Just then, the receptionist entered the room. "Dr. P, Mr. Easy is trying to escape."
"Give him some more gas and sit on him if you have to. I'll be right there," the witch said. When the receptionist raced back to the patient, the witch turned back to the children. "I can't honestly say. They're all pretty powerful items. Any one of them could cause havoc in the wrong hands. I wonder if the crooks are trying to use them all together."
"All together?" Sabrina said. "You can do that?"
"Sure. If you combine the properties of different magical items, you can create a brand-new kind of enchantment, though you'd have to be a pretty good sorcerer to make sure it didn't blow up in your face. Combining magical items can have unpredictable side-effects. Listen, I've got to run. The teeth don't pull themselves. If you find anything, let me know."
The witch darted down the hallway and left them alone.
"So, what have we learned?" Daphne asked, doing a funny impression of their grandmother's German accent. Then she pretended to get out a notebook and pen and jot down notes.
"I learned that you need no formal training to be a dentist!" Puck said.
"The Lilliputians and the mice are no longer suspects," Sabrina said. "Neither are strong enough to rip a steel locker door off its hinges. Unless they were on steroids."
"I'm lost," Daphne said. "Three breakins, all done by something small and sneaky. We're going to have to go through the journals again."
The children exited the office and found their uncle and Briar Rose exactly where they had left them in front of the cafe.
"Any luck?" Uncle Jake asked when he finally noticed that they were waiting for him.
"A little, but we need to get home," Sabrina said.
The adults both frowned, but Uncle Jake eventually shrugged. He took the princess's hand and kissed it. "Until we meet again."
"OK, enough!" Puck cried. "If I have to, I'll turn a hose on you both."
Uncle Jake scowled. But before he could complain about them ruining his romantic moment, there was a terrible rumble, as if a tiny earthquake was erupting directly beneath the town. The tremors continued to grow in power, and then an explosion rattled the windows of the coffee shop. The noise had come from up the street. They all turned in that direction and found an unwelcome yet familiar sight. Baba Yaga and her house were stomping through town, in full view of humans. Worse, the witch was shooting buildings with fireballs emanating from one of her magic wands.
Chapter 5
"I want my property!" the witch shrieked.
"Briar, you might want to get to safety," Uncle Jake said as he began digging in his pockets.
"What about you?" Briar cried.
"Don't worry, I'm a Grimm. This is what we do."
Sabrina watched the princess run and wondered if she and her family should do the same. The witch was tearing through town, blasting one building after another. She screeched at the top of her lungs to be heard over the explosions and rumbling footsteps.
"Look at her!" Puck shouted. "She's horrible! She's like my soulmate!"
The house came to a stop outside the coffee shop and then bent down so that Uncle Jake's face and Baba Yaga's were a few feet apart. The witch breathed heavily and growled like an angry dog.
"Let me guess. You haven't had your coffee," Uncle Jake said. "I'll run in and get you one, and you'll feel better right away. How about a muffin to go with that? I hear the blueberry is to die for."
Baba Yaga shrieked again. "Have you got my wand, Grimm?"
Uncle Jake shook his head sheepishly.
"Then I will find it myself and woe to anyone who stands in my way."
"First, who uses the word 'woe' anymore?" Jake said. "Second, are you planning on burning the town down until someone confesses?"
Baba Yaga nodded. "Step aside, Jacob."
"No can do. You see, this store is owned by my would-be girlfriend. I can't let you burn it down. But if you have to destroy something, the tax assessor's office is just up the block."
Baba Yaga lifted her hands and a ball of fire appeared in them. It grew and grew and when it was as big as a beach ball, she wound up like a major-league pitcher.
"Uh-uh," Uncle Jake said. He took a small green amulet from one of his pockets and held it above his head. A light shot out of it and rose high into the air, then arced down and slammed into the ground as if it were more than particles or waves, but one solid, heavy mass. The ground shook and a tremor rose up like a mighty ocean wave, buckling the concrete and toppling Baba Yaga's house. The hut's hideous legs flailed as it tried desperately to right itself. Unfortunately, it wasn't long before it was back on its feet and stomping around angrily. "What now?" Sabrina said.