"You have to come with us," said a voice from behind them. The girls spun around to find the blond warrior woman. She had her sword drawn, while her sister, the dark-haired woman, was holding a wand that glowed with green energy.
"We're not going anywhere with you," Sabrina said, stepping in front of her sister. She clenched her fists and snarled, preparing for a fight if the older women wanted one. She set her feet the way Ms. White had taught her, but before she could even take a swing, the fairy snatched her and Daphne off the ground and hoisted them onto his shoulders like they were a couple of sacks of potatoes.
"There's no time to explain," the fair-haired woman said. "We have to get to safety. If they find you out here, they will kill you.
"Who?" Daphne cried. "Who will kill us?"
"The Scarlet Hand."
Sabrina and Daphne shouted a million questions, but every one was ignored. Instead, the dark-haired woman reached into one of the many pockets on her jacket and took out what appeared to be a tiny blue marble. With her other hand she snatched Sabrina by the arm. The blond woman grabbed Sabrina by the other arm and then latched onto Daphne.
"Don't forget about me," the fairy said as he planted a kiss on the blond woman and put an arm around her waist. A moment later Sabrina felt energy swirl around her body. It seemed to invade her pores, rush through her bloodstream, and dance on the edges of her mind. She looked over at her sister to find that Daphne's hair was standing on end, and she had to assume her own was doing the same. There was a bright flash of light, like someone was snapping a picture, and then Sabrina felt a far more peculiar sensation. It wasn't uncomfortable or painful, but it felt as if her body was being folded neatly into halves, then folded again, and again, and again, until she was a tiny fragment of herself--so small she was invisible--and then she was folded once more and vanished from existence.
*
When the lights came on, Sabrina found herself lying on a pile of rags in a filthy room. Scattered about were musty books, old furniture, and boxes of odd trinkets. She scanned the room, puzzled by its familiarity. She had been here before, but where was here? She looked up at the filthy chandelier and then at a table covered in potions and odd books. One of them she could clearly see was bound with what looked like human skin. She fought a wave of revulsion.
"We're inside Baba Yaga's house," Sabrina croaked.
"What?" Daphne said groggily. The little girl was lying right next to Sabrina. "I was having a dream about ice cream."
"Do you know how we got here?" Sabrina asked.
Daphne shook her head.
"It's really freaky," a voice said from behind them. Sabrina spun around to find the grown-up fairy sitting on a chair, watching over them. "When is your birthday?"
"It's in two days," Sabrina replied suspiciously. "I'll be twelve."
Just then, the warrior sisters entered the room. Sabrina studied them, noticing the scar that ran along the dark-haired woman's face. It started at the bottom of her earlobe and ran down to just below her chin. It was an ugly wound and from what Sabrina could tell, fairly fresh.
"I don't remember this happening," the fairy said to the women. "But then again, you two were always running off on your own back then. Did it happen and you just didn't tell me?
The blond woman shook her head. "This definitely did not happen."
"It appears as if the phenomenon has occurred again," the woman with the scar replied.
"What are you talking about?" Sabrina demanded. "What phenomenon?"
"We should take them to William," the dark-haired woman said, ignoring Sabrina's questions.
"We should take them as far away from here as possible," her sister argued. "Who knows what could happen if they got hurt."
"You need to take us home," Sabrina interrupted. "Everything has gone crazy. The town is in ruins, there are dragons flying around, and Mr. Canis has lost control of himself. I know he looks like a monster, but that thing you were fighting is our friend."
The brown-haired woman's face looked tense. "That creature is no one's friend," she said sternly. "We barely got away with our lives."
"You don't understand," Sabrina argued. "My family can help. We fix problems all the time. You need to let us go home."
"I'm afraid we can't do that," the blond woman said.
"Oh yeah? Who do you think you are, kidnapping us?"
The blond woman reached out for a handshake. "My name is Sabrina Grimm. This is my sister, Daphne Grimm, and my husband, Puck."
Sabrina and Daphne stared at them. "You people are nutballs!" Sabrina cried. "Mucho nutballs-o!"
The woman claiming to be Daphne ignored the insult. "House, head for the mountains!" she shouted, and the house made an abrupt turn, jostling the girls until they both fell to the floor. If there had been any lingering doubt in Sabrina's mind that they were in Baba Yaga's home, it was now gone.
The blond woman who called herself Sabrina helped Sabrina and Daphne back to their feet. "I'm guessing that you're pretty confused, but we'll sort this out as soon as we get back to the camp."