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

by Michael Buckley

  "Girls, why are you running?" the sheriff asked in an unusually high-pitched voice that sent shivers into Sabrina's belly.

  "We thought you were trying to kill us," Daphne said angrily. Sabrina flashed her a look, letting her know that she would do the talking.

  "I see. Well, I'm sorry if I gave you two a start, but it's not safe for little girls like yourselves to be walking out here in the dark. These roads can be treacherous," the sheriff said.

  "Treacherous?" Daphne asked.

  "Dangerous," Sabrina explained.

  "I got a call that you were out here, so I came looking," the portly man continued as he hoisted his sinking pants up around his waist. "Why don't you two hop into the squad car and I'll take you home?" He pointed to Elvis. "I don't know if we can put your horse in there, but we'll try."

  "He's not a horse," Daphne said. Then, realizing the sheriff was joking, she added, "You can't tease him. He's very sensitive."

  Hamstead leaned down and scratched Elvis under the chin. "Oh, I'm sure he is, aren't you, Elvis?"

  The big dog growled and snapped at the sheriff's hand. Hamstead pulled it away just in time, but then rubbed it with his other hand as if the dog had gotten a lucky bite.

  "How do you know Elvis?" Sabrina said suspiciously.

  "Oh, Elvis and I have met before. You must be Relda Grimm's grandchildren. I heard you were in town," the man said. "I'm the local sheriff, Ernest Hamstead."

  "I'm Daphne," the little girl offered.

  "Sabrina," Sabrina muttered.

  "So, do you two need a ride home or are you trying to raise a million dollars for the March of Dimes?"

  Sabrina nodded and Hamstead opened the squad car's backdoor. Elvis clumsily climbed in and the sheriff shut the door behind him. Sabrina and Daphne walked around the car and got in on the passenger's side of the front seat.

  Sheriff Hamstead squeezed and shifted his way into the car, breathing heavily as if carrying a great burden. He had left the keys in the ignition (Sabrina guessed so that he wouldn't have to fish them out of his tight pants), so as soon as he was settled, he started up the squad car and headed in the direction of Granny's house.

  "So, I assume you two have already concocted some elaborate scheme to get your granny and her friend back?" Hamstead asked. The girls looked at each other, unsure of what to say.

  "So you know about this?" Sabrina asked, dumbfounded.

  "Yep," Sheriff Hamstead said. "Hard to miss a two-hundred-foot giant carrying grandmas away into the night, don't you think? I don't want you two girls to worry. Your granny is a tough cracker. I've seen her in bigger jams than this one and besides, she's got the entire Ferryport Landing Special Forces Squad working on the case. I know you two have been trained for this kind of thing, but we like to take care of our own problems here in Ferryport Landing."

  Daphne cupped her hand around Sabrina's ear. "Have we been trained?" she whispered.

  "I don't know what he's talking about," Sabrina whispered back.

  "Are you an Everafter?" the little girl said, returning her attention to the sheriff.

  The sheriff looked over and winked a yes at Daphne. She squealed in delight. "Which one?"

  Suddenly, the squad car's CB radio crackled to life. "Hamstead? Sheriff Hamstead?" a man's voice fumed. It sounded oddly familiar to Sabrina.

  The sheriff seemed nervous. When he tried to pick up the handset, it fumbled in his sweaty hand before he finally got ahold of it.

  "I'm here, boss. En route now," Hamstead said.

  "That's fantastic news, Hamstead. Nice to know you can do something that's asked of you. If you care at all, I picked up our little troublemaker about a half an hour ago and he's sitting in a cell as we speak. So all I'm asking from you is to get those little trolls back to the mansion, ASAP! I can't have any headaches ruining tomorrow's festivities."

  Sabrina's heart froze and as she looked at her sister, she saw the same horror reflected in Daphne's eyes. The voice on the police radio was Mayor Charming's! The car had come to a stop sign, and Sabrina knew they had to act.

  "Daphne, do you remember that time Mr. and Mrs. Donovan took us to that three-day lima bean cook-off festival?" Sabrina asked casually, hoping the girl would remember the crazy foster couple they had lived with for three weeks the previous year. The little girl grimaced, obviously remembering the pickled lima bean pie Mrs. Donovan was so proud of, but then a light in her eyes told Sabrina she also remembered their daring escape. Sabrina slipped her hand into her sister's and quickly pulled on the door handle. Before Hamstead could react, the girls were out of the car and freeing Elvis from the backseat.

  "Hey!"

  The sisters ran to the side of the road where a five-foot barbed-wire fence lined the edge of the forest. There was no way to climb it; the barbed wire's sharp teeth would tear them apart. Their only chance was to try to scurry between the rusty wires to the other side. Desperate, Sabrina stood on one of the wires, reached down and grabbed a safe spot on the next highest one, and pulled upward as hard as she could, creating a hole her sister could crawl through.

  "Go!" Sabrina shouted, carefully watching the portly sheriff struggling out of the car. Daphne scampered through the small gap to the other side. The little girl got to her feet and tried to mimic the trick she had just seen Sabrina do. The result was a small gap Sabrina couldn't possibly fit through.

  "It's heavy," Sabrina coached Daphne, "you have to be strong."

  "I am!" the little girl cried, pulling harder.

  "Girls, you can't run!" Hamstead shouted angrily, as he finally freed himself from the car. Elvis positioned himself between Sabrina and the sheriff and barked a warning when the man took a step forward.

  Sabrina got down on her hands and knees and tried to crawl through, but before she could get to the other side, Hamstead, dodging Elvis, was on top of her, grabbing her legs and trying to pull her back out.

  "You're coming with me!" he squealed.

  Sabrina kicked wildly and looked back into the sheriff's face, and what she saw bewildered her. Sheriff Hamstead was going through a disturbing metamorphosis. His already pug nose became a slimy pink snout. His round face puffed up to three times its size, and his ears turned pink and pointy and migrated to the top of his head. His chubby fingers melded into thick black hoofs, and his back bent over until he was literally on all fours. Hamstead had turned into a pig—an angry, determined pig in a policeman's uniform.

  "I can't hold it any longer," Daphne cried, wide-eyed at what she was witnessing. Sabrina kicked one more time and felt her foot sink into Hamstead's gelatinous belly. His piggy face turned white and he fell onto his back, honking and gasping for air as his little legs flailed back and forth. Just as suddenly as he had changed to a pig, he changed back to a man.

  Daphne's arms gave out and the barbed wire came down on top of Sabrina, snagging her pants. Daphne vainly tried to lift it again, but the taut wire barely moved.

  "What are we going to do?" Daphne cried as Hamstead staggered to his feet. He rushed toward Sabrina, this time as a full man. Suddenly, Sabrina heard a series of notes, as if someone in the woods was playing a flute, followed by a buzzing sound that grew closer and closer. Sabrina peered through the trees nervously, remembering the music from the night before.

  "They're coming, aren't they?" Daphne said, and before she finished the question a cloud of little lights zipped out of the forest and surrounded them. This time the lights didn't attack. Instead, they hovered as if waiting for instructions. Another note pierced the night air and the little lights buzzed into action, perching on the barbed wires that had Sabrina caught and, with a flutter of wings, pushing at the lowest wire and pulling the other one up, creating a hole big enough for Sabrina to scamper through. When she got to the other side, the little lights let go of the wires.

  Hamstead, trapped on the other side of the fence, squealed in frustration and searched for an opening. He waddled back and forth, huffing and grunting, but found nothing that would
allow his human or pig form to pass. Desperately, he got to his hands and knees and tried to squeeze through the wires. And that's when Elvis made his move. The big dog ran full steam right at Hamstead like some kind of fur-covered locomotive. He leaped onto Sheriff Hamstead's broad back and used it as a springboard. The sheriff let out a painful grunt as Elvis sailed effortlessly over the top of the fence and landed on all fours.

  The chubby policeman quickly recovered. He stood up, grabbed a fence post, and began to climb. Sabrina knew she had to do something. She grabbed another post and pushed all her weight against it. Discovering it was quite loose in the ground, she shook it back and forth as hard as she could, and the fence swayed uncontrollably.

  "Hey, stop that!" Hamstead shouted nervously as he clung to the fence.

  Daphne rushed to Sabrina's side and together they shook the fence even harder. Suddenly, with a loud tearing of fabric, Sheriff Hamstead's body thumped to the ground on his side of the fence. He groaned and let out an angry cry. After a moment, he picked himself up. Unfortunately, his pants had not survived the fall. They hung from the sharp teeth of the barbed-wire fence, leaving the sheriff in just a pair of droopy long Johns. Defeated, he hobbled back to his car.

  "He's leaving," Sabrina said as she followed her sister into the dark woods.

  "He turned into a pig," Daphne whispered.

  "I saw him," Sabrina replied. "But I think we have another problem."

  The little lights waited patiently ahead of them. They darted into the woods and then came back out, as if they wanted the girls to follow them.

  "What do you want?" Sabrina asked, and the lights shimmered and blinked an answer.

  "Should we follow them?" said Daphne.

  "I don't see that we've got much of a choice," Sabrina said, thinking the lights might attack if they didn't.

  She took her sister's hand and they walked through the dark woods, with Elvis trotting closely behind. Low-hanging branches blocked their path, and with each step the girls had to dodge and weave to get through. Several times Sabrina walked into trees, feeling the prickly spindles of a pine or the crusty bark of an oak tear at her clothes and skin. The lights guided them, slowing down occasionally to see if they were keeping up.

  "They're making sure we're following them," Sabrina said, wondering if it was a good thing or a bad thing. Soon, the girls stepped into a clearing. In the center was a pile of junk. An old refrigerator, a couple of burned-out microwaves, some abandoned teddy bears, and a broken toilet had been assembled into a massive chair. Sitting on the junk "throne" was a boy with a mop of blond hair that was tussled and dirty. He wore a pair of baggy blue jeans and a green hooded sweatshirt in desperate need of a washing, and in his hand he held a small sword. But most interesting was the golden crown that rested on his head.

  "Pixies," he called to the little lights. "What have you found?"

  The little lights erupted into a loud buzzing.

  "Spies, you say?" the boy asked. "Well, what do we do with spies?

  There was more buzzing in response, and a wicked grin appeared on the boy's face.

  "That's correct." He laughed. "We drown them!"

  Chapter 6

  hen the girls protested their kidnapping, the army of pixies surrounded them and delivered several stings. Nursing their wounds, the girls were forced to follow the odd boy farther into the woods.

  "Where are you taking us?" Sabrina asked, but the boy just laughed.

  Soon, they came to the end of the forest, where a tall fence blocked their way. Built into the fence was a door, and the boy pushed it open. The girls stepped through and found themselves standing in front of a tarp-covered swimming pool in the backyard of a two-story suburban-style house. Some pixies swirled around the tarp and lifted it off the pool, while others zipped off and returned with a rope. They stung Sabrina's arms relentlessly until she put them behind her back, and then they tied the rope around her wrists.

  The boy stuck the tip of his sword into Sabrina's back. He forced her onto the diving board. "You've made a terrible mistake, spy!" he shouted.

  "We're not spies!" Sabrina exclaimed.

  "Tell it to the fish!" the boy hollered, causing the little lights to make a tittering noise that sounded like laughter. Sabrina looked down at the pool and wondered how deep the water was. There was a diving board, so it had to be deep, and with her arms tied behind her she'd certainly drown if the icy water didn't freeze her to death first. She tugged at the ropes, but each pull just tightened them around her wrists.

  "So, spy, would you like to repent your crimes before you meet your watery doom?" the boy asked.

  "What crimes?" Sabrina cried, and then took a deep breath, certain he would push her in. But after several moments, nothing happened.

  "The crime of trying to steal the old lady away from me," the mop-topped boy declared.

  "Granny?" Daphne asked from the side of the pool.

  "The one they call Relda Grimm."

  "Relda Grimm is our grandmother and we're not trying to steal her. We're trying to save her!" Sabrina shouted.

  "Save her?" the boy asked suspiciously. "Save her from what?"

  "A giant," the two girls called out together.

  Sabrina could sense their captor's confusion. She turned and found him talking to several of the little lights that hovered around his head.

  "Well, of course it makes a difference," the boy replied, annoyed.

  "We're trying to get home. We need to save her before it's too late," Daphne pleaded.

  The boy groaned and quickly untied Sabrina's wrists. "Where did this happen?" he asked. "How big was the giant?"

  But Sabrina didn't answer. Instead, she spun around, grabbed the boy by the shoulders, and heaved him into the pool, sending a splash of water and soggy dead leaves high into the air. The sword had slipped from the boy's hand as he fell, and with nimble fingers, Sabrina caught it. She leaped to safety on the side of the pool and waved the sword threateningly at the pixies.

  "You're going to let us walk out of here," she demanded. There was no movement at first, but then they flew around the pool, making a laughing sound, as if they were chuckling at their leader's misfortune. Sabrina stood dumbfounded, unsure of what to do next.

  A geyser of water shot high into the air, with the soaked boy riding its crest. When the water crashed back into the pool, the boy stayed aloft, several feet above Sabrina. Two huge wings had come out of his back and were flapping loudly. Oddly enough, the boy was laughing.

  "You think this is funny?" Sabrina exploded. She began making jabs at the boy, who flew effortlessly away from her thrusts. "A kid and a bunch of flying cockroaches kidnapping girls and threatening to kill them? That's how you losers have fun?"

  "Aww, we wouldn't have killed you. We were just fooling," the boy said.

  "Well, if you're finished with your stupid, psychotic games, my sister and I have to rescue our grandmother," Sabrina declared. She took Daphne's hand and turned to leave. Elvis joined them, but Sabrina shot him an angry look. The dog had spent the entire episode sitting lazily by the pool as if nothing peculiar were happening. The Great Dane caught her eye and whined.

  "You've only been in this town for two days and you've already lost the old lady," the boy said bitterly, as he floated into the girls' path.

  "We didn't lose her, she was taken by a monster as big as a mountain," Sabrina argued.

  "Well, if you've come looking for help, you've come to the wrong place," the boy crowed. "Rescuing old ladies is a job for a hero! I'm a villain of the worst kind."

  "Good! We don't want your help!" Sabrina said angrily, tossing the boy's sword aside.

  "I thought Peter Pan was one of the good guys," Daphne added.

  The boy's face turned so red Sabrina thought his head might explode. "Peter Pan? I'm not Peter Pan! I'm Puck!"

  "Who's Puck?" Daphne asked.

  "Who's Puck?" the boy cried. "I'm the most famous Everafter in this town. My exploits are known around
the world!"

  "I've never heard of you," Sabrina replied. She spun around and started walking through the yard to the street, with her sister and Elvis following. After only a couple of steps, the boy was hovering in front of them again.

  "You've never heard of the Trickster King?" Puck asked, shocked.

  The girls shook their heads.

  "The Prince of Fairies? Robin Goodfellow? The Imp?"

  "Do you work for Santa?" Daphne asked.

  "I'm a fairy, not an elf." Puck roared. "You really don't know who I am! Doesn't anyone read the classics anymore? Dozens of writers have warned the world about me. I'm in the most famous of all of William Shakespeare's plays."

  "I don't remember any Puck in Romeo and Juliet!" Sabrina muttered, feeling a little amused at how the boy was reacting to his non-celebrity.

  "Besides Romeo and Juliet!” Puck shouted. "I'm the star of A Midsummer Night's Dream?'

  "Congratulations," Sabrina said flatly. "Never read it."

  Puck floated down to the ground. His wings disappeared and he spun around on his heel, transforming into a big shaggy dog. Elvis growled at the sight of him, but Puck didn't attack. Instead, he shook himself all over, spraying the girls with water. When he was finished, he morphed back into a boy.

  As she wiped the water off her face, Sabrina was tempted to give the weird boy another piece of her mind, but they had wasted enough time with this "Puck." She took Daphne's hand in hers once more, and together they marched down the deserted street.

  "I'm afraid the old lady is a goner!" Puck taunted. "You'll get no help from me. Like I said, I'm a villain."

  "Fine!" Sabrina shouted back.

  "Fine!"

  Daphne turned on the boy. "You sent those pixies to attack us last night, didn't you?"

  "Just a little fun," Puck replied.

  "That wasn't very nice." The little girl gave him her best angry look and then turned to join her sister.