Sabrina heard a splat on the floor several yards away. She knew if she looked at it she’d be sorry, so she averted her eyes, but there was no protection from the smell. It invaded Sabrina’s nose like an unwanted house guest. She feared it might never go away.
A second splat followed and Sabrina scampered to her feet. Her only strategy, she realized, was to stay mobile. She leaped out of the way just before a third horrible brown bomb crashed near her foot. Sadly, she found herself directly below another Pegasus suffering a similar gastrointestinal crisis. She rolled out of the way and collided with her sister.
“What’s the big idea?” Daphne groaned. A second later she was pinching her nose. “Geez, Sabrina. You should really lay off the beef stew in the mess tent tonight.”
“That’s not me!” she cried. “We’re under attack. Get up if you want to save yourself.”
Daphne gaped for a second, unsure of what was happening, but when her sleeping bag suffered a direct hit she cringed and dove to safety. In her efforts to escape the next attack she knocked Sabrina down and the two flailed like a couple of desperate fish in the bottom of a boat.
“There’s no escape,” Puck shouted to the girls. “And just so you know, I’m not taking any hostages.” He laughed so hard it echoed off the ceiling of the Hall of Wonders.
Another bomb fell with a splat.
“Is it on me?” Daphne cried, flipping her head back and forth. She calmed down when Sabrina assured her she had not caught any shrapnel.
The commotion finally roused Granny Relda. “Puck! You cut this nonsense out at once,” she demanded, her shouts waking Henry and Veronica.
“Forget it, old lady. I’m done doing what I’m told. The Trickster King has returned,” he shouted, steering his horse so that it flew uncomfortably close to Granny Relda. A splat landed mere inches from her feet and she gasped in horror. She turned to Sabrina and gave her an impatient look.
“What did you say to him?” she asked.
Sabrina was shocked. “Why is it always me!”
“Because you’re the only one that can get under his skin,” Granny said. “You’ve obviously hurt his feelings. He’s very sensitive.”
“Sensitive? This kid hasn’t brushed his teeth since the Civil War and suddenly he cares about someone’s opinion?” Sabrina asked.
“Not someone’s opinion,” Daphne said. “Yours.”
“Why does he care so much what Sabrina thinks?” Henry asked suspiciously.
Sabrina could feel her cheeks blush and she looked to the floor.
“You’ve got your first boyfriend!” Veronica exclaimed, clapping her hands happily.
“Ugh!” Henry complained. “I’m so not ready for this. Couldn’t you have at least picked a boy who doesn’t smell like a broken sump pump?”
“I didn’t pick anyone, Dad. I don’t like him!” she cried.
Daphne grinned. “Whatever.”
“Sabrina, apologize to him before this gets out of hand,” Granny begged.
“Mom, this is already out of hand,” Henry said, holding his sleeping bag over himself and his wife. Henry turned to Puck and shook a commanding finger at him. “Now you listen to me, boy. This is unacceptable behavior. You get off that Pegasus and come down here and start acting your age!”
“Honey, he’s over four thousand years old,” Veronica said, cowering under the sleeping bag.
“Well, then this is even more immature,” Henry said.
Puck sailed over Sabrina’s head. “Hey, ugly. I want to thank you. You actually did me a favor.”
“Oh yeah?” Sabrina said suspiciously.
“I’ve gotten too comfortable living in the old lady’s house, eating the old lady’s food, acting like a human. I am the Trickster King. The Crown Prince of Snips and Snails and Puppy-Dog Tails, the ruler of Gremlins, Rascals, and Miscreants, the guiding light of every instigator, agitator, and knave from here to Wonderland. I shouldn’t be living with a bunch of heroes like you and your family. I should be causing the chaos you are trying to prevent. I am, after all, a villain of the first rate.”
“Fine, go be a villain. But don’t you think this is all a little overdramatic? Flying horses? Poop bombs?”
“Actually, I think it’s just dramatic enough,” Puck said. “Charge!”
There was little the Grimm clan could do. They ran about the Hall of Wonders like escapees from a mental hospital, shrieking and racing around in circles. Eventually Mirror appeared, and despite his desperate cries and a very rich bribe, the boy and his chili dog–eating horses would not relent. Puck chased Sabrina until she tumbled over her own feet and fell. Helpless, she lay on the floor as the Pegasi drifted directly above her.
“Would saying I’m sorry make a difference?” Sabrina asked.