Chase gasped as the floor instantly whirled out from under him in a rush of wind, as if he were caught in the eye of a small tornado. Feeling as though his stomach had been sucked up into his throat, he watched the apartment and his mom vanish in a swirl of blackness.
CHAPTER FOUR
Crazier and Crazier
Chase had never experienced anything like it. It was as though his whole body was squashed into a small box as he whirled in the darkness of space. He felt Grandfather's firm grip on his arm, yet he was unable to see him. Besides having his stomach stuck in his throat, his eardrums popped like crazy and he was sure he must have left his hair somewhere behind.
Several minutes later, they swirled back into the light. Chase stumbled over his bulky bag and landed on the pavement on his butt. Grandfather, looking cool and unruffled, stood next to Andy, who had managed to stay upright too.
"Is everyone feeling okay? And here in one piece?" asked Grandfather, patting his suit as if to make sure it was still exactly where it should be.
Andy, his face the color of mashed potatoes, nodded, while Chase scrambled to his feet. He rubbed his elbow and wished the awful feeling of spinning like a top would disappear. Man! This magic stuff sure is hard on a guy! he thought.
"Wonderful," said Grandfather. "It took me years to be able to teleport without feeling ill. Dreadful motion sickness, you see."
"Where—where are we?" stuttered Andy as he blinked dazedly and gazed around.
"We're by the ferry terminal in the city of Seattle," said Grandfather. "I can never resist a ferry ride."
"We're clear across the whole country already?" asked Chase. Raising his eyebrows, his eyes met Andy's. By the look of him, Chase knew they both thought the same thing: what the heck have we gotten ourselves into?
Things were definitely getting crazier by the second.
"But—but—" Chase began.
"Now no need to panic. We teleported. And don't ask me to explain," said Grandfather, holding up his hand when he saw the boys ready to bombard him with questions. "It's one of those scientific things I can never quite understand." He glanced at his wristwatch. "Oh, fiddlesticks! I promised Mrs. Periwinkle I would get us a nice, fat fish for dinner."
"We're going shopping?" whined Andy. "I can't carry my bag, it's too heavy."
"Yes, Andy, you are correct," said Grandfather. "I'll take care of those with no trouble at all." With a flick of his hand, the boys' bags disappeared. "They'll be waiting for you at the house." He caught their arms. "Hang on!"
Before Chase and Andy had a chance to recover from their last teleporting, they whirled off again. A few seconds later, they popped into a deserted hallway. Chase's landing was still a bit bumpy, but he was happy he at least stayed on his feet this time.
"Pike Place Market. One of my favorite places," said Grandfather, with a big smile.
Heads spinning, the boys staggered after him through a doorway and up a flight of stairs to the popular farmers' market. The whole area hummed with noisy shoppers and long booths filled to the brim with merchandise for sale.
"Look!" exclaimed Grandfather, bouncing on his toes. "We get to see them tossing the fish."
They watched a couple of burly guys from the fish stand lob several big, slippery fish back and forth between them while the excited crowd cheered them on.
"I do love the flying fish," said Grandfather later, strolling away from the stall with a fish of his own wrapped and tucked under his arm. "What about you two?"
Chase and Andy grinned at each other. "Yeah, Grandfather," said Chase, "that was, um, real cool."
Two hours later, they arrived back at the ferry dock with their arms loaded with packages of fruits, vegetables, fish and flowers. And Mariners' shirts. The boys tried to tell Grandfather they were Yankee fans, but all he had to say about that was, "Preposterous!"
"Shouldn't we send these on ahead too?" asked Chase, not wanting anyone to see him with the huge bunch of red tulips clutched to his chest.
"Excellent idea, Chase," said Grandfather, waving his hand. Everything disappeared. "Wait! Maybe we should see the Space Needle while we're here. The Seattle Center is a wonderful place to visit."
"Grandfather!" said Chase. "Those places can wait. We want to see your house."
"All right," he answered, his mustache drooping. "The entrance to our ferry is across the parking lot, last pier on the left."
The sun was bright overhead as they made their way to the ferry. The tangy scent of salt water and seaweed filled the air, along with the noisy squalls of seagulls as they dove for their lunch in the chilly bay. Dark-gray, ominous-looking storm clouds hovered over the far-off mountains.
"It appears as if we're in for some stormy weather later," said Grandfather, checking out the sky. "We should make it home before it arrives."
It didn't take long to purchase their tickets and clamber aboard the old ferryboat, which smelled a lot like dead fish and bird poo. In spite of this, Chase and Andy were excited to be on a ferry for the first time ever. They ran from the stern to the bow, peering over the side into the deep, blue water. White-capped waves lapped at the sides of the boat as it floated away from the dock.
Chase took a deep breath of the salty air, liking the fact that for once he wasn't breathing smog and car exhaust. It was weird to imagine that only a short time ago he and Andy had been in a bustling city surrounded by people and towering skyscrapers. Now here they were, sailing to an island that looked like it was out in the middle of nowhere.
As they cruised farther out into the breezy bay, a long, dark shape appeared just below the surface of the water. "Hey, Grandfather!" said Andy. "What's that?"
The shadowy form circled slowly and glided next to the boat. A large, bluish-black head emerged. It was an orca whale. It turned, looked at them and blinked one eye. A huge fountain of cold water shot from its spout, dousing Chase, Andy and Grandfather.
"I think it winked at us!" said Chase, wiping his dripping face on his jacket sleeve.
The whale leaped from the water and stared at them for several seconds, its mouth wide open. With a huge splash, it flopped back into the sea.
"And it's laughing at us too!" exclaimed Andy. "Uh, can it do that?"
"Animals with higher intelligence can usually sense magic," said Grandfather, as he wiped droplets off his eyeglasses. "Good or bad."
"Look, there it goes!" Chase pointed at the whale as it swam away from the boat. The last they saw of it was a large tail disappearing beneath the water. "I sure hope it thought we use good magic."
"Don't worry, Chase," said Grandfather. "I'm sure it knew."
They kept watch to see if the orca would come again, but it never did. Half an hour later, the ferry chugged up to a wide dock and eased between the tall wooden pylons.
"Welcome to Blackberry Island, boys," said Grandfather as they strolled across the gangplank. "The town is up that way." He pointed down a long, curving road. "And our house is this way." He gestured in the opposite direction. "It's about a mile walk along the beach. It won't take but a bit to get there if we follow the path."
"Why don't we teleport?" asked Andy.
"Three reasons," said Grandfather as they set off across the dock. "First, you should never rely simply on magic. Many times your own brain power or normal physical ability can do the job just as well; second, I want you to see the house from the outside before you see the inside." He pulled his hat down snug. "And third, if I teleported everywhere, I'd never get any exercise."
He led the boys up a set of wooden steps with rippling grass on one side and a handrail separating them from the sand and rocks on the other. When they reached the top, they saw the beach, sprinkled with dried seaweed and sun-bleached driftwood, stretching off into the distance. The rain clouds were now above them and hanging low in the sky.
Chase and Andy stared down at the grassy, dandelion-spotted ground. "What path?" asked Chase as he glanced all around.
"We better hurry if we want to
beat the storm," said Grandfather, stepping forward. Out of nowhere, several yards of smooth pathway appeared.
As the three of them tramped along, more of the trail appeared in front, and behind them, it faded completely away. It was as though they were strolling on a rolling magic carpet. Chase rubbed his eyes several times to make sure he wasn't hallucinating.
"Weird," muttered Andy.
Ten minutes later, they rounded a curve in the path. The boys lurched to a stop and goggled at the most magnificent, incredible house they had ever seen.
Perched on a low hill at the edge of a long stretch of silvery beach and set against a backdrop of dark trees and stormy sky, the house glowed with a life of its own. Six, seven or eight stories tall in some places, nine or ten in others, it looked as if builders were always adding something new and different to it. The enormous house had at least twenty castle-like turrets with pointed roofs, and the many sloping roofs had chimneys poking out here and there. Black-railed walkways encircled the outside of each floor and all the windows shimmered as if they were made of millions of sparkling diamonds.
Whoa! If the inside is anything like the outside, thought Chase, this house must be filled to the brim with magic! His heart hammered with excitement as he looked up at his grandfather. "Seriously?"
Grandfather smiled. "Seriously."
Andy took several stumbling steps back. "Why—why's it glowing like that?"
"It's the magic," said Grandfather. "Come along."
"Won't people see the house when they're sailing by and wonder why it's glowing?" asked Andy as they walked closer.
"No," said Grandfather. "It's been enchanted to look like an ordinary beach house."
"Why can we see it all big and shiny?"
"Because we're Tinkers, of course."
Chase was too busy staring at the dazzling house to ask any of his own questions buzzing around in his head.
The magical pathway took them to the front porch and up the steps, ending at an arched door. It was reddish-brown with panels of colorful stained-glass bordering each side. Chase ran his hand down the smooth, gray-stone wall. Warmth and light seemed to pour right out it.
The front door swung open by itself.
CHAPTER FIVE
That's Magic
Chase couldn't stop himself from gawking like a tourist as they stepped into a gigantic foyer. Four towering trees, with glittering, gold and silver leaves, stood on each side and two zigzagging staircases led to the darkened upper floors. The foyer's marble flooring looked like silvery-blue rippling water. It was as if they were walking on the top of a flowing stream.
Taking a deep breath, Chase let it out slowly. Some sort of strange, tantalizing energy tickled his nose and sent tingling sensations all through his body. He took another deep breath. It was the most incredible feeling he'd ever had and he wanted to just stand there for a while and soak it all in.
Right then, a tall hat-stand hopped forward, scooped Grandfather's cap off his head with a flourish and plopped it onto one of its pegs.
"Holy moly!" exclaimed Andy. "That’s—that's—"
"—magic," said Grandfather as the hat-stand scurried back into the corner.
The boys' bags sat underneath one of the trees, but something odd was going on with Chase's. It wiggled and shook as if it were alive. Suddenly, a small head popped out the partially unzipped top. It was a masked animal, and it had a pair of Chase's socks clenched in its teeth.
"Hey!" he yelled. He dove for the creature, but it was too quick for him. Leaping from the bag, it skidded across the floor and disappeared around a corner, while dragging the socks along with it. "Something stole my socks!" He took off after it, slipping and nearly falling on the shiny floor.
Running down a long hallway, he darted through an arched doorway into a formal sitting room with glossy wood floors, old-fashioned high-backed chairs, sofas and throw rugs. One whole wall was a brown-stone fireplace that had a cheerful fire burning in it.
Chase blinked and shook his head when he saw a feather-duster dusting the furnishings and a frisky broom sweeping the floor. He dropped to his hands and knees and peered under a sofa. "All right you, ah, whatever you are. I know you're here somewhere. Give me back my socks!"
"Talking to yourself?" said a voice above him.
Chase hurried to scramble to his feet and whacked his head on the coffee table he was now halfway under. Rubbing the spot he was sure would become a big lump, he turned to face the newcomer. It was a girl around his own age. She had shoulder-length, dark-brown hair and chocolate-colored eyes. Like Chase, she wore blue-jeans and a baggy t-shirt. She was also bare-foot and her toenails were painted bright-purple.
"Who the heck are you?" he demanded.
"Janie," said Grandfather, as he and Andy came into the room. "I see you've met your cousin Chase. And this is his brother, Andy. Janie Marler is Clair's daughter."
"Grandfather, I'm so happy you're home!" exclaimed the girl. She ran across the room and hugged their grandparent. "You're right on time for lunch. Mrs. Periwinkle has everything ready. Hi, Andy and Chase. It's great to meet you."
"Hi, Janie," said Andy.
"What about my socks?" said Chase. "Some crazy animal stole them!"
Janie giggled. "You must mean Maxwell. He loves socks."
"Maxwell?"
"My pet ferret. He steals everyone's stuff. Don't worry; we'll get them back for you. Now come on," she said, pulling on Grandfather's hand. "Mrs. Periwinkle made the yummiest-smelling chicken casserole and I'm starving."
"Shouldn't it be almost dinnertime instead?" asked Andy.
"Remember, we're three hours earlier than New York," said Grandfather, tapping his watch.
"Oh, yeah, I forgot."
Chase poked his brother's arm. "It's like we've gone back in time," he whispered. "Weird, huh?"
"It's all way too weird," Andy said as he watched the feather-duster and broom glide eerily from the room.
"But really cool," said Chase as he and Andy hurried after Grandfather and Janie.
They zigzagged down several more hallways, through a pair of double doors and into a room that looked big enough to fit the boys' whole apartment building. Chase had the urge to throw back his head and yell just to see how long the echoes would last.
Balconies encircled the room on all sides and a spiraling staircase, which looked as if it went up forever, stood in the middle. Plus, the room had so many doorways leading from it, Chase wondered how anyone remembered which way to go.
Part of the white and black checkerboard floor-tiling was dotted with soccer ball-size, red and black checkers that looked like puffy marshmallows. The checker pieces were busy bouncing across the floor, playing a game by themselves.
In the next room, the tables, the sofas and chairs, and even the rhinoceros-size, glowing candelabra were drifting lazily around the room.
"Come along, everyone," said Grandfather. "The best way to cross this room is to swim. I always look forward to doing my superb backstroke. I was on the swim team back at Oxford, you know."
They watched him dive into the room and backstroke to a door on the far side. Janie leaped right in and frog-stroked her way across. Chase jumped in next. He floated straight to the ceiling and stuck there like a gigantic insect.
"Swim, Chase! You need to pretend as though you're swimming!" called Grandfather. "And watch out for that painting, it was your grandmother's favorite."
Chase shoved away from the ceiling and careened across the room. "Yikes!" he yelled as he bounced off a couch, flipped over a chair and almost burned his butt on the candelabra. Flapping his arms and legs, he at last got himself under control. "Come on, Andy! It's fun!"
Andy scrunched his face and hopped into the room. Paddling and kicking, he quickly reached the other side and dropped to the floor. Chase landed beside him.
"Quite invigorating, isn't it?" said Grandfather.
"Yeah!" said Chase. "Let's do it again."
"It will have to be
later, Chase," he answered. "Lunch awaits us."
Andy peeked into the room again. "Furniture isn't supposed to float," he grumbled.
Grandfather laughed as he led them down a long hallway where they had to walk upside down on the ceiling, which was actually the floor, through a room so tiny they had to crawl on their hands and knees, past an enormous, floor-to-ceiling aquarium filled with dozens of fish of all shapes and colors, and strolled through a room made entirely of chocolate.
Chase knew they were getting closer to the kitchen when he caught a whiff of the chicken casserole Janie had raved about. His stomach gave a loud rumble.
"Here we are," said Grandfather as they reached the dining room and gathered around the elegant dining table. "Sit wherever you wish."
Chase gasped and Andy squeaked with surprise when, before they even had a chance to pick a seat, they were forced to topple back into chairs that unexpectedly whipped behind them and shoved them up against the table.
A woman, who looked to be in her early forties, bustled from the kitchen. Dressed in jeans, a yellow sweater and a colorful, flowered apron, she had a round, friendly face, and her wavy, light-brown hair was held back with silver barrettes.
"Mr. Hiram, it's great to see you. It looks like your trip to New York was successful," she said as she placed a large platter on the table next to Grandfather.
"Indeed it was. Thank you, Miranda." he answered as he began piling chicken and potatoes onto plates and passing them to the kids. "Boys, this is Mrs. Periwinkle, our excellent chef and housekeeper. If you need anything, she's the lady to ask. Mmm. This looks and smells delicious."
Chase and Andy waved hello and had just dug into the mouth-watering food when the kitchen door burst open and out came a girl carrying a pitcher of lemonade. She had short, dark-red hair with longish bangs brushed across her forehead and hanging halfway over one eye. She wore a blue denim skirt and a pink top, which accentuated her light-olive complexion. A small nose-ring sparkled when she turned her head.
"Chase, Andy, this is my daughter, Persephone," said Mrs. Periwinkle.
Chase Tinker & The House of Magic Page 4
