The Fairy-Tale Detectives (The Sisters Grimm, Book 1) Read online

  "Don't look at me," Puck said. "I've made no promises to the old lady. She knew I wasn't a good little boy when we met."

  Sabrina was taken aback by his insensitivity. "So you couldn't care less what happens to her?"

  "I've learned one thing in this life of mine. Look out for yourself. Everyone else will just end up disappointing you."

  "So you won't help?"

  "I'm not one of the good guys," Puck said.

  Suddenly, the sound of Elvis's barking filled the room. Sabrina peered into the hallway. There, she saw Jack fighting with Elvis, who was shredding the man's pants in his angry teeth.

  "Get this beast away from me! He's rabid," Jack begged.

  "What are you doing up here?" Sabrina asked, suspiciously.

  "I was coming up to wake you."

  Daphne entered the hallway rubbing sleep from her eyes.

  "What's going on?"

  "The Giant Killer is prowling around the house looking for something to steal," Puck said. "Your savior has sticky fingers."

  "Shut your mouth, you dirty little hooligan," Jack shouted.

  "It'll take more than your words to make that happen, you thieving barn rat."

  "Elvis," Daphne said as she patted the angry dog on the head—her touch seemed to have a calming effect on him— "take a chill pill."

  Elvis released Jack's pant leg from his teeth.

  "Thank you," Jack said, eyeing his mangled trousers. "So, are you ready to hear my plan?"

  Sabrina looked at Puck, hoping the boy might reconsider and help them, but he sneered and looked away.

  "Yes, we're ready," she replied.

  Puck said nothing. He walked down the stairs and out the door, slamming it behind him.

  "We don't need him, anyway," Jack said. "Is anyone hungry? Let's have some breakfast!"

  He rushed down the stairs and into the kitchen, the girls following behind. They watched as he rifled through the contents of the refrigerator.

  "There's nothing to eat in this house," Jack complained. "I could really go for some bubble and squeak or some bangers. Do you kids think you could cook up some steak-and-kidney pie for me?"

  The girls stared.

  "I hear noises coming from his mouth but they don't sound like words," Daphne said.

  "Maybe he's having some kind of fit," Sabrina said.

  Jack rolled his eyes, snatched up some leftovers, and ate greedily.

  "Let me tell you kids," he said, his mouth full, "prison food is terrible."

  "We'll take your word for it," Sabrina said.

  While Jack ate, the girls took turns telling him how Granny Relda and Mr. Canis had been kidnapped. Sabrina told him her theory about Mayor Charming being the mysterious Mr. Englishman, and how she thought he was using the giant to scare people off their land.

  "So, tell us your plan," Daphne said as Jack finished his breakfast.

  "I'm still working out the details."

  Both the girls flashed Jack an angry look.

  "Don't worry!" he said defensively. "It's going to be brilliant."

  Sabrina had had enough. She got up from her seat and grabbed the telephone.

  "We helped you escape from prison so you could help us save our grandmother and all you have done is eat our food and drool on our sofa," she raged. "If you can't do it, then I'm just going to call Deputy Crane and let him know you're ready to go back."

  "Put the phone down and relax," Jack said calmly as he helped himself to another chicken leg. "You think tracking down a giant is easy? Giants have survived thousands of years being as big as they are and they've learned a few things about staying out of sight when they need to. Now we can traipse through the woods, cut down the forest, and drag the Hudson River, but the fact is that if a giant doesn't want to be found, he's not going to be found."

  "You're talking in circles," Sabrina complained.

  "What I'm saying, duck, is that we have to be smarter than a giant to catch a giant. You said it yourself, that the mayor was trying to cover up what happened to that farm. It's no secret he wants to buy up the entire town. What better way than to get a giant to scare off the landowners who won't sell? So when your family started snooping around, he sent the big boy after you. He's got your granny and now he's after the two of you. All the evidence you need was chasing us down

  Main Street

  yesterday."

  "Go on," Sabrina said, as she set the phone back in its cradle.

  "Knowing Charming, he's got a map of Ferryport Landing in his office, with all the property he's after and where he's going to send the giant next. All you have to do is sneak into his office during the ball tonight, find the map, and see where the giant's next target is. Then we show up, the giant shows up, I do what I do, and bingo-bango, we kill the big boy and save your grandmum."

  "That's your big plan?" Sabrina cried.

  "You got something better? I know that sneaking into the ball doesn't sound as exciting as burning down the forest and waiting for the giant to run out, but I've always had a mind that tells me the easiest way is the best way."

  "There's one big problem, though," Daphne spoke up. "The mayor and the police are looking for us. We're going to have a tough time sneaking into the place."

  "Oh, girls, you're going to go right through the front door and no one is even going to notice," Jack said confidently.

  After he had eaten, he insisted the best way to digest a meal was to follow it with another kip. As their "hero" rested, the girls frantically searched the books for anything that might help. Eventually, they came upon one of their grandfather Basil's many journals. Inside, he had sketched out a rough plan of Charming's estate.

  The mayor's mansion was a sprawling several-story palace with dozens of rooms. Their grandpa had given estimates of room sizes, locations of various windows, and even an indication of a wall he believed held a secret door. But Grandpa hadn't seen all of the house, and many parts of the drawing were labeled with question marks. Sabrina noticed he had paid extra attention to possible escape routes—apparently, Grandpa had been a bit of a sneak as well.

  Sabrina carefully studied the map and did her best to commit it to memory. When Jack finally woke up, several hours later, he found the girls ready to get started.

  "The first thing we need is the magic mirror," Jack said.

  "I don't know what you're talking about," Sabrina said, stealing a look into Daphne's eyes.

  "Girls, I know Relda has the magic mirror. Everyone knows that. Why do you think the front door has a dozen locks on it?"

  Sabrina took the keys out of her pocket and led her sister and their guest up the steps. Once they arrived at the mirror's room, she inserted the key and unlocked the door. As before, the face in the mirror was filled with rage at the invasion.

  "WHO DARES?" he bellowed.

  Jack strolled in without a care, followed by the girls.

  "Turn off the drama, Mirror," he scoffed.

  "Oh, it's you," Mirror mumbled.

  "Of course it's me. I'm the bloke you call when you have a big problem, and these girls have a really big problem," Jack bragged.

  "And where is the carpet?" the face in the mirror asked Sabrina.

  "Sorry," she said. She walked to the doorway and called for it. After a couple of minutes, the carpet floated limply into the room.

  "What have you done to it?" Mirror cried as the carpet fell to the floor and once again rolled itself up.

  "I think we had too many people on it," Daphne explained as a hand broke the surface of the mirror and snatched the carpet from the ground.

  "It's nearly unraveling in my hand," the face wailed as he babied the rug. "Poor little carpet, look at how they treated you."

  "Too many years hanging on a wall in the Grimm house have made you a real sourpuss," Jack commented.

  "How can I help you?" Mirror asked, brushing off the insult.

  "We need to sneak into Charming's mansion tonight and we need some disguises," Jack said.


  "Not a problem at all."

  "And we need the slippers."

  Mirror frowned. "Absolutely not," he stammered.

  "Listen, this house is going to be surrounded with the police any minute now. Ali Baba's carpet isn't going to get us into Charming's mansion. We need the slippers," Jack argued.

  "Mrs. Grimm would not approve. The slippers were entrusted to this family so they would never fall into the wrong hands," Mirror replied.

  "You can trust me," said Jack.

  "Didn't you used to have your own magic items? What happened to the Cloak of Darkness?"

  "I lost it in a game of poker."

  "You lost a cloak that turns you invisible in a poker game? What about the Shoes of Swiftness?"

  "I hocked them."

  "The Cap of Knowledge? The Goose that Laid the Golden

  "Lost the cap in a game of dice. And I accidentally left the window open one day and the goose flew off."

  "I suppose you sold the Sword of Sharpness?" Mirror grumbled.

  "No, I still have the Sword of Sharpness," said Jack indignantly. "I just misplaced it. It's in my flat somewhere. The point is, we need the slippers. If you won't let me have them, then let one of the girls wear the shoes. It doesn't make any difference to me."

  "What slippers?" Sabrina shouted. She was tired of their bickering.

  "Dorothy's slippers," Jack and Mirror shouted.

  "Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz?" Daphne exclaimed.

  "Yes," Jack said impatiently. "They can transport you anywhere you want to go, all you have to do is . . ."

  "Click three times!" Daphne cried. "Gimme the slippers!"

  "Girls, I have to warn you. The slippers are very powerful magic. People have died trying to get them. There are still those . . . some in this town . . . who would slit your throats to possess them," Mirror said.

  "Enough of this," Jack said, and then he did something that shocked Sabrina. He stepped into the reflection and pushed the man in the mirror aside.

  "How dare you!" Mirror shouted.

  "C'mon kids, keep up!" Jack said as his face appeared in the reflection.

  The girls were unsure of what to do. Daphne reached up and curled her hand into her sister's. Sabrina squeezed softly and the two of them took a tentative step through the mirror. It was a cool sensation, almost as if they had been caught in a summer rainstorm, and when they finally opened their eyes, a brilliant glimmering light flooded their pupils. What they saw made Sabrina queasy. It wasn't natural. It just wasn't possible.

  Sabrina had expected to walk into a reflection of the room they had been in. After all, the mirror was a mirror. But she couldn't have been more wrong. Instead she found herself in a long, wide hallway that reminded her of Grand Central Station. It was vast, with a vaulted ceiling and endless archways of glass and steel. Glowing marble columns held up the ceiling, which rose hundreds of feet above them. Breathtaking sculptures of men and monsters lined the hall. And along each wall were hundreds of doors of all shapes and sizes, some no bigger than a rabbit, others a hundred feet high. Some were wooden, others steel, and still others seemed to be made from pure light. Sabrina looked down at Granny Relda's key ring and realized what all the keys were for. Yet another of Granny's eccentricities had a legitimate explanation.

  Even more startling than the gigantic room they were standing in was the man who lived in it. The face in the mirror was no longer a disembodied head, but a short, chubby little man in a black suit and tie.

  "Keep your hands in your pockets, Jack," the man insisted.

  "Mirror, I am shocked. Don't you trust me?" Jack said.

  "I trust you about as much as the person who gave you that fat lip," said Mirror.

  "What is this place?" Daphne asked.

  "It's an arcane-powered, multi-phasic, trans-dimensional pocket universe," Mirror replied.

  "A what-who?"

  "Your grandmother calls it the world's biggest walk-in closet." The little man sighed. "It's a sort of holding area for dangerous and valuable items. I call it the Hall of Wonders, and you're not supposed to be in here."

  "Oh, Mirror," Jack said. "We've learned one of your secrets. Don't worry, I'm sure you have a million more."

  The little man's face flushed with anger. His fists clenched and he looked as if he might hit Jack, but the giant killer just ignored him.

  "All right, Mirror, where are the slippers?" Jack asked impatiently.

  "This way," Mirror said, gesturing for them to follow. He walked down the long hall past many doors. The plaque on one read FAIRY GODMOTHER WANDS while the next read TALKING PLANTS. As they continued down the hallway, they found more doors labeled: POISONOUS FRUITS, DRAGON EGGS, IMPOSSIBLE ANIMALS, WISHING WELLS, CRYSTAL BALLS, CURSED TREASURE, SCROLLS AND PROPHESIES, and on and on and on. Passing one massive door, the group jumped as violent pounding from within threatened to knock it off its hinges. Something on the other side wanted out, something named GRENDEL.

  The group pressed on down the hallway where they finally stopped at a door that read MAGIC SHOES.

  "Here we are," Mirror said reluctantly. "But I must once again remind you that magic is dangerous. There's a reason why the Everafters asked this family to look after all of these things. Magic in the wrong hands only leads to chaos."

  "We'll be careful," said Sabrina as she knelt down to the lock. It was a simple one that would take a skeleton key, but Granny's key ring had dozens of skeleton keys. Sabrina tried the first one and it failed. She tried another; still nothing.

  "Let me try," Jack said impatiently.

  "I've got it," Sabrina snapped. She turned another key, and this time the lock opened. The door swung wide and everyone entered.

  The room was simple, but its contents were amazing. Along the walls were hundreds of pairs of shoes: cowboy boots, woven sandals, wooden clogs, leather moccasins, and many more, all displayed on wooden shelves. Some of the shoes seemed as if they had been made for animals, while others were big enough for the entire group to stand in. One golden pair had downy, white wings that flapped as if the shoes were alive, and another glittering pair were made of pure glass.

  Jack picked up the pair of shoes with wings, but the little man promptly smacked his hand and snatched them from his grip. After replacing the shoes, Mirror crossed the room, picked up a pair of sparkling silver slippers, and handed them to Sabrina.

  "Try to take better care of these than you did the magic carpet," he said gruffly.

  If these were the famous ruby slippers, they were more silver than red, though in the light Sabrina saw hints of a warm, rosy color. She couldn't figure out what they were made of, but if forced to guess, she would say they were tinfoil.

  "Put them on, child," the little man said.

  "They're way too small," Sabrina said as she eyed the shoes.

  "One size fits all, duck," Jack said.

  Sabrina yanked off her sneakers and slid her foot inside one of the slippers, which magically grew in size and fit her foot perfectly. Once she had the other one on, an odd energy crept up her legs and filled her whole body.

  Just then, Jack darted out of the room and across the hall.

  "Jack!" the little man shouted after him, but Jack didn't listen. When they finally found him, the giant killer was eyeing a door with a plaque that read MAGIC BEANS.

  "I can't believe you have a whole room of them!" he shouted with glee.

  "We might be bending the rules on the slippers, but those are off-limits to the likes of you!" Mirror said.

  "How about a peek?" Jack pleaded. He suddenly looked like a lost little boy. "These things are part of my past. Can't a man take a walk down memory lane?"

  Sabrina could see his expression, and all at once she felt sorry for him. Jack was a man whom the whole world had loved. He had seen amazing things and lived life to the fullest, but being trapped in Ferryport Landing had put an end to all of it. It dawned on Sabrina that Ferryport Landing might have been the home of many of the world's fairy-tale c
reatures, but it was also a prison they were never allowed to leave. It didn't seem right.

  Sabrina pulled out the keys, knelt down, eyed the keyhole, and within seconds opened the door. Jack pushed past her into the tiny room, where a single mason jar sat on a table. Inside it was a collection of little white beans.

  Jack gasped and picked up the jar. "There must be a hundred of them."

  Mirror snatched the jar out of his hand and placed it back on the table.

  "These things are dangerous. If you dropped them on the floor we'd be ear-deep in giants."

  Jack scowled for a moment and looked as if he were ready to fight for his treasure, but he took a deep breath and his anger vanished, only to be replaced with a boyish grin.

  "Thanks, Grimms, you don't know what you've done for me," he said.

  Mirror hurried everyone back through the door.

  "Well, ladies, now that we've got the shoes, we need the proper disguises," Jack said. "I think a little fairy godmother magic will do the trick."

  "Wands are over here," Mirror said, leading them down the hallway. They stopped at the door labeled FAIRY GODMOTHER WANDS and Sabrina unlocked it. Inside, a small black cauldron sat on a tiny table, with several skinny sticks popping out of the top. Mirror reached into the pot and removed one that had a glittery glass star on the end, and handed it to Sabrina.

  "The first magical item your family ever had to confiscate," Mirror said.

  "I remember old Wilhelm Grimm trying to get that away from her." Jack laughed. "Girls, I'll say one thing about your family. They are brave. Fairy godmothers are sweet as pie on the outside, but try to take away their wands and they can get downright mean."

  "Indeed," Mirror said.

  "How does this work?" Sabrina asked.

  Mirror frowned. "I can't believe your father!" he cried. "I'd hoped that your mother, Veronica, might at least give you the basics behind his back. Very well, this is the changing wand used by Cinderella's fairy godmother. It will alter your clothes, shoes, even your bodies, in any way you want."