*
The girls finished their lunch of BLTs with something that tasted like bacon but felt like pudding, and then had rose petal cookies for dessert. When their bellies were full, Granny collected the plates and took them into the kitchen. Daphne and Elvis ran upstairs to look after Puck. Sabrina went to the living room window and looked outside, hoping to find Uncle Jake making his way up the driveway. He wasn't there.
"Your mustache and goatee are starting to fade," Granny said when she returned to the dining room.
"I've been so busy I didn't even notice," Sabrina said, touching her lip lightly.
"Funny thing about time; it takes care of most problems," Granny said. "If you wait long enough, even a mountain becomes a valley." She pulled out a chair and invited Sabrina to sit down and join her.
"OK, bring it on," Sabrina said.
"What do you mean?"
"I know you're dying to give me a lecture on magic. I know you think its better not to use it."
"You think I hate magic?" Granny said. "You don't?"
"No, I just believe it should be used as a last resort," she said. "Some people see it as the first solution to every problem and that leads to bigger problems."
"Well, a little magic could come in handy every time I'm running away from something that's trying to eat me."
Granny laughed. "You underestimate yourself, Sabrina. You don't need magic; you've got power coming out of your ears. You kept your sister safe for a year and a half in a very tough orphanage without magic. You escaped from one foster home after another without magic. You've been lost in the woods and chased by giants, you've foiled the destruction of this town, and saved all of our lives a couple times over and you did it all without magic. I know you think you're powerless, but you're wrong. You've got more power inside you than most full-grown adults ever will. You have a powerful heart, powerful friends, a powerful family, and a powerful mind. All of them have helped you overcome every obstacle that has gotten in your way, even when that obstacle happened to be two hundred feet tall or had a thousand teeth. Giving magic to you, child, would be a bit of overkill."
The old woman looked at the clock. "Well, Sabrina, do you think you could look after the house for about half an hour?"
"You're leaving me here alone with Daphne?" Sabrina said.
"Sure, you're eleven years old. I think you can be trusted for a little while," the old woman said. She took out a small whistle hanging from a chain around her neck and blew into it. Sabrina recognized it as the dog whistle the old woman used to call Mr. Canis.
"You do?" Sabrina cried. "Why?"
"Because I
want to trust you," Granny replied as she rushed to get her handbag. "I hate to leave this work, but we cant ignore one crisis while we're working on another. I have to go down to the school and vote in the election. I'm afraid Mayor Charming is going to need every vote he can get."
She reached into her bag and took out the set of keys that unlocked everything in the house and in the Hall of Wonders and handed them to Sabrina.
Sabrina took the keys and looked down at them. It was an act of faith that no one had ever shown her before. A tear welled in her eye but she quickly wiped it away.
"But what about my addiction to magic?" Sabrina said.
"I've learned something from you, Sabrina. You can't run from your problems; you have to face them head-on. You'll never get over your need until you can walk away from it on your own."
"I have been nothing but a problem to you," Sabrina whispered.
The old woman hugged her. "If only everyone had the blessing of a problem like you."
The door opened and Mr. Canis entered. "Have you found a solution to the sword?"
"Not yet," Granny explained, "but democracy needs us, too. Have you given any more thought to voting for Charming?"
Mr. Canis growled.
Granny laughed and the two of them left. Seconds later, Sabrina heard the old family car's famous backfire and then they were gone.
Sabrina tucked the key ring into her pocket and looked down at the broken pieces of the sword laid out on the table.
"Spaulding, what are you trying to tell us?" Sabrina said.
Absentmindedly, she picked up the hilt of the Vorpal blade and aligned it with the broken pieces like she was working on some kind of incredibly sharp jigsaw puzzle. When all the pieces were aligned she closed her eyes and willed the sword to be whole.
Suddenly, the inscriptions on each piece glowed green. The letters flashed in bright red and then moved around of their own accord. A few of the letters jumped from the pieces of the blade they were on and landed on the piece that had no inscription. When this process was finished, the third piece of the Vorpal blade had a clue of its own, one that glowed bright blue.
LFEHAURB RA
"Spaulding, thank you!" Sabrina cried. "But, who is L… fehaur… bra!"
"What's going on?" Daphne said as she entered the room.