Daphne laughed. “No way!” She leaned down and gave Elvis a wet kiss on the snout. “Find Granny, buddy.”
The dog gave himself a shake and water went everywhere. He sniffed the air and trotted into the wet brush. They watched him leap up a steep incline and they followed, trudging through spongy mounds of brown leaves and across slick black rocks. It wouldn’t be long before they were both soaked to the bone, but Sabrina didn’t mind. It felt good to be in the outside air without feeling the careful eyes of disapproving grown-ups on her. It infuriated her that her father couldn’t see potential in his daughters. He kept them locked away like porcelain dolls. What did she and her sister have to do to prove they could take care of themselves?
After an hour of walking and losing the dog half a dozen times they realized that Elvis’s nose wasn’t really necessary. All they had to do was walk in the direction of the tremendous storm rumbling across the sky. Lightning slashed the horizon, followed by explosions so loud they rattled Sabrina’s teeth. A normal person might have rushed to the cellar, fearing an approaching tornado, but if the mirrors and Mr. Canis were right, this was no ordinary storm. It would lead them to Granny Relda.
The girls stumbled out onto a deserted road and walked along its edge, despite the fact that neither of them had seen a car in weeks—not since the Scarlet Hand took over the town. It felt to Sabrina as if she and her sister were the only two people left in the world. She took Daphne’s hand, not only to assure her that they would be OK, but to calm her own anxiety as they walked on toward the storm. Eventually, they found Elvis waiting by a bend in the road. He looked frightened, pacing in circles and panting. Daphne rubbed his neck to calm him down, but it did little to soothe the giant dog.
“Granny’s nearby,” Sabrina said.
Daphne nodded and turned back to the dog. “You stay here, OK?” Elvis clamped his teeth down on Daphne’s sweatshirt, but she pulled away. “We’ll be careful, Elvis. You stay.”
The girls left him and continued to follow the road around a tight turn. Whatever lay ahead was blocked by trees, but the very tops of their branches glowed as if the sun were hovering right behind them. Once they were on the other side they saw their first glimpse of their grandmother in three days.
It was not a happy sight. The old woman was engulfed in an intense light so bright that it hurt to look directly at her. Her hands were held high above her head and glowed like two giant torches. Rockets of energy exploded from her fingertips and streaked into the sky, leaving in their wake plumes of smoke and magic. The rockets’ target was Wilhelm Grimm’s invisible wall, built long ago to keep Everafters from leaving Ferryport Landing.
Sabrina had never seen so much raw power. It was almost too horrible to watch, and yet, despite the earth-shattering intensity of the demonstration, it was nothing compared to the ancient and unyielding strength of the barrier. Each magical attack slammed into its surface, exploding into a million vivid colors that spread out over the dome’s surface. Aftershocks sent tremors into the earth and air. One attack was followed by another, and then another and another. Granny Relda’s heaving body exploded with magic, and as Sabrina watched, a terrifying truth filled her mind—her grandmother was not in control of herself. Mirror was inside her, forcing her to move as he wished. Sabrina wanted to run at him and demand that he set the old woman free, or at least try to communicate with Granny and encourage her to resist Mirror’s control, but the power and heat from the explosions were too strong. If she stepped forward, she might catch fire.
And then Sabrina heard a voice behind them and nearly jumped out of her skin. “I’m soooooo telling.” Puck stood behind her. “You two disobeyed your parents! I’m both shocked and really impressed.”
Sabrina tried to compose herself without giving away that he had scared her enough to almost make her lose control of her bladder. “We’re tired of being under house arrest in the Hall of Wonders.”
“Yeah! We’ve fought lots of monsters,” Daphne said.
“Actually, you’ve done a lot more ‘running away from monsters’ than actual ‘fighting’ of said monsters,” Puck said. “I’ve seen it myself and it is always hee-larious. I love this big turnaround. It seems like only a month ago you were complaining about your family responsibility, and now you can’t wait to get out there and beat up the bad guys. Well, I’m all for it. The whole ‘I don’t want to be a Grimm’ thing was getting a little tired.”
Daphne nodded. “He’s right. You were getting kinda lame.”