Sisters Grimm 05 Magic and Other Misdemeanors (20 page)

"Do you know when it happens to me?" the old man asked.

The girls shook their heads. They should have asked when they had the chance, but there were so many other questions that had gone unanswered too.

"Perhaps if I altered course I could stop it," Canis said. "That's what you're trying to do, correct?"

"We know we've changed a few things," Sabrina said. "Though we have no idea if it has made a difference in the future."

Canis got up from his chair. He repeated Granny Relda's advice about getting some rest and then slowly climbed the steps to his room.

"Are we going to lose him?" Daphne whispered. "I don't know," Sabrina said.

After a few moments of silence, the girls went up to their room. Elvis padded along beside them and hopped up onto their bed.

"I guess we better get some rest," Daphne said, shutting off the light.

"I've got a bad feeling," Sabrina said. "About tonight?"

"No, about the future, about this case. We still haven't found the missing items and it seems like things keep popping up to get in the way. What if we can't figure out who the thief is? What if we don't solve this mystery? What if there are things we can't change?"

The girls slipped their hands together and lay quietly. The darkness was like a heavy weight on their chests.

* * *

Sabrina awoke to an incredible shaking. Her head felt like it was going to bounce off her shoulders. The bed seemed to be moving around the room on its own. She looked over at her sister. Daphne had her eyes closed, concentrating hard. She also had the magic detector in her hand, and it was vibrating.

"Ugh, I think I'm going to be sick," Daphne said, squirming around the bed like someone had tossed a handful of worms down her pants.

"What's going on?" Sabrina asked, doing her best to keep the bed from careening into her father's desk.

"I feel like one of those time tears is about to open up again. Ohhh, my legs feel like pudding."

"Where is it going to happen? Can you tell?"

"There's going to be one in the river. It's going to be a big one too.

"Big enough for Wilhelm's ship?"

"Mucho big-o!"

The shimmering and shaking stopped, and Daphne shook her arms out as if they had fallen asleep. "We have to go now!"

Sabrina glanced over at the alarm clock on the night table by the bed.

"It's only ten o'clock. We can't go now. What about Uncle Jake? We don't know if he's found Baba Yaga yet!"

"This could be the only chance we get to send Wilhelm back," Daphne said as she put the magic detector into her pants pocket.

The girls leaped out of bed and raced into their grandmother's room. Granny Relda was still resting and they had to shake her from her nap.

"Lieblings, for heaven's sake!" Granny Relda cried as she sat up in bed.

"There's a time tear opening in the river soon. We need to go now."

"A time what?" the old woman said.

"A hole in time," Sabrina explained. "Just like the one Wilhelm came through to get here. We need to get him back on the boat so they can sail into it and get back to where they belong, but it has to happen soon."

"How do you know all this?"

"Granny, you keep secrets from us sometimes to protect us, right?" Daphne asked. The old woman nodded.

"Well, this is our secret and you're just going to have to trust us, like we trust you."

Granny laughed. "But girls, you never trust me."

"Fine, then trust us like we're supposed to trust you," Sabrina said, pulling her grandmother out of bed and down the hallway. Meanwhile, Daphne pounded on Puck's door. The fairy joined them shortly, strapped with enough of his glop grenades to fight a war, and everyone rushed downstairs where Canis was sitting on the couch.

"We have to--" Granny started, but Mr. Canis held up his hand.

"I heard," he replied. "The car is already warmed up."

"What about Jacob?" Charming said as he poked his head out of his mirror.

"He's only been gone an hour and there's no way to reach him," Granny Relda said. "We're going to have to try something else."

Charming disappeared into his mirror and moments later returned, leading a brilliant white stallion out of the reflection. Even Canis, who was rarely surprised by anything, was stunned. Elvis looked up at the horse as if he were in the presence of royalty.

"I'll go for Jacob," the prince said as he led the horse outside. The rest of the group followed him. He mounted the creature and raced off into the night.

Daphne looked over at her grandmother with a smile. "Remember when you told me I couldn't have a pony because we didn't have enough room?"

Granny shook her head. "Not a chance."

Mr. Canis drove faster than he ever had. He whipped the old jalopy through the empty back roads, over the wooden bridges, and across the abandoned train tracks like he was an international race-car driver. Sabrina was happy he understood the urgency of their plan, but it was times like this she wished the car had more modern safety features. She tightened the ropes that the family had installed as makeshift seat belts around her waist. Even the usually fearless Puck put his on.

When they got to the town, Canis parked the car across from the police station and everyone got out.

"Puck, go ahead and take your position," Granny said.

Puck's wings spread out and flapped vigorously, lifting him into the air. "I'll wait for you at the dock," he said, and then zipped off toward the river.

Canis nodded. "What next?"

"Unfortunately, this plan of ours was somewhat dependent upon Jacob," Granny said. "We need to give Charming some time to find him and Baba Yaga."

"We can't wait another second," Daphne said as she pointed to the sky. The stars seemed to have been devoured by a swirling black mass hovering high over the town. It was bigger and uglier than any Sabrina had seen before. "We've got to do this now, Granny."

"All right," their grandmother said. "I suppose we can sneak around the back and knock a hole in the wall. At least that much of the plan could still work."

"No, stop!" Mr. Canis said, sniffing the air. "There are men stationed on the top of the building and a large group of them at the back."

"How many do you think?" Granny said.

"I smell fifty of them, maybe more."

"They knew we were coming," Sabrina said, spotting one of the playing-card soldiers peering over the edge of the jailhouse roof. She also saw the deadly broadsword he held in his hands.

"I can take a few of them," Canis said. "But the three of you should wait here."

"Old friend, you'll never get past them all. This isn't going to work." The old woman sighed.

"Then what?"

"Then we go right through the front door," Sabrina said. The family turned to her.

"Remember our escape training?" Sabrina said. "Puck knew we would head for the woods so he didn't bother to guard the path. I bet you a million bucks Nottingham thinks the same way. He would never suspect us coming through the front door. I bet the inside isn't guarded at all!"

Her family and friends looked at her for a long time. Their faces were filled with doubt, but suddenly Mr. Canis started across the street. "Let's do it."

"What's the plan?" Granny asked as the rest of the family hurried to catch up to Canis.

"Mr. Canis can just run through and make us a path to the cell. We'll follow him."

"There's going to be a lot of dust, so stay close," the old man said, and then he bolted right through the front door. His face may have appeared old and frail, but he slammed through the offices like a powerful wrecking machine, plowing through walls, overturning desks, and making his own path to the jail cells at the back of the building. The women followed the best they could, dodging falling plaster and broken electrical lines. They held their faces under their shirts to filter out some of the debris. The blitz made a tremendous racket and would surely attract the attention of the guards outside, but Sabrina was right, Nottingham hadn't bothered to fortify the inside of the jail.

In no time, the group had reached the back of the building.

There they found Wilhelm locked inside a small cell. The poor man was terrified by what he had heard coming toward him. He leaped from his chair, lifted it, and waved it threateningly at the group.

"Zur bleiben! Ich m Sie nicht verletzen!

" Wilhelm shouted.

"What did he say?" Sabrina asked.

"He's frightened. He thinks we've come to hurt him," Granny explained, then turned to the man. "Wilhelm, it's us. We've come to rescue you."

"Rescue?" Wilhelm cried. He set his chair down on the ground and shook his jail cell bars as if to remind them of their next obstacle.

Canis reached for the bars. Using his incredible strength, he bent them apart, wrestling with them until there was an opening big enough for Wilhelm to step through.

Just then, Sabrina heard Nottingham's angry voice. "The prisoner is escaping, you fools!" he shouted. His furious bellowing was drowned out by the approaching feet of what sounded like four dozen guards.

"We've got to get out of here--now." Granny said.

Canis stepped to the back wall, pulled back his fist, and slammed it into the concrete. It crumbled, shaking the rafters. A

few cinder blocks completely collapsed, exposing the outside--and freedom--to the group. One more thump sent a spray of concrete and soot all over the room, but when the dust settled, there was a hole big enough for a seven-foot, three-hundred-pound man to step through.

"Everyone out!" Granny cried as she helped Sabrina and Daphne through the hole. Wilhelm and the old woman followed.

Before Mr. Canis could get through, Sabrina heard a sinister voice from inside the station.

"You do realize that breaking a prisoner out of jail is a big no-no," Nottingham said, and then she heard Mr. Canis roar in pain. The dust billowing out of the hole prevented her from seeing what was happening, but she knew he had been hurt badly. A moment later, Nottingham's ugly form stepped through the hole.

"I really should arrest you, Grimms, but I have a better way of solving our problem," he said as he reached for the crossbow strapped to his back. He loaded it with a steel arrow and leveled it at Wilhelm's chest. "One shot changes everything in this town, and though I know the throngs of people eager to see Wilhelm swing from the gallows will be disappointed, having their freedom will more than make up for missing the show."

And then he pulled the trigger.

Chapter 10

It seemed to Sabrina that the arrow sailed across space in slow motion. She wondered what it would be like to suddenly not exist. Would they just blink into nothing, or would it feel like dying?

But the arrow never reached its target. Instead, there was a loud, quaking thump, which knocked everyone to the ground. As they scampered to their feet and realized Wilhelm was unharmed, they were confronted by the source of the thump. Baba Yaga had arrived in her horrifying house. The old crone was leaning out of her window with a glowing ball in her hand. It lit up like a firecracker and a blast of red energy hit Nottingham in the chest as he turned to face the witch.

"I want my wand!" she shouted.

The witch's magic tossed Nottingham several yards and slammed him onto the ground. But a second later he still had the presence of mind to scamper behind a tree. "I don't know what you're talking about!"

The monstrous house raced toward him. One of its legs snatched the tree out of the ground, roots and all, leaving the sheriff vulnerable and panicked.

Wilhelm seemed quite disturbed by what he was seeing. He cried out something in German, but his message was clear. Sabrina's great-great-great-great-great-grandfather was completely freaked out.

"Baba Yaga's not going to be fooled for very long," Charming said as he rode up on his stallion.

Uncle Jake was right behind him, hovering on a flying carpet. "He's right. We should go."

Daphne nodded. "I agree. That storm is coming mucho fast-o."

"We can't leave! Mr. Canis is still in there," Sabrina said. Just then the old man stepped through the hole. He held his hand to his left eye as blood seeped down his wrist. "Old friend!" Granny gasped.

"It is nothing," the old man said, but his voice was pained. Granny removed a handkerchief from her handbag and gave it to the old man. He held it to his wound and then ushered everyone around the building to the street. "We have to get to the boat."

The family raced the three blocks to the town marina. There they found Puck waiting impatiently.

"It's about time!" Puck said. "I'm dying of hunger."

"Is the boat ready?" the old woman asked.

"Naturally," Puck replied as he gestured to Wilhelm's tiny rowboat. Uncle Jake helped Granny Relda into it, then the girls, Wilhelm, and finally himself.

"You know what to do?" Uncle Jake asked the fairy boy.

"No sweat. This is going to be simple," Puck crowed as he shot into the sky. He had barely gotten aloft when he was nearly knocked out of the sky by a cannonball.

"They're shooting at us!" Daphne exclaimed.

Uncle Jake took the oars and rowed with all his might. They streaked across the river right toward the ship, while more cannon shots slammed into the water around them.

"They must think we're coming to attack," Granny said.

Wilhelm leaped from his seat and waved at the boat. His excitement nearly capsized them, and Sabrina had to brace herself to keep from falling in the river. His wild gestures made her nervous. It seemed like he was just making them an easier target.

There were two more shots, but then the explosions stopped altogether, giving them smooth sailing to the side of the ship. Uncle Jake and Wilhelm helped Granny aboard and then the girls scampered up on their own power.

Once aboard, Sabrina was stunned by the people who surrounded her. Nearly everyone she had ever met from the town was there: Briar Rose; Mr. Seven and the rest of the seven dwarfs; Ms. White; Beauty and her husband, the Beast; and even some old enemies like Jack the Giant Killer and Rumpelstiltskin. She stepped in front of her family and clenched her fists, prepared to fight their way off the ship, but then it dawned on her that no one knew who they were.