Free The Everafter War by Michael Buckley Page A

Daphne?”
    Sabrina spun around but Daphne wasn’t there. “She must have gone back to tell Elvis good-bye.”
    “Daphne, we don’t have time for this,” Henry shouted.
    “Daphne!” Veronica called. There was no response.
    Henry shook his head. “When did she get so stubborn?”
    Sabrina shrugged. “Actually, that’s what people usually say about me.”
    “Wait here. I’ll go after her,” Henry said. He took off running back the way they came. Veronica and Sabrina looked at one another, shook their heads, and then raced after him through brush and creek beds. Sabrina could hear her father shouting for her sister farther along the path, demanding that Daphne come back, but he was wasting his breath. Sabrina had been trying to manage her sister for some time and it was like pushing a car up a hill.
    When Sabrina and her mother finally caught up with her father, he was standing in a clearing of trees with his hand clamped on Daphne’s arm.
    “This is unacceptable, young lady,” Henry scolded.
    “I’m not leaving,” Daphne said. “They need us.”
    “What makes you think you can do anything to help?” Henry demanded. “You’re only five years old!”
    “Dad, she’s seven,” Sabrina said.
    “Eight in two weeks, and I’ve fought plenty of bad guys in the last year. I am a Grimm. This is what I do!”
    Just then, a dozen hulking figures stepped out from the trees, surrounding the family. They all stood nearly seven feet tall and each had bumpy, gray skin that looked like it had been peeled off an alligator. Their eyes were twice as big as a normal person’s. Their ears, however, were unlike anything Sabrina had ever seen—sharp, pointy, and covered in what looked like porcupine quills. Most held spears, though a couple clung to knotty clubs with dozens of rusty spikes jutting out of them. Their leader, a brute with a chest full of gaudy medals, stepped to the front of the group. His face was a collection of scars, broken bones, and jagged teeth. Like all of his soldiers, his chest was painted with the mark of the Scarlet Hand. He surveyed the Grimms and then grinned like some twisted kid who has just decapitated all of his sister’s dolls.
    “I knew I recognized the foul stink that comes off humans, but I never suspected we’d meet ones who are so famous,” he said.
    “You want an autograph?” Sabrina grumbled. Henry shot her a look that told her to keep her mouth shut.
    A second soldier stepped forward to join his boss. He was just as ugly, with a tuft of red hair on his decidedly pointy head. “They must be coming from Charming’s camp,” he said. “They’ve allied themselves with the traitor and his troublemakers.”
    “That means the camp must be nearby,” the leader crowed. He turned back to the family and gnashed his yellow teeth. “The Master will reward us for finding the camp. To avoid any unpleasantness, perhaps you would like to tell us where it is?”
    “We don’t have the foggiest idea what you are talking about,” Henry lied. “We’re not coming from any camp. My family and I are just out for a picnic.”
    The hobgoblin leaped forward and stood as close to Henry as he could. Their faces were only inches apart and he blew his rank breath on him. “You lie. You’re a Grimm. All of you lie.”
    “That’s not a very nice thing to say,” Henry said. “I’m hurt.”
    “If you don’t tell me where the camp is you’re going to be hurting a lot more.”
    Henry shook his head. “We’ve gotten off on the wrong foot. Let’s start over. My family and I are not involved with Charming or his camp. We have refused to take a side in your little conflict and to avoid any further problems we are on our way to the train station. So, if you’ll kindly step aside and let us pass, we’ll get out of your hair.”
    “You’ll go where I tell you, human,” the monster snorted, then turned to his men. “Arrest them and bind their hands. If they won’t take us to the fort,