Winged Falls

//Chapter One//

Mason Pines threw open the door to the Mystery Twins Magic Emporium with a bang and the faint tinkling of a bell. He paused to push his glasses up on his nose before running through the gift shop, towards a door marked Employees Only.

"Hey, where ya headed, Mason?"

Mason skidded to a stop at the voice, looking over his shoulder. The red-headed girl behind the checkout counter popped a cracker into her mouth as she waited for his answer.

"Oh, h-hey, Wendy," Mason said, approaching the counter. He didn't want to disturb her work, but a quick glance around showed him that business was slow. Or, well, non-existent. "I was just going to go find Ford."

Wendy jabbed a finger at the vending machine on her left. "He's down there somewhere."

"Oh." Mason's face fell. He wasn't allowed behind the vending machine.

"Why'd you need him?" Wendy asked.

Mason forgot his disappointment for a moment when he remembered what he had. "I found something outside! I think it has magical properties." He fished it out of his pocket and placed it on the counter. "Look!"

Wendy peered at it. "Woah, that's cool," she said, her tone a bit confused. "It's a sparkly blue rock."

Mason nodded. "I think it has residual fairy magic or something. That's why I wanted to show Ford." He stopped, looking at Wendy's face. She was frowning. "What?"

"Mason. . . ," she said, "I know you really want to be a part of what Ford does. But he's kinda a loner. I don't think he's going to really share his work."

Mason's face fell, and he pushed his glasses up on his nose. "You sure?"

"No," Wendy said, "but I wouldn't get your hopes up. Sorry, bud, but I think you're stuck here with the rest of us." She smiled. "That's not so bad, right?"

Mason returned the smile. "No," he replied. But inside, he was sighing. Wendy was right; Mason had been at the Mystery Twins Magic Emporium for a week, and Great Uncle Ford hadn't made much of an effort to spend time with him. Even though he'd been wanting to the moment he found out his uncle studied the supernatural. How exciting was that?

"Look alive, people!" a grizzled old voice shouted, preceding its owner. Stanley Pines, co-owner of the Emporium, walked into the gift shop, his slightly ragged suit looking more haggard than ever. "How. . . Can we. . . ."

He trailed off when he saw the gift shop was empty save Wendy and Mason. "Where are all the tourists?" he demanded.

Wendy shrugged. "Don't ask me, Mr. Pines, I didn't scare them away."

"Where's Soos?"

"Right here, Mr. Pines."

Mason, Wendy, and Stan all jumped. Soos, despite being the fattest man Mason had ever met, had a tendency to appear out of nowhere as if he'd been invisible. The gopher-like man was changing a lightbulb up on a stool in the far corner of the gift shop. Had he been there the whole time Mason had?

"Okay, so all my employees are here. Where are my customers?"

Mason frowned. "Grunkle Stan, I'm not one of your employees, am I?"

"Sure you are, kid," Stan said offhandedly. "You're under my roof, aren't you?"

"But—"

"He's just messing with you, Mason," Wendy said, eating another cracker. "You're a guest here."

"A guest who has to pay for his lodging," Stan protested. "I didn't agree to let you come up here and lay around all summer!"

Mason looked back and forth from Stan to Wendy. The latter was rolling her eyes and fishing around in her box of Chipackerz.