Chase Tinker & The House of Magic Read Online Free Page A

really
their grandfather? He did have the same dark-brown eyes the boys
and their dad had.
    "Our dad's been missing for a really long
time," said Chase sadly. "And we haven't heard anything from
him."
    "Yes, I'm well aware of this," said
Grandfather, looking solemn. "But I'm confident all will be fine
and he'll be home presently." Then, before either boy could ask him
how he knew this, he said, "Now, I would certainly enjoy a
refreshing beverage to wash down my spaghetti." Andy started to
stand, but Grandfather stopped him. "No need to get up on my
account. I can take care of it myself." With a flick of his finger,
a tall glass of iced tea with a slice of lemon and a tiny blue
umbrella popped onto the table.
    The boys gawked as if they'd just seen a
green, polka-dotted extra-terrestrial fly through the window. Andy
almost fell off his chair. "How'd you do that?" he gasped.
    It was Grandfather's turn to look wide-eyed.
"You mean you have never seen real magic? Not even your
own?"
    Chase and Andy looked at each other again.
"Um, we have seen our own," said Chase. "I can move things with my
mind, and it looks like Andy can stop time. His started today."
    "Whew!" Grandfather leaned back and swiped
his hand across his forehead. "You boys had me quite worried there
for a moment. And yours truly started today?" he asked Andy.
    "This afternoon at the park! It was scary! I
waved my hands and, poof, everyone stopped."
    "Excellent! It's precisely on time," said
Grandfather. "After all, today is your Dimidiatus
Anniversarium. "
    Andy wrinkled his nose. "What the heck is
that?"
    "Your half-birthday between your tenth and
eleventh years," said Grandfather. "It happens to everyone in our
family."
    "It does?" said Chase.
    Grandfather nodded. "Each Tinker always comes
into his or her own special ability at exactly 10½."
    "But I don't like having this power!" cried
Andy. "I want it to go away."
    "Oh no, you certainly don't want that," said
Grandfather. "It's part of our legacy."
    "Legacy?"
    Grandfather clicked his tongue and blew out a
puff of air. "I can see your father has told you nothing." He began
eating again, scraping the fork across his plate. "Nothing!
Ridiculous! So much explaining to do," he mumbled to himself. "I
should've known. I should have expected this. Irresponsible!" He
glanced at the bewildered boys. "Come on, boys, let's eat up. We
have some very important matters to discuss after dinner."
    Shaking his head, Chase wandered into the
kitchen to get himself another plate of spaghetti. This had to be
the strangest day ever.
    While he ate, Chase kept sending Grandfather
sideways glances. He noticed Andy doing the same thing. It was
going to take some major getting used to having a new family member
around they thought had been dead all these years.
    Chase swirled noodles onto his fork. So,
according to Grandfather, he thought , this power stuff
started when I turned 10 ½. He thought back. But, no matter how
hard he tried, he wasn't able to remember when he'd made an object
move by itself for the first time. Why hadn't his dad ever told
them about it? He must have known about the half-birthday thing. It
sure would've helped to know something !
    "All right," said Grandfather, after they'd
eaten and cleaned up. "Show me your magic."
    Chase wiped his sweaty palms on the seat of
his pants and demonstrated his power, which Grandfather called
telekinesis, by making a pillow hop across the couch. It almost
worked fine until it jerked high into the air, bounced off the
ceiling and exploded, blasting feathers everywhere.
    He groaned. "Oh, man!" Maybe he just wasn't
cut out for this magic stuff.
    "Hm. Excellent job anyway, Chase," said
Grandfather as he spit out a few feathers. "Soon you'll be
magicking things with hardly a thought."
    When Andy's turn came, nothing happened. He
swished and waved his hands until his face turned purple. "It sure
worked in the park and on Mrs. Pagel and Snookie-Dork when I didn't
want it to!"
    "I wouldn't