The Problem Child Page 18

  “Granny!” the girls shouted.

  Mr. Canis leaped at the beast but a flick of its tail sent the old man sailing across the room and into the crowd.

  “I’ll go for the sword,” Sabrina said. She dashed across the floor, but before she could reach it, the monster slammed its foot down on top of it. Sabrina tried to pull it out from under the beast but it was too heavy.

  Just then, Sheriff Hamstead rushed through the crowd. He had his billy club held high. “Put her down!” he shouted. The monster turned toward the pudgy policeman and swatted the cop across the gym with one of its awesome paws. Hamstead sailed through the crowd and landed painfully at the foot of the podium. Snow White tried to rush to his side but Charming grabbed her arm and held her back.

  “I have to help them,” Snow White cried.

  “You’ll get yourself killed,” he said. “There’s nothing anyone in this room can do to stop that thing.”

  “Billy, what happened to you?” Snow White said. “Where’s my white knight?”

  Sabrina tugged at the sword once more, but still couldn’t free it. When the monster turned all of his attention on her, Daphne took advantage of its distraction. Sabrina watched helplessly as her sister rushed to the monster’s side.

  “First you bow to your opponent,” Daphne said and then bowed to the monster who was now hovering over her.

  “Daphne, no!” Sabrina cried.

  “Don’t worry,” Daphne cried. “Ms. White taught us that these moves will stop an attacker much bigger than yourself.

  “Move into offensive stance,” Daphne continued, shifting her body into her attack stance with fists clenched. “Present your warrior face! Argggghhhh!”

  The beast looked down at her and roared so loudly that Daphne’s hair flew back.

  Unfazed by the monster’s scream, Daphne rushed forward. “Deliver attack!” She kicked the Jabberwocky in the leg, but her assault was like a mosquito biting an elephant. The beast reached down and picked the little girl off the floor with its free hand. Now it had both Sabrina’s grandmother and her sister in its deadly grasp.

  Sabrina looked to the crowd of Everafters for help. Ms. White looked as if she wanted to but was held fast by Charming. Mr. Canis and Sheriff Hamstead were still recovering from the Jabberwocky’s attack. Most everyone else was cowering in fear. There were no heroes to save them. Sabrina caught a glimpse of the Queen of Hearts. She stood off to the side with a wicked smile.

  Suddenly, there was a pop! Uncle Jake appeared out of thin air high above the Jabberwocky. He landed on top of the monster’s back and wrapped his arms around its neck. Moments later, unable to hold the beast, he was flung to the floor. But the man’s sudden appearance had surprised the beast, and it dropped Granny Relda and Daphne.

  “Sorry to keep you waiting, ladies,” Uncle Jake said, helping his mother and the little girl to their feet. He tapped the Nome King’s belt wrapped around his waist and shrugged. “Do you know how hard it is to find thirty size-D batteries?”

  The monster roared in frustration and took a step toward the family. It was all Sabrina needed. She snatched the blade off the ground and held it over her head. One swift slice would bring her family home. It would save Puck and get him to safety. Suddenly, there was a hand on her shoulder. She turned and found Uncle Jake.

  “’Brina, this belongs to me,” he said as he took the sword away from her. Sabrina looked into his face and saw a broken heart finally getting its revenge. This monster had killed Uncle Jake’s father. It had decimated his family, forcing his mother to erase his existence. It had helped kidnap his brother and sister-in-law. It had brought misery on the girls. Sabrina stepped aside. Uncle Jake walked calmly over to the Jabberwocky as if he had been preparing for this moment all his life. He glanced over at Red Riding Hood as if to say, “It’s over,” and then plunged the sword deep into the beast’s belly.

  The Jabberwocky’s death cry was oddly faint and pathetic. Uncle Jake pulled the sword out again, aimed it where the monster’s heart might have been, and sank it deep into its flesh. There was a moment of calmness on the beast’s face and then it fell over as if it had been pushed. When it tumbled to the ground it caused the gymnasium’s shiny hardwood floor to buckle. The monster’s little leathery wings flapped for a few moments and then grew still.

  “You killed the kitty!” Red Riding Hood raged. “You ruined the game!”

  Daphne stepped over to the girl, bowed, presented her warrior face, and then punched Red Riding Hood in the face. She fell over unconscious.

  “Crazy talk,” Daphne said to the crumpled girl.

  Uncle Jake yanked the blade from the monster and held it in his hands. He looked as if he wanted to kill the monster all over again.

  “It’s over, Jake,” Granny said.

  “Is it?” he said, as several Everafters approached: Snow White, Sheriff Hamstead, the Queen of Hearts, Sheriff Nottingham, as well as a collection of talking animals, Munchkinlanders, and trolls. The Blue Fairy was at their center.

  “This is an outrage!” the Queen of Hearts screamed. “This was a deliberate action by Mayor Charming and his cronies, the family Grimm, to disrupt this election. I wouldn’t be surprised it this was an attempt to sway voters into believing this family has value in this community. Well, it won’t work!”

  “If you don’t shut your mouth right now, I’m going to shut it for you,” Snow White said.

  “You insolent cow,” Nottingham said. “You may be the mayor’s trollop, but your demands mean little to me.” He pulled his sword from his waist and stalked toward the Grimms. “Even if we don’t win this election, things are going to change right now.”

  Suddenly, an arrow zipped through the air and impaled Nottingham’s hand. His sword fell to the ground and he cried out in agony.

  “You won’t lay a hand on the Grimms as long as I live,” a voice bellowed. Sabrina turned and nearly fell over in shock. Mayor Charming stood on the stage, bow in hand and with another arrow set to fly. A man in a green suit stood next to him. He had bright red hair and a bushy goatee.

  “I told you he was in league with them,” the queen cried.

  “Think what you want,” Charming said. “But they’re going home today, safe and sound. Right after they vote for me, of course. And Nottingham, the next time you call the woman I love a trollop, you’ll find an arrow in your throat.”

  Nottingham scowled and stormed out of the room. Charming handed the bow and arrow to the man in the green suit. “Thank you, Robin,” he said.

  “He saved us,” Sabrina said.

  “Ending his career in the process, I fear,” Granny Relda replied. “Look at the crowd. He just lost this election.”

  “Why would he do that?”

  Granny pointed at the mayor. He and Snow White were kissing passionately as if they were the only two people on the planet.

  “Love can make a hero out of anyone,” Granny replied.

  “I knew he was one of the good guys,” Daphne said.

  “Well, people, don’t let this obvious attempt to disrupt the election stop you from casting your ballots,” the queen said. “This is exactly the kind of nonsense that needs to change in Ferryport Landing.”

  “You want a change?” Uncle Jake shouted. “I’ll give you a change!” He spun around, grabbed the Blue Fairy around the neck, and held the Vorpal blade to her throat.

  “Jake, what are you doing?” Granny cried.

  “There’s more to fix!” Uncle Jake shouted. “And the Blue Fairy is going to help me.”

  “What do you want?” the Blue Fairy asked softly.

  “Is it true that if I wish for something you have to fulfill it?”

  The radiant fairy nodded.

  “Then I want a wish,” Uncle Jake said.

  “Uncle Jake!” Sabrina cried. “What are you thinking? She helped us.”

  “She’s going to help us a lot more! What’s it going to be, Blue?” Jake demanded.

  The Blue Fairy looked
Jake in the eye. “I hope your wish gives you what you need. You have your wish.”

  “I wish I had all of your power!” Uncle Jake said.

  The Blue Fairy smiled and nodded as if what he was asking for was simple. A swirl of light and mist encircled her, then turned into a pulsating orb as big as a baseball. It flew at Uncle Jake, hitting him hard in the chest, and then there was a tremendous explosion that knocked everyone off their feet. When Sabrina stood up again, she saw the Blue Fairy lying on the floor nearby. Her magic was gone and she had changed back into Farrah the waitress.

  “Hey, ’Brina,” Uncle Jake said behind her. She spun around to face him. Two pink-streaked wings suddenly popped out of his back. He turned his head to look at them. They flapped and lifted him off the ground, allowing him to hover above the crowd. He laughed like a child on Christmas morning.

  “Can you believe this?” he said overjoyed.

  Sabrina looked to her grandmother. Granny Relda was full of despair. “Jake, what have you done?”

  “It’s not what I’ve done, Mom,” he said as he floated back down to the ground and kissed her on the cheek. “It’s what I’m going to do! You wouldn’t believe the power! It’s like a waterfall, like the sun. I’m bigger than life, bigger than even the most powerful Everafter. I’m the kind of thing they write stories about!”

  He looked out over the crowd of Everafters and his face grew serious. “But I need more.”

  He raised his hands and a bright blue ball appeared in them. The ball shot electrical charges through the crowd, hitting every Everafter squarely in the chest. Mr. Canis fell to his knees. Snow White collapsed on Charming, who fell himself. The White Rabbit tumbled to the ground and was squished by Beauty and her beastly husband. Ogres, cyclopses, trolls, witches, and even fairy godmothers collapsed under their own weight.

  “What are you doing to them?” Sabrina begged.

  “I’m taking the magic that makes them immortal. I need it,” he shouted as the energy surged through him. His eyes disappeared and were replaced with a fiery light. Cracks appeared all over his body as if it were just a useless shell and then a light flashed through the gymnasium so brightly Sabrina had to close her eyes. Uncle Jake rocketed off the ground, through the roof, and into the sky. Rubble and debris fell from ceiling. Sabrina grabbed her grandmother and sister and pulled them to safety.

  “What’s he doing?” Daphne asked, but Granny didn’t answer. She stared at the hole in the roof. Sabrina had her eyes elsewhere. The Everafters lying scattered around the gym were growing older at an alarming rate. Prince Charming’s youthful, handsome face began to sag. His eyes took on a slightly yellow tint and his hair started falling out. He was becoming an old man right before her eyes. He reached out for her with a bony, frail hand.

  Mr. Canis morphed into the Wolf but the beast wasn’t his intimidating, deadly self. He struggled with age as his dark brown coat turned white and his eyes grew cloudy with blindness.

  “Look!” Daphne said as she pointed to the ceiling. Uncle Jake was back.

  He descended like an angel enveloped in a light so bright the girls had to look away. When he landed on the ground, he smiled at his family and the light faded. The Uncle Jake that Sabrina knew was gone, replaced with someone completely new who seemed to be made of diamonds. The only thing left, she noticed, was his quirky, mischievous grin. He stepped forward to hug the two sisters but they stepped back in fear.

  “What have you done?” Sabrina asked.

  “I’m granting myself a wish,” he replied. “I wanted to be powerful enough to make the people I love happy. I’ve been miserable, Sabrina. Happy is better. You can be happy, too. Wish for something, Sabrina. Anything. I can make it happen.”

  “But look at the cost!” Granny Relda said as she hovered over Mayor Charming’s elderly body. Snow White lay next to him, reaching for his hand with her bony, arthritic fingers. “The price is too high.”

  “Don’t cry for them,” Uncle Jake said. “The Everafters have had their day in the sun and it was a long, long day. With their power, I can re-create this world as a paradise where ‘happily ever after’ isn’t just for a bunch of bedtime stories come to life. It’s time for all of our dreams to come true! And I’m starting with you.”

  Suddenly, the pulsating blue orb reappeared in his hand. It twisted and turned until it divided itself in two, creating an identical twin. He tossed the second orb to the ground at Granny Relda’s feet and once it was at rest it grew in size, morphing and bending. When the transformation was complete, an old man stood in its place. He had broad shoulders, blond-streaked gray hair, a beard, and a familiar toothy smile. Sabrina had seen him many times in photographs hanging throughout the house, but that was the only place the old man still existed. He was Basil Grimm, the girls’ grandfather and Granny Relda’s husband.

  “Relda?” the old man asked, looking slightly confused.

  Granny Relda burst into tears and buried her face in her hands. The old man rushed to her side and embraced her, but she pulled away.

  “It’s not right,” the old woman said. “Send him back.”

  “No!” Uncle Jake cried. Discouraged, he turned to Daphne and smiled. “I know something you want.” The blue orb divided again and the man tossed its duplicate at the little girl’s feet. Once again, the orb grew and morphed, but this time, instead of creating another person, it became a door, standing in space, and someone was knocking on the other side.

  “Open it,” the man said. “It’s for you.”

  Daphne backed away from the door and shook her head. Uncle Jake frowned but then raised his hand and the door swung open on its own. Behind the door were Henry and Veronica Grimm. They rushed through the doorway and swept the little girl up in their arms, kissing her over and over dozens of times. Henry and Veronica raced to Sabrina and embraced her as well.

  “It’s like a dream,” Sabrina said.

  “Okay ’Brina, what’ll it be?” Uncle Jake said. “Make a wish. But I already know what you want. You want power, and not like that crummy wand you had to surrender. I’m talking real power—the kind that moves mountains and boils rivers. Your family would never die. You would always be happy. No more monsters. No more fairy tales. You could change everything.”

  Sabrina’s heart raced with possibilities. Just standing near Uncle Jake was like an incredible feeling, more intense than holding the Wand of Merlin, more like being the wand itself. With the kind of power Uncle Jake offered she could erase the last year and a half like they had never happened; no orphanage, no giants, no monsters, no bad guys. She could heal Puck. There were no limits to the possibilities. Her imagination washed over her, showing her millions of options for a happy life.

  “Sabrina,” Granny said. “How much are you willing to pay?”

  Sabrina glanced around the room at the Everafters. Some of them had already died. Others were pulling in their final breaths. Was her happiness worth their lives? Worse, could she resist the temptation even if she knew what the right thing to do was?

  “I know what I want, Uncle Jake,” Sabrina said.

  Uncle Jake smiled and gave her a wink. “Make it count!”

  “Uncle Jake, you’re smart, you’ve got a great family, and you’re a Grimm,” Sabrina said. “I wish that deep down you had always known how much power that gave you.”

  Uncle Jake looked strange. His eyes began to well with tears and then the school began to rumble. Suddenly, a flood of memories rolled through Sabrina’s mind. She watched how she had met her Uncle Jake and how he taught her to use the wand. She watched Granny Relda catch them in the Hall of Wonders, and their battle with the Jabberwocky at the diner. She even saw some of her nightmares flash in front of her, as well as the dramatic return of Mr. Canis. It all happened the same way it had, except for one shocking difference. When Uncle Jake killed the Jabberwocky, the fight was over. He didn’t attack the Blue Fairy. He was content with how it ended and he hugged his mother.

  Sabrina opened he
r eyes. Her grandfather was gone and so were her parents. The Everafters were alive and well and gathered around her. The Queen of Hearts was still filling the air with her angry tirade and the Jabberwocky was still dead at their feet. The Blue Fairy stood next to her, smiling. “Thank you, Sabrina,” she said, and then she transformed into a glowing orb and zipped away.

  Uncle Jake stepped over to Red Riding Hood and snatched the magical ring off the little girl’s finger and tucked it into his pants pocket. Granny frowned but Uncle Jake just laughed. “Don’t worry, Mom. It’s going straight into the Hall of Wonders for safekeeping.”

  “Hello, Grandmother,” Red Riding Hood said, waking up and climbing to her feet. “My kitty is dead.”

  “Child, I am not your . . .”

  “Play along,” Sabrina suggested.

  Granny looked unsure, but nodded. “We don’t need the kitty to play games. We can play without him.”

  Red Riding Hood looked to the ceiling as if debating what the old woman was saying. A smile crossed her face and she clapped her hands. “Okie-dokie!”

  “But before we play games, we need our whole family together, right?”

  The little girl nodded.

  “So we need to find the mommy and the daddy and the baby brother and then we’ll all go and get the puppy and then we can play house. Does that sound good?”

  “Yes, I want to play house,” the child repeated. “But, the master will be mad if I tell.”

  “The master?” Sabrina cried.

  “Yes, he would be very mad. He wants to keep the mommy and daddy and the baby brother. He wants me to paint the red hands everywhere I go. I try to be good. The master can get angry.”

  “She’s not the leader of the Scarlet Hand,” Daphne said.

  “Well, I don’t think the master would mind if we all played, would he?” Granny continued.

  “I guess not,” the little girl said.

  Sheriff Hamstead had Henry and Veronica’s sleeping bodies transported to Granny’s house in an ambulance. Now they both rested on a queen-sized bed inside the room that also housed the magic mirror.