"Wait a minute," said Chase, frowning. "You walked through the wall?"
"That's my power. I can move through any solid object. It was the perfect plan, until they realized we were gone."
"What happened?" asked Anne as she gripped Chase's arm.
Clair turned to look at Anne, tears in her eyes. "We ran as fast as we could, trying to stay hidden in the trees. Ben was having a harder time of it because he was weak from his long incarceration. They were shooting arrows at us and I was hit in the arm by one, but we didn't have time to stop."
"Grandfather healed your injuries," Janie cut in.
Clair patted her daughter's hand. "I know. After that, we decided to split up, to make it harder for them to follow us, and meet again in London in front of Big Ben." She smiled. "That was Ben's idea. Thought he was being clever. Even after what he'd been through, he kept his sense of humor."
Clair paused for a moment and took a deep breath. "I hitched a ride with someone heading for the city and they dropped me off at Big Ben. Benjamin never showed up. I waited and waited; then they were in London, searching for us. I knew I had to get away and get home. I prayed Ben would make it home too.
"I had my belongings in a hotel room, but they found me there and I barely escaped. I took my passport and ran for it. They seemed to be watching everywhere. I finally made it out of the city and was able to stow away on a freighter sailing to America." She brushed a hand through her tousled hair. "You have no idea how sorry I am that I don't have better news for you."
"You had his driver's license," said Chase in an accusing voice.
"What?" asked Clair, looking startled.
"We found a jacket in the motorboat you came in and his license was in the pocket."
"It was pouring rain and he gave me the coat he had on," she explained, her voice catching. "And—and as you can see, I was unable to return it."
No one knew what to say after that. Chase moved away until his back was pressed against the wall. He slid to the floor and rested his forearms on his bent knees. They had waited all this time to hear what she had to say, and yet she hadn't told them the one thing they needed to know. Where was Benjamin Tinker?
Chase saw Andy across the room, screwing up his face as if trying not to cry. Their mom looked dazed as she wiped her eyes with her shirt sleeve. Frustration burned inside Chase. He banged the back of his head on the wall, hoping it would help, but all it did was cause a throbbing pain behind his eyes.
Grandfather cleared his throat. "Maybe we should leave now and let Clair get more rest."
Andy, Persephone, Janie and Grandfather wandered from the room, leaving Chase and Anne to trail more slowly.
"Anne?"
Anne turned and looked into Clair's watery eyes.
"I'm so sorry. I tried," Clair whispered. "I—I wish we'd met under better circumstances."
Anne opened her mouth to answer, but looked unsure as to what to say. So instead, she gave a sharp nod and then rushed from the room.
Chase climbed to his feet and plodded toward the door. He ducked his head. "I'll, um, see you later," he mumbled as he slipped away.
He found everyone, except Janie, back in the kitchen. Andy and Persephone were arguing about which would be more fun, the Woodland Park Zoo or the Aquarium. Mrs. Periwinkle was bustling around the kitchen in her usual way, while Grandfather and Anne, heads down, silently shoved their food back and forth on their plates.
Chase hated to see his mom looking so sad. "Grandfather?" he said. "Now that Aunt Clair is feeling better, will she go look for our dad again?"
He shook his head. "No, Chase, she won't."
"Will you go look for him?"
"I have no idea where he is," answered Grandfather sadly. "Two days ago, Clair was conscious enough for a moment to tell me where the building they were held in was located. So, to ease her mind, I teleported to Blackshire to see if he had been recaptured. He wasn't there."
"And you didn't tell us?" said Chase, looking outraged.
"I didn't want to get your hopes up regarding Clair's condition or finding Benjamin," said Grandfather. "I'm sorry."
Chase slumped against the counter. "They probably have him someplace else," he muttered.
"I knew he must have a reason for leaving us. I never dreamed he was being held captive!" said a bewildered Anne. "Why? What would anyone want with Ben?"
"Andy and I asked the same thing," said Chase. He flicked a chunk of bacon lying on the counter. It flew through the air and plopped into Grandfather's coffee. "It's because of our magic."
"You mean my kids are in danger too?" she cried. "Who are these people? Do you even know?"
"I have some idea," said Grandfather gravely.
"And you boys have known about this?" Anne asked Chase.
"Some of it," he mumbled.
"I can't believe Ben kept so much from me!" said Anne, shaking her head. "I feel so stupid."
"It's not your fault, Anne, and I don't want anyone to worry," said Grandfather as he patted her hand. "Everything will be fine."
She slid off her stool and began pacing the kitchen. "Fine? Things haven't been fine for a long time! I have to take my kids away to someplace safe. I can't let anything happen to them too!"
"Anne, this is the safest place," said Grandfather.
"And you!" she snapped at Grandfather as if he hadn't spoken. "You knew what was going on and you never came to me. You had no right to do this!"
"We were hoping to find Ben—"
"I had a right to know, Hiram!" she yelled. "Instead, you show up and take my kids away, insisting it's because they need to learn about their so-called magical heritage."
"The boys had to know about their family and their abilities. Benjamin was wrong to ignore it!"
"If you know who these people are, why don't you do something to stop them?"
"I'm working on that," Grandfather said, "but it's proving to be more difficult than I've foreseen." He looked as if he wanted to say more, but decided not to.
Chase watched his mom stride back and forth, muttering under her breath.
"I want to go to the zoo," he announced.
Anne stopped and stared at her son. "What—?"
"Brilliant idea, Chase!" exclaimed Grandfather, rubbing his hands together and looking happy to get off the Benjamin subject. "We'll make a day of it. We'll ride over on the ferry, visit the zoo, and have dinner at the top of the Space Needle. Come along, let's get ready to go."
Anne propped her fists on her hips and sputtered, "What? To the zoo! Now? But—but Chase, we're talking about keeping you safe and you want to go running off to a huge public place. And everything with your dad..."
Chase shrugged and smiled half-heartedly. "It might be kinda fun, don't you think?"
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Something in the Air
Chase felt lighter, and rather festive, as they strolled along the zoo's tree-lined walkways. He took a deep breath, sucking in the mingling scents of animals, plants and flowers, and hot, buttered popcorn floating on the breeze. Being there made it a little easier to push thoughts of his missing dad to the back of his mind.
His mom, hiding behind her dark sunglasses, wasn't relaxing as much as he'd hoped, however. She kept peeking behind every trash can and tree as if she expected someone to pounce on them at any moment.
"I don't know why I let you talk me into this," she muttered to Chase.
"We can't let those creeps who took dad control our lives," he whispered back.
"Hey, let's go see the snakes," said Andy, checking the zoo map. "Look, the reptiles are by the penguins, Persephone's favorite bird."
"I'm looking forward to seeing the giraffes," said Grandfather. He wore his usual bow-tie, but looked a little less stuffy in loose-fitting blue-jeans and sneakers. "Lovely creatures."
"All right!" said Anne, her anger with Hiram making her sound snappy. "Snakes, it is. Andy, lead the way."
The reptile house was cool and dim—and filled
with some hideous creatures, as Chase found out when he peered through the glass partitions. He was ogling an orange-spotted gecko with a huge head, a pink tongue and weird buggy eyes when someone tugged on his sleeve. "Chase," whispered Janie, "you have to tell Grandfather about last night's intruder."
Glancing around, he saw his mom and Andy staring at a fat, reddish-orange frog a few windows down. "Not now!" he growled. "I don't want my mom to hear. She's already been through enough."
"Okay," she said. "But you better promise me you'll tell him today." She narrowed her eyes. "Or I'll let it slip to Aunt Anne."
"I'll take care of it!" muttered Chase, jerking his sleeve away and wishing he'd left her at home brooding instead of insisting she come. "No need to get all freaked out."
"What are you two whispering about over here?" asked Anne from behind them, making the two kids jump about a foot in the air.
"Janie wishes she had a pet boa constrictor." Chase smirked at his cousin. "Don't you, Janie?"
"Oh, yeah," said Janie, smiling brightly. "Love 'em."
"Uh, how…nice, Janie," Anne said, looking as though she was trying not to look too revolted. "Maybe you can get one for your next birthday. Anyway, let's go. Andy wants to see the bugs."
"Sure, Mom," said Chase, sending Jane one last glare behind his mom's back.
They made the rounds, visiting the penguins, the aviary, Bug World, the orangutans, zebras, giraffes and elephants. As Chase and the others wandered through the park, at first, everything was fine, but at the lions' habitat, the large cats looked tense and angry. They prowled back and forth and snarled at the people staring in. The tigers, too, stalked and rumbled deep in their throats, their amber eyes glinting with madness.
When they reached the wolves, the largest one bared its teeth, growled and hurled itself at the glass barrier. He crashed into it then tumbled to the ground, his eyes rolling back into his head.
Everyone screamed and scooted away. Chase stared at the other agitated animals. What the heck was wrong with them? After all, they should be used to crowds of gawking people.
Then he remembered something Grandfather had told him and Andy on the ferryboat their first day in Seattle: "Animals with higher intelligence can usually sense magic. Good or bad." And Chase knew only dark magic would make them act this crazy.
He scanned the crowd. As he did, his ears began to ring and the warm air seemed to crackle with magical energy. All around them the trees and buildings cast strange, menacing shadows. He heard Persephone talking next to him, as if from a long distance.
"Mr. Hiram, why would it want to attack us like that?"
Chase didn't hear the answer, because all of a sudden he caught sight of a familiar blond head disappearing around a loop in the pathway. He sprinted after it.
"Chase! Come back!" yelled his mom.
Ignoring her, he bolted past the park workers, who were rushing to see what all the commotion was about. Swooping and zigzagging around baby strollers, children and harried parents, he tried to keep up with the fleeing man.
Losing sight of him, Chase paused to catch his breath. With a swift glance around, he saw that the closest place for anyone to hide was the wallaby and kookaburra house. He dashed inside.
The sudden change from sunlight to dimmer indoor light caused dark spots to bob in front of his eyes. Before he could blink them away, he slammed into something hard and tumbled to the ground. What the heck was that, a runaway hippopotamus? Through a haze of pain, he squinted up at whatever he'd crashed into.
Nope. This was no hippo. A man towered over Chase. The guy's top lip was curled up in a snarl and his cold, light-blue eyes were mean and dangerous-looking. He had long, dark-blond hair pulled back and tied at the nape of his neck. His thin, pale face had a hard, sinister look. A frightening chill swept over Chase, crushing him to the floor.
"We're watching you, Tinker," said the man in a deep, raspy voice that was also thick with a British accent. "It won't be long now. Remember, the worst is coming."
The kookaburras clamored and flapped wildly around in their cage. Their laughing calls made a deafening noise which drowned out the pounding of Chase's heart. He squeezed his eyes shut and waited for something bad to happen. If you're going to pound me to a pulp, he thought, at least make it quick.
"Chase! Are you okay?"
He opened his eyes. Instead of the tall, terrifying man, his family and Persephone were clustered around him.
"You're bleeding!" cried Anne as she unzipped her handbag and yanked a wad of tissues from it.
He jerked his arm away when she bent down and rubbed the oozing gash on his elbow. "Ow! That hurts. I can do it." He grabbed the tissues from her. "Where is he? Where did he go?"
"Who?" they said in unison, sounding like a pack of owls.
"A tall, blond man with a ponytail, that's who! Didn't any of you see him?"
"We didn't see anyone in here but you," said Janie, looking at Chase like he'd just sprouted purple spots and a six-inch nose.
Scrambling to his feet, he looked up and down the wide corridor. How was it possible for someone to disappear so quickly? His shoulders drooped as blood dribbled down his arm and dripped onto the pavement.
"Chase, what's going on?" asked Anne, with a worried frown.
"Nothing," he mumbled. "I—I thought I recognized someone from New York, is all."
"You scared the daylights out of me!" Anne shook her head. "It was very irresponsible to go running off like that."
"I know, I know," said Chase. "I'm sorry."
"Chase, you're messing up the place," said Andy, pointing down at the blood spatters.
"That definitely needs antiseptic and a dressing," said Anne in her nurse's voice.
The kookaburras were calming down as they left the building to find a place for Chase to wash his cut. Finding a restroom nearby, Grandfather went inside with his grandson to help him clean up.
"All right, Chase, what is going on?" he asked. He checked to make sure they were alone before twirling his finger and conjuring disinfectant and a bandage.
Chase gazed into the mirror over the sink. His reflected eyes met those of his grandfather's. He could hear Janie's voice inside his head like a squawking parrot, nagging him to spill it. He ran his arm and elbow under the faucet's cool stream, took a deep breath and told Grandfather everything: about being chased after the fireworks show, how they'd hidden in the old shed until they thought it safe enough to come out, and seeing the intruder in his room.
Grandfather leaned against a sink, crossed his arms and frowned. "Why didn't you tell me any of this sooner?"
Chase shrugged as he dried his arm with paper towels. "You have enough to worry about with Aunt Clair and other things. We didn't want to add to it. And now, I don't want to worry my mom any more than she already is." He wadded the towels and slam-dunked them into the trash bin.
Grandfather nodded as he spritzed Chase's injury with the antiseptic. "So what happened today?"
"The animals were acting way weird and I remembered you said they can sense magic, and the air was, like, filled with this dark, magical energy. Didn't you feel it too?"
"Of course, but running off alone and unprepared did not seem like a wise decision."
Chase hung his head. "I thought I saw someone suspicious. When I lost him in the crowd, I went to check in that building and I bumped into this tall, creepy dude." He shoved his hands into his back pockets and in a shaky voice told Grandfather what the man had said. "And then he vanished! I closed my eyes for a second and, bam, he was gone."
"Was he the same person from last night?" asked Grandfather, sounding more serious than Chase had ever heard him.
Chase wrinkled his brow as he thought about it. "Maybe. They both had the same creepy blue eyes." Looking into his grandfather's worried eyes, he asked, "Is it just me, or does someone really hate the Tinkers?"
"No, Chase, it's not just you."
"Is it the people who took my dad?"
Gran
dfather's answer was interrupted by a group of boys pushing and punching each other playfully as they slammed open the restroom door and stumbled into the room. Grandfather led the way back out into the sunshine. Chase shuffled along behind, disappointed because he had a feeling Grandfather had been about to share some of his secrets.
"What took so long?" asked Andy when he saw them. "I want to go see the otters."
Chase wrapped his arm around Andy's neck and rubbed the top of his head with his clenched fist. "Don't you care I was bleeding to death?" he teased. "Blood spurted all over the place. Drenching the walls, the floor, everything."
"Yeah, right," said Andy, giving Chase a shove. "No it didn't."
Janie sidled close to Chase and caught his arm, letting the adults move ahead of them. "So what happened?" she asked the moment they were out of earshot. "Who were you running after?"
Andy and Persephone leaned in closer to hear his answer.
"I thought I saw Doctor Dan in the crowd," said Chase. He went on to explain about the animals sensing magic, and how he thought that's why they were acting so strange. "I ran into that building and slammed into crazy-ponytail-guy. I thought he was going to pulverize me right then and there."
He glanced at Janie and sensed what she was about to say. "And yes, I told Grandfather about the intruder. That bunch of losers came in right when I know he was finally going to tell me what's going on!"
Janie nibbled on her bottom lip and stared at a laughing group of kids snapping pictures of each other. "You know, I think whoever captured Uncle Ben must now be coming for you."
"What! But why—?"
"Hey, kids! Hurry it up," called Anne.
As they ran to catch up with the adults, Chase finished his question in his head. But why me?
"So why do you think they're after just me?" asked Chase when the kids were finally able to talk alone again.
They had teleported home from their day's trip to the city and were now hanging out on the deck outside Grandfather's study. The late evening air felt warm and breezy, and the orange and red setting sun was reflecting on the Sound, making it look like flames were rippling across the surface.
Chase Tinker & The House of Magic Page 13
