Puck sat back, deep in thought. “So, you and I might not get married and have to do all that mushy stuff and have kids and buy a house and get a mortgage? I might not have to get a job or take baths or take up reading?”
Sabrina shook her head. “If we rescue Granny Relda and stop Mirror for good, we could probably change it all.”
“Great! Let’s kick Mirror’s butt,” he said.
Sabrina smiled at the joke but down deep it hurt her a little. Not that she wanted her whole life planned out for her when she was only twelve years old. She wanted there to be mysteries about the life she might lead and the loves she might find along the way, and she didn’t want fate telling her whom she was supposed to be with. Still, Puck was special to her. He was her first kiss; her first crush. There was no use denying it anymore. Poisoned apples had spilled the beans.
“Thank you, Sabrina Grimm.”
“For what?”
“Don’t torture me! I won’t say it out loud. Just . . . you know, in four thousand years no one has felt . . . Oh, just forget it!” he said. He took a strong whiff of the air. “Geez, Grimm. You’re rank.”
Then he walked away. A moment later, Daphne approached.
“Bobby is so cute,” Daphne said.
“Bobby? You want to name the baby Bobby Grimm?” Sabrina said.
Before she could argue, their parents approached with the little boy in their arms.
“We’ve come up with a name,” Veronica said.
“Please tell me it isn’t Oohg,” Sabrina replied.
“No, it’s Basil, after my father.” Henry beamed.
“I think it works,” Daphne said.
“So, what’s next?” Puck said, flying back to the group. “The old lady sacrificed herself, which means no more free meals for me. We have to get her back.”
Henry sighed. “I’m not sure what to do first.”
Sabrina looked around at her family. All of them were at a loss. They needed someone to step forward and lead them. For the first time in many days the thought did not make her ill.
“We need to start preparing,” Sabrina said. “Mirror has some horrible plans. Worse still, that man he unleashed, Atticus—I saw his face, and he’s not right. There isn’t an ounce of humanity inside him. Puck, you find Uncle Jake, Mr. Canis, Charming, and Snow White. Take Pinocchio with you. Mom, Dad, Daphne—we need to go see the real Wicked Queen, and unfortunately, we’re going to have to get some help from someone I’d rather not see again.”
“Baba Yaga,” Daphne groaned.
Sabrina nodded. “If we’re going to stop Mirror, we’re going to need this town’s most powerful people. Because if we can’t stop him, it may very well be the end of the world.”
To be concluded . . .
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Michael Buckley is the New York Times bestselling author of the Sisters Grimm and NERDS series. He has also written and developed television shows for many networks. Michael lives in Brooklyn, New York, with his wife, Alison, and his son, Finn.
This book was designed by Melissa Arnst, and art directed by Chad W. Beckerman. It is set in Adobe Garamond, a typeface that is based on those created in the sixteenth century by Claude Garamond. Garamond modeled his typefaces on those created by Venetian printers at the end of the fifteenth century. The modern version used in this book was designed by Robert Slim-bach, who studied Garamond’s historic typefaces at the Plantin-Moretus Museum in Antwerp, Belgium.
The capital letters at the beginning of each chapter are set in Daylilies, designed by Judith Sutcliffe. She created the typeface by decorating Goudy Old Style capitals with lilies.
Illustrations © 2010 Peter Ferguson
Cover Design by Allison Henry and Chad W. Beckerman
The Inside Story Page 18
