Chase Tinker & The House of Magic (23 page)

"Oh, man!" he said, with a big smile. "Am I
glad to see these pants. I was worried I'd have on one of those
short skirts you see guys in movies wearing."

Janie, who was scowling down in distaste at
her dark-green gown, looked up. "Didn't want to show off those
knobby knees, huh?"

"They're not knobby," said Chase, looking
insulted. Then he spotted Maxwell clinging to Janie's shoulder, his
beady eyes practically popping out of his head. "That
was
your maniac ferret zooming by. I thought I was seeing things."

"I guess he didn't want to be left behind,"
said Janie, scratching Maxwell's ears.

"Are we in the right place?" asked
Persephone.

They were in a barn that had several empty
stalls and one filled with a large horse that was staring at them
with sad, brown eyes. Moldy old hay was scattered across the dirt
floor.

Janie darted to the doorway and looked out.
"Oh no! We should be on the outskirts of Florence, not in
town."

"Great!" said Chase in frustration. "Now we
might miss Jedadiah. We better get going."

"Wait," said Andy, picking up a big bundle
next to his foot. "Look, cloaks for us to wear." He shook them out,
causing a jingling bag to fly from the bundle. He picked it up and
yanked it open. "Wow! It's filled with gold!"

"Let me see," said Chase. Grabbing the small,
draw-string bag, he pulled several gold pieces from it and held
them in his palm.

Janie brushed her finger across the top of
one. "I remember these from studying the Renaissance period in
history. They're gold florins. That's the money used now."

"I'm kind of hungry," said Andy, rubbing his
stomach. "Maybe we should get some pizza."

"I don't think they've invented pizza yet,
shrimp," said Chase. "Anyway, we don't have time for exploring. We
came here to find Jedadiah and that's what we're going to do." He
dropped the coins back into the sack and tied it to his belt. "I'll
keep this safe for us."

Flinging their cloaks over their shoulders,
they left the barn and headed down a narrow dirt alleyway. This led
them to a much wider road. As they stepped out into the open, a
loud rumbling filled the air.

"Look out!" yelled Persephone.

Streaking toward them was a carriage pulled
by four galloping horses. Andy flicked his hands to freeze the
animals, but nothing happened.

Chase caught his brother's arm and yanked him
out of the way. Barely escaping being trampled themselves, Janie
and Persephone tumbled to the ground. The carriage thundered by and
disappeared around a corner, leaving a big dust cloud behind
it.

Chase, reaching down to help the girls up,
saw he had jumped right in the middle of a big pile of horse poo.
"Geez!" He scraped his boots in the dirt. "Can anything else go
wrong?"

"Looks like it already has," said Janie,
brushing off her skirt and cloak.

"What do you mean?" he asked as he stomped
the ground.
Yuck!
he thought.
Didn't anyone come by and
scoop up this stuff?

"Andy tried to freeze those horses, but he
couldn't," said Janie.

"No big deal," said Chase, shrugging.
"Sometimes he can't make his power work."

"Why don't you try yours?"

Chase took a gold coin from the bag and tried
to make it float. No matter how hard he concentrated, it wouldn't
budge. "Andy, I thought Beatrice said the magic would go with
us!"

"But—but," stammered Andy, "that
is
what she said."

"I don't believe this! I knew I should've had
the premonition," Chase growled, shoving the coin back in the bag.
"Now here we are in the past with no magical abilities. We needed
those to save Jedadiah and the Relic. I can't believe you didn't
ask something so crucial. What're we supposed to fight with, sticks
and rocks?"

"I'm sorry!"

"I bet you don't have your powers because
Jedadiah doesn't have his yet," said Persephone, "but we can get
back home because that's part of the time-traveling ability. Maybe
when she said we'd bring the magic, she meant the magic of the
room."

"I never thought of that, but it makes
sense," said Janie. "Well we can't do anything about it now so
let's quit messing around and go, or this whole trip will have been
for nothing."

"Since we don't have our powers, it probably
will be anyway," Chase muttered to himself as they headed down the
road.

They stuck to the main roadway leading north
through town, doing their best to avoid the carriages, horses and
riders, and people hurrying by. After passing under a tall, stone
archway, they finally arrived at the meadow that was supposed to be
their original destination.

As they tramped through the tall, fragrant
grass and flowers, Chase grumbled, "We sure missed this place by a
mile."

"Yeah," said Janie. "I don't know what
happened there."

It was almost night time. Thousands of stars
were beginning to twinkle in the darkening sky. Back in the trees,
a gurgling stream mingled with the sounds of chirping crickets.

"Is it my imagination or are the stars a lot
brighter here?" said Persephone.

"No smog or millions of city lights yet,"
answered Chase, glancing at her out of the corner of his eye. He
wanted to tell her she looked nice in her dress, but he was finding
it too hard to work up the nerve. "This whole thing is way too
weird anyway. One minute we're standing in Grandfather's house in
the twenty-first century, and now here we are, hundreds of years in
the past. And to think Andy and I had never even been out of New
York City until this."

"So are we speaking a different language
now?" asked Andy.

"We won't know unless we talk to someone,"
Janie answered, while Chase just glowered at him. He was still mad
at his brother for not getting all the necessary information from
Beatrice and Charles when he had the chance.

"Someone's coming!" said Persephone in a loud
whisper.

The four kids dropped to the ground and
peeked through the foliage. A man was hiking along the roadside.
They watched the shadowy figure walk toward the stream and a
clearing in the trees. He pulled his pack from his back and dropped
it to the ground. After gathering an armful of sticks and branches,
he started a small fire, making it easier for them to see him in
the darkness. It was definitely Jedadiah.

"When are those burglar guys going to get
here?" Andy whispered a few minutes later. "I'm tired of
waiting."

"They aren't burglars, they're bandits or
brigands in this time, I think," muttered Chase, huddling in his
cloak and shivering.

"Maybe we should go talk to Jedadiah,"
whispered Janie, her eyes bright with excitement. "How many kids
get to meet one of their ancestors?"

"That would be way cool!" said Andy.

"I wouldn't mind talking with him," murmured
Chase as he peered through the grass.

"That's really not a good idea, you guys,"
said Persephone. "We're here to save the Relic, not to run around
chatting with anyone."

"Just because he's not your relative," said
Janie smartly, "don't ruin it for us."

"Fine, Janie, go ahead!" snapped Persephone.
She wrapped her cloak more snugly around herself. "Don't blame me
if things go wrong. I'll wait right here for you. And you should
probably leave Maxwell."

"Come on, we better go before those bandits
get here," whispered Chase, climbing to his feet.

Chase, Andy and Janie crept close to the
campfire. "Hi," said Chase as he stepped into the firelight. "We
saw your fire and came to see if you'd let us warm up by it."

Jedadiah's head jerked up in fear. He smiled
when he saw his visitors were only young people. "Aye, ye may join
me."

The three of them gathered around the fire
and stared at Jedadiah with wonder as they introduced themselves.
He looked exactly like they remembered from the Relic, with his
kind face, dark, longish hair and beard, and rough-woven clothing.
A large, well-worn pack sat in the grass next to him. Chase knew
their Relic was inside it.

"So what brings young lads and a lass out at
night by themselves?" asked Jedadiah.

"We're just goofing around," said Chase,
shrugging.

Jedadiah tilted his head to the side and
frowned. "Goofing? I'm not familiar with such a pastime."

"Uh, I mean playing," said Chase quickly.
"Climbing trees, catching frogs, things like that."

"Ah, aye, I remember doin' those sorts things
as a young lad," said Jedadiah, nodding in understanding.

"Have you been traveling long?" asked Janie.
Like Chase, her gaze was on the pack.

Jedadiah poked the fire with a long stick
before adding more twigs. "For many long months," he answered. "I
journeyed all the way to Egypt and I'm on my way home to Scotland
now."

"You sure traveled a long way," said
Janie.

"The pilgrimage has been worth it," said
Jedadiah, a satisfied look on his young, yet sun-weathered
face.

"Did you see anything interesting in Egypt?"
asked Chase. He hoped Jedadiah would show them the Relic.

"I saw many grand places, but nothin' as
wondrous as the pyramids," he said, his eyes reflecting the glowing
firelight.

"Did you go inside any of them?" asked Chase
nonchalantly. "I want to do that someday."

Jedadiah gazed into the three pairs of
dark-brown eyes, which were so much like his own. Chase wanted to
yell, you can trust us, Jedadiah. Please, show us the relic you
found!

They watched as he touched the pack next to
him. "Aye, I did."

"Did you see any mummies?" asked Andy
eagerly.

Chase poked Andy's side as Jedadiah smiled.
"No, I'm sorry to say I didn't."

"Did you find anything...interesting there?"
asked Janie as she stared into Jedadiah's eyes. "You can trust
us."

"Tis strange," he said, brushing his hands
through his hair. "I feel as if I know ye, somehow. Though, I don't
understand how this can be. We've not met until today." A log
shifted in the crackling fire and sent sparks shooting into the air
as they waited for his decision. "I'll show ye what I found."
Digging through his pack, he pulled a bundle from it and carefully
unwrapped it.

They all leaned forward, eager to see the
undamaged Relic. It wasn't glowing the way they were used to seeing
it, but it still looked otherworldly, as if it was filled with
endless power.

"It's so beautiful," whispered Janie. She
peered into Jedadiah's eyes. "You must get this home, Jedadiah.
Keep it safe. No matter what happens."

Looking puzzled by their deep interest,
Jedadiah nodded as he rewrapped his treasure and set it on the
ground beside him. "Indeed I will."

Chase was so engrossed in the Relic, he
nearly jumped out of his skin when several men slipped from behind
the trees and stepped into the clearing.

"Greetings, kind strangers," said one of the
men. "Might you have some food and drink to spare for three hungry,
weary gentlemen?"

T
he bandits had
arrived. Everyone leaped to their feet.

Now, Chase had seen some creepy guys on the
streets of New York City, but nothing like these terrifying men,
with their hard, glittering eyes, greasy hair and lethal-looking
swords hanging by their sides.

Chase glanced sideways at the others. Like
him, they looked as if they'd just seen a bunch of rattlesnakes
crawl out from under the rocks.

"Or gold?" said the second man in a deep,
rough voice, stepping forward.

The third man held back in the shadows.

"Please forgive my friend," said the first
man, smiling widely. "He is somewhat…eager.

Chase grimaced. Yuck! Didn't the guy know
anything about toothbrushes? He sniffed. Or soap?

"But let me introduce myself," the man
continued. "I am Lorenzo, King of all Brigands."

"Please, I am but a poor farmer on his way
home from seein' the world," said Jedadiah, fear in his voice. "And
these others are only bairns. We've nothin' for ye."

"How are they understanding each other?"
Chase whispered in Janie's ear. "One's Scottish, the other's
Italian."

"It must be our time-traveling magic," Janie
whispered back.

Lorenzo narrowed his eyes and reached for his
sword. "Nothing to share? We'll see about that!"

Chase racked his brains for some sort of
brilliant plan. He almost skipped for joy when Persephone, swinging
a huge branch, galloped into the clearing, screaming at the top of
her lungs, "Hey, jerks! Leave my friends alone!"

The bandits whirled in surprise.

"Hi-yah! Take that!" shouted Andy. He kicked
Rough-Voice in the shin. The man yelled and hopped on one foot
while holding his injured leg. Seeing his chance to join in the
fight, Chase leaped onto Lorenzo's back and grasped his throat in a
bone-cracking stranglehold.

"Run, Jedadiah! Save the Relic!" he yelled.
"We'll hold them off!"

Jedadiah stared at the scuffling men and
children. He looked uncertain about what he should do.

"Please, just get going!" Chase yelled as
Lorenzo thrashed like a wild gorilla and tried to yank Chase off
his back. He slammed against a tree, squashing the air out of
Chase.

Jedadiah took several steps back.

"And where do you think you're going?" yelled
Rough-Voice. He back-handed Andy in the mouth and shoved him to the
ground. Vaulting across the fire, the bandit tackled Jedadiah, like
he was a football linebacker or something.

Meanwhile, the girls had attacked the other
bandit. He was on the ground, his hands covering his face and
howling while Persephone whacked him with the tree branch, and
Janie jumped around, giving him small kicks. "Darn this sucky
dress!" yelled Janie, shoving her hair off her sweaty face. "I
can't move in it!"