The Problem Child (The Sisters Grimm, Book 3)

by Michael Buckley

  "It's not what I've done, Mom," he said as he floated back down to the ground and kissed her on the cheek. "It's what I'm going to do! You wouldn't believe the power! It's like a waterfall, like the sun. I'm bigger than life, bigger than even the most powerful Everafter. I'm the kind of thing they write stories about!"

  He looked out over the crowd of Everafters and his face grew serious. "But I need more."

  He raised his hands and a bright blue ball appeared in them. The ball shot electrical charges through the crowd, hitting every Everafter squarely in the chest. Mr. Canis fell to his knees. Snow White collapsed on Charming, who fell himself. The White Rabbit tumbled to the ground and was squished by Beauty and her beastly husband. Ogres, cyclopses, trolls, witches, and even fairy godmothers collapsed under their own weight.

  "What are you doing to them?" Sabrina begged.

  "I'm taking the magic that makes them immortal. I need it," he shouted as the energy surged through him. His eyes disappeared and were replaced with a fiery light. Cracks appeared all over his body as if it were just a useless shell and then a light flashed through the gymnasium so brightly Sabrina had to close her eyes. Uncle Jake rocketed off the ground, through the roof, and into the sky. Rubble and debris fell from the ceiling. Sabrina grabbed her grandmother and sister and pulled them to safety.

  "What's he doing?" Daphne asked, but Granny didn't answer. She stared at the hole in the roof. Sabrina had her eyes elsewhere. The Everafters lying scattered around the gym were growing older at an alarming rate. Prince Charming's youthful, handsome face began to sag. His eyes took on a slightly yellow tint and his hair started falling out. He was becoming an old man right before her eyes. He reached out for her with a bony, frail hand.

  Mr. Canis morphed into the Wolf but the beast wasn't his intimidating, deadly self. He struggled with age as his dark brown coat turned white and his eyes grew cloudy with blindness.

  "Look!" Daphne said as she pointed to the ceiling. Uncle Jake was back.

  He descended like an angel enveloped in a light so bright the girls had to look away. When he landed on the ground, he smiled at his family and the light faded. The Uncle Jake that Sabrina knew was gone, replaced with someone completely new who seemed to be made of diamonds. The only thing left, she noticed, was his quirky, mischievous grin. He stepped forward to hug the two sisters but they stepped back in fear.

  "What have you done?" Sabrina asked.

  "I'm granting myself a wish," he replied. "I wanted to be powerful enough to make the people I love happy. I've been miserable, Sabrina. Happy is better. You can be happy, too. Wish for something, Sabrina. Anything. I can make it happen."

  "But look at the cost!" Granny Relda said as she hovered over Mayor Charming's elderly body. Snow White lay next to him, reaching for his hand with her bony, arthritic fingers. "The price is too high."

  "Don't cry for them," Uncle Jake said. "The Everafters have had their day in the sun and it was a long, long day. With their power, I can re-create this world as a paradise where 'happily ever after' isn't just for a bunch of bedtime stories come to life. It's time for all of our dreams to come true! And I'm starting with you."

  Suddenly, the pulsating blue orb reappeared in his hand. It twisted and turned until it divided itself in two, creating an identical twin. He tossed the second orb to the ground at Granny Relda's feet and once it was at rest it grew in size, morphing and bending. When the transformation was complete, an old man stood in its place. He had broad shoulders, blond-streaked gray hair, a beard, and a familiar toothy smile. Sabrina had seen him many times in photographs hanging throughout the house, but that was the only place the old man still existed. He was Basil Grimm, the girls' grandfather and Granny Relda's husband.

  "Relda?" the old man asked, looking slightly confused.

  Granny Relda burst into tears and buried her face in her hands. The old man rushed to her side and embraced her, but she pulled away.

  "It's not right," the old woman said. "Send him back."

  "No!"

  Uncle Jake cried. Discouraged, he turned to Daphne and smiled. "I know something you want." The blue orb divided again and the man tossed its duplicate at the little girl's feet. Once again, the orb grew and morphed, but this time, instead of creating another person, it became a door, standing in space, and someone was knocking on the other side.

  "Open it," the man said. "It's for you."

  Daphne backed away from the door and shook her head. Uncle Jake frowned but then raised his hand and the door swung open on its own. Behind the door were Henry and Veronica Grimm. They rushed through the doorway and swept the little girl up in their arms, kissing her over and over dozens of times. Henry and Veronica raced to Sabrina and embraced her as well. "It's like a dream," Sabrina said.

  "Okay 'Brina, what'll it be?" Uncle Jake said. "Make a wish. But I already know what you want. You want power, and not like that crummy wand you had to surrender. I'm talking real power--the kind that moves mountains and boils rivers. Your family would never die. You would always be happy. No more monsters. No more fairy tales. You could change everything."

  Sabrina's heart raced with possibilities. Just standing near Uncle Jake was like an incredible feeling, more intense than holding the Wand of Merlin, more like being the wand itself. With the kind of power Uncle Jake offered she could erase the last year and a half like they had never happened; no orphanage, no giants, no monsters, no bad guys. She could heal Puck. There were no limits to the possibilities. Her imagination washed over her, showing her millions of options for a happy life.

  "Sabrina," Granny said. "How much are you willing to pay?"

  Sabrina glanced around the room at the Everafters. Some of them had already died. Others were pulling in their final breaths. Was her happiness worth their lives? Worse, could she resist the temptation even if she knew what the right thing to do was?

  "I know what I want, Uncle Jake," Sabrina said.

  Uncle Jake smiled and gave her a wink. "Make it count!"

  "Uncle Jake, you're smart, you've got a great family, and you're a Grimm," Sabrina said. "I wish that deep down you had always known how much power that gave you."

  Uncle Jake looked strange. His eyes began to well with tears and then the school began to rumble. Suddenly, a flood of memories rolled through Sabrina's mind. She watched how she had met her Uncle Jake and how he taught her to use the wand. She watched Granny Relda catch them in the Hall of Wonders, and their battle with the Jabberwocky at the diner. She even saw some of her nightmares flash in front of her, as well as the dramatic return of Mr. Canis. It all happened the same way it had, except for one shocking difference. When Uncle Jake killed the Jabberwocky, the fight was over. He didn't attack the Blue Fairy. He was content with how it ended and he hugged his mother.

  Sabrina opened her eyes. Her grandfather was gone and so were her parents. The Everafters were alive and well and gathered around her. The Queen of Hearts was still filling the air with her angry tirade and the Jabberwocky was still dead at their feet. The Blue Fairy stood next to her, smiling. "Thank you, Sabrina," she said, and then she transformed into a glowing orb and zipped away.

  Uncle Jake stepped over to Red Riding Hood and snatched the magical ring off the little girl's finger and tucked it into his pants pocket. Granny frowned but Uncle Jake just laughed. "Don't worry, Mom. It's going straight into the Hall of Wonders for safekeeping."

  "Hello, Grandmother," Red Riding Hood said, waking up and climbing to her feet. "My kitty is dead."

  "Child, I am not your…"

  "Play along," Sabrina suggested.

  Granny looked unsure, but nodded. "We don't need the kitty to play games. We can play without him."

  Red Riding Hood looked to the ceiling as if debating what the old woman was saying. A smile crossed her face and she clapped her hands. "Okie-dokie!"

  "But before we play games, we need our whole family together, right?"

  The little girl nodded.

  "So we need to fi
nd the mommy and the daddy and the baby brother and then we'll all go and get the puppy and then we can play house. Does that sound good?"

  "Yes, I want to play house," the child repeated. "But, the master will be mad if I tell."

  "The master?" Sabrina cried.

  "Yes, he would be very mad. He wants to keep the mommy and daddy and the baby brother. He wants me to paint the red hands everywhere I go. I try to be good. The master can get angry."

  "She's not the leader of the Scarlet Hand," Daphne said. "Well, I don't think the master would mind if we all played, would he?" Granny continued. "I guess not," the little girl said.

  * * *

  Sheriff Hamstead had Henry and Veronica's sleeping bodies transported to Granny's house in an ambulance. Now they both rested on a queen-sized bed inside the room that also housed the magic mirror.

  "Are they sick?" Daphne asked as she held her mother's hand.

  "No, liebling.

  Just sleeping," Granny Relda said.

  Sabrina put her head on her father's chest and heard his heart beating. Then she reached up and kissed him on the forehead. "Did they find the baby?" she asked.

  "No sign of it," Sheriff Hamstead said. "All that was there was an empty bassinet."

  "Why won't they wake up?" Daphne asked.

  "It's a sleeping spell," Granny explained.

  "And a strong one at that," Mirror said as his face appeared in the reflection. "I'm sure we don't have anything in the Hall of Wonders that can break it."

  "Then what can we do?" Sabrina said.

  "These sleeping spells… some of them are fairly normal potions, sometimes poisoned flowers or apples, but overwhelmingly they are cast by someone with a vendetta against the victim," Uncle Jake said. "Luckily, even bad magic has a backup plan, and in nearly every case I've ever heard, the spell can be broken with a kiss."

  Elvis hopped up on his back paws and licked Veronica on the face.

  "Elvis, this is my mom," Daphne explained to the big dog. "You're going to love her."

  "I kissed Dad on the forehead. Why didn't he wake up?" said Sabrina

  "It has to be a romantic kiss from someone who truly loves them," Granny Relda explained.

  "If one of them was awake then this would be no problem," Mr. Canis said.

  "Wait, if that's how you break the spell, how are we going to wake them?" Sabrina said. "My parents love each other. They are the only ones that could wake each other up."

  When no one answered, Sabrina thought she might cry.

  "We'll find a way," Granny said as she took Sabrina into her arms.

  "In the meantime, we should address the problem with Puck," Mr. Canis said. "He is growing weaker. If we can use the Vorpal blade to cut a big enough hole in the barrier, I'd like to take the car and get the boy to his people."

  "I'll go with you," Hamstead said. "I happen to be between jobs at the moment."

  "The Queen of Hearts won the election?" Daphne cried.

  "By a landslide," Hamstead grumbled.

  "Oh, dear," Granny said.

  Sabrina stared down at her parents. She knew they would understand. "I'll go, too. Puck would never have been hurt if he weren't trying to help us find Mom and Dad. I owe it to him."

  "Me, too!" Daphne said.

  "Jacob, can I trust you in the house all alone?" Granny asked her son.

  Uncle Jake smiled. "Probably not, but I'll keep the place safe."

  * * *

  Mr. Canis helped Granny Relda put Puck in the front seat of the car and then helped her in as well. When everyone had

  squeezed into the jalopy, Uncle Jake waved and wished them all the luck in the world.

  "You be careful among the Faerie folk," Uncle Jake said. "If you think this town is full of nuts, you haven't seen anything yet."

  "We'll be careful," Sabrina said.

  "Take care of my Elvis," Daphne said. The big dog leaped up to her window and gave her a farewell lick on the face.

  Mr. Canis started the car and backed it out of the driveway.

  "We're an odd group of people for an adventure, don't you think?" Hamstead squealed.

  Granny smiled. "Pig and Wolf and Grandma. Who would have thought it?"

  Even Mr. Canis laughed. Sabrina hoped he would never do it again. It was an obnoxious snorty sound.

  Daphne hugged her sister. "This isn't exactly how I pictured our first Christmas in Ferryport Landing."

  Sabrina gazed out the window as the car rolled down the road. Would they be able to save Puck? Would they find a way to wake their parents? And would the family Grimm ever get its happily ever after?

  To be continued in

  THE SISTERS GRIMM

  BOOK FOUR

  ONCE UPON A CRIME

  About the author

  Michael Buckley is the New York Times bestselling author of the Sisters Grimm series. He has also written and developed television shows for many networks.

  The Mole People and The New Sideshow can be seen regularly on the Discovery Channel. Michael lives in New York City.

  This book was designed by Jay Colvin and Vivian Cheng and art directed by Chad W. Beckerman. It is set in Adobe Garamond, a typeface that is based on those created in the sixteenth century by Claude Garamond. Garamond modeled his typefaces on those created by Venetian printers at the end of the fifteenth century. The modern version used in this book was designed by Robert Slimbach, who studied Garamond's historic typefaces at the Plantin-Moretus Museum in Antwerp, Belgium.

  The capital letters at the beginning of each chapter are set in Daylilies, designed by Judith Sutcliffe. She created the typeface by decorating Goudy Old Style capitals with lilies.