The police had stopped watching the pixies steal their cars and were now closing in on the sisters. They were almost on top of them when Sabrina shouted, "UP!" and the carpet rocketed into the sky. The girls held on for their dear lives as the house, the yard, and even their street became smaller and smaller. Sabrina's stomach lurched as they found themselves shooting through a cloud.
"Carpet, down!" she said as the oxygen began to seep from her lungs. Just as quickly as the carpet rose, it fell. Daphne's pigtails lifted from the side of her head and floated next to her ears as the girls screeched back toward Earth, falling like a rock.
"CARPET, STOP!" Sabrina cried, inches before the carpet smashed onto the ground. She gasped with relief. Unfortunately, they had stopped right behind the three police officers, who were still searching the sky for the girls.
"Wait, we've forgotten something!" Daphne cried. "Carpet, take us to the front door."
"No!" Sabrina shouted, but it was too late. The magic carpet zipped off again, this time plowing into the group of portly police and knocking them down like bowling pins.
"What are you doing?" she demanded as the carpet screeched to a halt at the door of Granny's house.
"There's one more lock," Daphne said. She knocked on the door three times. "We'll be back!"
But the detour had given Hamstead and his men the time they needed to recover and they now had the carpet surrounded. Hamstead grabbed one of the tassels and smiled.
"OK, fun time is over, ladies," he said.
"Let go of the carpet," Sabrina demanded. Elvis echoed her protest with a low growl.
"Not a chance, girls! Now, let's head down to the station and . . ."
"I said, let go of the carpet."
"What are you going to do to make me?" Hamstead scoffed.
Sabrina and Daphne exchanged glances. Daphne tightened her grip on the carpet and gave an extra squeeze to Elvis at the same time.
"Carpet, up!"
The carpet shot into the sky, carrying the girls, Elvis, and a stubborn Hamstead with it. Hanging on with one hand, the sheriff desperately tried to climb on board as they soared high above the house.
"Take us down, right now!" he squealed.
Sabrina peeked over the side and smirked.
"I'm sorry, Sheriff, but you don't have a ticket for this flight. I'm afraid you're going to have to get off at the next stop. Carpet, we have an unwanted passenger. Get rid of him!"
The carpet bolted forward as if thrilled with the request. It zipped up and down and did wide loopty-loops that made Sabrina want to barf. She looked over at Daphne and Elvis, who both sat calmly on the carpet.
"If you just let go, it's a real easy ride," Daphne shouted over the whipping wind, but Sabrina wasn't convinced, and held on tightly A small beetle flew into her mouth and she spit it out, gagging.
"A bug flew in my mouth!" Sabrina croaked. Daphne patted her hand sympathetically.
Unfortunately, Hamstead was still very much a passenger.
"Let go!" Sabrina shouted again, but the sheriff shook his head defiantly. Displaying its own stubbornness, the carpet darted over the house and began to skim the top of the forest. Hamstead smacked into limbs and skittered across the treetops.
"I'm not going anywhere," he shouted as the carpet found an opening in the forest and dove into it like a kamikaze pilot. Sabrina was sure the carpet was going to sacrifice them all to get rid of its unwanted rider, but just as it seemed they would all be splattered across the forest floor, the carpet leveled out and dragged Hamstead directly over some thorny bushes. Motivated by the pain, the sheriff struggled once more to climb on board. Elvis barked at him as Daphne tried to pry his fingers from the carpet's tasseled corner.
"Carpet, do something!" she cried.
The carpet soared between several trees and zipped along a rocky stream. It lowered itself to mere inches above the water,
dragging Hamstead along the muddy banks, and finally shaking him loose. He tumbled into the mud and sank up to his nose.
The carpet darted back and hovered above him. The sheriff crawled out of the muck, covered in swamp goo. A small frog leaped from his shirt pocket as he wiped filth from his eyes.
As the girls darted away on the carpet, Sabrina could hear Boarman and Swineheart rushing to their boss's aid.
"Boss, what are you fooling around in the mud for?" Boarman asked.
"Shut up!"
The girls soared out of the forest and high into the sky. There, Puck met them and flew alongside, laughing at the sheriff's misfortune.
"You keep them busy!" Sabrina shouted and the boy's mood darkened.
Daphne pinched her sister. "You have to talk to him like he's the leader. He needs to feel that he's important," Daphne whispered.
Sabrina was stunned by her sister's perceptiveness. "Sorry, Puck, I know you can handle them and we'll be back soon with all the information you will need," Sabrina said awkwardly. "We know you could kill the giant yourself right now, but a little insider information never hurts."
Again, Puck puffed up with pride. "Of course, probably a waste of time, but who knows? By the way, there's one more cop you have to deal with when you get there."
"Who?" Daphne asked.
"A nervous little man named Ichabod Crane."