"Is this the diversion you were talking about?" Sabrina shouted at Oz.

The Wizard looked dumbstruck. "No! I have no idea what is going on!"

Granny Relda grabbed the girls and quickly found her way to the back hall. Together, they pushed through the crowd of Everafters at the door to Oberon's office. The sight inside made the blood freeze in Sabrina's veins. The king was lying on the floor next to his desk, a shiny gold cup clutched in his hand. His face was contorted in agony, as if the last moments of his life had been excruciating torture.

Titania threw herself on top of her husband and wailed with despair. She screamed as if it were she who had been fatally wounded. Mustardseed tried to help his mother up but she fought him off ferociously, and he backed away to let her grieve.

"Who killed my husband?" Titania cried. Sabrina was too distracted to listen. For there on Oberon's chest, in bright red paint, was a handprint. It was the mark of the Scarlet Hand.

Chapter 4

Sabrina had never seen anger in a persons face like she saw in Titania's. The queen's rage seemed to pour out through her eyes and spill onto the crowd like acid. Everafters fell backward just to avoid her gaze.

"One of you killed my husband!" Titania cried, rising to her feet with clenched fists. "Who is responsible? Who has blood on his hands? Will no one come forward? Then I'll avenge my beloved by killing you all." The queen's body underwent a terrifying metamorphosis. Her already pale complexion turned bone white. Tar-black veins curled in all directions just underneath her skin, weaving along her arms, legs, and head. Her hands grew to three times their normal size, and long, jagged nails, several feet in length, shot out of the fingertips. Her hair blazed with actual flames, and long, blue cables of electric energy crackled and popped in the air in front of her eyes. Her wings sprang out of her back and flapped so hard they seemed to shake the room. She rose above the crowd, opened her mouth, and sprayed the room with a fiery liquid. Anything it touched was quickly engulfed in flames and reduced to cinders.

Everafters shrieked and stampeded toward the door, knocking the smallest in the crowd to the ground. Mr. Canis snatched the girls up, tucking them under his arms like footballs, and ran.

"We have to get out of here," Granny Relda shouted as she was shoved aside by Tony Fats and Bobby Screwball, who ploughed through the crowd, desperate to escape Titania's wrath.

"Wait," Hamstead called to the old woman, turning and rushing back toward the queen.

"Ernest, are you crazy?" Granny Relda called after him, but he didn't stop.

From Mr. Canis's grasp, Sabrina looked back to see the portly man run to the side of the blonde singer he had sat next to at dinner. Bess had been knocked to the ground and was cowering before Titania's murderous gaze. Her boyfriend, Tony Fats, had left her to die.

"No!"

Hamstead cried as he grabbed a heavy chair and used it to fend off Titania. The queen shrieked and ignited the chair with her fiery breath. If Hamstead was afraid, he didn't show it. He tossed the flaming chair at the queen and then turned to help Bess to her feet. Together they raced out of the room just behind Canis and the Grimms.

When the group reached the main room they paused, and Hamstead asked Bess, "Are you OK, ma'am?"

"Ma'am is a name for old ladies," she said as she tried to catch her breath. "You can call me Bess, cowboy."

Hamstead blushed.

"We need to keep moving," Mr. Canis said.

"We can't leave without Puck!" Daphne cried.

Mr. Canis snarled and set the girls down. "Hamstead, take Mrs. Grimm and the girls to safety. I'll join you once I find the boy."

"I'm coming with you," Sabrina said. Canis shook his head.

"It's my fault Puck got hurt in the first place. He's my responsibility," Sabrina said, hoping that the old man could see she wasn't asking for his permission.

"Stay close," he said, shoving back through the crowd.

Sabrina followed at his heels, struggling against a tide of panicked Everafters. She craned her neck in hopes of spotting Cobweb, the fairy who was tending to Puck, but he was nowhere in sight. He and Puck had to be in one of the rooms that lined the back hall. Canis cleared a path through the main room to the hallway.

"Maybe Puck's in there," Sabrina shouted to Canis over the melee, pointing to the first closed door. She rushed over and turned the knob, but it was locked tight.

Canis turned the knob himself. It fell off in his powerful hand, and he pushed the door open. It was a broom closet filled with mops and bottles. Sabrina rushed across the hall to another door, also locked. Again Canis crushed the knob. They found Moth pacing a room in which sat what looked like a giant eggplant. It had deep purple skin with green veins running through it. Next to it was a small table covered in potions and powders. When she saw them, the fairy girl ran to the eggplant as if to protect it.

"How dare you invade my room!" she cried.

"Where's Puck? We have to get out of here," Sabrina said. Canis closed the door behind them. "Titania has gone crazy. She's trying to kill everyone."

"Titania won't hurt me."

Mr. Canis let out a loud growl. "Because I'll get to you first!" he barked. "Where is the boy?"

The fairy girl's eyes grew wide with fear and she gestured at the eggplant. "He's right there!"

"That's Puck?" Sabrina said, incredulously.

"He's in a cocoon stage as his wings heal," Moth explained.

Just then, something heavy slammed against the door, nearly knocking it off its hinges.

"She's coming," Mr. Canis said.

"How are we going to get out of here?" Sabrina cried.

Mr. Canis searched the room for other exits but found none. He turned to Sabrina and for a moment she thought she saw worry in his face. Then, his body grew in size. His face seemed more wolflike, as if he were somewhere between the old man she knew and the wolf she feared. He stepped over to the far wall and pounded it with his enormous hand. It crumbled and a small hole appeared. He smashed the wall again, this time making the hole big enough to step through.

"Girls, come with me," he growled, and though Sabrina was afraid of his appearance, she was more afraid of the monster trying to get into the room. She raced over to the cocoon and snatched it in her arms. It was surprisingly light and had a horrible smell like moldy pickles.

"Who are you, Everafter?" Moth shouted at Canis.

"He's the Big Bad Wolf," Sabrina explained.

"The murderer?" the fairy girl shrieked. "I'm not going anywhere with you!"

Just then, the door to the room blew off its hinges. Titania appeared in the doorway, her mighty wings vibrating the air. She roared like a lion and shot a stream of fire right at them.

"Suit yourself," Sabrina said, tightening her grip on the cocoon. She turned and ran through the opening in the wall with Mr. Canis following close behind. Moments later, Moth came flying frantically after them, her pink insectlike wings keeping her aloft.

They were back in the park where Daphne had first told the knock-knock joke that had revealed the Golden Egg. The restaurant had disappeared again. Sabrina had left her coat inside, and now she was freezing. She hurried alongside Canis, doing her best not to fall in the slippery snow, but it wasn't easy. She turned her ankle and almost lost her hold on Puck's cocoon. Moth landed in front of her and snatched the cocoon out of Sabrina's hands. "You have no right to touch His Majesty's healing vessel," she said indignantly.

"Fine! Keep the stinky thing!" Sabrina said as she scanned the area. Where could they hide?

Suddenly Titania appeared behind them, as if out of thin air. She soared overhead, preparing to strike.