“This is incredible,” Granny Relda said.
“And it goes nicely in a salad,” Daphne said, grinning. Then she glanced around and spotted the orange tomcat hovering in the doorway. “Now we need a driver.”
She waved the wand again and a blast hit the cat. It let out a surprised shriek and then, just like the zucchini, began to change its shape. In no time at all, the tabby had become a young, redheaded man wearing a black suit and a little leather cap.
“What’s your name?” Daphne said.
“Chester,” the driver said.
“We need you to follow a flying fairy,” Granny said.
“Now there’s a sentence you don’t hear every day,” Chester said. He pushed a button on a keychain he was holding and the car’s alarm deactivated. Then he rushed to open the doors and helped everyone inside. When this was done, he hopped into the front seat and turned on the ignition.
“Buckle up,” Chester said, slamming his foot on the gas. The car roared down the street after Cobweb.
Chester zipped around cars and pedestrians like a professional racecar driver. Sabrina quickly fastened her seat belt and then craned her neck out the window in hopes of spotting their quarry. She didn’t have to search for long. Cobweb was directly in front of them, darting in and out of traffic.
Unfortunately, as Sabrina discovered when she peeked out the rear window, they were being followed, too. Tony Fats and Bobby Screwball were flying after them.
A blast of energy slammed into a nearby fire hydrant and Sabrina watched it explode, sending a geyser of water high into the air.
“They’re shooting at us,” Daphne said.
Chester made a quick left and then a right. He beat a couple lights but an unfortunate turn landed them right in bumper-to-bumper traffic. Cobweb soared over the cars ahead with ease. Meanwhile, Chester sat in the front seat, licking the back of his hands. Sabrina watched him. She’d almost forgotten he was a cat.
Daphne tapped Chester on the shoulder. “Can you open the sunroof?” she asked.
“Liebling, what are you thinking?” Granny Relda said.
“Don’t worry, Granny,” Daphne replied as she took the magic wand from her pocket. “I think I’m getting the hang of this.”
When the sunroof slid open, Daphne stood up on the seat so she was halfway out of the car and sent a flash of magic toward the traffic in front of them. Cars were jerked off to the side of the road as if by some invisible force. When the way was clear, Chester stomped on the gas pedal and they were off once more.
“You’re going to get hurt,” Sabrina said as she pulled Daphne back into the car.
“You’re not the boss of me,” Daphne snapped.
They raced into Times Square and came to a screeching halt when a crowd of pedestrians stepped out into the intersection. Cobweb soared over the tourists’ heads, yet no one noticed. They were all too distracted by the dizzying lights and sights of Broadway. The dark fairy zipped down into a subway station and disappeared.
“Sorry, folks, I can’t take the car down there,” Chester said.
The group climbed out of the car just as Tony Fats and Bobby appeared. Hamstead had to leap out of the way of an incoming blast, which hit a stop sign instead and transformed it into a monkey. The monkey shrieked and disappeared into the crowd.
Daphne turned on the goons and fired a return volley. It hit the fairy godfathers dead on, and in a flash their feet were encased in concrete. With their wings unable to keep the extra weight aloft, the men crashed to the ground. Their wands tumbled out of their hands and rolled into an open sewer.
A crowd gathered around the family, stunned by what they had seen. Granny smiled nervously and reached into her handbag. Moments later the crowd had forgotten everything. When the people dispersed, Granny quickly took the magic wand from Daphne and handed it to Chester. “Would you be a dear and give this back to Twilarose?”
Chester nodded. “Sure, can I keep the car?”
“What are we waiting for? Cobweb is getting away!” Moth cried and raced away, down into the subway. The others hurried to follow.
As Sabrina helped Granny Relda down the steps to the subway below, she caught glimpses of Cobweb in the busy station. He’d hidden his wings and was trying to blend in with everyone else. When they reached the bottom of the steps, she saw him remove something from his pocket and swipe it at the subway turnstile. Then he stepped through and hurried to the platform just as a train pulled into the station.
Sabrina and Granny rushed to the turnstile, but without fare cards they were denied entry. Granny called out to Cobweb and the fairy turned to face her.
“If you’re innocent then you will have a chance to prove it when you go to trial,” Granny said.
“You fools, there is no justice in Faerie. There are no courts, no defenders. I would be tried and convicted by Titania herself. My head would be in the Hudson River by sunup.”
The subway car doors opened and Cobweb stepped inside. Helpless, the family could only watch as the train disappeared into the tunnels.
“I will pursue him,” Moth declared as her wings began to unfurl.
“No, you won’t,” Granny said, taking hold of Moth’s arm.
“But he’s getting away!” the fairy shouted.
“Yes, he is,” the old woman said. “And we’re letting him.”
Granny ushered everyone into a nearby coffee shop and then asked one of its employees where the closest pay phone was located. The old woman bought everyone hot chocolate and then went outside in search of the phone.
“The old woman is a complete incompetent,” Moth sneered. “We had Cobweb within our grasp and she let him go.”
“You say another bad thing about my granny and you’re going to get a sock in the nose,” Daphne threatened.
Moth rolled her eyes.
Daphne turned to Mr. Hamstead. “What does incompetent mean?”
“She’s saying that your grandmother isn’t any good at her job,” Hamstead replied.
Daphne shot the fairy girl another nasty look and then turned to her hot cocoa.
“So you don’t need me with the big words, anymore?” Sabrina asked, trying not to sound too hurt.
“I never said I didn’t need you, Sabrina. I just can’t count on you,” the little girl answered.
Granny returned, brushing snow off her coat. “All right, everyone, let’s go,” she said.
“Where are we going?” Daphne asked.
“To see Titania,” the old woman said.
“What?” Sabrina cried. “She tried to kill us!”
Granny smiled. “I remember, liebling.”
Night had fallen by the time they reached Central Park. They found the Hans Christian Andersen statue, waited while a dark-haired woman walking a little West Highland White Terrier passed out of sight, then said the magic words. As before, the Golden Egg was revealed.
The damage to the restaurant from the night before had been cleaned up, and except for a few broken chairs in the corner, there was no sign that a disturbance had occurred at all. The place was empty except for a cat playing Irish jigs on a fiddle. Momma was behind the bar washing some glasses.
“Good to see you, folks,” she said. “Care for something to eat? The kitchen’s open.”
“No, thank you,” Granny said. “We’re meeting Titania here.”
The woman sighed. “And I just got this place cleaned up.”
“Which Everafter are you?” Daphne asked.
The woman smiled. “Mother Goose, in the flesh, or in this case, in the feather.” Suddenly, she transformed into a large black goose with a blue bonnet on its head. Daphne clapped and the goose changed back into the woman.
“So, you’re part of the Grimm family,” Momma said, as she turned back to her glasses. “I was so busy with customers I didn’t get a chance to talk to you the other night. I knew Wilhelm pretty well. Nice guy. He was always trying to help. I guess it runs in the family. Veronica was the same way.”
/>
Sabrina sat down at a nearby table. “You knew my mother?”
Momma nodded. “Sweet lady. Helped me get into bartending school. Without her, I’d still be living at the Sunshine Hotel on the Bowery.”
“The Sunshine Hotel?” Granny asked.
“Yeah, it’s a flop house, one of those pay-by-the-day places. Real classy,” Momma said sarcastically. “A few Everafters live there—the ones that can afford the rent.”
“And the others?”
“They make do in shelters. Some of them live on the street.”
“But you’re magical beings,” Sabrina said. “Why would you live so hard? You don’t have to.”
“Kiddo, just ‘cause I can turn into a goose doesn’t mean I don’t have bills to pay. It ain’t easy being an Everafter. None of us have identification. We can’t get driver’s licenses ‘cause eventually people are going to notice that we aren’t getting older. Getting a lease on an apartment without any credit history is impossible. Why, you can’t even get a job without a social security number. Technically none of us exist. That’s why Veronica was so well liked. She helped us find ways to work around the humans’ rules. She cut the red tape when it was possible. When she disappeared, things went from bad to worse. Sad, too, as she told me she was working on a plan for us to help ourselves. She was supposed to give some big speech about it but then she disappeared.”
Just then, Titania and Mustardseed appeared. Mustardseed stood close to his mother, holding her hand. Titania’s heartbreak was plain on her face. She said hello to everyone, then turned her attention to Moth. “How is my son?”
Moth stepped forward with the cocoon. Titania took it in her hands and held it close to her face. “Get well, my son. You are needed.” She handed the cocoon back to the small fairy and said, “Keep him safe.”
“Oz said you needed to speak to us,” Mustardseed prompted. He was so serious and mature. Sabrina studied his face, looking for signs that he was truly Puck’s brother. They shared the same mouth and nose—that was about it.
“Yes, and this is difficult to say, but we can no longer help you solve Oberon’s murder,” Granny Relda said.
“What?” Daphne cried. Even Sabrina was surprised by her grandmother’s words.
“Why?” Titania demanded.
“We were told that Cobweb killed your husband,” Granny said. “But Cobweb claims he is innocent.”
“Cobweb is lying!” Titania said.
“Maybe so,” the old woman replied. “But he also says he cannot turn himself in because he would be executed immediately.”
Mustardseed lowered his eyes.
“So it’s true,” Granny said.
“Of course it’s true!” Titania screamed. “Murderers reap what they sow. That is the way of Faerie.”
“So he will not be given a trial?” Granny Relda said.
Titania raged. “You are just like Veronica! She was always forcing her beliefs about justice on the rest of us. Cobweb killed my husband and I will oversee his execution myself!”
“Then you can find him without our help,” Granny said.
“Veronica and I obviously share the same sense of right and wrong.”
“I have never heard such treachery,” Moth cried. “Who are you to tell us how to behave?”
“We will give him a trial,” Mustardseed said quietly.
“You are overstepping your authority!” Titania raged at her son. “I am still Queen of Faerie.”
“There is no Faerie, Mother. It has been gone for ten years,” Mustardseed said. “We’re living here, now. It’s time to embrace our new home.”
“You would throw away thousands of years of our history?” Titania argued.
“No, there is room for tradition,” Mustardseed said. “But not traditions that oppress and create mistrust. Sentencing a man to die because that has always been the way of things is wrong. My father struggled for too long trying to rebuild that way of life. I will not allow you or anyone else to do the same. You will fail as he did.”
“Mustardseed!”
“Mother, the humans have traditions of their own. Adopting a few of them might do us all a world of good. We will allow Cobweb to defend himself,” Mustardseed said, and then turned to Granny Relda. “You have my word.”
“Do we have hers?” Mr. Hamstead said, pointing at Titania.
Titania got up and stormed out of the room.
“I will make her understand,” Mustardseed said.
Granny regarded the young fairy for a moment and then nodded. “And we will do our best to find Cobweb.”
Mustardseed returned the nod, then turned and exited the room.
“So, I guess we’re back to the subway,” Daphne said.
“It’s a place to start,” said Granny. “Someone may have seen where he went.”
“Or he may still be down there,” said Momma. “It’s a good place to hide from other fairies since they’re technically forbidden to be in the tunnels.”
“Great,” Sabrina said. “Anyone got a flashlight and two years? Do you know how many miles of subway track there are? Six hundred and fifty six!” She recalled the report she had done in the fourth grade after a trip to the Transit Museum.
“It’s the realm of the six dwarfs,” Momma said. “They control the underground. If he’s down there they’ll help you find him.”
Granny smiled. “And where would we find these dwarfs?”
Everyone agreed to continue the search for Cobweb in the morning. The sun had set long ago and it had grown bitterly cold, plus they were exhausted.
The group returned to the hotel to find Mr. Hamstead’s room had been destroyed. His bed had been torn apart and his drawers rifled through. There was a note on the bathroom door that read, “You can go back to Ferryport Landing dead or alive. Your choice.” Hamstead snatched the note and crumbled it into a ball.
“At least he gave me a choice,” he said with a forced smile.
“Maybe I’m too much trouble for you,” Bess said.
Hamstead shook his head. “I’ve dealt with bigger threats than Tony Fats.”
Bess gave him a big hug and a kiss on the cheek. “You take care, doll face. I’ll see you bright and early in the morning.”
“I hope we get invited to the wedding,” Daphne sang after the blonde beauty was gone.
Mr. Hamstead rolled his eyes but grinned from ear to ear. “I’m going to have the hotel put me in another room. You folks go get some rest. We’ve got a big day tomorrow.”
Granny led Sabrina, Moth, and Daphne back to their room. Moth propped Puck’s cocoon on the bed next to her and crawled under the covers. Sabrina lay next to her grandmother and sister in the other bed. She fell asleep listening to her sister plan Bess and Mr. Hamstead’s wedding. That night, Sabrina dreamed of doves flying out of the top of a wedding cake.
When Sabrina woke the next morning, she crawled out of bed and went into the bathroom in hopes of finding a glass of water to get rid of her morning breath. She quietly shut the door so that her family and Moth could sleep. She gargled, washed her face, and checked herself in the mirror. Then she screamed.
Hovering several feet off the ground behind her was Puck’s cocoon. She turned to find that the top of it had split open and something was gurgling inside. When she craned her neck to get a better look, a thick, green gas seeped out. It had the foulest smell Sabrina had ever experienced—like rotten cabbage, dirty laundry, and string cheese. Sabrina instinctively leaped back but the cocoon followed her, like a smelly puppy.
“Get this thing away from me!” Sabrina cried, but no one came. She tried to maneuver around it, but every step she took the cocoon mimicked. She faked to the left and then to the right, only to have the cocoon block the bathroom door, trapping her inside. Then the real nightmare started.
A sound like a steam whistle filled Sabrina’s ears and green gas blasted out of the top of the cocoon, filling the bathroom with a funky fog. It seeped into Sabrina. It was in her hair,
in her socks—she could even taste it. She pinched her nose tightly but it didn’t help.
“Sabrina, are you okay in there?” her grandmother said as she tapped on the door.
“No!” Sabrina cried.
“It sounds as if your dinner isn’t agreeing with you. Is there anything I can do? The hotel might have some antacids for your belly,” the old woman said.
There was another knock on the door. “Hey! Light a match in there,” Daphne shouted.
Suddenly, the door burst open and Moth shrieked in rage.
“How dare you!” she cried.
“My goodness gracious,” Granny Relda said. “What is going on in here?”
“This thing just blew up on me,” Sabrina cried as the cocoon continued to spray her with fumes. “Make it stop!”
“What you’ve done is unforgivable!” Moth seethed. “You have stolen my right!”
“I didn’t steal anything!” Sabrina cried. “It followed me in here.”
“Moth, could you tell us what is happening?” Granny asked.
Moth growled. “During the larval stage, when a fairy is most vulnerable, he chooses the one person in the world he trusts the most to look after him. Once the choice is made the cocoon marks the person with a special scent, one the cocoon can easily follow. This is an honor that should have gone to me.”
“Well, then,” Granny said as the last of the gas fizzed out of the top of the cocoon. “I suppose congratulations are in order.”
The smell was all over Sabrina and no amount of washing could get it off. She took six showers, washed her hair, and scrubbed every inch of her body, but each time the smell returned with a vengeance. She could even smell it on her toothbrush. If she hadn’t been so angry she might have cried.
Still, the smell was only half the nightmare. Sabrina discovered that wherever she went the cocoon hovered behind her, step for step. She shouted at it, hid from it, even threatened to drop-kick it out the hotel window, but nothing would stop it. As she couldn’t reasonably walk the streets with a flying, eggplant-shaped gas bomb hovering at her shoulder, Granny and Daphne went out in search of something that might work as camouflage.