The Council of Mirrors (29 page)

“How do you feel, Relda?” Veronica said, embracing the woman.

“I suppose I should be tired, but I’m actually very hungry,” Relda said with a laugh. “Oh, dear, I’ve lost my hat.”

“We’ll buy you another hat, Mom.” Uncle Jake laughed.

Basil squirmed in Veronica’s arms. “Who is this, Mommy?”

Veronica smiled as a tear escaped her happy eyes. “Honey, this is your grandmother. She’s part of your family.”

“Do you have a boo-boo?” he asked.

Granny wrapped him up in her arms. “I do! But I bet a kiss would make it feel better.”

Basil gave her a big kiss on the cheek.

“You look just like your
opa
,” Granny cooed.

Puck stepped forward and the old woman nodded at him. “Just so you know, I pretty much saved the whole world,” he said.

“Oh, I have no doubts.”

“Mom, look,” Henry said, pointing to the Everafters who were all bravely stepping on ground they hadn’t been able to reach in hundreds of years. “The barrier is down.”

“Oh dear,” Granny said.

“It’s going to be OK, Granny,” Daphne said.

And then they walked to the edge of town with the rest of the Everafters following behind them. Sabrina could see their faces, uncertain if their greatest wish also frightened them.

Sabrina turned to them and smiled. “You’re free.”

Charming, Snow White, the Cowardly Lion, Baba Yaga, Red, Mr. Canis, Boarman and Swineheart, Pinocchio—so many faces. They all took a step forward and stood with the family on the other side.

Everyone stood silently until Snow White spoke. “It’s too big.”

“What?” Sabrina asked.

“The possibilities,” the beautiful teacher said.

Red helped Mr. Canis forward. He leaned against his cane and gaped at the horizon. Beauty and Natalie joined them, as well as Mr. Boarman and Mr. Swineheart. The Pied Piper’s eyes filled with tears while his son stood grinning. The Frog Prince held his daughter in his arms. The Scarecrow’s burlap face displayed a wide, painted smile.

And then Puck pushed through the crowd. He rubbed his hands eagerly and grinned.

“Have I got plans for you!” he crowed, flying into the air with his wooden sword in hand.

• • •

A week later, many of the Everafters were gone. The Frog Prince and his daughter left, as did the Scarecrow, the Cowardly Lion, all of King Arthur’s remaining knights, and Little John. Daphne and the coven worked with some of the talking animals in hopes of creating disguises that would allow them to look human.
Veronica held a seminar on the basics of modern life, including how to use a computer, apply for a job, and get an apartment. She was very surprised to find that nearly everyone in town came to hear her. It looked as if Ferryport Landing would be all but abandoned soon.

But not everyone was ready to give up on the town. Sabrina marveled at those who decided to stay. Boarman and Swine-heart hung up their deputy caps for good and reopened their construction business. They were convinced they would soon be the richest Everafters in town. The former sheriff Mr. Hamstead and his wife, Bess, showed up not long after. It was good to see their friends’ happy faces. He and his wife were over the moon with happiness, as they were expecting their first child.

Charming held an emergency election for mayor but lost to his girlfriend, Snow, who was surprised to find herself a write-in candidate. Charming graciously conceded. Mayor White said her first order of business was to finally rebuild the school. She also hired Goldilocks to be the new city planner, after the woman argued that much of the town’s troubles were a result of bad energies and flow. She promised the new Ferryport Landing would be designed with feng shui in mind and would prove to be the most balanced and serene little town in New York.

Despite Henry’s hourly begging, Granny Relda decided to stay
and rebuild. She couldn’t bear to leave the town that had been her home for so many years, though she did promise to come to the city for frequent visits with her grandchildren. As always, Mr. Canis stood by her side, now with Red. He and Granny would raise her, and they offered the same to Pinocchio. The kindness overwhelmed him and he sobbed into Granny Relda’s dress. Later he would discover that he had grown a half an inch for the first time in a hundred years.

As the founders of the new Ferryport Landing made their plans, Goldi took Veronica aside. Sabrina couldn’t help but listen in.

“I know it has been very hard having me around,” she said. Veronica shook her head, though Sabrina wasn’t convinced of her sincerity. “You were a big help.”

“I just wanted to say that you’re good for him. Better than I would have been,” Goldi said. “You make Henry happy . . . which is hard to watch. I still—”

“I know you do,” Veronica said. “He’s kind of awesome, but I think that if you open yourself up, and take a chance, you might find that you will love someone else.”

The women hugged and parted as friends.

One night, with nothing left for them to do, Sabrina, Daphne, Puck, and Red walked down the road toward the
marina. The dock, surprisingly, was not damaged, so they took off their shoes and dipped their feet into the chilly Hudson River. They sat for a long time contemplating all that had happened and guessing at what lay ahead. Finally, Puck broke the silence.

“Your uncle is leaving town,” Puck said. “He says there’s magic all over the world that needs to be wrangled. He asked me to go with him.”

Sabrina felt a lump in her throat. “What did you say?”

“I’m probably going to go. This is no place for the master of mischief. There’s nothing left to break in this town.”

“You could come with us to New York City,” Sabrina said hopefully. “I’m sure your mom would like to see you around the kingdom.”

He seemed to understand what Sabrina was thinking. “Don’t worry, I’ll swing by and harass you all the time.”

Sabrina smiled. She knew this boy would be in her life always. Then she laughed.
Whether I like it or not
.

“Wait, what is that?” Puck said, looking down the river. Sabrina squinted and made out a boat sailing toward the marina. It was the kind of ship that could have drifted from the pages of a pirate novel. Its huge masts snapped in the wind and a fluttering flag smeared with a skull’s grin flapped in the air. The children
watched as it drifted down to them and then dropped anchor. Moments later a boy in green pants and shirt climbed onto the rail of the ship and leaped off into midair. A moment later, he was flying toward them. Sabrina looked over to Daphne. The little girl was biting her palm with excitement.

“It can’t be,” Sabrina said.

“It is,” Daphne said.

“Who is it?” Red said.

Puck huffed and scowled. “I’ll handle this.”

The flying boy in green stopped short of the dock and hovered in midair. He had a wooden sword much like Puck’s shoved into his belt and a little green hat. “Hey, you!” he cried. “Sorry to spook you with the ship. My lost boys and I sort of borrowed it from a few scurvy pirates back where we come from. The place is overrun with them, so we’ve decided to start someplace new. We’re looking for a town called Ferryport Landing. We heard it’s a place for folks like us.”

Sabrina eyed Puck closely.

“Never heard of it,” he said.

The flying boy frowned. “It’s got to be around here somewhere. I hear it’s filled with magic and fun.”

“I think someone gave you some bad information, kid,” Puck said. “This town is as boring as it gets.”

The flying boy shrugged. “All right, well, thanks.” Then he flew back to his boat.

“That wasn’t very nice,” Sabrina said.

Puck stuck his tongue out at her. “I hate that kid.”

Sabrina looked up the road at what was left of Ferryport Landing, the once-sleepy river town nestled on the banks of the Hudson River. There was hardly anything left of it. Sabrina felt like she was mourning the loss of another dear relative. But maybe one day it would live again.

“Is that it?” Daphne said. “Is that the end?”

Sabrina nodded and took her sister’s hand. “Yes, and it’s about time.”

The children sat on the dock for a long time, looking out at the rolling waves as they moved on to the sea.

“Wait. If we’re Everafters now, does that mean we’re going to live forever?” Daphne exclaimed.

Puck eyed Sabrina. She could almost see his mind working on the millions of pranks he would subject her to now that he had all the time in the world. She felt sick to her stomach when he giggled mischievously.

“Shenanigans,” he said.

D
APHNE ZIPPED UP
the back of Sabrina’s gown while she studied herself in a full-length mirror.

“Well, that makes it official,” Sabrina said. “I’m getting married.”

“The wedding dress is a big tip-off,” her mother said, adjusting the train. “You look like a princess.”

“Which one?”

Daphne laughed. “I don’t know. I could go out into the church and bring a few back to compare.”

“No Everafters in the changing room,” Sabrina said. She looked at herself in the mirror one more time. The ivory dress seemed to glow in the light. If she didn’t know better, she would suspect it was enchanted. “I hope everyone is wearing their disguises. Bradley is still not super-comfortable with them, and his folks don’t have a clue about the family business.”

“Everyone looks like a human,” Daphne said. “Except Hamstead’s boys. They brought their rocket packs.”

Sabrina sighed. “All I need is a bunch of teenage pigs and cows flying around the Church of St. Paul’s.”

“Nothing is going to ruin this, Sabrina,” Red said from the doorway. Looking at Red, now a lovely young woman, as close
to Sabrina as her own sister, no one would ever know she had a monster living inside her. Apparently, the yoga and meditation were working as well as ever. “I hope the ‘no Everafters in the dressing room’ rule doesn’t apply to me.”

“Get in here and help me,” Sabrina said.

“Are all the guests here?” Daphne asked as she took a brush and started combing her sister’s hair.

“Baba Yaga is here,” Red said as she eyed the bouquet of white roses. “She’s wearing a fur coat. At least I think it’s a coat. I could have sworn I heard it hiss at me.”

“Wow,” Veronica said. “Uncle Jake made it. Goldi’s here with her fiancé, too. Snow and Billy are there with the kids, Wendell and his girlfriend, Bunny—you know, the regular bunch—oh, Pinocchio.”

“Pinocchio! He came? We haven’t seen him in a million years,” Red said.

“I saw him. He grew up very nice,” Veronica said.

“He’s hot,” Daphne said.

Everyone looked at her in disbelief.

“What?” she cried defensively. “He is!”

Sabrina nodded. “Anyone else?”

No one said anything. Sabrina thought she saw a look pass between her mother and sister. “There was no way to find him.”

“Who?” Sabrina lied.

“You know who I’m talking about. I tried,” Daphne explained. “He’s just hard to track down. I tried every spell I know.”

“Well, I don’t want him here anyway,” Sabrina said. “He’d just make it all about him and ruin it for me. He’d probably toss eggs at me. It’s for the best.”

“Sabrina, you’re not thinking about him, are you?”

Sabrina hadn’t seen “him” in almost five years. She did not want to think about “him.” She certainly didn’t want to talk about him.

“No!”

“Good, because you’re marrying Bradley today. You need to be sure,” Daphne lectured.

“Oh, you’re giving me relationship advice? How many boys have you broken up with this year?”

“I break up with them because they are not right for me,” Daphne said. “Most of them are too—”

“Normal? Daphne, there’s nothing wrong with normal. I love normal. With an office full of Everafters needing legal help every day, it’s nice to go home to something normal.”

Daphne giggled. “That’s the price you pay for being a fairytale defense attorney.”

There was a knock at the door and then it opened. Henry entered, smiling and crying at the same time.

“Dad?” Sabrina asked.

“You look so beautiful,” he blubbered.

“He’s been like this all day,” Veronica said, wrapping her arms around her husband’s waist. “I love it.”

Sabrina hugged her father too, but Veronica broke them up. “No tears on the dress!” she said, which made everyone laugh.

From the open door, the sounds of a pipe organ floated into the room.

“It’s showtime,” Daphne said, handing Sabrina a bouquet of white roses.

Sabrina checked herself one more time in the mirror. She did look as beautiful as a princess—not all of them, but a few. She took a deep breath and smiled. Today was the start of a new adventure. Bradley was exactly the big, beautiful, grounded thing that she wanted, and together they would build a big, beautiful, grounded life.

“Honey?” her father said. “It’s time.”

“I wish Granny were here,” Sabrina said.

Her father intertwined his arm into hers and together they walked to the back of the church. “I’m sure she’s watching wherever she is. She’s probably made a big dinner for your grandfather—all kind of weird blue food made from squids and daffodils. They’re sitting back taking it all in.”