Chapter Seven

"You!" Puck cried, pointing at Daphne. "I knew it!"

Daphne just smiled.

"What's going on?" Sabrina demanded.

"Daphne tricked us both," Puck said. "Well, you, mostly."

"No, I fooled you too," Daphne said, giggling. "You just don't want to admit it."

"Huh?" Sabrina said.

"It was all her, stupid," Puck said. "She-"

"Do you remember me telling you that my best friend was Sergeant Sullivan?" Daphne interrupted. She wasn't going to let Puck steal her glory.

"Of the Chimpanzee Pyromaniacs? Sure."

Daphne smiled. "What are pyromaniacs, Sabrina?"

"People who love fire…hey, did you set the trees…"

"Yup," Daphne smiled, interrupting again.

"Like I said, she fooled us," Puck added. "The entire case-thing, too…it was all her."

Daphne nodded. "The perfect di…div…"

"Diversion?" Sabrina muttered.

"Yeah. You guys never suspected it was me, because I was working on it so hard and you weren't. And running into the forest, you two protecting each other…that was all a part of my plan, too. I kept disagreeing with the war, which kept you both very eager to prank. Meanwhile, I got you angry enough at the other person that you both eventually pulled a prank worthy of getting you kicked out of the house."

"After which you'd send your chimps after us," Sabrina added.

Daphne nodded. "Although your Elvis-Sausage prank wasn't the trick I had in mind," she said, crinkling up her nose. "They won't accept him at the Dog Kennel. Now, there's something that needs addressing."

"What?" Sabrina said.

"What were the conditions for someone who wanted to surrender?"

Sabrina let out a flurry of complaints. "Come on!" she cried. Puck was on the verge of tears, his poison ivy rash worse than ever.

"The Lord of all Good-For-Nothings declaring himself as a...a...no, it's forbidden!" he whimpered. "That's not the example I'm supposed to be setting for my followers!"

"I could very easily call the Ferryport Landing press and tell them about a picture proving a new love scandal brewing in—"

"Okay, okay!" Sabrina groaned. She bowed to her little sister, fists clenched at her sides. "I declare my eternal stinkpot-iness."

"Me, too," Puck added, sniffing. Sabrina punched him in the arm. "Ow! Stinkpot! I'm a stinkpot!" he cried.

Before Daphne had a chance to say anything, a sound like thunder interrupted their conversation.

A big, clunky old black car roared its way into the driveway, a giant puff of smoke trailing after it. Granny Relda and Mr. Canis were inside. Their laughter could be heard from where the children were standing.

"Although your proclamation wasn't what I wanted."

Sabrina and Puck stared at her. "It wasn't?" they cried. Sabrina looked angry enough to kill. Puck pulled a tissue out from the pocket of his ruined green hoodie.

"Nope. My main goal was to get you two together. In which I succeeded." She held up the camera and giggled. "See?"

Everything seemed to come together all at once, like the pieces of a puzzle clicking in place. "Give me that!" Sabrina roared, Puck right behind her. She grabbed for the camera, which the little girl was constantly holding out of reach.

"You better burn those negatives, Daphne!" Puck chimed in.

"What negatives?" Granny Relda asked, approaching the group.

Sabrina and Puck stopped tackling Daphne and straightened up. She noticed all the chimps were gone, but didn't say anything about it. "Welcome home, Granny," Sabrina said.

"Yeah, glad to have you back, old lady," Puck added.

"Did you stop the fires?" Mr. Canis grunted.

"You mean that mucho case-o? Hey wait…hee hee. Much cheese," Daphne giggled.

"Yeah! And you'll never believe who it was!" Sabrina yelled. "It was—"

"Puck's monkeys!" Daphne bellowed, recovering suddenly from her fit of laughter. "Puck's monkeys!"

One of the chimps screamed at her from the trees, and she calmly pulled a banana out from her jacket pocket. He calmed down immediately.

"Oh, liebling, how delightful to have that off my back!" Granny Relda praised.

"Argh," Sabrina muttered. "I can't believe she's getting away with it!"

Mr. Canis straightened, not having heard a word Sabrina had said.

"Now, about the green fumes that are coming from the windows and doors—"

"Daphne did it," Sabrina and Puck chimed simultaneously, pointing at the little girl.

"Who, me?" Daphne replied, staring wide-eyed at Granny Relda. "Would I do such a thing?"