"I guess we start in the part that's still standing," Sabrina said.
Puck took out his little flute and blew a few notes. Soon, the children were surrounded by thousands of pixies. "Minions, we need some light."
Instantly, the glow around the little beings grew brighter and brighter. The pixies went from looking like fireflies to looking like light bulbs. Soon, the entire top of the mountain was illuminated in their dazzling radiance.
"Nice trick," Sabrina said as she led the group into the ruins. Everywhere they looked they saw burnt papers and furniture. They went from room to room, finding no clues. Every file cabinet was empty or welded shut by the flames. One tiny room, covered in what looked like cushions, was untouched by the fire. A crumpled white coat with dozens of buckles and belts lay on the floor--a straitjacket. It was a creepy reminder of what the building had once been.
"Well, this was an enormous waste of time," Puck grumbled. "Let's get going to the overpass. Those cars aren't going to egg themselves."
"I agree," Daphne said. "I am totally freaked out, anyway."
Sabrina's heart sank. The others were right. Anything that might have pointed toward her parents' location was now ashes. Without a word, she turned and marched back the way they came.
"Slow down," Daphne said. "I'm scared."
"There's nothing in here that's going to get you. Stop being a baby!" Sabrina said over her shoulder.
Suddenly, there was a horrible crashing sound and a short shout from her sister. Sabrina spun around to see what was the matter, only to find a hole where Daphne had been. The burnt boards had collapsed beneath her feet. Sabrina rushed to the hole and stared into the darkness below. "Daphne!"
There was a long silence. Sabrina's voice echoed back at her and then she heard her sister's voice.
"Sabrina?"
"Daphne! Are you okay?"
"Yes. Sabrina?"
"What?"
"I hate you!" the little girl screamed.
Puck grabbed onto the back of Sabrina's coat and together they leaped into the hole. Though she couldn't see his wings, Sabrina knew Puck had released them. The two floated to the floor below, followed by several glowing pixies. Daphne appeared to be safe and sound, though a little bruised. Sabrina reached out to help the little girl up, but her sister looked at the offered hand as if it were a snake and stood up on her own.
"Sabrina Grimm! Of all the stupid ideas you've ever had, this is the stupidest. We could get killed in here!"
Sabrina didn't mean to ignore her sister's anger but now that she could see the room, she was dumbfounded. It wasn't a room like the ones upstairs. It was more of a dungeon, with tall granite walls. In one corner, a pair of enormous chains had been pounded into the rock. Against the opposite wall leaned a large antique mirror. Its reflective surface had been destroyed and fire-blackened shards of glass littered the floor below it. But the oddest of the room's furnishings was the baby crib. It was made from solid oak and had a little blue blanket inside, along with a pacifier and a fluffy white teddy bear.
"What is all this?" Puck asked.
"She said she had a baby brother," Sabrina said. "She's stolen someone's child just like she stole my mom and dad." Daphne opened the top drawer of a small file cabinet in the far corner of the room and yanked out a collection of aging folders. "I think I found something."
Sabrina rushed to her side, grabbed the files, and flipped through them. Soon she came upon one marked PATIENT 67--LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD. As she leafed through it, a page fell out. Sabrina picked it up. It was a crayon drawing of a family. There was a father, a mother holding a baby, a grandmother, a small child in a red cloak, a hideous monster that could only be the Jabberwocky, and a ferocious-looking dog.
"This is her medical file," Sabrina said.
"Good. Can we get out of here?" Daphne asked. "I'm totally freaked out and my butt hurts."
Sabrina nodded and turned to Puck. The boy's wings were out and ready to fly them from the frightening room. But just then a man stepped out of the shadows.
"Sabrina?"
Sabrina nearly screamed. She squinted to get a better look at the stranger. He was tall and wore a long overcoat. He was about her father's age, with milky blue eyes, shaggy blond hair, and a nose that had been broken in three places. Around his neck were a dozen necklaces and amulets. Every one of his fingers had a ring on it.
"Girls, I need that file," he said as he stepped toward them.
Puck leaped between the girls and the stranger and pulled his sword from his belt. He waved it in the man's face and bonked him on the nose with its tip.
"Owww!" the man cried.
"I'm going to give you to the count of three to run off or you're going to get a bellyful of steel. One…"