Chase Tinker and the HOUSE OF DESTINY

by Malia Ann Haberman

  "Janie was so scary," said Andy. "You're right, Chase. She's never gonna be our Janie again."

  Chase knew now wasn't the time for any I-told-you-sos. His eyes darted to his dad again. Benjamin just sat there on the floor, rocking back and forth, like a lost child. While Nori and Persephone comforted Andy, Chase dropped to his knees next to Ben. "Dad?"

  Ben shook his head. "There were too many of them. We had to get out of there before they killed your grandfather." He turned to look at Chase. "I left your mom somewhere in the house," he whispered hoarsely. "She'll kill me for leaving her."

  "No, she won't," said Chase, placing his hand on Benjamin's shoulder. He'd never seen his dad so broken and devastated. Even when they'd almost lost Andy last summer, he'd still pretty much held it together. "She'll think you're the most awesome guy on the planet for saving Andy."

  Chase was comforting his dad as if their roles were reversed, but he himself wanted to break down and sob. He knew it was a strong possibility his mom was dead right now. His stomach gave a sickening roll. No! She was okay. He had to keep believing it was true.

  The Marlowes had really taken over the Tinker house. How long until they got their hands on the Relic? How long before my magic disappears? His heart plummeted to the tips of his toes. Before our house truly becomes—the Marlowe house?

  "I'm sorry I had to leave your mom, too," Benjamin said to Persephone. "I hope she'll be okay."

  Persephone crossed her arms tightly around her waist. "I'm sure she will be."

  Chase watched several emotions flash across her face. It looked like she wanted to tell Ben Miranda wasn't her real mom, but stopped herself.

  "They stole my power," said Ben as he rubbed his temple. "It's like they captured a piece of my soul. Now I know exactly how all those leprechauns feel." He dropped his head onto his knees. "I should've been more prepared. All my planning, and I was still completely worthless when it came to fighting those people!"

  "It's not your fault, Dad," said Chase. "We all thought we had more time. And with all the magic they've stolen, they might be almost invincible now."

  "Never trust a Marlowe," said Persephone. "They can't even show up when they're supposed to!"

  Chase swiveled his gaze to Doctor Dan. "How's Grandfather doing?"

  Dan sat back on his heels. "I have him stabilized for the moment," he said as he draped his stethoscope around his neck. "He's had another heart attack, so only time will tell."

  Persephone grasped Grandfather's hand. "He looks so yellow and…old…"

  Nori patted Andy's leg. "At least your gash is healed," she said, looking at the back of his head. "And your nose."

  "Grandfather fixed them with his healing magic," said Andy, his bottom lip trembling. "He was feeling lots better until—until they came."

  Everyone jerked around when Mika, looking ashen and shaky, hurried into the room pushing one of Doctor Dan's wheeled medical beds. As gently as possible, they all helped to lift Grandfather up onto the narrow bed.

  Grandfather's eyes opened. "Where am I?" he whispered.

  "Mr. Hiram!" exclaimed Persephone. "You're at Doctor Dan's. He's taking good care of you."

  "The house?"

  "The stinking Marlowes are in it," said Chase with a deep scowl. "But we'll get them out. I promise!"

  "I've always known I could count on you, Chase."

  Chase swallowed the lump in his throat. "You can count on all of us."

  "And the magical communities?" asked Grandfather.

  "Their magic is gone," said Chase, his shoulders slumping. "As far as we could tell, the Marlowes are close to having every last drop on Earth."

  "I had a terrible feeling," said Grandfather, "but I hoped I was wrong."

  "They're all so miserable, and depressed, and angry," said Persephone. She shuddered. "It was terrible to see."

  "The Marlowes—" Grandfather paused to catch his breath. "—are upsetting the positive and negative balance of the world."

  Ben grasped Grandfather's hand and squeezed it. "I'm sorry, Dad. I tried—"

  "I know, son," whispered Grandfather. "Some things are meant to be, and no matter how hard you try, you can't stop them from happening."

  Chase rubbed the goosebumps on his arms. Those words always seemed to come back to haunt him whenever something big was happening in his life.

  "Enough talk!" snapped Doctor Dan. "Hiram needs to conserve his strength. Move aside!" Everyone jumped back as he pushed the bed through the swinging doors that led to his medical rooms. Mika scurried after him.

  Chase paced around the room. He was trying not to give in to the despair and anguish rushing through him. He stopped when he caught a glimpse of his reflection in the darkened front window. His skin appeared as pale and luminescent as the vampires' had. "I don't understand it. How did the Marlowes know we were gone? How did they know the best time to strike?"

  "Maybe they've been watching the house," said Nori. "And since they didn't see us coming and going, they figured we were gone."

  "But we weren't gone that long," said Persephone. "Plus, it was probably raining the whole time. That usually keeps us inside."

  "Whatever it is," said Chase, "the most important thing is to get our moms out of there. Now!" He hurried toward the door, but jerked to a stop when Persephone grabbed his arm.

  "You're not thinking this out, Chase," she said. "We can't just storm the house and start fighting them. We need a plan."

  He wrenched his arm away. "If you have an idea, then share it!"

  "I didn't say I know what we should do," she shot back. "I only know we can't go all crazy right now."

  Ben dropped into a chair. "If they hadn't taken my power, we could capture one of them and then I could transform into that person and infiltrate. But now…"

  Chase shook his head at his lethargic parent. Even though Ben had never wanted to be magical, losing his power seemed to be sucking the life right out of him. "Don't worry, Dad, we'll come up with something else."

  "I wish we could go capture James and Ethan," said Andy, sticking out his lower lip, "then I'd torture them like they did to me."

  Alex cleared his throat. "I have an idea," he said as everyone turned to look at him. "We can exchange me for them. I'm sure my family wouldn't mind torturing me again once they find out I've joined up with the Tinkers."

  "No! No way," said Nori. "You are not going back to them!"

  "I'm with Nori," said Ben. "And who's to say they'd even hold up their end of the bargain when it came time for the switch."

  "Wait! I have something," said Chase. "Let me borrow your transforming bracelet, Nori."

  Nori pulled off her yellow bracelet. "What're you planning?"

  "I'll turn myself into a mouse," said Chase as he slipped it into the front pocket of his jeans, "sneak in, search the house, then get us all out of there after I've found them."

  Alex shook his head. "It will take forever for you to go through the whole house as something that tiny."

  "Then I'll become invisible."

  "We'll become invisible," said Persephone.

  "You're not—"

  "I don't think any of you should use your invisibility, either," Alex cut in. "Thanks to Janie, they know all about your magic. I'm sure Roland's found a way 'round it."

  Chase narrowed his eyes at Alex. "I thought you didn't know anything about them."

  "I don't, really, but I wasn't completely oblivious while I was there."

  "How do you know what Janie told them?" said Andy. "When you first got here, you told us you didn't know if she was alive or not."

  "Now we all know she is alive! Obviously she would've told them about your powers. I just think you need to avoid using them as much as possible."

  Chase studied Alex's face carefully.

  "What are you guys implying?" said Nori. "All of a sudden you think Alex has been holding out on us? That he might've had something to do with this?"<
br />
  "No! Maybe. I don't know!" said Chase. "But someone had to have told them about us. How else did they find out the best time to attack?"

  "How should I know?" snapped Nori. "But you can't seriously be blaming Alex. We all trust him. Or did you forget?"

  "Of—of course not." Suddenly filled with doubts, Chase raked his hands through his hair. "But why does he keep shooting down every plan we come up with? Like he doesn't want us to succeed?"

  "I only want to keep you safe," said Alex.

  "See?" said Nori. "He cares about us. He offered to sacrifice himself! And it's not as if the quest was Alex's idea."

  Chase paced up and down the waiting room. What am I thinking? Of course I trust Alex. He's one of us now. So just go get Mom before the Marlowes do something terrible to her. But if Alex hadn't betrayed us, she wouldn't be their prisoner. No! Alex isn't a betrayer.

  Thoughts whirled around in his mind until Chase felt dizzy and nauseated. What other explanation was there? Alex had wormed his way into the Tinkers' hearts and made them believe he wanted to be a trusted member of the family. Had it been nothing but a deception the whole time? One they had all stupidly fallen for? Maybe it hadn't been just a coincidence he'd arrived the same summer the Marlowes had decided to make their move.

  Chase whirled. "I was wrong to trust you," he said, stepping toward Alex. "I think you're the one who betrayed us. There's no one else who would've done it."

  "No—no, I would never—" said Alex.

  Ben pushed himself to his feet. "Chase, you're wrong. He—"

  "It makes so much sense." Chase glared at Alex. "All this time you've been pretending to be good so we'd let you become part of our family. You planned this all along, didn't you? It's your fault they have Mom and our house. Admit it!"

  Persephone moved to stand next to Chase while Nori hurried to Alex's side.

  Alex shook his head. "No! I'd never betray you to them. Ben, your trust in me was not misplaced."

  Ben clutched his broken arm to his side and began to look unsure. "I want to believe you."

  "The Marlowes are unpredictable!" said Alex. "They don't need inside information to change their plans."

  Nori grabbed his hand. "They have no proof."

  "Well, it sure looks suspicious!" said Persephone.

  "Why would I save you if I'd been planning this all along?"

  "You guys are letting your worry about your moms and the house make you think crazy!" said Nori. "What about all the awful things the Marlowes did to Alex? Did you forget about that?"

  Chase didn't want to even consider he might be acting unreasonable. The Marlowes had his mom and his house, and here was one of them, right in front of him.

  "Who knows what goes on inside any Marlowe's sick mind," Chase growled. "Maybe all those scars were another ploy to get to the Relic. It is the most powerful magical object in the world. Gaining a few scars in order to get your hands on it—well—you Marlowes have shown you'll do just about anything. You probably saved us so your family could hold us captive and torture us! It's what they do best, isn't it?"

  "Actually, now that I think about it, they did seem surprised to see me there," murmured Ben.

  "I'm such an idiot for falling into your trap!" yelled Chase. His insides started to sting with the familiar buzzing sensation that meant his powers were building inside him.

  Jerking up his arm, he pointed his finger at Alex.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

  Clash of the Tinkers

  Seeing what was coming, Alex screamed, "Please! I didn't betray you! Nooo—"

  Streamers of powerful magic transformed him into a puddle of green goop. It bubbled and popped as if it were boiling, then twisted up and molded itself into a statue of Alex. His mouth was wide open, screams of innocence now caught in his throat. And, even though Alex was no longer able to move, his eyes continued to shift and blink. The statue began to spin like a top. With each revolution, it shrank several inches.

  "Stop it, Chase!" shrieked Nori. "This is wrong, wrong, wrong!"

  Five seconds later, Alexander Marlowe was two inches tall. Chase grabbed him up and looked like he wanted nothing more than to crush Alex like a bug. "Persephone, I need you to get the water bottle from my bag," he said grimly.

  "Don't hurt him!" said Nori, reaching for Chase's arm. "Ben! Please don't let Chase do this!" She glanced at Benjamin, but he looked as if he didn't have the energy to do anything to intervene.

  Chase swung his arm up and backed away from her. "I'd like to do more than hurt him. But right now, he's our prisoner."

  Persephone dug through the backpack. "What if he's telling the truth?" she asked. "I don't know what to think! When did he have the chance to tell them anything? He was with us the whole time."

  "It had to have been before we left," said Chase. "I'd stopped being so diligent about watching his every move. I can't believe what a fool I am."

  Persephone handed the empty bottle to Chase. He dropped the Alex statue into it.

  "I told you he would never betray us," said Nori. "Listen to reason! Your hatred of all the other Marlowes is clouding your judgment."

  "Janie said the worst was coming," said Persephone.

  Chase snorted. "The worst is definitely here!"

  "So are we going to the house now?" asked Persephone. "Or is the plan now to stay here and torture Alex?"

  "Nobody's torturing him!" exclaimed Nori. "You guys have lost your minds!"

  "I'd say it's more like we finally came to our senses," said Chase as he plunked the water bottle on a table.

  Nori crouched down next to it and stared in at Alex. "I know he would never do anything to hurt me," she whispered. She turned to look at Chase. The intense disgust in her eyes made Chase take a step back. "You—you're—despicable! I hate you!"

  She jumped to her feet and flicked her fingers. Six arrows appeared and shot toward Chase.

  "What the heck?" yelled Chase as he jerked up his hands. The arrows lurched to a stop. He narrowed his eyes and rotated the deadly weapons, pointing them straight at Nori. They hovered there, ready to blast back to her.

  "Chase! What are you doing?" exclaimed Persephone.

  "She started it!"

  "That doesn't mean—"

  "So what are you waiting for?" yelled Nori. "Just do it! You seem to enjoy attacking innocent people!"

  "I don't—"

  "What is going on in here?" snapped Mika as she entered the room. Her eyes darted from Chase, to the arrows, and then to Nori. "You're attacking my daughter? What is wrong with you? I won't let you hurt her!"

  Chase had never seen Mika angry, and as her hands suddenly transformed into long, out-of-control whips, he realized it wasn't a good thing to be witnessing. "Whoa!" he yelled, dodging to the side as one of the snapping whips nearly removed his left ear.

  Andy ducked behind a large potted plant stuck in the back corner of the room, while Ben, Persephone, and Nori all dropped to their stomachs and threw their arms over their heads.

  "Mom!" screamed Nori. "Stop! Please!"

  "The magic—won't let me!" Mika staggered to the side as the whips shattered two lamps, a table, and four chairs before ripping the curtains off the wall. "Why is this—happening?"

  "Maybe I can use my firewhips to stop her," called Chase from behind a toppled table.

  "Don't you dare do anything to hurt her!" screamed Nori.

  "You need to calm down, Mika," said Ben in a soothing voice as Mika's whips turned the six arrows into splinters.

  "Just concentrate on having regular hands!" hollered Persephone. "You can do it."

  "I'm trying, but it's not—working!" shrieked Mika. Her voice was filled with terror. "Stop! Stop! Stoooooop!"

  Seconds later, Mika and her whips were frozen in place.

  Chase sagged with relief. "Andy, you're now officially my hero."

  Andy crawled out from behind the plant. "I didn't want to use my magic
against her," he said as they all climbed to their feet, "but it looked like the only way to stop her."

  "Poor Mika," said Persephone as she stared at Mika's hysterical, waxen face, and sighed. "This is all we needed…more craziness in an already insane day."

  "Well, I blame Chase for this, too," said Nori between clenched teeth. She sent him another look of loathing.

  Chase turned away, not wanting to let on how much Nori's hatred and pain was getting to him. He didn't need anything else to get in the way of his rescue mission. "No more messing around. I'm going right now to save Mom and Mrs. Periwinkle. You guys figure out how to help Mika. After that, we can put together a plan to get those creeps out of our house. We need Grandfather, so we'll have to wait until he's stronger."

  "I'm going with you," said Persephone and Ben together.

  Chase shook his head. "Dad, you're in no shape with your broken arm, and I doubt you can see much out of your swollen eye. And I don't want to put anyone else in danger."

  "But—"

  "I'm going alone!" Chase said. "Besides, I'm the one with the most magic here."

  "I'm not letting you go by yourself!" snapped Persephone, grasping his arm and shaking him. "There's no telling what you're going to walk into over there."

  Chase yanked his arm away. "Worried about your future husband, huh?"

  Persephone looked like she wished she had the power to shoot lightning bolts at him. "You are so—"

  "What!" exclaimed Ben. His gaze darted from Chase to Persephone and back to his son.

  "Nothing!" growled Chase. "Just the usual arguing." He put out his palm. "Now can I have the teleporting baseball card?"

  "But you don't even have a plan!" said Persephone as Ben pulled the card from his pocket and placed it in Chase's hand.

  Chase tucked the card into the front pocket of his t-shirt. "Then I'll have to play it by ear." He glanced at Nori out of the corner of his eye. She now had Alex's water bottle clutched to her chest as she stared in anguish at her mom's wide-eyed, frozen face. "Besides," he whispered, "you should stay here with Nori. She really needs a good friend right now."