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“Sabrina, try to break free,” Gra
“Where did it go?” she said, though her voice sounded odd, deep and scratchy. But the rest of her body felt wonderful—strong and fast and unstoppable. In fact, Sabrina had never felt as confident as she did at that moment. For the first time in a long time she wasn’t worried about monsters, villains, or lunatics. She didn’t fear surprise attacks or betrayal by people she trusted. In fact, she was eager for a confrontation.
She wanted to share the feeling with her sister but the words were hard to find. Her thoughts were cloudy and complicated. She tried to say something but it came out sounding like a horrible, hungry laugh. She turned to Daphne. The little girl was undergoing her own transformation. A swirling black fog circled her body, blocking out most of her face. All Sabrina could see were the little girl’s eyes, like two brilliant suns.
“Sabrina, you have to stop this!” Gra
Sabrina was confused. What did the old woman mean? She wasn’t doing anything wrong.
“Sabrina, please! Don’t make me do this to you,” Daphne begged from behind the black fog.
“What are you talking about?” Sabrina said, noticing the shiny toy in her sister’s hand.
“You have to fight this!” Daphne said. “I know you are still in there. Don’t let him control you!”
“Have you lost your mind? Why are you talking to me like this?” Sabrina asked. When no one replied, she realized that her words were only in her head.
“Fight him, child,” a voice said from below, and Sabrina glanced down. Mr. Canis lay at her feet—old and withered, his body trapped in the clutches of a huge, fur-covered paw. It was squeezing the life from the old man’s chest. She cried out, hoping someone would help her pull her friend from its terrible grip, but her cries ceased when she realized the claws that were killing Mr. Canis were her own.
She had become the Big Bad Wolf.
She stomped into the house and found a dingy mirror on the wall. One look sent her into shock. Her whole body had been transformed. Her long blond hair was gone, replaced by thick, matted fur that covered her entire body. Her hands were huge and the fingers curled into horrible claws. She spun around and found a bushy tail behind her. It was insanity! How could this have happened? She roared angrily and then smashed the mirror in front of her.
“I’ll fix this,” Daphne said from behind her. Sabrina turned to look at the little girl, unsure of who she was or what she wanted. Seeing her made Sabrina hungry. She imagined grabbing the girl and—no—she knew she had to fight her impulse but how could she? Her need, her hunger, was overwhelming.
And then the wind returned and everything went black.
When Sabrina awoke she was back to her normal self. She lay in the bed in the little wooden house that Red Riding Hood’s grandmother had slept in hundreds of years before. Standing near her was her family. Daphne was crying and wiping the tears on her sleeve. Mr. Canis was there, too. In his hand he held a glass mason jar. Inside, Sabrina could see a dark, black creature desperate to escape. Briar, Snow, and Charming were there, as well as Robin and Little John and the rest of the Merry Men.
“How are you feeling, child?” Canis asked.
“Normal,” Sabrina said, examining her arms to make sure they were free of fur.
Canis chuckled. “It’s a wonderful feeling.”
“Is it over?” she asked him.
He nodded. “In a ma
Gra
“You’ve had quite a day,” the old woman said as the air filled with sirens.
“Here comes Nottingham,” Robin said. “So are we decided?”
Charming and Canis looked one another in the eye and then shook hands. “Yes,” they said.
“What’s going on?” Sabrina said. Charming and Canis were usually bitter enemies.
“I’m afraid that—after you and your family—we’ve become Ferryport Landing’s most wanted,” Charming said.
“Right where we belong,” Little John bellowed.
Canis smiled slightly. “We’re going to have to hide out for a while.”
“There are places in the mountains where no one will find us,” Snow said.
“You’re going, too?” Sabrina asked the teacher.
Snow nodded, then turned to Charming. “Someone has to look after this bunch of troublemakers.”
“I won’t be far,” Canis said to Gra
“I know, old friend.”
One of the Merry Men raced into the room. “They’re coming down the path.”
Canis finally turned to Puck. “You’re in charge, boy.”
“Haven’t I always been?” Puck said.
“Then we’re off,” Robin said. “Don’t worry, people. You’re going to like the forest.”
The Merry Men, Charming, Snow White, and, finally, Mr. Canis left the shack. Canis turned back for one moment. “You say my name was Tobias Clay?”
Sabrina nodded.
“I’m very eager to get to know him,” he said, then he was gone.
Nottingham dragged the family in for questioning, but after several hours he released them. Despite his anger he had no proof that anyone in the Grimm family had been responsible for freeing Canis, killing Bluebeard, or inciting the riot. Still, he made it clear that soon he would have all of them at the ends of nooses.
Uncle Jake dropped Briar Rose off at her coffee shop and promised to call later. She smiled and whispered something into his ear. He gri
“What did she say?” Daphne asked.
“She said she is in love with me.”
“Barf!” Puck cried.
When they pulled into the driveway, Sabrina was startled to see Nurse Sprat standing on the front porch.
“Nurse Sprat,” Gra
Nurse Sprat was finishing off a meatball sandwich and seemed quite content. “No problem, Mrs. Grimm. I hope you aren’t in any trouble.”
“Trouble is practically our middle name,” Gra
“I brought the girl. She’s around here somewhere—oh, here she comes,” Sprat said, gesturing to the side of the house. There, Sabrina was shocked to see Red Riding Hood bounding around the corner with Elvis in tow.
“Is this your doggie?” Red asked. “He’s so much fun.”
Elvis licked the girl happily.
“What is she doing here?” Sabrina asked.
Gra
“What!”
“Mr. Canis asked us to look after her while he’s away, and I think it’s a wonderful idea. Red needs some friends while she works on her memory.”
Red smiled at the girls.
“But she tried to kill us,” Sabrina said.
“Sabrina, don’t hold a grudge.”
Gra
She went to bed, but without Daphne the room seemed huge and lonely. She tossed and turned, and though she was exhausted she couldn’t sleep. After a while she decided to visit her parents. She opened the door and found them there, still soundly slumbering on the queen-size bed. She crawled in between them and closed her eyes. She heard Mirror clear his throat and knew his face had appeared in the reflection.