The Everafter War (23 page)

“The saboteur has struck again,” Uncle Jake said.

“Fudge,” Daphne complained. “This guy is starting to get on my nerves.”

“He freed the chickens in the henhouse, too, but that’s not what we should be concerned about. Look!”

Uncle Jake pointed to the ground. There she saw the broken pieces of hundreds of arrows. Sabrina knew at once these belonged to the Merry Men. They had been working on them for days and were to play a major part in the next day’s attacks.

“Did you see anything?” Sabrina asked her uncle. She knew he had spent another night next to Briar’s grave.

He shook his head. “I must have dozed off. The fire was raging when I woke up. Whoever is doing this has gotten away with it three times. It’s time to put the Grimm detective skills to work.”

Daphne clapped her hands. “Yay!”

“I’ll search the garden,” Uncle Jake said. “Daphne, you take the henhouse, and Sabrina, you search the armory. If you find any clues, whistle.”

The trio separated. Sabrina rushed to the armory and found the large metal lock on the door intact. How could the saboteur get the arrows out of the armory without opening the door? Perhaps he had a key. She thought about who had keys: Charming, Seven, Robin Hood, Ms. White, and maybe a few others. None of them struck her as someone who would betray the camp. Charming hadn’t always been trustworthy, but this was his camp. He was too proud of himself to sabotage it.

She circled the building to look for another way in and found a window on the far side that was slightly open. This must have been how the villain had gotten inside and removed the arrows. She was just tall enough to pull herself onto the window’s ledge and force the window open. She clambered into the dark, dry room. Inside she smelled welded metal. There wasn’t much light and the moon, hidden behind clouds, was not helping. She wondered if she should climb out and get a match, but decided against it when she got a strong whiff of gunpowder. The last thing she wanted to do was blow herself sky-high—it would be hard to solve a mystery on the moon. Since she couldn’t see, the whole investigation seemed pointless, so she decided to climb out. The sun would be up soon and so she would have to wait.

As she made her way back to the windowsill, she stepped on something that rolled. She lost her footing and tumbled onto her backside. She quietly cursed the pain as she searched in the dark for what had caused her accident. Her fingers touched something small and sleek that felt like wood. She shoved it into her pocket. Whatever it was, it might make someone else fall.

She got back to her feet, crawled out the window, and rushed to find her sister and uncle. Both had returned to where she had left them, and they had been equally unsuccessful.

“I couldn’t see a thing in the chicken house,” Daphne said.

“I had the same problem,” Sabrina said.

“There was nothing in the garden,” Uncle Jake said. “I’ll have to wait until they put the fire out to search the rest of it.”

“Well, that was a bust,” Daphne said.

“You want to come in to the hall and sleep with the rest of us?” Sabrina asked, seeing the dark rings around her uncle’s eyes.

“Yeah, you’re going to get the flu sleeping out here,” Daphne scolded.

Uncle Jake shook his head. “No, I need to be near her.”

He turned and walked back to Briar’s grave.

It was morning faster than she expected. Henry and Daphne went to work training as many soldiers as they could in the use of the new weapons, but it did little to raise the army’s morale. Also discouraging was the cold rain and fog that had drifted into camp. It was a miserable day and it reflected in the faces of the already reluctant army.

As they marched through the gates to fight their next battle, Sabrina wondered if she would see any of them alive again. The first battle had been disastrous and, according to some, an ambush. Now as they went off to battle again, the lingering feelings of humiliation, fright, and exhaustion weighed on their shoulders more than their heavy packs of supplies. Uncle Jake was the only one among them that looked prepared and focused.

Aside from a handful of elderly guards deemed too feeble to fight and a small group of Everafter children, which included Red and Pinocchio, the Grimms were left alone in the camp. Everyone did what they could to occupy themselves until the soldiers returned.

Granny spent most of the day studying a three-dimensional map of the town that Mr. Seven had constructed. She fretted over Charming’s plan and studied all possibilities. When she had a strategic idea or a good route for a retreat, she told one of the Everafter birds that had stayed behind and it flew off to deliver her message to the troops.

Henry and Veronica had a long talk as they walked about the fort. When they came back they were hand in hand and the bitterness between them had vanished. They looked the way Sabrina had always remembered them.

Daphne, Puck, and Elvis played a game in which they tossed an old pie tin through the air to see who could catch it in their teeth first—the big dog or Puck. Pinocchio was invited to join them but he refused, claiming he was not interested in baby games. Instead he wandered from one adult to the next, eager to start a conversation about art or science or chess. Sabrina felt a pang of sympathy for him. She knew what it was like to be treated like a child. Pinocchio was only a child in form, but few seemed to notice.

The day slowly ticked by, and by evening everyone was nearly dying for news. They sat together in the mess tent picking through beef stew and cornbread.

Red Riding Hood and Mr. Canis entered. It was clear from Red’s puffy face and tear-soaked cheeks that she had had another startling revelation.

“I remember something about the Master. His face is so strong. His eyes are so tiny and black, but there’s another face.”

“What do you mean?” Sabrina said, her curiosity piqued.

“That’s all she’s remembered,” Mr. Canis said. “I think we’re going to stop for the evening. The toll on the child is too much.”

Granny took the little girl in her arms and hugged her. “You are so brave.”

“I’m trying.” Red sighed.

Just then, a guard rushed into the tent. “The soldiers! They’re back!”

Everyone rushed into the courtyard just as the massive fort doors swung open. A stream of soldiers stomped in, cheering, singing, and carrying Prince Charming on their shoulders.

“We destroyed the marina,” Snow White said as she approached the Grimms. “We took them completely by surprise. The Hand won’t be getting any help by boat anymore.” She was suddenly lifted onto the shoulders of a troll and paraded through the fort like her former fiancé.

“The marina!?” Henry exclaimed. “I heard your plan. You were going to attack the sheriff’s office!”

“That’s what the prince told us all but he had a completely different plan in mind,” Rip Van Winkle crowed. “The man is a genius.”

Goldilocks pushed through the crowd with the help of her bears. She found Charming and called for his attention.

“Well?” he said.

Goldilocks nodded. “Your suspicions were correct. The Scarlet Hand was waiting at the sheriff’s office in full force.”

“William, we’re confused,” Granny Relda said.

“Well, Mrs. Grimm, we have good news and bad news. The good news is we just cut off a very important supply line for the Master. The bad news is that we have a traitor within our ranks. Someone in this fort fed our battle plans to the Scarlet Hand. I knew there was no way anyone could have been ready for our last attack. To prove my suspicions I conceived a bogus mission and switched to my real plan at the last minute.”

“I was at Nottingham’s office. The entire Scarlet Hand army was there waiting for us,” Goldilocks said. “If we had gone we probably wouldn’t have come back.”

“So you went to the marina to finish the original plan!” Daphne cried. “Gravy!”

“They never saw us coming,” Charming said, puffing out his chest proudly. “Now all we have to do is figure out who our spy is.”

Snow stepped forward. “Worry about it tomorrow. These people need to celebrate.”

Charming grinned and turned to his soldiers. “We gave it to the Master, didn’t we?”

The crowd roared.

“Have a little fun, people. You deserve it!” he cried.

Tables were conjured, candles were lit, and wine flowed into every cup. There was dancing and singing, and soldiers told battle stories with details that grew more exaggerated with each telling. Sabrina spotted Morgan le Fay and Mr. Seven dancing beside a supply tent. He was standing on a chair so the two were cheek to cheek. The distraught, broken army that had marched out of the fort that morning was now confident and proud. Still, Charming’s concern over the saboteur was weighing heavily on Sabrina.

“I wonder what the saboteur has planned for us tonight,” she said.

Granny shook her head. “It’s a terrible shame that someone would turn on their own people.”

“It could be anyone,” Daphne said.

“And there are so many Everafters in the camp. I don’t know most of them,” Henry added.

Everyone took a moment to look at the huge crowd of Everafters drinking, eating, and dancing.

“Did anyone find any clues?” Sabrina asked.

Henry shook his head. “I searched the armory this morning and found just as much as you did. Nothing.”

Sabrina nodded, then remembered the little wooden object she had found in the dark room. She reached into her pocket. “All I found was this thing. It nearly killed me.”

She took it from her pocket and set it on the table. All eyes turned to it and everyone grew quiet. Sabrina was so surprised she could barely speak.

“It’s a little leg,” Granny said.

“A little wooden leg,” Daphne said, picking it up and examining it. “It looks like one of Pinocchio’s marionette legs.”

“How did it end up in the armory?” Veronica asked.

The group grew quiet.

“It can’t be him,” Granny said.

“Mom, what other explanation can there be?” Henry said.

“Wait! Are you telling me that Pinocchio is the spy?” Sabrina asked.

Granny’s face fell. “Poor Geppetto. He’ll be heartbroken.”

“What do we do?” Veronica said. “Should we confront him?”

“Follow me,” Mr. Canis said as he hobbled toward Pinocchio’s tent. Once there, he used his cane to lift the tent’s flap. Inside were nearly a hundred finished marionettes, along with several thick reams of wood and a carving knife. On one wall of the tent was a bloodred handprint.

“Anybody have any doubts now?” Henry said. He dug through a pile of marionettes until he found one with a missing leg. It fit perfectly with the one Sabrina had found in the armory. He tossed it angrily onto the pile.

“Where is he?” Canis asked.

“It appears the party is over,” a voice said. Everyone turned to find Pinocchio standing behind them. He stood calmly, as if he was not ashamed of his crimes.

“Why?” Sabrina cried.

“He’s going to grant me a wish.”

“Who?” Henry demanded.

“The Master. He’s going to make me a man,” the boy said.

Sabrina rushed to Pinocchio and shook him by his shirt collar roughly. “Explain yourself.”

“The Master came to me. He offered me my heart’s desire—to grow into a man. I can’t expect you to understand. Do you have any idea what it’s like to be seen and spoken to as a child every day?”

“Uh, yeah?” Daphne snapped.

“Try it for hundreds of years! Forced to play with other children, never allowed to grow or mature because I am trapped in this body. I wanted life from the Blue Fairy, but look how she cursed me. The Master has promised to give me what I most desire.”

“And if people die in the process?” Granny cried.

“You see him as your enemy,” Pinocchio said. “But he can be your friend. He can give you anything you want. You could wish everyone back to life. That princess that died, Briar Rose, he could raise her from the dead. All you have to do is ask.”

Uncle Jake glared. “We need to put him somewhere he can’t get into any trouble.”

“I can help with that,” Puck said as he drew his wooden sword.

Just then, a horrible sound filled the air. Sabrina knew it well and the look on her sister’s face confirmed it.

“A dragon!” they cried.

Others recognized the sound as well and the celebration turned to chaos. People ran like nervous rabbits, screaming and crying. Everafters fell to the ground and were trampled by others. In the madness, Pinocchio pulled free from Puck and darted into the crowd, disappearing from sight.

Puck was eager to go after him but Granny stopped him. “Let him go. We’ll catch him later. For now, we have to get everyone to safety.”

“Get to your posts,” Robin Hood shouted as he charged through the courtyard.

Charming climbed on top of a table and commanded everyone’s attention. “Remember your training. We can fight this thing!”

But when a violet-colored dragon with the face of a cat appeared on the horizon, Sabrina could see the prince’s confidence melt away. The creature circled the fort like an overgrown vulture preparing to feast on the body of a dead coyote. Sabrina could taste the fear in the back of her throat, but struggled to remain calm. She turned her attention to Geppetto, who stood in the courtyard aiming his bow and arrow toward the sky.