The Fairy-Tale Detectives (The Sisters Grimm, Book 1) (15 page)

"I'll do it!" Puck said angrily. It was obvious that the boy was offended at their lack of respect for his fighting skills.

"Mirror, mirror, what can we do, to rescue Granny from you know who?" Sabrina asked.

The mirror misted over once again, and this time when it cleared the children saw a man sitting in a jail cell. He had a boyish face with spiky blond hair and big eyes. He was lying lazily on a thin, ratty cot. He got up, walked over to a small window, looked out, pulled on the bars in a hopeless effort to free himself, and when he found them unbendable, scowled and returned to his dingy bed.

"You need the help of Jack the Giant Killer," Mirror said, as his face returned to the reflection.

"Jack the Giant Killer?" Sabrina asked.

'"Jack and the Beanstalk,'" Daphne explained. "He's the same g
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"That guy sitting in jail has killed giants? I'm not impressed," Puck said, continuing his sulk.

"Granny said he was down on his luck," Sabrina said. "But I didn't think she meant that down. I guess it'll be easy to find him now."

"We passed the jailhouse on the way to the hospital," her sister pointed out.

"We do not need Jack," Puck fumed.

Suddenly, Elvis barked an angry warning from downstairs. It was followed by several loud knocks on the front door.

"Who's that?" Sabrina whispered.

"Mirror, mirror, one question more, who's that knocking on our door?" Daphne asked.

"Now you're getting the hang of it!" Mirror said as his face misted over. Outside of the house, two police cars were parked in the driveway. "It seems as if the local authorities have arrived."

"Hamstead's here," Sabrina said as the image revealed the fat sheriff hoisting up a new pair of pants in between angry knocks on the front door. An equally plump deputy with a thick handlebar moustache gestured for Hamstead to walk around the house, and together they did, revealing pink curly tails sticking out of the backs of their beige slacks.

"He brought friends," Daphne said as the image blurred, then reappeared from another angle. Another equally rotund deputy with a shock of bright, white hair tucked under his hat walked along the side of the house, trying to find an open window. When he got to the dining room window, he placed his face against it to peer in, only to fall over backward when Elvis lunged at him from the other side. The terrified deputy transformed into a pig, but changed back once he calmed down.

"Ferryport's finest, Sheriff Hamstead and his dim-witted deputies, Swineheart and Boarman," said Mirror.

"I can't believe the Three Little Pigs are working for the bad guy." Daphne sighed.

"I can't believe anyone still calls them the three little pigs." Mirror tittered. "That trio has been tipping the scales for as long as I can remember."

"Look at them, they're no match for us. Why, I could take the three of them by myself," Puck said so excitedly that his wings appeared and he flew off the floor. Sabrina pulled him back down by his sweatshirt sleeve.

"Ladies, this is the police. Open the door," the sheriff demanded through a megaphone in a tinny, amplified voice. "We can stay out here all night if we have to."

"What do we do?" Daphne asked.

"Nothing. They can't get in here," Puck replied.

"But we can't get out. We're trapped," Sabrina said, worried.

"What is this nonsense I'm hearing from you?" Mirror said. "You two are Grimms. Performing the impossible is what you do. Do you think your family could have survived this long with ogres and monsters running around if they couldn't find a way out of their own house?"

"OK, you're so smart, you tell us what to do," Sabrina snapped. "We came up here because we're looking for some help. Now there are cops outside who want to arrest us and, worse, who are keeping us trapped in here so we can't get out and save our grandmother and her best friend, who have been kidnapped by a giant!"

"You're asking for my help?"

"Yes! Do we have to rhyme it, too?"

"Not at all. Ask, my little wardrobe-challenged friends, and you shall receive," the face said. "I need your keys."

"What? Why?" Sabrina asked.

"Do you want some help or not? Give me the keys." The reflection warped, and a portion of the mirror's surface grew outward as if someone were blowing a bubble from the other side. It pushed out farther and farther, causing the reflection to shimmer and ripple until a hand was thrust through. Even Puck seemed unsettled by what he was seeing.

"C'mon, girl, I don't have all night," Mirror complained.

Sabrina put the keys into the hand and it disappeared into the bubble.

"I'll be right back," the face said as it vanished and the surface of the mirror flattened, returning to normal. After several moments, the face reappeared.

"I've got just the thing for you," Mirror said with a smile. Again, the surface of the glass rippled, and this time a dusty, rolled-up carpet came through. Once it had completely broken the surface, the carpet fell to the ground, where it unrolled before them.

Dazzling burgundy and gold threads formed an intricate pattern of symbols: moons, stars, flowers, sickles, and triangles, which seemed to shimmer as if they were woven from precious metal. Golden roped tassels hung from the carpet's edges. Sabrina thought it was the most beautiful rug she had ever seen.

"What's this?" Daphne said, stepping on the carpet. Suddenly it lifted off the floor and hovered in the air. The movement was so quick that Daphne fell onto her backside. "It flies!"

"Just a little thing your grandpa picked up during a trip to the Middle East. Maybe you've heard of Aladdin?" Mirror said proudly. "This is his flying carpet. Thought it might be the best thing for your little rescue mission. Just tell it the location of where you want to go and it'll get you there. Even if you don't know how to get there yourself."

"How do I make it go down?" Daphne asked, giggling, but no sooner had the question left her lips than the carpet fell to the ground, causing Daphne's "armor" to clang on the floor.

"When you're finished with it, I expect you to return it," said Mirror sternly as Granny's keys came back through the surface and fell to the ground. Sabrina picked them up.

"But how are we going to get out of the house?" Sabrina asked.

"Listen, cowgirl, I can't do it all for you. From what I hear, you're quite the expert at being sneaky. I suggest you cause a diversion," Mirror said.

"With what?"

"I don't know. What could possibly distract three pigs enough so that you could get away?"

Sabrina thought for a moment and then grinned. "I know exactly what to do."

•   •   •

The girls carried the carpet down the stairs and into the kitchen, where they laid it on the floor. They removed their "armor," and Sabrina opened the refrigerator. Granny's odd and abundant cooking filled the shelves. It would take an army to eat it all. The girls pulled out pies, cakes, oddly colored fruits, and several things Sabrina couldn't identify, and tossed them onto the carpet. Elvis sat by, drooling with hunger, obviously wondering what they were doing.

"Is this enough?" Daphne asked.

"I hope so," Sabrina answered. "Carpet, up!"

The carpet rose to her waist and hovered next to her. "Come!" she commanded, and the carpet followed them as they walked to the front door.

Daphne peeked out the window. "They're sitting on the hoods of their squad cars," she said. "Puck, are you ready?"

The boy entered the foyer. He had finished taking off the last of his own kitchen gear and now pulled a small flute from his sweatshirt pocket.

"You don't have to ask the Trickster King if he is ready," he said arrogantly.

"I'm ready," Daphne said to Sabrina. "But are you sure about this? The police are after us. Do you think going to the jail-house is the smartest thing?"

"I don't see any other way," Sabrina said as she opened up the front door. Hamstead scrambled off the car hood.

"Finally, you two have come to your senses," he said as he and his deputies approached the house.

Sabrina looked down at the carpet full of food hovering next to them. "Carpet, go to the policemen," she said. The carpet rose into the air and floated gently toward Hamstead and his men, and as it got closer it began to have the effect Sabrina had hoped for.

"Food!" one of the deputies squealed as the carpet stopped at their feet. The smell of the cakes and pies sent a change through the two men, and soon both were in pig form, rooting wildly through the banquet the girls had built on the rug.

"Gentlemen, we have work to do here!" Hamstead shouted while eyeing a pan of baked beans the others had overlooked. Unable to resist, he quickly shape-shifted to his pig form and slopped around in the mess.

Puck hovered several feet in the air near the girls, clearly displeased with Sabrina's success.

Daphne looked up at him and smiled. "We couldn't do this without you," she said, earning a grumpy shrug. "As soon as Jack tells us how to stop that giant, we're going to need you to lead us again."

The boy puffed up with pride, and a huge smile sprang to his face. He winked at Daphne, and then zipped across the front yard until he was hovering directly over the squad cars. The gorging piggies didn't even notice him.

Sabrina, Daphne, and Elvis stepped out of the house, closing the door behind them. With nimble fingers, Sabrina went to work locking all the bolts on the door, while Daphne kept an eye on Hamstead and his men.

"They're disgusting," Daphne said, mimicking the pigs' grunting and oinking.

"OK, that's the last one," Sabrina said, inserting the final key. She turned it and heard the lock roll into place.

"Ready?" she asked, pulling up the zipper on her sister's jacket.

"Ready!"

Sabrina turned to the pigs. "Carpet, here!" she shouted.

Abruptly, the carpet pulled itself out from under the three pigs, sending them topsy-turvy and flopping across the yard. The food flew into the air and rained down on them with a great splat as the carpet itself glided across the yard and stopped at Sabrina's feet.

"Get them!" Hamstead shouted as he struggled onto his hoofs and then back into his human form. The deputies followed suit and in no time they were all running toward the girls.

"Excuse me, piggies," Puck called from above. He blew a low note on his flute and within seconds a wave of pixies flew out of the woods. He played another note and the little lights encircled the two parked squad cars.

"You know what to do," Puck called to the pixies and they went into action, effortlessly lifting each car. They carried them high over the house and into several large trees, where they squeezed them between the thick branches. The police officers snorted their protests, but the boy just laughed.

The plan was working, and it was time for the girls to go. They stepped onto the carpet.

"Hold on tight. We haven't actually ridden on this thing," Sabrina said. She and Daphne knelt down and each grabbed a side of the carpet. Elvis hopped on, too, and Daphne wrapped her free arm around his neck.

"Don't worry Elvis. I've got you," the little girl said.

The police had stopped watching the pixies steal their cars and were now closing in on the sisters. They were almost on top of them when Sabrina shouted, "UP!" and the carpet rocketed into the sky. The girls held on for their dear lives as the house, the yard, and even their street became smaller and smaller. Sabrina's stomach lurched as they found themselves shooting through a cloud.

"Carpet, down!" she said as the oxygen began to seep from her lungs. Just as quickly as the carpet rose, it fell. Daphne's pigtails lifted from the side of her head and floated next to her ears as the girls screeched back toward Earth, falling like a rock.

"CARPET, STOP!"
Sabrina cried, inches before the carpet smashed onto the ground. She gasped with relief. Unfortunately, they had stopped right behind the three police officers, who were still searching the sky for the girls.

"Wait, we've forgotten something!" Daphne cried. "Carpet, take us to the front door."

"No!" Sabrina shouted, but it was too late. The magic carpet zipped off again, this time plowing into the group of portly police and knocking them down like bowling pins.

"What are you doing?" she demanded as the carpet screeched to a halt at the door of Granny's house.

"There's one more lock," Daphne said. She knocked on the door three times. "We'll be back!"

But the detour had given Hamstead and his men the time they needed to recover and they now had the carpet surrounded. Hamstead grabbed one of the tassels and smiled.

"OK, fun time is over, ladies," he said.

"Let go of the carpet," Sabrina demanded. Elvis echoed her protest with a low growl.

"Not a chance, girls! Now, let's head down to the station and . . ."

"I said, let go of the carpet."

"What are you going to do to make me?" Hamstead scoffed.

Sabrina and Daphne exchanged glances. Daphne tightened her grip on the carpet and gave an extra squeeze to Elvis at the same time.

"Carpet, up!"

The carpet shot into the sky, carrying the girls, Elvis, and a stubborn Hamstead with it. Hanging on with one hand, the sheriff desperately tried to climb on board as they soared high above the house.

"Take us down, right now!" he squealed.

Sabrina peeked over the side and smirked.

"I'm sorry, Sheriff, but you don't have a ticket for this flight. I'm afraid you're going to have to get off at the next stop. Carpet, we have an unwanted passenger. Get rid of him!"

The carpet bolted forward as if thrilled with the request. It zipped up and down and did wide loopty-loops that made Sabrina want to barf. She looked over at Daphne and Elvis, who both sat calmly on the carpet.

"If you just let go, it's a real easy ride," Daphne shouted over the whipping wind, but Sabrina wasn't convinced, and held on tightly A small beetle flew into her mouth and she spit it out, gagging.

"A bug flew in my mouth!" Sabrina croaked. Daphne patted her hand sympathetically.

Unfortunately, Hamstead was still very much a passenger.