The Council of Mirrors (11 page)

“House, run!” Baba Yaga cried, and the house took off at a clip. Everyone inside bounced around like they were inside a popcorn machine.

Baba Yaga darted to her window and shouted a few screeching threats out at Mirror and Atticus. Then she reached over her head and a spear made from magic and smoke appeared in her hand. She hurled it out the window, followed by another, and yet another. Bunny took the other window, letting fly long tendrils of lightning from her fingertips. Despite their efforts, a massive explosion rocked the house, knocking everyone off their feet.

“Now do you see what we’re up against?” Bunny demanded

“You have my power at a price, poison maker,” Baba Yaga said.

“A price?” Morgan cried.

“What is in it for the Old Mother?” Baba Yaga croaked.

Sabrina was incensed. “You get to live in a world that isn’t ruled by a maniac.”

Baba Yaga laughed. “The world is always ruled by a maniac.”

“Fine, Old Mother. You want payment for your services. Name your price,” the Wicked Queen said.

“Your eyes.”

No one in the house spoke, and for a moment all they could hear were the explosions outside. Had Sabrina heard the old witch correctly? Had Baba Yaga just asked Bunny Lancaster for her eyes? She glanced around the room. On a table nearby was a jar of what she had previously hoped were hard-boiled eggs. Now she realized that had been wishful thinking.

“Her eyes?” Henry repeated.

“A witch’s magic is in her eyes,” Morgan explained. She looked distressed.

“Every spell I’ve read, every experience I’ve lived through, every vision that has ever come to me are held in them. In essence, giving her my eyes is giving her my power,” Bunny said.

“That’s my deal, Your Majesty. This coven requires a crone—unless you want to dig up Frau Pfefferkuchenhaus’s worm-eaten corpse.” Baba Yaga cackled.

Another blast slammed into the house, and this time the structure could not stand its ground. It stumbled forward and crashed face-first into the forest floor. Sabrina grabbed her sister’s hand just as everyone slid with an orchestra of groans into the windows in a mess of legs and arms. Elvis got the worst of the weight and whimpered at the bottom of the pile.

“Get up, house!” Baba Yaga screeched, and the house obeyed. Unfortunately, its efforts to regain its footing sent the people
inside bouncing and tumbling again. It was a miracle that no one was killed, especially when the house rocked back and forth like a prizefighter shaking off an uppercut. It lumbered onward, only to be blasted and fall yet again.

From outside, Mirror called to them. “Is there really any point to the running? What I’m asking for is such a small thing! You’ll only suffer by refusing.”

“Don’t listen,” Atticus shouted. “The suffering is my favorite part.”

“We have to fight them,” Puck said, pulling his sword from his belt.

“That thing out there has access to all arcana. We don’t have the magic. We need the power of three if we stand a chance,” Bunny Lancaster said.

The house was rocked by a third massive assault. When Sabrina righted herself, she saw Baba Yaga extending her hand to the Wicked Queen.

Morgan gasped. “Bunny, don’t do it.”

“I have made bigger sacrifices,” the queen said as she reached out and took the crone’s hand. “Very well, Old Mother. We have a deal.”

Baba Yaga smiled a ghastly smile. There was a flash and a rumble and to Sabrina’s shock and disbelief it looked as if their
hands turned to stone—like the hands of a statue in a sculpture garden. Then the rocky flesh cracked as if filled with red-hot magma. Both witches then extended their hands to Morgan, who joined them. Her hands went through the same eerie change until they all looked toward the ceiling and said, “We are bound by coven.”

The electricity in the air made everyone’s hair stand on end. The trio faced the open windows and chanted an incantation in an ancient language. A wave of tremendous magic exploded out of their chests and flowed out the window. Sabrina raced to the window just in time to see the magic transform into a massive giant, a hundred feet tall, made of mist and wind. The mist giant attacked Mirror and Atticus, snatching them in its unearthly fists. Atticus fought with his sword and Mirror launched into a barrage of spells, but their efforts could not stop the creature.

“Crone, you’ve got them occupied for the time being, but we need to get this house out of here,” Henry shouted.

Baba Yaga ordered her house to run, and it got back up on its legs and dashed away, leaving the villains far behind them. As they left Mirror and Atticus in the distance, Sabrina watched the two villains—one with a face of evil and one with a face of love. She quietly prayed that the next time they met she would know how to stop them both.

ctober 15 (part 2)

So, our attempt to boost the morale around the castle has sort of backfired. Well, not sort of—totally. Mainly because our latest recruit has freaking terrified everyone. Baba Yaga has been walking around eyeing everyone and licking her lips like they were all pieces of fried chicken. The Pied Piper and Wendell barricaded themselves in one of the cabins. Puss in Boots darted underneath a shed and refused to come out. The Scarecrow burst into tears, ruining his face. He had to paint on brand-new eyes and a mouth, which in my opinion makes him no less creepy than Baba Yaga. Bunny is trying to assure everyone that they are safe and that the old witch is a big part of the plan. I’m wondering what this plan is, ’cause I feel like we’re wandering in the dark
.

Anyway, now that the coven has been built I guess it’s my turn to do my part—leading everyone to their deaths. I did a head count of
my “troops” to see what I’m working with, and our grand total is 24 people. We’ve got two old men, a beauty queen, a little boy with a harmonica, some circus bears, a man made out of hay, a bird, a cat wearing work boots, a feng shui consultant, and now a flesh-hungry witch and her walking house. And these people have the nerve to look at me like I’m going to let them down
.

Bunny says she’s going to get me help, but she’s asked for something in return. She wants us to keep our mouths shut about Atticus. She says she doesn’t want to make things any more complicated, especially with Snow, who already keeps her mother at arm’s length. We agreed, but in my opinion Snow has a right to know about the man and more importantly she has a right to know what her mother did to protect him from her. I suppose Bunny is trying to find the right way to explain it all
.

Oh, and on a side note, Puck told my dad he was going to marry me
.

Worst. Day. Ever
.

That night, Sabrina and her sister slept in one of the fortress’s cabins with Elvis. They pushed together two cots so they could sleep as they had been doing for years—side by side—and snuggled close to each other to fight off the room’s many drafts. Elvis lay at the foot of the bed, eventually making his way between them and
then entirely on the pillows. It was a fitful night for Sabrina, filled with terrible nightmares. In each dream, Mirror was strangling her and laughing. She woke several times, breathing hard and grasping at her throat. Daphne lay next to her, her little arms wrapped around the Book of Everafter. Elvis, who was usually as heavy of a sleeper as Daphne, snuggled up with Sabrina and licked her chin, but his attempts at comfort didn’t help.

“I heard your shouts,” a voice said from the shadows and Mr. Canis stepped forward. “I came to investigate.”

Sabrina nodded. “Bad dreams.”

“You have my sympathy,” the old man said. “I’ve suffered all my life. I find meditation before bed to be the most effective.”

“What are you doing up so late?”

“Trying to be useful,” the old man said, then pointed at the Book of Everafter. “This camp is filled with people who are untrustworthy. Perhaps I should take the book for safekeeping.”

“I’ll talk to Daphne about it in the morning,” Sabrina said. “She’s convinced she’s going to find something in it that will help.”

“Very well,” Mr. Canis said, and was soon gone.

Sabrina lay still listening to the wind and the forest and the world. Meditation might help, but right now what she needed was some air.

She snatched an extra blanket from under the cots and wrapped it around her like a cloak, then stepped out into the frosty air. The moon hid behind storm clouds that turned its light dull and milky, and a wind brushed through leaves and branches.

She wandered around the grounds wirhout a destination, just content in her aloneness. Eventually, she came across Briar’s grave. There, she spotted Uncle Jake sitting in his chair. She was happy he was back and wanted to rush to him and tell him that she loved him and that he wasn’t alone in his grief, but she suddenly understood that, like herself, he probably wanted to be alone. She was about to creep away when she heard his voice. At first she thought he was talking to himself, but then she realized he was talking to Briar. Sabrina listened as he talked about what he had seen in the forest that day: the colors of trees, the crunch of his feet under leaves, the signs of animals preparing for winter, and the beauty of the long, red sunset. But mostly he talked about how hard it was not to share those things with her firsthand.

Before Sabrina knew it, she was wiping tears off her cheeks.

“You got something to say, Sabrina?” Jake asked.

Sabrina stepped into the light. “I didn’t mean to spy. I couldn’t sleep.”

Jake smiled. “I like to talk to her,” he said as he gestured to the
grave. “I like to think she can hear me, wherever she is. I tell her how much I miss her and how I’m going to avenge her.”

“Please don’t do it,” Sabrina said quietly.

“I don’t expect any of you to understand. If what I do makes me the bad guy, well, I’ll have to live with it, but I can’t live with letting it go.” He scooped up his bow and arrows. “I only stopped by to say hello to her. I’ve got to get back to work.”

She followed him to the gate and watched as the drawbridge, recently repaired, lowered. Before he crossed the bridge he turned to her. “I heard the news about the prophecy. I’d wish you luck, but these days I’m not sure the world is worth saving.”

Sabrina wasn’t sure how to respond. Her instinct was to argue and give the man a pep talk, but at the same time she had to admit she often felt the same way. Life seemed to be mostly loss and pain and heartache.

“It’s a stupid prophecy,” she said. “Two kids are really going to save the world?”

“Save the people you love,” Uncle Jake said. “Who cares about the rest of the world?”

And then he was gone, leaving her alone with the murky moon.

• • •

In the morning, Sabrina woke to a knock on her cabin door. When she opened it, she found Charming, Mr. Seven, and Mr. Canis standing in the doorway.

“We need to talk,” Charming said. “We’ve had a deserter.”

“Who?”

“Puss in Boots,” Mr. Canis said. “He slipped out early this morning.”

Daphne sat up in bed and rubbed her eyes. “Why? Is it because of Baba Yaga?”

“We hope,” Mr. Seven said, “though there’s a chance he could have been a spy.”

Sabrina shook her head. “The cat wasn’t a spy and it wasn’t Baba Yaga. He was afraid Daphne and I were going to screw everything up.”

Charming sighed. “He may just be the first. The mood around here is definitely dark. We can’t afford to lose more, so you and your sister need to get out of your jammies and get to work.”

“And what do you suggest we do?” Sabrina grumbled. “There’s only twenty-four people in this army.”

“Twenty-three, now,” Daphne said.

“We’re not talking about the army,” Canis said. “Mr. Seven has another idea.”

“Our people have been suffering for a long time. It’s hard to
be afraid all the time, especially when it looks like things just get worse and worse every day. We’re going to throw a party,” the little man said.

“What do you want us to do—rent a bouncy castle and a cotton candy machine?” Sabrina asked.

“Actually, I was thinking we should have a wedding,” Mr. Seven said.

“A wedding?” Sabrina repeated.

“How romantic!” Daphne cried. She jumped up in bed and clapped happily.