Free Chase Tinker & The House of Magic by Malia Ann Haberman Page B

because whenever he did, his tongue felt like a
huge cotton-ball. "Does it bother you to live in this house and not
be able to use any of the magic?" he asked.
    "But I can."
    "Janie said you and your mom aren't magical,"
said Chase, looking puzzled.
    "Janie doesn't know everything." Getting to
her feet, Persephone pulled out a necklace she had hidden beneath
her shirt. Hanging from the long, golden chain was a coin-size,
toffee-colored object. "It's a piece of the Relic. Mr. Hiram gave
it to me when I turned thirteen. He said because I was like a
member of the family, I deserved to share in the magic."
    The boys gazed at the glowing disk.
    "Way cool!" said Andy. "What can you do with
it?"
    "Like you, it makes me part of the house's
magic. I carry it with me wherever I go," she said, brushing her
finger across its shiny surface.
    "You must know all the magical rooms then,"
said Chase.
    She shook her head. "I've never done much
exploring. It's not a lot of fun by yourself." She dropped the
necklace under her shirt again. "Should we head back?"
    "What should we do with the coat?" asked
Andy.
    "Bring it," said Chase. "We can ask Clair
about it when we get the chance. And we should probably move the
boat so it doesn't float away."
    "Good thinking," said Persephone.
    Puffing and panting, the three kids tugged
the motorboat farther onto the beach.
    "The water in it should dry up if the sun
keeps shining," Persephone said, brushing sand off her hands.
    Andy plopped onto the driftwood and wiped his
brow. "Whew, that was heavy." He glared at Chase. "Dude, what the
heck? Why didn't you use your tele-brain power?"
    "I've never moved something that big," said
Chase.
    "Size matters not, Grasshopper," said
Persephone.
    "Thanks, Master Yoda, but I think you're
getting your movies a little mixed-up."
    "Ah, Star Wars fan, huh?" she said, a
teasing lilt in her voice.
    "Yeah, I like old movies." He smiled shyly at
her as he scooped up the coat and they headed back along the beach.
"My dad loved—" He stopped abruptly. "—I mean—loves old movies. He
got me hooked on them."
    "Our little town doesn't have a movie
theater," she said, "but maybe we can see if anything good is
streaming on Netfilms this week."
    "Sounds like a plan to me," said Chase,
relieved the other two had ignored his slip-up.
    "So, Persephone, does your dad live here
too?" asked Andy.
    Persephone shook her head. "He died a few
months after I was born."
    "Oh," said Chase. "Sorry to hear that."
    "No big deal," she said, shrugging. "It was a
long time ago. He was from Egypt. My mom said she met him at a
friend's wedding and they fell madly in love. Then a few years
later, he was killed in a car crash."
    "That's awful!" said Andy.
    Chase nodded sympathetically while hoping
that being fatherless was one thing he and Persephone would never
have in common.
    When they got back to the study, Grandfather
was there relaxing at his desk and reading the newspaper. His ink
pen was busily scribbling a letter for him. "So, what do we have
here?" he asked when he saw Chase carrying the soggy coat.
    "We found this in a motorboat down on the
beach," said Chase. "It had British money and these in the
pockets." He handed Grandfather the driver's license, passport and
money and hung the coat across the back of a chair.
    "Hm, interesting," said Grandfather as he
stared at the license. "This is the first time I've seen anything
of him in over fifteen years." He ran his thumb across the smooth
picture. "He's wearing his hair a lot shorter these days."
    "We have lots of pictures of him at home,"
said Andy, "but Mom took them down after he disappeared."
    Grandfather leaned back in his chair. "I
guess the question is, why is this here," he said, tapping the
license, "and not Benjamin?" He placed the card, the passport and
money onto his desk and got to his feet. "It's a mystery I'm sure
will be solved in due time. Right now, I have something else I want
to show you."
    Following him, they climbed