The beast studied the boy for a long moment and then a chuckle came up through his throat. "Trickster," he said, sniffing the boy. "Love will be the end of you."
Puck blushed. "I don't know what you're talking about."
The Wolf turned and eyed Sabrina. He chuckled and then turned his eyes back on the boy.
"All right, hero. I'm going to make you famous," the Wolf growled.
The boy spun around on his feet and immediately transformed into an elephant. He snatched the Wolf up in his long trunk and smashed him against the wall. The Wolf fell to the floor, stunned.
"Fantastic!" Rumpelstiltskin cried out. A glimmer of the blue energy began to swirl around him.
"Puck, stop!" Sabrina cried out, but Puck was still in the moment. He transformed back into his true form and drew his wooden sword. He jammed it into the beast's belly and the Wolf winced. Puck couldn't know he was actually helping Rumpelstiltskin build the Wolf's rage.
"Stay down, dog," the boy shouted, smacking the Wolf on the top of the head with his sword. "Or there'll be no table scraps for you."
The beast opened his big blue eyes and laughed. "You're a funny boy!" He sprang to his feet so quickly that Puck nearly fell backward. The boy's wings erupted from his back and he flew into the air, hovering at the top of the cave. The Wolf leaped high, grabbing at the boy with his claws, missing him by only inches.
Puck laughed and stung the beast's paws with his sword. If it hurt, the Wolf didn't seem to mind. His face was a combination of anger and amusement. It was horrifying to watch. Luckily, Puck seemed to be out of his reach, until the boy's wing clipped the ceiling and he fell to the ground. The beast lunged at the boy, grabbed him in his huge claws, and opened his jaws wide. His fangs glistened in the tunnel light.
Suddenly, Daphne was standing in front of him.
"Stop it right now!" she demanded.
The Wolf turned to look at the little girl with sadistic amusement. "Don't worry, child," the Wolf said. "You'll get your turn to fight for your life."
"Daphne!" Granny cried.
"Leave Puck alone," Daphne said. "And let me talk to Mr. Canis."
The Wolf snarled. "Child, Mr. Canis is not real. There is only me.
"I know that's a lie!" the little girl cried. If she was afraid, Sabrina couldn't see it. "Mr. Canis is real because I said he is. He's part of my family and I love him!"
Briefly, the Wolf's face changed. For a flickering moment, Sabrina saw his steel-blue eyes change to Mr. Canis's dull gray ones. The old man was inside, trying to control himself.
"Daphne," the Wolf said quietly, dropping Puck. Then a shudder ran through him and any trace of their family friend was buried again. His disorientation gave Puck another opportunity to attack. The boy climbed to his feet and picked up a large rock from the ground. He tossed it as hard as he could, beaming the beast in the head.
"Hey, Wolf, you ever hear of a game called dodgeball?" he said.
"Death is moments away for you and you want to discuss a child's game?" The Wolf laughed.
Puck threw the boulder and it hit the Wolf in the chest, knocking the air out of the big brute.
"I don't want to talk about it," he shouted, bending over for another boulder. "I want to play it!" With impossible speed, he tossed one heavy rock after another at the beast.
"Puck! Stop!" Sabrina shouted.
The boy looked over at her. His face was red with excitement, but his eyes were full of confusion.
"Uh, I'm trying to save your life, Grimm," the boy said.
"You're going to kill us all," Sabrina said. "You're making Rumpelstiltskin stronger."
The Wolf staggered to his feet. "No child, you've got it wrong. I'm going to kill you all."
"Take a look around you, rover," Snow White said, stepping between the Wolf and Sabrina. "Your little tantrum is helping to fuel your destruction."
The Wolf turned to face the beautiful teacher. She continued, "The angrier you get the stronger the real enemy becomes." She pointed at Rumpelstiltskin, who was encircled in his blue energy. He seemed to be enjoying each second of the fight. The Wolf turned to face the little creature and immediately the blue glow around him expanded.
"What are you up to, little man?" the beast growled.
"Fantastic," Rumpelstiltskin cried. "Your rage is unbelievable."
"He's powering himself with your anger and when he has enough he's going to blow up this cave and bury everyone in it, including you," Granny Relda chimed in.
"You're signing your own death warrant!" Hamelin added. He had managed to get Wendell to his feet, but the boy was dizzy and obviously needed a doctor.
"Keep going, people," Rumpelstiltskin shouted. "Direct his anger at me!"
"You want my rage?" the Wolf said.
"It's fantastic," the creature said.
The Wolf eyed Sabrina closely. He had an odd expression on his face, filled with disgust and disbelief, one that seemed to say, Can you believe this guy? If Sabrina hadn't been so terrified, she might have laughed, but she did recognize the opportunity. The Wolf's attention was no longer on eating everyone in the room. He wanted a fight.
The Unusual Suspects (The Sisters Grimm, Book 2)
Michael Buckley's books
- Alanna The First Adventure
- Alone The Girl in the Box
- Asgoleth the Warrior
- Awakening the Fire
- Between the Lives
- Black Feathers
- Bless The Beauty
- By the Sword
- In the Arms of Stone Angels
- Knights The Eye of Divinity
- Knights The Hand of Tharnin
- Knights The Heart of Shadows
- Mind the Gap
- Omega The Girl in the Box
- On the Edge of Humanity
- The Alchemist in the Shadows
- Possessing the Grimstone
- The Steel Remains
- The 13th Horseman
- The Age Atomic
- The Alchemaster's Apprentice
- The Alchemy of Stone
- The Ambassador's Mission
- The Anvil of the World
- The Apothecary
- The Art of Seducing a Naked Werewolf
- The Bible Repairman and Other Stories
- The Black Lung Captain
- The Black Prism
- The Blue Door
- The Bone House
- The Book of Doom
- The Breaking
- The Cadet of Tildor
- The Cavalier
- The Circle (Hammer)
- The Claws of Evil
- The Concrete Grove
- The Conduit The Gryphon Series
- The Cry of the Icemark
- The Dark
- The Dark Rider
- The Dark Thorn
- The Dead of Winter
- The Devil's Kiss
- The Devil's Looking-Glass
- The Devil's Pay (Dogs of War)
- The Door to Lost Pages
- The Dress
- The Emperor of All Things
- The Emperors Knife
- The End of the World
- The Eternal War
- The Executioness
- The Exiled Blade (The Assassini)
- The Fate of the Dwarves
- The Fate of the Muse
- The Frozen Moon
- The Garden of Stones
- The Gate Thief
- The Gates
- The Ghoul Next Door
- The Gilded Age
- The Godling Chronicles The Shadow of God
- The Guest & The Change
- The Guidance
- The High-Wizard's Hunt
- The Holders
- The Honey Witch
- The House of Yeel
- The Lies of Locke Lamora
- The Living Curse
- The Living End
- The Magic Shop
- The Magicians of Night
- The Magnolia League
- The Marenon Chronicles Collection
- The Marquis (The 13th Floor)
- The Mermaid's Mirror
- The Merman and the Moon Forgotten
- The Original Sin
- The Pearl of the Soul of the World
- The People's Will
- The Prophecy (The Guardians)
- The Reaping
- The Rebel Prince
- The Reunited
- The Rithmatist
- The_River_Kings_Road
- The Rush (The Siren Series)
- The Savage Blue
- The Scar-Crow Men
- The Science of Discworld IV Judgement Da
- The Scourge (A.G. Henley)
- The Sentinel Mage
- The Serpent in the Stone
- The Serpent Sea
- The Shadow Cats
- The Slither Sisters
- The Song of Andiene