Michael Buckley - Once upon a crime

"I didn't. He told me he had a big plan for your parents. He said they'd give birth to a future where Everafters ruled the world."

Sabrina glanced down again. The witch was now only a dozen floors away from them. Oz paid no attention. He continued to cut his ropes one by one.

Puck's wings popped out of his back and flapped fiercely. "If you try to fly away from here I will blast a hole in your little balloon. I swear it."

If Oz was worried by the threat, it didn't stop him. He cut the last rope and then waved good-bye. In a flash, Sabrina did something she never would have guessed she had the courage to do. She grabbed the loose rope.

Her brain told her to let go, in fact it was begging her to, but she refused, even as she soared higher and higher into the air. She knew what she was doing was insane. She might die, but the alternative was worse. She couldn't live knowing she'd let her parents' kidnapper get away.

"Let go, you foolish child!" Oz shouted from above. Sabrina could see he was struggling to untie the rope she was holding onto, but he was having no success.

"How do I wake them up?" Sabrina cried, pulling herself hand over hand up the rope. "How do I wake up my parents?"

"This is all pointless, Sabrina. You can't fight the master or me. The future is coming. Now let go."

"No!" Sabrina had reached the basket. She grabbed onto the side.

The Wizard's face filled with sorrow. "Then I'm sorry, Sabrina." He pushed her hard and she lost her grip. She snatched at his hand but grabbed something small and silver instead. The remote control. Wind filled her ears like a lion's roar and she could feel gravity pulling her toward the ground.

Sabrina!"

She heard someone shouting her name over the wind. "Sabrina. I've got you!" And then, she wasn't falling anymore. She rubbed the coldness out of her eyes. Puck had her in his arms and was grinning at her as he flew them back up to the top of the building. The robot witch was there, now practically on top of Relda and Daphne. Panicked, Sabrina pointed the little silver controller at the monster and pushed at the dozen buttons. Just as the robot was about to squash her family, it froze.

Puck touched down next to Granny and Daphne. The little girl was in hysterics and hugged Sabrina tighter than she ever had. Granny joined the hug.

"Come on, people!" Puck said. "Did you really think I was going to let you die?"

Daphne pulled away from Sabrina for a moment. She sniffled and then held out something to her sister. "This fell out of the balloon." It was their mother's journal. Sabrina took it and opened it. In the back was the yellowing paper. Veronica's speech was still inside.

By the light of the witch's still glowing eye, Granny Relda took the speech and quickly read it to herself. A proud smile spread across her face. She handed it back to Sabrina. "I think the Everafters should hear this."

"I could give it to Puck. He could read it to them."

"Liebling, these are your mother's words."

Sabrina met her grandmother's gaze, lifted her chin, and nodded. "OK. We need to get everyone together. Puck, how do we turn this building bright purple?"

Daphne looked at the witch. "Granny, we're going to need an awful lot of forgetful dust," the little girl said.

Sabrina sat in a back room at the Golden Egg. Daphne sat behind her with a brush combing her long blond hair while Sabrina studied her mother's writing. She fretted over every syllable and comma, hoping that she could somehow do the speech justice. She was not one for speeches, especially in front of Everafters.

"Don't be afraid," Daphne said. "I'll be standing right next to you.

"Good," Sabrina answered. "You can deflect the pies and rotten tomatoes they toss at me."

"I think that only happens in cartoons," Daphne replied. "Still, I'll keep an eye out for them."

The door opened and Mustardseed appeared. He smiled and gave the girls a wink. "They are ready for you."

"We're coming," Daphne said, and Mustardseed gestured that he'd wait in the hall.

"Do I really have to do this?" Sabrina said. "What if I screw it up? What if I ruin what Mom was trying to do?"

"You won't," Daphne said as she pulled her sister to her feet. "And even if you do, your hair looks fabulous."

"Thanks."

"For a jerkazoid," Daphne added with a smile.

They joined Mustardseed in the hallway. He led them into the restaurant, where they found Puck, addressing the crowd. He was wearing a jeweled crown, an oversized purple robe, and carrying an enormous scepter. He strolled back and forth trying to seem dignified while struggling with his outfit.

"Attention!" he shouted. "There has been a great upheaval in the last few days. My father, your leader, lies dead. I have returned to the kingdom to rule."

"Get on with it, Puck!" one of the dwarfs shouted. "We lost patience with you nearly half an hour ago."

Puck sneered and gestured to Sabrina and Daphne. The girls stepped onto the stage and stared at the crowd.

"Now, I know they are terribly ugly and difficult to look at," Puck said, causing Sabrina to growl. "But these girls have got something to say. When they are done, you fools can go back to fighting if you want."

He turned to Sabrina and frowned. "Good luck," he said. "They're a disrespectful bunch."

Sabrina looked down at the speech. "This was written by my mother," she said.

"We can't hear you!" someone shouted.

"Speak up!"

Sabrina looked to her sister for help.

"You may not talk a lot but you've never had a problem with volume," Daphne said.

Sabrina cleared her throat and started again. "This was written by my mother on the eve of her disappearance almost two years ago."

Suddenly, the crowd was silent. "I'm afraid that I will probably never be the speaker my mother was but I will read it word for word. It outlines her ideas for you. I hope it helps."

Sabrina looked at her mother's writing, studying the curves of her letters, trying to understand the mind that wrote the words.

"I will not stand here and claim to know your hearts. You have had difficult lives. You've seen dreams ripped apart. You've watched as suffering came to you like floodwaters. I am human. I am blessed. I live in a world that believes in me. Your very existence defies what humanity can accept. You are supposed to be bedtime stories-not flesh and blood. Thus, you have had to live in the shadows, accepting the table scraps you could find and yearning for the life humans take for granted.

"It doesn't have to be like this. You are few, but together you are many. Combining your talents, working for one another's benefit, lifting one another up when you fall-this is the path to your happiness. If you could work together as a community, you could build empires with your small numbers, but instead you have chosen to squabble and divide. Well, I say it's time to put hatred aside and hold your brothers' and sisters' hands. You don't need humanity to believe in you. You only need to believe in each other."

Sabrina continued reading. She did her best to make eye contact with those in the crowd and she held Daphne's hand for support. She could feel her mother's thoughts inside her, how Veronica felt about every word she had put in the speech. Veronica described a world that Everafters could embrace, a world where they could work together, for the benefit of one another. It was a simple plan based on common sense and a common purpose. She described a government where majority ruled the day but a passionate minority could not be trampled. She recommended that leaders be elected rather than born. She talked of schools and hospitals. She spoke of science and technologies helping them keep pace with the modern world, but mostly she spoke of finding common ground.