The Sisters Grimm: The Unusual Suspects

The Sisters Grimm: The Unusual Suspects — page 7 — Relda had never told a lie Mr Canis was not fine by a long shot In fact he was very very sick Three weeks earlier the girls had learned that Granny’s friend the skinny grouchy Mr Canis was secretly the Big Bad Wolf When the family battled Jack the Giant Killer over a jar of magic beans the Wolf bit Jack and tasted the villain’s blood It changed him When he got home Canis locked himself inside his bedroom and wouldn’t come out Every night Sabrina and Daphne heard his painful moans and labored breathing His horrible cries woke them in the night and the sounds of him slamming himself against a wall kept their teeth on edge Mr Canis was far from fine That’s good to hear Hamstead said doubtfully I want my phone call a little voice cried from the glove compartment We were framed The sheriff banged heavily on the dashboard Tell it to the judge Sheriff Hamstead pulled his squad car into the driveway of the family’s quaint two story yellow house It was very late and the house was dark Sabrina opened her door and Elvis lumbered out still wearing two Lilliputian-free glue traps on his giant behind It was bitterly cold and Sabrina hoped the two adults wouldn’t blabber on as they often did Granny could talk a person’s ear off but the sheriff just thanked them again and excused himself claiming he had a mountain of paperwork waiting for him back at the station When his taillights were fading down the road Granny took a giant key ring out of her handbag and went to work unlocking the door There were more than a dozen locks Once Sabrina had believed Granny Relda was just a paranoid shut-in but in the last three weeks she had seen things that she would never have dreamed possible and now understood why the house was locked so tightly When all the locks were turned the old woman knocked on the door three times and announced to the house that the family was home making the last magical lock slide back and the door swing open for them After cookies and some vegetable-oil swabbing for Elvis Granny Relda urged the girls to get to bed You’ve got school tomorrow I’ve kept you up too late as it is Actually Granny Sabrina replied feeling her head for a fever that wasn’t there I think I’m coming down with something I’d hate to go to school and get everyone sick Granny grinned Sabrina it’s been three weeks If you two don’t go to school tomorrow they are going to put me in the jailhouse Now up to bed Sabrina frowned School was a waste of time There were more important things to do When Daphne was steadily snoring Sabrina slowly crawled out of their four-poster bed The room was once their father’s and his model airplanes still hung from the ceiling An old catcher’s mitt rested on his desk and his collection of books lined a shelf Sabrina pulled several of them into her hands pulled a key ring out from under her mattress and silently crept into the hallway

The Sisters Grimm: The Unusual Suspects — page 8 — When she reached the door at the end of the hall she sorted through her keys and found the long brass skeleton key that fit into the lock Once it was open she took a quick look around to make sure no one was watching then slipped inside and closed the door The room was completely empty except for a full-length mirror hanging on the far wall and a sliver of moonlight shining through the room’s only window Sabrina stepped up to the mirror and admired her reflection Her long blond hair and blue eyes glowed a ghostly milky blue She tucked some strands behind her ears and rubbed her eyes then did something most people would think was impossible she walked directly into the glass and disappeared Once she was on the other side she found herself in an immense room that reminded her of Grand Central Terminal in New York City Its incredibly long barrel-vaulted ceiling was supported by towering marble columns and along each wall were hundreds maybe even thousands of doors each with a golden plaque that revealed what was behind them TALKING PLANTS GIANT LIVING CHESS PIECES BABE THE BLUE OX MAGICAL ARMOR and more all impossibly interesting magical items and creatures collected by the Grimm family for safekeeping Granny called it the world’s biggest walk-in closet Sabrina called it the Hall of Wonders She also called it her only hope She scanned the hall and spotted a lonely figure sitting in a high-backed chair several yards away Mirror the girl called to him I think I’ve found something useful Mirror as he was called was a short balding man who lived inside the magic mirror His was the mouth that had proclaimed Snow White the fairest one of all to the Wicked Queen When he spotted Sabrina he set down the celebrity magazine he was reading and got up from his chair What No Hello No How are you How’s the family the little man complained Sorry Mirror I don’t have a lot of time I don’t want anyone to wake up and find me in here Of course you don’t How would you explain that you’ve been swiping your grandmother’s keys one by one and making copies Sabrina ignored his disapproval I found this thing in Burton’s telling of the Arabian Nights Sabrina said opening one of her books and handing it to Mirror He didn’t even bother to look at the page Listen blondie I assure you if we had a jinni’s lamp I’d have a lot more hair on my head and we’d all be living in Hawaii Don’t you think that if your grandmother had access to that kind of power your parents would have already been found Sabrina frowned It was always the same She spent days researching ways to rescue her parents from their kidnappers and every night Mirror shot her ideas down one by one Fine Sabrina replied handing Mirror another book she had opened already What

The Sisters Grimm: The Unusual Suspects — page 9 — about this Mirror looked down at the book flipped it closed to view its cover and sighed This is not something a kid should be playing with blondie he said She handed him her set of keys hoping it had the one she needed The little man shrugged and spun around then headed down the hallway L Frank Baum was the first to write about the Golden Cap It’s one of the most interesting things the Wicked Witch of the West ever owned and quite an exciting piece for our collection Most people find her broomstick much more fascinating but the cap is the most powerful he continued So you know how it works Yes I put it on and recite the magic words then the monkeys come They’ll do whatever I want them to do Which will be great for you but I’ll be trying to get rid of the monkey smell for months Mirror said That’s a special kind of stink Mirror stopped at a door labeled MAGICAL HATS and reached out for Sabrina’s keys She handed them to him and he went to work A moment later he opened the door and went inside Sabrina followed and watched him rummage through the room and its thousands of hats and helmets He made quite a racket moving things around knocking over top hats and fedoras and bonnets in the process He let loose an Aha when he found what he wanted The Golden Cap was actually yellow and it held a can of soda on each side with tubes that ran down to the mouth On the front of the hat the words EMERALD CITY GREEN SOX were printed in big green letters Mirror dusted it off and handed it to Sabrina This is the Golden Cap The one the Wicked Witch of the West used to summon flying monkeys she asked in disbelief I wish I had a camera The little man giggled Ziz-zy zuz-zy zik the girl said now standing on both feet Suddenly her ears filled with the sound of a hundred flapping wings Monkeys materialized out of thin air hovering overhead and held aloft by black leathery wings Sabrina now understood why The witch was a huge sports fan Mirror replied She won her fantasy football league four years in a row You’ve got to be kidding me Sabrina said Afraid not The magic instructions are inside The girl read a slip taped inside and scowled In the short time since she had discovered that fairy tales were real the one thing she saw over and over again was that everything from Oz was completely wacko She put the cap on her head and following the ridiculous instructions she lifted her right leg and began the crazy spell Ep-pe pep-pe kak-ke Mirror turned away and snickered Don’t laugh Sabrina said lowering her leg and lifting the other Hil-lo hol-lo hel-lo

The Sisters Grimm: The Unusual Suspects — page 10 — What is your bidding master it asked in a deep otherworldly voice OK uh Mr Monkey uh I need you to go fetch my parents she said Sabrina was still not used to talking animals The monkeys screamed with glee and clapped their hands as if she were promising them bananas They circled the room slamming into one another but ultimately they landed at her feet Their leader’s face was full of confusion What’s wrong Sabrina asked Your wish cannot be granted Great magic blocks our path he said and as quickly as the monkeys had appeared they were gone Why not Sabrina shouted angrily She took the obnoxious magic hat off her head and shook it but the monkeys did not return She was so tired of being disappointed How many more dead ends could she come up against It wasn’t fair She handed the Golden Cap back to Mirror and the little man gave her a sad pitying smile He placed it back on its shelf then locked the door behind him before giving her back her keys We’ll keep trying he promised She sighed and walked silently back through the portal Once she found herself on the other side she turned and eyed her sad reflection Mirror she called out softly A blue mist filled the glass and the little man’s other face appeared It was thick muscular and foreboding Mirror had warned her about the monkey smell They were a ripe bunch She would have pinched her nose if she hadn’t been afraid it was rude One of the monkeys wearing a beanie with a bright blue ball on top took her hand and gave it a sloppy kiss You know how it works he said Mirror mirror near and far show me where my parents are the girl said The face disappeared and Sabrina’s slumbering parents took its place Henry and Veronica Grimm were lying on a bed in the dark fast asleep which was exactly how she had found them the day before and the day before that They never moved never even turned in bed It was almost like they were porcelain statues They looked vulnerable lying there surrounded by darkness I won’t let another Christmas go by without you I’ll find a way to bring you home Sabrina promised as she reached out as if to touch them Her hand dipped into the magic mirror’s reflective surface and her parents image rippled the way a pond does when a stone is thrown into it Sabrina stared at them until they faded away Same time tomorrow night Mirror asked as his face reappeared See you then Sabrina said wiping the tears from her cheeks She tiptoed back down the hallway but just as she reached her bedroom she heard a painful groan coming from Mr Canis’s room He was having another difficult night She stood in the hallway listening to his breathing less concerned about his suffering than she was worried that at any moment the door would explode and the Big Bad Wolf would snatch her in his

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