Enchanted Ivy

creature. He understood that it was green, right?

Grandpa continued to prod her shoulder. 'Did you take any extra medication today?'

Lily's eyes widened. How could he tell? 'Are there side effects? Did I overdose? I know I shouldn't have. I was afraid of a brain hiccup. I took one of Mom's doses.'

'It saved your life,' Mr. Mayfair said. Lily gawked at him, but Grandpa didn't wait for her to digest that extraordinary statement.

He scowled at his oldest friend. 'How could this happen? Your security—'

Mr. Mayfair spread his hands. 'Perhaps you should take her home—'

'Or perhaps you should assign a guard,' Grandpa interrupted.

Lily spoke up. 'My guard has the creature pinned down in the East Pyne courtyard. But I don't know how long he can hold it. He needs help. He didn't want me to call 911....' Both men were staring at her. She trailed off. 'What?'

Mr. Mayfair and Grandpa exchanged looks, and Mr. Mayfair said, 'We didn't assign a guard.'

'He said—,' Lily began.

'Did he tell you his name?' Mr. Mayfair asked.

'His name's Tye,' Lily said. 'He has orange and black hair. Light-colored eyes. He said he was my guard. He knew Grandpa's name.'

'Of course he did,' Mr. Mayfair said, half to himself. To Lily, he said, 'That boy cannot be trusted.'

Lily looked from Grandpa to Mr. Mayfair and back to Grandpa. 'But he saved me,' she said. 'He pulled the creature off me. It clawed him. He's hurt and waiting for help.'

'I know this is upsetting,' Mr. Mayfair said kindly. 'You should know that you can stop this test at any time.'

Lily opened her mouth to reply, but Grandpa beat her to it. 'She cannot,' Grandpa said. 'This is her destiny. She was born for this.'

Lily shut her mouth.

Grandpa smiled at her. 'I promised your mother years ago that you would have this chance.' And then his smile faded. 'I need to check on Rose. If Lily was targeted—'

'You left her alone?' Lily looked around. She'd expected Mom to be nearby.

Grandpa nodded wearily. 'She's in the room. She claimed she'd stay.' For an instant, Lily thought, He's old. She had never seen him before as old, but now she noticed that the wrinkles on his cheeks were as deep as creases in a walnut shell. To Mr. Mayfair, he said, 'Lily needs a guard. Could you—'

Mr. Mayfair squeezed Grandpa's shoulder. 'You don't even have to ask. I'll see that she's taken care of.'

'Thank you,' Grandpa said gravely. He kissed Lily on the top of her head and then strode toward one of the gothic dorms.

Lily started after him. 'Wait!' She should help him with Mom. But Tye also needed her. ... 'Tye's expecting me,' she said to Mr. Mayfair. 'I'd planned to bring Grandpa.'

Mr. Mayfair beckoned to a clump of college boys. One, a blond, broke away from the pack and walked across the tent. Under any other circumstances, Lily would have been content to stare and stare. He was angelically beautiful: perfect blond hair, piercing blue eyes, and a Superman cleft chin. She half expected sunlight to burst through the tent in a halo around him and a heavenly chorus to swell in song. He was that perfect. Introducing him, Mr. Mayfair said, 'My grandson, Jake. Jake, this is Lily Carter.'

Jake smiled at her, the kind of smile that could make daffodils burst into full bloom. 'Nice to meet you,' he said. His voice was as warm as summer sun.

'Hi,' she squeaked. Snap out of it, she told herself. He was just a cute boy. Okay, a godlike boy. She couldn't let that distract her from the fact that she'd been attacked by a monkey-thing and that Tye was waiting for her to return with the cavalry.

'Jake, Miss Carter encountered a Feeder,' Mr. Mayfair said. 'She'll lead you to the attack site in East Pyne.'

Feeder. That thing had a name.

'Dispose of the Feeder and stay by Miss Carter for the remainder of her test. Don't interfere or aid her with her test, but do see to it that she remains safe from bodily harm. Understood?'

'Yes, sir,' Jake said. The 'sir' was not the least bit ironic. Lily had the sense that if they weren't in public, he would have clicked his heels and saluted.

'The tiger boy will be there,' Mr. Mayfair continued. 'I'd like to ask him a few questions.'

Jake nodded. 'He'll be taken in.'

The way Jake said it sounded almost ominous, as if Tye would be in an interrogation room with a single bare lightbulb. Lily frowned and opened her mouth to object.

'Respectfully,' Mr. Mayfair said. 'He saved our candidate here. We owe him a debt.' He favored Lily with a warm and reassuring smile. Lily smiled back, very glad that he'd been here with Grandpa.

'Consider it done,' Jake said. To Lily, he asked, 'Ready?'

She still had about three billion unanswered questions, but she nodded anyway. Liar or not, Tye needed help as soon as possible. Her questions could wait. 'Thank you,' she said to Mr. Mayfair.

'You're most welcome, my dear,' he said.

'Tell Grandpa to call me if he needs help with Mom,' she said.

Leading the way, Jake wove through the crowded tent. Lily followed behind. Once they exited the fenced-in area, Jake broke into a jog. She hurried to catch up. Her side cramped almost instantly.

In a perfectly conversational tone, as if they weren't running, Jake asked, 'How are you enjoying your visit to Princeton?'

He had to be joking. 'What's a Feeder?' she asked.

'I'm not at liberty to discuss that,' he said. He smiled at her as if to say it was nothing personal. The smile made her heart do a little flip inside her rib cage. 'I'm not supposed to aid or interfere.'

'It attacked me,' she said. Her calf muscles burned as they trotted across the campus road and headed toward Nassau Hall. 'I think I have a right to know what it is.' She pointed at East Pyne. 'They're in the courtyard.'

'Stay behind me,' Jake said, picking up speed. 'You're not trained.'

'Trained for what?' Lily asked.

He ran through the arch first. She raced after him and then bumped into his back as he abruptly stopped. 'Sorry!' she said. She peeked around him. The courtyard was silent and peaceful ... and empty.

The Feeder was gone.

So was Tye.

CHAPTER Four

Jake knelt next to the torn and mangled leaves. He fingered a battered vine.

'Careful,' Lily warned. 'The vines ... well, they moved. Like snakes.' She winced as she said it. It sounded so ridiculous. But she'd seen them writhe and watched them cocoon that Feeder thing.

He frowned at the ivy. 'Dryad? What did the Feeder look like?'

'Green hairless monkey,' she said. 'Did you say 'dryad'? As in Greek myths?' She thought of the library book by her father.

'Can't be,' he said. 'Not with that description. Are you certain the vines moved?'

A knot of shredded ivy lay beside an indent in the soil. The vines looked like a cocoon ripped open. Ragged greenery was strewn about. 'I didn't imagine it!' she said.

And she certainly hadn't imagined a dryad.

He held up his hands, palms out. 'I believe you.'

'Sorry,' she said. She hadn't meant to yell. But the creature had been real. She hadn't had a brain hiccup. Lily touched the bite marks on her shoulder to reassure herself and winced again as they stung. The creature must have escaped, and Tye must have chased after it. She pictured it barging through a Reunions tent filled with toddlers and