“And it might get us a proper army,” Mr. Canis said.
Beauty stepped forward. “I’m in. I got wrapped up in the Hand’s plans myself, once. I didn’t see another choice, but if someone had given me some hope—well, I’m sure I would have seized it. Besides, my husband and daughter are amongst those people, and I’m not ready to give up on them.”
Morgan le Fay nodded. “Glinda of Oz was one of my best friends when we worked for the mayor’s office. I know she doesn’t want this fight.”
“Then it’s settled,” Henry said. “I think it’s wise if we call for a meeting in the town square.”
The crowd gasped.
“Didn’t you just say the town square is a war zone?” Pinocchio said. “Are you intentionally trying to get us killed? Are you going to suggest we paint targets on our backs too?”
“Hush up, boy,” Gepetto demanded.
“We aren’t going in unprepared,” Henry said. “The Pied Piper will be on crowd control. Baba Yaga, Bunny, Mordred, and Morgan can handle magical attacks, and Buzzflower and Mallobarb can create diversions if we need to escape.”
“It’s a bold idea. I like it,” Charming said. “There are a few people in their crowd we can count on too. Robin Hood and his men as well as King Arthur and his knights have infiltrated the Hand and sent me information about their movements. When the time is right, they will fight for us, but my hopes are it will go well. I’d hate for them to be exposed as spies.”
“All those in favor?” Snow asked.
Sabrina glanced at the crowd. Every hand was raised except Pinocchio’s and, much to her surprise, Puck’s. He was standing in the back of the crowd, arms crossed, and looking at her disapprovingly. Was he still angry about the sword fighting?
“Then it’s settled,” Canis said. “We should send word immediately that—”
“I’ll have no part in your truce,” a voice said from the back of the crowd. Sabrina craned her neck and spotted her uncle.
“You cannot trust one of them. Not one,” he barked. “You will reach for their hands in friendship and they will stab you dead. This plan is a perfect opportunity for them to find this castle and overrun it. I will not help you.”
“Jake, they aren’t all like Heart and Nottingham,” Veronica said.
“Yes, they are!” he shouted angrily. “Charming, this is your castle, but it’s also Briar’s grave, and I will kill any member of the Hand that lays one toe in this camp.”
“Jake!” Henry said.
“I mean it. Not one step through those gates!” He stormed away.
Sabrina was worried how Jake’s outburst would affect the crowd, but it didn’t seem to change their minds. The crow was sent out to deliver the message. Tomorrow at noon the Scarlet Hand would be getting a visit from Sabrina Grimm’s army.
? ? ?
Much to the girls’ surprise, when they returned to their cabin for the night, Daphne found the Book of Everafter under the bed.
“You had me stressed out about nothing!” Sabrina said.
“I swear it wasn’t under there this morning,” Daphne said, hoisting the book up and eyeing it as if it were responsible for its own disappearance.
Sabrina crawled into bed and pulled the covers over her head. She was too tired for mysteries, especially mysteries that weren’t mysteries at all. “I think the only thing missing is a pair of glasses on your nose.”
She fell asleep without hearing Daphne’s reply. It had been a long day.
Sabrina woke up late at night to the sound of arguing. She sat up in bed and strained her ears. She recognized the voices ringing through the yard. Her father and her uncle were in the midst of a terrible fight.
Sabrina’s curiosity got the best of her. She crept to the site of Briar’s grave, where she knew they’d be. She hid behind a stack of chopped wood so she could listen without being seen.
“Jake, this is as good a plan as any,” her father said. “You can’t stand in the way. The girls’ lives are in jeopardy.”
“And whose fault is that?” Jake said. “Sending them into that hornet’s nest tomorrow is as good as aiming the arrows right at them.”
“Not everyone in the Scarlet Hand is bad,” Henry said. “It’s not fair to paint them all with the same brush. I know you’re hurting and I know you’re angry. I would be too, but you are slipping off the deep end, Jake. This is not what Briar would want for you.”
“Don’t tell me what Briar would have wanted for me!” Jake shouted.
“You have to find a way to get ahold of this anger.”
“Oh, trust me. I have a plan to deal with my anger.”
There was a long silence.
“What you’re planning could blow up in your face,” Henry said. “It could make things worse.”