Enchanted Ivy

'Stop!' Lily said. 'We want to see the council!'

The eagle veered away.

'We do?' Jake asked.

'Do you know how to find Mom's family?' she asked him.

'No, but ...'

'They're good guys too,' Lily said. 'Remember?' Taking Jake's hand, she led him through the side gate and across the yard. On his pillar, the first eagle preened his wings. His feathers clinked like metal.

Crossing the yard, she brushed her hand against the bark of an oak tree and was comforted by a faint, wordless whisper. She'd feel better soon; she'd already absorbed some magic. She wished she'd made sure that Mom had taken her dose.

She wondered how soon Jake would feel the effects of the magic.

Firmly she reminded herself that she'd be back at Vineyard before it was an issue for either of them. She'd talk to the council, find the dryads, and return to Mom. Quick errand.

As they approached, the double doors to Nassau Hall swung open, and the stone man filled the doorway. Beside her, Jake tensed again. Lily's mouth felt dry. She'd forgotten how very inhuman the stone creature looked. She tried (and failed) to find eyes in the mass of pebbles that rattled across his face. 'I ... we'd like to talk to the council,' she said.

'You return, and not alone,' the stone man said. She shuddered at the sound of his voice, like bones being ground in a mixer. He beckoned to them, and Lily and Jake climbed the steps and walked into the marble-walled foyer of Nassau Hall.

He whispered in her ear, 'Are you sure about this?'

Lily whispered back, 'No.'

Before Jake could reply, the rock man shifted, the stones in his body tumbling as if in an avalanche. A sharp rock pointed like an index finger at the marble floor. 'You will leave your weapons here,' he said.

'I don't have—,' Lily began.

'Him,' the rock man said.

Jake hesitated, but then he reached under his shirt and removed a knife.

'All of your weapons.'

Out came two more knives. 'I'll need them back,' Jake said.

The stone man didn't answer. He led Lily and Jake into the sun-dappled council room. Only three council members were present: Tye's father, the elven woman, and the unicorn. Tye's father and the elf occupied two of the thronelike chairs, while the unicorn stood by the window in a shaft of sunlight. He shone with a soft glow.

Jake swore under his breath. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him touch his belt where a knife used to be. 'Good guys,' she said softly to him.

'So you say,' he whispered back.

The tiger man curled his lips back as soon as he saw Jake. 'Why are you here?' He turned to the other council members. 'This is an insult—'

'He's with me,' Lily said quickly.

Tye's father fixed his orange cat eyes on her.

She shrank back. 'I didn't know I shouldn't bring him. I thought ... You guys are allies.'

He snorted. 'Have you come to drain our magic, ally? Go directly to the source?'

'Allow them to speak,' the unicorn said. His voice was just as beautiful as Lily remembered, like listening to a waterfall. 'Perhaps they have come to explain.'

The elf raised her delicate eyebrows. 'They are quite young for ambassadors. But please, do speak. I for one would love an explanation as to why the knights feel it is not morally reprehensible to murder for magic.'

Jake bristled. 'We're knights, not murderers.'

'I see,' the elf said. With her elbows on the chair's arms, the elf propped her chin on her hands. 'So you deny that you drain magic from your prisoners of war?'

Lily winced. She hadn't thought about the fact that Tye had already come here with that bottle of magic. She jumped in. 'This isn't why we're here.'

'It should be,' the tiger man growled. 'You, Lily Carter—you survived by drinking this stolen magic. Like a Feeder.'

Feeling her face flush bright red, she thought of the unicorn that Mr. Mayfair had drained. 'I didn't know,' she said.

'You were an 'innocent' Feeder,' he mocked. 'You had no idea of the cost of your survival. You were blithely living your days unaware of everything around you.' He pointed a clawed hand at her. 'Perhaps you have fooled my son, but whatever game you play will not fool me.'

Jake's hands clenched into fists. 'She is innocent.'

'And you, my dear boy?' the elf said. 'Have you never tasted magic drawn from the veins of a dying addict?'

'We do what we must,' Jake said. 'We're at war.'

Sorrow in his beautiful voice, the unicorn said, 'Then you admit it. You not only drain the magic but you consume it.'

'Vile,' the elf said.

The tiger man growled, 'Instead of fighting the Feeders, you have chosen to become Feeders.'

'We have not!' Jake said. 'Grandfather was right about you. You'd rather see humanity suffer and die than harm a single monster. Feeders are the bane of humankind and must be stopped at all cost.'

'Or perhaps it is the knights who should be stopped,' the tiger man said.

Lily wanted to scream. 'Please,' she said. 'I'm here for my mother. She's a dryad, and I need—'

The elf rose from her chair, cutting Lily off. 'We do not condone Feeders of any kind. We must summon the full council, and we must declare the alliance void.'

Jake and the tiger man paid no attention to her.

'You want to stop us?' Jake said to the tiger man. He crouched as if preparing to fight. 'It's our duty to defend humanity from the likes of you.'

'You'd challenge me, boy?'

'Just try me.' Reaching behind his back, he drew a hidden knife.

Lily shouted, 'No!' as the tiger man leaped off his throne and transformed midair. A massive Bengal tiger slammed into Jake's chest, knocked him backward, and then reared above Jake. Shielding his face with one arm, Jake stabbed up at the tiger's chest. The tiger batted the knife away, and it clattered across the marble floor.

Everyone stared at it in silence. Jake's breathing echoed, fast and ragged.

'Enough,' the unicorn said. 'You have better control than this. Attacking children in the council chambers. What has gotten into you? Release him.'

The tiger shifted back to almost a man. His clawed hands continued to pin Jake to the floor. 'You have your mother's eyes,' he said. 'It is a shame you do not possess her heart. Or her intellect.' He released Jake.

'Child,' the unicorn said to Lily. 'Tell us why you have come.'

'For my mother,' Lily said. Quickly—before they could fight again—Lily told the council about her mother's brain hiccups and how her grandfather believed there was hope. She asked for their help in finding the dryads.

'Lies,' the tiger man said. 'Or truth mixed with lies. We don't know how deep the corruption runs. The knights could plot against us. These children could be pawns, sent to distract us before an invasion.'

The unicorn tossed his mane. It reflected light in a spray of colors, like a burst of water droplets in sunlight. 'We've heard nothing that suggests an invasion. You are letting your personal biases blind you,' he said. 'You look at this boy, and he reminds you—'

The tiger man roared. 'We will not discuss this in front of them.'

The elf nodded at the stone man. 'Take them to a waiting room, please, and convene the council. We must vote on the future of our alliance with the knights. This evil cannot be ignored.'

The stone man clamped his hand on Jake's shoulder. Jake tried to twist away, but the stone man dragged him toward the door. Jake shouted, 'You can't do this! I'm a knight of Princeton!'

As the stone man passed Lily, he snagged her arm.