The Everafter War

by Michael Buckley

  “I don’t have a lot of experience with sleeping spells, but I suspect it’s not the best situation to be in when trying to grow a baby,” Nurse Sprat said. “The baby may have slept soundly, just like you and your husband. Most of the victims of these spells report that they didn’t age a single day while they slept. Briar Rose, God rest her soul, was asleep for a hundred years, and she was just as young when she woke up as when she fell asleep. But she was an Everafter. We’ll take a few tests, and we’ll know more soon.”

  Veronica nodded. “But, girls, this has to be our secret, OK? Your father is already beyond stressed, and he’s dead set on escaping this town. I don’t need him to snap and drag us through the woods again.”

  “I won’t say a word,” Sabrina promised.

  “You can trust us,” Daphne added, pretending to lock her lips with an imaginary key she then tossed behind her shoulder.

  “How can we find out if the baby is OK?” Sabrina asked.

  “Well, unfortunately, I don’t have all the fancy machines I had at the hospital, but I did manage to grab some essential supplies before the Hand ran me out. I have a simple test that will tell us for sure. All I need is a blood sample.”

  Sabrina’s mother rolled up her sleeve as Nurse Sprat prepared a needle. She took one small vial of crimson blood from the vein in the crease of Veronica’s elbow, then bandaged the small wound.

  “Give me three days,” the nurse said, as she carefully labeled the vial with Veronica’s name. “In the meantime, take it easy. Get some rest and stay off your feet. And let me know if you get a craving for pickles and ice cream.”

  “Thank you so much,” Veronica said.

  The girls followed their mother back out into the cool air. Sabrina had a million excited questions, and Daphne was skipping across the courtyard, but Veronica was quiet.

  “Girls, come here,” Veronica said, pulling her daughters close to her. The three Grimms hugged tightly.

  “It’s going to be all right,” Daphne said, reassuringly. “I just know it.”

  “I hope you’re right,” Veronica said.

  Sabrina hugged her mother with all her might. Even if the news about the baby was bittersweet and worrisome, they were together.

  “Mom, look,” Daphne said.

  Sabrina turned to see where her sister was pointing. Across the courtyard was Briar Rose’s fresh grave. Uncle Jake was sleeping on the ground beside it, with a rose resting on his chest.

  Veronica frowned and led the girls back into Charming’s cabin. It was empty except for the magic mirrors.

  “I’m worried about him,” Sabrina said.

  “I’ll tell your father,” Veronica promised.

  They slipped into the mirror that led to the Hotel of Wonders and found their way to the Room of Reflections. Mirror was there, busy with his work gluing shards to the walls.

  “A little night air?” he asked. He smiled, as if he knew there was something more to the story.

  Sabrina nodded. “We’ll tell you soon.”

  He nodded and returned to his work.

  They left the room, only to find Red Riding Hood rushing toward them. Mr. Canis hobbled along behind her. The little girl was sobbing uncontrollably.

  “What’s wrong?” Veronica said, swooping the girl into her arms.

  “We’ve had a breakthrough,” Mr. Canis said.

  “He’s everywhere,” Red cried. “He can see everything.”

  “Who are you talking about?” Daphne asked.

  “The Master. I remembered him!”

  “You know who he is?” Sabrina asked hopefully.

  “No! Just his eyes! I only saw his eyes. They were everywhere I went, watching me.”

  Red buried her face in Veronica’s shirt and sobbed.

  Veronica led the girls back through the Hall of Wonders to where the rest of their family lay asleep. She tucked her daughters back into their sleeping bags and kissed them good night. Then, she did the same for Red.

  Wrapped in her sleeping bag, Sabrina dreamed of naked babies flying in and out of clouds. Their rosy cheeks beamed, and the sky was filled with giggles that transformed into tiny hearts and flowers. Sabrina had never cared much for babies—they were smelly and always covered in food. But the idea of having another little brother or sister was exciting. It was a wonder she could sleep at all.

  Unfortunately, her lovely dreams were interrupted by a loud huffing sound and the sudden sensation of something moist and slippery rubbing against her cheek. Without opening her eyes, Sabrina grumbled, “Elvis, I’m sleeping. Go get Daphne to feed you.” She pulled her sleeping bag up over her head. For a moment, she was sure the big dog was going to let her drift back to sleep. But then, with a sudden jerk, her pillow was yanked out from under her head, and her skull rattled against the cold marble floor. Pain rocketed across her head. Furious, Sabrina sat up spewing threats of trips to the pound, when she realized that the culprit was not the Great Dane but an enormous white stallion hovering above her. It was held aloft by two powerful wings, and Sabrina recognized it as a Pegasus. Behind it hovered a dozen more, but only the one chewing on her pillow had a rider. Puck was sitting on its back, looking as if he was about to open his biggest Christmas present.

  “What’s the big idea?” Sabrina demanded. “Is this one of your stupid pranks?”

  “I declared war on you, remember?” Puck said. “You contaminated me with your puberty virus, and you called my villainy into question.”

  “First of all, puberty isn’t a virus,” Sabrina said as she played tug-of-war with the Pegasus for her now rather damp pillow. “Second of all, I’m sorry if I gave the itty-bitty baby the boo-boo face.”

  Puck curled his lip in anger.

  “Oh, now the baby is cranky,” Sabrina taunted. “Perhaps we should put him down for a nap?”

  “We’ll see who’s laughing soon enough,” Puck said. “You see these flying horses?”

  “Duh!”

  “They have a very special diet. For the last two days, they have eaten nothing but chili dogs and prune juice.”

  Sabrina heard a rumble coming from the horse. It was so loud, it drowned out the sound of its beating wings. It whined a bit, and its eyes bulged nervously.

  Puck continued. “Now, chili dogs and prune juice are a nasty combination. They can keep a human being on the toilet for a week. Imagine what would happen if I fed chili dogs and prune juice to a five-hundred-and-fifty-pound flying horse. Oh, wait a minute! You don’t have to imagine it.”

  Puck’s Pegasus let out a tremendous fart and then whined again.

  The horror of Puck’s plan sank in, and Sabrina panicked. She looked up at the fleet of horses and wondered if there was something she could do to save herself, but she couldn’t think of anything. She heard a splat on the floor several yards away and quickly averted her eyes, but there was no escaping the smell. She feared it might never go away.

  A second splat followed, and Sabrina scampered to her feet. The only strategy, she realized, was to stay mobile. She leaped out of the way just before a third horrible brown bomb crashed near her foot. But she found herself directly below another Pegasus about to blow. She rolled out of the way and collided with her sister.

  “Geez, Sabrina. You should go see Nurse Sprat,” Daphne said, pinching her nose.

  “That’s not me!” she cried. “We’re under attack! Get up and save yourself.”

  Daphne gaped, unsure of what was happening, but when her sleeping bag suffered a direct hit, she dove to safety. In her efforts to escape the next attack, she knocked Sabrina down, and the two flailed like a couple of desperate fish in the bottom of a boat.

  “There’s nowhere to run,” Puck shouted to the girls. “And, I’m not taking any prisoners.” He laughed so hard, it echoed off the ceiling of the Hall of Wonders.

  Another bomb fell with a disgusting splat.

  “Is it on me?” Daphne cried, flipping her head back and forth. She calmed down when Sabrina assured her she had
not been caught in the spray.

  The commotion finally roused Granny Relda. “Puck! You cut this nonsense out at once!” she demanded, her shouts waking Henry and Veronica.

  “Forget it, old lady. I’m done doing what I’m told,” he shouted, steering his horse so that it flew uncomfortably close to the old woman. A splat landed mere inches from her feet, and she gasped in horror. She turned to Sabrina and gave her an impatient look.

  “What did you say to him?” she asked.

  Sabrina was shocked. “Why is it always me?”

  “Because you’re the only one who can get under his skin,” Granny said. “You’ve obviously hurt his feelings. He’s very sensitive.”

  “Sensitive? This kid hasn’t brushed his teeth since the Civil War, and suddenly he cares about my opinion?” Sabrina asked.

  “Why does he care so much what Sabrina thinks?” Henry asked, suspiciously.

  Sabrina blushed and looked to the floor.

  “You’ve got your first boyfriend!” Veronica exclaimed, clapping her hands happily.

  “Ugh!” Henry complained. “I’m so not ready for this. Couldn’t you have at least picked a boy who smells a little better?”

  “I didn’t pick anyone, Dad. I don’t like him!” she cried.

  Daphne grinned. “Whatever.”

  “Sabrina, apologize to him before this gets out of hand,” Granny begged.

  “Mom, this is already out of hand,” Henry said, shielding himself and his wife with a sleeping bag. He shook a commanding finger at Puck. “Now, you listen to me, boy. This is unacceptable. You come down here and start acting your age!”

  “Honey, he’s over four thousand years old,” Veronica said, cowering under the sleeping bag.

  “Well, then, this is even more immature,” Henry said.

  Puck sailed over Sabrina’s head. “I should thank you. You actually did me a favor.”

  “Oh, yeah?” Sabrina said suspiciously.

  “I’d gotten too comfortable living in the old lady’s house, eating the old lady’s food, acting like a human. I am the Trickster King. The Crown Prince of Snips and Snails and Puppy-Dog Tails, the ruler of Gremlins, Rascals, and Miscreants, the guiding light of every instigator, agitator, and knave from here to Wonderland. I shouldn’t be living with a bunch of heroes like you and your family. I should be causing the chaos you are trying to prevent. I am, after all, a first-rate villain.”

  “Fine, go be a villain!” Sabrina shouted. “But don’t you think this is all a little overdramatic? Flying horses? Poop bombs?”

  “Actually, I think it’s just dramatic enough,” Puck said. “Charge!”

  There was little the Grimms could do. They ran around the Hall of Wonders in circles, shrieking. Eventually Mirror appeared, and despite his desperate cries and a very impressive bribe, the boy and his chili-dog-eating horses would not relent. Puck chased Sabrina until she tumbled over her own feet and fell. Helpless, she lay on the floor as the Pegasi drifted directly above her.

  “Would saying I’m sorry make a difference?” Sabrina asked.

  Puck cackled.

  Like a lot of people who have lived through nightmarish things, Sabrina’s brain mercifully blocked what happened next from her memory. She wouldn’t remember being carried across the fort, where soldiers tossed bucket after bucket of soapy water on her until she was finally clean. She wouldn’t remember how her family wrapped her in towels and carried her to a cot, where an elf sprayed her with several cans of air freshener. She wouldn’t remember how her mother sang to her and fed her soup or that she slept for nearly twenty-three hours after the ordeal. It was good that she didn’t remember, but those who witnessed it would be haunted by it for the rest of their lives. Daphne said she would never look at ponies—or chili dogs, for that matter—the same way again.

  Sabrina did remember, however, her first glimpse of the saboteur. Once she had been hit, Sabrina had fled into the Room of Reflections, through the Hotel of Wonders, and out into the courtyard. Her family and friends followed, chased by Puck and his pooping Pegasi. Sabrina was racing toward the mess tent for cover when there was a terrible explosion from across the fortress. The newly built water tower suddenly caught fire and toppled over. It slammed into the ground and cracked open like a coconut, spilling hundreds of gallons of water into the courtyard. Everyone there was swept away by the flood and dragged nearly to the other end of the camp before they regained control of themselves. Sabrina scampered to her feet to help others when she saw a shadow dart away from the water tower. She couldn’t see who it was, but she saw where he went. Daphne saw, too.

  “I’ll be right back,” Daphne said, racing after the saboteur.

  “Daphne, no!” Sabrina cried, but the little girl ignored her. She rushed after her sister. Daphne was fast, and Sabrina strained to keep up. She eventually lost her in the maze of equipment at the obstacle course, but when she heard Daphne shouting, she turned toward the noise and ran. She found her sister standing before the high fort wall with her hands on her hips.

  “Where is he?” Sabrina asked.

  “He either went over the wall”—Daphne pointed at the top, fifteen feet overhead—“or through that hole.”

  Sabrina spotted a small opening at the base of the wall where a portion of the timber had rotted. No normal-size person could have crawled through it—at least, not a human person. It was too small for even a child. Sabrina scowled. Whether the villain flew out or had the ability to shrink himself, it didn’t matter. He was gone.

  Charming appeared to supervise the cleanup. A small handful of Everafters came out of their tents to investigate, but he lied to them.

  “Just a design flaw, people. Let’s get it cleaned up,” he told the gathering crowd, but when they drifted away, he turned to the girls. “You saw something, didn’t you?”

  “He was small and fast,” Daphne said. “He got away.”

  Charming frowned and walked away.

  Daphne looked down at herself. She was soaked from head to toe. “On the bright side, now we both need a bath.”

  Days passed, and in that time, the refugees became near-experts on many of the magical items, including the flying carpet. Morgan le Fay worked closely with Mr. Seven, and soon the two of them could mount the unicorns with little trouble. Mr. Boarman and Mr. Swineheart kept busy designing and rebuilding a new water tower. They made various upgrades to the camp, including a deep moat around the perimeter, a new and bigger medical tent, and two more massive catapults, each loaded with boulders as big as a car. But the two little pigs were most proud of the high-pressure water cannons they attached to the watchtowers. They would help fend off dragons if any happened to attack.

  The biggest change, however, was in the mood of the recruits. Gone were the frightened refugees eager to avoid confrontation. Briar’s death and all their training had transformed them into a determined bunch. They were itching for a fight with the Scarlet Hand. With each passing hour, they became a real army, and the camp became an imposing fortress.

  Sabrina should have been proud of the community, but as things changed around her, they became eerily familiar. The fortress she and Daphne had visited in Ferryport Landing’s dark future seemed to spring up around her. Some things were different. For example, Snow White was still alive, and Granny Relda wasn’t planning missions, but there were moments when Sabrina was sure she had stepped through a hole in time again. She worried that Charming, Daphne, and her own efforts to change the future were not enough to avoid their disastrous destiny.

  The family sat down in the mess tent for a breakfast of oatmeal and wild berries, eggs, and juice. Everyone she cared about was there, even Uncle Jake, though he just picked at his food listlessly. The only person missing was Puck, which was fine by Sabrina. He swore his war with her was not over. She counted her lucky stars that he wasn’t hovering over her, preparing to ruin her meal with some disgusting prank. Relieved, she scooped up a big spoonful of oatmeal, but after that first bite, she felt
something pop inside her mouth. She didn’t think much of it, until she noticed her mother staring at her in shock.

  “What?”

  “Oh, my,” her father said. “Mom, what’s in this oatmeal?”

  “It’s just oatmeal,” the old woman promised.

  Sabrina looked at her hands. They were a shade of murky green.

  Uncle Jake took her hand in his own and flipped it over. “Puck.”

  It was all the explanation she needed. Sabrina leaped up from her seat and ran to Charming’s cabin. She needed to see herself in one of the mirrors. When she did, she let out a shriek. Her face, hands, feet, and even her ears were swampy green. She looked like a frog.

  Reggie’s face appeared in his mirror. “Girl, you look like you were wrestling with a bunch of broccoli. You kids will jump on the latest fad no matter how silly you look.”

  “This isn’t a fashion statement,” Sabrina cried.

  She heard Puck laughing at her from the door of the cabin, and she spun around to face him.

  “What did you do to me?” she asked.

  “Don’t get all freaked out, Grimm. It’ll wear off by the time you start college,” Puck said.

  The rest of the family pushed their way into the cabin.

  “Looks like he slipped you a water toadie egg,” Uncle Jake said.

  Granny smiled weakly. “It’s not harmful. We have a remedy in the hall, but—”

  “But what?”

  “Well, the remedy has side effects,” Uncle Jake explained.

  “What kind of side effects?”

  “You’ll grow a tail!” Puck smirked.

  Sabrina was about to strangle Puck, but Prince Charming stormed into the cabin, demanding that someone do something about Goldilocks. “She’s moving everything around!”

  Goldie followed close behind. “This camp’s energies are out of balance. You can’t have the catapult near the water tower. Water has a calming effect on people. You should put the catapult somewhere where people are excited—like the fire pit.”

  “See? She’s talking nonsense!”