A/N- Okay, I was going to post one chapter on here until I saw that it was close to 30 pages, so, here's half of the really long chapter. I'm already halfway done with the next part so, hopefully, I'll be able to post it by the end of this week, or sooner.
Curlscat- Thanks a lot, Miss. Nit-Picky. ;)
Seriously, thanks for pointing those out, I really appreciate it and I'll try to fix it as soon as I can. I'm sorry there were so many mistakes in there (my grammar loving mother would be horrified xD) but, hopefully, there won't be as many in this one.
Thanks to everyone else who reviewed! I get the warm fuzzies when I read them. xD
Hope you enjoy the chapter!
P.S - I feel sorry for Arnold Schwarzenegger. Think of having to spell that name in kindergarten . . . or writing it in cursive! 0.0
!
He wasn't a coward. Anyone would tell you that. He'd fought monsters scary enough to make Arnold Schwarzenegger scream like a baby, flown on a magic carpet, fought the black knight on the Empire State Building and had even stood face to face with a dragon.
But if he wasn't a coward, then why didn't he move?
Why did he just stand there? Why didn't he charge in there, kill everything in sight and bring Briar back?
He stared up at the ominous castle as the rain drenched his head, willing himself to move.
WHY DIDN'T HE MOVE?
Because you're scared.
He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to block out the voice; that annoying, stupid voice in the back of his head. The voice that always told him he wasn't good enough; that if he had been just a little faster or just a little smarter, then things would have been okay. The voice whose sole purpose was to remind him that everything was his fault.
The voice that was always right.
He was scared. He had seen what the demons could do; what pain they could cause and the realistic tricks they used to lure you in. He had seen dragons three times their size fall to the ground, their bodies twisted in agony from the demon's venom.
Jacob Grimm was scared.
Briar Rose looked at him, her emerald green eyes filled with disbelief and amusement.
"Monkeys? You're afraid of monkeys?" Briar Rose said, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. "But they're so cute!"
"That's what they want you to think." Jake said, shivering at the thought of one of those hairy demons. "They're actually vicious beasts. And it's called monkeyphobia and it's very common."
Briar Rose stared at him for a moment and then burst out laughing. Her wonderful laugh quickly filling the empty coffee shop.
"Oh yeah, this coming from the lady who's afraid of rollie-pollie-ollies," Jake muttered.
"Hey," Briar said, smacking him lightly on the arm. "They're creepy looking!"
"And monkeys are hairy monsters!"
"Fine," Briar said, smiling at him with that smile. The smile that sent his heart racing and made his breath come in short. The smile that made him forget all the worries that constantly plagued his mind. The smile that warmed him all the way to his toes.
"I'll protect you from monkeys if you protect me from the little devils."
"Deal," He said, winking at her. "But are you sure you don't mind being in love with someone who's afraid of monkeys?"
Briar stared at him for a moment, then leaned in and kissed him, ignoring Marlobarb's outraged scream of "HEY! KEEP IT G!"
"I'm sure." She whispered.
Jake blinked as the memory disappeared, leaving him alone in the dark woods, soaking wet, and feeling like a scared little kid.
A strangled groan escaped from his lips and he fell to his knees in the muddy ground, overwhelming guilt threatening to choke him.
"Oh Briar," He whispered, his tears mixing with the rain. "I'm so sorry. I should have protected you. I'm so sorry."
Why hadn't he done something to save her? He should have done something! He was supposed to be the one to protect her no matter what! It was his fault Briar was dead! He had killed her, just like he had killed his dad. He hadn't been able to save his father and he hadn't been able to bring him back no matter how hard he tried.
But he could bring Briar back.
There was a chance that he could bring her back again, to hear her laugh, sing, and to hold her close again.
Uncle Jake slowly rose to his feet, grim determination overriding his fear, his hands balling into fists. He'd fight a whole army of demons to bring her back and if he died, then so be it. At least then he might be able to see her again.
He took a deep breath, briefly touching the rose in his pocket before stealthily moving towards the castle.
Not noticing the dark shape that was heading towards him.
!
The rain fell down relentlessly, drenching the three children even as they sat underneath the tree's large branches. But Sabrina hardly noticed the rain, or how freezing cold she was. She was too busy staring ahead, at the spot where she had last seen her uncle, praying desperately that he'll come walking through the trees, a giant grin on his face.
But he didn't come.
More than once Sabrina felt tempted to get up and go after him, to forget what he had said about it being too dangerous for her. But then she remembered Daphne. She knew her little sister wouldn't stay if she left. She knew her sister would want to come too, and nothing would stop her and Sabrina couldn't risk getting her little sister hurt.
What if they caught him? What if he's hurt? What if he's dead . . . or worse?
Sabrina quickly shoved her hand into her pocket and pulled out the Phoenix's feather, desperately trying to find something to distract her from her thoughts.
I think you'll be needing this.
The Phoenix's words ran through her head as she stared down at the feather, a frown on her face as she tried to figure out why the Phoenix had given it to her.
It looked like a normal feather but it felt strangely warm, the warmth quickly spreading from her hands to all over her body and then something strange happened. All the worry and fear that had been bubbling inside of her vanished, replaced by a strong sense of peace. She let go of the feather and as soon as it left her hand, the peaceful feeling went away.
Sabrina stared in confusion at the feather. It may look like a normal feather, but there was defiantly something more to it.
Why had the Phoenix given this to her? And why had she looked so sad?
Among other things, I can see the future.
A chill that wasn't related to the rain ran down Sabrina's spin. Had the Phoenix seen something in the future? But how could a feather help her?
Maybe the feather has some kind of magic power Sabrina thought, staring in confusion at the feather. But she didn't know for sure. None of the Grimm diaries that she had read mentioned anything about Phoenixes and the only person who would possibly know was Uncle Jake but he was gone.
Well, Sabrina thought, looking over at Puck. Maybe not the only person.
She knew it was a long shot, asking the fairy for information, but it was worth a try.
"Puck, do you know anything about Phoenixes?" Sabrina asked, picking up the feather and putting it back into her pocket.
The fairy boy looked up at her, his wet mop of blond hair sticking to his face, surprise flickering in his eyes. "What?" He said dramatically. "Does the all-intelligent Grimm not know something for once? I'm shocked!"
"Puck," Sabrina growled. "This is serious."
"Would a 'please' kill you?" Puck said, raising an eyebrow and giving her a cocky grin.
"Do you really have to be such an immature baby?" Sabrina snapped, glaring at the fairy, all the tension and fear that were in her turning quickly into rage.
"Well, if I'm so immature then why did you ask me?" Puck said, glaring right back at Sabrina.
"I don't know!" Sabrina snarled, just barely keeping herself from yelling. "I bet Elvis knows more than you!"
Puck opened his mouth to reply but was cut off by someone yelling, "STOP!"
They both turned to look at Daphne, who, until this point, had been curled up tightly in a ball in a vain attempt to keep warm. Now she was sitting up, glaring at the two older children, her small body shaking with cold, anger, and fear.
"Can you two stop fighting for one second?" The little girl snapped. "Just because you're not fighting doesn't mean that you have to admit you're madly in love each other! So, could you please just stop it 'cause I can't take it anymore! I'm cold, wet, tired and Uncle Jake's in a castle with a bunch of demons and he might not come back . . . and . . . and." A choked sob escaped from Daphne's mouth. "Just please stop fighting. It's so not gravy!"
"Daphne," Sabrina said, reaching over and pulling her little sister into a hug. As quickly as it had come, her anger disappeared, leaving her feeling drained. "It's okay. We won't fight anymore. It's okay, it's going to be okay. Uncle Jake's going to come back. As soon as those demons see that warrior face you showed him, they'll be too scared to move." She said, hugging her sister tightly until she stopped crying, just like she used to after their parents' disappearance, when it finally started to sink in that their parents weren't coming back.
"I know that they're one of the most powerful creatures on the planet, even more powerful than fairies." Puck said, softly. Sabrina looked up in shock as the fairy kept talking. "I know there aren't many left. The bird-lady back there might be the only one left for all I know. As soon as they started to do those tests, people started to get ticked off and many of the giant birds were killed when they didn't give somebody what they wanted. The killing started to get even worse when hunters noticed how much people were willing to pay for phoenix feathers."
Sabrina looked up when he mentioned the feathers. "Is there magic in their feathers?" She asked quickly.
Puck frowned, his brow furrowing in thought as he tried to remember. "I . . . I . . . don't know." He said finally. "I know that their tears can heal, that some of the more powerful ones can open portals in time with their claws but I don't know anything about their feathers."
"Oh." Sabrina said, trying to ignore the disappointment that filled her.
"How do you know all that, Puck?" Daphne asked, slowly moving out of Sabrina's hug to look at the fairy.
Sabrina looked at Puck, her confusion matching Daphne's. Puck wasn't exactly the brightest person in the world, or at least he didn't act smart, so it was strange for him to know things.
"My dad told me." Puck said, giving them a smirk that was more bitter than mischievous. "He said that I needed to be prepared if I ever ran into one of the overgrown birds. He said that if I did, then I needed to order it to give me more power . . . or to make me a proper king because it was going to take a lot of magic to make that happen." His voice dropped at the last part, making it hard for them to hear, and his green eyes focused on the ground as if he found something interesting down there.
No one spoke for a while, the only sound being the rain as it hit the leaves. Sabrina stared at Puck, sympathy filling her as the Phoenix's words echoed in her head.
No matter what, people are always going to end up stabbing you in the back or disappointing you. You of all people should know that.
She couldn't imagine what if felt like to be kicked out of your home by your dad. It had hurt a lot when she had thought her parents had abandoned her, but there was always that small hope that maybe they hadn't. That maybe they still loved her.
A sudden memory popped inside her head, the time at Scrooge's place, when Oberon had talked through her.
"Puck," she said before she could stop herself. "You remember when I told you about when we went to Scrooge's and how ghosts could talk through me?" She said, shivering at the thought. That experience hadn't been pleasant at all.
"Yeah." Puck said, grinning at her. "Just another thing to add to how weird you are."
"Well, when your dad . . . I don't know . . . possessed me or whatever, I . . . felt something." She said, frowning as she tried to think of a way to explain it. "I think . . . no, I know he regretted banishing you. That, even though he may not have shown it, he loved you, a lot and that he wished that he could tell you that."
Puck stared at her for a moment, his mouth open in an O and his eyes wide with shock. Then he blinked and looked away quickly.
"Um, I think I'll go see if I can find some berries or something to eat." He mumbled, standing up and walking through the trees. But before he was out of sight, he turned and looked at Sabrina. "Thanks, stinkpot." He said, smiling hesitantly before turning and disappearing into the woods.
Daphne looked over at her sister and then gave her a big hug. "That was gravy." She said.
Sabrina grinned at her sister but the grin slowly faded as she looked up to the same spot and didn't see Jake.
"How long has he been gone?" Daphne asked, following her gaze.
"I don't know." Sabrina said. It felt like it had been hours.
"Do you think we should go after him?" Daphne asked, looking at her big sister.
"I don't know." Sabrina said again.
They sat quietly for a moment, listening as the rain fell around them, both of them desperately hoping that their uncle would come back soon.
"Sabrina?" Daphne asked suddenly, breaking the silence. "Do you think the dragons are okay?"
Sabrina blinked in surprise at the question. She had tried not to think about the dragons but she couldn't fight the feeling that, since the demons had caught up to them at the Devil's Drop, the dragons were either dead or seriously wounded.
She opened her mouth to answer but stopped when the sound of branches being broken reached her ears. She turned towards the sound, fear twisting in her gut as she stared into the dark woods, the sounds growing louder and louder. It sounded like something was coming towards them but no matter how hard she tried she couldn't see past the shadows that clung to the trees. Images of blood-thirsty demons sneaking through the woods invaded her mind.
"What's that?" Daphne whispered, her body tensing up as she got ready to punch the daylights out of whatever it was.
"I don't know." Sabrina said, pushing away her fear as she grabbed the nearest stick. She held the stick in front of her like a baseball bat, listening as the thing got closer and closer. . .
"OW! GRIMM! Why'd you do that?"
Sabrina stared in shock at the angry fairy in front of her, the berries and nuts he had been carrying, and shoving into his mouth, falling to the ground as he grabbed his head.
"Ow!" He moaned rubbing his head where she had hit him and then frowning down at his hand. "I think I'm bleeding!"
"That's just berry juice." Sabrina said, dropping the stick. "Man up. I didn't hit you that hard."
Puck ignored her, wincing as he gingerly prodded the lump on his head again.
"That's the last time I try to do something nice." He muttered, glaring at her. "I think you gave me a . . . a . . .a conclusion!"
"You mean a concussion?" Sabrina asked, rolling her eyes.
"See? It's already started to mess my thoughts up!" Puck said.
"Aw, do you need Sabrina to kiss your boo-boo?" Daphne asked slyly, trying to hide her smile.
"And get infected with cooties? No way!"
"Why were you making so much noise anyway?" Sabrina snapped after shooting Daphne a furious glare.
"Because I didn't think some psychopath was gonna hit me on the head with a stick!" Puck said and then he froze, a frown on his face.
"Wha . . ." Sabrina started but stopped when Puck shushed her, his frown deepening as he listened to something she couldn't hear.
Suddenly Puck's eyes widened with fear.
"RUN!" He shouted but it was too late.
Before anyone could move, loud shrieks filled the air and something heavy slammed into the branches above their heads.
Sabrina screamed, throwing her arms over her head to protect herself from falling branches as something cold and smooth wrapped around her arms.
She felt herself being jerked up into the air, shock and fear filling her as she watched the trees below her feet grow smaller.
She looked up to see what had grabbed her, trying to ignore the rain that pelted against her face, and all the air left her lungs as she found herself staring up at a demon.
NO! Sabrina thought, her fear quickly turning into blind panic. NO NO NO NO NO!
"LET ME GO!" She screamed, struggling to break free from the demon's grip. Over the shrieks of the demon and the wind whistling in her ears, she heard Daphne scream her name but Sabrina couldn't break free. The demon's grip was like iron and no amount of thrashing and screaming was going to make it let her go. Even if she had been able to break out she would have just fallen to her death.
That couldn't be worse than wherever they're taking us Sabrina thought, looking up to see where they were being carried.
Fear formed a cold block in her stomach as the Demon Castle loomed ahead of her, growing closer and closer.
!
Lightning flashed, briefly illuminating the figure of a dragon as she flew through the air. The Blue Dragon scanned the ground, her enhanced eye sight easily seeing through the rain, her scaly face set with grim determination. She hated this job, but not many were capable of doing it. The dragons who weren't wounded by the demon attack had to help those that were, and they had to protect them if the demons attacked again.
The Blue Dragon flew in a wide circle, looking for any remaining demons and any more dragon bodies. It was her job to cover the dead bodies to hide them from predators until other dragons came to carry them away for a proper burning.
The Blue Dragon spotted a body lying beside a bunch of rocks. She had flown over it twice already without spotting it there, its scales blending in with its surroundings.
The Blue Dragon flew down beside the dead body of the dragon, her claws digging into the now muddy earth. She stared at him for a moment, sadness gnawing at her heart. She remembered this dragon. He was the one with the big laugh and kind eyes. The one everyone eagerly circled around to hear what wild stories he had come up with.
She shook her head and blinked again, focusing on the body and not the dragon he used to be. There was no reason to cover him up with branches; his brown scales easily camouflaged him with the surrounding rocks, making it impossible for predators to find him.
The Blue Dragon bent her head down, her snout touching the space between the dragon's eyes.
"May your spirit forever fly in the sky of paradise." She whispered.
She spread her wings and flew up into the air again, flying around one last time before heading towards the cave where the rest of the dragons were, guilt filling her. She couldn't help but think that it was her fault that those dragons were dead. They had fought to help the humans, the humans that she had insisted they help. But she couldn't fight the feeling that saving the humans had been the right thing to do, and they had promised to help the dragons in the future.
The Blue Dragon flew gracefully into the cave, shaking herself to rid her scales of water.
"I hate flying in the rain." She said, folding her wings closer to her body to make it easier to fit in the cave.
"Did you see anything?" A deep voice rumbled from the back of the cave. She looked up to see the Black Dragon sitting beside a wounded gray dragon.
She shook her head, "Nothing but dead dragons." She said softly.
The Black Dragon stared at her, taking in the sad expression on her face. He motioned to another dragon to come take care of the wounded gray one and walked over to stand beside her.
"Hey," He said, his voice soft. "They died heroes and the wounded are going to heal soon."
The Blue Dragon nodded her head, turning to look at the dragons behind her.
The fight with the demons had been the hardest fight the dragons had had in a while. After years of solitude, the only fights being with each other, the dragons hadn't been prepared for how the demons fought, giving the demons an advantage. Out of the twenty that had flown out to fight, five dragons were dead, their twisted bodies scattered out over the forest, and six were badly injured from trying to avoid being infected by demon venom. One dragon had a broken wing from letting himself fall to the ground to avoid being scratched by a demons deadly claw. If her father hadn't joined the fight, she was sure many more, if not all, dragons would have died.
At the thought of her father, the Blue Dragon turned back to the mouth of the cave, her eyes searching the darkness outside for the glint of golden scales. After making sure the injured were safe and secure inside the cave, the Golden Dragon had immediately flown back to the main cave to make sure the demons hadn't decided to attack there and he still wasn't back.
"I'm sure he's fine." The Black Dragon said.
The Blue Dragon nodded her head but continued to stare worriedly out the mouth of the cave.
"But he's not the only one you're worried about, is he?" The Black Dragon said, looking at her worried blue eyes. Annoyance flashed across his scaly face. "Are you worried about the humans?"
The Blue Dragon sighed, "Demons were after them!" She said, turning to face him. "Whatever they're up to can't be safe. For all we know they could be in trouble."
"Would you be willing to help them?"
The two dragons spun around at the sound of the unfamiliar voice. The Blue Dragon glared in suspicion and shock at the figure standing just inside the mouth of the cave. The figure was wearing a long cloak with the hood pulled up, covering the person's ( if it even was a person) face in shadows. The Blue Dragon could feel the power rolling off of the stranger, making her even wearier of it. She glared at the person, wondering why she hadn't heard or smelled the figure long before they entered the cave.
Must be the rain, she thought.
"Who are you?" The Black Dragon hissed, baring his long, sharp teeth.
The figure ignored him. "Will you be willing to help them," It repeated. "Even if it means fighting the demons again?"
"How do you know the humans?" The Blue Dragon asked suspiciously. "And how do you know they're in trouble?"
"How I know the humans doesn't matter." The figure said. "And let's just say that you dragons aren't the only ones with cool powers."
"How do we know this isn't a trick? How do we know you aren't a demon?" The Black Dragon snapped.
"You don't." The figure said simply, its shoulders moving in a slight shrug.
The Blue Dragon frowned. The person didn't seem like a demon to her. Sure, whoever it was was powerful . . . but the power radiating from the figure didn't feel as menacing as a demon's.
And what if the person was telling the truth? What if the humans were in trouble and needed help?
An image of the humans popped into her head. The little girl with the big smile, the blonde that seemed to scowl a lot but had a pretty smile, the annoying, but kinda funny fairy, and the brave older man. They were a few of the little remaining human and everafters who didn't consider the dragons to be threats that needed to be destroyed. Letting people like that die would be a mistake . . . and maybe she wanted to see where the fairy and human girl's little romance went and if they partook in the kissing again.
The Black Dragon looked at her frowning face and gasped. "You can't seriously be thinking about this! Even if this wasn't a trick, we would be risking our lives for humans! Again! Look at them!" The Black Dragon pointed with his tail to the injured dragons behind him. "Look at how much they've already sacrificed for those humans! Are you willing to risk even more for something you don't even know to be true?"
"Think about it this way," The figure said. "You'll get a chance to rid Ferryport Landing completely of demons."
The Blue Dragon looked over at her companion. "I don't know. It doesn't feel like a trick." She said, turning back to the figure. "And that one doesn't seem like a demon."
The Black Dragon growled, "What about the other dragons? Do you think they'll be willing to fight the demons again?"
"We certainly wouldn't mind kicking some more demon butt."
The two dragons turned around to stare at the group of dragons that had formed behind them.
"Besides, they killed my brother," A dark purple dragon growled. "And I'm not going to let them get away with that."
The other dragons murmured in agreement. "But it's your call." One dragon said and they all stared at the Blue Dragon.
She turned to stare at the Black Dragon. She could feel her gut screaming at her to trust whoever this person was, to fly out and save the humans. She knew she would go no matter what the Black Dragon said, but she really wanted him to come with her.
He let out a sigh. "I'll go wherever you go." He promised. "But are you sure we can trust . . .that?" He said, jerking his head towards the figure.
"Oh, you can trust her all right." A voice deeper than thunder rumbled from outside the cave. They turned in time to see the Golden Dragon land behind the figure, half of his body inside the cave, the other half outside in the rain.
"So, you want us to go help?" The Blue Dragon asked, relief filling her at the sight of her father.
"Only if you are willing too." The Golden Dragon said, eying the six dragons standing behind them, "It will be no easy feat to get rid of the demons. You may face death once again."
They all raised their heads and slammed their tails into the ground twice, the universal dragon sign for yes.
'Is that a yes?" The figure asked.
The Golden Dragon turned to it, his golden eyes flashing with amusement. "Of course. I'm not going to be shown up by a bird." He suddenly lifted his tail and knocked the hood off the figure's head, revealing a woman with spiky red hair and a wide grin.
"Pretty cool." She said.
!
This can't be happening.
The thought ran circles around her head as Sabrina stared down at the black obsidian floor, cold beneath her fingertips.
The demons had flown into the castle and dropped the children onto their knees in the middle of a cavernous room, not even bothering to tie their hands as they stepped back to join the other demons that stood at the edge of the room.
The only good thing was that Uncle Jake was okay . . . if being at the mercy of a bunch of blood-thirsty monsters could count as being okay. Shortly after Sabrina and the others had been unceremoniously dropped onto the floor, a demon had dragged Uncle Jake in, throwing him down beside Sabrina.
Sabrina quickly glanced over at her uncle. His wet hair stuck to his face, water dripping from it and his jacket as he stared at the ground, his mouth set in a straight line, hands balled into tight fists. His head turned slightly and for a brief moment their eyes met and instead of seeing fear, Sabrina saw fierce determination burning in her uncle's eyes. Despite the odds, he hadn't given up.
Her uncle's attitude sparked courage inside of her. Why should she be afraid? She was a Grimm! She'd been in tons of life or death situations before . . . but before they'd always had magic to help them.
Magic! Sabrina's eyes widened as she looked back at Uncle Jake, her eyes locking on his jacket, the jacket with a bunch of magical items. The demons must not know what was inside all those pockets . . . but that might not last for long.
Sabrina frowned down at the floor, trying to think of a way to keep the demons away from Uncle Jake's jacket. When she looked up again her blue eyes met emerald green ones. Sabina nodded her head slightly towards Uncle Jake, barely aware of the demons dropping to their knees around her. Puck frowned in confusion at Uncle Jake and then his eyes widened. He looked back at Sabrina, a mischievous smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.
Sabrina looked over at him, trying to warn him to be careful, when she was suddenly aware of how quiet the room was.
She looked down at the floor, and took a deep breath, shoving away her fear as she grabbed Daphne's hand and looked up into the eyes of the demon queen.
Sabrina didn't know when she had entered the room but there she was in front of them, sitting on a large black throne.
The throne rested on top of a raised dais, successfully forcing everyone to look up at the Demon Queen. Sabrina looked up at the monster, fear and anger mixing inside of her. This time the demon was in her true form, her snake like skin looking like black ink, her wings folded behind her back. Her head tilted slightly to the side as she looked down at them, her red eyes filled with wicked amusement.
"It's amazing that your race has lived this long, considering how stupid you humans are." Jezebel said, her cold voice filling the large room. She stood up with a grace that contradicted the way she looked and walked down the steps towards them, her eyes narrowing into slits.
"Did you really think that you, mere weak humans, could trespass into my territory and get away with it?" She spat, her black claws clicking on the stone floor as she walked towards them. Jezebel stopped in front of them, taking a deep breath, a sinister smile revealing poison covered fangs. "It's been a while since I've tasted human."
Suddenly the grin was replaced by a frown. "But why did you trespass onto my territory?" She said, not waiting for an answer as she cocked her head to the side and studied the prisoners before her.
"What did you want?" She said, her voice barely above a whisper, her red eyes locking onto Uncle Jake.
"Did you think you could steal some of our treasure?" she said, eyes narrowing as she took a step closer to Uncle Jake, sniffing deeply.
Sabrina was positive everyone in the room could hear her heart beating. She bit her lip so hard she tasted blood, trying to think of a way to distract the demon without getting herself killed as the Demon Queen took another step closer to her uncle.
"Or did you wish to steal some of our magic?" Jezebel said, mostly to herself as she bent over Jake and took another deep breath.
"It's no wonder you haven't eaten anything in forever, what with how long it took you to catch us."
Jezebel straightened, turning around sharply to glare at the fairy boy.
Puck, oblivious to the demon's glare, sat up on his knees, staring around at the demons.
"Wow." He said, whistling. "Looks like half of your demons are dead." He grinned crookedly at the Demon Queen. "That's a lot to lose chasing a bunch of weak humans."
Jezebel hissed, her red eyes glaring daggers at the boy. "It's been even longer since I've had fairy for dinner."
Puck looked at her and smirked. "Shocker."
A loud roar filled the room, bouncing off the walls. In the blink of an eye Jezebel was in front of Puck, her face inches from his, one hand wrapped around his arm, forcing him in place, the other close to his throat, her claws barely brushing his skin.
Sabrina sat frozen with fear. She knew that all the Demon Queen had to do was prick him with her claw and Puck would die. She tried to stand up but demons shoved both her, Daphne and Uncle Jake back down, forcing them to watch.
Seconds felt like hours as the Demon Queen and Puck stared at each other and then the demon spoke in a slow whisper that sent shivers down Sabrina's spin.
"You seem to like to talk a lot." Jezebel whispered, scarily calm as she stared at the fairy. "That's a good thing because that means you're a good screamer and, trust me, you're going to be screaming for a very long time." She tapped Puck's cheek lightly with the tip of her claw. "A very long time." She said, grinning wickedly when she saw fear flash across his eyes.
"LEAVE HIM ALONE, YOU BIG MEANIE!" Daphne shouted, struggling to stand up.
Jezebel just laughed and walked back up to her throne, her laugh reverberating off the stone walls.
"Take them to the dungeons." She said, sitting back onto her throne. "And lock them up tight. We don't want our dinner to escape."
Demons grabbed Sabrina and the others and dragged them out of the large room.
Jezebel grinned as she watched the humans and the fairy being dragged out of the room. She had won. She had caught them and she was going to show them what happened when you tried to make a fool out of the Demon Queen.
Already she felt energized after seeing the fear in both the fairy's and humans' eyes, and that was just the beginning.
Jezebel's malicious smile widened.
This was going to be fun.
!
The demons, not waiting for their prisoners to stand up, literally dragged them down flights of stairs. Sabrina, while concentrating on not breaking any bones, tried to memorize every twist and turn the demons took for if . . . when they escaped. But the castle was too large and everything looked the same. Every hall was black, the stones looking like the demons had pulled them right out of the night sky, and every winding staircase looked just like the last one. There weren't any rugs or pictures or anything to distinguish one hall from another. The only thing that changed was that the farther down they went, the colder it got.
Finally the demons dragged them into the dungeon, which was a narrow hallway with cells embedded into the stone walls.
The demons roughly shoved Sabrina and the others into a cell, laughing as they locked the barred door.
"Sssssseee you sssssoon.' One demon said, its malicious laugh echoing off the walls as it walked away.
Sabrina waited until the demons were gone before slapping Puck on the back of the head.
"What were you thinking? You could have been killed!" She said, glaring at him as she tried to stop herself from shaking. Whether she would admit it or not, that had been one of the scariest moments in her life. She could have sworn her heart had stopped beating when the demon had lunged at the fairy. She had thought he was going to die and for some reason that scared her more then being surrounded by a bunch of blood-thirsty demons.
"I was thinking, 'hey, let's get the overgrown lizard away from the magic stuff!'" Puck said, glaring at her as he rubbed his head. "And that's the second time you hit me!" He grumbled, turning to look at Uncle Jake. "Please tell me you have something in your jacket to get us out of here."
"Let's hope so." Uncle Jake said as he started rummaging through his pockets. "What you did was stupid . . . funny, but stupid. If we don't get out of here, it's not going to be pleasant for you."
"I don't think they had planned on eating me in a pleasant way before." Puck muttered.
Uncle Jake pulled out the potion bottle and stared at it for a few moments, watching the ingredients change colors as they floated inside the bottle.
"I'm sorry you guys." He said. "I shouldn't have let you come along. I knew it was too dangerous and now . . . I'm so sorry, this is my fault."
"It's not your fault, Uncle Jake." Sabrina said. "We decided to come ourselves and nothing you could have said would have changed our minds."
Uncle Jake gave her a small grin, "True." He said.
Daphne walked over and gave him a big hug, grinning up at him. "Don't worry; we'll get out of here. We're Grimms, it's what we do."
Uncle Jake grinned at her and handed Puck the potion bottle. "Hold this while I look and see what I have." He winked at the fairy. "I hope you don't hate me for dragging you into all this."
Puck moved the bottle around in his hand. "Dragons, fiery birds, and overgrown killer lizards, wouldn't have missed it for all the stink-bombs in the world." He said, grinning.
"You mean, you don't know what's in there?" Sabrina asked, watching as her uncle pulled what looked like a bunch of chewed up bubble gun out of a pocket.
He looked up at her sheepishly. "It's been a while since I've cleaned it out."
"How come the demon lady knew you had magic with you?" Puck asked, looking down at what looked like the bones of a rat.
"Some creatures can sense, or in this case, smell magic." Uncle Jake said. "It's a good thing you distracted her or we would have been in big trouble."
"Except he almost got killed." Sabrina muttered earning a glare from Puck.
"Daphne, think you can give me a hand?" Uncle Jake asked. The little girl ran over to him, eager to help him find something that could help them.
Sabrina sighed and looked around the cell for anything that could help them escape. She knew she wouldn't be any help with Uncle Jake, with her addiction she might sneak magical items into her pockets when no one was looking.
Apparently, the demons didn't bother with making sure their prisoners were comfy. There was nothing in the cell, not a chair or even a cot to sleep on. There was only dust, a few bones, and a lit torch hanging against the wall, the only source of light in the dungeon.
After spotting nothing, she walked over to the bars blocking their way out. She looked down the hall for any sign of demons, but apparently the demons didn't think they needed to guard the weak humans. After making sure the hall was clear, she turned her attention to the bars. They were thick; she couldn't even wrap her hand all the way around one, and there wasn't a single bit of rust on them.
"Puck," She said, turning to stare at the fairy. "Do you think you could break these?"
Puck walked over to her, shoving the potion bottle into his filthy hoodie pocket. He looked at the bars, a frown on his face and then punched one as hard as he could.
"OW!" He howled, cradling his wounded hand and bouncing around the room.
"I meant if you could turn into an animal and break them, doofus!" Sabrina snapped.
"Well, that would have been nice to know!" Puck said, gingerly cradling his hand.
Sabrina rolled her eyes. "Let me see your hand. Knowing you, you probably broke it." Sabrina said, gently taking his hand and looking at it. It didn't look broken to her, just kinda bruised.
She looked up to find him staring at her and all the fear she had felt in the throne room came rushing back. Puck had almost died! Even though on numerous occasions she wished she had never met the annoying, prankster, she realized, staring into those green eyes, that life wouldn't be. . . right without him.
And besides, she still had to get him back for all the pranks he had pulled on her.
"Puck. . ." Sabrina started but stopped when she didn't know what to say. She wanted to tell him to never scare her like that again, but of course she couldn't say that unless she wanted to be teased for the rest of her life.
Puck looked at her. "What? Spit it out, stink brain!" he said, just as Uncle Jake shouted, "Got it!"
Sabrina and Puck spun around to find Uncle Jake triumphantly holding a small sack in his hand. He opened the sack and poured what looked like tiny red rocks onto his palm.
"What are they?" Daphne asked, looking wide eyed at the rocks.
"Wait, we're going to pelt them with rocks?" Sabrina said, skeptically.
But even as she was saying that she knew they weren't normal rocks. Even from where she was standing she could feel the irresistible pull of magic coming off of them.
"These aren't ordinary rocks." Uncle Jake said, grinning at them. "They're explosive rocks. All you have to do is throw one at a solid object and it explodes!"
"COOL! I want some!" Puck said eagerly, holding out his hand.
"You must be crazy." Uncle Jake said, looking at the fairy and shaking his head. "There's no way I'm giving these to you."
"Can they knock the bars off?" Daphne asked, pointing to the door.
Uncle Jake opened his mouth but the sound of voices drifting outside made him stop.
Sabrina and Puck stepped back from the cell bars as two demons came into view.
"Ssssssso," One of the demons said as it opened the cell door. "Which one wantssss to be devoured firsssst?"
Its companion looked at Puck, its red eyes glinting maliciously in the torch light. "The Queen sssssspecifically requesssssted the fairy."
The other demon laughed as it walked towards Puck. "Don't look ssssso ssscared." It hissed, its grin revealing long fangs. "It'ssss an honor to be eaten by the queen."
"Leave him alone!" Daphne yelled, showing her warrior face.
"What'ssssss wrong with that one?" It said, staring in disgust at the little girl.
"HIYAH!" Daphne yelled and kicked the monster in its shin.
The demon roared in anger. "Or maybe we'll start with you!" It snarled, lunging at Daphne.
But it never reached her.
Just as the demon was flying towards Daphne, Uncle Jake threw an explosive rock. The tiny red rock sailed through the air, glinting in the light of the torch before connecting with the demon's skin.
There was a loud BOOM and something slammed into Sabrina, pinning her against the wall. Sabrina squeezed her eyes shut as the ground shook violently, rocks raining from the ceiling as shrieks filled the air. Suddenly, the shaking and shrieks stopped. Sabrina slowly opened her eyes, blinking as dust settled around her.
"You okay?" Puck asked. The fairy had shoved her against the wall to avoid being crushed by falling stones. The explosive rock had blown not only the bars off the door but a part of the ceiling to bits. Large chunks of stone that used to make up the ceiling were now stacked on top of each other where Sabrina had been standing a few minuets ago.
Sabrina nodded her head as she looked around, fear twisting in her gut.
"Daphne?" She said, standing up and looking around frantically for her little sister. An image of Daphne being squashed by rocks kept playing over and over in her head. "Uncle Jake? Daphne?"
"Sabrina!"
Her sister's muffled voice came from the other side of the pile of rocks.
Sabrina ran over, trying to find a hole or a crack in the pile of rubble. "Are you okay?" She shouted, after finding nothing. "Is Uncle Jake okay?"
"We're both fine."
Relief filled Sabrina at the sound of her uncle's voice.
"I'm fine too, just in case anyone's wondering." Puck said standing beside Sabrina.
"I'm glad you two are okay." Uncle Jake said. "Can you guys see anyway to get over here with us?"
Sabrina looked around at the rocks, the only holes were at the top of the pile and they were too small to squeeze through.
"No!" she shouted.
She heard her uncle sigh. "I'd throw another rock but someone could get hurt." He muttered, his voice barely audible. "And moving them would take too long."
Sabrina thought she heard Jake sigh before he said. "We're going to have to split up."
Sabrina looked at Puck, seeing her own uncertainty reflected in his eyes.
"Just focus on getting out and don't confront a demon unless you have too and please stay safe." Sabrina could hear the worry in her uncle's voice.
"You too." She said.
"Don't worry, Sabrina!" Daphne shouted. "I'll show any demon who tries to fight us who's boss!"
Even though she couldn't see her, Sabrina was positive that Daphne was making her warrior face.
"Don't worry, Jakey." Puck said, pulling out his trusty wooden sword. "I'll keep ugly here safe."
"We'll see you outside." Uncle Jake said.
Sabrina's eyes widened with fear when she heard a loud hiss on the other side of the wall. It sounded like something was talking.
"Uncle Jake?" She asked worriedly, straining to hear.
"Don't worry about us! Just hurry!" Uncle Jake yelled, his last words almost drowned out by another infuriated hiss.
"C'mon, Sabrina, we need to go before the uglies come down to investigate." Puck said, grabbing her arm but Sabrina wouldn't budge. She stood still, desperately trying to figure out what was happening on the other side.
"Sabrina," Puck said, grabbing her hand. Sabrina looked at him, trying to ignore the little bolts of lighting that ran up her arm when he touched her.
"The only thing we can do to help them is to get out of here alive." Puck said, his emerald green eyes uncharacteristically serious.
Sabrina stared at him for a moment before nodding her head. For once, Puck was right. The only thing she could do was escape and pray that her uncle and sister would be alright.
Puck grinned, his seriousness quickly being replaced with excitement. "Now let's go get us some demon hide."
"Puck!" Sabrina snapped.
Puck grinned at her. "Just kidding!" He said as he ran up the stairs.
After a moment of hesitation, Sabrina grabbed the torch off the wall, casting one last look over her shoulder at the wall that separated her from her little sister. She said a quick prayer for the safety of Uncle Jake and Daphne before following the fairy-boy up the stairs.
!
The demon kneeled, shaking as violently as a leaf during a thunderstorm, his last words still echoing in the eerily quiet room as another explosion shook the castle.
Humans escaped . . . escaped . . . escaped. . .
He looked up, carefully making sure he kept his head bowed, and risked a glance at his queen.
She sat completely still on her throne, her red eyes staring ahead into nothing. Her long black claws dug into the arms of the throne so hard the black stone started to crack.
He tried to figure out what emotion was raging inside those red eyes so he could determine what punishment he would receive for being the one to bring her this news.
Without warning, those red eyes locked onto him and he knew exactly what punishment he was going to get.
As quick as lightning the Demon Queen struck and the demon hit the floor with a THUMP, the life leaking out of his eyes.
Jezebel stood over the dead demon, breathing heavily.
The humans have escaped.
She tossed her head back and shrieked, the sound bouncing off the walls, making it sound like a thousand demons were shrieking.
When the sound finally died, she glared around the room at all the demons that had stood rooted to the spot, fearful that their queen was going to turn her anger on them.
"WHY ARE YOU JUST STANDING THERE?" Jezebel shrieked. "Go find the humans and bring them to me!"
The demons ran out of the room, shoving and knocking each other in their haste to get out of the room and away from the furious queen.
Jezebel watched them leave, raging animosity bubbling up inside of her. This time she didn't push the anger away, instead she embraced it as she walked out of the room, carelessly stepping on the dead servant on her way out.
She didn't expect her worthless servants to catch any of the humans; they had already proved themselves to be inept in that area. She couldn't believe they had let the humans escape!
Her hands curled into fists. When she was finished with the humans, she was going to make sure all her slaves were severely punished.
But first she had to deal with the humans and that fairy.
Her red eyes, the only thing visible as she walked down the dark hallway, narrowed into angry slits. She was going to kill those worthless humans as slowly as possible and then hang their bones outside the castle, the perfect warning to all those who thought they could mess with the Demon Queen.
!
While they had been talking to Sabrina and Puck, Uncle Jake had pulled a small sphere out of his pocket. As soon as the orb escaped the fabric, it started to emit a soft glow, growing brighter and brighter by the second until it was as bright as a light bulb, pushing the shadows back against the wall.
Though she tried not to show it, Daphne was glad that Uncle Jake had that glowing ball. The impenetrable darkness had started to freak her out.
While Uncle Jake was telling Sabrina and Puck to meet him outside, Daphne started looking around. The glowing sphere lit up a small circle around her and her uncle, but just outside the circle the darkness crouched like an animal.
Daphne stared into the unfathomable darkness, shoving her fear away. She was a Bad Apple and Bad Apple's were never afraid. Then she saw the two red eyes glaring at her from the shadows.
"Uncle Jake!" Daphne said, her voice barely above a whisper as the demon hissed from the shadows.
Uncle Jake spun around, pushing Daphne behind him when he saw the red eyes.
"Did you think you could jusssst essscape?" The demon hissed, still staying invisible in the shadows.
"Don't worry about us! Just hurry!" Uncle Jake yelled just as the demon lunged.
Uncle Jake jumped to the side, taking Daphne with him as he avoided the demon. They hit the ground hard, the orb and sack of explosive rocks flying from her uncle's hands.
Daphne winced when the sack hit the ground but apparently the fabric stopped the rocks from exploding.
"Get the rocks!" Uncle Jake whispered in her ear, all the time keeping his eye trained on the demon. "I'll deal with him."
Daphne nodded her head and started to crawl towards the sack, trying to stick to the shadows to avoid being seen by the demon but the demon didn't look at her. Its red eyes were locked onto Uncle Jake, the biggest one out of the two, so therefore the biggest threat.
Uncle Jake slowly stood up, glaring right back at the demon, his hand stealthily searching inside his pockets for some kind of weapon. Before he could find one, the demon let out another roar and lunged at him, sharp claws extended.
Uncle Jake quickly stepped to the side, sticking out his foot and tripping the demon so that it slammed into the wall.
The demon shook its head, a hiss of pain escaping from its lips before it turned to face Jake, its red eyes filled with hate. The demon lunged at Uncle Jake again but this time, in his haste to avoid being scratched by the poisonous claws, Uncle Jake tripped, falling heavily onto the stone floor.
Daphne reached the sack just as Uncle Jake hit the floor. Horror filled her when she saw the demon standing over her uncle, a triumphant smile on its face as it swung its claws towards her uncle's throat.
"Shefti feolt!" Daphne screamed.
The demon's claw stopped inches from Uncle Jake's head. It looked up at her, confusion and anger in its red eyes.
While the demon was staring at her, Uncle Jake pulled his legs up to his chest and then kicked the demon as hard as he could.
The demon flew back and slammed into the wall, falling to the floor with a THUMP!
Uncle Jake picked a stone off the floor as the demon was getting up and smashed it against the demon's head. There was a sickening crack and the demon flopped back onto the floor, completely motionless.
For a few seconds the only sound was Uncle Jake's heavy breathing and then he looked over at Daphne.
"How do you know how to speak Faerie?" Uncle Jake asked.
"Puck taught me." Daphne said, picking up the sack and the glowing orb. "He said that was something you said that made people really mad but he wouldn't tell me what it meant. I don't think even he knew what it meant."
Uncle Jake stared at her for a moment and then laughed. "Don't ever say something that boy teaches you." He said, walking over to her and taking the sack and orb.
"Hey," She said, grinning at him. "That saved your life."
Uncle Jake chuckled. "Remind me to thank him after I strangle him for teaching you that."
"You should have seen Prince Charming's face when I said that to him." Daphne said as she followed her uncle down the hall.
Uncle Jake grinned. "Now that I wish I had seen."
They walked on in silence then, keeping their ears and eyes peeled for anymore demons. Daphne stayed close to her uncle, every muscle in her body tense, ready incase a demon jumped out of the shadows.
The hall ended in a set of stairs that winded above their heads. Uncle Jake held up the glowing orb but no matter how high he held it they couldn't see where the stairs ended . . . or who might be hiding up there.
"Stay right behind me." Uncle Jake said, handing her the sack of explosive rocks. "And hold these."
Daphne gripped the sack tightly in her hand and she followed her uncle up the stairs, wincing as the sound of their steps echoed around them.
The stairs ended in a long hallway with doors on each side. Daphne looked around at the dark hallway, a frown on her face.
"I don't think these guys are into decorating.' She said while Uncle Jake walked over to a door.
He pressed his ear against the wood, listening for any sounds. When he heard none he opened the door and held the glowing orb inside.
"Whoa." Daphne said, her eyes widening to the size of plates. "Look at all that!"
The room was filled with magical items of all shapes and sizes, stacked in haphazard piles all over the room. There were swords, creepy looking masks, shiny jewelry, and . . . a red sock monkey.
"Where do you think they got all this?" Daphne asked, stepping around her uncle and into the room. She immediately felt magic wash over her as she looked at all the magic-do-hickies that crowded the small room.
"Probably from all the people they . . . they stole it." Uncle Jake said staring around in amazement at the room. "Don't mess with that." Uncle Jake said when he saw her reach for the sock monkey.
Daphne pulled her hand away from it. "What does it do?" She asked, imagining all the ways the monkey could be dangerous.
Uncle Jake shrugged, "I don't know but I'd rather not find out." He walked over to another pile, muttering, "I hate monkeys."
Daphne stepped away from the monkey and picked up a jar of what looked like multi-colored jelly-beans. "Why would they steal jelly beans?"
"Don't eat those," Uncle Jake said quickly. "They'll turn your skin whatever color they are."
Daphne grinned, imagining her mother's face if she came home with green skin and purple poke-a-dots.
"Do you think we should take some with us?" Daphne asked, looking over at her uncle.
Uncle Jake shook his head as he stared around at the magical objects. "I have no idea what most of these do." He said. "And we don't have enough time to find out what they do."
"But what about that one?" Daphne asked, pointing to a sharp looking sword.
"For all I know that'll turn you into a pink dog with blue tentacles." Uncle Jake said, nodding his head at the door. "C'mon, we need to hurry."
Daphne took one last look at the sword; she wouldn't mind being a cute doggie with tentacles. She turned to follow Uncle Jake but froze when she saw a demon standing in the doorway, blocking their way out.
"Where do you think you're going?" It hissed, eyeing them malevolently.
Daphne screamed, reaching over and picking up the sword. She felt magic surge up her arms as she pointed the sword at the demon.
The demon smirked at her. "You think you can fight me, little . . ."
Before it could finish the sentence, a bolt of flame shot out of the sword and slammed into the demons chest, knocking it against the wall.
There was a long moment of silence and then:
"Gravy!"
"Okay," Uncle Jake said slowly. "We can keep the sword."
"Really?" Daphne said, spinning around to face him.
"Whoa!" Uncle Jake said, jumping to stay out of the sword's line of fire. "Just be careful where you point that thing!"
"Oh, sorry." Daphne said sheepishly, carefully pointing the sword away from her uncle.
She followed Uncle Jake out the door and back into the hallway. "How are we going to find our way out of here?" She asked.
"We going to blow that wall up," Uncle Jake said, pointing to the wall at the end of the hallway. "And pray that it'll lead us outside."
"You're not going anywhere!"
Daphne gasped as seven demons stepped out of the shadows, materializing in front of them.
"The Queen wissshessss to ssssspeak to you two."
Daphne and Uncle Jake spun around to find more demons standing behind them. Daphne felt fear bubble up inside of her as she stared at all those malicious red eyes.
They were surrounded.
"I'm sorry, but we've really got to go." Uncle Jake said, holding the sack with the explosive rocks.
Daphne pointed her sword as she and her uncle stood back to back, staring down the demons that surrounded her.
The little girl's grip on the sword tightened and she let out her battle cry as the demons lunged towards her.
!
Sabrina ran close behind Puck, keeping her eyes open for any demons. So far they hadn't run into any but they also hadn't found a way out. Every hallway looked the same, making her fear that they were walking around in circles.
"Didn't we just pass that staircase?" She whispered, gripping the torch tighter in her hand.
Puck stopped and looked at the staircase, running his hand through his hair, frustration written on his face. "How the heck do you get out of this place?"
"You don't."
Sabrina and Puck spun around at the sound of the hissing voice to find a demon standing just a few feet away from them.
"Now, why don't you be good food and come with me." The demon hissed as it slowly walked towards them.
Suddenly the castle shook violently as a loud BOOM echoed down the hall.
The demon stopped and tilted its head slightly. "Wha . . ." It started but Sabrina didn't give it a chance to finish.
She lunged forward and shoved the torch into the demon's face. The demon hissed in pain, stepping back and knocking the torch out of Sabrina's hand just as Puck smacked his sword on its head.
The demon crumpled to the floor, unconscious.
And then the torch went out.
Paralyzing fear gripped Sabrina as impenetrable darkness pressed around her, threatening to choke her. She couldn't help but jump when something grabbed her hand, her heart feeling like it was about to burst out of her chest.
"Sabrina," Puck whispered, trying to keep his voice clear of the fear that was twisting his gut. "It's just me. Take my hand; I think I've got an idea."
Sabrina grabbed his hand, forcing herself to stay calm. She heard a loud burp and then fire flew out of Puck's mouth, briefly illuminating the hall before it died.
That's how they went. Painfully slow, they walked down the hall, Puck blowing out as much flame as he could and Sabrina listening for any demons. Twice they pressed themselves against the wall, desperately hoping that the demons wouldn't see them as the sound of their wings flapping grew louder and louder until they flew right by the children and down the hall.
Twice Sabrina thought she was going to die from relief.
And then they would do it all over again. Walking inch but inch through the castle until they entered a hallway, probably the only hallway, with windows
Five large windows were set on one side of the hallway. The windows were about five feet off the ground and stretched all the way up, stopping about a foot from the ceiling.
Sabrina watched as the moon peeked through the clouds, shining through the windows and bathing the floor in rectangular squares of white light.
"Puck," Sabrina asked, staring up at the windows. "Do you think you can break the glass and fly us out of here?"
Puck looked at the windows and then grinned at Sabrina. "Oh, yeah!" He said, breathing deeply. All that burping had left him feeling lightheaded.
His wings popped out of his back and he flew to the window, balancing on the sill. He stared at the glass for a moment and then his arms transformed into the arms of a gorilla. He punched the glass as hard as he could, covering his face with his other arm as the glass shattered.
He turned to look at her, grinning crookedly. "C'mon . . ." he started but stopped when a voice as cold as ice echoed from the other end of the hall.
"You two aren't going anywhere."
Sabrina looked up, cold fear griping her when she saw a demon coming towards them from the other end of the hall. But she could tell by the way the demon stood straight, demanding all the attention, and by the menacing air that rolled off of it, that it wasn't just any demon.
It was the Demon Queen.
"Did you really think you could escape?" Jezebel hissed, her eyes liquid pools of hate, pinning them to the spot as she walked towards them. Every time the demon stepped under the moon's light her body changed, morphing into the beautiful woman until she stepped back unto the shadows.
Sabrina stared at the Demon Queen, fear freezing her to the spot. She heard the saying that the eyes were the windows to a person's soul but those fiery red eyes glaring at her from across the hall were more like burning windows to Hell.
"Sabrina! C'mon!"
Sabrina turned her eyes away from the demon to see Puck holding his hand out to her, ready to pull her up onto the window sill.
"Oh, no you don't." Jezebel hissed and then she opened her mouth wide and a high-pitched, inhuman shriek filled the air.
Sabrina screamed and pressed her hands over her ears as the sound grated against her eardrums, barely aware of Puck stumbling and falling onto the floor beside her.
"I'm going to make sure you never see the light of day again!" Jezebel hissed, finally stopping that horrible shrieking.
Sabrina gasped as the demon, without warning, lunged toward her, poisonous claws outstretched to kill the girl . . . until a wooden sword smacked her in the face.
"Leave her alone!" Puck yelled, stepping between Sabrina and Jezebel.
"You little brat." Jezebel hissed, glaring daggers at the fairy. "I'm going to enjoy killing you."
"Ya gotta catch me first." Puck taunted, smirking as he flapped his wings, smacking the demon on the head before flying up towards the roof.
Jezebel screamed in fury, her black wings popping out her back, and flew after the fairy.
Sabrina watched as they flew around above her head, the demon slashing with her claws and Puck quickly blocking them. She knew the fairy wouldn't be able to keep dodging those claws for long.
She looked around quickly, trying to find something that she could use as a weapon. A rock or a stick or maybe . . .
A piece of glass!
Sabrina ran over and picked up a piece of the broken window, wincing as the sharp sides dug into her skin.
Just then she heard a shout of surprise. She looked up just in time to see Puck's wing clip the wall. The fairy fell to the ground, the breath knocking out of him when he hit the hard floor.
The Demon Queen landed beside him and shrieked in triumph as she lifted a claw to finish him off.
Sabrina let out a yell and charged at the demon. She jumped onto the monster's back, stabbing the piece of glass as hard as she could into the scaly flesh.
Jezebel shrieked in pain and started to swing around in an attempt to get the girl off of her back.
Sabrina held on for dear life, trying to think of a way to let go of the demon without being chopped to bits.
Without warning, the demon stepped back hard against the wall, squashing Sabrina against the hard surface. Sabrina let go of the demon as pain wrapped around her ribs and fell onto her hands and knees on the floor.
"You little brat!" Jezebel shrieked, glaring at Sabrina as black blood oozed out of the cut on her shoulder. Before she could lunge of Sabrina though, Puck hit her in the back with his sword.
"People really need to learn to cover their butts." He said, laughing.
Jezebel swung around and grabbed the fairy before he could fly away. Before Sabrina could stand up, or even blink, the Demon Queen stabbed her poison coated claws deep into Puck's stomach.