The Everafter War (10 page)

The sentry blew a whistle and the big doors swung open. Before the girls could take a single step inside, an infantry of armor-clad knights on horseback surrounded them. The girls were nearly trampled before Charming rushed to their side with his silver sword in hand. He snatched Sabrina by the arm. “Where are these monsters?” he shouted.

“We ran into them about half a mile back,” Sabrina said. “There are at least a dozen, maybe more. They’re attacking my mom and dad.”

“You fools! You have probably led them to us,” he cried in disgust.

“Freaky monsters were trying to kill us,” Sabrina said. “Should I have just died out there so you could keep your clubhouse secret?”

“Absolutely!” the prince said.

“Well, well, well, look who’s back,” Puck said, hovering above the fortress wall. “I knew you’d show up again. This little crush you have on me is getting embarrassing.”

Enraged, Sabrina would have slugged the fairy boy if not for the appearance of Henry and Veronica, slightly worse for wear. Sabrina’s father’s lip was bloody in the corner and her mother had a long scratch on her right arm. “We took care of them, Prince.”

“How many were there?” he said.

“Fourteen that we saw,” Henry replied. “They’re hobgoblins. We managed to subdue twelve of them. If you walk along the path you’ll find them.”

“And the other two?”

“They ran,” Veronica said, still clinging to her heavy branch. “Cowards.”

Charming pulled a guard aside and ordered him to gather as many of Robin Hood’s Merry Men as he could collect. “Find those hobgoblins. If they get back to the Hand they’ll reveal where we are and we’ll be overrun by nightfall!”

A moment later a well-armed posse of archers and swordsmen was racing into the forest in hot pursuit.

efore nightfall the camp received more than three dozen additional Everafter refugees. They looked tired and broken. Many spoke of burned homes and businesses, shattered lives, and destitution. Others shared warnings of brutal beatings, threats, and murder.

When they came in, Mr. Canis called them “guests” and informed them that to join the camp they had an obligation to all the others. Each person would be assigned tasks in the morning based on their occupations or talents, but until then they should try to relax and get some rest. Robin Hood and his wife, Marian, led the newcomers on a tour and to the supply tent for fresh clothes. They were all given hot meals and promised clean bunks.

Charming marched through the camp pulling people aside and letting them know about the hobgoblin attack. The story seemed to startle everyone, especially those who had just fled chaos.

“I told you this would happen. They are bringing the fight to us!” the prince said. “It’s time to prepare for war.”

His call for action didn’t produce the reaction Sabrina suspected Charming was seeking. He was largely ignored. Many of the Everafters said they didn’t want to get involved, even if they were shaken by the prince’s dark predictions. At the end of the day, only six of the refugees volunteered to join Snow White’s militia.

Dinner was served in the courtyard as the sun sank below the tree line. A witch conjured a hundred tables and enough folding chairs for everyone. The magic tables came complete with plates, utensils, and drinking glasses. Oil lamps were strung from trees for light. Everyone filed through a long line for their share of beans, brown bread, a potato, and an ear of corn. Sabrina and her family, along with Red, dined together at a table. Mr. Canis was invited to join but claimed he needed to get back to his meditation. Goldilocks and her bears were invited as well, but Henry’s former girlfriend seemed nervous around him. She claimed she and the bears had already made dinner arrangements. Sabrina’s mother didn’t seem at all heartbroken by Goldilocks’s rejection, but she said nothing. Geppetto and Pinocchio, however, happily accepted the invite.

“Good day, all,” Pinocchio said. “My father has spoken highly of your family. He considers you some of his dearest friends. I’m quite honored to make your acquaintance.”

Sabrina couldn’t help staring at the boy. If the story was true, Geppetto had carved him from a solid block of wood. But what threw her off more was the way he spoke. He was so proper and mature.

“Nice to meet you, too,” Granny Relda said. “Your father has missed you terribly.”

“Indeed,” Geppetto said, giving the boy a hug.

“So, where have you been?” Daphne asked the odd little boy.

“Daphne, that’s a little rude,” Veronica said. “That’s Pinocchio’s business.”

Daphne shrugged. “Just making conversation.”

“Well, it’s not much of a tale,” the little boy said.

“Then skip it,” Puck said, filling his mouth with beans. “We’ve spent entirely too much time discussing things other than me.”

Granny rolled her eyes. “Please, Pinocchio. Go on.”

“I’m confident Papa told you about our missed connection aboard Wilhelm’s vessel.”

“What’s a vessel?” Daphne asked.

“The layman calls it a boat,” Pinocchio explained. “I have never cared for the sea. I had a very disturbing encounter with a great white shark once. I also had a bit of trouble on an island off the coast of Italy. Thus, I try to stay landlocked as much as possible.”

“I wonder how hard it would be to hide a shark under someone’s pillow,” Puck said, squinting at Sabrina. She shook a threatening fist at him.

Pinocchio continued his tale. “So I stayed in Europe and took a few odd jobs. I was an apprentice at a newspaper and learned to work with a printing press. The paper wasn’t much to speak of—mostly propaganda and smears. I was an artist’s assistant for a few years. I sold kites in a market in Spain. I lived in the Taj Mahal for a month before security guards found me and tossed me out. I was a shoeshine boy on the Orient Express. I’ve had a number of occupations and saw a great many places. I even journeyed back to my home in Italy. Papa, I believe I found the actual forest I came from and met a great many of my relatives. It was very enlightening.”

“You found the magic forest,” Geppetto said, clapping his hands. “I found a log inside it and used it to carve my son. I had heard it was destroyed by a forest fire.”

“Sad but true, though a few saplings survived the blaze,” the boy said.

“Why all the moving?” Granny Relda asked.

“It’s due to my condition,” Pinocchio explained.

“Condition?” Puck asked. “Do you have some horrible virus? If so, could you give it to Sabrina?”

Pinocchio ignored him. “It appears that I am incapable of growing old. Every few years I was forced to vanish before anyone could conclude I wasn’t getting older. I made the horrible blunder of sticking around for too long once in Eastern Europe and the superstitious townspeople chased me with torches and pitchforks. Do yourself a favor and stay away from Transylvania.”

“It’s ’cause you’re an Everafter. You have to decide to get older or you’ll stay the same age forever,” Daphne explained.

“Alas, no,” the boy replied. “I cannot get older. I believe it has to do with the wish I made to the Blue Fairy. I wished to be a real boy. Not to be a real boy that grows into a man.”

“You have to be real specific with wishes,” Sabrina said.

“Indeed,” the boy groaned.

“The Blue Fairy lives here in town,” Daphne said. “We could help you find her. She might fix the wish.”

“Thank you, but no,” Pinocchio said. “Like your sister said, her wish granting leaves a little to be desired. I might ask her to let me grow up and she’d probably make it so that I grew all the way to the moon. I’ll seek other options.”

“I’d like to know how you ended up here in the camp,” Henry asked.

Pinocchio shifted uncomfortably. “I had a great deal of savings from my many occupations, and these days anyone can purchase an airplane ticket on the Internet. I landed in New York City and boarded the next train for Ferryport Landing. It was immediately clear that trouble was afoot, but I searched for my father nonetheless. I met a young man who had a pumpkin for a head. He was quite peculiar.”

“Jack Pumpkinhead,” Granny said. “He’s from Oz. They’re all a little odd.”

“I told him who I was and he offered to bring me to the camp.”

“And I couldn’t be happier, pine nut,” Geppetto said. “After dinner you will have to show everyone your marionettes.”

Granny smiled. “So you are a puppet-maker as well?”

“Like father, like son, I suppose,” the boy said. Geppetto beamed with pride.

They hugged again. Sabrina looked over at her own father, hoping he might be inspired by the family feeling, but he was busy studying a map of the town. It was clear he was looking for another path out of Ferryport Landing.

Just then, Nurse Sprat approached the table. She was an overweight woman shaped like a nearly perfect circle. The family had met her at her former job as a nurse at Ferryport Landing Memorial Hospital, where she had had the unfortunate responsibility of looking after Red Riding Hood when she was mentally unhinged.

“Jacob is going to be fine,” she told the group.

“Thank goodness,” Granny cried.

“Normally he would be healing for a couple of months, but I found a container of magical salve in his pocket and it’s doing wonders. He should be shipshape in a couple of days.”

“Can we see him?” Henry asked.

“Tomorrow,” she said. “He’s sleeping and needs the rest.”

“Thank you so much, Mrs. Sprat,” Granny said.

“You’re welcome, Mrs. Grimm,” she said, then returned to her medical tent.

For the first time since her mother and father had awoken, there were smiles on everyone’s faces. Sabrina reveled in the moment. It was just what she had wanted—just like it had been before her parents disappeared and all the craziness began.

But it was a short-lived celebration. A loud bell rang and the gates of the fort opened. Robin Hood and his men marched inside with a dozen of the hobgoblins Henry and Veronica had pummeled earlier that day. The brutes were tied together at the wrists and then linked by a single heavy chain. They grunted and complained as they were roughly shoved along. Charming appeared and ordered the men to lock all of the creatures in his cabin. He pulled Little John and Will Scarlet from the group and ordered them to have the prisoners guarded twenty-four hours a day. “We can’t have them escape before we question them.”

“You can forget interrogation,” one of the hobgoblins barked. “You won’t get anything out of us.”

Snow White, who had appeared in the courtyard for dinner, still in her fatigues, cracked her knuckles loudly. “We’ll just see about that.”

“Relda, you seem to have a knack for getting information. Could you help?” Charming asked.

“She’s not part of your war,” Henry said.

Granny stood up. “I’ll do what I can.”

Sabrina watched her father quietly seethe.

After dinner, the girls went on a walk to give their parents some privacy. It was clear another argument was brewing and Sabrina had had enough fighting. Puck followed them. Sabrina tried to ignore him, as he was being especially annoying and had already driven her to the brink of murder several times that day.

They wandered aimlessly around the fort, taking in the strange sights, until Daphne spotted Red Riding Hood sitting behind Charming’s cabin. Daphne rushed over and sat down next to her.