Chase Tinker & The House of Magic (5 page)

Anne sank into a chair. "So that's what you
two argued about? He never wanted to talk about it." She took a
muffin and peeled the paper from it. "I guess it's partly my fault
too for not letting Ben know I invited you."

"Now don't start blaming yourself," said
Grandfather, patting her hand. "Ben and I had our problems long
before that day."

"Mom? Did he tell you about his...magical
power?" asked Chase cautiously.

"His—his power?"

"We all have one," he said. "Grandfather said
it's part of the family heritage. I have telekinesis and Andy can
stop time. That's why Grandfather invited us to visit him. We need
to learn lots more about it."

Anne gawked at her son. "You boys have powers
too
?" she croaked, accidentally squashing her muffin.

"Anne, how much do you know about the Tinker
family?" asked Grandfather as he popped the lid off his cup.

She dropped the muffin and turned to him.
"Apparently, not as much as I thought." She cast a quick glance at
Chase again. "From the beginning, I knew there was something
special about Ben. One day he showed me his ability to change his
appearance to make himself look exactly like other people. It
scared me to death! He had to beg me to start seeing him again."
She twisted her fingers together and stared at the table. Then, she
smiled. "Pretty soon, it became kind of fun. I remember he used to
turn into this sexy actor I liked."

"Gross, Mom," said Chase, scrunching his face
in disgust. "Too much information." Then his eyes widened. "I can't
believe you knew and didn't say anything to us!"

"After you boys came along," she said, "he
stopped using it, so it completely slipped my mind. Until now."

"At least you weren't kept in the dark, like
Andy and me," said Chase, with a scowl.

Grandfather cleared his throat. "Anne, it's
important the boys come learn about the Tinker house and how to
properly use their abilities."

"What do we have to learn about a
house
?" asked Andy in-between huge yawns. "Houses are
just…houses, right?"

Grandfather shook his head and raised his
eyebrows. "Not this house. It's another important family secret
your father should've shared with you."

Even
more
family
secrets
? Chase thought, frowning.

Anne looked from Chase to Andy. "I wish Ben
was here to talk with. I wondered why he had his special ability,
except there
are
a lot of unusual, unexplained things in the
world. So I never questioned him the way I should have. It never
occurred to me he would pass on anything like that to our
children!" She put a hand to her forehead. "This is such a
shock!"

"Dad hated the magic," said Chase. "That's
why he left and moved way over here."

Grandfather nodded. "I'm hoping the boys will
feel differently. Especially after they get used to the idea of
being magical themselves."

"
I
still have to get used to it,"
muttered Anne.

"Please, Mom," begged Chase. "Say you'll let
us go."

"I don't know." Anne sighed and looked at
Chase's hopeful face. "And the whole summer. That's a long
time."

"You are welcome to join us, of course," said
Grandfather. "Or maybe you can find time to visit later."

"
Please
, Mom?" repeated Chase.
Crossing his fingers behind his back, he waited for his mom's
reply.

"All right," Anne said at last, shoulders
slumping. "Maybe it'll help them get through these bad times. And
keep a certain person from getting into more trouble." She glared
at Chase, who hung his head. "Thank you for inviting them, and me,
but I need to work and keep up with things here."

Chase jumped to his feet. "Thanks, Mom!" He
rubbed his palms together briskly and turned to Grandfather. "Can
we go right away?"

"I'd say, three days from today will do
nicely," he said.

"But—"

"I'll need some time to discuss details with
your mother a bit more," continued Grandfather. "Let her get used
to the idea. I'm also looking forward to a trip to the top of the
Empire State Building. Such a lovely piece of architecture."

Chase plopped back
onto his chair. "Sightseeing. Yippee," he grumbled.

A
fter three long
days of visiting and touring the city, they were finally ready to
go. It was a good thing too because Chase didn't want to wait one
second longer to be off. His mom spent so much time fussing over
them he was ready to run down the street screaming at the top of
his lungs.

"Make sure you brush your teeth. And wash
behind your ears. And help around the house."

"Yes, Mom," said Chase.

"Don't stay up too late."

"Yes, Mom."

"And clean up after yourselves."

"Mom!"

"Okay!" Tears trickling down her cheeks, she
hugged Andy, then Chase. "Be good and don't cause your grandfather
any trouble. Understand?" She narrowed her eyes at her oldest
son.

"We'll be on our best behavior. I
promise."

Andy just nodded, still looking totally
unsure about the whole thing.

Chase turned to Grandfather eagerly. "Should
I call a taxi?"

"No need," he said. He tipped his hat to his
daughter-in-law. "Take care of yourself, Anne. Say good-bye,
boys."

"Bye, Mom. See you later," they said together
as Grandfather grasped each boy by the arm.

"You did make the plane reservations, didn't
you?" asked Chase, suddenly looking worried.

Grandfather laughed heartily. "Plane
reservations? We don't need any plane reservations."

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.

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.