"Fine, if you want the whole shebang there's no extra charge," Scrooge said as he flipped a switch on the wall. Rays of light shot out of the crystal ball, speckling the tapestries with shimmering suns, moons, and stars. The sound of a powerful wind came from speakers mounted on the ceiling. Scrooge reached under the table and pulled out a huge swami hat. It was bright purple and had a shiny red ruby in its center. He plopped it on his head. "This authentic enough for you?"
Sabrina scowled.
"Oberon, King of the Fairies. We call on you. Come forth and reveal yourself," Scrooge continued. Unfortunately, his request went unanswered and the family sat waiting for several minutes.
"I'm sorry. Dead people can be a bit shy," the psychic said nervously. His former confidence seemed to fade. "Oberon, come out, come out wherever you are. That's right, Your Majesty, we're having a party and you're invited."
"This is ridiculous," Sabrina said, leaping to her feet. She was fully prepared to march out of the room when an odd chill crept up her spine. She felt as if she had a horrible head cold. In fact, her whole body felt weird, almost as if it were filled with stuffing, like she had become a giant teddy bear.
"Granny, what's going on?" Sabrina cried as she watched the hair on her arms stand on end.
"I think he's here," Scrooge said, sounding relieved. "Oberon, is that you?"
Sabrina's mouth opened on its own and a ghostly voice echoed out of it. "Where am I?"
"Hey! Did that come out of me?" Sabrina cried, looking at her sister, who stared at her with eyes as wide as moons. Even Moth looked a bit freaked out.
"Wowzers!" Scrooge said to Sabrina. "You're a natural medium. Ghosts feel comfortable talking through you. Your mother had the same ability!"
But Sabrina couldn't respond. The ghost had full possession of her now. "Where am I?" the voice said. This time Sabrina's arms flailed around as if she were angry.
Scrooge bit his lip. "Oberon, I have some bad news for you. Are you sitting down?"
"I don't know," Oberon's voice said. "Hey! Where's my body?"
"Yeah, that's the bad news. You're dead."
There was a long silence but Sabrina could still feel the king's presence inside of her. Suddenly, her mouth opened again and a single frustrated word came out.
"Fudge."
"I know. It's a real bummer. Right now, you're stuck in limbo and you're going to stay there until your killer is brought to justice.
Luckily, we've got some people here who want to help you out with that inconvenience."
"King Oberon, it is I, your loyal subject, Moth. I have been caring for Puck since you have departed," the little fairy bragged as she hefted Puck's cocoon onto the table. "He is here with me."
"I know, I can smell him from the astral plane," Oberon groaned, then forced Sabrina's body to walk over to Puck's cocoon. Sabrina felt her hand move over it, caressing the cocoon lightly. She could feel a wave of regret pour over her, an odd sensation considering how Oberon reacted when he discovered Puck in his office. Hadn't he called his son a traitor? Sabrina also felt Oberon's hold on her body weaken. She took the opportunity to wrench back control.
"Get out of me!" she demanded.
"Sabrina, don't fight him. We need to ask him some important questions," Granny said.
"Easy for you to say. There's only one person in your body," Sabrina cried.
"Oberon, do you have any idea who killed you?" Granny Relda said.
"Cobweb!"
the voice bellowed as Oberon took control again. "He poisoned me. He brought me a glass of wine to celebrate the arrival of Veronicas girls. A moment after he left I felt faint and collapsed. Then there was a terrible pain and blackness."
"I knew it!" Moth cried.
The family looked at her in disbelief.
"Well, I did!"
"Do you know why he wanted to kill you?" Granny asked Oberon.
"No," the king said. "He's the last person I would have suspected. Oh, I am so angry! I had Rangers tickets this season. What a waste!"
"Are you sure Cobweb acted alone?" Mr. Canis said. "Perhaps he was working with another person who wanted you dead."
"Like who? Everyone loves me!"
"We saw you fighting with your wife," Granny replied.
"Titania? Impossible! She wouldn't kill me. Sure we fight, but you try being married for five thousand years and see if you don't bicker."
"Did you know that Cobweb was a member of the Scarlet Hand?" Granny asked.
"The Scarlet what?" Oberon asked. "I've never heard of any Scarlet Hand. Listen, you've got to find Cobweb and bring him to justice."
Suddenly, the chill in Sabrina's body disappeared and a new-voice came from her mouth. "Please insert fifty cents for ten more minutes."
"Sorry, we've lost the connection," Scrooge said.
"Well, get him back!" Moth cried. "We need to know if Oberon suspects anyone else!"