The Everafter War (7 page)

“And then we can step through its portal into the real world,” Granny explained.

“Bunny created this room as a fail-safe in the case of a malfunctioning mirror or guardian. If one needed fixing, she could simply step in through this back door and make repairs. She chose this mirror, my mirror, to be the hub, the only place where you can go to all twenty-five, making me all the more unique,” Mirror said proudly.

“Gravy!” Daphne cried as she rushed to the closest mirror. “I’m going to go into this one!”

Before she could jump into the reflection, Granny Relda yanked her back. “
Liebling
, no!” She pointed to a sign hanging at the bottom of the mirror that read “Out of Service.” “You can’t just jump into these things. Some of them don’t work.”

“She’s right, jitterbug,” Mirror said, pointing to a few others with the same sign. “Thirteen of the mirrors have been broken beyond repair. Two more are buried beneath the earth and who knows what’s crawled into them. Another is filled with a poisonous gas and yet another is, from what I can tell, at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. Two others have been shattered. If you were to step into them, you would be cut to ribbons. In my free time I’ve been removing the shards so that no one can get hurt. If there is a sign below it that reads ‘out of service,’ then they are off limits.”

Sabrina did the math in her head. “That leaves six magic mirrors that are still working.”

“Do you think one of these will lead us to a doctor?” Henry said impatiently.

“If we pick the right one and we’re lucky,” Granny said as she turned to Sabrina and Daphne. “And that’s where you two come in.”

“Us?”

“Yes. I think it would be unwise to just step into one of these mirrors, especially since we don’t know who owns them, what kind of guardian might be inside, or where they might lead. You two have been in one, though, and know the guardian quite well.”

“The Hotel of Wonders,” Daphne exclaimed. “We were in it right after we got back from the future.”

“You girls are the only people I know that have ever been inside another magic mirror,” Granny said. “Do you think you can find the right mirror?”

“Sure,” Daphne said.

The girls went from one portal to the next. The first two were shattered and cracked. Another reflected nothing back at them. One revealed a medieval torture chamber, complete with a stretching rack and a bubbling cauldron of what looked like tar. Another mirror showed an old-fashioned ice-cream parlor and yet another revealed a huge warehouse filled with thousands of crates and boxes. In one Sabrina saw a tacky nightclub, with a disco ball and a guardian in a polyester suit and gold chains. Finally, Sabrina spotted a breathtaking sunset and swaying palm trees. She knew they had found the Hotel.

“Not so fast,” Henry said, stepping toward the mirror. “I’ll go first.”

“Dad, it’s perfectly safe,” Daphne said. “Harry is the guardian. He’s very nice.”

Henry ignored Daphne as if she were babbling. It was the second time he had discounted her opinion and Sabrina noticed her frustration. Henry took a step into the mirror then, half-in and half-out, turned back to his family. “Stay here. I’ll let you know when it’s safe.”

A second later he was gone.

“So, you want to explain this trip into the future?” Veronica asked.

“It was so cool, Mom,” Daphne said, shaking off her humiliation. “We met ourselves. Sabrina was married!”

“Daphne!” Sabrina cried. No one knew the complete truth about what the girls had seen in the future. Her marriage and, most importantly, the identity of her husband, were supposed to be carefully guarded secrets. If Puck ever found out …

“Married?” Puck laughed. “Who would marry you? He must be blind and lack a sense of smell.”

Sabrina’s fists clenched. She had never had a chance to ask her older self what she saw in the smelly, annoying fairy, though she had to admit, Puck’s grown-up version was very cute. Still, how did she get over all the insults, pranks, and mean-spirited jokes? Maybe there weren’t any other men in the future. That could be the only explanation.

Just then, Henry’s face appeared in the Hotel’s portal. “Coast is clear.”

Everyone piled through the portal and Sabrina found herself standing at the front desk of a very chic hotel. The floor was polished marble with beautiful Persian rugs scattered about. The walls were covered in tasteful contemporary art. Everything sparkled under the grand crystal chandelier. A bank of floor-to-ceiling windows revealed a tropical scene that looked as if it had been stolen from a postcard. Sabrina wondered if the beach was really there or if it was just a magical illusion.

Just then, a short Asian man in a Hawaiian shirt and lei appeared. He was carrying more leis in his arms and placed one around everybody’s neck, except for the bears who were far too big and tall for the little man to reach. “Aloha!” he cried.

“Aloha, Harry,” Daphne said.

“Sabrina! Daphne! Welcome back to the Hotel of Wonders. I wasn’t aware you’d be visiting us. No worries, you never need reservations. Are you here on business or pleasure?”

“Neither,” Sabrina said. “In fact, we’re in the midst of an emergency.”

“From what I understand emergencies happen quite frequently to you and your family,” Harry said with a knowing grin. “Can I be of any help?”

“We want to use the main portal. The one that leads to the real world.”

Harry nodded. “Oh, so you slipped in the back way. Interesting. Of course you can use the portal. This way,” he said, leading everyone through the hotel lobby. “The boss has been using the portal a lot lately. He’s pretty busy with his camp. I explained that he could have all the refugees stay here with room to spare but he said he didn’t want the riffraff to sully the sheets.”

“What does
riffraff
mean?” Daphne asked.

Sabrina opened her mouth to explain but remembered the girl’s reaction the last time she had tried to define a word. Instead, she decided to let someone else be the dictionary for a change.

“
Riffraff
is a mean word for people who are of a lower class,” Veronica explained. “It’s not a very nice thing to say.”

“Harry, you said something about refugees?” Goldilocks asked.

“Yes, those terrorized by the Scarlet Hand,” Harry explained. “Prince Charming has offered them sanctuary in his camp. It’s gotten to be quite a large population.”

“Wait a minute!” Henry cried. “This mirror belongs to Prince Charming? This is going to take us to his camp? This plan is insane! Have you forgotten that he has threatened to destroy our family? He and Dad couldn’t have been bigger enemies. Charming said he would bulldoze our house.”

“I can’t promise he won’t someday,” Granny said as she wiped Uncle Jake’s brow with a damp cloth. “But now he’s the closest thing the Grimm family has to an ally, and Mr. Canis has learned to trust him. We’ll be fine.”

“Mr. Canis is there, too?” Red Riding Hood whimpered.

Granny took her hand. “He won’t hurt you, child.”

Harry pushed a button on a bank of elevators and the doors slid open, revealing the portal to the outside world.

“Hey, there’s Charming now,” Daphne said, pointing into the portal. Sabrina could see the former mayor and his diminutive assistant, Mr. Seven, in a dimly lit room, propping another full-length mirror against the opposite wall. Seven was one of the world-famous seven dwarfs, and despite his boss’s frequent insults and humiliations had been at Charming’s side ever since the day Sabrina and Daphne had met him. Sabrina wondered what kept him there now that the prince could no longer afford to pay his salary.

“This is foolish,” Henry warned. “Charming can’t be trusted.”

“It’s the best plan we’ve got,” Veronica said. Granny nodded in agreement, then sent Poppa Bear through the portal with Uncle Jake on his back. Everyone else followed.

The world on the other side of the portal couldn’t be more different from the opulence of the Hotel of Wonders. Sabrina found herself inside a crude log cabin with a dirt floor and a thatched roof. A few chairs were scattered around and a rough table had a scale model of Ferryport Landing resting on top. Charming and Seven, startled by the sudden appearance of visitors, nearly dropped the mirror they were holding.

“Careful now!” a face cried as it appeared inside the mirror. He had dark skin and long, untamed dreadlocks.

“Are you people touched in the head?” the prince bellowed. “I am hanging a magic mirror! Do you have any idea what would happen if I dropped this?”

“Let’s try not to t’ink on it, my friend,” the man in the mirror said in a thick accent that sounded as if its origins were Caribbean. “I’ll have nightmares.”

“You can relax, Reggie,” Charming said. “You are perfectly safe.”

“T’is is a good t’ing, man,” Reggie said, and then disappeared.

Charming and Seven set the mirror safely against the wall. “Relda, is there more of this rabble out there or is it safe to say you’ve brought the entire town?”

“My son is injured, William. He was shot by one of Nottingham’s arrows. He needs help,” Granny Relda pleaded.

“Seven, lead the bear with Jacob to the medical tent. Tell Nurse Sprat to take good care of him,” Charming said.

Mr. Seven nodded, and, along with Poppa Bear, raced out of the cabin.

“Sprat will send for us when she has treated your boy, Relda,” Charming said. “In the meantime I suppose you’d like to take a look at our little community.”

He led the group through the door and out into an open courtyard. Sabrina was stunned by what she saw. They were inside a huge fort with walls twenty-five feet high. The compound was wide enough to fit dozens of cabins, barracks, a mess tent, a makeshift hospital, an armory, and a small farm. Hundreds of Everafters were busy gardening, working with horses, tilling the land, and building more cabins.

Granny looked around in awe. “William, what exactly is this place?”

“Welcome to Camp Charming,” the prince said proudly. “The Everafters’ last stand against the Scarlet Hand.”

ook familiar?” Daphne asked Sabrina.

An icy feeling crept up Sabrina’s back as she studied the fortress. She had been here before. In their trip to the future, Sabrina and Daphne had seen a handful of Everafters build a fort to fight the Master exactly like the one she was now standing in. Seeing the fort in the present was a chilling reminder for Sabrina that parts of the future had not been changed, and events might unfold despite the girls’ best efforts to prevent them.

The prince smiled as he gestured to the camp. “The Scarlet Hand is harassing Everafters, especially ones that have associated with you and your family. I’ve sent word out that our camp is a safe haven, and we’ve had a steady flow of people seeking shelter ever since.”

“How did you build this so fast?” Granny Relda asked. “You and Mr. Canis fled into the forest only yesterday!”

“We work fast around here,” a voice said from behind them. They spun around and found Mr. Canis. Their old friend was as skinny as ever, with a tangle of gray hair and a black patch on his left eye. He pointed toward a wizard who was levitating a load of rubble left over from the construction of a stone sewer.

Daphne raced to the elderly man and gave him a hug. He would have toppled over if not for the cane he carried at his side. Its presence bothered Sabrina. Canis had never needed one before, and it was a reminder that their friend was a very old man. Still, even weakened he looked more at ease than she had ever seen him. His trademark scowl and pensive expression were gone, replaced with an easy smile. “It’s good to see you, child,” he said to Daphne, then turned his attention to Sabrina’s parents. “Henry and Veronica, among the world of the wakeful. I am pleased to see the spell has broken and you have been revived.”

“Goldilocks woke them up,” Daphne said. “With a kiss.”

Puck stuck his tongue out as he if was about to be very sick.

Granny took her friend by the hand. “How are you feeling?”

Canis shook his cane. “Tired—my age is catching up with me. Rather quickly, too. It appears that I have lost some of my youthful strength now that I am free from the Wolf.”

“Wow!” Veronica said. “We’ve missed a lot, haven’t we?”