The Fairy-Tale Detectives (The Sisters Grimm, Book 1) (12 page)

"Where are you taking us?" Sabrina asked, but the boy just laughed.

Soon, they came to the end of the forest, where a tall fence blocked their way. Built into the fence was a door, and the boy pushed it open. The girls stepped through and found themselves standing in front of a tarp-covered swimming pool in the backyard of a two-story suburban-style house. Some pixies swirled around the tarp and lifted it off the pool, while others zipped off and returned with a rope. They stung Sabrina's arms relentlessly until she put them behind her back, and then they tied the rope around her wrists.

The boy stuck the tip of his sword into Sabrina's back. He forced her onto the diving board. "You've made a terrible mistake, spy!" he shouted.

"We're not spies!" Sabrina exclaimed.

"Tell it to the fish!" the boy hollered, causing the little lights to make a tittering noise that sounded like laughter. Sabrina looked down at the pool and wondered how deep the water was. There was a diving board, so it had to be deep, and with her arms tied behind her she'd certainly drown if the icy water didn't freeze her to death first. She tugged at the ropes, but each pull just tightened them around her wrists.

"So, spy, would you like to repent your crimes before you meet your watery doom?" the boy asked.

"What crimes?" Sabrina cried, and then took a deep breath, certain he would push her in. But after several moments, nothing happened.

"The crime of trying to steal the old lady away from me," the mop-topped boy declared.

"Granny?" Daphne asked from the side of the pool.

"The one they call Relda Grimm."

"Relda Grimm is our grandmother and we're not trying to steal her. We're trying to save her!" Sabrina shouted.

"Save her?" the boy asked suspiciously. "Save her from what?"

"A giant," the two girls called out together.

Sabrina could sense their captor's confusion. She turned and found him talking to several of the little lights that hovered around his head.

"Well, of course it makes a difference," the boy replied, annoyed.

"We're trying to get home. We need to save her before it's too late," Daphne pleaded.

The boy groaned and quickly untied Sabrina's wrists. "Where did this happen?" he asked. "How big was the giant?"

But Sabrina didn't answer. Instead, she spun around, grabbed the boy by the shoulders, and heaved him into the pool, sending a splash of water and soggy dead leaves high into the air. The sword had slipped from the boy's hand as he fell, and with nimble fingers, Sabrina caught it. She leaped to safety on the side of the pool and waved the sword threateningly at the pixies.

"You're going to let us walk out of here," she demanded. There was no movement at first, but then they flew around the pool, making a laughing sound, as if they were chuckling at their leader's misfortune. Sabrina stood dumbfounded, unsure of what to do next.

A geyser of water shot high into the air, with the soaked boy riding its crest. When the water crashed back into the pool, the boy stayed aloft, several feet above Sabrina. Two huge wings had come out of his back and were flapping loudly. Oddly enough, the boy was laughing.

"You think this is funny?" Sabrina exploded. She began making jabs at the boy, who flew effortlessly away from her thrusts. "A kid and a bunch of flying cockroaches kidnapping girls and threatening to kill them? That's how you losers have fun?"

"Aww, we wouldn't have killed you. We were just fooling," the boy said.

"Well, if you're finished with your stupid, psychotic games, my sister and I have to rescue our grandmother," Sabrina declared. She took Daphne's hand and turned to leave. Elvis joined them, but Sabrina shot him an angry look. The dog had spent the entire episode sitting lazily by the pool as if nothing peculiar were happening. The Great Dane caught her eye and whined.

"You've only been in this town for two days and you've already lost the old lady," the boy said bitterly, as he floated into the girls' path.

"We didn't lose her, she was taken by a monster as big as a mountain," Sabrina argued.

"Well, if you've come looking for help, you've come to the wrong place," the boy crowed. "Rescuing old ladies is a job for a hero! I'm a villain of the worst kind."

"Good! We don't want your help!" Sabrina said angrily, tossing the boy's sword aside.

"I thought Peter Pan was one of the good guys," Daphne added.

The boy's face turned so red Sabrina thought his head might explode. "Peter Pan? I'm not Peter Pan! I'm Puck!"

"Who's Puck?" Daphne asked.

"Who's Puck?" the boy cried. "I'm the most famous Everafter in this town. My exploits are known around the world!"

"I've never heard of you," Sabrina replied. She spun around and started walking through the yard to the street, with her sister and Elvis following. After only a couple of steps, the boy was hovering in front of them again.

"You've never heard of the Trickster King?" Puck asked, shocked.

The girls shook their heads.

"The Prince of Fairies? Robin Goodfellow? The Imp?"

"Do you work for Santa?" Daphne asked.

"I'm a fairy, not an elf." Puck roared. "You really don't know who I am! Doesn't anyone read the classics anymore? Dozens of writers have warned the world about me. I'm in the most famous of all of William Shakespeare's plays."

"I don't remember any Puck in Romeo and Juliet!" Sabrina muttered, feeling a little amused at how the boy was reacting to his non-celebrity.

"Besides Romeo and Juliet!” Puck shouted. "I'm the star of A Midsummer Night's Dream?'

"Congratulations," Sabrina said flatly. "Never read it."

Puck floated down to the ground. His wings disappeared and he spun around on his heel, transforming into a big shaggy dog. Elvis growled at the sight of him, but Puck didn't attack. Instead, he shook himself all over, spraying the girls with water. When he was finished, he morphed back into a boy.

As she wiped the water off her face, Sabrina was tempted to give the weird boy another piece of her mind, but they had wasted enough time with this "Puck." She took Daphne's hand in hers once more, and together they marched down the deserted street.

"I'm afraid the old lady is a goner!" Puck taunted. "You'll get no help from me. Like I said, I'm a villain."

"Fine!" Sabrina shouted back.

"Fine!"

Daphne turned on the boy. "You sent those pixies to attack us last night, didn't you?"

"Just a little fun," Puck replied.

"That wasn't very nice." The little girl gave him her best angry look and then turned to join her sister.

"I'm a lot of things, but nice isn't one of them," the boy called after them.

"Maybe we should team up with him? He could fly over the forest and spot the giant," Daphne suggested to Sabrina.

"Daphne, you saw what a lunatic he is. I don't want him to ruin whatever slim chance we might have."

•   •   •

The path to the front door of Granny Relda's cottage seemed like a walk up a mountain, and by the time they arrived at the house Sabrina was nearly asleep standing up. She took out Granny's key ring and felt the weight of a hundred keys jingling in her hand, singing their mysteries.

By the time all the locks were open, it seemed as if hours had passed. Elvis was asleep and drooling on the sidewalk, swinging his thick legs back and forth as he dreamed.

As Sabrina unlocked the final lock, she turned to her sister and smiled. "That's all of them." She twisted the knob and leaned into the door. Unfortunately, the door didn't swing open. In fact, it didn't budge at all.

"What's wrong?" Daphne said, sitting up. She had been resting on the ground with her head on Elvis's warm belly.

"It's jammed," Sabrina said, pushing her shoulder against the big door to force it open.

Daphne got up and walked over. "Are you sure you unlocked them all?" she said. Sabrina fumed. If she knew anything, it was how to unlock a door. They'd escaped from a dozen foster homes in the last year and a half. Locks were not Sabrina's problem. She took the cold doorknob in her hand and turned it, proving that she had unlocked it. She pushed hard but still nothing happened.

"Well, it's not opening. Maybe the back door," she said, preparing to circle the house.

"You've forgotten the secret," a familiar voice commented. Puck floated to the ground, his huge wings disappearing just as he landed.

"What do you want?" Sabrina demanded.

"I did a flyby, all the way up into the mountains. I found some tracks, but no giant," Puck said. "I sent some pixies to keep searching without me."

Sabrina turned the doorknob angrily, hoping the door would suddenly open so she could laugh as she slammed it in Puck's face. But again, nothing happened.

"You have to tell the house you are home." Puck sighed.

"Of course!" Daphne knocked on the door three times. "We're home," she said, repeating the same words the girls had heard Granny Relda say each time they had entered the house, and turning the doorknob. The door finally swung open.

"How did you know that?" Daphne asked Puck.

"The old lady and I are close. She tells me everything."

Elvis immediately leaped to his feet and trotted into the house, nearly knocking over the girls on his way to the kitchen. The girls followed, and Puck pushed his way in as well, closing the door behind him.

"Now, I know I'm one of the bad guys," the boy said, tossing himself into the fluffy recliner in the living room. "But the old lady does provide me with a meal from time to time. Not that I feel any loyalty, but if she were to get eaten by a giant, my free lunches would disappear. So, we should probably get started."

"We? What do you mean we?” Sabrina cried.

"Of course, you two will have to keep this to yourselves," the boy continued, ignoring Sabrina. "I do have a reputation as the worst of the worst. If word got out that the Trickster was helping the heroes . . . well, it would be scandalous."

The girls stared at each other, dumbfounded.

"First things first. I want you two to prepare a hearty meal so that I will have plenty of energy to kill the giant," Puck instructed.

"You've got to be kidding," Sabrina groaned.

"The old lady always makes lunch when a mystery is afoot. I know it's not the most glamorous work, but I think you two are best suited for domestic tasks."

"What does domestic tasks mean?" Daphne asked.

"The way he means it is women's work," her sister replied.

Daphne snarled at the boy.

"Besides, as your leader I need to save my energy for the battle," Puck insisted.

Sabrina's temper boiled over. "Leader! No one made you leader. No one even said they wanted your help!"

"You may not want it, but you need it," the boy shouted back. "The two of you can't even get into your own house. Do you think you'll strike fear into a giant?"

"Maybe if you two keep shouting, the giant will come to us," Daphne said.

Sabrina and Puck stared angrily at each other for a long moment.

"Who's hungry?" Daphne said. "I'm going to go do some domestic tasks for myself."

Sabrina was too hungry to fight any longer. Eating would clear her head. The three children raided the refrigerator and dug through the breadbox, grabbing anything and everything they thought they could eat. Puck seemed to share Daphne's big appetite; both of their plates were heaped with odd-colored food. The two also ate the same way—like hungry pigs, scarfing down anything that came close to their mouths. They were both working on seconds by the time Sabrina had made two Swiss cheese sandwiches and found what she hoped was just a weirdly colored apple.

"So, what's with the crown?" Daphne asked.

Puck's eyes grew wide. "I'm the Prince of Fairies. Emperor of Pixies, Brownies, Hobgoblins, Elves, and Gnomes. King of Tricksters and Prank-Players, spiritual leader to juvenile delinquents, layabouts, and bad apples."

The little girl stared at the boy with confusion in her face.

"I'm royalty!" Puck declared.

"So where's your kingdom?" Sabrina asked snidely.

"You're in it!" he snapped. "The forest and the trees are my kingdom. I sleep under the stars. The sky is my royal blanket."

"That explains the smell," Sabrina muttered.

The Trickster King ignored her comment and munched hungrily, tossing apple cores and whatever he couldn't eat onto the floor. A turkey bone soared from his hand and landed on a nearby windowsill.

"Puck, can I ask you a question?" Daphne said.

"You bet."

"If you knew Shakespeare, why do you look like you're only eleven years old?"

This was something Sabrina had been wondering about as well. Granny's explanation that magic kept the Everafters alive just wasn't making sense. Mayor Charming and Mr. Seven had to be hundreds of years old, yet they looked as if they hadn't aged at all.

"Ah, that's the upside of being an Everafter," Puck said. "You only get as old as you want to be. Some decided to age a little so that they could get jobs and junk like that."

"Then why didn't you?" Sabrina asked.

Puck shrugged. "Never crossed my mind. I plan on staying a boy until the sun burns out."

Sabrina thought that she'd like to see him running around in the dark as the earth froze over. She bit into her sandwich, only to discover that the Swiss cheese tasted more like hard applesauce.

"So, tell me what happened with the giant," said Puck.

While Sabrina ate, Daphne told the boy the whole sordid mess. She told him about the farmhouse that had been stepped on by the giant and how Mayor Charming had demanded that Granny Relda give up her detective work. How the farmer had spoken to a man named Mr. Englishman, and how a witch had erased the farmer's memory. She told about the gang of thugs that had attacked them outside of the hospital, and how, when they had followed the gang back to a cabin, they had spotted Charming again. Then she told him about the giant's attack, how he had killed the thugs, and how he had snatched up Granny and Mr. Canis.

Sabrina got up from her chair and went into the living room, where she stood in front of one of the many bookshelves.