He led the reluctant family down the hallway and back into the restaurant. Every seat was taken. It was one of the most unusual groups of people Sabrina had ever seen. There were pirates, dwarfs, goblins, talking animals, even an enormous man-size bug wearing glasses. A sultry blonde singer whose act brought catcalls and laughter from the audience had joined the yellow-eyed piano player. She wore a shimmering sequined dress and long, white gloves, and prowled around the room flirting with the male patrons. She flashed each a warm smile.
"She's beautiful," Hamstead said as he stared at the woman, dazzled.
"And off limits, if you know what's good for you," Oz said. "Her name is Bess. She's Tony Fats's girlfriend."
Just then, Oberon and Titania entered the room. Mustardseed, Cobweb, Moth, and the group of leather-jacketed fairies the family had met earlier followed in behind them. Their arrival brought forth a chorus of boos and jeers from the crowd, forcing the singer and the piano player to stop their lively performance.
"You've made us wait, Oberon!" an ogre shouted from his seat. "I've shared the same air with a Houyhnhnm for too long!"
A horse at the back of the room booed the ogre and spit at him.
"Why have you brought us here?" a chicken squawked from her seat. "I came all the way from Harlem."
"Friends, I have a present for you!" Oberon shouted as he moved through the crowd. "Christmastime comes to the Everafters."
The group exploded with anger. Many rose to their feet, shouting angry words about "dirty fairy tricks" and "not being fooled again." Oberon seemed unconcerned and just flashed the girls a grin. He rushed over to them, grabbed each roughly by the arm, and dragged them onto the stage at the back of the room.
"What's the big idea?" Sabrina said, trying to pull away from his powerful grip.
Oberon ignored her and turned to the crowd. "Silence!" he shouted. "Don't you want your present?"
Everyone sat back down.
"Yahoo no want present from fairy," yelled an incredibly hairy man.
"Is that so? You don't want the children of Veronica Grimm?" Oberon cried.
The crowd instantly hushed. They sat motionless, watchful and suspicious. Sabrina looked over at her sister and her heart began to race.
I knew it, she thought.
They hate us here just like they do back in Ferryport Landing. They're going to kill us.
Chapter 3
Sabrina took a deep breath and calmed herself. She had to be smart. She needed a plan to get herself and her sister out of danger. As she ran through the countless escapes they had made over the year and a half they were stuck in the foster care system, an answer popped into her head. "Daphne, do you remember Mr. Drisko?" she said. Daphne nodded.
"Let's give Oberon the Drisko treatment."
Mr. Drisko had been one of their more troubled foster parents. He was a certifiable nutcase who had made the girls share a bedroom with fifteen hyperactive ferrets. Sabrina had seen a documentary on television about ferrets. They were furry, adorable, and playful. The narrator had said they made excellent pets, but the narrator had never met Drisko's ferrets. Sure, they were cute but they were also evil. They bit Sabrina and Daphne every chance they got. They ate Sabrina's shoes and often relieved themselves on Daphne's pillow. Sabrina tolerated them for the sake of her sister, who needed a warm home, but it wasn't easy. Drisko said the ferrets were the loves of his life, and he doted on them like furry little babies. Unfortunately, Drisko's bad back and bunion-covered feet kept him from caring for the pets, so he had taken the girls in not out of charity but so that he would have a staff to feed and bathe his herd of messy, squeaky rodents. Sadly, it all fell apart when Mr. Drisko spanked the girls for refusing to give the ferrets pedicures. That's to say, he tried to spank them. He never laid a hand on them. He never got the chance.
"On three," Sabrina said.
Daphne nodded.
"One! Two! Three!"
Together the girls stomped down hard on the tops of Oberon's toes. The fairy king yelped in pain and bent over to rub his bruised feet. That's when the girls jumped on top of him and knocked him to the floor. They followed the tackle with a technique that had never failed the Grimm sisters-relentless kicking. By the time Granny Relda reached them, the girls had Oberon cowering on the stage in a ball.
"Are you OK, lieblings?" the old woman asked.
"We need to get out of here. This crowd is going to tear us apart!" Sabrina cried as she took her sister and grandmother by the hand. Tony Fats and Bobby Screwball were approaching, but if the family hurried, they could escape through the club's front door.
"Wait a minute! Do you hear that?" Daphne said, pausing at the edge of the stage. There was an odd noise coming from the crowd. It was laughter. The Everafters were laughing so hard that many were falling out of their chairs. Others applauded and rose to their feet. Soon they were all chanting the same word over and over again.
"Grimm! Grimm! Grimm!"
The Wizard rushed to Oberon's side and helped him to his feet. The fairy's face was red with rage. Oz whispered something in Oberon's ear and the anger drained away.
"They're just like their mother!" Oberon shouted as he hobbled toward the Grimm family. The crowd roared with laughter. "Turn the ovens on and prepare a feast. Tonight we celebrate the daughters of Veronica Grimm! Tonight her dream is reborn."
"What dream?" Sabrina asked, but no one answered. The Everafters rose to their feet and continued their chanting. They circled the girls, lifted them onto their shoulders, and marched around the supper club.
"What's he talking about?" Daphne asked Granny Relda, who hurried alongside.
Granny shrugged.
"Liebling,
I'm a bit confused myself."
"What a glorious day!" Oberon cried as the crowd set the two girls down in front of Oz and him, then rushed over to the bar where Momma had set down a round of celebratory drinks. "You two have no idea what you've done."
"I'm lost," Daphne said.
Oz responded. "I think what the king is trying to say is that your mother, Veronica Grimm, was highly respected in our little struggling community. When she was here she worked with us to keep Faerie alive. When she disappeared, well, so did the commitment to our way of life. We've lost our way, but you two could help put us all back on the right path."
"How?" Daphne said. "I'm only seven."
Before Oz could answer, Granny Relda spoke.
"Oberon, we didn't come here to get caught up in the politics of the city," she said. "As soon as Puck is better we need to get on our way. We have business at home that needs our attention."
"That's fine," Oberon said. "You can go back to wherever you came from right after dinner. We'll eat. We'll drink, and then all the girls have to do is back up everything I say. Afterward, I'll hand Puck over myself. You'll be on your way home before midnight."
"What do you mean 'back up everything' you say?" Hamstead said, suspiciously.
"Simple, just tell the Everafters that I'm in charge. Tell them Veronica always wanted them to recognize me as their king. Tell them that I'm supposed to lead the rebuilding of Faerie."
Sabrina glanced at Oz. His face suddenly darkened. He looked as if he wanted to argue but he held his tongue.
"Oberon, I'm afraid that's not possible," Granny Relda said.
Oberon scowled. "Why not!"
"Because we don't know if that is what Veronica wanted," the old woman said. "We didn't even know that she was involved with your community until this afternoon."
"And we have our doubts about that, too," Sabrina said. She still wasn't convinced that this wasn't a mean-spirited practical joke.
Oberon rose to his full height. His eyes flashed with anger and his mouth twisted into an ugly grimace. "You do what I tell you to do, you hear? This is too important and I don't have time to explain it to you."