Chase Tinker & The House of Magic (36 page)

Rubbing his eyes, Dan slouched against the
wall. "You have the strangest family."

Benjamin, as Clair, sighed. "I'm sorry,
Dan."

"I don't believe this!" yelled Chase. "Do you
think becoming her again is going to help?" He shook his head. He
wanted to run far, far away. For months he'd longed for his dad's
return, but instead of feeling happy, he had a terrible hollowness
inside.

"I only wanted you to see that as long as I
can do this," said Benjamin, "she'll always be a part of us."

"Whatever! I'm leaving! I need to get
something to eat."

"I'm going with you," said Persephone,
jumping to her feet and hurrying to Chase's side.

"Please, Chase, I know how you're
feeling—"

"No, you don't!" Chase snapped. "You'll never
know how I'm feeling."

"I am so sorry."

Chase opened his mouth to retort back, but
just then a mighty gust of wind burst through the front door and
tore it from its hinges.

Persephone screamed as the icy-cold wind
whipped through the room, knocking over chairs and ripping pictures
from the walls. Moments later, it smashed through a window and
disappeared out into the night. Fear rippled through Chase's body
as he watched a dark-purple, snake-like mist slide across the floor
and coil itself around his dad.

"N
o!" yelled Andy,
springing to his feet.

Within seconds the strange fog completely
engulfed Benjamin, still disguised as Clair. The only thing visible
was one bulging, dark-brown eye as the creepy mist tightened,
strangling the life out of his dad. Chase stumbled toward him. He
had to do something. He didn't want to lose his dad for a second
time even if he was still hurt and as mad as could be.

"Don't worry, we'll save you!" yelled
Andy.

"No! Forget about me!" Benjamin shouted, his
frightened voice muffled by the thick fog. "Chase, take Andy and
get out of here!"

"We're not leaving without you!" Chase
searched around for some kind of weapon, anything to help free his
dad.

Andy darted across the floor and grabbed at
the thick smoke that now looked more like oily pudding, but his
hands slipped right through. Then, something that looked like a
large fist shot from the smoke. It bashed Andy in the chest. He
flew backward and slammed his head against the edge of a low table.
He didn't get back up.

"Andy!" Chase leaped forward to help his
brother, but at that moment the lights flickered and flashed before
plunging them into darkness.

It was pitch black. Chase froze, feeling
completely helpless. The darkness pressed on his eyeballs as though
he was wearing a heavy blindfold. What was he supposed to do? He
couldn't see a thing. Too bad he didn't have that extra sense. What
was it called? Oh, yeah, echolocation. That special sense bats had
to help them "see" in the dark. Man, what he wouldn't give for a
little bit of it right now; or at least a bright flashlight.

He stretched out his arms, feeling for
Persephone, but she was no longer there. "Persephone?" No one
answered. Where the heck was she? She'd been right beside him only
seconds before all the craziness.

Chase's heart began to pound as he turned and
stumbled over a chair, catching himself before he hit the floor.
"Ow! Crap!"

Shuffling sideways, he was finally able to
grasp the wall. Even though it was only a wall, he felt a little
better standing next to it. He turned his head left and right,
listening for any sounds that would help him know what was going on
around him.

He shivered, feeling goosebumps popping up
all over his body as the coldness in the room became even worse. At
the same time, he realized someone or something else had entered
the room.

"Who's there?" His voice sounded hollow and
faraway.

An amused and terrifyingly familiar voice
came to him from the blackness. "Goodness, I never thought getting
rid of Benjamin Tinker and now Hiram would be so easy. It feels
fantastic having them both gone at last."

Chase's breath caught in his throat. It was
Roland Marlowe again. But it looked like his late arrival had kept
him from knowing that Chase's dad was alive and here in the same
room, and that Grandfather still clung to life down the hall.

"Things aren't as easy as you think," Chase
answered in an attempt to sound brave, even though his knees were
knocking. He strained his eyes against the darkness.

"Chase, I didn't expect to see you again so
soon."

"What are you doing here?" said Chase. "How
do you know what happened to Grandfather?"

"Don't you know news travels fast in a small
town?" said Roland. "We hurried over as soon as we heard."

Chase's mind raced. However Roland found out,
Chase had to keep the man from getting to Grandfather, who was too
sick to protect himself. Chase wished he could see how his dad was
doing, and he didn't know how badly Andy was hurt, while Persephone
and Doctor Dan had both disappeared without a word.

"So, so, um, is that Maven or Clive over
there smothering my d—aunt?" asked Chase, not wanting to show his
fear by stuttering like an idiot. "You did say they were looking
forward to meeting us."

"That's Maven," answered Roland. "She loves
showing off her metamorphing abilities."

"Uh, good—good job," Chase mumbled.

"We'll rid the world of the three of you,"
continued Roland, "and that should do it for all you annoying
Tinkers."

"You'll still have Janie and James to worry
about," Chase reminded him.

"Oh, I'll have no trouble with them," said
Roland, with a laugh.

"H—how about if you give me the Shard of
Magic right now and then I'll let you go."
A
little
negotiating can't hurt, can it?
Chase asked himself.

"You'll let
me
go?" Roland said, still
sounding amused.

"Sure. And just think, without it, you and
your family might become good again. How does that sound?"

"Not even mildly tempting," said Roland. "I
have too many exciting projects to be getting on with."

Chase swiped at the droplets of sweat
dribbling down the sides of his face. He really needed a plan.
Maybe if he used his power...but he'd never done it in darkness. It
would definitely be something he'd practice later, if he got out of
this alive, that is.

"You're pretty confident about everything,"
he said, working to keep the slight tremble out of his voice. He
needed to focus and keep Roland talking.

"It's nice to know that sometimes well-laid
plans
can
work out," Roland answered.

"And exactly what are those plans again?"

"I don't have time to tell you everything. I
do want to say that we Marlowes will soon be living in what I now
call the Marlowe House."

"That's what you think," muttered Chase.

He closed his eyes and pressed his fingertips
to his temples. He pictured a chair flying through the air. Seconds
later, Chase flinched as a loud crash echoed through the room.

Roland laughed again. "Excellent go at it,
Chase, but you were way off the mark on that one. And although I'm
thoroughly enjoying this lovely conversation—"

More chairs zoomed haphazardly across the
room and more echoing crashes bombarded Chase's ears.

"—it's time to end this."

Chase gulped. As usual, his plan sucked. He
was in big trouble. Shouldn't his whole life be passing in front of
his eyes right about now? Not that he'd seen much in his thirteen
years, but he at least wanted to remember the good times he'd spent
with his family.

Just as he thought they were all doomed, the
darkness was broken by bright flashes of golden light. In that
instant, Chase saw Roland leaning against the reception desk. The
golden light flashed again, but this time it whipped across
Roland's gaping face. It ripped the skin open with a searing hiss.
His knees buckled as another flash slashed his leg. His scream of
pain and rage filled the room.

Chase dropped to the floor and crouched there
as blazing firewhips snapped and sizzled through the air like
raging serpents. He'd never seen anything like it, and he had no
idea where they were coming from.

Then Grandfather stepped into the room. His
arms were raised as long whips of fire flashed from each fingertip.
Chase felt their scorching heat as several of the whips flew across
the room, snapping at the thick smoke surrounding Benjamin. The
smoke shrieked and shuddered. It oozed to the floor like a puddle
of slimy goo. Benjamin sank to floor as the thick goop slipped away
and out the front door.

Chase watched with bulging eyes. The whips
were enough to freak out anyone. Like hundreds of darting
fireflies, sparks glittered and flared with each crack.

"I was told you were dead!" shouted Roland as
he dodged the flying whips, but he wasn't quick enough to stop his
arm from being burned by the snaking flames.

"You should know better than to listen to
rumors, Roland!" answered Grandfather.

"Then I'll have to take care of you right
now!"

Roland rippled into a large ball of purple,
churning smoke. Spinning across the floor, he formed into himself
again. His hands were raised and pointed straight at Grandfather's
chest. Silvery-red beams shot from his fingertips.

"Watch out, Grandfather!" shouted Chase.

The golden whips and the silvery-red beams
slammed into each other, exploding in mid-air. Both Roland and
Grandfather were blasted off their feet. Chase threw his hands over
his head as thousands of sparks fell like flashing raindrops. A
moment later, all the lights in the room flickered back on.

Chase looked up in time to see Roland,
looking ready to fall down again, staggering toward Grandfather. He
was dragging his injured leg.

"What is it with you Tinkers?" he said
between gasps. "Why can't I get rid of you?" He raised his
uninjured arm and his fingers spat more blistering energy beams at
Grandfather. Right as they hit him in the chest something happened
that made Chase feel as if he'd just plummeted from a very high
cliff. Grandfather's crumpled body melted and evaporated away like
ice on a hot summer day.

"NOOOOO! You killed him, you freak!" Chase
roared, leaping to his feet.

A weird buzzing, like the sound of a thousand
swarming bees, rushed through him. It was as if his whole body was
ready to explode. He'd never experienced such fury in his whole
life, and what he did at that moment was something he couldn't have
stopped, even if he'd wanted to, as Roland began to shake and
quiver like a huge plate of Jell-O. He stared at Chase in disbelief
while he struggled to stop the wild quaking.

Chase's eyes narrowed and, moments later,
Roland's body started spinning, faster and faster. He looked like a
giant rat caught in a whirlpool. An ear-splitting whistle pierced
the air as he whipped across the floor, sending broken chairs and
tables flying. He whirled out the front door and into the
streetlight-lit yard.

As if in a trance, Chase followed. In a blur
of motion, Roland soared into the air, higher and higher, until
finally, with one last thought from Chase, he was blasted across
the midnight-blue sky. He vanished into the darkness.

Panting and shaking, Chase dropped to the
ground, flattening Doctor Dan's prized tulips. He rubbed his eyes.
His vision was fuzzy and his brain felt as if it were made of
cotton. What had just happened? His head spun like he'd just
climbed off a wild roller coaster ride.

"Chase! Chase!"

He looked up at Persephone running toward
him. "What?"

"Come into the house." She crouched beside
him and took his arm. Her hands were cool on his heated skin.

"He killed Grandfather."

"No, he didn't," she answered.

"But I saw it all."

"It's not what you think."

"Where were you?" he asked, sounding lost and
confused. "I couldn't find you in the dark."

"Doctor Dan pulled me out of there when he
realized what was happening," she answered. "Now please come in,
okay?"

Climbing shakily to his feet, Chase let
Persephone lead him into the house. She pulled him through the
waiting room, where Doctor Dan was busy treating Andy's and
Benjamin's injuries, to the medical room Chase had been in earlier.
Pushing open the door, she drew him inside. Grandfather was lying
on the tall, narrow bed. His eyes were closed and his breathing
sounded normal.

"But—but, I don't understand," said Chase,
shaking his head. "I saw him fall and then he disappeared like he'd
been vaporized or something. I thought for sure he was dead."

"He was using teleprojection," she explained.
"It's one of his powers."

"Teleprojection?"

"It's like an out-of-body thing. He was able
to project himself to the waiting room, but still remain here
physically."

"But he's unconscious!" said Chase, looking
like he was trying to understand some strange, foreign language.
"How did he know what was going on?"

"I don't know."

Chase stared at Grandfather's sleeping face.
All this time he'd been worried Grandfather might be too old to
protect them enough. Man, he'd sure been wrong about that. "I never
realized Grandfather was so
powerful
," he murmured.

"Yeah," said Persephone.

Chase looked up. She was staring straight at
him. They were so close, he saw himself reflected in her
bright-green eyes.

"And, apparently, so
are you," she said.

C
hase lay sprawled
on his back on the cool linoleum floor in the bathroom at Doctor
Dan's. It was late, way after midnight. He should probably go home,
but he didn't want to move. He didn't want to think. He didn't want
to feel anything. Staying here forever was definitely his best plan
yet.