"Do you know what this is?" she asked.
Nottingham stared at the wand. "I don't have the foggiest," he growled.
"It's the Wand of Merlin," Sabrina said as she watched fear flash in Nottingham's eyes. Sabrina smiled, but inside she struggled with an overwhelming urge to zap the man with a shot of lightning.
"You're bluffing," Nottingham said.
"Is she?" Uncle Jake said.
Nottingham slowly let Jake go and stepped back from the table, but Sabrina kept pointing the wand at him. She had power for once and it felt good to let the bad guys know it.
Just then, there was an enormous thump that knocked the ketchup bottle off the table. It was followed by another, the source of which seemed to be outside. Everyone turned to look out at the parking lot where a car suddenly flipped over and went flying into another. A moment later a second car got the same destructive treatment.
Farrah returned with a tray of food and set the edge of it on the table. "Chow time!" she sang cheerily but her voice trailed off when she saw the destruction through the window. "Oh, my."
"What is that, Nottingham?" the queen demanded.
The would-be sheriff pointed out the window. "I think it's her."
Little Red Riding Hood came into view. She skipped through the parking lot like a happy schoolgirl, holding a leash, on the end of which walked her monstrous, reptilian playmate. The two demented creatures were coming straight for the diner.
"There's no cause for alarm," Nottingham said confidently just as the rest of the diners leaped from their seats and hid under the tables. An older gentleman jumped from his chair at the counter and knocked into Farrah, who spilled the family's meals all over the floor. The girls tumbled out of the booth and Sabrina's wand slipped from her hand and rolled to the other side of the room.
Nottingham opened his coat and pulled a serpentine sword from a scabbard strapped around his waist. He pointed it at the Jabberwocky but it made no impression on the beast. The hulking brute grabbed the front wall of the diner and tore it away as if it were paper. Then the creature poked its gruesome head into the hole, mere inches away from Sabrina and Daphne. It stuck out its long tongue and flicked it around as if it were tasting the fear in the room.
"JABBERWOCKY!" the monster cried.
Chapter 7
"Where's my grandmother?" Red Riding Hood screamed. Her face was a contorted mess, like a sculpture made from Silly Putty whose features were twisted and stretched into horrible exaggerations. "I want to play!"
"Stay down," Sabrina whispered to Daphne as Uncle Jake joined them on the floor.
Nottingham raised his sword and waved it in the air threateningly. "Child," he said to Red Riding Hood, "take this overgrown tadpole and go or I swear I'll--" but his threat was never finished. The Jabberwocky whipped its tail at him and sent him sailing across the room and into the dessert case. He let out a terrible groan and collapsed to the floor.
"Grandmother, are you in there?" the demented little girl called out, as she and the Jabberwocky stepped through the hole and into the diner. She searched with growing disappointment as patrons cowered under tables.
"Who are you looking for, young lady?" the queen called out with a trembling voice.
"My grandmother," Red Riding Hood said. Her face suddenly went from rage to a sweet hopeful smile.
The Queen of Hearts smiled, too, or at least did something Sabrina guessed was as close as the nasty woman could get to smiling. "But child, your grandmother is dead. Don't you remember? She was eaten by the Big Bad Wolf."
Red Riding Hood sputtered and rocked back and forth on her feet. "That's not true," she said to herself, over and over again. "We're playing a game. I have to find her so my family can be together again. She's just hiding. Playing a game."
"Oh, you poor thing," the queen said. "You're so confused."
"That's what they said," the little girl agreed as her face darkened. "I'm confused. They said I had… imagination."
The Jabberwocky leaned down to the little girl and licked her face with his long disgusting tongue, causing her to giggle. "Oh, kitty, are you bored? Do you want to play? I bet this lady would like to play with you."
The Jabberwocky gnashed its teeth enthusiastically and turned to Mrs. Heart. It reached over and snatched her off the ground in one of its huge, taloned hands. She screamed and begged for help.
"Do something!" Sabrina whispered to her uncle. She didn't like the Queen of Hearts, not even a little, but she didn't want her to die, either.
Uncle Jake rolled his eyes and sighed. "Fine," he grumbled. He sprang to his feet and pointed a threatening finger at the brute. "Hey, ugly--put her down!"
"You know where my grandmother is! You know where the doggy is, too. Don't you?" Red Riding Hood said.