“He’s grouchy,” Fanny said.
Sabrina sighed. “Yeah, well, whatever’s bothering him is going to have to wait until I get killed.”
She said good-bye and hurried out to find the Widow surrounded by a crowd, all eager to hear how their invitation had been received. As Sabrina drew closer, she saw there were several unfamiliar birds with the crow.
“I invited everyone I could find that didn’t try to kill me, which wasn’t too many,” the exhausted crow squawked to the gathered crowd. “And I managed to recruit a few along the way. Allow me to introduce to you our new aerial spy network: the Silver Pigeon, the Gold Pigeon, the Clockwork Owl, the canary, the duck here is named Lenchen, and the big one with all the plumes is a firebird. Don’t know his name yet, but the others say he is reliable.”
The Firebird squawked in agreement.
“Did you see my husband and daughter? Did you invite them?” Beauty asked.
The Widow nodded her tiny head and hopped from the ground onto a tree stump. “I did. Now, whether they come or not is anyone’s guess. I told Beast not to bring any weapons. Then he fired a crossbow at me. Real special guy you got there, Beauty.”
“He’s not really a bad person. He’s just caught up with the wrong people,” Beauty said.
“Beast would be a great recruit,” Charming said as he handed a piece of paper to the Scarecrow. “I’ve made a wish list of some Everafters that would be very useful: the Ice Queen, the Frog Prince, Glinda, the Spider, and Big Hans are just a few. If any one of them shows a hint of coming our way, we need to help make it happen.”
“We better get started if we want to make it to the town square on time,” Goldilocks said. The previous night’s encounter with Henry still seemed to be bothering her. She seemed self-conscious and wouldn’t look directly at Sabrina’s father.
Mr. Canis agreed. “We should get there early. I don’t want to walk through a hostile crowd.”
Veronica planted a kiss on Basil’s face and turned to give him to Red, who happily agreed to stay behind and look after him. “Be good, little man.”
“Give your mommy a hug and say bye-bye,” Red told the toddler.
Basil turned and looked up at Veronica apprehensively. Then he wrapped his arms around her leg.
“Bye-bye,” he said.
Veronica glowed like she had a string of Christmas lights inside of her.
The group filed out into the woods for what Charming predicted would be a good two-hour hike. Unfortunately, the ground was a soupy mess from all the rain they’d been getting, and it slowed them down considerably. Someone suggested they all step into Baba Yaga’s house for an easier trip, but only Puck thought that was a good idea. It was also unusually chilly, made even colder by the sun-blocking trees. Still, the army marched onward.
Mr. Canis hobbled forward to walk alongside the Grimms. “I don’t like this plan,” he growled. “We’ll be out in the open and vulnerable to all those thugs.”
“We’ve got some of the most powerful witches and fairies in town on our side, Mr. Canis,” Sabrina said, “as well as the Hamelins and Beauty. Plus, for brute strength we’ve got the Three Bears, and Charming is no slouch.”
“I can deliver a pretty mean kick to the shins too,” Daphne bragged.
“I think you’re all entirely too overconfident,” Canis growled.
“Don’t worry, we’ve got Puck, who has a variety of, um . . . unique talents,” Sabrina said.
Puck stomped forward, interrupting the conversation. “Exactly what am I supposed to do?”
“You’re keeping an eye on the girls,” Henry explained.
Puck groaned. “I have been in the middle of a hundred wars, many of which I started myself. Why waste my sword on your rugrats? Can’t we just lock them in a playpen until it’s over?”
“A playpen?” Sabrina said.
“Yeah, like babies,” Puck said, then he stomped to the back of the line.
“He’s moody,” Morgan said.