“That means the camp must be nearby,” the leader crowed. He turned back to the family and gnashed his yellow teeth. “The Master will reward us for finding the camp. To avoid any unpleasantness, perhaps you would like to tell us where it is?”
“We don’t have the foggiest idea what you are talking about,” Henry lied. “We’re not coming from any camp. My family and I are just out for a picnic.”
The hobgoblin leaped forward and stood as close to Henry as he could. Their faces were only inches apart and he blew his rank breath on him. “You lie. You’re a Grimm. All of you lie.”
“That’s not a very nice thing to say,” Henry said. “I’m hurt.”
“If you don’t tell me where the camp is you’re going to be hurting a lot more.”
Henry shook his head. “We’ve gotten off on the wrong foot. Let’s start over. My family and I are not involved with Charming or his camp. We have refused to take a side in your little conflict and to avoid any further problems we are on our way to the train station. So, if you’ll kindly step aside and let us pass, we’ll get out of your hair.”
“You’ll go where I tell you, human,” the monster snorted, then turned to his men. “Arrest them and bind their hands. If they won’t take us to the fort, we’ll beat the answer out of them, starting with their children.”
One of the brutes clamped his hands down on Sabrina’s arms. She tried to pull free but he was impossibly strong. She could see the rest of her family getting the same rough treatment.
Then there was a flash of fists and feet, loud groans, and the cracking of bones. At first Sabrina thought that some unearthly force had come to their rescue, but it soon became clear that there was nothing supernatural at work, only her mother and father—who fought like trained prizefighters.
Henry was like a tornado, whipping from one soldier to the next, planting punches with incredible accuracy. Sabrina had never seen someone so quick and yet so precise. The way her father fought reminded her of a dancer, kicking and punching to a rhythm only he could hear. Veronica was not quite so elegant. She snatched a thick limb off the forest floor and clubbed anyone who got close to her. Sabrina remembered one evening when her parents had taken her to the boardwalk at Coney Island. They passed some batting cages and Henry and Veronica decided to see who could hit the most fastballs. Veronica won by a landslide. Sabrina had felt bad for the balls that night as her mom drove one after another into the netting. The monster’s ribs and heads weren’t nearly as hard as baseballs, but she swung for the fences anyway. Working together, Sabrina’s parents managed to take out eight of the monsters.
Sabrina looked over at her sister. “Our parents are so gravy.”
Daphne scowled. “That’s not how you say it.”
“Girls, run for the fort,” Henry shouted as he defended himself from one of the creatures who was charging him with a heavy chain in hand.
“We can help,” Daphne said, stepping into the fighting stance she had learned in self-defense class.
“Listen to your father!” Veronica cried, jamming her branch into the belly of one of the beasts and knocking him to the ground.
Sabrina snatched her sister by the hand and pulled her down the path toward the fortress. She looked back, hoping her mother and father were right behind them, but they were nowhere in sight.
“We have to go back!” Daphne said. “We can’t just leave them.”
“You saw them. Our parents are tough,” Sabrina said, doing her best to sound confident. “They’ll be along soon.”
They ran and ran and by the time they came to Charming’s camp Sabrina’s lungs were on fire, but she forced herself to shout for help. Daphne did the same. A sentry appeared in a tower and aimed a magic wand at them. “Stand back, invaders!” he shouted and a second later a blast of white-hot fire exploded at Sabrina’s feet.
“Who goes there?” he demanded.
“Open the gate!” Sabrina cried. “It’s Sabrina and Daphne Grimm. Monsters are chasing us.”
The sentry blew a whistle and the big doors swung open. Before the girls could take a single step inside, an infantry of armor-clad knights on horseback surrounded them. The girls were nearly trampled before Charming rushed to their side with his silver sword in hand. He snatched Sabrina by the arm. “Where are these monsters?” he shouted.
“We ran into them about half a mile back,” Sabrina said. “There are at least a dozen, maybe more. They’re attacking my mom and dad.”
“You fools! You have probably led them to us,” he cried in disgust.
“Freaky monsters were trying to kill us,” Sabrina said. “Should I have just died out there so you could keep your clubhouse secret?”
“Absolutely!” the prince said.
“Well, well, well, look who’s back,” Puck said, hovering above the fortress wall. “I knew you’d show up again. This little crush you have on me is getting embarrassing.”