Once Upon a Crime (The Sisters Grimm, Book 4) (16 page)

"The rest of you stay down here and hide. I should go and see if I can be of some help," Mr. Canis said.

"Me, too," Hamstead added.

"Ernest, be careful," Bess said, squeezing his pink hand. In a flash, the two men were back up the steps and gone from view.

"You heard him, girls," Relda said. "Keep safe and keep moving."

They ran through the boat, looking for a safe nook to scurry into, but the boat was completely overrun by pirates. A wave of them stampeded down the steps and cornered the women.

"Hostages!" one of them exclaimed as he licked his blade.

The rest laughed.

"Take 'em to Silver," the first man shouted, and the pirates rushed at the women. Daphne kicked one in the shin and he fell to the floor in pain. Granny smacked another with her heavy handbag and split his lip open. Bess and Moth threw punches. Sabrina, on the other hand, was quickly grabbed around the neck, but she instinctively jammed her elbow into her attacker's belly. The rogue bent over as the wind flew out of him and he dropped his sword. Daphne snatched it off the floor and smacked him in the behind with the flat of the blade. It didn't do any permanent damage but from the groan the pirate uttered, it had obviously stung. Moth took a life preserver off the wall and brought it crashing down on the man's head. He fell to the floor unconscious.

Much to Sabrina's surprise, the pirates broke off their assault and backed away before rushing up the steps and disappearing.

"We make a pretty good team, don't we, ladies?" Bess crowed.

But they had only a minute to celebrate. The pirates returned with reinforcements. They managed to grab Sabrina, Daphne, and Moth, hauling the girls up onto the deck and then hoisting them over the side of the ship, where each landed unceremoniously on the deck of the yacht. Puck's cocoon, never far from Sabrina, floated after them. Seconds later all of the pirates were off the ferry and back on their own boat, which zipped across the river, leaving Sinbad, his crew, Granny Relda, Mr. Canis, Mr. Hamstead, and Bess far behind.

"The harbor belongs to Silver!" one of the pirates bellowed toward the ferry, causing all the rogues to cheer and raise their swords in the air. Many of them broke into song and danced little jigs. The girls didn't get to see much of this gloating. They were dragged roughly down a flight of steps toward the belly of the yacht.

"Get your hands off me, filth," Moth demanded. "I am a princess of the royal court."

"Listen, fairy," one of the pirates said in a thick English accent. "Get yourself through that door."

"And if I don't?" she said.

"Then you're going to miss the party," the other pirate said.

He opened the door and Sabrina gawked at what she saw inside. There were dozens of well-dressed men and women on a small dance floor in the center of the room. A disc jockey was spinning records and a glittery disco ball was flashing light around the room. Several of the dancers were gathered around a limbo pole near a banner that read HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO EVERYONE AT SILVER AND HAWKINS!

"What is this?" Sabrina asked.

"It's our firm's Christmas Party," the pirate replied.

"What?" the girls said in unison.

A tall gray-haired man hobbled over to them. He had a parrot on his shoulder and walked with a cane. He set down his drink and extended his hand to the captives, but none of them took it.

"So good of you to join us. I'm John Silver," he said.

Sabrina and the others said nothing.

"As in Long John Silver," he continued.

Still, the girls were silent.

"As in

Treasure Island, documented by Robert Louis Stevenson," Silver said proudly.

"You're the bad guy then?" Daphne asked. "I've seen the movie about you. You're not very nice."

"Everyone has seen that lousy movie. Doesn't anyone read anymore?" the pirate asked with a scowl. "The book really captures more of my complexities."

The pirates roared with laughter.

"Aren't you supposed to have a peg leg?" the little girl asked. Silver lifted his pant cuff to reveal a prosthetic leg. "This one here is the latest model."

"You'll regret this, pirate," Moth seethed. The crowd booed.

"Pirate is such an ugly word," Silver explained. "Pirates are criminals. This is the twenty-first century. We've traded in doubloons and treasure for stocks and bonds."

The parrot squawked. "Buy low, sell high!"

"Then why did you attack us?" Sabrina asked.

"Money, little lady, money. Controlling the ports is a lucrative business, especially now that Oberon isn't around to stop us. The king extorted a lot of money from us. Now we've got an opportunity to get it back."

"So, you shot cannons at the Staten Island Ferry over turf? Aren't you worried that someone is going to notice?" Sabrina said.

"Kid, they may call New York the city that never sleeps but they should call it the city that never notices. We could sail up the East River and attack the mayor's mansion and I doubt it would even make the papers."

"Well, then, we don't want to get in the way of your little party. Why don't you drop us off at the dock and we'll let you get back to your fun," Sabrina said.

The crowd erupted into laughter.

"I'm afraid that's not possible," Silver said. "You see, you're not exactly guests, you're hostages."

"What does hostages mean?" Daphne asked.

"It means we're prisoners he's going to use to bargain with," Sabrina said.

"We're selling you to the highest bidder. The children of Veronica Grimm have to be worth something, not to mention a princess of the royal court to sweeten the pot. Friends, we're going to get one enormous holiday bonus!"

Everyone cheered.

"Now, rules of the sea are we treat our prisoners with civility, so help yourselves to the buffet. The DJ will be playing for another half hour and then we're going to do some karaoke. Relax, try to have some fun, but don't even think about singing 'Love Shack.' That's my song."

"Silver!" Moth cried. "When Titania finds out that you not only prevented the capture of a known murderer but also violently kidnapped me, you'll wish you were dead. You will never get away with this."

"I never get tired of hearing people say that to me," the pirate said, joining the others in a raucous laugh.

Moth snarled and then spit in the pirate's face. Silver calmly reached into his pocket and pulled out a handkerchief. He cleaned the spittle from his cheek, put his handkerchief back, then took a long curved knife from the cheese table and aimed the point at Moth's throat.

"You have a nasty mouth," Silver said. "Though I suppose I could fix that by cutting your tongue out."

The crowd roared its approval.

Suddenly, there was a bright flicker at one of the port windows. Sabrina looked out but didn't see anything. Maybe all the stress was getting to her.

"Leave her alone," Daphne pleaded. "She won't be any more trouble."

"Shut your yap, child!" Silver shouted as he dropped his cane and grabbed Daphne by the throat. "I'd hate to lose you, too, but I'm sure one Grimm girl would be just as valuable as two."

"Take your hands off her," Sabrina cried as she rushed at the rogue. He swung his knife away from Moth and toward her throat, stopping within the tiniest fraction of an inch of her skin.

"Keep it up, girlie, and you'll be able to breath out of your neck," he said.

Just then, the door into the hull flew off its hinges. A dark figure stepped down into the room. It was Cobweb. "Run, girls!" he shouted, then opened his mouth and shot a stream of fire at the pirates. They fled in every direction, giving Sabrina enough time to snatch her sister and Moth and rush them back up the steps onto the deck of the yacht. She peeked back and found Puck's cocoon following closely behind. "Did he just save us?" Daphne said.

Sabrina shrugged. "Let's worry about getting off this boat. He might come back up here and change his mind."

The girls searched the ship but there was no lifeboat to be found; and worse, the pirates were already charging up onto the deck. Long John Silver hobbled up from below, followed by a dozen angry men with daggers. Two of them were dragging Cobweb along.

"You know, there's one thing I've learned during my time on Wall Street--you have to weigh the value of investments," Silver bellowed as he came toward the girls, who were now trapped against the ship's railing. "Take you Grimms, for instance. The both of you could be worth your weight in gold, but then again, it might be just as valuable to me to watch you and your fairy friends walk the plank."

"Dump the stock, now!" the pirate's parrot shrieked from his shoulder. "Sell! Sell! Sell!"

One of Silver's men rushed up from below with a long piece of wood and set it on the edge of the yacht. Once it was secure,

Silver pulled the cheese knife out of his belt and forced Sabrina to climb up on the plank.

"Don't hurt my sister!" Daphne yelled. She tried to grab at Sabrina's shirt to pull her back on deck, but one of the pirates yanked the little girl away.

"Let them go, Silver," Cobweb demanded. A pirate punched him in the belly to quiet him.

"Wait your turn," the man croaked.

Sabrina walked to the edge of the plank and looked down at the icy water.

This is the second time I've been on one of these things, she remembered. Puck had forced her to walk a plank above their neighbor's pool the first time they met. He had used his pixies to get her up on the board.

Pixies.

"Excuse me," Sabrina said. "Don't I get a last request?"

Silver smiled. "Indeed. Name it."

"I'd like my good friend Moth to play us a song on her flute. Something happy before we die."

"You are as dumb as a cow!" Moth cried. "You get one last wish and this is it?"

Sabrina looked at Daphne. "Yes, a song like the one Puck used to play for us. One so sad it stings."

Daphne's eyes grew wide with understanding. "Yes, Moth, play a song on your flute."

Cobweb cocked his eyebrows, showing Sabrina that he understood what she wanted. "Princess, might I suggest a particular song? I've always loved 'Flight of the Pixies.'"

Moth took her wooden flute out of the folds of her dress. Sabrina wasn't sure the little fairy understood what they wanted her to do, but she lifted the instrument to her mouth and blew a few short notes. When she was done, nothing happened.

"Uh, wasn't there a second verse?" Sabrina said. Maybe they were too far from shore for the pixies to hear them.

"No, there isn't a second verse," Moth snapped.

"Then play it again!" Sabrina cried.

Moth lifted the flute again and blew the same notes.

"All right, that's enough," Silver said.

"But wait, you filthy crab, what about your last request?" Moth asked.

"Why would I need a last request?" Silver said.

"Because you're about to be attacked," the little fairy girl replied. A split second later, the entire yacht was enveloped in an enormous swarm of dancing lights. They swirled around the pirates, who swatted at them with little effect. The pixies were everywhere, and they were stinging with all their might. Silver swung his dagger wildly as little dots of blood appeared on his face. The pirates raced into the belly of the boat, hoping to escape the swarm and letting go of Cobweb in an effort to protect themselves. When he realized his men were gone, Silver hobbled quickly after them.

The wave of pixies became one giant mass that hovered next to Moth, awaiting her orders. The little princess stepped over to Cobweb, who had fallen on the deck and was trying to catch his breath.

"And now I will deal with you," Moth said.

"I'm innocent," Cobweb begged. "I would never hurt Oberon. I supported his efforts to rebuild Faerie. He trusted me with the taxes. We were going to build a hospital, and a school for our children. I believed Faerie could be rebuilt. Why would I kill the only man who could accomplish all of it?"

"What are you talking about?" Sabrina cried.

"I was Oberon's counsel. The money we got from the citizens we were using to make everyone's lives better. We were preparing to announce the opening of a shelter for homeless Everafters. They were Oberon's ideas and I was working to make them reality."

Sabrina was stunned. She had despised Oberon from the moment she met him, even secretly felt that his death was justified, especially after hearing about his goons extorting money from the citizens and bullying everyone into obedience. But now, Cobweb was telling her that the king was a good man--or at least, was trying to be. It didn't make sense that Cobweb would kill a person he respected so much. Sabrina turned to her sister, who was just as amazed, and then to Moth. The little fairy was not moved by the story. In fact, she had murder in her eyes.

"Take him!" Moth shouted, and the pixies swarmed around the dark fairy. Cobweb staggered to his feet and his wings popped out of his back. Seconds later he was aloft. He was faster than the swarm and was out of their reach in seconds.

"Use the cannon," Moth instructed, and the swarm returned to hover around the big gun, using their collective mass to load a ball inside and then fill it with gunpowder.

"Moth, don't!" Daphne cried. "This isn't how we do things."

The fairy girl ignored her and stepped over to the cannon. She opened her mouth and a stream of fire shot out, igniting the cannon's wick. There was an earth-shaking roar and the deck buckled beneath them. Sabrina managed to right herself long enough to watch the black missile speed into the air and slam into Cobweb's back. The fairy fell from the sky and plunged into the waters.

"No!"

Sabrina cried. She found a life preserver and tossed it overboard, knowing it was pointless. Even an Everafter couldn't survive that kind of injury.

In the distant waters, Sabrina spotted a flashing blue light heading in their direction. "This is the Coast Guard," a booming voice called out. "Lower your weapons and prepare to be boarded."

Moth turned to the girls. "Your job was to find Oberon's killer. He is dead. You are no longer needed. Find your grandmother and your friends and go back to the mud hole you call home."