The man chuckled. He had a quirky grin that seemed incredibly familiar to Sabrina, but she was far too nervous to place it. They'd met so many lunatics and nutcases since moving to Ferry-port Landing, she couldn't be sure this man wasn't on the list.
Puck turned to face Sabrina with an embarrassed expression. "What comes after one?"
"Two." Sabrina groaned.
Puck nodded. "Two!"
"Listen, there's been a big misunderstanding," the man said.
"Three!" Puck shouted and then looked over at Sabrina to make sure he was correct. She nodded at the boy and Puck burst into action, quickly bringing his sword down on the man's hand.
"Oww!" the stranger cried. "Cut it out with the sword, kid!"
Puck's wings flapped furiously and he sprang into the air. He did a cartwheel and landed on his feet behind his opponent. "I am Puck, son of Oberon, otherwise known as the Trickster
King, spiritual leader of hooligans, good-for-nothings, and punks," he cried as he landed a kick on the stranger's rear and pushed him to the ground. Puck leaned over his victim, waving the sword in his face. "Had enough?" he asked.
The strange man reached into a pocket of his coat and Sabrina noticed for the first time how unusual the garment was. It had dozens of pockets sewn into it. The man fumbled in one and removed something silver and shiny. He uttered a few nonsensical words and suddenly everything began to shimmer. Sabrina felt queasy, as if she were seasick, and then something unbelievable happened. The man's shadow began to move of its own accord. It pulled itself off the ground with a loud slurp!
and walked around erratically as if it were an actual person shaking off a case of the dizzies. When it seemed to have finally gotten its bearings, it stepped between Puck and the stranger and put up its hands in a boxing stance.
The shadow rushed forward to attack but Puck blocked its punches, then threw a few of his own. Unfortunately, Puck's counterattack didn't faze the shadow at all; the boy's fists passed harmlessly through the spirit's body. Startled, Puck fell backward, allowing the shadow to get the upper hand. It leaped into the air, did a backflip over the boy, and landed behind him. A
swift kick to the Trickster King's rump followed. The boy yelped, then swooped over to Daphne and Sabrina, yanked them off the ground, and zipped up through the hole and into the room above. The shadow man followed, grabbing onto Sabrina's feet and forcing Puck to crash into a wall. Sabrina and Daphne tumbled roughly to the floor. Puck and the shadow went back to fighting, and unfortunately the shadow's master, the stranger, flew up through the hole, landed in the room, and headed straight for the girls.
"Here he comes. What do we do?" Daphne asked.
Sabrina looked down at the chunks of burnt furniture scattered about. She grabbed a blackened chair leg and flung it at the stranger, hitting him in the ribs.
"Oww!" he cried.
Daphne snatched another charred piece of wood and hurled it in the man's direction. Unfortunately, her aim was way off and she hit Puck instead.
"Hey! What are you doing?" the boy complained.
"We're trying to help," Sabrina said.
"Well, stop trying so hard," Puck shouted. "Your help hurts!"
"This isn't working," Daphne said.
"Don't worry. I'll think of something," Sabrina said.
"You do that. Meanwhile, I'm going to take care of that weirdo," Daphne said.
Before Sabrina could stop her, the little girl raced up to the stranger and stopped a few feet from him.
"OK, calm down," the little girl said to herself. "First you bow to your opponent." She bowed low.
"Daphne, get away from him!"
The little girl ignored her sister's warning. "Move into offensive stance," she said, stepping forward with her left leg and shifting her body so that her torso was turned perpendicular to her opponent. She raised her fists.
The stranger looked slightly amused.
"Present your warrior face," Daphne said, crinkling up her nose and eyes and then screaming
"Argggghhhh!"
"Daphne, I'm not trying to hurt you," the stranger said. "If you would just listen for a second, I'm your--"
"Deliver attack!" Daphne yelled, cutting off the man's speech. She cried
"Hiya!"
and then kicked the man in the shin. He groaned in pain and bent down to hold his sore leg.
"Deliver secondary attack," the little girl said. She spun around in a complete circle and caught the man's other leg with a sweeping kick. He fell over as if he had been chopped down with an axe.
The little girl continued kicking the man as he lay on the ground. He curled up in a ball and tried to avoid her vicious feet. "Uh, hello… I could use some help," Daphne said to her sister.
Sabrina shook off her surprise and together they took turns kicking the stranger.