Sabrina stood for a moment, trying to regain her bearings and feeling the building sway in the powerful wind. She didn’t like heights, especially heights moving under her feet.
“She’s here!” Daphne cried as she raced across the platform. Goldilocks lay on her back, motionless. Sabrina dashed to her side, with Uncle Jake in tow.
“Is she—?”
“She’s alive,” Uncle Jake said as he knelt to find a pulse. “It looks like she’s unconscious.”
“But how?” Sabrina asked.
Her answer came in the sound of running feet. Before anyone could react, the menacing motorcyclist had charged across the platform and tackled Uncle Jake. Caught off guard, Jake was helpless and took several brutal punches to the face and stomach. Sabrina watched him try to defend himself, but the dark rider was fast and fierce.
Sabrina and Daphne rushed to help him, but they were nothing more than mosquitoes to the mysterious villain. He slapped Sabrina with a vicious backhand that sent her tumbling to the floor. When Sabrina righted herself, she realized Daphne was injured as well.
“Uncle Jake!” Sabrina shouted as she watched the two men circle one another. Jake assured her that everything would be fine, but he never took his eyes off the mysterious man.
“You must think you’re pretty tough, hitting women and children,” Uncle Jake said to the man. He replied by lunging with his knife, slashing and striking out, but Sabrina’s uncle was fast and leaped away from every deadly attack.
“And the outfit, hiding your face. Then again, if I were slapping people around who couldn’t fight back, I’d want to hide my identity, too.”
“You dare question my honor?” a muffled voice said from behind the helmet. “I’m the Black Knight, you fool.”
“I thought knights rode horses,” Uncle Jake said.
“I upgraded,” the Black Knight said.
“Who knighted you?” Uncle Jake said as he continued to dig into his pockets. “That king must have been pretty hard up for heroes.”
“I serve no king,” the knight growled. “Only the Master and his glorious vision of the future. When Everafters take their place as rulers of the world, your kind will be in cages, serving us.”
“Blah, blah, blah,” Uncle Jake mocked. “You Scarlet Hand losers sure do love the whole ‘we’re going to rule the world’ bit. It seems to me the only thing you’ve got power over is my boredom.”
“Hold your tongue, fool, or I will cut it from your mouth.”
At that moment, Sabrina’s uncle took a small ring from his pocket and slipped it on. “Well, pal, if you’re feeling froggy, take a leap.”
The Black Knight dove for Uncle Jake and the two men toppled over one another. Sabrina watched Jake lock his hand around the knight’s wrist, limiting his ability to use his deadly blade. But the knight’s other hand was free, and he punched her uncle several times in the jaw. They rolled over each other, kicking and punching along the way. Every time the knight seemed to get the upper hand, Uncle Jake managed to pummel him and gain control, but it never lasted long. The Black Knight was obviously stronger than Uncle Jake and a much better fighter. Sabrina could only watch in horror when the dark villain clenched his free hand around Jake’s throat to choke him. Daphne scrambled over once again to lend a hand but was tossed aside. She fell hard on the floor, but her eyes were still open.
“Leave him alone!” Sabrina begged, but the knight ignored her. He continued to squeeze, and Jake’s face turned blue. In desperation, he raised his hand to the knight’s face, and a blast of red-hot energy exploded out of the tiny ring on his pinky finger. It temporarily blinded Sabrina, but when her eyes adjusted she saw the Black Knight was unfazed.
“My Master has given me a special gift, fool,” he said. “Your silly magic won’t work on me. Sadly, he won’t see your death himself. He so wanted to witness it.”
Spittle came out of Uncle Jake’s mouth and his eyes started to bulge. The knight was killing him, and there was no one to stop him. No one except for Sabrina. She reached into her pocket, found the kazoo, and aimed it right at the killer. She hoped she could direct its power away from her uncle. Then she blew into it. The wind it produced swirled around the knight like it was a living creature, a bird made of nothingness, circling and howling. It lifted the Black Knight off the floor and in his effort to stay down he released Uncle Jake. The wind carried the knight over the edge of the tower, and he sank out of sight. Sabrina heard his fading screams and rushed to the side of the tower. There, trapped in the vines of the magical rosebush, was the knight. It had saved his life, but it wrapped around his arms and legs to prevent him from escaping.
Sabrina rushed to Uncle Jake’s side and helped him sit up. The man’s face was raw and red and he coughed violently, but when he got to his feet, Sabrina was sure he would be OK. Daphne raced to the fallen Goldilocks and shouted her name until she woke.
“What happened?” the woman asked.