"Maybe it's the sheriff? Maybe he got into the house somehow?" Daphne whispered.
"Hamstead would have just come down and grabbed us," her sister said. "Besides, Elvis isn't freaking out."
"Then who is it?" Puck said.
"Granny locks that door for a reason. If there's someone in that room, Granny doesn't want them going anywhere. They might be dangerous," Sabrina warned.
"I'm not afraid!" the boy cried.
"I have an idea," Daphne said. She took Puck and Sabrina's hands and led them back down the stairs and into the kitchen.
? ? ?
Within minutes, the girls and Puck were standing at the bottom of the stairs again. Each was wearing a metal spaghetti strainer as a mighty battle helmet. Daphne wore an ancient washing board on her chest and had duct-taped huge metal spoons to each kneecap as protection from unfair kicks. She held a frying pan as her weapon. Sabrina had a pressure cooker lid taped to her behind. She held a wok pan for a shield and a rolling pin for a club. She swung it, preparing to whack whomever might be on the other side of the door. Puck had his trusty sword in one hand and a carrot peeler in the other. He'd found a couple of cookie pans to tape to his chest and back, and his feet were encased in oven mitts.
The big dog stood behind them with an odd, confused expression.
"We should send Elvis up first," Sabrina said.
"Good idea," Daphne replied.
Sabrina turned to the Great Dane. "Elvis, there's someone upstairs. Go get him!"
Elvis sat down on his hind legs and used his back paw to scratch his neck. If he understood the order, he wasn't letting on. Discouraged, Sabrina turned back to her sister and Puck. "We'll go together and sneak up on him."
They nodded in agreement, and all three took the first step up the stairs. Their "armor" clanged and knocked around, causing a tremendous racket. By the time they got to the top of the steps, Sabrina realized that a sneak attack was probably no longer realistic, so she went with plan B.
"Whoever is up here better leave, 'cause we're armed to the teeth. I wouldn't want to be you when we find you!" Sabrina shouted. Her threat was met with silence.
"Maybe he's gone," Daphne said hopefully.
"I say we bust the door down and skin him alive," Puck said loudly.
"There's going to be no skinning of anyone," Sabrina said as she fumbled in her pocket and pulled out the key ring. She started the tedious work of finding the right key, and soon one went in the lock and clicked.
"Just stay together and, most of all, stay calm. If we don't panic, we can take this guy ourselves," Sabrina said.
"On three," Daphne whispered, giving her frying pan a practice swing.
"ONE, TWO, THREE!" Sabrina screamed, pushing the door open and rushing into the room. The trio swung their weapons frantically, slashing at whatever enemy dared to face their deadly kitchen utensils. After several minutes, and zero deadly hits, Sabrina stopped and looked around the room. In the moonlight from the single window, she could see it was empty, except for a wood-framed, full-length mirror that hung on a wall.
Puck, who was lying on the floor laughing hysterically, roared, "STAY CALM, YOU SAY?"
"Where did he go?" Daphne said, as she peered behind the door and found no one.
"Maybe we imagined it," Sabrina said, scowling at the boy's laughter. "C'mon, let's get back to work."
She turned to leave, but Daphne said, "Granny's note said that all the answers we need would stare us in the face." She pointed at the mirror.
"It's just a mirror," her sister argued.
"It can't hurt to take a look!" Puck said, and trotted over to it. Sabrina switched on the room light and reluctantly joined him, followed by Daphne, and together they looked at their reflection.
"I think I see something," Daphne said.
"What? What is it?" Sabrina said.
"A booger. It's in your nose." The little girl laughed. "Gotcha, again!
Puck laughed so hard he snorted, but then saw Sabrina staring and stopped abruptly.
"WHO ARE YOU?" a loud voice suddenly bellowed from within the mirror. Sabrina looked into its reflection and felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. A face was staring out at her but it was not her own. Floating without a body, the face was that of a man with a bald head and thick, angular features. He stared at the children with eyes like blue flames flickering a mixture of rage and disgust, as if the children were rodents found munching on the turkey during Christmas dinner. Terrified, the children ran back toward the door, but a blue ray shot from the mirror, hit the door, and slammed it shut, trapping them inside.
"WHO ARE YOU?" the head bellowed. "TELL ME NOW OR I WILL KILL YOU WHERE YOU STAND!"
Chapter 7