“Let go of me,” she said. “You’ve lost your mind.”
Charming grabbed Atticus’s hand and pulled it away from his love. “Don’t touch her.”
Atticus laughed, then with a burst of ferocity, he slugged Charming in the nose. The prince fell backward, blood spraying across his face. Atticus drew his long silver sword and hovered over the fallen man, looking to attack, but Snow stepped between the two men.
“You’ve made a mistake. This man is not your brother,” she said, but Atticus slapped her and she fell to the ground next to Charming.
“You filthy harlot!” he bellowed at her. “You do not argue with me. You are my property!”
“That’s enough!” Mr. Seven said.
“No, it’s not enough. Not enough at all,” Atticus said, and with all the effort one might make to cut a pat of butter for some toast, he stabbed Mr. Seven in the belly. The sword slid through him and out his back. Then with an irritated jerk, Atticus pulled his weapon free.
“Nooo!” Morgan le Fay cried. As Mr. Seven fell to the ground, she raised her hands above her head. A ball of vicious red energy formed in between them.
“Morgan, no! Save the magic for Seven! Get him out of here,” Henry barked, taking control. He raced forward and clocked Atticus in the face. The villain staggered, but only temporarily. His sword was in the air sailing toward Henry’s head when a blast of white energy slammed into Atticus. Sabrina turned to find the source.
“I told you once I would kill you if you touched my daughter again,” the Wicked Queen said. Her hands were growing red with ancient arcana. She loosed the power on Atticus and it sent him flying through the crowd, knocking people aside as if he were a runaway truck.
Sabrina rushed to Morgan’s side. The poor woman hovered over her husband, sobbing. Sabrina forced Morgan to look into her face. “Find Nurse Sprat!”
Morgan looked bewildered.
“Nurse Sprat can help him,” Sabrina said. Morgan nodded and went to find the nurse.
Goldi and the Three Bears rushed forward. “What should we do?”
“Crowd control,” Sabrina said. “Find Beauty and try to calm down this mob before anyone else gets hurt.”
Goldi crawled onto Poppa Bear’s back and they charged into the madness.
“Puck!” Sabrina cried. “Get Canis and the rest of my family to safety.”
“Fine, but just so you know, you’re not the boss of me.”
“What should we do?” a voice said. Sabrina turned and found the Frog Prince, his wife, and their daughter, Bella—all members of the Scarlet Hand and bitter enemies of the Grimms. At first Sabrina stumbled back, but then realized they were sincere.
“You’re joining us?” Sabrina asked.
The Frog Prince nodded. “If you’ll have us.”
“Fine! Help anyone who is in danger of being trampled by this crowd.”
Bella and her father sprang into the air and leaped around the crowd, hoisting people off their feet and planting them safely on the outskirts of the melee. Sabrina had no idea that a person could jump so high, but she reminded herself that father and daughter were part amphibian. Now she knew why Charming put them on his wish list.
When she turned to see if there was anyone else in need of help, she saw Nottingham hovering over her with his twisted knife and even more twisted smile. Mayor Heart stood by his side, watching the action with bright eyes.
“One Grimm down, six to go,” he hissed as he thrust the blade at Sabrina.
“Not today, you psycho,” Uncle Jake said, punching the villain in the belly and then kneeing him in the face. Nottingham fell over, gasping for air. His dagger slipped from his grasp and Uncle Jake snatched it up. He stood over the struggling villain, his hand squeezing the dagger’s handle until his knuckles were white. For a moment, the dark, tragic expression he had worn for many days returned. Sabrina was sure he was going to kill Nottingham. Then, with a flick of his hand, he threw the blade to the ground.
“The offer still stands, Ms. Heart,” he said, extending his hand to the former queen. “The Master is no friend of yours. I’m not asking you to do the right thing. Just do the right thing for you.”
Heart eyed him with curiosity but did not take his hand. Instead, she snapped up her megaphone and dashed back into the mob.