Chase Tinker and the HOUSE OF DESTINY

by Malia Ann Haberman

  "I haven't forgotten her," said Chase. "I don't think you'll hurt her, because she's great leverage." He jerked his head from side to side as he attempted to keep tabs on everyone. It wasn't easy fighting five magical people at once. "And I don't think you want me dead, or you'd have killed me already. Attack, table!"

  The hallway table stood on his back legs and tried to pounce on Roland, but with a snap of his fingers, it exploded into thousands of pieces of sparkling confetti.

  "Give up, Chase!" said Roland. "You have no way of escaping us."

  Chase back flipped down the hallway. One of the purple clouds whizzed toward him. Silvery-red energy beams shot from it. Several of the sizzling rays struck his shoulder. They knocked him off balance and rammed him into the wall. Heat and electricity radiated throughout his body, making him feel as if his innards were on fire.

  The second cloud stretched into a long, snake-like entity and coiled around him. It tightened, squeezing the air from Chase's lungs. "Janie!" he croaked. "Same crap, different day. Take this! Porcupine!" Chase transformed into a hog-sized porcupine with hundreds of long, deadly quills.

  Smoke-Janie screamed and retreated once again to the ceiling, where her roiling cloud turned black with fury. The Chase-porcupine rolled into a ball as more energy beams from Roland and Maven blasted at him, scorching a number of his quills.

  How do I get out of this? thought Chase, his heart pounding. Think! Think! Then an idea came to him. Maybe it wasn't the best of plans, but if it worked, it would be worth it. Myself again!

  He jumped to his feet while yelling, "Ugly, stinking trolls!"

  Six beady-eyed, long-armed trolls instantly popped into existence. They were twice the size of grizzly bears, and slimy drool dripped from their jagged teeth. Chase wrinkled his nose when an odor far worse than the sewers made his eyes burn. "Attack!" he choked out.

  The snarling trolls charged Roland, James, and Ethan. Roland immediately thrust out his hands and spewed red-hot energy beams at them. The Maven and Janie clouds buzzed around the trolls' frizzy-haired heads and blasted out their own blazing beams.

  Ethan took off down the hall as fast as his injured leg would let him. "Trolls! Trolls in the house!" he screamed. "Run for your lives!"

  James sent Ethan a disgusted look as he scuttled into the closest room. "Leave it to you to think of this one, stinker!" he shouted.

  Angry and confused by the chaos, the trolls stomped to and fro, grunting and waving their arms as the beams bounced off their greenish-gray leathery skin. One of them crashed through a wall and into one of the magical rooms, where it tromped around smashing everything in sight.

  Unfortunately for Chase, not all the trolls went after the Marlowes. One tried to bash him with a ham-sized fist. "Whoa! Not me! Them!" he hollered. Dodging to the side, he kicked the troll in the leg, but it hurt Chase's foot more than it hurt the enraged creature. It growled and reached out to grab Chase in a bear hug. "Not today, cuddles. I gotta leave this party," said Chase, ducking. He whirled and dashed down the hall. The troll lumbered after him.

  Chase's mind raced as he searched his memory for other powers that might help him get out of this in one piece. "Invisible!" Instantly vanishing, he dodged around a corner and raced down another hall. He had to get to the teleporting bathroom. If he could just get to another part of the house, far from this one, then he would have time to look for his mom. And hopefully those trolls would keep the Marlowes busy for a while.

  He dashed down several more hallways. At last, he thought when he finally reached the open bathroom door. Bam! It slammed shut in his face. He grasped the handle and twisted it, but it wouldn't budge. Shaking and kicking the door, he shouted out his frustrations. "Crapcrapcrap! Why is this happening?"

  "Going somewhere, Chase?" said Roland from the end of the hallway. He strolled nearer, a smug smile on his face. "You might as well show yourself. Invisibility isn't going to help you here. Nor will those vile trolls."

  Chase backed away from the door. Filled with desperation, he blasted lightning bolts at it, but the bolts were intercepted by Roland's silvery-red beams. The force of the colliding magical energy knocked Chase to the floor.

  Crapcrapcrap! Jumping to his feet, he dashed toward Grandfather's study. If he couldn't get someplace else in the house, getting outside was the next best thing.

  He pumped his legs as fast as possible, but for some reason, the end of the hall wasn't getting any closer. He glanced down. The floor didn't appear to be changed at all. He looked back up and skidded to a halt. Something dark and frightening was whirling toward him. As it got closer, the buzzing from it became so loud he had to cover his ears. Then he was caught in it.

  Bees! It was a tornado made of thousands of bumble bees.

  He swatted at them. He shot more lightning bolts. He turned into a puddle of goo; he morphed into a suit of armor; he tried to whisk the bees away with his telekinesis, but nothing stopped them. Finally the pain from all the stings became too much for him. "All right!" he screamed. "I give up!"

  "Show yourself!" yelled Roland.

  "Visible!" Chase reappeared. The bees swirled into nothingness. He dropped to his knees and stared at his hands. They were covered in oozing, red lumps, and from all the soreness and burning going on, he knew the rest of his body wasn't doing any better. He carefully touched his face. His cheeks were so puffy, it felt as if he had a mouthful of marbles.

  How was it possible for all of this to be happening? Maybe it was no more than a horrifying dream. If so, now would be a great time to wake up.

  But it wasn't a dream. This nightmare was his reality. He pushed himself to his feet and said, "Okay. No more stalling. I'll take you to the attic."

  CHAPTER THIRTY

  Gone in a Puff of Smoke

  Chase gazed up the towering, spiraling staircase, which seemed to go on forever. He was actually taking the Marlowes to the attic, to the Tinkers' precious Relic. He must be out of his mind. He only had one consolation: he knew something they didn't. He hoped this secret would be the one thing that would save everything: the Marlowes didn't know the correct magical door had changed from the one Janie remembered.

  And, although he'd lost the fight, he still had the satisfaction of knowing he'd hurt both James and Ethan. It wouldn't make up for Andy's torturing, but it helped a bit.

  "I can't believe he attacked us with trolls," Ethan whined for at least the twentieth time. "How are we ever going to get them out of our house?"

  "My house," muttered Chase to himself.

  "At least the rest of us didn't run away!" grumbled James, sending Ethan another disgusted look.

  "Such foul, wretched creatures," said Maven, shuddering.

  "Enough about the trolls," said Roland impatiently. "We will rid ourselves of them after we're in possession of the Relic."

  "Then come on," said James, "let's morph and fly up there."

  "You can't, dummy!" snapped Chase. "It's protected from that type of magic. Why do you think the stairs are here?"

  "Oh yeah?" said James. "Just watch me."

  "James, he's—" began Janie.

  But James had already swirled into a deep-purple cloud. He zoomed upward about ten feet, then it was as though he hit a brick wall. He transformed back into himself and fell to the floor.

  "Brilliant," said Ethan with a snicker as James climbed unsteadily to his feet and limped back to the group.

  "Turn on the stairs," Janie commanded Chase.

  "Oh, didn't I tell you? I don't know how," he said, shrugging one shoulder. "Sorry."

  Janie narrowed her eye at his innocent expression. "Then it looks like we're walking," she said between clenched teeth.

  For once, Chase didn't mind the dizzying climb, even if it did make him feel like puking. He found it rather satisfying listening to the others huffing and puffing and cursing.

  "This is insane!" James choked out. "There has to be another—way to get up—there. My leg is
killing me."

  "Mine, as well," moaned Ethan. Dragging his burnt leg behind him, he tripped and almost fell back down the stairs. "Bloody tiring, this is."

  "Shut up and keep climbing!" growled Roland.

  When they finally reached the top, Maven staggered to the wall and leaned against it, fanning herself. "This had better be worth it!"

  "Oh, it will be," said Roland. "Soon everything will be ours."

  Janie pulled Chase to the enormous painting of doors. "Knock on the one that will let us in there, or I'll bring Anne here and you can watch while I make her scream for her life."

  He gazed into her one, hate-filled eye. "Would you really do that, Janie? You used to like my mom."

  "Times change," she answered in a voice chilly enough to freeze molten rock. "Now get on with it."

  Chase turned back to the painting. "Time's not all that's changed," he mumbled. He squinted at the hundreds of tiny doors for several seconds before reaching out and tapping on one of the many lemon-yellow car doors. First two quick and then two slow knocks. Pop! His ears grew to the size of pancakes and turned neon-green.

  James snickered behind him. "Nice ears, stinker. They match that ugly, puffed-up mug of yours."

  "What are you doing?" snapped Janie. "Quit messing around and knock on the right door!"

  "I'm trying!" Chase shot back. He studied the painting again. "Hey, James," he continued in a soft, conversational voice, "I know you've always longed to be Keeper of the House and control all its powers. That's why you tried to drown me last summer, and why Janie tried to kill me and Andy in Blackshire. She wanted to help her awesome older brother achieve his dreams. So when you guys have the Relic, you do know you won't get to be Keeper, don't you? Well, unless a bunch of the other Marlowes die or don't want the position."

  James crossed his arms and squinched his eyebrows together as if this particular thought had never occurred to him.

  "Quit causing trouble and get us in there!" snarled Roland.

  "Just saying," said Chase. "I don't want any big surprises to ruin everyone's special day."

  "That is none of your concern!" said Maven.

  Chase knocked on another yellow car door. Pop! His eyebrows transformed into two fuzzy caterpillars. He looked at Janie and put on what he hoped was a concerned face. "I really don't know what's wrong. For some reason, it's not working for me today."

  Janie shoved him aside. "Get out of the way, you imbecile! James! Get over here and knock on one of these yellow car doors."

  "But—" James began.

  "Now!"

  "Okay, okay." James shuffled over to the painting. He squinted at it for a moment before knocking on a door. Right away, the hairs on his arms grew long and thick. "Ah, man!" he groaned before knocking on another. Pop! His nose transformed into a sparkly blue button. "Ethan! Get over here!"

  "No way am I touching any of those doors!" exclaimed Ethan, swinging his head back and forth. "I'd rather dance with trolls."

  Chase sent Roland a sideways glance. He was leaning against the wall, an unreadable expression on his face.

  "Fine!" snapped Janie. "Who needs you, anyway? I can do this! There aren't that many yellow car doors on here. Besides, if Chase can do it, how hard can it be?" She pounded her knuckle on one of the car doors. Pop! Her long hair morphed into a short, Mohawk hairdo. She rapped on another. Pop! Her shoes disappeared and were replaced by large hairy feet with twisted toe-nails. "Why won't any of these crappy doors change? This isn't how things are supposed to go! I'm supposed to win this time!"

  She became so enraged, Chase thought her head would explode into a million pieces. And apparently so did James, because for once he didn't have a sneer on his face. He actually looked frightened. "Uh…Janie? Shouldn't you—"

  "Shut. Up. James!"

  She knocked on another door. Pop! Bouquets of pink daisies sprouted from her ears. "Aaahhh!" she shrieked. "Chase Tinker, I can't believe you're making me look like a fool again! I HATE YOU!"

  She raised her hands and shot her powerful energy beams at Chase. Pain shot through every pore in his body as they slammed into him. He flew backward and crashed through the oval window.

  "No!" he yelled as he plummeted through the air toward a rocky part of the beach. He tried not to think of his brains splattered across the landscape as he searched for a way to stop his momentum. "Float?" Instantly, he slowed, until he was like a feather drifting on the breeze. He sighed with relief when he landed softly on the ground. Sprawled in the damp sand, he rubbed his burning chest and grimaced.

  He stared up at the house. It loomed over him like a monstrous entity, a gloomy shadow against the dark-gray clouds surrounding it. The only cheerful spot was the low-hanging half-moon peeking out from behind the trees. Chase focused on it as he attempted to think through the pain, to figure out a way to sneak back into the house. He had to get his mom and Mrs. Periwinkle out of there. After that, he'd concentrate on kicking out the Marlowes.

  But then, powerful magic electrified the air as silver streamers of mist flowed from the house's windows. They swirled around the building. Chase lurched up and squinted into the darkness. "What the—?"

  The house was—shrinking! It took less than a minute for it to become the size of a dollhouse. Morphing into deep-purple smoke, it flew into the air.

  Chase jumped to his feet. His eyes bulged and his breath caught in his throat as the smoke swooped down. It swirled and hovered several feet in front of his face. He lurched back when a three-dimensional version of Janie's face formed in the middle of the smoke. The purple mouth twisted into a taunting smile. "Who's winning now, Chase?" said Janie's mocking voice.

  Chase wiped his sweaty palms on his pants. He wasn't sure what to do. Shooting lightning bolts wasn't an option, since he didn't want to chance destroying his house. He didn't have the ability to use one of Grandfather's strong shielding spells to trap it. Maybe his power to transform different objects would work on the magical smoke.

  He cupped his hand. "You're a soccer ball!" he yelled, flinging the magic with all his might.

  The smoke dodged to the side as Janie's laughter drifted from it. "I believe it's time for you to say good-bye to your precious Tinker house."

  Chase's transformed home soared upward and floated high above him. After one last mocking loop-de-loop, it shot across the sky and vanished into the darkness.

  "No! No! No! This can't be happening!" He staggered up the low embankment to where the house used to sit. It was as though the massive structure had never even been there. Walking to where he thought Grandfather's study should have been, he dropped to the ground and gazed all around. He was surrounded by nothing but grass and dandelions. Never in his life had he felt such despair and heartache.

  He stared at the small waves rolling gently onto the shore. How was it possible for everything to still look so calm and peaceful when his whole world had just fallen apart? His mind spun, and the throbbing pain in his chest felt close to killing him. His home was really and truly gone, with his mom and Mrs. Periwinkle in it. In just hours, everything in his life had been turned completely upside down.

  He wasn't sure how long he sat there, slumped over, stiff and unmoving. He was barely aware of the sun rising over the city far across the Sound. It was the golden light glinting off something sitting next to him, half-hidden in the grass that made him finally turn his head. He picked it up and held it in his palm. It was Grandfather's small replica of the Space Needle, which always sat on the corner of his desk. For some reason, it had been left behind, the only evidence the Tinker house had once sat in that very spot.

  Chase rubbed his watery eyes. "They stole our house, Grandfather," he whispered hoarsely, "and I don't know what to do about it. I tried to fight them, but they're way too powerful now."

  As he clutched the small sculpture to his chest, a sudden breeze swirled around him. Then, Grandfather's soft voice came out of nowhere. "Chase, listen to me. As long as we
still have our strength, wisdom, and each other, there is always hope. Remember, never give up."

  Chase stared at the lightening sky. One bright star still hung there, like a small beacon of optimism. Remember, never give up…Nori had said the same thing. In that moment, he decided somehow, someway, no matter what it entailed, the Tinkers would rid the world of the Marlowes. He jumped to his feet as anger and determination rocketed through him. "This…will…END!" he yelled to the crows cawing in the trees.

  Sprinting across the field, he sped down the dirt road leading to Islandtown.

  Meet the Author

  Malia loves writing, reading, Ballroom dancing, sunsets, ladybugs, playing video games on her iPad, Seahawks football, pizza and chocolate. She also has terrible motion sickness and hates onions and mean people. She's always wanted to have the ability to teleport and the power to move things with her mind. She lives in the beautiful Seattle area with her wild and crazy ferrets. You can email her at malia.ann@frontier.com. She would love to hear from you.

  Oh, and if you liked my book, it would be awesome if you took the time to leave a review for it on Amazon. Reviews help books to be more easily discovered. Thank you!

  Chapter Preview

  House of Mist

  (The Chase Tinker Series, Book 4)

  CHAPTER ONE

  Devastation

  The storm now raging outside seemed to match the turmoil bombarding Chase's insides. He massaged his chest, hoping to rub away some of the painful tightness. Ever since he'd shared the awful story, the initial burst of determination that had carried him from the now-empty field where the Tinker house used to sit to Doctor Dan's medical clinic had disappeared. He, Andy, and Persephone had spent several hours going over and over what had happened, trying to make sense of it.

  "It's all so—so crazy!" said Persephone.

  "You can say that again," said Chase as he reached up to scratch one of his red, swollen cheeks. He flinched. His whole face continued to burn from the dozens of bumble bee stings he'd received from Roland's magical tornado. He hadn't had the nerve to look in a mirror to see how bad he looked.