The Sisters Grimm: Book Eight: The Inside Story (26 page)

“We didn’t see
the
future. We saw
a
future,” Sabrina said. “The world we saw was terrible. The Master was in control of everything. Dragons hunted people. Human beings were refugees. When we got back to our time, Daphne and I started doing everything we could to prevent that from happening. And we have managed to change some stuff. For instance, Snow White was dead in the future but we saved her life. Daphne had a horrible scar on her face but we fixed that, too. There have been countless other things we stopped from happening. We may have altered the future so much that you and I don’t get married.”

Puck sat back, deep in thought. “So, you and I might not get married and have to do all that mushy stuff and have kids and buy a house and get a mortgage? I might not have to get a job or take baths or take up reading?”

Sabrina shook her head. “If we rescue Granny Relda and stop Mirror for good, we could probably change it all.”

“Great! Let’s kick Mirror’s butt,” he said.

Sabrina smiled at the joke but down deep it hurt her a little. Not that she wanted her whole life planned out for her when she was only twelve years old. She wanted there to be mysteries about the life she might lead and the loves she might find along the way, and she didn’t want fate telling her whom she was supposed to be with. Still, Puck was special to her. He was her first kiss; her first crush. There was no use denying it anymore. Poisoned apples had spilled the beans.

“Thank you, Sabrina Grimm.”

“For what?”

“Don’t torture me! I won’t say it out loud. Just . . . you know, in four thousand years no one has felt . . . Oh, just forget it!” he said. He took a strong whiff of the air. “Geez, Grimm. You’re rank.”

Then he walked away. A moment later, Daphne approached.

“Bobby is so cute,” Daphne said.

“Bobby? You want to name the baby Bobby Grimm?” Sabrina said.

Before she could argue, their parents approached with the little boy in their arms.

“We’ve come up with a name,” Veronica said.

“Please tell me it isn’t Oohg,” Sabrina replied.

“No, it’s Basil, after my father.” Henry beamed.

“I think it works,” Daphne said.

“So, what’s next?” Puck said, flying back to the group. “The old lady sacrificed herself, which means no more free meals for me. We have to get her back.”

Henry sighed. “I’m not sure what to do first.”

Sabrina looked around at her family. All of them were at a loss. They needed someone to step forward and lead them. For the first time in many days the thought did not make her ill.

“We need to start preparing,” Sabrina said. “Mirror has some horrible plans. Worse still, that man he unleashed, Atticus—I saw his face, and he’s not right. There isn’t an ounce of humanity inside him. Puck, you find Uncle Jake, Mr. Canis, Charming, and Snow White. Take Pinocchio with you. Mom, Dad, Daphne—we need to go see the real Wicked Queen, and unfortunately, we’re going to have to get some help from someone I’d rather not see again.”

“Baba Yaga,” Daphne groaned.

Sabrina nodded. “If we’re going to stop Mirror, we’re going to need this town’s most powerful people. Because if we can’t stop him, it may very well be the end of the world.”

To be concluded . . .

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Michael Buckley is the
New York Times
bestselling author of the
Sisters Grimm
and
NERDS
series. He has also written and developed television shows for many networks. Michael lives in Brooklyn, New York, with his wife, Alison, and his son, Finn.

This book was designed by Melissa Arnst, and art directed by Chad W. Beckerman. It is set in Adobe Garamond, a typeface that is based on those created in the sixteenth century by Claude Garamond. Garamond modeled his typefaces on those created by Venetian printers at the end of the fifteenth century. The modern version used in this book was designed by Robert Slim-bach, who studied Garamond’s historic typefaces at the Plantin-Moretus Museum in Antwerp, Belgium.

The capital letters at the beginning of each chapter are set in Daylilies, designed by Judith Sutcliffe. She created the typeface by decorating Goudy Old Style capitals with lilies.

Illustrations © 2010 Peter Ferguson

Cover Design by Allison Henry and Chad W. Beckerman