The Council of Mirrors (20 page)

And people died. Sir Kay was struck with a hammer wielded by an enormous piglike creature wearing studded armor. Mallobarb was brought down by an arrow. Tik-Tok was chased through the streets until his key unwound. He fell over and a mob stomped and smashed him until there was nothing left but springs and sprockets.

Veronica took Daphne, Basil, Red, and Wendell out of the room. Mr. Canis stood trembling as he watched the nightmare unfold. He placed a reassuring hand on Sabrina’s shoulder as if to tell her it wasn’t her fault, but she shook it off. This
was
her fault.

“I should prepare the infirmary for injuries,” Nurse Sprat said, then shuffled out of the room. Gepetto offered his help and followed her through the door. Henry gave Sabrina a hug and told her he should probably help as well. Even Mr. Canis drifted away. That left Sabrina alone with her uncle Jake and Pinocchio.

“They intimidated you,” Pinocchio said. “They knew you
were unsure of what to do, and they took advantage of you. You can’t let them steamroll you again.”

“Again?” Sabrina said. “There won’t be an ‘again.’ You saw what happened. We can’t win this.”

“Maybe not, but I’ll tell you one thing,” the little boy said on his way to the door. “You’re not going to do it marching into town.”

Sabrina turned to her uncle. “Any advice?”

“I wish I had some for you, ’Brina. This was a disaster, and I think we can forget about any more new recruits now. I have to find another way to get—” Uncle Jake stopped himself.

“What are you trying to do?” Sabrina asked, suspicious of Jake’s sudden silence.

Uncle Jake shook his head. “I’m just tired. I should go help prepare.”

When he was gone, Sabrina watched the chaos for a while longer. In the crowd she saw Chicken Little talking with a troll. She could have spit. He was a traitor. He must have warned the Hand about the attack.

The images of town in the mirrors dissolved and the guardians within reappeared. They watched her with pitying eyes, even the more unfriendly ones.

“Why?”

The mirrors lifted their eyes to her. “Excuse me?” the fish-faced guardian gurgled. His name was Namoren, and the inside of his mirror was an undersea kingdom.

“Why am I the only one who can lead this army?” she asked.

“It’s impossible to explain,” Namoren said.

“There are so many variables,” Donovan said.

“Did you know this would happen?” Sabrina said. “Did you know people would die?”

“Child, you are trying to save the world. Of course some will die,” Titan said.

Sabrina fell to her knees and sobbed. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Oh, Sabrina, we’re sorry, but that is forbidden,” Harry said from within his Hotel of Wonders. “We can only tell you the future, not how you get there.”

Sabrina leaped up and lunged at Harry. “You have to tell me what to do!” The guardian disappeared.

She ran to Namoren and shook his frame. “You have to give me something to work with!”

She pounded on Arden’s frame. “People are dying. What do I do?”

“What you have always done,” Reggie said.

And then the faces faded and she saw something she did
not expect: herself. Each of the twenty-four mirrors showed different moments in her life. In one mirror, she was helping Daphne out of the second-floor bedroom window of Granny’s house and leaping to the ground. In another, she was locking Mrs. Robinson in the closet so that they could escape her foster home. She saw herself racing through subterranean tunnels hunting for her family with nothing but a shovel and a broken arm. She saw herself accidentally kill a giant. She saw herself snatching on to Oz’s hot-air balloon as it dragged her off the observation deck of the Empire State Building. She saw herself helping everyone break Mr. Canis out of the town jail, destroying the bank with the Horn of the North Wind, fooling the Headless Horseman with his own head, sneaking past Ichabod Crane as they tried to free Jack the Giant Killer, kicking Mr. Hamstead in the shins, then escaping into a cornfield, and shoving Puck into a swimming pool. She even saw herself tiptoeing past Ms. Smirt’s office at the orphanage.

“Why are you showing me this?” Sabrina demanded.

“THIS IS THE GIRL THAT SAVES THE WORLD,” the mirrors answered as one. “SABRINA GRIMM, QUEEN OF THE—”

“Sneaks,” she said, finishing their sentence. “You’re saying this
is what makes me special? Being sneaky is what will help me save my grandmother and stop Mirror?”

The faces returned and Sabrina locked eyes with Reggie, who was smiling from ear to ear. “We’re not allowed to say, but if I was a betting man, I’d put my money on ‘yes.’”

“In your life you’ve mastered the great art of deception—the ability to pull the wool over anyone’s eyes,” Titan added. “Yours is the ability to make a person regret taking you for granted: the ability to do the unexpected—to take your opponents by surprise. You’ve used it a million times to keep your sister safe. That is the gift that sets you apart from others.”

Sabrina wiped hot tears on her shirt and blinked at the mirrors.

“And your heart,” Fanny said. “You don’t let a lot of people visit it, but once they are inside, you love them with all that you are. Those two things are what will win this war and rescue your grandmother.”

“It’s time to get your mojo back, sister,” Donovan said.

• • •

When the wounded were taken care of, Sabrina brought shovels to Robin Hood and King Arthur. They attempted to bury the fallen near Seven’s and Briar’s graves, but she told them it was better to bury them outside the castle walls. They argued, but she promised them it would make sense in time. When they
continued, she turned her back and walked away. She wasn’t going to let them bully her any longer. So as the sun’s orange glow lit the horizon, Sabrina’s army said good-bye to the brave and fallen: Mallobarb, Tik-Tok, Sir Kay, Sir Gawain, the Silver Pigeon, and Will Scarlet. When they left the grave sites and assembled in the castle yard, Sabrina called for their attention. She had spent hours planning what she would say, but when she saw their exhausted faces, she hesitated. What Sabrina was about to tell them might push them over the edge. But she knew she was right.

“When the mirrors told us that I would lead you, I admit I was afraid. I haven’t fought in any wars, so I put my faith in the hands of a few well-meaning people. They wanted me to throw a party to cheer you up, then reach out to the Scarlet Hand for help, then train for battle in front of you, then attack at the heart of our enemies. Those people were wrong. But I don’t blame them. They were doing what they thought was right. Unfortunately, the prophecy is not about them. It’s about my sister and me. I shouldn’t have tried to put that responsibility on others. Last night happened because of me—my doubts and fears. It’s ironic, because ever since my sister and I showed up in this town, I’ve complained that no one takes me seriously.”

“I can vouch for that,” Daphne said.

“Now that you are listening, it’s scary. I mean, I’m still just a kid. So I had to ask myself, what’s so special about me and Daphne? What do we do that is so different from the brains, muscles, and magic that you all have?

“Well, once upon a time, before any of you met the sisters Grimm, we had a reputation as very successful juvenile delinquents. We were good at moving quietly, good at running and hiding, and good with keys and locks. We were good at getting each other out of tough situations and very good at tricking people into doing things we wanted them to do.”

“What my sister is saying is, it’s time for shenanigans,” Daphne said.

The Cowardly Lion growled. “What do you have in mind?”

“Pack your things. Pack everything you can carry. We’re abandoning the castle,” Sabrina said.

“Abandoning the castle? That’s crazy,” the Widow said. “This is the only safe place we have.”

“Not anymore. If the Hand isn’t on their way, they soon will be, and they will find this castle because we have a traitor in our midst,” Sabrina said, turning to Chicken Little.

The hen stepped forward and Sabrina bent over to face her eye to eye. “You are the traitor.”

“What?” the chicken squawked.

“You told your old friends in the Hand what we were planning,” she said.

Uncle Jake snatched her by the neck and lifted her off the ground. “What you did cost us some dear friends.”

“I had to!” the bird cried. “They forced me.”

And then Uncle Jake tossed Chicken Little through the iron gates, where she landed with a thud on the drawbridge. She dusted herself off and walked indignantly back into the woods.

The crowd broke into worried chatter, but Sabrina called for their attention. “We have to prepare to go. We leave for the forest as soon as possible.”

“And what are we going to do in the woods?” Goldilocks asked.

Sabrina smiled. “We’re going to lay traps, build cages, and create every obstacle we can to make the Hand’s lives miserable. We’ll attack in small groups, capturing one or two of them at a time; then we’ll slink back into the trees and disappear.”

Pinocchio nodded respectfully.

“But there are thousands of them,” Little John said. “We’ll never catch them all.”

“There won’t be thousands of them soon,” Sabrina said. “Where are the birds?”

“On patrol,” the Scarecrow said.

“When they get back, I want them to deliver a message, and Scarecrow, I want you to write it,” Sabrina said.

“I’d be honored. What would you like it to say?”

“It’s a final offer to the rest of the Hand to join us. Let them know this is the final time we will reach out, and after this there won’t be a third chance.”

“Do you think any of them will listen?” Beauty asked. She was obviously still holding out hope for her husband and daughter.

“If they don’t, they’re going to regret it.”

Henry eyed Sabrina curiously. “What are you two planning?”

“We’re going to save the world,” Daphne crowed.

As the hours slipped away, the small, tired army packed. Sabrina instructed everyone to keep weapons both magical and normal on their bodies, no matter how cumbersome. Carrying food was also encouraged.

Sabrina sat with her sister and watched as the army limped off to bed. It had been a long day, and tomorrow promised to be even harder.

“Can you get your coven to pull it off?”

Daphne rolled her eyes. “Daphne’s Fabulous Ladies of Magic can do anything. I just need to get the spell from Uncle Jake. Apparently, you have to hold it in your hand to make it work.”

“We can’t screw this up,” Sabrina said.

“You worry too much,” Daphne said. “My girls got the right stuff. They put the pow in powerful.”

• • •

That night Sabrina waited up for hours for the Widow to return from delivering her message. The more time that passed, the more nervous she got. At around midnight, Henry drifted out of the castle and joined her at a picnic table in the yard.

“Responsibility is hard,” her father said.

Sabrina nodded. “I don’t know how you do it. You must go out of your mind worrying about us.”

Henry nodded. “That’s probably the best way to describe it. There are times I’ve been so angry I wanted to pull my hair out, and other times so scared I’ve had to go somewhere and cry.”

“We haven’t made it easy.”

Henry laughed. “That’s the understatement of the year.”

“I’ll do better,” Sabrina said.

“You’re doing fine. Just do me a favor and every once in a while remind yourself that your mother and father love you.”

Sabrina nodded. “You do the same. Oh, here she comes.”

The Widow flapped into the courtyard and landed on the picnic table. “Well, I spread the word, but it doesn’t look good. Most of them laughed. They like to remind me that they are winning the war.”

“What did you say?” Henry asked.

“I reminded them that they’re fighting the Grimms. That gave them something to think about. Unfortunately, I don’t think we’re going to get too many takers this round. They’re pretty confident. Want to tell me what you plan to do?”

“Not yet, Your Majesty, but soon,” Sabrina said. “Why don’t you go and get some rest. Tomorrow is going to be a busy day.”

The Widow hopped off the table and wobbled toward the castle, only to stop for a moment to look back at Sabrina. “Hey, kid. We’re all behind you.”

Just then, Daphne raced toward Sabrina eyeing her father warily.

“Uh, Sabrina, I need to talk to you,” the little girl said.

“About?”

“It’s . . . um . . . about our messy room,” Daphne said.

“Huh? Daphne, this is important stuff we’re doing. If our room is a mess, then just clean it up.”

Daphne yanked her out of her seat. “No, this is a huge mess. Sorry, Dad. Sabrina’s a slob and I’m sick of it.”

The little girl dragged her halfway across the yard before Sabrina could get her to stop.

“What is this about?” she said.

Daphne frowned. “Someone got into our room again. They
threw everything everywhere. The bed is broken and our stuff is everywhere. But that’s not the worst part. Whoever did it took the Book of Everafter again!”

“This is the strangest crime spree I’ve ever seen. Whoever is taking the book brings it back, then steals it again. Who would do that?”

“Maybe they aren’t stealing it. Maybe they are borrowing it,” Daphne mused.

“But why?”

• • •

In the morning, Sabrina took a bath knowing it might be the last one she would get for a long time. She washed her hair and face, brushed her teeth, and flossed. She dressed in a set of clean clothes and pulled on her sneakers.

When she stepped out of the castle, she found the rest of her family helping the Everafters load the last of the carts. As their belongings rolled through the gate of the fortress, Buzzflower hovered overhead, zapping them with a purple dust from her wand. It would cloak them in the same magic that hid the castle, allowing them to travel through the woods undetected.

“There’s too much stuff,” Robin Hood complained. “We need to travel light.”

“We aren’t bringing this with us,” Sabrina said. “We’re hiding
it. When the birds did their flyover, they found a cave near the base of the mountain. It’s well hidden and deep enough to keep everyone’s things safe. We’re sending all the young children and elderly there until this is over. We’re going to keep our magic mirror there too.”