Enchanted Ivy

She grabbed a second puff.

'Did you see any indication of military activity?' one man asked.

She nearly choked on the pastry. She swallowed. 'Sorry?'

He wore an orange cravat and had eyebrows like woolly caterpillars. 'Any large gatherings? Anything that could have been a training camp?' he asked.

Her appetite vanished. 'It was a college campus,' Lily said, 'a lot like the real Princeton. But the students had more fur, feathers, and fangs.'

'And what were those 'students' studying?' a woman asked. She was young, clearly a recent grad, and spoke with a Japanese accent. She regarded Lily intently, as if she were cataloging Lily's every breath.

'Please understand, we do trust the professors,' said the man who had held the book upside down. 'But the majority of them have not seen their home in a full century.'

One of the prim women chimed in. 'Exactly why we should seize this opportunity to convene a summit! Now that we'll have a Key we can trust, we can renew relations. We will be able to send envoys freely, perhaps resume scientific expeditions. We can end our isolationism!'

Ignoring her, the man with the orange cravat said, 'Numbers, weaponry, anything you learned about strategy or fighting styles. Any observations at all?'

The prim woman interrupted. 'That is precisely the attitude—'

'We need to know—,' the man began.

'You need lessons in diplomacy,' the woman said. 'Perhaps if you lessened your testosterone-laden xenophobia—'

'I am realistic, not xenophobic!'

All the Old Boys around her pressed in closer as the argument heated up. Lily wished she could sink against a wall and disappear. She glanced over at her grandfather for help, but he was engrossed in his own conversation.

'What sort of intelligence did the council glean from you?' a man in a striped blazer asked. 'How much information did you volunteer?'

'Nothing!' Lily said. 'They said to remind the 'knights' of Princeton that they don't condone Feeders, and they support you.'

'See!' the prim woman said. 'It's time to normalize relations! Refresh our treaties! Confirm our alliance!'

'Propaganda,' the man with the orange cravat said. 'This is useless. She's useless!'

Finally coming to her rescue, Grandpa put his hands on Lily's shoulders. 'She hasn't been trained,' he said. 'She has zero background. You can't expect—'

'Trained or not, she could supply valuable intel, if she chooses to and if she hasn't already decided her loyalties lie against us.' The man pounded his fist into his palm for emphasis.

Grandpa's face darkened. 'Are you questioning my grand-daughter's integrity?' His voice was low, even, and clipped. Lily barely breathed. She'd heard him take that tone of voice only a few times before. Last time had been at a man who'd tried to corner Mom, mistaking her flightiness for flirting. Lily shrank back, again wishing she could disappear. 'I have raised her as human,' Grandpa said. 'If you question her, then you question me.' He thumped his chest for emphasis. 'Are you questioning me?'

Had Grandpa really said 'as human'? Lily wanted to ask him again about her father, but she was positive that this wasn't the right time or place. She'd be better off if she didn't speak at all. If she could shrink to mouse size and sneak away, that would be good, too.

Mr. Mayfair interrupted. 'Gentlemen and ladies, if you don't mind, I need to steal our guest of honor for a moment.' The orange-cravat man scowled as if he wanted to object. 'Our sommelier has obtained a few bottles of high-quality Bordeaux. Please, it would be a crime to waste them.' Encouraged by Mr. Mayfair, the knot of alumni around Lily dispersed.

Lily's knees felt as if they'd been jellied. Usually the scariest person in her day was her AP Chem teacher. She wasn't used to facing an inquisition over pastry puffs. 'Thank you,' she said to Mr. Mayfair. He inclined his head.

Grandpa was still fuming. 'You're untrained! How anyone could expect—'

'Fear breeds impatience,' Mr. Mayfair said. 'And they have been afraid, ever since reports began trickling in about the Feeders uniting. ... But that's not talk for today. This is a joyous occasion!' He smiled and winked at Lily, and she began to feel better. Mr. Mayfair exuded calmness. He was like a tree with wide, sheltering solid branches in the middle of a rainstorm. 'Her approach to the truth was ... unconventional, but she completed the Legacy Test in record time and demonstrated the necessary flexibility in her worldview. I have no doubt that she will be a great asset to us in our battles.'

'Battles?' she asked.

'We defend the innocent against the evil they do not know exists,' Mr. Mayfair said. Gesturing at all the people in the room, he spread his arms out wide. 'We, the knights of Princeton, protect the world.'

Knights of Princeton. She pictured Mr. Mayfair in a suit of armor. Surprisingly, the image didn't seem so strange. He'd look like King Arthur.

Mr. Mayfair laid a hand on her shoulder. 'I know you must have many questions, but before anything else, we must drain you,' he said. 'I was remiss not to take care of that right away. Please accept my apologies.'

'Drain me?' Lily squeaked.

'Don't worry. It will only take a few minutes and then you'll feel like yourself again,' Grandpa said. He kissed her on the forehead. 'You can trust Mr. Mayfair.'

Mr. Mayfair smiled reassuringly at her. 'It's a safe procedure,' he said. 'I know precisely when to stop.'

She felt as if she were in the doctor's office and the nurse was holding a giant needle and claiming, This won't hurt a bit. 'What's the procedure?' Lily asked as Mr. Mayfair steered her through the reception crowd. She glanced back at Grandpa. He wasn't following them. Instead, he was weaving his way toward the fondue table.

'You'll be fine, my dear,' Mr. Mayfair said as he guided her downstairs to the taproom.

He laid his hand on a wood-paneled wall beside the bar, and a panel slid open to reveal a hidden room. Lily peered inside. Shelves filled with unmarked bottles lined one of the walls. 'What is all this stuff?' she asked.

'Please, have a seat.' Mr. Mayfair selected an empty bottle and nodded at a heavy wooden chair. It had restraints on the arms and the front legs, not unlike an electrocution chair.

'I'd really rather not—,' she began.

'Sit, Miss Carter,' he said as he prepared an IV-like needle. He connected it to a tube that led to a tangle of beakers, glass tubes, and exposed electrical circuits. He flicked a switch, and the contraption began to whir softly.

'No offense meant,' she said, 'but don't you think that looks a little mad scientist-like?'

'We call it the drainer.' He patted the heart of tangled tubes. 'It's designed to extract the excess magic that now flows through your bloodstream due to your exposure to the atmosphere of the alternate world.'

Lily backed away. 'I feel fine.'

He favored her with another reassuring smile. 'Believe me, this is necessary and for your own good. You are currently a danger to yourself and others.'

'Can't we just wait for the magic to leach out of me?' She couldn't take her eyes off the needle. 'Seriously, 'drainer'?'

'You may have noticed that with your heritage, some of the members of Vineyard Club are having difficulty with your impending membership.' He attached an empty bottle to the drainer and said in a mild voice, 'It would be a shame to give them cause to doubt you, especially before admissions papers have been filed.'

'But I passed the test!' Lily said.

'You might even be viewed as a threat, given the knowledge of us that you now possess.' He patted the chair. 'Lily, please trust us so we can trust you.'

She wasn't trying to be ornery. She did trust him. He was her grandfather's oldest friend, and he had an air about him that seemed noble, honorable, even knightly. But ... She pointed at the restraints. 'Do I have to wear those?'

'Of course not,' he said in a soothing voice. 'You merely need to lay your arm on the armrest so that it