Once Upon a Crime (The Sisters Grimm, Book 4) (23 page)

"No," Hamstead whispered. "Don't tell her anything."

"But--"

"Just trust me."

Sabrina, Daphne, Granny Relda, and Mr. Canis said their good-byes to Mr. Hamstead and Bess. They got into the car, gave a farewell honk, and then drove away.

Sabrina settled into her seat and realized she was feeling depressed. When they'd heard that thump on the roof of the car, she'd thought for a moment it was Puck.

Daphne looked at her sister and seemed to read her mind. "You know, I really can't believe Puck. What a jerkazoid," she said. "So what if he's a king. He's going to be lousy at it! He should have come back to Ferryport Landing."

"What do I care," Sabrina said, trying to hide her feelings. "I say, 'good riddance.'"

Daphne turned and gazed out the back window then let out a startled laugh. She nudged Sabrina to take a look as well. Sabrina turned in her seat and was shocked by what she saw. Following not far behind them was the six-story mechanical Wicked Witch of the West. Perched on the top of its hat was Puck. He had pink insect wings coming out of his back and he held the little silver remote in his hands.

"What's that stuff he spray-painted on the robot?" Daphne said.

Sabrina smiled. "It says, 'Ferryport Landing or Bust!'"

"Is he following us home?" Daphne cried.

Granny turned in her seat and smiled. "I believe he is, liebling."

"And he's bringing his toy with him," Mr. Canis grumbled.

"I think we're going to need an awful lot of forgetful dust," Sabrina said.

To be continued in

The Sisters Grimm

BOOK FIVE

MAGIC AND OTHER MISDEMEANORS

Michael Buckley is the New York Times bestselling author of the Sisters Grimm series. He has also written and developed television shows for many networks.

The Mole People and The New Sideshow can be seen regularly on the Discovery Channel. Michael lives in New York City.

This book was designed by Jay Colvin and art-directed by Chad W. Beckerman. It is set in Adobe Garamond, a typeface 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 Slimbach, who studied Garamond's historic typefaces at the Plantin-Moretus Museum in Antwerp, Belgium.

The capital letters at the beginning of each Chapter 11 are set in Daylilies, designed by Judith Sutcliffe. She created the typeface by decorating Goudy Old Style capitals with lilies.

MAGIC AND OTHER MISDEMEANORS

BOOK FIVE IN THE SISTERS GRIMM SERIES

"Puck booby-trapped the path," Daphne said, shivering. "We should head for the forest."

Sabrina peered at a bank of fir trees several yards off the path. They were thick and would make good cover, but Sabrina was sick of hiding. Puck always caught them in the woods. He could fly over and see where they were. It wasn't fair.

"He's expecting us to run into the woods. We do it every time."

"Hiding is good," Daphne said. "I'm a big fan of hiding."

"I bet that first explosion is the only one on the path. Why would he booby-trap the rest of it if he assumes we're going to hide in the forest?"

"Then what should we do?"

Sabrina furrowed her brow and thought, searching through her mental filing cabinet from her year and a half in foster care. Puck wasn't the only clever one in the Grimm household. Sabrina could get in and out of a house undetected, pick a few simple locks, and run like the wind before anyone knew she was gone. Puck might have called himself the Trickster King, but Sabrina had a name for herself--the Queen of the Sneaks.

"Let's just stay on the path and run real fast," Sabrina said.

Daphne's face crinkled as if she'd bitten into a sour pickle. "You want to stay in the open?"

"And run real fast," Sabrina repeated.

"What if you're wrong?" Daphne asked.

"Then Granny Relda is going to wake us up early again tomorrow," Sabrina said. "It's worth a shot."

Daphne peeked around the corner, then turned back to her sister. "I don't know about--"

But Sabrina didn't give her sister time to think about the plan. She snatched her by the hand and dragged her back to the path, which led down a slight hill lined with pricker bushes. Each icy thorn sparkled like jagged glass, so they went slowly and paid attention to their steps. Sabrina's plan seemed to be working. They hadn't set off another booby trap. Could they have actually out-tricked the Trickster King?

Soon they came across a chunk of ice as big as a car. They stopped to catch their breath and hid behind it with their backs pressed against its chilly surface. Sabrina took the opportunity to make sure the little wooden sword was still in her pocket.

"I think we did it," Daphne said, peeking around the boulder. "You're mucho smart-o."

"Mucho smart-o?"

"It's my new word," Daphne said. "It means you're very smart."

"In what language?"

"Daphne-ish," the little girl said matter-of-factly. Sabrina's sister was always coming up with odd little words or sayings. No one had any idea where any of them came from, but Daphne seemed to have a new one each week.

"You're really good at thinking on your feet. I wish I was better at it," the little girl continued.

"Well, you're very good at the magic stuff. I wish I could use a wand," Sabrina said ruefully. "I guess I'll do what I'm good at, and you'll do what you're good at."

"We make a pretty good team," Daphne said, hugging her sister.

"We do," Sabrina agreed.

"Isn't this just the sweetest moment ever?" a familiar voice said from above, followed by a mischievous snicker. "I'm going to get a cavity."

"Puck," Daphne groaned.

Sabrina craned her neck to get a good look at the boy. He was standing on top of the ice boulder. He wore a grungy green hoodie and jeans covered in mud, food, and heaven only knew what else. He had a shaggy head of hair, dazzling blue eyes, and a devilish smirk on his face. His pink-streaked insect wings fluttered behind him and he held a coconut-shaped device that looked a lot like a grenade. He had half a dozen more of them strapped across his chest.

"What's that in your hand, Puck?" Sabrina asked suspiciously.

"It's my latest creation. I call it a glop grenade. Allow me to demonstrate," Puck said. "All you do is pull the pin, count to three, and throw it. The unfortunate moron in its path is sprayed with all manner of disgusting rubbish. This one is filled with fur balls and chili. You're going to have to take a lot of showers to wash this off. You'll probably have to burn your clothes, too. So where was I? Oh yes, one…"

Sabrina lifted her hands to show him they were clenched into fists. "You throw that thing at us, and it will be the biggest mistake of your miserable life, fairy boy."

"Two," Puck continued, unimpressed.

Sabrina watched him wind up to throw the grenade, and with reflexes faster than she even suspected she possessed, she snatched her little sword from her coat pocket and brought it down on his hand. He cried out and dropped the device. It hit the ground and rolled toward a tree, exploding an icky brown-and-yellow slime all over the bark. The frigid air quickly hardened the substance into an icy shell. Unfortunately, the air couldn't freeze the revolting aroma that wafted into Sabrina's nose. She almost gagged.

"You're going to pay for that, snotface," Puck snarled, but Sabrina was no fool. She was already on her feet and pulling Daphne down the path.

"Look at the piggies run!" she heard him cry. "Silly piggies! You can't outrun me."

He was probably right, but she was going to try anyway. She ran as fast as she could, stumbling along as she lost her footing over and over again on the slippery terrain. Daphne was having just as much difficulty.

"One! Two! Three!" she heard Puck shout, and another foul-smelling explosion splattered the ground just inches away. Luckily, Daphne pulled Sabrina back in the nick of time.

"C'mon!" The little girl shouted as she fled from the path and into the forest.

"No! That's what he wants us to do!" Sabrina cried.

"We don't have any other choice," Daphne said as another glop grenade exploded onto the tree next to them.

They ran through an outcropping of tightly packed frozen maples. Sabrina hoped the trees would provide the girls with cover for a moment so she could think about what to do next. But her hopes were dashed when she spotted the trees' inhabitants.

Hiding in the branches above the girls' heads was an army of chimpanzees dressed in white-and-gray camouflage overalls and wearing matching soldiers' helmets. Each chimp was holding one of Puck's glop grenades in its long, furry hands. The sight of them brought the sisters to a screeching halt.

"OK. No sudden movements," Sabrina said, recalling her first encounter with Puck's primate privates. They were a nasty bunch, but if the girls were careful, they might get away from them. "Just be quiet and take a slow step backward."

Daphne did as she was told while Sabrina kept an eye on the chimps. The beasts made no motion to attack. They just stared at the girls with a dull curiosity.

"They're going to let us go," Daphne said. "They're nice monkeys."

Sabrina cringed when she heard the first angry shriek. Before she knew it, all the chimps were gnashing their teeth and jumping up and down in the branches.

"What's wrong?" Daphne said.

"They're not monkeys! They're chimpanzees, and they're very sensitive about it," Sabrina explained as the first of the grenades exploded at their feet, splattering the ground in what looked like brown gravy and mayonnaise. "We should run!"

To be continued...

Look for 
TALES FROM THE HOOD
, the sixth book in the series,
coming soon!