The Fairy-Tale Detectives (The Sisters Grimm, Book 1)

"They're coming, aren't they?" Daphne said, and before she finished the question a cloud of little lights zipped out of the forest and surrounded them. This time the lights didn't attack. Instead, they hovered as if waiting for instructions. Another note pierced the night air and the little lights buzzed into action, perching on the barbed wires that had Sabrina caught and, with a flutter of wings, pushing at the lowest wire and pulling the other one up, creating a hole big enough for Sabrina to scamper through. When she got to the other side, the little lights let go of the wires.

 

Hamstead, trapped on the other side of the fence, squealed in frustration and searched for an opening. He waddled back and forth, huffing and grunting, but found nothing that would allow his human or pig form to pass. Desperately, he got to his hands and knees and tried to squeeze through the wires. And that's when Elvis made his move. The big dog ran full steam right at Hamstead like some kind of fur-covered locomotive. He leaped onto Sheriff Hamstead's broad back and used it as a springboard. The sheriff let out a painful grunt as Elvis sailed effortlessly over the top of the fence and landed on all fours.

 

The chubby policeman quickly recovered. He stood up, grabbed a fence post, and began to climb. Sabrina knew she had to do something. She grabbed another post and pushed all her weight against it. Discovering it was quite loose in the ground, she shook it back and forth as hard as she could, and the fence swayed uncontrollably.

 

"Hey, stop that!" Hamstead shouted nervously as he clung to the fence.

 

Daphne rushed to Sabrina's side and together they shook the fence even harder. Suddenly, with a loud tearing of fabric, Sheriff Hamstead's body thumped to the ground on his side of the fence. He groaned and let out an angry cry. After a moment, he picked himself up. Unfortunately, his pants had not survived the fall. They hung from the sharp teeth of the barbed-wire fence, leaving the sheriff in just a pair of droopy long Johns. Defeated, he hobbled back to his car.

 

"He's leaving," Sabrina said as she followed her sister into the dark woods.

 

"He turned into a pig," Daphne whispered.

 

"I saw him," Sabrina replied. "But I think we have another problem."

 

The little lights waited patiently ahead of them. They darted into the woods and then came back out, as if they wanted the girls to follow them.

 

 

 

"What do you want?" Sabrina asked, and the lights shimmered and blinked an answer.

 

"Should we follow them?" said Daphne.

 

"I don't see that we've got much of a choice," Sabrina said, thinking the lights might attack if they didn't.

 

She took her sister's hand and they walked through the dark woods, with Elvis trotting closely behind. Low-hanging branches blocked their path, and with each step the girls had to dodge and weave to get through. Several times Sabrina walked into trees, feeling the prickly spindles of a pine or the crusty bark of an oak tear at her clothes and skin. The lights guided them, slowing down occasionally to see if they were keeping up.

 

"They're making sure we're following them," Sabrina said, wondering if it was a good thing or a bad thing. Soon, the girls stepped into a clearing. In the center was a pile of junk. An old refrigerator, a couple of burned-out microwaves, some abandoned teddy bears, and a broken toilet had been assembled into a massive chair. Sitting on the junk "throne" was a boy with a mop of blond hair that was tussled and dirty. He wore a pair of baggy blue jeans and a green hooded sweatshirt in desperate need of a washing, and in his hand he held a small sword. But most interesting was the golden crown that rested on his head.

 

"Pixies," he called to the little lights. "What have you found?"

 

 

 

 

 

The little lights erupted into a loud buzzing.

 

"Spies, you say?" the boy asked. "Well, what do we do with spies?

 

There was more buzzing in response, and a wicked grin appeared on the boy's face.

 

"That's correct." He laughed. "We drown them!"

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter 6

 

 

 

 

hen the girls protested their kidnapping, the army of pixies surrounded them and delivered several stings. Nursing their wounds, the girls were forced to follow the odd boy farther into the woods.

 

"Where are you taking us?" Sabrina asked, but the boy just laughed.

 

Soon, they came to the end of the forest, where a tall fence blocked their way. Built into the fence was a door, and the boy pushed it open. The girls stepped through and found themselves standing in front of a tarp-covered swimming pool in the backyard of a two-story suburban-style house. Some pixies swirled around the tarp and lifted it off the pool, while others zipped off and returned with a rope. They stung Sabrina's arms relentlessly until she put them behind her back, and then they tied the rope around her wrists.

 

The boy stuck the tip of his sword into Sabrina's back. He forced her onto the diving board. "You've made a terrible mistake, spy!" he shouted.

 

"We're not spies!" Sabrina exclaimed.

 

"Tell it to the fish!" the boy hollered, causing the little lights to make a tittering noise that sounded like laughter. Sabrina looked down at the pool and wondered how deep the water was. There was a diving board, so it had to be deep, and with her arms tied behind her she'd certainly drown if the icy water didn't freeze her to death first. She tugged at the ropes, but each pull just tightened them around her wrists.

 

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