The Everafter War

Uncle Jake began to groan. He opened his eyes slowly and peered around. Sabrina saw his face twisted in confusion. She tried to ask him how he felt but in her excitement she let out a series of honks. Startled, Jake shoved Sabrina off the rug in midair with a “Shooo!”

 

 

“NO!” Sabrina cried as she plummeted toward the ground. In desperation she flapped her wings as hard as she could. The action seemed to slow her, and she found she could control her direction. Without thinking she sailed face first through an open window and crashed to the floor, tumbling and sliding to a stop.

 

When she was on her feet she turned to call for Briar only to find the two fairy godmothers standing over her, wands drawn. Buzzflower and Mallobarb were stout women with serious faces. Their threatening eyes told her everything she needed to know. Sabrina had better not move a muscle—or a feather, in this case.

 

“Take your filthy, traitorous bottom out of here, goose, and tell the rest of the Scarlet Hand they’re going to have to send more than a bird if they want take us down,” Buzzflower said, her voice fierce.

 

“I’m not a goose!” Sabrina cried.

 

“Well, you aren’t a Bengal tiger,” said Mallobarb.

 

“I’m Sabrina Grimm!” she honked. “I’m here to rescue you.”

 

The fairy godmothers looked at one another in disbelief, then back at Sabrina.

 

“Really?”

 

“Listen, my uncle is here and my sister, too.”

 

“Jake is here?” Buzzflower said.

 

“He is?” a voice said from down the hall. A moment later Briar Rose raced into the room. Even distressed, Briar was a vision. She had green eyes and skin like cocoa. She was enchanting … except for the baseball bat she held threateningly. “Where is he?”

 

Sabrina pointed out the window with her wing just as the flying carpet zipped past.

 

“So, what’s the plan?” Buzzflower said.

 

“Yeah … a plan. We hadn’t really gotten that far,” Sabrina said.

 

“Great,” Mallobarb said sarcastically. “What we need is a distraction. If we can get those lunatics outside to focus on something other than the house, we can fly Briar out of here ourselves.”

 

“Sounds good to me,” Sabrina said. “What do you have in mind?”

 

“I think a giant goose might confuse them for a bit,” Buzzflower said.

 

“You want me to fly out the window and let them shoot at me?”

 

The fairy godmothers nodded.

 

“I could be killed!”

 

The fairy godmothers nodded again.

 

“No,” Briar said. “She’s right. This is too dangerous. Those people out there intend to kill someone. If something were to happen to Sabrina I could never live with myself.”

 

Sabrina peered out the window. Her sister was still buzzing the crowd but seemed to have had no more success with Jake’s magical possessions than before.

 

“OK, I’ll do it, but I haven’t mastered flying yet since I’ve only been a bird for five minutes. If I manage to stay in the air you have to act fast. Get out as soon as you can.”

 

Briar looked nervous but agreed. “But where are we going to go even if we do escape? The town is overrun by the Scarlet Hand.”

 

“Prince Charming and Mr. Canis have built a camp. We’ll take you there,” Sabrina said, returning her attention to the window.

 

“Good luck,” Buzzflower said.

 

“Here goes nothing!” Sabrina said as she leaped out the window and flapped her wings as hard as she could. She would have described the experience as awkward and unnatural but she had no time to contemplate her situation. Her appearance drew the full ferocity of the crowd and before she could react, dozens of arrows, magical blasts, and even an electronic megaphone were flying right at her. She dodged the best she could, feeling a spear clip her tail feathers. It startled her and she landed awkwardly on the head of a hobgoblin. Enraged, the creature tried to clobber her with his lumpy club but she leaped off and landed on the head of another hobgoblin. The first brute brought his club down on his colleague’s head just after Sabrina leaped onto another. Not wanting to wait for another assault, she leaped off the startled head of the third hobgoblin onto a fourth, then a fifth, then she landed in the beehive hairdo of the Queen of Hearts, who screamed and slapped at Sabrina. Instinctively, Sabrina pecked at the mayor’s hands and leaped into the air. She flapped wildly, and much to her surprise, rose into the air and away from the mob.

 

When she turned her head to look over her shoulder, she spotted Buzzflower and Mallobarb lifting Briar Rose out of the window and into the air, a stream of magical dust floating behind them. The trio floated off to the shelter of the woods that bordered Briar’s property.

 

Sabrina found Daphne and Uncle Jake, who had slipped back into unconsciousness. She angled her wings so that she could fly alongside them and together they rose high enough to be out of danger.

 

“Briar and her fairy godmothers are out of the house,” Sabrina said. “Have you figured out that wand yet?”

 

“I think,” Daphne said.

 

Just then, the Mayor’s wretched voice filled the air. “Don’t follow the traitors. We’ll let the pack handle them.”

 

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