This time the Wolf pinned Daphne to the ground. The little girl kept blowing into the kazoo, but the desired effect was either not working or taking too long. All Sabrina could think to do was jump on the Wolf’s back. She punched and kicked, driving her limbs into the monster’s tough hide with all she had. She could hear him laughing, maybe at her efforts but maybe also at the fear in Daphne’s face. He opened his mouth and revealed his horrid teeth and prepared to sink them into Sabrina’s sister when the wind wrapped around him. It was almost visible, the snakelike clinging. Once it was tightly around the monster it began to pull.
The Wolf snarled and struggled as if he had gotten caught in a hunter’s trap. He cursed Daphne, bellowed threats, swore he’d tear her limb from limb, but the wind prevented him from harming her. Sabrina, too, was helpless in the blustery cage. She did her best to let go of the Wolf but she was firmly locked in the wind’s grip. And then the writhing shadow creature was pulled out of Canis. Like Red Riding Hood’s, it was horrible, but this one was more the shape of a wolf, snapping and spitting, with foam dripping from its jaws. It hovered above them, howling and screaming, helpless in the magic of the wind. Sabrina looked down and realized that she was no longer clinging to the Wolf. Lying on the ground beneath her was Mr. Canis. He was unconscious but breathing.
“Sabrina, try to break free,” Granny cried, but nothing Sabrina did seemed to help. All she could do was look into the shadow creature’s terrible eyes. It howled in her face, and then she felt an odd sensation, as if the wind had blown through her, like it had seeped into her skin. The wind disappeared and all was calm. She looked around for the monster, hoping someone had captured it.
“Where did it go?” she said, though her voice sounded odd, deep and scratchy. But the rest of her body felt wonderful—strong and fast and unstoppable. In fact, Sabrina had never felt as confident as she did at that moment. For the first time in a long time she wasn’t worried about monsters, villains, or lunatics. She didn’t fear surprise attacks or betrayal by people she trusted. In fact, she was eager for a confrontation.
She wanted to share the feeling with her sister but the words were hard to find. Her thoughts were cloudy and complicated. She tried to say something but it came out sounding like a horrible, hungry laugh. She turned to Daphne. The little girl was undergoing her own transformation. A swirling black fog circled her body, blocking out most of her face. All Sabrina could see were the little girl’s eyes, like two brilliant suns.
“Sabrina, you have to stop this!” Granny cried.
Sabrina was confused. What did the old woman mean? She wasn’t doing anything wrong.
“Sabrina, please! Don’t make me do this to you,” Daphne begged from behind the black fog.
“What are you talking about?” Sabrina said, noticing the shiny toy in her sister’s hand.
“You have to fight this!” Daphne said. “I know you are still in there. Don’t let him control you!”
“Have you lost your mind? Why are you talking to me like this?” Sabrina asked. When no one replied, she realized that her words were only in her head.
“Fight him, child,” a voice said from below, and Sabrina glanced down. Mr. Canis lay at her feet—old and withered, his body trapped in the clutches of a huge, fur-covered paw. It was squeezing the life from the old man’s chest. She cried out, hoping someone would help her pull her friend from its terrible grip, but her cries ceased when she realized the claws that were killing Mr. Canis were her own.
She had become the Big Bad Wolf.
She stomped into the house and found a dingy mirror on the wall. One look sent her into shock. Her whole body had been transformed. Her long blond hair was gone, replaced by thick, matted fur that covered her entire body. Her hands were huge and the fingers curled into horrible claws. She spun around and found a bushy tail behind her. It was insanity! How could this have happened? She roared angrily and then smashed the mirror in front of her.
“I’ll fix this,” Daphne said from behind her. Sabrina turned to look at the little girl, unsure of who she was or what she wanted. Seeing her made Sabrina hungry. She imagined grabbing the girl and—no—she knew she had to fight her impulse but how could she? Her need, her hunger, was overwhelming.
And then the wind returned and everything went black.
When Sabrina awoke she was back to her normal self. She lay in the bed in the little wooden house that Red Riding Hood’s grandmother had slept in hundreds of years before. Standing near her was her family. Daphne was crying and wiping the tears on her sleeve. Mr. Canis was there, too. In his hand he held a glass mason jar. Inside, Sabrina could see a dark, black creature desperate to escape. Briar, Snow, and Charming were there, as well as Robin and Little John and the rest of the Merry Men.
“How are you feeling, child?” Canis asked.
“Normal,” Sabrina said, examining her arms to make sure they were free of fur.
Canis chuckled. “It’s a wonderful feeling.”
“Is it over?” she asked him.
He nodded. “In a manner of speaking.”
Granny Relda bent down and felt her forehead.
“You’ve had quite a day,” the old woman said as the air filled with sirens.
“Here comes Nottingham,” Robin said. “So are we decided?”
Charming and Canis looked one another in the eye and then shook hands. “Yes,” they said.