Hamstead's pig snout sprang onto his face and he quickly covered it with his hand. "Get a hold of yourself, Hamstead," he muttered to himself.
Titania swept into the dining room. Mustardseed helped her to her chair at the far end of the table and then took a seat next to her. Even from that distance, Sabrina could see the angry scowl on Titania's face. It was directed right at her and her family.
Oz rushed in from one of the back rooms and over to Sabrina. "Everything is all set," he whispered to her.
"What's the diversion?" Sabrina whispered to him, but before he could answer a chicken hopped into a nearby chair and flapped its wings furiously.
"Where's Oberon?" the chicken cackled as it slurped down some fat purple worms.
"Patience, Billina," Oz replied. "He's on his way."
Just as the Wizard leaned down to whisper to Sabrina again, there was a loud scream. The door leading from the back hallway burst open and Moth rushed into the room. Her face was twisted and red from crying and her beautiful hair was flying in all directions. She fell to her knees in despair and beat the floor with her fists. "It's Oberon! It's the king!"
Titania stood up so quickly she knocked over her heavy chair. "What is this nonsense?"
"I found him in his office. He's been poisoned. He's dead!"
"Impossible!" someone shouted.
Titania rushed around the table and raced into the back hallway with Mustardseed close behind. The dinner guests jumped to their feet, knocking chairs and plates over in their excitement.
"Is this the diversion you were talking about?" Sabrina shouted at Oz.
The Wizard looked dumbstruck. "No! I have no idea what is going on!"
Granny Relda grabbed the girls and quickly found her way to the back hall. Together, they pushed through the crowd of Everafters at the door to Oberon's office. The sight inside made the blood freeze in Sabrina's veins. The king was lying on the floor next to his desk, a shiny gold cup clutched in his hand. His face was contorted in agony, as if the last moments of his life had been excruciating torture.
Titania threw herself on top of her husband and wailed with despair. She screamed as if it were she who had been fatally wounded. Mustardseed tried to help his mother up but she fought him off ferociously, and he backed away to let her grieve.
"Who killed my husband?" Titania cried. Sabrina was too distracted to listen. For there on Oberon's chest, in bright red paint, was a handprint. It was the mark of the Scarlet Hand.
Chapter 4
Sabrina had never seen anger in a persons face like she saw in Titania's. The queen's rage seemed to pour out through her eyes and spill onto the crowd like acid. Everafters fell backward just to avoid her gaze.
"One of you killed my husband!" Titania cried, rising to her feet with clenched fists. "Who is responsible? Who has blood on his hands? Will no one come forward? Then I'll avenge my beloved by killing you all." The queen's body underwent a terrifying metamorphosis. Her already pale complexion turned bone white. Tar-black veins curled in all directions just underneath her skin, weaving along her arms, legs, and head. Her hands grew to three times their normal size, and long, jagged nails, several feet in length, shot out of the fingertips. Her hair blazed with actual flames, and long, blue cables of electric energy crackled and popped in the air in front of her eyes. Her wings sprang out of her back and flapped so hard they seemed to shake the room. She rose above the crowd, opened her mouth, and sprayed the room with a fiery liquid. Anything it touched was quickly engulfed in flames and reduced to cinders.
Everafters shrieked and stampeded toward the door, knocking the smallest in the crowd to the ground. Mr. Canis snatched the girls up, tucking them under his arms like footballs, and ran.
"We have to get out of here," Granny Relda shouted as she was shoved aside by Tony Fats and Bobby Screwball, who ploughed through the crowd, desperate to escape Titania's wrath.
"Wait," Hamstead called to the old woman, turning and rushing back toward the queen.
"Ernest, are you crazy?" Granny Relda called after him, but he didn't stop.
From Mr. Canis's grasp, Sabrina looked back to see the portly man run to the side of the blonde singer he had sat next to at dinner. Bess had been knocked to the ground and was cowering before Titania's murderous gaze. Her boyfriend, Tony Fats, had left her to die.
"No!"
Hamstead cried as he grabbed a heavy chair and used it to fend off Titania. The queen shrieked and ignited the chair w
ith her fiery breath. If Hamstead was afraid, he didn't show it. He tossed the flaming chair at the queen and then turned to help Bess to her feet. Together they raced out of the room just behind Canis and the Grimms.
When the group reached the main room they paused, and Hamstead asked Bess, "Are you OK, ma'am?"
"Ma'am is a name for old ladies," she said as she tried to catch her breath. "You can call me Bess, cowboy."
Hamstead blushed.
"We need to keep moving," Mr. Canis said.