Chase Tinker and the House of Secrets

by Haberman, Malia Ann

  “But—”

  “Please?”

  “Okay, yeah, sure. Don’t worry. I’ll take you now,” said Chase. “And you know you can consider this your home, too.” He caught Nori’s arm. “I’ll be back in a few, you guys. Nori’s apartment.”

  Right before he whirled off into darkness, his eyes met Persephone’s worried gaze. At that moment, he knew they both thought the same thing. Nori remembered everything from the premonition, but for some reason, she didn’t want to share it. And whatever she’d seen had frightened her half out of her wits.

  “Whoa!” Nori gasped out, grabbing onto Chase as they swirled into the entryway in Nori’s apartment. “I don’t see how I’ll ever get used to that. It’s as if your body’s being jammed into a small box while you’re a whirling mass of—of…something.”

  Chase grinned. “Don’t worry. Pretty soon it’ll feel like the normal way to travel.”

  “I’m seriously looking forward to that day.” She wobbled down the short hallway and peeked around the corner into the living room. “Looks like Mom went to bed. I’ll go check on her in a little bit. Thanks for bringing me home. And for dinner. And everything.”

  Chase shoved his hands into his pockets. “Sure. Anytime. Um…” He wanted to ask her about the premonition again. He had a feeling it might be something important to know, but he decided to wait a bit; he should let her get used to the idea of premonitions and all the other different kinds of magic. And anyway, she might tell him on her own later. “So…you’re coming to visit tomorrow, aren’t you? We still have loads of other things to show you.”

  Nori pulled off her jacket and hung it in the closet before answering. “That sounds good. But before you go, can I ask you something? You—we—have, like, these superpowers. Do you ever use them to help or rescue people? You know, fight crime.” She punched the air with her fists. “Get the bad guys.”

  He grinned. “You mean like Superman?”

  Nori shrugged. “Yeah, I guess.”

  “I haven’t. Yet. But Grandfather does plenty to help people who need it. You know, charities and other good things like that. But he doesn’t put on a cape and fly around the world saving people from burning buildings or anything. At least, not that I know of.” He chewed on the inside of his bottom lip for a moment as he came to a decision. Even if she said no, at least he’d tried. “Actually, we are going on a rescue mission. It’s not what you think, but if we succeed, it will help a lot of people. Let’s sit down and I’ll tell you about it.”

  They hadn’t said anything to Nori about their Dark Enemy—the Marlowes—or how their cousin, Janie, had been kidnapped by them, and that her brother, James, appeared to have joined up with the evil beings. So, taking a deep breath, and trying his best not to alarm her, he told her everything about them.

  “We—have enemies?” she squeaked out when Chase was finished. “Real live enemies?”

  Chase nodded. “They’ve been fighting against the Tinkers for centuries now.”

  Nori closed her eyes and rubbed her temples. “And I thought meeting you guys and seeing a huge, magical house was about the most shocking thing in my whole life. Well, besides getting a magical power. But this other stuff, like people wanting to kill you, is like something you’d see in a—a scary, thriller movie, not—” She waved her hands in agitation. “—not in normal everyday life, for gosh sake! And I told my mom not to worry.” She groaned and shook her head. “This is crazy!”

  “Believe me,” said Chase, “it’s been a wild ride for me and Andy, too.”

  He sat forward and gazed at her intently. From what he’d seen, she seemed to have some strong magic going on. He was still stunned by her reaction to the magic in the Premonition Room. Plus, she’d shown she was willing to stand up for herself when confronted with something new and unknown. And most importantly, like the rest of the Tinkers, she’d be fighting for the safety of her family and others who were threatened by the Marlowes’ dark powers. “We could use your help.”

  “Help? With what?”

  “Come do magical training with us and then go with us to help rescue Janie and get back the Shard of Magic.”

  Nori stared at him for several long moments, her eyes filled with uncertainty.

  “And maybe you can teach us some of your self-defense moves,” Chase added, looking hopeful. “Those might come in handy.”

  “I—I don’t know. This all sounds so dangerous,” she finally said. “And what about my mom? I’m all she has now. I don’t know what it would do to her if anything happened to me.”

  “We’ll make sure Grandfather and my mom have a way to contact her. But nothing’s going to happen,” he said with confidence. “We’re training too hard not to have everything work out in our favor. And we’ll have the benefit of a surprise attack on our side, too.”

  “But how can I help? All I have is my absorbing words magic. I mean, it might be fine for homework, but it’s not exactly meant to beat up the bad guys, you know.”

  “Don’t worry,” Chase assured her. “I’ll take care of that for you. So…” He crossed his fingers. “…are you in?”

  Locking eyes with his cousin, Chase saw a mix of several different emotions in her gaze: concern, worry, and fear.

  “If you change your mind after training with us,” he said quietly, “you can always stay here. No one will hate you for it, but I hope you decide to go. We really do need you. And when we find Janie, we’ll have her to help fight with us, too.”

  “Is Andy going?”

  Chase nodded. “Andy, Persephone, my dad, and me. And now you, if you say yes.”

  This seemed to have clinched it for her, because she squared her shoulders and said with determination, “Okay. You can count me in.”

  “All right!” he exclaimed, his face lighting up. “This is fantastic!”

  “Uh…so, how do I get over there? I can’t exactly afford the ferry every day.”

  “No biggie. I’ll be here every day to teleport you there.” Chase grinned. “Then come Halloween night, those evil freaks’ll never know what hit ‘em!”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  Capricious Magic

  “I don’t get it!” grumbled Chase as he crammed a bunch of his dirty clothes down the bathroom’s magical laundry chute. “I’ve been trying to have premonitions for weeks and weeks, but with no luck, and then what happens? Nori has one three seconds after walking into our room. What’s with that?”

  Andy rolled over on his bed and propped his head up with his hand. “So what? It’s no big deal.”

  Chase shrugged and slouched back into the bedroom. “I know. It’s just that…” His voice trailed off because he didn’t want to admit he was feeling a bit jealous. Okay. A lot jealous. He was the kid with the strongest magic, not Nori. Then shame rushed through him for having those thoughts. Nori was a Tinker; of course she’d feel the magic as much as the rest of them, but still…

  “Maybe,” said Andy, “it’s because her mind isn’t jumbled up with all the junk we always have to worry about.”

  Chase hopped onto his own bed and looked impressed, happy to have any sort of explanation for Nori’s instant premonition. “Wow, Andy, that’s pretty good. When’d you get so smart?” he teased.

  “I am almost eleven,” he answered huffily.

  Chase grinned as he climbed under his blankets. “Yeah, that’s it. Wisdom is oozing out of you now.” He reached over and clicked off the light on the nightstand. “But, man, do I wish I’d have a premonition about Janie. Then I’d know for sure she’s alive. I’m tired of searching the house for her power room every other night. Any kind of vision of her would help.”

  “Well, I think she’s okay,” answered Andy’s sleepy voice, “and in a couple more weeks, she’ll be back with us.”

  “If everything goes as planned,” Chase murmured as he pulled the blankets up to his chin. He took several long, deep breaths and concentrated on relaxing every muscle in his body. Closing his eyes, he though
t, Yep. That’s it. If everything goes as planned…

  He was in a dark, shadowy forest. The air smelled of decaying leaves and brush. He felt the cold dampness of the ground seeping through his sneakers and chilling his toes, while an icy wind whispered through the trees and seemed to cut right through him.

  Chase shivered and huddled in his jacket. Where the heck was he? Was he deep in the forest on Blackberry Island? He squinted into the gloom. Nothing looked familiar. Goosebumps rippled up and down his spine at the eerie hooting of a nearby owl. Teeth chattering like mad, he gulped and forced himself to think brave thoughts. You’re okay. Remember, you’re not a big wimp.

  Taking a few tentative steps forward, he tripped over a gnarled root sticking out from the ground. He reached out to stop himself from falling. Pain shot up his arm as his palm scraped across the tree’s rough bark. “Ow!” he yelped. “Clumsy idiot!” Rubbing his stinging hand on his jeans, he sighed loudly. He was starting to have a really bad feeling that he was a long, long way from home.

  As he moved through the thick trees, faint sounds began to reach his ears. Several minutes later, he came to the edge of the woods. It didn’t take long for him to realize he wasn’t far from a high cliff, and the sounds he heard were waves pounding against the rocks and shore far below. The wind was stronger here. It whipped and tore at his clothes and hair. From where he stood, he was able to see off into the distance to the place where the sky and ocean seemed to meet. Thousands of twinkling stars dotted the midnight-blue sky. He shivered. The whole place had an aura of sadness and loneliness about it.

  He blinked in surprise when a shadowy figure standing on the edge of the cliff caught his attention. A girl. She was dressed in jeans and a dark-colored coat. Her dark hair blew wildly around her head and shoulders. Something about her looked familiar to him…

  Janie.

  His heart skipped several beats. As he opened his mouth to call to her, she suddenly cried out, “Why didn’t you tell me? Why didn’t you tell me?” She repeated the words over and over until they echoed through the night and crashed against Chase like the waves crashing against the rocks below. He staggered back, his mind whirling with questions. What was she talking about? Who was she talking to? What was she doing here?

  He tried to run to her, but for some strange reason, he’d lost his ability to move. It was as if his feet were glued to the ground. He pulled at them in frustration. He was worried sick that she was going to fling herself off the cliff.

  “JANIE…!”

  Chase jerked awake, panting loudly, and jumped from his bed. Clicking on the light, he scrambled around the room searching for his pants and a t-shirt. It took him several seconds to realize all his clothes were now folded and stacked in neat piles on his dresser. He pawed through them.

  “Chase? What are you doing?” asked Andy drowsily. “It’s the middle of the night.”

  “I saw Janie! I have to get to her!”

  Instantly wide awake, Andy sat up and goggled at his brother. “You did? Where?”

  “It was—it was—” Chase turned from his wild digging to stare at Andy. “I don’t know for sure.” He frowned. “It’s kind of fading now, but I think it might’ve been Blackshire, at the cliff Aunt Clair fell from. At least it looked like the place Dad described to us. It had to have been a premonition.”

  “So how do you know it’s happening now?” asked Andy. “Don’t premonitions usually show the future?”

  “Maybe this was the near future,” Chase answered. “Like an hour from now or something.”

  “You still have to know where to go,” said Andy reasonably. “And if it is way over there, I don’t think it would be a good idea to go, anyway. For one thing, you’ve never teleported that far by yourself.”

  Chase raked a hand through his already messy hair. “But I’m afraid she was ready to jump off the cliff.” He plopped down onto his bed. Dropping his head into his hands, he tried to picture the disturbing vision of his missing cousin. Slowly, the image came into focus of her standing there in the starlight as the wind whipped around her. He raised his head and stared across the room. “Wait! Come to think of it, she wasn’t… she wasn’t falling over the edge, she was dropping to her knees on the ground, and before I had a chance to get to her, I was back here. But the whole thing doesn’t make any sense. If she did escape from the Marlowes, wouldn’t she try to get home? Or call? Or—or something!”

  “Was James with her?”

  “I didn’t see him.”

  Andy frowned. “I don’t think she’d leave without him. Isn’t that why you think she went with them in the first place? And if it was a premonition and not a dream, at least you know she’s still alive.”

  “Yeah. Yeah. You’re right. It’s about time, huh? Okay. I guess I should go back to bed then. I don’t know what else I can do at the moment.” Chase climbed under his covers. Maybe that was the premonition I’ve been waiting for, he thought. If so, then it looks like Janie’s definitely alive.

  He reached over and clicked off the light. Feeling tense and restless, he stared at the shimmering planets circling slowly on the night-darkened ceiling. He rubbed his palm on his pajama-clad leg. It tingled and burned, like he really had scraped off the skin on the tree’s rough bark.

  Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes and tried to force himself to relax, but he was having a hard time getting the vision of Janie out of his mind. What was going on with her? Who was she yelling at? And why was she standing on the edge of a cliff instead of frightened and cowering in a locked room, the way they’d been picturing her for weeks now?

  Maybe it had been only a dream.

  “Okay. These are for you,” Chase said as he placed six sparkling bracelets, each a different color, into Nori’s palm.

  “Wow! These are beautiful. Where’d you get them?” She slipped the bracelets on and smiled at their musical jingling as they slid up and down her arm.

  “I conjured them in the library,” he answered. “Along with some earrings and a necklace for my mom’s birthday. I know it’s cheating, but I hate shopping.”

  “So, what are these for? It’s not my birthday until next August.”

  “They each have a magical power enchanted into them,” said Chase. “Be very careful not to lose any of them. Anyone in the outside world can use the magic if they figure out the secret words, and we sure don’t want that.”

  Nori nodded. “So which is which?”

  He pointed to each bracelet as he told her. “The purple one will let you conjure different objects. Blue is for vanishing things. You know, sending it someplace else or totally getting rid of it. The green one has the tidy-and-clean-up power—”

  “Wait. What do I need that one for?”

  He shrugged and smiled sheepishly. “Just thought it might be good to help out at your apartment doing dishes, fixing things, and helping with other boring housework.”

  Nori smiled back. “Thanks! But I better not let my mom see. She’ll freak out if she sees even a tiny bit more magic.”

  “Oh, yeah,” said Chase with a grimace. “I forgot about that. Anyway, this yellow one can transform you and other people into animals. This orange one grows and shrinks hair and this last one…” His voice trailed off.

  “What?” said Nori, frowning at him.

  Chase glanced up and down the hallway. They were supposed to meet the others in the large family room for more training, but so far, no one else had shown up.

  “You can’t tell anyone about this, understand?”

  “But—”

  “This is incredibly important,” he whispered urgently. “I’ve done something I could get into huge trouble for. I enchanted the red one with a Forbidden Power.”

  Nori’s eyes widened. “You what? But why?”

  Chase had thought long and hard about this when he was in the Enchantment Room. He knew he was taking a big risk, but he’d dealt with the Marlowes before, and making sure his whole family made it out alive and well was
his first and most important priority. “Because we don’t know exactly what we’ll be walking into,” he explained. “And I want as much firepower as possible. Knowing the Marlowes, we need to be prepared for anything. But, you can only use this power as a last resort. We can’t have any innocent people getting hurt, or even worse, killed. I don’t want you turned into a sofa.”

  “Um…a sofa?”

  “Well, the last person to hurt innocent people is now spending his life as a piece of furniture.”

  Nori gulped. “Oh, wow! That’s something I didn’t know I had to worry about.”

  “I know, but if you’re careful, and don’t intentionally hurt anyone, you’ll be okay.” Chase glanced up the hallway again. “Here they come. Please don’t say anything. This is between you and me, okay?”

  Nori’s worried eyes met his pleading ones. “Okay,” she whispered. “You can count on me.”

  “Ready to get practicing, Nori?” called Andy as he practically bounced down the hall to land next to her. He caught her arm and pulled her into the family room. “Come on. Let me show you how good I am at shielding. I can even protect you. Magic is so cool!”

  Nori grinned at her exuberant cousin. “Yeah, it is. Maybe you can show me how to use some of these enchanted bracelets, too,” she said, shaking her arm to make them jingle merrily.

  “You bet!” He looked at the bracelets. “What kind of magic do they do?”

  “This yellow one can turn people into animals, and this blue one here vanishes things,” she answered.

  “The vanishing magic lets you send things to other places,” said Chase, coming up behind them. “Or you can make things disappear for good.”

  “Yeah,” said Persephone, snickering, “that’s exactly what Chase would like to do with his math grade.”

  Chase groaned inwardly. The last thing he wanted was to be reminded of his terrible math skills and his bad scores. Just the other day he’d gotten back a test paper with a big red F slashed across the top. He still hadn’t shown it to his parents. “Why don’t you try vanishing something?” Chase said to Nori. He narrowed his eyes at Persephone, who raised her eyebrows and shrugged.