Uncle Jake didn’t wait for the driveway. He pulled up right into the front yard, barreling through shrubbery and slamming on the brakes inches from Granny Relda’s front porch. It couldn’t have happened a moment too soon, as people started literally spilling out of the top of the car. Baby Bear toppled out and fell onto the ground with Goldilocks. Elvis jumped out and scurried under a bush. When Uncle Jake opened his door, he fell out with Veronica and Granny Relda. Sabrina glanced around and was startled to see Daphne was nowhere to be found.
“Daphne!” she cried. “She must have fallen out.”
Momma Bear grunted and got out of her seat. There, beneath her, was Daphne, safe but a little mashed.
“I have never needed a bath so much in my entire life,” the little girl groaned.
“This is exactly what I’m talking about,” Henry said. “We all could have been hurt because of magic.”
Uncle Jake rolled his eyes and helped everyone onto the porch. Once there, Granny went to work on unlocking the door. There were a dozen locks of all shapes and sizes keeping the house safe. When they were all open she knocked on the front door and said, “We’re home!” The words deactivated a magical lock that few knew was there. It was only then that the front door could be opened.
“Veronica, take the girls upstairs and help them pack. Don’t let them bring anything that can cast a spell. You know what to look for,” Henry said as he picked up the phone. “I’m going to call everyone we know in New York City and let them know we’re on our way.”
“Henry, don’t you think this is something we should discuss?” Veronica asked. Sabrina watched her father shoot her mother an angry look. She threw up her hands in frustration. “Come on, girls.”
They climbed the stairs to the girls’ bedroom and went inside. Veronica closed the door behind them and sat down on the bed as if she was exhausted. A moment later she snatched the girls and hugged them. Sabrina felt one of her mother’s tears drip down onto her hand.
“Don’t cry,” Sabrina said.
“I can’t help it. I can’t believe how long we’ve been apart. You must have been so frightened.”
Veronica cupped Sabrina’s face in her hands. “You did a good job looking after your sister.”
The words fell into Sabrina’s belly and opened up into a million happy butterflies. She had tried so hard. Hearing her mother’s words was like a lifetime of birthday presents rolled into one.
Veronica looked at them both closely. “And you’ve both gotten so pretty. My little girls—where did they go?”
“We’re still here,” Daphne said. “We’re just bigger versions.”
Veronica laughed.
“Mom, you have to talk to Dad. We can’t go back to the city,” Daphne said, her tone suddenly serious. “We’re needed here in Ferryport Landing.”
“Needed?” Veronica replied.
“Absolutely!” the little girl cried. “There’s a lot of crazy shenanigans going on in this town and Granny needs help keeping the peace. There’s a bunch of bad guys called the Scarlet Hand running around tormenting everyone and it seems like every time we turn around someone is on the verge of destroying the world. We can’t go.”
“Daphne, you don’t understand. Your father has a lot of bad memories about Ferryport Landing. We should start packing.”
Sabrina pulled two tiny suitcases out from under the bed. They were the same suitcases she and her sister had brought when they arrived in Ferryport Landing, though back then all they had in them were a couple of T-shirts and a pair of socks they took turns wearing. She turned to the dresser where they kept their clothes, and she noticed her sister’s angry expression.
“Happy?” Daphne asked.
“Daphne, I—”
“I’m not surprised. Sabrina has hated living here since the first day. If she wants to go back, fine, but I want to stay here with Granny Relda. I want to take on the family business. I want to be a fairy-tale detective. Besides, who would look after Elvis and Puck? And Red Riding Hood is going to need help getting adjusted.”
Veronica shook her head. “Your father and I have argued on many things, from the color of paint in the bathroom to where we would send you to school, but this is one issue he won’t bend on. I don’t like it, and I’ll do what I can, but I wouldn’t get your hopes up. Daphne, if you are so eager to work with Everafters I wouldn’t worry too much. You might be surprised by what you’ll uncover in the Big Apple.”
“Mom, we know about the Faerie,” Daphne said.
“You do?”
“And about what you do for them,” Sabrina said. “We went back to the city with Granny. We met Oberon and Titania. We’ve been to the Golden Egg and talked to Scrooge. We know all about you and the Everafter community there.”
“Girls, I’d appreciate if you kept my secret life a secret,” Veronica said. “Your dad doesn’t know about any of it.”
Henry appeared in the doorway. “There’s a train in half an hour. I want to be on it.”
Veronica nodded.