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

by Michael Buckley

  "I think I see something," Daphne said.

  "What? What is it?" Sabrina said.

  "A booger. It's in your nose." The little girl laughed. "Gotcha, again!

  Puck laughed so hard he snorted, but then saw Sabrina staring and stopped abruptly.

  "WHO ARE YOU?" a loud voice suddenly bellowed from within the mirror. Sabrina looked into its reflection and felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. A face was staring out at her but it was not her own. Floating without a body, the face was that of a man with a bald head and thick, angular features. He stared at the children with eyes like blue flames flickering a mixture of rage and disgust, as if the children were rodents found munching on the turkey during Christmas dinner. Terrified, the children ran back toward the door, but a blue ray shot from the mirror, hit the door, and slammed it shut, trapping them inside.

  "WHO ARE YOU?" the head bellowed. "TELL ME NOW OR I WILL KILL YOU WHERE YOU STAND!"

  Chapter 7

  'd like to see you try," Puck said defiantly. A six-foot-high circle of fire snaked around the group, trapping them inside. The flames licked at the pots and pans the children had hoped would act as armor, and managed to scorch Sabrina's hand. She pulled it close to her and rubbed the painful burn.

  "I WILL ROAST THE FLESH FROM YOUR BONES!" the face threatened. Dark gray clouds framed the bulbous head in a violent thunderstorm. Lighting crackled around the face, exploding in light and sound with every twitch of its eyebrows. "Who dares to invade my sanctuary?"

  Sabrina pulled Daphne close to her, while Puck stepped between them and the closest flame, thrusting his little sword into the wall of fire. "We're not invaders! We live here!" he shouted over the roaring fire.

  The face cocked an eyebrow and looked at them sternly.

  "You're the grandchildren?"

  "Yes! Sabrina and Daphne!" Sabrina shouted.

  "And Puck!" Puck chimed in.

  Suddenly, the fire puttered out, as if someone had turned off a stove.

  "Oh, thank goodness. I thought carnival folk had broken into the house," the head cried. "You can hardly blame me, three kids break into my room and they're dressed like escaped inmates from the Ferryport Landing Asylum. You may not have heard, but the whole circus-clown-meets-crazy-street-vagrant-look is so over."

  Sabrina looked down at her outfit: the torn, bright-blue pants, the orange sweatshirt with the monkey, the pressure-cooker lid strapped to her behind. Her face flushed with embarrassment as she took off her spaghetti-strainer helmet.

  "What are you?" Sabrina asked, regaining her composure.

  "I'm not a what, I'm a who!" the face in the mirror croaked, looking deeply insulted.

  "Then who are you?" Sabrina said impatiently.

  "Tsk, tsk, tsk, why I'm the seer of seers, the visionary of visionaries, the man who puts the fun in your reflection," he replied with a dramatic flourish.

  Sabrina looked at her sister for help. Daphne had read more fairy tales than Sabrina, but the little girl returned her sister's glance with a dumbfounded shrug. The face in the mirror frowned, sensing that the girls were far from star-struck and, in fact, had no idea who he was.

  "I'm the magic mirror!" the face snapped.

  "We could have guessed you were a magic mirror," Puck muttered.

  "Not a magic mirror! The magic mirror! 'Mirror, mirror, on the wall'?"

  "From 'Snow White'?" Daphne asked.

  "Is there another?" The face growled. "You can call me Mirror. Your grandma told me you were coming from New York City, though she didn't tell me she was giving you a set of keys."

  "She didn't. Granny threw hers to us before she was carried off by a giant," Daphne explained.

  Mirror's eyes grew wide with astonishment.

  "Well, there's a sentence you don't hear every day." He chuckled. "And I suppose you are in the midst of a rescue plan?"

  "They are," Puck said defensively. "I'm a villain."

  "So, let's hear this thrilling plan," said Mirror.

  "We haven't got all the details worked out yet," Sabrina said, trying to make herself sound older and more mature.

  "You don't have a plan!" Mirror exclaimed.

  "We're still working on it," Sabrina muttered. "We thought there might be something up here that could help us."

  "You're just like Henry." Mirror sighed. "Ready to jump headfirst into an adventure, hoping he'd come up with a plan along the way."

  The girl was shocked. Headfirst didn't sound like her dad at all. My dad read the labels on cans of food before everyone could eat, she thought.

  "You knew our father?" Daphne exclaimed.

  "Knew him? I was Henry's babysitter most of the time. I saw him off to the prom. I was even invited to your parents' wedding. They propped me up on my own seat. I am a member of this family, after all."

  "Sorry, we didn't mean to offend you," the little girl said. "So if you're the magic mirror, what do you do?"

  "I can show you anything you want to see; all you have to do is ask," Mirror said proudly.

  "What are you talking about?" Sabrina asked with growing impatience. All this chatter was keeping them from acting. Who knew what that monster was doing to Granny and Mr. Canis.

  "You got a question. I got an answer," the face bragged. "All you got to do is ask."

  "Are Granny Relda and Mr. Canis still alive?" Daphne asked.

  "Sorry, kiddo, that's not how it works. You have to ask me the right way."

  "What's the right way?" Sabrina demanded.

  "Well, if you're going to be cranky, then just forget it!" Mirror said. He jutted out his lower lip.

  Puck swung his carrot peeler menacingly at the face, then realized what he was doing, and flashed his little sword. "Listen, Mirror, you tell us what we want to know or you're going to find yourself cracked and broken all over the floor!"

  "You wouldn't dare!"

  "Just see if I wouldn't!"

  Daphne tugged on Puck's arm. Acting as the diplomat for the group, she apologized to Mirror. "We're just very eager to find our granny and Mr. Canis, and we don't understand what you are saying."

  The face's expression changed to a huge smile. "Apology accepted. Now, like I was going to say before I was so rudely interrupted," he said as he eyed Sabrina disapprovingly, "you have to ask your questions in a special way to activate the magic. You have to . . ."

  "Rhyme them!" Daphne interrupted with a happy cry.

  "Bingo!"

  The little girl turned to the other two. "We have to rhyme the question. Like, mirror, mirror, on the wall, who's the fairest of them all?"

  A blue mist filled the mirror's surface and the face faded away, only to be replaced with the image of the most beautiful woman Sabrina had ever seen. She had black hair like Daphne's, and flawless, porcelain skin. She was standing in front of a classroom, teaching. Every boy in the class stared at her like a lovesick puppy, and there was a stack of apples on her desk.

  "That would still be the lovely Snow White," Mirror said.

  Just then, all the students got up from their seats and exited the room. When Snow White was finally alone, she tossed the apples into a garbage can and slid it under her desk.

  "OK, how about this?" Sabrina said. "Mirror, mirror in a beehive, is Granny Relda still alive?"

  The man in the mirror's face reappeared and he was frowning. "In a beehive?"

  "All you said was it had to rhyme. You didn't say it had to make sense."

  "Very well," said the face, and the blue mist returned. "Your grandmother is alive and well, for now."

  "Where is she?" Daphne asked.

  "Uh-uh. One question at a time, and that one didn't rhyme, anyway."

  "Mirror, mirror we're just kids, can you show us where our grandma is?" Puck chimed in.

  "Sorry, that doesn't technically rhyme," Mirror argued.

  "It's close enough!" the children shouted.

  Mirror frowned but misted over and, suddenly, Granny and Mr. Canis appeared in the refl
ection. They were climbing on top of their car, which was enclosed in what could only be described as a giant bag. Mr. Canis pulled the fabric down and the two of them looked over the edge. They were still in the giant's shirt pocket.

  "They're alive." Daphne sighed with relief as the image zoomed out to show the giant. The ugly brute was asleep, lounging against a huge rock outcropping.

  "He's up in the mountains," Puck said.

  "You've probably tossed kids off of that very cliff," Sabrina commented.

  "A few," Puck agreed, making Sabrina wonder if he was serious. "Look at the size of that beast. I'm going to need a bigger sword."

  "We'll come with you," Daphne said.

  "You aren't going anywhere," the boy replied. "The last thing I need is a couple of girls bawling while I fight the giant. You two are staying here."

  "What are we supposed to do while that's happening?" Sabrina asked.

  "Women's work. You can clean up that mess in the dining room."

  "Women's work!" the girls cried.

  "Oh, you've said it now," Mirror warned Puck.

  "If anyone's going up there, it's me!" Sabrina declared. "I can't expect some smelly kid who lives in the woods to save my grandmother. You couldn't even push me into a pool. You stay here and keep an eye on Daphne!" she commanded.

  '"Keep an eye on Daphne?'" Daphne repeated indignantly. "I'm not staying here! She's my granny, too!"

  "What you need is someone who has had experience with giants," Mirror interrupted.

  "What we need is someone who can kill a giant," Sabrina said.

  "Like the Big Bad Wolf," Daphne suggested.

  "No, tougher than that."

  "I'll do it!" Puck said angrily. It was obvious that the boy was offended at their lack of respect for his fighting skills.

  "Mirror, mirror, what can we do, to rescue Granny from you know who?" Sabrina asked.

  The mirror misted over once again, and this time when it cleared the children saw a man sitting in a jail cell. He had a boyish face with spiky blond hair and big eyes. He was lying lazily on a thin, ratty cot. He got up, walked over to a small window, looked out, pulled on the bars in a hopeless effort to free himself, and when he found them unbendable, scowled and returned to his dingy bed.

  "You need the help of Jack the Giant Killer," Mirror said, as his face returned to the reflection.

  "Jack the Giant Killer?" Sabrina asked.

  '"Jack and the Beanstalk,'" Daphne explained. "He's the same gu7-"

  "That guy sitting in jail has killed giants? I'm not impressed," Puck said, continuing his sulk.

  "Granny said he was down on his luck," Sabrina said. "But I didn't think she meant that down. I guess it'll be easy to find him now."

  "We passed the jailhouse on the way to the hospital," her sister pointed out.

  "We do not need Jack," Puck fumed.

  Suddenly, Elvis barked an angry warning from downstairs. It was followed by several loud knocks on the front door.

  "Who's that?" Sabrina whispered.

  "Mirror, mirror, one question more, who's that knocking on our door?" Daphne asked.

  "Now you're getting the hang of it!" Mirror said as his face misted over. Outside of the house, two police cars were parked in the driveway. "It seems as if the local authorities have arrived."

  "Hamstead's here," Sabrina said as the image revealed the fat sheriff hoisting up a new pair of pants in between angry knocks on the front door. An equally plump deputy with a thick handlebar moustache gestured for Hamstead to walk around the house, and together they did, revealing pink curly tails sticking out of the backs of their beige slacks.

  "He brought friends," Daphne said as the image blurred, then reappeared from another angle. Another equally rotund deputy with a shock of bright, white hair tucked under his hat walked along the side of the house, trying to find an open window. When he got to the dining room window, he placed his face against it to peer in, only to fall over backward when Elvis lunged at him from the other side. The terrified deputy transformed into a pig, but changed back once he calmed down.

  "Ferryport's finest, Sheriff Hamstead and his dim-witted deputies, Swineheart and Boarman," said Mirror.

  "I can't believe the Three Little Pigs are working for the bad guy." Daphne sighed.

  "I can't believe anyone still calls them the three little pigs." Mirror tittered. "That trio has been tipping the scales for as long as I can remember."

  "Look at them, they're no match for us. Why, I could take the three of them by myself," Puck said so excitedly that his wings appeared and he flew off the floor. Sabrina pulled him back down by his sweatshirt sleeve.

  "Ladies, this is the police. Open the door," the sheriff demanded through a megaphone in a tinny, amplified voice. "We can stay out here all night if we have to."

  "What do we do?" Daphne asked.

  "Nothing. They can't get in here," Puck replied.

  "But we can't get out. We're trapped," Sabrina said, worried.

  "What is this nonsense I'm hearing from you?" Mirror said. "You two are Grimms. Performing the impossible is what you do. Do you think your family could have survived this long with ogres and monsters running around if they couldn't find a way out of their own house?"

  "OK, you're so smart, you tell us what to do," Sabrina snapped. "We came up here because we're looking for some help. Now there are cops outside who want to arrest us and, worse, who are keeping us trapped in here so we can't get out and save our grandmother and her best friend, who have been kidnapped by a giant!"

  "You're asking for my help?"

  "Yes! Do we have to rhyme it, too?"

  "Not at all. Ask, my little wardrobe-challenged friends, and you shall receive," the face said. "I need your keys."

  "What? Why?" Sabrina asked.

  "Do you want some help or not? Give me the keys." The reflection warped, and a portion of the mirror's surface grew outward as if someone were blowing a bubble from the other side. It pushed out farther and farther, causing the reflection to shimmer and ripple until a hand was thrust through. Even Puck seemed unsettled by what he was seeing.

  "C'mon, girl, I don't have all night," Mirror complained.

  Sabrina put the keys into the hand and it disappeared into the bubble.

  "I'll be right back," the face said as it vanished and the surface of the mirror flattened, returning to normal. After several moments, the face reappeared.

  "I've got just the thing for you," Mirror said with a smile. Again, the surface of the glass rippled, and this time a dusty, rolled-up carpet came through. Once it had completely broken the surface, the carpet fell to the ground, where it unrolled before them.

  Dazzling burgundy and gold threads formed an intricate pattern of symbols: moons, stars, flowers, sickles, and triangles, which seemed to shimmer as if they were woven from precious metal. Golden roped tassels hung from the carpet's edges. Sabrina thought it was the most beautiful rug she had ever seen.

  "What's this?" Daphne said, stepping on the carpet. Suddenly it lifted off the floor and hovered in the air. The movement was so quick that Daphne fell onto her backside. "It flies!"

  "Just a little thing your grandpa picked up during a trip to the Middle East. Maybe you've heard of Aladdin?" Mirror said proudly. "This is his flying carpet. Thought it might be the best thing for your little rescue mission. Just tell it the location of where you want to go and it'll get you there. Even if you don't know how to get there yourself."

  "How do I make it go down?" Daphne asked, giggling, but no sooner had the question left her lips than the carpet fell to the ground, causing Daphne's "armor" to clang on the floor.

  "When you're finished with it, I expect you to return it," said Mirror sternly as Granny's keys came back through the surface and fell to the ground. Sabrina picked them up.

  "But how are we going to get out of the house?" Sabrina asked.

  "Listen, cowgirl, I can't do it all for you. From what I hear, you're quite the expert at being sneaky
. I suggest you cause a diversion," Mirror said.

  "With what?"

  "I don't know. What could possibly distract three pigs enough so that you could get away?"

  Sabrina thought for a moment and then grinned. "I know exactly what to do."

  • • •

  The girls carried the carpet down the stairs and into the kitchen, where they laid it on the floor. They removed their "armor," and Sabrina opened the refrigerator. Granny's odd and abundant cooking filled the shelves. It would take an army to eat it all. The girls pulled out pies, cakes, oddly colored fruits, and several things Sabrina couldn't identify, and tossed them onto the carpet. Elvis sat by, drooling with hunger, obviously wondering what they were doing.

  "Is this enough?" Daphne asked.

  "I hope so," Sabrina answered. "Carpet, up!"

  The carpet rose to her waist and hovered next to her. "Come!" she commanded, and the carpet followed them as they walked to the front door.

  Daphne peeked out the window. "They're sitting on the hoods of their squad cars," she said. "Puck, are you ready?"

  The boy entered the foyer. He had finished taking off the last of his own kitchen gear and now pulled a small flute from his sweatshirt pocket.

  "You don't have to ask the Trickster King if he is ready," he said arrogantly.

  "I'm ready," Daphne said to Sabrina. "But are you sure about this? The police are after us. Do you think going to the jail-house is the smartest thing?"

  "I don't see any other way," Sabrina said as she opened up the front door. Hamstead scrambled off the car hood.

  "Finally, you two have come to your senses," he said as he and his deputies approached the house.

  Sabrina looked down at the carpet full of food hovering next to them. "Carpet, go to the policemen," she said. The carpet rose into the air and floated gently toward Hamstead and his men, and as it got closer it began to have the effect Sabrina had hoped for.

  "Food!" one of the deputies squealed as the carpet stopped at their feet. The smell of the cakes and pies sent a change through the two men, and soon both were in pig form, rooting wildly through the banquet the girls had built on the rug.