The Everafter War (14 page)

Unfortunately, her feeling of security was short-lived. She looked down to see the red dragon rising from the ground like a missile, its deadly mouth open wide and closing in on her. She flapped furiously to the left, narrowly missing the jaws that clamped down just inches away from her. The creature’s gnashing teeth sounded like a twenty-car pileup.

She flew as hard and as fast as she could but the dragon was in pursuit and gaining. If only Daphne had changed her into a faster bird! She flew to the left, then to the right, with the monster’s broiling breath scorching her little goose feet. No matter where she went, it followed. Even when she sank into the trees the dragon blasted through them, pulverizing huge oaks and giant maples like a child running through grass. She knew she couldn’t keep her pace for long; she was already tired and the tree limbs kept clipping her wings, making it impossible to coast on the breeze. Then one of the branches caught her across the chest, and she tumbled to the ground. The fall knocked the wind out of her. With her breath gone the best she could do was stagger to her feet and hop along the forest floor.

The red dragon landed in her path, and its head dipped down to look at her. Its milky-yellow eyes had two sets of lids, like a crocodile’s, and when they focused on her she could hear the creature let out a satisfied chuckle. It reared its head back, inhaling oxygen into its mouth and nose, apparently fueling the furnace inside it. Sabrina knew there was nothing she could do to escape and she braced herself for death.

“Run, child,” a voice said from above. Sabrina looked up to see Buzzflower floating above the dragon’s head. She waved a wand at the creature and a bolt of blue energy exploded into the dragon’s chest. The dragon screeched and fell backward.

Buzzflower turned to Sabrina. “RUN!”

Sabrina fled into the woods as fast as her legs would allow. She heard a horrible roar and turned to see flames rising up into the trees. She hoped that Buzzflower had not been the target of the fire and feared the worst when she felt the beast stomping behind her. She heard more fiery blasts and angry roars. And then it was in front of her, using its tail to knock down huge swaths of forest. It turned toward her, eyes focusing, and this time there was no chuckle. This time it was impatient.

Sabrina looked right at the creature. “Fine! You want to kill me. I’m right here. But if you were looking for a trophy for killing a Grimm you won’t get it. I’m weakened by this stupid spell. If I was my normal self you would never catch me.”

“You speak gibberish, child,” the dragon said, his voice like a thousand volcanoes exploding at once.

Child
? How did he know she was a child? She looked down, wondering if he could see her true self through her magical transformation, and realized her feathers were gone. Her wings had vanished. Even the hard yellow beak was nowhere to be found. The magic had worn off and she was herself again.

“OK … good,” she grumbled. “Just in time to be roasted like a marshmallow.”

“Not tonight, big sister,” a voice said and suddenly she was hoisted upward and onto the flying carpet. Before Sabrina could hug Daphne they darted away, with the monster roaring in frustration.

“Hey, you changed back,” Daphne said. “See, I told you it was temporary!”

“You did not,” Sabrina said, trying to get her bearings.

“Well, I meant to,” Daphne said. She turned to Briar Rose, who held Uncle Jake’s head in her lap. “Briar, we need all the magic we can get. Can you dig in his pockets and see if there’s anything we can use to fight these dragons?”

“Preferably something with instructions,” Sabrina added.

Briar pulled out small bottles of strange liquids, weird rings, and even a smelly fur hat. She laid them all on the rug for Daphne and Sabrina to examine. “Anything?”

Daphne shook her head. “I don’t recognize any of that stuff.”

“Wait, there’s something else here,” the princess said as she pulled a small felt box from her boyfriend’s jacket. She flipped it open and her face lit up like a candle.

“What is it?” Daphne asked.

“Please tell me it’s the world’s tiniest rocket launcher,” Sabrina said.

Briar reached inside and took out a bright diamond ring. It was emerald-cut and mounted on a platinum band.

“Is that—?” Daphne gasped as she watched Briar Rose slip it on her ring finger. Though she was laughing and smiling widely, Briar’s cheeks were wet with tears.

“YES!” she cried. “Yes, I will marry you, Jacob Grimm.”

“You might want to wait until he’s awake,” Sabrina said.

“You may be right.” Briar giggled, took off the ring, and put it back in its box.

Then she slipped it back into Uncle Jake’s pocket.

Mallobarb joined them, flying alongside with a trail of glitter falling behind. “My wand has almost no effect on them,” she said. “It’s only making them angry.”

“Making who angry?” Uncle Jake said blearily as he tried to sit up.

“The dragons,” Daphne said. “Three of them are chasing us.”

“Look what happens when you take a nap,” Briar teased.

“Briar, you’ve been crying,” Uncle Jake said, taking her hand.

“Here comes one now!” Mallobarb shouted.

Jake had Briar and Sabrina help him to his feet. He reached into his jacket and removed a small black coin. He rubbed his hand over it for a moment and it began to spin. The spinning increased until a ferocious wind surrounded them. Luckily, the spell didn’t seem to affect them or Sabrina knew she would be swept right off the flying carpet. Uncle Jake clenched the coin tight and when the first of the dragons, the green one, got close enough he tossed it into its open mouth. Bolts of lightning poked out from inside its jaws, then erupted out of its fat belly. The dragon fell out of the sky, but before it hit the ground an enormous hole opened in its torso and the creature exploded.

“Gross,” Daphne said. “Next time warn a person you’re going to blow a dragon up in front of her. I’m going to have bad dreams until I’m a hundred years old.”

“Sorry,” Uncle Jake said. “Now for the other two.”

“Shouldn’t we just try to outrun them?” Sabrina asked.

“You can’t outrun a dragon, ’Brina,” her uncle said. “I’ve tried.”

The purple dragon circled above them then dove like a kamikaze pilot. The carpet easily dodged its attack but the monster was not discouraged. It swooped back to try an attack from below. Once again, Daphne proved her skill at steering the carpet.

“Land this thing,” Uncle Jake said.

“Is that a good idea?” Briar Rose said.

“No, but we won’t last long in the air,” he replied. “Daphne, take us down.”

Daphne did as she was told, landing in a clearing surrounded by heavy trees. Once they were on the ground, Uncle Jake shooed everyone from the rug and told Mallobarb to take them all to shelter.

“Use whatever protection spell you have in your wand,” he said.

Mallobarb looked surprised by Uncle Jake’s commanding tone. A frown came to her face but Briar tugged on her arm. “Don’t argue. Just this once—don’t argue.”

Mallobarb forced a phony smile onto her face and did as she was told.

Just as the group reached the safety of the trees, the purple dragon slammed into the ground right in front of Uncle Jake. He didn’t even flinch. In fact, he smiled.

“You are either brave or stupid,” the dragon croaked.

“Maybe a little bit of both,” Uncle Jake replied.

“You know I’m about to roast your bones and you don’t run?”

“No need,” he said as he began digging into his pockets. “I’ve got the Amulet of Roona. It will turn your bad breath into a cool summer breeze.”

“You lie,” the dragon said.

“No. It’s right here. I mean, it’s in one of these pockets,” he said, fumbling nervously.

Sabrina noticed the handful of rings and necklaces in Daphne’s hand. “Could one of those be the Amulet of Roona?”

Daphne cringed. “Uh, Uncle Jake, what does the Amulet of Roona look like?”

“It’s a black necklace with a silver crescent moon. The moon has a carving in it that looks like a puff of wind.”

Daphne sorted through the items she had taken from Jake’s pockets. She held up a necklace that looked exactly like the one her uncle had just described. “Uh-oh.”

“Uncle Jake? You might want to go with plan B. We have the Amulet of Roona,” Sabrina cried.

“Fudge,” Uncle Jake said as he shoved his hand into another pocket. It was the only word he could get out before the dragon blasted him with flame. Sabrina shrieked as she watched the fire engulf her uncle.

“NO!” Briar Rose cried. She raced to his side but there was nothing she could do. Jake’s body looked like a piece of charcoal—his features reduced to that of a volcanic rock.

Tears squirted out of Sabrina’s eyes and sobs filled her ears. Her sister was trembling and in hysterics. Briar collapsed. Mallobarb attended to her but she was just as shaken, her face cracked and confused.

And then the fire was gone. The forest was full of smoke and cinders burned Sabrina’s eyes.

“We should go,” Mallobarb said.

“GO?” Briar Rose cried. “I can’t go.”

“Princess, he is gone. If we stay we will all join him,” Mallobarb said.

Sabrina shook her head. If they wanted her to leave then they would have to carry her away. She turned back to the spot where her uncle had stood. She was prepared to fight the dragon with her bare hands, but Briar was already there, kicking and punching at its huge feet. The dragon looked down and laughed, then swatted her away like she were an insect. She slammed into a tree. There was a sickly cracking sound and then she collapsed to the ground like a rag doll.

“Briar!” Mallobarb cried and rushed to her side.

Sabrina tore her attention away from Briar and back to the dragon. He could easily do the same to her and her sister. As the smoke dissipated around her uncle she saw something that should have been impossible. The black shell that covered Jake cracked and broke. Pieces fell off and crumbled to dust on the ground. Inside the shell was Uncle Jake, unhurt and whole. In his hand was a dark-green crystal, glowing like a small star.

“My turn,” Uncle Jake said. He reached into one of his pockets with his free hand and pulled out a long broadsword. In one quick motion he shoved it under the dragon’s chin, easily slicing through the creature’s steel-strong skin. The dragon let out a muffled cry and then, with a ground-shaking thud, fell over dead.

“Luckily, I also have an invulnerability stone,” Jake said.

High above, the red dragon roared in rage.

“You want some?” He laughed as the dragon flew off, either to protect itself or warn its masters. “That’s what I thought, punk!”

Buzzflower flew into the clearing. She looked frazzled. When she saw Mallobarb hovering over Briar she cried out and flew to them.

“No!” she shouted. She waved her magic wand over the fallen princess and a stream of colors and lights flooded into her. But Mallobarb held her hand and forced her to stop.

“What happened?” Uncle Jake said, rushing to the group.

“She’s gone, Jacob,” Mallobarb said.

Uncle Jake fell to Briar’s side and cradled her broken body in his arms. He buried his face in her hair and wept. “No, no, no.”

Sabrina and Daphne stood on the edge of the clearing. For the first time in days they hugged each other like sisters. They shook their heads in disbelief and their tears fell on the charred ground.

abrina, Daphne, their parents, and Granny Relda stood in the huge crowd gathered around a vacant space of the camp, now set aside as a cemetery. Mr. Canis stood shoulder to shoulder with Robin Hood and Prince Charming. The three men looked somber as they stared down at the casket that Geppetto had hurried to construct. Pinocchio had helped, and together they had carried it to the plot where Briar Rose’s body was placed. Red Riding Hood placed a bouquet of wildflowers she had gathered along the camp’s walls in Briar’s hands. She looked beautiful, as if she were once again the sleeping princess from the storybooks.