“What was in that balloon?” Sabrina growled as she tried to wipe the muck off her face.
“You know . . . I don’t have a clue. I found it collecting in a pool near the sewage treatment plant. It was just sitting there—free for the taking! Can you imagine? Who would just leave this stuff around?” He tossed the second balloon and it hit her in the shoulder, splattering all over her face and neck. “This is Grade A filth—top of the line.”
Sabrina clenched her fists.
Puck looked genuinely shocked. “Don’t tell me you’re angry! You should be honored. When I found this slop, you were the first person that popped into my head. How could I test it on anyone else? I didn’t want to offend you. And now, because of you, I can go into battle confident that my crud bombs bring the right amount of stomach-lurching awesomeness. I couldn’t have done it without you!”
Before Sabrina could snatch his leg out of the air her father called Puck’s name, and the boy darted down the hall after Henry, toward the portal to the outside.
“You’re really leaving us here?” Daphne cried, chasing them into the hallway. Sabrina and her mother followed.
“We are,” Henry said.
“You can’t keep us locked up in this mirror,” Sabrina shouted, but Henry didn’t hear. His body vanished as he stepped through a magical portal that led outside to the real world.
“Smell you later,” Puck said, and flew after Henry.
“I just got put back at the kids’ table,” Sabrina said.
“I never left the kids’ table,” Daphne grumbled.
Veronica patted them each on the shoulder. “There’s plenty to do around here. Go find Pinocchio and get him to help Canis with that room. It would be good for him to lend a hand. We are feeding him, after all.”
Sabrina stalked away. “Fine!”
When the girls were out of earshot of their mother, the complaining began.
“They treat us like we’re babies!” Sabrina said.
“Yeah, why not put us in diapers?” Daphne said.
“We’ve been in dangerous situations before.”
“Very dangerous!”
“We’ve fought dragons and Jabberwockies and creepy guidance counselors covered in fur!”
“Ugh. He was creepy.”
“I killed a giant once!”
“I ate ‘fish surprise’ in the orphanage cafeteria!” Daphne shouted.
The two stomped on until they came to Pinocchio’s room. The odd little boy was largely responsible for the family’s uncomfortable living situation. He had opened the doors in the Hall of Wonders and released the magical creatures that were locked inside. The chaos that followed destroyed the Grimms’ home, so Sabrina was stunned when her father invited Pinocchio to stay with them. In her opinion he should have been locked away—or even better, sent out to live in the wilderness, possibly to be eaten by coyotes and rabid beavers . . . or whatever lived in the wilderness. But Henry wanted to give him a chance to prove himself. So far he had proved himself to be rude and lazy.
“He’s going to laugh in our faces,” Daphne said.
“I hope he does,” Sabrina said, channeling all her anger at her father toward the little snot. She pounded on his door harder than she needed to.
“Whoever it is, please go away. I’m having some ‘me’ time!” the boy shouted from behind the door, his voice a high-pitched whine.
“Get out here! You know I have keys to this room,” Sabrina shouted back. “Open the door or I will open it myself and kick your puppet behind!”
“I was not a puppet! I was a marionette!”
Sabrina growled and reached into her pocket for her set of keys. She sorted through them to find one that fit the lock and threw the door open so hard the force almost knocked it off its hinges. The girls stomped into the room and found Pinocchio lying on a king-size brass bed, flipping through an architectural magazine.
“Hey! This is private! You’re invading my . . . what on earth is all over you? Oh, that smell! You are putrid!”
“What does putrid mean?” Daphne said.
Before Sabrina could answer, Pinocchio spoke. “It refers to something that is in a state of foul decay. You children have always lacked a sense of personal pride when it came to cleanliness, but your current state is a new low.”
“He’s saying I stink,” Sabrina said.
“Actually, I’m saying you both stink,” Pinocchio said.
Sabrina examined his room in astonishment. In addition to the luxurious bed, he had a dresser, armoire, table lamp, Oriental rugs, an overstuffed chair, and a box of chocolate bon-bons. “Where did you get this stuff?”
“I discovered them in some of the other rooms.” Pinocchio huffed. “Hey, you’re getting that slop all over my things. Some of these pieces are antiques!”
Sabrina grabbed the boy by the collar and dragged him off the bed. He flailed and kicked and eventually freed himself from her grip.