The Frog Princess (who I’m told was really named Sharlene), Sir Lancelot, Friar Tuck, and Gepetto were all killed fighting Atticus and his trolls. Poor Pinocchio. He blames himself. He says he was the one who opened the Book of Everafter and set Atticus free. Uncle Jake has tried to console him, but hasn’t had much luck.
Sadly, we have another tragedy on our hands. Atticus has taken Snow White. Apparently murder wasn’t enough for him. Bunny is beside herself with worry. She wants to race after him, but Baba Yaga has reminded her that she doesn’t have the power to stop him. With Morgan trapped in the old castle, the coven is broken and only the super-charged power of the three kept them alive the last time they encountered Mirror and the blood prince.
We left their graves in the woods and moved our camp in case Atticus or Mirror returns. We have to keep moving and I need to share less with the others about where we are going. I’ve asked everyone to destroy any mirror they might be carrying. I can’t take the risk that he might be able to see us through them, and the mirror room is locked and off limits.
And then there’s me. Something is happening. I’m sick. But sick isn’t the right word exactly. I feel weird. When the mirrors exploded, a little piece flew into my arm, and I haven’t felt myself since. It started out with dizziness and feeling tired, but now, well, I feel like I’m dying. My eyes are blurry and my head is pounding. I just want to lie down, but I know I can’t. Everyone is counting on me.
Sabrina stood before her army, their faces fresh with grief. She tried to stand strong. She knew that she could not let them see how terrible she felt.
“I didn’t know this until very recently, but Mirror has been watching us through the Council of Mirrors. He could see us making our war plans from the beginning. The only reason we were able to trap the Hand inside Charming’s castle is because the Master let us.”
“So he can see us?” Goldilocks asked.
Sabrina shook her head. “Not anymore. The mirrors have been destroyed.”
Some of the crowd gasped.
“And we have to deal with him, but first we have to deal with Atticus. He took Snow.”
“He tore through us, Sabrina,” the Frog Prince said. “Nothing we did stopped him. He’s a monster.”
Mr. Canis stepped forward. In his hand was the glass jar that trapped the Big Bad Wolf. “Perhaps it’s time we had our own monster.”
“Absolutely not!” Henry cried. “You are not letting that thing loose again. Canis, you spent hundreds of years trying to get rid of it and now you want to subject yourself to the misery again?”
“I don’t want to, Henry. It’s just what must be done.”
“Having the Wolf running loose is no better than having Atticus,” Mayor Heart said. She looked as if she might faint just thinking about the dire possibilities.
“I do have a certain level of control over him,” Canis said.
“Which you lost,” Mr. Swineheart squealed. In his anxiety, he transformed into his true form as a pig, snorting through his round nose.
“Then you will have to find a way to stop him,” Canis said impatiently. “There is always the horn of the North Wind.”
“It disappeared when the Hall was looted,” Daphne said.
“Then perhaps Beauty can help,” he argued.
“I could try,” she said. “Though it isn’t easy singing to someone who is running around tearing people to shreds.”
“I don’t like it,” the Pied Piper said. “Someone will get hurt.”
“This is not your decision to make!” Canis bellowed. Everyone stood agape at his boiling anger. “I know you’ve all found it perfectly convenient to have me babysitting and watching your belongings, but I am not and never have been a person who stands aside and lets others do what I must do myself. My dearest friend Relda Grimm needs help. The only way to get to her is to take Atticus out of the picture. I’m not here to ask any of you for permission. I’m telling you what I’m going to do!”
Red broke into tears and ran from the camp.
“She needs you, Canis,” Veronica said. “She’s already been abandoned so many times. Are you going to abandon her too?”
“I’ll go and speak with her,” he said, scooping up his jar and cane. Sabrina watched him, bent over and struggling, as he disappeared into the trees.
“Sooo,” Puck said. “That’s going to be interesting.”
“He wants to feel necessary,” Goldi said.
“He’s going to get someone killed,” Beauty argued.
“Isn’t there someone else who should be here?” Cinderella asked. “Where’s William?”
Without warning, Sabrina felt something slice through her thoughts like a knife. She doubled over. The sensation was hot and painful, but along with it came a clear vision of the prince. He was curled on a dirty mattress inside the former mayor’s mansion. But how could she see him like this? Was she just imagining things? It made no sense. She staggered and would have fallen if her mother had not been there to catch her.