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

yellow-stripped frogs, sapphire-blue canaries, and
flashing shamrocks that drifted down like huge, green
snowflakes.
    Chase jumped to his feet with his mouth
hanging open as a frog sailed through the air and plopped right on
the top of Andy's head. He staggered back, tripped over a
footstool, and tumbled to the floor. The sounds of croaks and
tweets echoed around the room. Chase stared down at the small frog
sitting on his sneaker then he looked up at Grandfather, who now
had several canaries perched on his head and shoulders. Ten seconds
later, everything vanished.
    "And that, my dear boys, is why I love
magic," Grandfather said calmly, as if it were no big deal to shoot
birds and frogs from his fingertips.
    Andy was still sprawled on the floor with his
eyes bulging when a barrage of questions burst from Chase. "Will we
ever be able to do that? Why do we have these powers? Where do they
come from? What's Dad's power?"
    Grandfather laughed and held up his hands. "I
realize you wish to know everything at this moment, Chase, but it's
getting late. We'll save those questions for later. What I want to
do is invite you to come spend the summer with me in our house on
Blackberry Island in northwest Washington State. There you will
learn everything you need to know about your magical heritage."
    "Come visit you? Really? Cool!" exclaimed
Chase. The boys had never been out of New York City. He flopped
onto the sofa, his excitement deflating like a fly-away balloon. "I
bet Mom won't let us."
    "I'll come by tomorrow and speak to your
mother," said Grandfather. "I'm sure we can work something
out."
    "If we go, will we meet Grandmother too?"
    "No," said Grandfather. "I'm sorry to say
that lovely lady has left us, many years ago, in fact."
    Chase frowned. He still had way too many
questions that needed answers. "But—but don't we need to be here
for when Dad and Aunt Clair get back?"
    "Clair knows where to go," said
Grandfather.
    "Should we tell Mom about him?" asked Chase.
"It might help her feel better."
    "It's probably best we wait until we have
good news to share," Grandfather answered. "I see no reason to
worry the dear lady even more."
    "So do you think she knows anything about our
powers?"
    "I don't know, but we'll find out."
     

CHAPTER
THREE
Meeting Mom
    C hase woke up early
the next morning. Sunlight peeked through the half-open curtains as
he lounged drowsily, feeling cozy and comfortable. It was summer
vacation, his favorite time of the year…
    He jerked up as if he'd just won ten million
dollars in the lottery as he remembered everything that happened
the day before. They were going to spend their summer break at
Grandfather Tinker's house. This was the most incredible thing to
ever happen to him.
    Chase leaped out of bed, whipped off his
pajamas and pulled on his blue shorts and a faded green t-shirt. He
needed to pack! Dashing to the closet, he pawed through the piles
of junk until he found what he was looking for: a huge canvas bag
that had once belonged to his dad. He yanked the bag from the
closet and tossed it on his bed.
    It took only a short time for him to stuff it
with the things he thought he'd need. Since money was tight these
days, most of the clothes were older or purchased from secondhand
stores, while some of the shirts were cast-offs of his dad's. But,
at that moment, Chase couldn't care less because, for the first
time in a long time, his body hummed with hope and happiness.
    "Do you think this is a good idea?" mumbled
Andy's sleepy voice from under his blankets.
    "Sure, why not?" answered Chase. "It'll be
cool to go someplace different for a change."
    "Yeah, but—"
    "Look, anything we can learn about these
magical powers is a good thing. I know you wish you didn't have
yours, but you do, so you might as well at least learn to control
it." Chase thought of his own magical goof-ups. "And I sure want to
control mine."
    He was struggling to zip the over-stuffed bag
shut when he heard loud knocking at the