"I don't need a sister," the girl continued. "But you can stay and play with my kitty-cat."
She pointed at the monster, which was batting at Puck with its enormous clawed hands. The fairy boy was leaping out of the way of the beast's every swipe. He couldn't keep it up for long. The little girl's "kitty" was lightning fast. It whipped its tail at Puck, barely missing him and sending a dusty filing cabinet careening across the room. The drawers belched open and hundreds of yellowing documents spilled out.
Sabrina turned back to the little girl.
"Who are you?" she asked, but the child only smiled and reached into her pocket. She removed a small silver ring and slipped it onto her finger. A crimson light engulfed the little girl and Sabrina's sleeping parents.
"Tell my grandma and my puppy that I'm coming and I'll see them soon. Then we can play," the demented child said in a sing-song voice. She raised her tiny hands and suddenly the monster stopped fighting. It turned to the girl and its ferocious face became calm.
"Kitty, we need to find a new playhouse. Burn this one down." The little girl giggled and then the world seemed to stretch, as if someone were pulling on the corner of Sabrina's vision, and, in a blink, the strange child vanished into thin air, taking Sabrina's parents with her.
"No!"
Sabrina cried and rushed to the empty bed.
The monster opened its enormous mouth and a burst of flame shot out. The folding blinds on the dingy windows ignited and flames crept up the walls, turning the weathered wallpaper into ash. The beast blasted another wall and then another, sending sparks and cinders in all directions. Within seconds the entire room was on fire.
"Sabrina, duck!" Puck shouted.
Sabrina did as she was told, just as the monster's molten spray shot out inches above her head. It roared in frustration and smacked Puck with its long tail, sending him flailing across the room where he crashed against a wall and tumbled to the floor. His shirt caught on fire and Sabrina rushed to him, patting out the flames before the boy was burned. Puck crawled to his feet once more and stepped between Sabrina and the monster, which stood over them, jaws dripping. The boy snatched up the little wooden sword he kept in his belt and bonked the beast on the snout. "C'mon, ugly. I'm just getting started."
But before Puck could take another swing at the hulking thing, a terrible groaning sound came from above and a huge section of the ceiling collapsed right on top of the beast. The two children staggered back from the pile of smoldering debris that now stood where the creature had been. Puck grabbed Sabrina and dragged her to safety as what was left of the ceiling rained down around them. "I think this party is over," he said.
"Wait!" Sabrina shouted. "There could be a clue here to where she took my parents."
"Any clue is kindling now," Puck said pulling her down a hallway. "If you get killed, the old lady will never let me hear the end of it."
They passed by open rooms with doors torn off their hinges. Inside, Sabrina saw hospital beds, rusty metal carts, and more sheets of yellowing paper scattered on the floor. Everywhere was the horrible red handprint.
What is this place?
Sabrina wondered.
The children rushed on through the choking, black smoke until they found a door with the word
Exit over it. When Puck forced it open, a blast of icy wind nearly knocked them both down and blew snow in their faces, blinding them. Puck shielded his eyes with his hands and peered between his fingers.
"We're in the mountains, I think," he shouted
"Can you fly us out of here?" Sabrina said.
"The wind is too strong." Puck helped her out the door, wrapping his arm around her and guiding her through the snowdrifts.
They'd barely taken a dozen steps when the wall of the building exploded behind them, sending brick and mortar flying in every direction. Into the gaping hole stepped the massive, scaly foot of the creature. Its head followed, whipping around on the monster's long neck as its fiery eyes searched for the children. When it spotted them it let out a prehistoric roar that sent snow tumbling from nearby trees.
The children raced away, darting into the woods. The leafless trees provided few hiding places and no protection from the brutal wind, which felt like little razor blades cutting Sabrina's face. Their only choice was to keep running. She and Puck scrambled up some rocks to a clearing at the top of a steep hill. It was a dead end. In front of them was a four-hundred-foot drop to the Hudson Valley below. The whole town of Ferryport Landing was laid out before them. If Sabrina hadn't been sure they were going to die, she would have thought the view was rather nice.
"Puck, I…"
The boy turned to her. "I know what you are going to say and I think its an excellent idea. I'll leave you here and save myself."
"That's not what I was going to say at all!" Sabrina shouted. "I was going to ask you if you had any ideas for getting us out of this."