The Problem Child (The Sisters Grimm, Book 3)

by Michael Buckley

  Mr. Canis, he just set it in his hand. "Remember, vote early and vote often."

  Mr. Canis squeezed the button hard and when he opened his hand the pin was crunched into the size of a dime. He dropped it on the floor without a word.

  "Well, not that this wasn't fun, but it wasn't. You can find your own way out," the mayor said, sticking his face in the old man's. "Don't forget to take your dog with you."

  Charming turned to Daphne and noticed Elvis at her side. "Both of them," he said. He ushered them out of his house a little bit more roughly than was polite, and slammed the door.

  "Are you going to tell Granny what I did?" Sabrina asked Mr. Canis.

  Mr. Canis scowled. "The disrespect you have for that woman is outrageous. Do you think she doesn't know every step you make? Every night you have left her house and disobeyed her she has known. I have followed you two children all over this town since the day you arrived. Your grandmother is not stupid."

  The old man's eyes flared with anger and then he darted into the woods behind Charming's house.

  Chapter 10

  The family gathered at the dining room table with the three pieces of the sword. Without one of Spaulding's hints, they were stumped as to how to find the Blue Fairy.

  "Maybe the witch tricked us," Sabrina said bitterly as she picked up the final piece and studied it closely. "Maybe this isn't the real blade."

  Uncle Jake took the sword piece and flipped it over. His face suddenly grew red and he slammed the metal down on the table. "We've been on a wild goose chase!" he said. "We've been wasting our time all along!"

  Sabrina was surprised by his outburst.

  Granny picked up the broken sword piece. "It's not a fake. This is part of the Vorpal blade."

  "Well, a lot of good it's going to do us!" Uncle Jake shouted. He jumped up from his chair and stormed out of the room. A moment later they heard the front door slam. Sabrina went to follow, but Granny took her arm. "It's the magic, Sabrina. His pockets were filled with all kinds of things. He's going to have a short temper until he gets over his addiction to it all."

  Sabrina nodded. She went to the closet and put on her coat, then pulled an old blanket off the top shelf, and went outside.

  Uncle Jake was pacing back and forth on the front porch. The sun was rising but its rays had little effect on the sharp, cold air.

  "Are you OK?" she asked.

  "I'm just frustrated, 'Brina. We were so close to fixing everything," Uncle Jake said. "Now we're back at a dead end and there's nothing I can do about it. I hate feeling helpless."

  Sabrina handed him the old blanket. Without his overcoat he was shivering. He wrapped it around his shoulders. "Thanks," he said.

  "This is about more than just saving my mom and dad, isn't it?" Sabrina asked. Uncle Jake nodded. "Mr. Canis was absolutely right. I was a problem to my parents from day one. I never listened to them. I snuck out. I got into all kinds of trouble. I was stubborn and thought I knew everything."

  "You sound a lot like me," Sabrina admitted.

  "But I was wrong, 'Brina, and my dad died because of it. The Jabberwocky killed him because I set it free. It was one stupid decision that happened twelve years ago but it's still destroying this family. Hank and Veronica are suffering. You girls are suffering. My mother is suffering, and it's because of me. If my dad were still around, every ounce of misery this family has experienced would never have happened. Saving Hank and Veronica and killing the Jabberwocky was the only way I knew to make things right. Maybe Mom would forgive me if I could make it right."

  "She's your mother. She loves you."

  Uncle Jake was quiet for a long time, then he stepped off the porch and started walking. "I just wanted to fix things," he said.

  "Where are you going?" she asked, but he didn't answer.

  * * *

  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?" Sabr
ina 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.

  "Look!" Sabrina shouted. "The final clue appeared."

  "I've never heard of anyone with that name," Daphne said.

  "And I've never come across it in the journals," Sabrina said.

  "Maybe it's not a name. Maybe it's a word puzzle," Daphne said.

  Sabrina grabbed her sister and gave her a hug. "Daphne, you're brilliant!" The embrace gave Sabrina the same kind of charge she felt when she had held the Wand of Merlin.

  "Of course I am," the little girl said.

  "And we both know someone who likes word puzzles a lot," Sabrina said. "Come on!"

  The two girls rushed up the steps and Sabrina unlocked the door that led to Mirror's room.

  "You stole Granny's keys," Daphne cried.

  "No, she gave them to me. I'm babysitting you," Sabrina explained.

  Daphne wrinkled up her nose. "That's crazy talk!"

  Sabrina grabbed her hand and the two stepped inside the room. Sabrina braced for a bolt of lightning or a threatening ring of fire, but when Mirror's forbidding face appeared, two slices of cucumber were over his eyes.

  "Who dares enter my domain!"he bellowed.

  "Mirror! It's us!" Sabrina said.

  Mirror reached up, removed a cucumber, and peered at the two girls. The clouds behind him quickly disappeared.

  "Well, howdy, Grimm sisters," Mirror said. "Sorry about all the theatrics. I'm in the middle of my skin-care regimen. These cucumbers are lifesavers for my bags, but it's a two-hour ordeal every morning. Do yourself a favor, girls, and don't get old."

  "We've collected all the pieces of the Vorpal blade," Daphne said.

  "Impressive," Mirror replied.

  "Each of the pieces had a clue on it to how to find the next," Sabrina explained. "Unfortunately, the last piece had no hints," she added. "Until we put the pieces together on the table. Then they glowed and some of the letters lit up like fireworks."

  "We don't understand them but we thought you might," Daphne said.

  Mirror looked surprised. "You want my help?"

  "Well, I know you love word puzzles," Sabrina said.

  Mirror grinned. "Wow! This is exciting. You know, most of the time I feel like I got stuck managing the supply closet while everyone else is out doing the exciting stuff. I don't think you Grimms have ever asked me for my help. Oh, I've been waiting for this for such a long time. Wait right there!"

  Mirror's face disappeared from the reflection, but moments later he returned, wearing an old-fashioned hat and chomping on a pipe. He looked like a supernatural Sherlock Holmes.

  "I'm sorry," Sabrina said. "We're in a bit of a hurry."

  "Of course! What are the letters?"

  "L-F-E-H-A-U-R-B-R-A," Sabrina said.

  The letters suddenly appeared in the reflection. "What do you think it's supposed to tell you?" Mirror said.

  "Who the Blue Fairy is," Daphne said.

  Mirror's eyebrows rose in surprise. "Indeed! Well, let's have a look."

  Suddenly the letters jumbled and were reformed into the words "Brael Rufha."

  "I've got it!" Mirror said proudly "The Blue Fairy is actually Brael Rufha!"

  "Who?" the girls asked.

  Mirror studied the name. "Let's try that again."

  The letters jumbled and collected themselves into a new name. "Harrab Fuel."

  "I'm pretty sure there's no one in Ferryport Landing named Harrab Fuel," Sabrina said, trying to sound encouraging.

  "I'm pretty sure no one in the world is named Harrab Fuel," Daphne added.

  Mirror frowned at her and the letters swirled a final time. They rearranged into the word "blue," leaving the F, H, A, R, R, and A on the other side alone.

  "All right, Blue Fharra," Mirror said. "Anyone know someone named Blue Fharra in this town?"

  Sabrina jumped.

  "You know, don't you?" Daphne said.

  "Could you move the H to the end?" Sabrina said.

  The letter floated over, making two new words: "Blue Farrah."

  "The waitress!" Daphne continued. "Uncle Jake is not going to believe it. He's known her for years!"

  "The Blue Fairy is a waitress?" Mirror said.

  "Yes," Sabrina said. "At the Blue Plate Special. We met her yesterday. No wonder she was so relaxed when the Jabberwocky attacked. We've got to find her!"

  "But how? Granny and Mr. Canis are gone and Uncle Jake took a hike," Daphne said.

  Sabrina reached into her pocket and took out a business card--the card Rip van Winkle had handed her after he had driven the family to the school. "I know someone who can get us there."

  "What about Puck? We can't leave him here alone," Daphne said.

  "Mirror! You can look after him," Sabrina said, then turned to her sister. "Help me move Mirror into Granny's room."

  The girls reached down and lifted with all their might, awkwardly carrying the enormous mirror out of the room.

  "Girls! Be careful!" Mirror cried. "If you break me, it's going to take more than some cucumbers on the eyes to make me right."

  * * *

  When Rip van Winkle's cab pulled into the driveway, the girls ran out to it and jumped into the backseat. Elvis tumbled in as well and the girls shut the door.

  "Take us to the Blue Plate Special," Sabrina shouted.

  A snort and then a low snore was the driver's response. Rip van Winkle was asleep.

  "You've got to be kidding me!" Sabrina shouted.

  "Wake up!" Daphne yelled. "We have to go kill a monster."

  Still there was nothing.

  Each girl grabbed an ear and shouted as loudly as they could into it, but still Mr. van Winkle slumbered peacefully.

  "We have to use the horn," Daphne said. "That's what woke him up the last time."

  Sabrina leaped out of the car, opened the driver's door, and pushed down hard on the horn. There was a loud, gassy sound and a weak, fading honk followed by a clunk. Sabrina got down on her hands and knees. Underneath the car was a small, dangling mechanical device. She guessed it was the horn.

  "It's broken!" she cried. "Everything on this car is broken!"

  "What do we do? We have to get to the diner!"

  Sabrina thought for a second and a crazy idea leaped into her head. She'd seen people drive cars. There were people in New York City who drove cabs who were nearly blind. How hard could it be?

  "Get up in the front seat. I need your help," Sabrina said. "You have a funny look on your face," Daphne said as she got out of the car.

  "Help me push him over," Sabrina said. "We're driving."

  "Nuh-uh! That's crazy talk!"

  "It's the only choice we have," Sabrina said. "Don't worry. I've been watching how it works."

  Elvis let out a whine from the backseat.

  "Daphne, we have to do this!" she continued.

  The little girl surrendered and together they pushed the old man to the passenger side of the cab.

  "I need you to handle the pedals," Sabrina said. "My legs can't reach."

  Daphne reluctantly crawled into the space beneath the dashboard.

  "The one on the right is the gas and the other one is the brake," Sabrina explained.

  "Crazy talk!"

  Daphne said, ang
rily.

  Sabrina climbed into the driver's seat, adjusted the mirrors, and closed the door. She pulled the seatbelt over her shoulder and locked it into place. Then she took a deep breath and turned the key. The car roared to life.

  "What do I do?" Daphne asked.

  "Push on the gas," Sabrina said as she pulled the car's gearshift down into drive. The wheels squealed and the car lurched forward.

  "Brake! Brake! Brake!"

  she shouted but the car had already collided with the front porch. The mechanical Santa Claus crashed down from the roof onto the hood of the car. It's robotic "Ho! Ho! Ho!"s slowed and slurred until sparks shot out of Santa's ears and smoke billowed out from under his red cap.

  "Aww, man. We are so getting coal for Christmas," Daphne said as she peeked over the dashboard at the mess.

  "OK," Sabrina said, trying to relax. She looked down at the gearshift and realized she needed to put the taxi into reverse if she wanted to back out of the driveway. She pulled on the stick and the car rolled backward. When they reached the street, Sabrina turned the steering wheel and awkwardly guided the car onto the road. Then she put the car back into drive.

  "Give it some gas," Sabrina said as they puttered along at five miles an hour.

  "No!" Daphne said.

  "It will take us a week to get there at this rate," Sabrina cried.

  Daphne scowled and pushed hard on the gas. The car leaped forward and tore off down the road. Sabrina did her best to keep the old taxi on the pavement but it wasn't easy. The steering wheel had a significant pull to the right and the car kept veering into people's yards.

  "There's a red light coming," Sabrina said.

  Daphne pushed hard on the brake and the car stopped abruptly. Elvis rolled off the backseat and onto the floor.

  This went on for several miles, with the girls passing only a few curious drivers who wisely steered their cars far away from the jalopy. It looked to Sabrina as if they were going to make it to the diner without too much damage, until they made a turn into Ferryport Landing's business district. She had always thought of the town as a slow, dull place. There was not a lot of traffic, but there were plenty of parked cars and with Sabrina's lack of experience, she slammed into several of them. Car alarms blasted, causing her to instinctively turn the car away from them only to find she was now in the oncoming traffic lane, scraping against the cars on the other side. The sound of screeching metal made her cringe.