"Like Dorothy's slippers?" Daphne asked. She and her sister had used them to pop up all over town, but they had lost one of them while running from a giant.
"These are more powerful than the slippers," Charming said. "They could take an Everafter to the other side of the barrier, or they could take you to your parents."
Sabrina stared down into the box and a tear rolled down her cheek. She didn't deserve such an amazing gift and she knew it. For weeks she had looked at every Everafter as a suspect in her parents' kidnapping. She had turned everyone against her and practically broken her grandmother's heart. And yet, here was the most obnoxious, untrustworthy of the bunch, handing her the key to finding her parents.
"Why would you do this for us?" Sabrina asked.
"We made a deal," Charming said, glancing at the pretty teacher.
"You could have used these to escape," said Snow White.
"There was something that kept me here," Charming said, staring into her eyes. The beautiful teacher leaned over and kissed the mayor. "Billy Charming, make me a promise."
"What kind of promise?" Charming asked, somewhat breathless.
"When all this is said and done," Snow White said, "Take me to dinner."
"As long as we can leave your seven chaperones at home," Charming said with a grin.
Mr. Seven grumbled in the front seat.
"Oh, it's so romantic," Daphne blubbered. "I think I'm going to cry!"
"I think I'm going to lose my lunch," Puck groaned.
Suddenly, the car came to a screeching halt.
"Seven, why have we stopped?" Charming demanded.
"The road is blocked, sir," the little man said, pointing out the window to where dozens of children were walking in the middle of the street. They were all wearing pajamas and had glassy looks in their eyes. "There are too many of them to maneuver around."
"The piper is controlling them," Sabrina said as they passed some of the kids.
Mr. Seven honked the horn, but it had no effect on the children.
"We'll have to walk from here," Sabrina said. They got out of the car, leaving Mr. Seven to guard it. Puck's wings sprang from his back and he lifted off the ground.
"What I wouldn't do for a carton of eggs," he said. "I'm going to go get some and play dive-bomber on these zombies."
Before he could fly away, Snow White grabbed his leg and yanked him back down to the ground. "We should stay together," she said. The boy looked extremely disappointed, but his wings disappeared nonetheless.
The group weaved in and out of the crowd until they were standing on the front lawn of the elementary school. As they approached the main entrance, Sabrina noticed that the front doors the giant mouse had plowed through were still lying on the ground. A steady stream of vacant-faced children were shuffling through the doorway, ushered in by a hulking girl with a pink ribbon in her hair. When Sabrina studied her closely, she realized that it was Natalie.
"Natalie, you need to get as far away from here as you can," she warned. "And try to get some of these kids to follow you. This place is going to get dangerous."
"Oh, it's going to get dangerous, all right," the big girl replied as her skin began to bubble and inflate. Hair shot from every pore and two long fangs sprang upward from her bottom jaw. Her eyes turned a milky yellow and a long hound-dog tongue crept out of her mouth and licked her lips. Claws sprouted from her fingertips as she lashed out at the group, knocking Puck, Charming, Daphne, and Sabrina to the ground with one great swipe. Snow White just managed to step aside, avoiding Natalies attack.
"E-gad, I didn't think you could get any uglier," Puck said as he crawled back onto his feet.
"Snow, get behind me!" Charming shouted, as he leaped to his feet. "I'll handle this brute."
"Billy," the teacher cried. "This is the twenty-first century. Women don't need the white knight routine anymore. I can fight my own battles."
She planted her feet and raised her hands. When Natalie charged at her, the teacher sent a hard jab and a right hook into the beastie's face. The monster screamed angrily and lunged again, but this time, Snow White's foot came up and landed a hard blow to the monster's chest. Natalie tumbled to the ground, but sprang back to her feet, clawing and scratching at the pretty teacher. Ms. White blocked each blow with super-fast hands, until one of Natalie's punches actually connected and sent the teacher painfully to the ground. Instinctively, Charming and Puck stepped forward, ready to take over the fight, but Snow White flashed them an angry look.
"Gentlemen, please!" she said sternly. Charming and Puck threw up their hands in surrender and stepped aside. She sprang to her feet, planted them again, and then eyed the monster with a smile.
"Come and get it, ugly," she said. "School is in session."
Natalie roared and leaped at her. Snow White stopped the attack by jumping into the air, spinning around, and roundhousing the monster in the face. One of Natalie's fangs broke off in the middle and the monster fell to the ground, groaning in pain. The teacher stood over her with angry eyes and eager fists.
"If you were smart, you'd stay down," she said.
Sabrina and Daphne looked at each other in amazement.
"Snow, where did you learn to do all that?" Charming asked, obviously stunned by what he had just seen.
"I teach a self-defense class at the community center," Snow White replied. "We're called the Bad Apples. We meet every Saturday at four p.m."
"Sign me up," Daphne said.
"Piper!" Natalie shouted angrily as she crawled to her feet.
The principal stepped from out of the shadows. He was carrying a set of bagpipes and looked distraught.
"Do it!" the hairy girl raged.
"This has gone too far," Hamelin cried. "Let them save their grandmother and her friends. The barrier will still be broken and they won't pose a threat to you or your father again."
"Piper, I'll tell my daddy," Natalie threatened. "He's got your precious Wendell."
The principal raised his bagpipe's reed to his mouth and took a deep breath. "I'm sorry," he said to the group, and then he blew a long, sorrowful note into the air.
Everything went black.
10
Chapter 10
Sabrina! Wake up!" a voice shouted from far away. She tried very hard to pay attention to it but she was exhausted and dizzy. "Sabrina, you have to wake up now!"
She slowly opened her eyes. Mr. Hamelin was standing over her with a wild, desperate look on his face.
"What are you doing in my bedroom?" she grumbled.
"Sabrina, we're under the school!" Hamelin said, sounding frantic. "I know it's hard, but try to concentrate."
Sabrina looked around and saw she was standing in a huge tunnel, where children were rushing back and forth with wheelbarrows full of dirt and rubble. She looked down at herself and saw she was covered in soot and holding a shovel.
"Do you understand what has happened to you?" Hamelin asked.
"No," the girl replied. Her head felt heavy.
"I entranced you and your friends," the principal explained. "I had to. They have Wendell and they'll kill him if I don't do what they want."