Sabrina glanced over at the alarm clock on the night table by the bed.
"It's only ten o'clock. We can't go now. What about Uncle Jake? We don't know if he's found Baba Yaga yet!"
"This could be the only chance we get to send Wilhelm back," Daphne said as she put the magic detector into her pants pocket.
The girls leaped out of bed and raced into their grandmother's room. Granny Relda was still resting and they had to shake her from her nap.
"Lieblings, for heaven's sake!" Granny Relda cried as she sat up in bed.
"There's a time tear opening in the river soon. We need to go now."
"A time what?" the old woman said.
"A hole in time," Sabrina explained. "Just like the one Wilhelm came through to get here. We need to get him back on the boat so they can sail into it and get back to where they belong, but it has to happen soon."
"How do you know all this?"
"Granny, you keep secrets from us sometimes to protect us, right?" Daphne asked. The old woman nodded.
"Well, this is our secret and you're just going to have to trust us, like we trust you."
Granny laughed. "But girls, you never trust me."
"Fine, then trust us like we're supposed to trust you," Sabrina said, pulling her grandmother out of bed and down the hallway. Meanwhile, Daphne pounded on Puck's door. The fairy joined them shortly, strapped with enough of his glop grenades to fight a war, and everyone rushed downstairs where Canis was sitting on the couch.
"We have to--" Granny started, but Mr. Canis held up his hand.
"I heard," he replied. "The car is already warmed up."
"What about Jacob?" Charming said as he poked his head out of his mirror.
"He's only been gone an hour and there's no way to reach him," Granny Relda said. "We're going to have to try something else."
Charming disappeared into his mirror and moments later returned, leading a brilliant white stallion out of the reflection. Even Canis, who was rarely surprised by anything, was stunned. Elvis looked up at the horse as if he were in the presence of royalty.
"I'll go for Jacob," the prince said as he led the horse outside. The rest of the group followed him. He mounted the creature and raced off into the night.
Daphne looked over at her grandmother with a smile. "Remember when you told me I couldn't have a pony because we didn't have enough room?"
Granny shook her head. "Not a chance."
Mr. Canis drove faster than he ever had. He whipped the old jalopy through the empty back roads, over the wooden bridges, and across the abandoned train tracks like he was an international race-car driver. Sabrina was happy he understood the urgency of their plan, but it was times like this she wished the car had more modern safety features. She tightened the ropes that the family had installed as makeshift seat belts around her waist. Even the usually fearless Puck put his on.
When they got to the town, Canis parked the car across from the police station and everyone got out.
"Puck, go ahead and take your position," Granny said.
Puck's wings spread out and flapped vigorously, lifting him into the air. "I'll wait for you at the dock," he said, and then zipped off toward the river.
Canis nodded. "What next?"
"Unfortunately, this plan of ours was somewhat dependent upon Jacob," Granny said. "We need to give Charming some time to find him and Baba Yaga."
"We can't wait another second," Daphne said as she pointed to the sky. The stars seemed to have been devoured by a swirling black mass hovering high over the town. It was bigger and uglier than any Sabrina had seen before. "We've got to do this now, Granny."
"All right," their grandmother said. "I suppose we can sneak around the back and knock a hole in the wall. At least that much of the plan could still work."
"No, stop!" Mr. Canis said, sniffing the air. "There are men stationed on the top of the building and a large group of them at the back."
"How many do you think?" Granny said.
"I smell fifty of them, maybe more."
"They knew we were coming," Sabrina said, spotting one of the playing-card soldiers peering over the edge of the jailhouse roof. She also saw the deadly broadsword he held in his hands.
"I can take a few of them," Canis said. "But the three of you should wait here."
"Old friend, you'll never get past them all. This isn't going to work." The old woman sighed.
"Then what?"
"Then we go right through the front door," Sabrina said. The family turned to her.
"Remember our escape training?" Sabrina said. "Puck knew we would head for the woods so he didn't bother to guard the path. I bet you a million bucks Nottingham thinks the same way. He would never suspect us coming through the front door. I bet the inside isn't guarded at all!"
Her family and friends looked at her for a long time. Their faces were filled with doubt, but suddenly Mr. Canis started across the street. "Let's do it."
"What's the plan?" Granny asked as the rest of the family hurried to catch up to Canis.