"Hey, you guys," said Nori as she walked into the room, clutching the water bottle that contained the shrunken Alex. "My mom's feeling loads better and she insisted on coming to talk to you."
Mika nodded as she followed Nori through the doorway.
"Mika! I'm so happy to see you up and about!" said Persephone, jumping to her feet.
"Thank you, Persephone. And thank you so much for helping Nori get my hands back to normal." Mika shoved her clenched fists into her apron's pockets, as if worried they might transform again. "I just want to say a few things about last night. I thought Chase was attacking my daughter. Nori explained to me exactly what happened. You two shouldn't have been fighting, but my involvement only made things worse. I'm very sorry I lost control of my magic. I could've hurt—" She paused to swallow the lump in her throat. "—or…killed any or all of you with those terrible out-of-control whips. I'm sorry you had to use your magic against me to stop me, Andy. I also owe you an apology, Chase, for assuming the worst of you. I know you would never intentionally hurt Nori."
"Everyone's emotions were running high," said Persephone. "We all said and did things we regret."
"You have my solemn promise it will never happen again," said Mika. "I'll keep my magic locked inside me with every bit of will power I possess."
"But Grandfather said you have to let it out!" said Andy.
"No! That will never happen." Mika turned and strode from the room.
"It's a waste of time to try to convince her," said Nori, shaking her head.
Persephone sighed. "Hopefully someday she'll come around." She dropped back onto the couch. "So I know I said this earlier, but I still can't believe you let trolls run rampant through our house, Chase."
"I know! I know! I was hoping they'd get rid of the Marlowes for me."
"I can't believe their dumb 'transforming into smoke' power actually let them steal our house," said Andy glumly.
"It had to have been Janie," said Nori as she joined Persephone on the sofa. "Her power to control the space around her must also include manipulating the size and shape of objects. Like an entire, massive house."
"Why didn't you use Aunt Clair's power and melt through a wall to escape them?" asked Andy. "That's what I would've done."
"It's weird, but sometimes her power doesn't work," said Chase. "It's like it comes and goes for some reason, and it really wasn't a good time to be testing it."
"You are so lucky you made it out alive, Chase," said Persephone, shuddering.
Chase had to agree on that one. All the magic the Marlowes had stolen from the other magical beings had made the Tinkers' Dark Enemy more powerful than ever. Even with his extra powers, Chase hadn't come close to defeating them. "The place didn't feel like our house anymore, anyway. It was so cold and dark and…evil. I think they must've brought something really wicked to live inside the walls."
"They sure didn't take long to make themselves cozy," said Persephone.
"And what about all our things?" said Andy. "I can't wear these clothes for the rest of my life."
Chase snorted. "I think we have more important things to stress about right now than what to wear."
"No worries, Andy," said Nori, sending him a reassuring look. "I'll conjure you some new outfits. At least we still have our magic."
"Yeah, but how long will that last?" said Chase. "We have to figure out a way to get our moms and our house back. Maybe Alex can tell us something."
"I told you he doesn't know anything about what his family has been up to," said Nori between clenched teeth. "The only thing he has in common with those people is the name Marlowe!"
"Your blind faith in him—"
"And what about your blindness to see the real truth?" Nori shot back.
"But he's the only one who could've betrayed us!"
"Maybe we weren't betrayed!" yelled Nori. "Maybe those idiots just got lucky."
"Enough already, guys," said Persephone. "We have to stop fighting, okay?"
Chase turned away from the glaring Nori. He didn't know why he'd wasted his breath. Because of her strong feelings for Alex, she would never believe he'd been deceiving the Tinkers from the very beginning. "I think I'll go talk to Dad about working on a plan."
Andy shook his head. "Dad locked himself in one of Doctor Dan's bedrooms hours ago. I tried to talk to him, but he told me to go away. With everything that's happened, he's in bad shape."
"We have to do something!" said Chase, his frustration growing with every breath he took. "We can keep going over everything until our brains fall out, but it's not accomplishing a darn thing." He paused. "I'm going to talk to Grandfather."
"But Doctor Dan told us to stay away," said Persephone. "He's too weak right now."
"We're not getting anywhere on our own. Don't worry. I won't stay long." Chase strode to the doorway and out into the hall.
"But—oh, what's the use? He'll do exactly what he wants no matter what anyone says."
Persephone, Andy, and Nori jumped to their feet and ran after him.
When they reached Grandfather's room, Chase pushed open the door and moved to stand at the end of the bed. The other three kids hovered behind him like nervous, twitching flies as Chase stared down at Grandfather's face. He was so pale, he almost blended in with the bleached-white pillowcase.
Chase cleared his throat. "Uh, Grandfather?"
Grandfather's eyes slowly opened halfway. "Chase, kids," he rasped out. "You made it. I need to speak—"
"The Marlowes stole our house and we have to get it back!" Chase blurted out. He resisted the urge to grab onto the bed frame and give it a hard shake. "What do we do, Grandfather? You have to fix this. Do you have any ideas?"
Barely breathing, the kids all leaned forward as they awaited a reply. Even though the others knew they shouldn't be bothering him, they still wanted to get their house back as badly as Chase did.
Grandfather coughed before weakly saying, "I—I don't know."
Chase hadn't prepared himself for this response. He'd been so sure his grandparent would have some answers. Grandfather always knew how to fix things. After all, he had years of wisdom and experience to fall back on. Not like Chase, who, after all this time, still managed to get himself into way too many magical mishaps.
"What do you mean you don't know?" Chase snapped back, the words spilling out of him practically by themselves. "You have to know. You're the one who was supposed to protect it, to make sure nothing like this ever happened!"
"Chase—" Persephone tried to cut in, but after everything that had taken place in the last few days, Chase wasn't able to stop.
"You're the one with all the power, for cripes sake! The Keeper of the House is supposed to take care of it, no matter what!" Chase stomped back and forth. "You should've done something before it got this far. Before those crappy Marlowes got so stinking powerful they could march in and take over like it was no big deal. When I was running back here, all I thought about was, 'I have to get to Grandfather. He'll know what to do.' But now all you can say is, 'I don't know?' And then there's Janie. If you'd only told her the truth about herself from the beginning, then maybe we wouldn't be battling her, too! How irresponsible was that?"
"Chase!" screamed Persephone as she ran to Grandfather's side and grabbed his hand. "You have to stop! You're upsetting Mr. Hiram even more."
Chase turned to stare at Grandfather, who was clutching his chest and wheezing as he tried to catch his breath. His face had gone from ghostly white to an ugly shade of blue. "I'm—I'm truly sorry for everything," he gasped out, "but I need to tell you my heart won't hold out much longer. It's too badly damaged."
"What are you saying, Uncle Hiram?" asked Nori, frowning as she and Andy crowded in next to Persephone.
"I'm dying," whispered Grandfather.
"No you're not!" cried Persephone. "You're going to get better."
"That's no longer possible," he answered. "I'm relieved you'
re all here so—so I can at least say good-bye."
"But I don't wanna say good-bye!" exclaimed Andy.
Realizing how hurtful his unthinking comments had to have sounded, Chase hurried to the other side of the bed. "I'm sorry, Grandfather, I didn't mean it. Honest. It's only because I'm so mad at the Marlowes right now. I didn't mean to take it out on you."
Grandfather's dark eyes met those of his grandson's. "I wish Ben was here, but since he's not, will you tell him I'm happy we finally mended our relationship?"
"You can tell him," said Chase as he grasped Grandfather's other hand.
"Be strong, Chase. You must be strong," said Grandfather, "for—for what lies ahead."
"I'll try, Grandfather," said Chase. "But I can't do it without you."
"You can. I have complete faith in you. You must never lose hope." Grandfather drew a shallow, quavering breath. "Persephone, my dear, will you please unplug that incessant beeping machine? I can no longer stand the sound of it."
"But you need it so everyone can hear your heartbeat," said Persephone.
"Please do it for me," said Grandfather. "I much prefer the sound of your voices."
Looking as though she wasn't sure she was doing the right thing, Persephone yanked the cord from the outlet. The high-pitched beeping stopped.
"Thank you," Grandfather wheezed out. "You have always been like a real granddaughter to me. All of you are more special than you…realize…"
"And so are you, Uncle Hiram," Nori squeaked out.
"Don't worry," said Persephone. "Everything's going to be fine."
Grandfather gave her a small half-smile. "Yes, I know. With all of you working together, how could it not be? Remember…it's the never giving up that will save everything in the end…"
As Chase stared into Grandfather's eyes, the ever-present twinkle disappeared. It took only a few seconds for them to become blank and empty, as his life's essence drained from him. His hand fell limply to the bed.
"Grandfather? Grandfather!" cried Chase, over the sudden, strange ringing in his ears. He grasped his grandparent's arm and shook it. "I didn't mean all the mean things I said. Please believe me. You have to know how much we need you. And love you." Chase really wished the ringing would stop already.
Mika appeared in the doorway. "What's going on? You kids were told to stay—"
She was shoved aside as Dan stormed into the room. His hair was standing on end and his clothes looked as though he'd slept in them for days. "What are you doing in here? I didn't give permission for Hiram to have visitors." His icy blue eyes swept the room, stopping on Grandfather's face. "Oh my God!" He dashed across the floor. "Get back! Why isn't his cardiac monitor working?"
"He—he wanted it unplugged," said Persephone as she, Nori, and Andy backed away from the bed. "He hated the noise."
After performing CPR, Doctor Dan turned to the defibrillator and pressed the red button. Grandfather's body jerked as Dan shocked him, fiddled with the machine and then shocked him again, and then again.
Several minutes later, Dan yanked the white shock-pads off Grandfather, along with the tubes and other things meant to help with a patient's survival. "It's no use. He's dead. His heart couldn't take anymore."
Chase stumbled backward into the wall and stared at Grandfather's face. He looked…peaceful. At least this was what Chase wanted to believe, after all the despicable things he'd said—things he desperately wished he had the ability to take back.
Persephone's eyes filled with tears as she latched onto Doctor Dan's arm and shook him. "No! No! No! He can't be gone. Check again. Check! Again!" she shrieked.
Dan yanked his arm away. "There's nothing more I can do," he said in a detached voice as he moved all the medical equipment aside. "Mika, I need your assistance in taking his body to another room."
"B-body?" whispered Persephone.
Looking as if she were about to have her own heart attack, Mika nodded and hurried to the bedside.
Persephone dropped to her knees and sobbed into her hands.
"Grandfather's really gone?" said Andy. "But—but who's going to take care of us now?"
Still holding the water bottle close to her chest, Nori watched as Mika and Doctor Dan pushed the wheeled bed through the doorway and down the hall. "No more Uncle Hiram?" She collapsed to the floor. "Nooo," she moaned as she curled into a ball. "Why are all these awful things happening?"
Chase was totally unprepared for what took place next. Incredible power poured into him, like smooth, liquid sunshine. The blood in his veins began to blaze with life and energy. It was like nothing he'd ever experienced before, not even on the evening when Grandfather had almost died last summer and inadvertently passed some his myriad of powers onto his grandson.
"What—what's happening?"
CHAPTER TWO
Keeper
With everything spinning around him, Chase clutched his stomach and dashed from the room. He staggered into the bathroom and vomited into the toilet. He heaved until he felt as if his guts were going to fly out along with his stomach contents. At last he was able to flop back onto the floor.
He shivered and stared at the white porcelain of the toilet bowl. Why did he always find himself in the bathroom whenever anything strange or bad occurred in his life? If he wasn't barfing, animated trash cans were chasing him around the room, or he was landing in the bathtub after teleporting, or becoming invisible after sneezing. Compared to all those other instances, this was by far the worst.
Grandfather was dead and it was all Chase's fault. "Why did I have to go and yell at him?" he mumbled. He'd been so sure Grandfather would take care of everything. "How am I going to survive without him?"
Chase pressed his hot cheek to the cool floor tiles. His whole body buzzed and tingled and burned. It had to be Grandfather's many magical abilities surging through him. Did he have all the powers now? Was this feeling of immense power going to be with him from now on? Or, was this only part of the transferring process? The one person who would know was no longer there to answer these questions.
Chase climbed unsteadily to his feet and stood in front of the mirror hanging above the sink. His face looked grotesque. Maybe Doctor Dan had some ointment for it, because he probably shouldn't attend a funeral looking like a sideshow freak.
Funeral. That would mean Grandfather truly was dead. Chase clenched his fists until his fingernails dug into his palms. Even the stinging pain wouldn't stop the image of Grandfather's face as the life drained out of him from running through Chase's mind.
He picked up the soap dispenser and flung it at the mirror. The crash echoed around the bathroom as the mirror cracked and broke into several pieces. One of the larger pieces fell into the sink and shattered. He stared at his distorted reflection, waiting for someone to dash in and to yell at him for smashing the mirror, but no one came.
His shoulders drooped as he turned and wandered from the bathroom and down the hall. He was passing the staircase to the upper floors right as his dad was slowly walking down. Benjamin was having a difficult time maneuvering down the stairs because of the bulky cast on his arm and the bandage covering his damaged eye and cheek.
"Oh, Chase," he said when he saw his son. "Mika told me she made us something to eat."
Chase shrugged one shoulder. "Okay." The last thing he felt like doing right now was eating.
"I want to check on your grandfather first," said Ben.
Chase swallowed hard as he fought the urge to dash back to the toilet. "You can't. He's gone."
"Gone?" said Ben, frowning. "What are you talking about? Where? He's way too sick to be out of bed."
Chase stared at a spot on the wall, unable to look his dad in the eye. "He's…dead," he said hoarsely. That has to be one of the worst words in the whole crappy universe, he thought.
"Dead! No!" cried Ben. "But how can that be? Dan was sure he would make it through this." He raked his hand through his hair. "How? When?"
"It was Chase. He killed Grandfather!" cried Andy from behind Benjamin.
Ben turned. "What are you talking about?" he asked as he gazed at Andy's red-rimmed eyes and blotchy cheeks.
Andy's hand trembled as he pointed at his brother. "Chase was yelling at him. It sounded like he blamed Grandfather for all the bad things. Grandfather couldn't take it."
"I only wanted him to get our house back," said Chase, hating the whiny sound in his voice. "To fix everything. I'm sorry, Dad. I didn't mean to upset him so much."
Ben collapsed onto the stairs. "Dead…I knew the fight with the Marlowes took way too much out of him, but even with his bad heart, I never imagined this day happening."
"Me neither," said Chase sadness in his voice.
"Yeah," said Andy. He slumped down next to his dad. Pulling off his glasses, he wiped his sleeve across his face.
"Things were finally so much better between us," said Ben. "I wish I'd been there to see him before…" He shook his head. "But I don't understand. Where are his powers? I didn't feel any of them transferring to me. Then I would've known he was—I could've hurried to get there. I should've felt something."
"I have them," said Chase.
"You do?" said Ben, jerking up his head to gawk at his son. "But—but I should have had a choice of whether I wanted them or not. They should've come to me first."
"Grandfather must've somehow arranged it with the Relic for them to flow directly into me after he—left," said Chase.
"I guess he thought I still wasn't interested in becoming Keeper," said Ben.
"You mean you changed your mind?" asked Andy.
"I was planning on telling him, but with everything going on, I didn't have the chance. I can't believe he's gone." Ben rubbed the tears off his cheeks and sniffed.
"You wanted to be the next Keeper?" cried Chase. "But you hate magic!"
"After spending so much time working on it this past year," said Ben, "I felt I'd begun to understand it more."
Chase Tinker and the HOUSE OF DESTINY Page 23