CHAPTER Seven
'Welcome back, little Key,' one of the stone eagles said. 'I have alerted Vineyard Club of your return. Remain here, please.'
'Uh, thanks,' Lily said. She looked up at the eagles. The sky behind them was a crisp blue, empty of clouds and dragons. The forest was gone, replaced by Nassau Street. Pedestrians walked past banks, jewelry stores, and coffee shops. She heard the whoosh of cars, in addition to the now familiar radio hum in her ears. The air tasted thinner, as if she'd suddenly switched altitudes, but her skin still buzzed with the fizzy feeling of magic.
She heard a shout. 'Lily!'
Grandpa jogged across the yard toward her. A half-dozen men and women trailed behind him. 'You knew!' she shouted to him. 'You knew about'—she flapped her hand at the gate—'all of this!' She'd never imagined he'd keep any secret from her, much less anything so major.
Beaming with a smile so wide it should have split his face, Grandpa swept her up and swung her in a circle. 'You did it!' He set her back down.
'Grandpa ...,' she began.
'Careful what you say; we can't talk freely here.' He kissed her forehead. 'Oh, my tigerlily, I am so very proud of you!' Grandpa was practically singing. She'd never seen him so gleeful. It was as unexpected as talking gargoyles.
Swarming around Lily and Grandpa, the alums chattered loudly about Reunions: the new class's Reunions jackets, the number of Old Guard (70th Reunion and older) who had returned, the fireworks display that was planned for Saturday after P-rade. Inside the circle of chattering Old Boys, Lily and Grandpa were swept across campus. It felt as if they were guarding her—or hiding her—with their bodies and their voices.
Under the cover of their babble, she asked Grandpa, 'Why didn't you tell me?'
His smile dimmed. 'You had to discover the truth on your own. That's the point of the Legacy Test: to determine if you can handle the truth by offering you the opportunity to discover it. It's a tried-and-true method.'
'It sucks,' Lily said.
He clucked his tongue. 'Language.'
'It's cruel and manipulative, and you
'A loving father,' Grandpa said. 'That's what's important.' Putting his arm around her, he squeezed her shoulders. 'Lily, you have to trust me. The secrecy was necessary. All of this is larger than you or me.'
'Does Mom know about 'all of this'?'
Grandpa sighed. 'She used to. She's forgotten so much.'
Quietly, Lily said, 'She's getting worse, isn't she?'
'There's hope, Lily,' Grandpa said. 'Soon, I will explain to you both. But first, we need to celebrate what you've achieved! Tonight, we'll celebrate at Vineyard Club, and then tomorrow morning, I'll take you and your mother to Pj's Pancake House for a celebratory breakfast. You'll love it there. You can sign your name on the table. It's tradition there, not vandalism.'
'Where is Mom? You didn't leave her alone again, did you?' Aside from the fact that the campus was infested with vampiric monsters, Mom might have one of her 'ideas.' She could decide to tame squirrels or climb the vines on one of the Gothic classrooms to commune with the sun from a closer angle—she'd done similar things before. 'And what do you mean, 'there's hope'?'
'She's being watched,' Grandpa said. 'Lily, focus on yourself for once. You did it! You passed!' He beamed at her again.
As they crossed the street, she tried to push aside all the million questions and revel in that fact. She really had done it: automatic acceptance to Princeton! So what if her dream school had a few quirks she hadn't expected? She could avoid walking through the main gate (which wouldn't be hard since it was a common student superstition to circumvent that gate), avoid eye contact with gargoyles (again, not hard since most people didn't try to chat up stone sculptures), and avoid being attacked by rampaging monkey-things (always sound advice).
They turned onto Prospect Avenue, and she heard the steady static in her ears mix with a buzz. It undercut the chatter of the alums around her, but before she could pinpoint the source, she was swept down the sidewalk toward Vineyard Club.
'Lots of people are waiting to congratulate you,' Grandpa said. 'You are more important than you know. We haven't had reliable access to the magic world in many years.' He pointed to the club. Mr. Mayfair and his grandson, Jake, flanked the front door, holding it open as if they were honor guards. Last time she'd seen Jake, he'd shoved her away while she'd bled. He'd found a new blood-free shirt since then. Softly, Grandpa added close to Lily's ear, 'Go easy on Jake. His parents were killed by the Chained Dragon. Seeing you survive was a shock.'
Lily halted halfway to the door. 'Oh, God, how awful.'
'It was years ago,' Grandpa said. 'But still, it was a terrible tragedy. Jake's parents ... they'd had a messy divorce and were only beginning to find peace.'
So much for her image of Jake's perfect family. She realized Tye had told her about this, the time the dragon killed a Key and escaped the chapel. She hadn't thought to wonder about his other victims. 'If Jake hadn't pulled me away ...'
'Yes, we could have had another FitzRandolph Gate Tragedy on our hands,' Grandpa said. 'But thankfully, that didn't happen, so let's not dwell on it right now. Once you begin your training, we'll focus on avoiding reckless endangerment.'
She didn't have a chance to reply. Surrounded by the half-dozen alums, she was herded toward Jake and the door. As she reached him, Jake blushed heavily before mumbling, 'Congratulations, Lily.'
She tried to think of something, anything, to say to him. No wonder he'd been so agitated at the chapel—he'd been in the presence of his parents' killer.
Jake looked as if he wanted to say more but he glanced at his grandfather instead.
Mr. Mayfair smiled warmly at her and said, 'Well done, Lily Carter. And welcome.' He shook Grandpa's hand. 'Congratulations, Richard. You were right.'
'Of course I was,' Grandpa said. 'I know my tigerlily.' Beaming even more broadly than before, Grandpa ushered Lily inside.
Within the club, the weird radio static in her head faded beneath the hum of conversation. The club was packed with alums. They filled the leather couches and leaned against the mahogany walls. She hesitated just inside the doorway.
'Don't be nervous now,' Grandpa whispered in her ear. 'You passed! You're one of us!'
By the grand staircase, she saw a spread of cheese squares and a fondue fountain with skewers of fruit. Her stomach rumbled in response.
Placing his hands on her shoulders, Grandpa boomed to the assembly, 'Allow me to present our newest member, my granddaughter, Lily, soon to be a Princeton freshman and our very own Key!'
All the Old Boys applauded. A few of the younger ones whistled and cheered. Others clapped politely and then swilled their whiskey and resumed their conversations.
As she and her grandfather ventured farther into the club, alums flocked to them. All the Old Boys that she remembered from her initial meeting—the man who'd held the book upside down, the heavyset woman with the ivory cane, the primly postured women—welcomed her. Others introduced themselves and shook her hand. She'd never had so many adults notice her before. Part of her wanted to bolt out of the club.
She spotted trays of pastry puffs. Someone offered her a shrimp. Grandpa accepted a drink. He clinked glasses with a nearby member and began to chat. A circle of alumni closed around her. Lily shifted her weight nervously as they studied her with a fascination that was more than a little bit alarming. She took a pastry puff and shoved it into her mouth. It was a good excuse for not saying anything. She hadn't the faintest idea how to start a conversation with these people. Plus she hadn't eaten since a rest stop on the New Jersey Turnpike that morning.
