The Everafter War Read online

“It’s not nonsense! It’s feng shui, and it’s thousands of years old,” Goldilocks said. “It can help everything and everyone stay in their harmonics.”

  “This is a military complex. It’s not supposed to have harmonics.”

  “You asked me for my help, William,” the woman said stubbornly.

  “This isn’t what I had in mind. I need fighters, especially ones with unique talents. You can command an animal army, but instead you’re moving the ammunition and the horses so they are one with the universe. Woman, we’re launching an attack tonight!”

  “What!” Henry cried. “You didn’t tell us that!”

  “I’m not in the habit of discussing my plans with you,” Charming snapped, then turned to Sabrina. He examined her from head to toe. “You are such a strange child.”

  Sabrina growled. Puck laughed again.

  Charming turned his attention back to Henry. “Hood and the Merry Men only found one of the hobgoblins you let get away. The other has assuredly returned to the Hand to report where we are located. They are likely organizing to attack us as we speak, and I have no intention of sitting and waiting for it to happen. We’re going to strike first. It may be our only opportunity to surprise them.”

  Granny gave Sabrina the antidote for her green skin. It was a thick, coppery-tasting concoction that changed her skin back to normal within a few seconds. The side effect, however, could appear at any time. Sabrina knew if she sat around worrying about when it would sprout, she would go crazy, so she plunged into training to keep herself distracted. It was a particularly busy day as everyone prepared for the battle ahead.

  As the hours ticked by, Sabrina noticed an odd phenomenon coming over the refugees. The Everafters couldn’t help being totally honest with one another. Perhaps, with so much on the line, they were giving their lives a second look. Everafters rushed around confessing their undying love for one another. Ms. White and Beauty were nearly mobbed with not-so-secret admirers. Even Mr. Seven mustered the courage to ask Morgan le Fay to take a walk with him around the camp. It seemed like an odd pairing, but the beautiful witch looked flattered when she accepted his invitation.

  Still, some soldiers were panicked. Snow gathered them together for a pep talk. She didn’t lie. She told them that the battle would be dangerous and that people might be injured, but everyone was well trained. She told them that fighting back was a tremendous risk but that they would be celebrated as heroes wherever Everafters lived, in Ferryport Landing and beyond. Sabrina watched their nervous faces harden and the fear in their eyes transform into fierce determination. When Snow walked away, the group was demanding to be launched at the Scarlet Hand. They couldn’t wait to fight. Perhaps it was that Ms. White was a natural leader, or it was the effect of her many years as a teacher, but the refugees believed in her. It was hard to reconcile this woman with the one who not so long ago expressed her own fear and self-doubt to Sabrina.

  “She’s impressive,” Charming said as he watched Snow rally the troops.

  “You should tell her that yourself,” Sabrina said.

  “I don’t want to encourage it. She could get hurt. I want to keep her safe.”

  “That’s not what she needs from you,” Sabrina said.

  “You’re just a child. What do you know?” Charming snapped. After a long moment he spoke again. “Did she say something to you?”

  Sabrina nodded. “Yes, but I don’t think she’d appreciate it if I repeated it to you. Let’s just say that treating her like a china doll is not going to work.”

  “It feels like keeping her safe is in my blood, sometimes. It’s not an easy thing to turn off,” he admitted. “How do I protect a woman who doesn’t want to be protected?”

  Mr. Seven approached. “The army is moving into the Hall of Wonders as you asked,” he reported.

  “Very good, my friend,” Charming said, patting Mr. Seven on the back. “I think tonight a few of us are going to become legends—including you. But, if you get killed out there, I’m going to fire you.”

  “I don’t work for you anymore,” Seven said, smiling.

  “Details, details,” Charming said, holding out his hand.

  Seven nodded, and the two men shook respectfully, and then Mr. Seven raced away.

  The troops gathered beneath the vaulted ceiling of the Hall of Wonders. Charming, Snow White, Robin Hood, and Mr. Canis stood at the front of the crowd.

  The prince called for everyone’s attention. “You have all worked hard to learn to fight. Now it’s time to learn how to win.”

  Sabrina and her family watched from the back of the crowd. Mirror joined them and seemed quite interested in the plan. Charming explained it in complicated detail, but when he finished, Sabrina understood that the assault would be on the Ferryport Landing Marina. It sat on the very edge of town. Charming reported that spies had discovered that Everafters living outside of the town were secretly shipping supplies and magical weapons to the Hand. If the troops could destroy the dock, there would be no place for the supply ships to land, thus cutting off a valuable source of aid to the Master and his evil army.

  To accomplish this, the army needed a four-pronged attack. The first battalion would be commanded by Goldilocks. She would use her unique ability to speak with animals to direct an air force of birds. They would distract the Hand’s guards so that Robin Hood could launch a second assault with his trained archers, raining arrows down on any Scarlet Hand soldiers guarding the marina. Next, Mr. Seven would lead a team of Lilliputians, mice, and other very small Everafters down to the docks, where they would attach explosives underneath the dock itself.

  “Then, we drop the hammer,” Prince Charming explained. “Arthur’s knights will storm the docks, drawing out more of the Hand’s forces. When the time is right, our troops will make a sudden retreat, just before the bombs explode.”

  “And what do I do?” Snow asked. She was visibly angry. “I’m not going to sit by while everyone else risks their lives.”

  “Relax, Ms. White,” Charming said. “You’ve got the best job of the whole attack. You get to detonate the explosives.”

  “Oh.” Snow smiled. “I’m a big fan of this plan.”

  “What about you, Canis?” Puss in Boots asked the old man. “What’s your part in this plan?”

  “My assistant and I will be fighting our own battle tonight,” the old man replied, placing his hand on Red Riding Hood’s shoulder. “Red has made tremendous progress. We hope that tonight we may be able to finally access her memories and reveal the identity of the Master.”

  Prince Charming gestured into the crowd. “And now, Friar Tuck will lead us in a prayer.”

  A bald, overweight man with a veiny nose stepped forward. His kind eyes scanned the crowd. “Let us join hands and lower our heads.”

  Sabrina took Daphne’s hand and Mr. Boarman’s. Geppetto held hands with the Scarecrow. Rip Van Winkle held hands with Jack Pumpkinhead. Beauty held hands with Frau Pfefferkuchenhaus, and together they all prayed. Though they each held their own beliefs and traditions, they quietly asked for their own safety and the safety of the others, for the success of their fight, and for the enlightenment of their enemies. Sabrina did the same. She hadn’t been to church since her parents’ abduction and wondered if anyone in heaven would still listen to her, but she closed her eyes and whispered her hopes anyway.

  When it was over, the troops donned their armor, picked up their shields and weapons, and marched through the portals and then on through the massive gates of the camp. Sabrina and her family stood by, waving to everyone and wishing them luck. So many familiar faces passed by, and there was no guarantee they would ever return.

  Pinocchio watched as his father marched to war. Geppetto’s uniform was too big, and he was having a difficult time with his bow and quiver, but he continued onward.

  “Be a good boy,” he said, hugging his son.

  “Farewell, Papa!” Pinocchio replied.

  “They’re not ready,” Sabrina whispered to
her grandmother.

  The old woman nodded sadly. “No one is ever ready for war.”

  Uncle Jake trailed behind the army. When Granny spotted him with the other soldiers, she began to cry.

  “This is not your fight, Jake,” Henry called out to him.

  Uncle Jake turned and pointed at Briar’s grave. “It is now.”

  Hours passed, and the family huddled together in the mess tent, waiting for word of the battle. They said nothing to one another, but their worried eyes spoke loud and clear. Even Elvis was fidgety, chomping at a fly that kept landing on his nose.

  After some time, Pinocchio approached, and his smiling face dissolved some of the tension. Sabrina wondered how he could be so carefree with his father in so much danger.

  “I come bearing gifts,” the little boy said, setting his burlap sack on a table. “They’re not much, but I hope you enjoy them.”

  He handed a marionette to Sabrina. She peered at it closely and smiled when she realized it looked just like her. The figure had blond hair and blue eyes and even had her dimple on its right cheek. She marveled at its intricacies all the way down to the dingy sneakers and her favorite blue shirt.

  “I love it!” Daphne said, when Pinocchio handed her one that looked just like her.

  Granny Relda smiled as she looked down at her marionette. It wore a bright pink dress with a matching hat—complete with a sunflower painted in its center.

  “I wanted to thank you. You have all been such wonderful friends to my dear father,” the boy said as he reached into his sack and took out marionettes for Henry and Veronica. Puck’s featured his filthy green hoodie. There was even one for Elvis.

  “It’s nearly as good-looking as I am,” Puck said, admiring his gift.

  “Pinocchio, these are truly remarkable,” Granny said.

  “You must have worked so hard,” Veronica added.

  “One can be quite industrious with the right inspiration,” the boy said.

  “I don’t know what to say,” Henry said. He moved the strings, and his marionette did a funny little dance.

  “If I knew we were giving presents, I would have gotten you something,” Sabrina said, slightly embarrassed.

  “Well, there is something you could do to return the favor,” the boy said.

  “Name it,” Daphne said.

  “I was hoping Sabrina might give me some instruction on flying the magic carpet. I’m quite curious about it but did not want to get in the way of the soldiers. Could I trouble you for a lesson?”

  “Look at all these doors!” Pinocchio cried as he and Sabrina soared through the Hall of Wonders aboard the carpet. “How many do you think there are?”

  “I don’t know,” Sabrina said. “My grandmother says there are hundreds, but even she isn’t sure.”

  “What do you suppose is behind all of them?”

  “Trouble, for the most part.”

  “It must be thrilling to have access at your leisure,” the boy said. “I’m quite envious of the freedoms your family has granted you. I have been held back at nearly every turn in this life. It can be quite perplexing.”

  Sabrina laughed. “You’ve got one big vocabulary there, Pinocchio.”

  Pinocchio blushed. “I’ve picked up a few words here and there. Being so young in appearance has been nothing short of frustrating. Surely, you understand. Adults presume that since you look like a child, you have the interests of a child or, worse, need to be protected like one.”

  “Well, adults like to make rules, but I guess it’s usually to keep kids safe,” Sabrina said.

  Pinocchio scowled. “Well, I am not exactly a child. I’m nearly two hundred and fifty years old! I have a passion for art and music, culture, and politics. Besides this stupid, childish form, I am an adult in every way!”

  The rug seemed to sense his anger, and it dipped and flipped, crashing to the ground and sending the children skidding across the floor. Both Sabrina and Pinocchio were uninjured.

  “The carpet likes its driver to be calm,” Sabrina explained.

  Pinocchio blushed again. “I apologize.”

  Sabrina shrugged. “I get plenty mad sometimes, too. Don’t worry about it.”

  She crossed the hall to fetch the rug, which was wadded beneath one of the many doors. It was the one with two stones set into the wood, each with a hand carved into the surface. She had spotted it briefly when the family first arrived at this end of the hall, and she remembered that the plaque didn’t say what was behind it. She studied the door closely, looking for some kind of clue to solve the mystery.

  “That’s odd,” Sabrina said.

  “What’s odd?” Pinocchio said.

  “There’s no keyhole in this door,” Sabrina said. “And there’s nothing to tell me what’s behind it.”

  “Yes, a gripping mystery,” Pinocchio said, sarcastically.

  “Yeah, sure,” Sabrina said to the boy. He might not have understood how intriguing this door was, but she knew that the rooms often contained something dangerous. The plaques were essential to warning whoever opened those doors about what they might find.

  “We should get back to the camp,” Pinocchio said. “Thank you for the lesson.”

  At that moment, Daphne raced to join them. “Come quick! The army is back!”

  One step into the real world and Sabrina’s throat tightened from the smell of smoke. Pained cries filled her ears. She watched as dozens of Everafters were carried into the fort on stretchers.

  “What happened?” she asked, but the soldiers were either too busy or too exhausted to explain. They rushed past, jostling her.

  “Close the gates!” Charming shouted once everyone was inside. The guards quickly slammed the immense doors and braced them tightly with a bar as big as a tree. The prince commanded everyone to take positions around the fort wall in case the Hand had followed them.

  “What happened, William?” Granny Relda asked.

  Charming scowled. “They knew we were coming. They were ready, and they beat us, badly. I have no idea how many are wounded or dead.”

  “How could they know?” Daphne cried.

  Uncle Jake appeared, his face full of disgust. “Nottingham and his thugs were on us the second we arrived. They countered our every move, as if they knew our whole strategy.”

  “Whoever’s causing all the trouble inside the camp must be a spy, too,” Sabrina said.

  Nurse Sprat raced to the group. “I can’t handle all of these people,” she said. “There’s only one of me.”

  “I’ll help,” Granny said. “I worked for the Red Cross during the war.”

  “You can count on all of us,” Veronica added. “Just tell us what to do.”

  The rest of the day, Sabrina and her family ran for medicine, helped dress wounds, and did whatever they could to make the suffering Everafters comfortable. Twenty were critically wounded, and dozens more needed stitches or splints. One of Robin Hood’s Merry Men was hurt badly. Little Boy Blue had two broken ribs. A few of the Everafters died while Nurse Sprat tried to save them, including Frau Pfefferkuchenhaus. The gingerbread witch had taken a blow to the head and fallen into the river. She was too far gone when she arrived back at the camp.

  The nurse wept, cursing the Master and his Scarlet Hand. “I’m not a trained doctor,” she cried. “I can only do so much.” No one blamed her. They were grateful for what she could do, and by the end of the day, she had saved the lives of twenty-six people.

  Exhausted, Sabrina and her family stumbled back to the Hall of Wonders. There they found a hundred and fifty or so soldiers, all of whom looked beaten down and afraid. Charming, Ms. White, Mr. Seven, and Mr. Canis looked over them like shepherds tending a flock.

  “I hear that things did not go well,” Mirror said when they arrived.

  Uncle Jake nodded. “It’s true.”

  “Charming wants to meet with you to discuss the next mission,” Mirror replied.

  “Next mission?” Henry exclaimed. “The last plan ne
arly got everyone killed.”

  “Then I suggest you use the time to talk some sense into the prince,” Mirror said. “He can’t send these people into battle again. They’re not soldiers.”

  “Shut up, Mirror,” Uncle Jake spat.

  The little man was dumbfounded. “Jacob, I—”

  “We are in the middle of a war, Mirror. If they hear you telling them it’s hopeless, you are going to crush their spirits,” Jake said, then stormed away.

  Mirror shook his head but didn’t say any more.

  “I’m sorry, Mirror,” Granny said to him. “My son is going through some very difficult things right now. I’m sure he didn’t mean to be so rude.”

  Standing in front of his army, Charming raised his hand until he had everyone’s attention. “Tomorrow we march on the sheriff’s office.”

  The crowd gasped in unison.

  “Are you crazy?” Puss in Boots shouted.

  “That’s suicide,” Ichabod Crane yelled, nursing a wounded arm. “You saw what they did to us. We’re no match for them!”

  The Scarecrow stepped forward. “My calculations tell me we have a ten percent chance of surviving another confrontation with the Hand.”

  “I’ve been informed that the sheriff’s office is the headquarters for the Hand,” Charming announced. “If we can destroy it, we take a valuable asset away from them. If we can capture Nottingham as well, it would be a vicious blow to their strategy. Mr. Seven and I have considered several approaches and have devised a four-pronged attack.”

  “You and your four-pronged attacks!” Beauty cried bitterly. “William, please! Listen to reason!”

  Charming continued. “The first attack comes from the Pied Piper, who will command rats and squirrels to infest the office, driving Nottingham and whoever else might be inside out into the open. Once they are in the street, the second attack comes from the sky. Buzzflower and Mallobarb will lead a squadron of flying wizards and witches over the crowd, zapping as many of the Hand as they can with their wands. The third attack will then commence with Goldilocks and the bears, along with an army of intelligent animals, attacking Nottingham directly. And finally, the fourth prong—Mr. Seven and Robin Hood will lead our knights, archers, and swordsmen into the fray.”