"Mr. Canis can just run through and make us a path to the cell. We'll follow him."
"There's going to be a lot of dust, so stay close," the old man said, and then he bolted right through the front door. His face may have appeared old and frail, but he slammed through the offices like a powerful wrecking machine, plowing through walls, overturning desks, and making his own path to the jail cells at the back of the building. The women followed the best they could, dodging falling plaster and broken electrical lines. They held their faces under their shirts to filter out some of the debris. The blitz made a tremendous racket and would surely attract the attention of the guards outside, but Sabrina was right, Nottingham hadn't bothered to fortify the inside of the jail.
In no time, the group had reached the back of the building.
There they found Wilhelm locked inside a small cell. The poor man was terrified by what he had heard coming toward him. He leaped from his chair, lifted it, and waved it threateningly at the group.
"Zur bleiben! Ich m Sie nicht verletzen!
" Wilhelm shouted.
"What did he say?" Sabrina asked.
"He's frightened. He thinks we've come to hurt him," Granny explained, then turned to the man. "Wilhelm, it's us. We've come to rescue you."
"Rescue?" Wilhelm cried. He set his chair down on the ground and shook his jail cell bars as if to remind them of their next obstacle.
Canis reached for the bars. Using his incredible strength, he bent them apart, wrestling with them until there was an opening big enough for Wilhelm to step through.
Just then, Sabrina heard Nottingham's angry voice. "The prisoner is escaping, you fools!" he shouted. His furious bellowing was drowned out by the approaching feet of what sounded like four dozen guards.
"We've got to get out of here--now." Granny said.
Canis stepped to the back wall, pulled back his fist, and slammed it into the concrete. It crumbled, shaking the rafters. A
few cinder blocks completely collapsed, exposing the outside--and freedom--to the group. One more thump sent a spray of concrete and soot all over the room, but when the dust settled, there was a hole big enough for a seven-foot, three-hundred-pound man to step through.
"Everyone out!" Granny cried as she helped Sabrina and Daphne through the hole. Wilhelm and the old woman followed.
Before Mr. Canis could get through, Sabrina heard a sinister voice from inside the station.
"You do realize that breaking a prisoner out of jail is a big no-no," Nottingham said, and then she heard Mr. Canis roar in pain. The dust billowing out of the hole prevented her from seeing what was happening, but she knew he had been hurt badly. A moment later, Nottingham's ugly form stepped through the hole.
"I really should arrest you, Grimms, but I have a better way of solving our problem," he said as he reached for the crossbow strapped to his back. He loaded it with a steel arrow and leveled it at Wilhelm's chest. "One shot changes everything in this town, and though I know the throngs of people eager to see Wilhelm swing from the gallows will be disappointed, having their freedom will more than make up for missing the show."
And then he pulled the trigger.
Chapter 10
It seemed to Sabrina that the arrow sailed across space in slow motion. She wondered what it would be like to suddenly not exist. Would they just blink into nothing, or would it feel like dying?
But the arrow never reached its target. Instead, there was a loud, quaking thump, which knocked everyone to the ground. As they scampered to their feet and realized Wilhelm was unharmed, they were confronted by the source of the thump. Baba Yaga had arrived in her horrifying house. The old crone was leaning out of her window with a glowing ball in her hand. It lit up like a firecracker and a blast of red energy hit Nottingham in the chest as he turned to face the witch.
"I want my wand!" she shouted.
The witch's magic tossed Nottingham several yards and slammed him onto the ground. But a second later he still had the presence of mind to scamper behind a tree. "I don't know what you're talking about!"
The monstrous house raced toward him. One of its legs snatched the tree out of the ground, roots and all, leaving the sheriff vulnerable and panicked.
Wilhelm seemed quite disturbed by what he was seeing. He cried out something in German, but his message was clear. Sabrina's great-great-great-great-greatgrandfather was completely freaked out.
"Baba Yaga's not going to be fooled for very long," Charming said as he rode up on his stallion.
Uncle Jake was right behind him, hovering on a flying carpet. "He's right. We should go."
Daphne nodded. "I agree. That storm is coming mucho fast-o."