespeare guy's writing makes no sense!" He opened the book and flipped through the pages. "At least dying would get me out of reading it."

  Persephone smacked him on the shoulder. "Don't say that!"

  "Then why don't you explain the book to me?"

  "Well…come to think of it, it is kind of a corny story," said Persephone. She raised her hand when she saw Chase's mouth turn down and his eyes start to bulge. "But, you never know, you might like it, once you get past all the weird Elizabethan language. It has lots of romance and intrigue and mix-ups. It's about two people who are madly in love with each other, but her father wants her to marry someone else, so they run away. One night in a forest they get into some trouble with fairies—"

  "Fairies! I have to read something with fairies in it?" he exclaimed, slamming the book shut. "No way. I can handle the kissing, but not the fairies."

  She rolled her eyes. "You are such a dork."

  "I just think fairies are…wait a minute!" He flipped onto his knees and turned to face her. "Remember when Janie told us all those other magical beings, like wizards, elves, and witches, really do exist?"

  Persephone nodded. "Yeah. What about it?"

  "Since—since—" Chase was so excited by his sudden inspiration he was barely able to get out the words. "—their magic and lives are threatened, too, just like ours, maybe—maybe we can go find them and ask their help to fight the Marlowes with us!"

  "Oh my gosh!" exclaimed Persephone, her eyes lighting up. "Why didn't we think of this before? But how do we know where to look for them?"

  The jolt of hope that rocketed through Chase made him leap to his feet. "I think I know. Come on!"

  Five minutes later, Chase and Persephone dashed into Grandfather's study, where he was having milk and snickerdoodles with Nori, Alex, Andy, and Ben.

  "Grandfather!" Chase gasped out as he skidded to a stop next to his grandparent's chair. "I have a brilliant idea."

  "I hope you've decided to give up being a jerk," said Nori under her breath.

  Andy giggled. "Do you think he can?"
he whispered to her behind his hand.

  Chase ignored them as he quickly told how once last summer he'd come across a room with a flower-filled meadow. "And I think I saw fairies playing in it."

  "Fairies are real?" said Nori, frowning.

  "And so are elves, leprechauns, warlocks, vampires…all those magical beings," said Persephone.

  Grandfather nodded. "There's quite a large magical community hidden to non-magical eyes, unless, of course, they allow themselves to be known. This room you speak of, Chase. I've never been in it, but I know of it. It's a portal to the other magical worlds and creatures, and it takes certain special circumstances for it to be revealed. Why are you asking?"

  "We want to go ask them if they'll help fight the Marlowes," said Chase. "After all, they're in trouble, too."

  "Do you think they would?" asked Persephone eagerly.

  Grandfather rubbed his finger along his mustache. "I don't know, my dear, but I do believe you and Chase have something here. A quest to ask for assistance sounds like an ideal plan of action to me."

  "A road trip? Cool!" said Andy.

  "Hold on," said Ben, holding up his hand. "I don't think it's a good idea to go running off to who knows where, begging for help."

  "But we need them," said Chase.

  "But we're unfamiliar with these beings," said Ben. "We have no idea how welcoming or unwelcoming they'll be."

  Chase groaned. "Why do you always have to ruin everything?"

  "I'm not trying to ruin anything," answered Ben.

  "So what the heck happened to your running-off-and-not-caring-about-the-consequences attitude Mom always complains about?" asked Chase with a frown.

  "Being tortured for a year got rid of it," Benjamin shot back. "I'm only concerned—"

  Nori jumped to her feet. "We have to go on this quest."

  Everyone turned to stare at her.

  "Look, Nori," said Ben. "I realize you—"

  "We need to go," Nori cut in again.

  "If Nori says we have to go, then we go," said Persephone.