“I do not need to meet the man when his genius is so clear. He has a glorious plan for Everafters,” he barked at her.
“Not all Everafters,” Ms. White corrected him. “He has no use for many of us.”
“Nonsense! You have turned your back on him! You’ve turned your back on all of us,” the hobgoblin cried earnestly. “You and Charming and the rest of your ilk mingle with the humans. Worse, you conspire with the Grimm family, the very people responsible for our imprisonment. The Master says you are traitors to our race.”
“What does your Master plan to do about it?” Charming asked.
“He will free us, of course,” the commander said smugly. “He will destroy the barrier that traps us here and we will march through every nation, recapturing land and treasure from the weak and pathetic human population, then ruling over them as it was always meant to be.”
Charming rolled his eyes. “I’ve heard enough from this fool. Was he searched?”
Seven, who had been sitting directly beneath the window, stepped forward and handed Charming a filthy burlap sack. The prince emptied it onto a nearby table and studied each item: a rusty dagger covered in what looked like dried blood, a couple loaves of moldy bread, a compass, a map of the woods, and a small pocket mirror. Charming looked at the mirror with some amusement. “I had no idea hobgoblins were so vain.”
The hobgoblin chuckled, sending a shiver through Sabrina. It was not a nervous laugh. It was the sound of someone who knows a secret.
Charming frowned, then turned to Granny Relda. “Mrs. Grimm, I have a favor to ask.”
Daphne elbowed some more space at the window. “I can’t see. What are they talking about?”
“The Master,” Sabrina said.
“Oh, he gives me the shudders,” the little girl said.
“The ugly one says he wants to take over the world,” Puck added. “Been there. Done that.”
“Did he tell who the Master is?” Daphne asked.
Puck shook his head. “Not even a hint.”
“Wait a minute,” Sabrina said, turning and crouching next to Red. “Haven’t you seen the Master?”
Red Riding Hood shifted uncomfortably and looked away.
“Yes, you have!” Sabrina cried. “You told us that you had talked to him when you first attacked us with the Jabberwocky—”
“I don’t remember,” the child said.
“Sure you do,” Sabrina said. “Who is he?”
“It’s blurry,” Red said as she clamped her hands onto her head. The subject seemed to cause her physical pain.
Sabrina was so excited she could hardly talk. “Try! If you tell us who he is then Charming can send people to capture him. Then no one else will be hurt!”
“I don’t think I can,” Red whimpered.
“You have to!”
Daphne stepped between her sister and Red. “Sabrina, leave her alone. She says she doesn’t remember.”
“She’s not trying,” Sabrina said.
“Her memory is messed up. Don’t you remember what Mr. Canis said? Since his madness has gone he can’t remember big parts of his life. It’s the same with Red,” Daphne said.
“Daphne, she’s got to remember. Stopping the Master will end all this nonsense. The town will go back to normal and we can go back to New York City.”
“What? You don’t want to stay?” Puck said.
“Duh!” Sabrina said, spinning on him. “I’ve wanted to get out of this town since the first day I stepped into it. My mom and dad were supposed to make that happen but of course Everafters have to get in the way.”
“Don’t duh me!” Puck snapped. “Trying to figure out what you’re thinking from one day to the next takes more brains than I have.”
“Well, maybe you should stop. I’d hate to burn out that little peanut in your head.”
“You wish you were more like me, Grimm. I’m magnificent,” Puck said, puffing up his chest.
Sabrina’s face twisted in anger. “Magnificently smelly. I doubt too many people would list themselves as exceptional when their greatest talent is eating with their feet!”
Daphne laughed but clamped a hand on her mouth when Puck glared at her.
Red watched, bewildered. “Are you two in love or something?”
Daphne lost it and fell to the ground, rolling and laughing beyond control. Perhaps it was Daphne’s amusement, or Red’s embarrassing question, but before Sabrina could stop herself she blurted out the one thing she promised herself she would never tell—the truth.