A Grimm Warning (The Land of Stories, #3)(4)
Mother Goose’s jaw dropped and she looked back and forth between the brothers and the soldiers. She was having enough trouble regaining consciousness in general, but this information made her head spin.
“But… but… but how do they know—?”
“They’ve been following us,” Jacob said. “All of us—they have your golden egg! They have an army of thousands and want to claim the fairy-tale world in the name of France—”
“Silence!” Colonel Baton demanded of the brothers.
General Marquis raised a hand to silence the colonel. “No, Colonel, it’s fine. Because this woman is going to help our friends fulfill our request. After all, she wouldn’t want anything to happen to the Grimm family, either.”
He peered through the bars at her as if she were an animal. Mother Goose was no stranger to waking up in peculiar places and situations but this took the cake. She had always feared the secret of her world would be revealed but never thought it would be under such extreme circumstances.
Her cheeks turned bright red and she began to panic. “I gotta go!” she said. She reached out an open hand and the golden egg floated straight out of the box and into the wagon where she sat. And with a blinding flash, Mother Goose and the golden egg disappeared into thin air.
The soldiers around the tent began to yell, but the general remained very still. The determination in his eyes grew as he stared at the wagon Mother Goose vanished from—it was the most amazing thing he had ever witnessed and had proven everything he was after was real.
“Général, quelles sont vos instructions?” Colonel Baton asked, anxious to know what his next instructions were.
The general looked to the ground as he decided. “Emmenez-les!” he said, and gestured to the Brothers Grimm. Before they knew it, the brothers were gagged again, their hands retied behind their backs, and the black sacks placed over their heads.
“Two months, Brothers Grimm,” the general said, unable to tear his eyes away from the wagon. “Find a portal in two months or I’ll make you watch as I personally kill everyone you love!”
The Brothers Grimm moaned under their masks. Capitaine De Lange and Lieutenant Rembert forced them onto their feet and out of the tent. The whole camp could hear their muffled moans as they were pushed into the carriage and sent away into the dark forest.
General Marquis sat back in his seat. He let out a pleased sigh as his heartbeat and his racing mind caught up with each other. His eyes fell upon the Brothers Grimm storybook on his desk and a soft chuckle surfaced from within him. For the first time the fairy-tale world didn’t seem like an overly ambitious Arthurian quest—it was a victory within reach.
The general took one of the miniature French flags from the map of Europe and stabbed it into the cover of the storybook. Perhaps the Brothers Grimm were right—maybe the fairy-tale world had wonders he couldn’t imagine—but he was imagining them now.…
CHAPTER ONE
AN EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY
It was half past midnight and only one light was on in all the homes on Sycamore Drive. In the second-story window of Dr. Robert Gordon’s house was a shadow that moved back and forth: It was his stepson, Conner Bailey, pacing around his bedroom. He had known for months he was going to Europe but had waited until the night before his departure to pack.
Reruns of a dramatic television show set in outer space did nothing to stop his procrastination. There was just something about a female captain piloting her crew away from an evil alien race that he couldn’t take his eyes off. But looking up at his clock and realizing he only had seven hours before he needed to be at the airport forced him to turn the television off and focus on packing.
“Let me think,” Conner said to himself. “I’ll be in Germany for three days… so I should probably bring twelve pairs of socks.” He confidently nodded, and tossed a dozen pairs of socks into his suitcase. “You never know, there could be a lot of puddles in Europe.”
Conner retrieved ten or so pairs of underwear from his dresser and laid them out on his bed. It was more than he needed but a traumatizing sleepover in kindergarten that ended in a wet bed had taught Conner to always be generous when packing underwear.
“Okay, I think I have everything,” Conner said, and he counted the items in his suitcase. “I’ve got seven T-shirts, four sweaters, my lucky rock, two scarves, my other lucky rock, underwear, socks, pajamas, my lucky poker chip, and my toothbrush.”
He looked around his room, wondering what else a kid could need in Europe.
“Oh, pants!” he said, thankful that he’d remembered. “I need pants!”
Once he had added the missing (and vital) articles to his suitcase, Conner sat on the edge of his bed and took a deep breath. A big boyish smile came to his face. He couldn’t help it—he was excited!
At the end of the previous school year, Conner’s principal, Mrs. Peters, had called him into her office to present him with a very exciting opportunity.
“Am I in trouble?” Conner said when he sat down in front of her desk.
“Mr. Bailey, why do you ask me that every time I call you into my office?” she said, eyeing him over the top of her glasses.
“Sorry. Old habits die hard, I guess.” He shrugged.
“I’ve called you in here for two reasons,” Mrs. Peters said. “First, I was wondering how Alex is acclimating to her new school in—where is it again? Vermont?”