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Daphne and Uncle Jake seemed taken aback by Sabrina’s sudden temper, but she felt she had a right to be angry. At one time their search to find a way to break the spell on her parents had seemed hopeless. Now that they knew this woman had the solution it was almost harder than before, as they had to watch her dart around the world on a silly vacation.
“Be patient, ’Brina,” Uncle Jake said to calm her. “We’ll track her down.”
As if on cue, the image faded in the mirror, and in its place, a fierce, bulbous head appeared floating in the silver surface. He had strong features and thick lips and his eyes were as black as midnight.
“Hello, Mirror,” Sabrina said.
“Hello, girls,” Mirror said. “Could the two of you drag your uncle out of here? He’s been lurking around this room for two weeks. He needs something to eat, and if you ask me he’s long overdue for a bath.”
“He’s right,” Daphne said to her uncle. “No offense, but you are getting a little rank.”
Uncle Jake shrugged and threw up his hands in surrender. “Fine, I can start up again in the morning.”
“After a bath,” Mirror repeated.
Uncle Jake turned to the girls. “You two should run off to bed as well. You’ve got a big day tomorrow.”
“More sitting outside the jail, hoping they will let us in to see Mr. Canis,” Sabrina muttered. “It’s a waste of time. Sheriff Nottingham won’t let us in. We could be using the time to find Goldilocks.”
“You may not see Canis, but I’m sure he appreciates the effort, Sabrina. What if you gave up on the day Nottingham had a change of heart?”
“You have to have a heart to change it,” Sabrina grumbled.
“Are you coming with us?” Daphne asked her uncle.
“Not this time, peanut. I’ve got plans with Briar Rose.”
“Another day of holding hands and smooching?” Daphne asked.
Uncle Jake smiled. “If I play my cards right.”
Breakfast was never a pleasant experience for Sabrina. Gra
“I suppose you’re part of the security team,” Sabrina said to the creature.
It nodded and puffed up its chest proudly. “I’m a poison sniffer, I am. My job is to sniff out anything that might kill ya before you put it in your gob, if it pleases you, miss.”
“My gob?”
“Your pie-hole, your chowder box, your mouth,” it said as it wiped its ru
“Lovely,” Sabrina said sarcastically.
Gra
“What is this?” Sabrina asked as she poked at her breakfast. She was sure that if she poked hard enough it would squeal.
“It’s gristle and ham wrapped around heavy whipping cream. People love this in the Czech Republic,” Gra
“People must be very unhappy in the Czech Republic if this is what they love to eat,” Sabrina said. She leaned over to smell her breakfast, then eyed the ugly creature. “I’ll give you five bucks if you tell my grandmother this is poisoned.”
The creature shook its head. “I ca
Gra
“Your sister has something pla
“She’s going to start eating with a fork?” Sabrina asked.
“Don’t tease her. She’s got it into her head that she needs to grow up. When she comes down, try to treat her like an adult,” the widow said.
Sabrina cocked an eyebrow. “You’re kidding me, right?”
Just then, Daphne stepped into the room. Sabrina turned to face her and nearly fell out of her chair. Gone were the goofy T-shirts covered with puppets and cartoons, the blue-jean overalls, the mismatched socks. Daphne was wearing a blue dress Gra
It was several moments before Sabrina realized her jaw was hanging open. “Is this some kind of joke?” she cried.
Daphne frowned, as did Gra
“Does it look like a joke?” Daphne snapped, then did something that made Sabrina’s blood boil. Daphne turned to her grandmother and rolled her eyes impatiently. How dare she?
“So, I hear we have some appointments this morning, Grandmother,” Daphne said.
Gra
“How?” Daphne said. “Uncle Jacob is spending the day with Briar.”
“Good question. We all know it’s a federal offense for you to get behind the wheel of a car,” Sabrina said to her grandmother. “And if you think we’re getting into Rip Van Winkle’s cab again you’ve lost your mind.” She shuddered, recalling the hair-raising ride with the narcoleptic taxi driver.
“Oh, no. We’re taking the flying carpet,” Gra
“Sweet! I call shotgun!” Daphne cried, but then quickly controlled herself. “I mean, that will be pleasant.”
Then it was Sabrina’s turn to roll her eyes.
After breakfast, Sabrina, Daphne, Gra
Along the way, Sabrina gazed down at the town. Everything was changing. Once-thriving neighborhoods had been abandoned, and many homes were facing the wrecking ball. In their place, odd buildings were erected—castles surrounded by alligator-infested moats, mansions made from gingerbread and candy. Mr. Applebee’s farm, the site of their first detective case, had been bought and converted into a gigantic chessboard reminiscent of Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking-Glass. The changes made Sabrina uncomfortable. They reminded her that she and her family were the only humans left in town.
Sabrina’s world hadn’t always been so bizarre. Long before magic mirrors, flying carpet rides, and toilet leprechauns, the Grimm sisters had lived normal, quiet lives in New York City. When their parents disappeared they bounced from one foster family to the next, eventually landing in the home of their real-life grandmother, who lived in a sleepy river town called Ferryport Landing. Sabrina remembered the day she and Daphne came into town by train. Ferryport Landing seemed like the most boring place in the world. But it had a shocking secret: Ferryport Landing was a settlement for fairy-tale characters, founded by her great-great-great-great-great grandfather, Wilhelm Grimm, one of the world-famous Brothers Grimm.
Sabrina guessed that most kids would love living among their favorite fairy-tale characters. Knowing Snow White lived down the street or that the Little Mermaid was swimming in the river might be a dream come true for some, but to Sabrina it was more like a nightmare. Most of the fairy-tale folks, who now called themselves Everafters, despised her family. The root of their hatred lay with Wilhelm, who, with the help of a decrepit old witch named Baba Yaga, constructed a magical boundary around the town to prevent a band of rebel Everafters from attacking nearby communities. The end result was “the barrier”—an invisible prison that trapped the bad Everafters, as well as the good, in Ferryport Landing forever. Naturally, the townsfolk were bitter, but they failed to realize that Sabrina and her family were stuck in the town, too. The spell would be broken if the Grimms died or abandoned Ferryport Landing, but with the steady stream of outlandish crimes to solve and the rogues’ gallery of monsters, lunatics, and evil witches to combat, Wilhelm’s descendents weren’t going anywhere.