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

"You did that on purpose!" Sabrina growled.

 

"You are so cute!" Daphne cried as she threw her metal arms around her sister and gave her a big hug. "I could just eat you!"

 

"Well, no one's going to see the two of you coming," Jack moaned, though it was obvious he found the whole thing funny.

 

"Girls, you realize there's a timer with this magic. When the clock strikes nine o'clock, you're going to change back. Do you understand?" Mirror lectured.

 

"Nine o'clock? I thought it was midnight. Cinderella had until midnight," Sabrina argued.

 

"Cinderella was seventeen years old. You are eleven. There's no way your grandmother would approve of you staying out until the wee hours of the morning."

 

"We're trying to save her life," Sabrina pointed out.

 

"Still, children should not be allowed out that late, thus, your magic wears off at nine," Mirror said.

 

"That doesn't give us much time, it's seven o'clock right now," Jack said, eyeing his wristwatch.

 

Mirror took the wand from Daphne and put it back into the pot. He led the group out of the room, closed the door, and, when Sabrina couldn't manage, locked it with Granny's keys.

 

"One last thing," Jack said. "You don't happen to have any walkie-talkies in this place, do you?"

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter 9

 

 

 

 

hen the group stepped back through the mirror, Sabrina suddenly felt her massive size. Being a seven-foot-tall, twelve-hundred-pound grizzly bear made the regular-sized room feel much smaller.

 

"I'll never get through the doorway," Sabrina worried.

 

"You won't have to," Jack said as he stepped through the reflection. "Just click those heels together and you'll go anywhere you want. But before you do, you'll need these."

 

Jack held three walkie-talkies. He opened Sabrina's handbag and stuffed one inside, then slid open a panel in Daphne's tin frame and popped in the other. He kept the third for himself.

 

"These will help you keep in touch with me."

 

"You're not going in with us?" Sabrina asked.

 

"Are you kidding?" Jack cried. "I'm on Ferryport Landing's 'Most Wanted' list by now. Even if I disguised myself, Charming is sure to have security that can sniff me out. I can't take the chance. I'm going to stand outside the mansion and direct you. When you find the map of Charming's next target, we'll go save your grandmother and Canis."

 

"OK," Sabrina said, looking down at the slippers on her huge, furry feet. "I just click them together?" she asked, feeling ridiculous.

 

"Three times," Daphne cheerfully reminded her.

 

"There's no place like Charming's mansion?"

 

Jack nodded in agreement. Daphne put her hand on Sabrina's arm and held on tightly. Jack reached over and did the same.

 

"There's no place like Charming's mansion. There's no place like Charming's mansion. There's no place like Charming's mansion."

 

The last thing Sabrina saw was Elvis trotting into the room. In his mouth he had the piece of fabric Granny claimed was from a giant's pants, as well as a big scrap of Jack's pants. He spit them out on the floor and whined for attention, but suddenly there was a pop and the lights went out. Sabrina's ears filled with a squeaky sound, like someone was slowly releasing the air from a balloon, and when the lights came back on, the three of them were standing in front of Charming's estate.

 

 

 

It was the biggest house Sabrina had ever seen, with several stories and marble columns like the ones on the White House framing a golden front door. A coat of arms depicting a lion fighting a snake decorated the front of the house. The lawn was immaculately trimmed and bordered by stone paths and clipped shrubbery. A statue of Prince Charming surrounded by admiring woodland animals rose out of a fountain in the middle of the lawn. Several hulking attendants with green skin and oversized muscles—parking valets—waited by the circular driveway, opening car doors, taking keys, and driving the cars away.

 

A car pulled up in front of the house and a blond woman in a blue bonnet and puffy dress got out. She reached into the backseat for a long white staff with a curled end. Before the attendant could close the door for her, half a dozen lambs tumbled out and eagerly followed the woman inside.

 

"Little Bo Peep," Daphne cried. "Can you believe it?"

 

"OK, girls, I'm going to stay out here and let you know if the cops show up. Keep your radios on and try to stay inconspicuous," Jack said.

 

"I'm a grizzly bear in a dress," Sabrina muttered.

 

"Charming's office is on the second floor," Jack continued. "I'd mingle with the guests for a while, work the crowd, and find your way up there without attracting attention."

 

 

 

"Oh, is it that easy?" Sabrina said.

 

"Once you find the map, pop yourselves back down here and we'll go find your giant," Jack finished. He gave them a thumbs-up sign and disappeared into some nearby trees.

 

"He makes it sound so simple," Sabrina grumbled to Daphne.

 

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