Enchanted Ivy

'Logical,' Tye agreed. He darted out the door before Lily could even voice an opinion. In a few seconds, he was back. 'Garden clear.'

Lily stepped outside with Jake close behind her. She tilted her face up to the sun. Plants around her crooned and hummed. 'Jake, how do you feel?'

He flashed his dazzling smile. 'Ready for anything.'

'Any headache? Spots in your vision? Trouble catching a full breath?'

He frowned. 'I—'

Tye clapped him on the back. 'He's a knight. Feels no pain.'

Lily thought of Grandpa in the hospital bed and frowned. She felt Jake's eyes on her. 'We'll be back before he wakes,' Jake promised. He pointed to oak trees rising behind a brick wall. 'That's the yard. Gate is there.'

A green door led through the brick wall to the yard. Motioning for Jake and Lily to stay back, Tye crossed the garden, cracked open the door, and peeked through. Lily leaned against the brick. Moss tickled her shoulder. Absently, she petted it. It cooed back at her.

'Clear,' Tye whispered as he tiptoed back to them. 'But we'll want to run.'

Jake nodded.

Lily stepped away from the wall, and the moss that had curled around her ripped as she moved. She heard it shriek as it tore. She looked at the moss and then at the door. 'I can't leave yet,' she said. 'I have to find the dryads.' She told Tye about her mother, the brain hiccups, and Grandpa's plan. 'All my life, Grandpa and I have taken care of her.

And now I have to do this. I have to find out if the dryads can help her. Grandpa would never forgive me if ... Do you understand? There's no guarantee I'll ever get another chance at this.'

Tye nodded. 'Knew you were no fragile flower.'

She exhaled a half snort, half laugh. 'Really? Plant jokes? Now?'

'We can find the dryads in the forest,' Tye said.

Jake snorted. 'Brilliant deduction, Tiger Boy.'

'You don't have to come,' Tye said. 'Gate's right there.'

Jake merely glared at him. 'Lead on, kitty cat.'

Tye crossed the garden in the opposite direction from the gate, and Lily and Jake followed. Stepping onto a stump, Tye vaulted onto the brick wall and balanced catlike on the top. He held a hand down to Lily. She grabbed it and climbed up next to him. Hand in hand, she and Tye hopped down to the other side. They landed in a bed of ivy.

Tye didn't release her hand. 'We'll make them help your mom. Don't worry.'

She felt her throat close up. She nodded.

'You're not alone in this,' he said. He leaned closer. His eyes bored into hers. His lips were so close that she could feel the flutter of his breath. 'You never have to be alone again.' She wondered if he was still talking about her.

Jake landed beside them, and Tye let go of her hand. She remembered how to breathe. 'Everything all right?' Jake asked.

'Fine,' Tye said.

Lily avoided Jake's eyes. 'Let's go.' She set off at a run. The boys followed her. Together, all three of them plunged into the woods beyond campus.

CHAPTER Twelve

As Lily ran through the forest, roots flattened under her feet. Branches drooped out of her way as she brushed against them. Leaves caressed her as she passed. Behind her, Jake and Tye swore as they stumbled over roots and were swatted by branches. Lily barely heard them. She was surrounded by the hushed hum of the forest. For the first time since this had all begun, she felt safe.

'Lily, wait!' Tye called.

Stopping, she looked back. She hadn't noticed, but the boys had fallen behind. She jogged back to them. Jake was sagging against a tree trunk. 'Are you all right?'

He straightened. 'Fine.'

'Not used to the extra magic,' Tye said. 'No offense, Pretty Boy, but you shouldn't have come.' He shook his head. 'You shouldn't be feeling it so fast.'

Lily answered, 'He downed a flask of magic with all the other knights last night. Jake, you can go back if —'

Tye swore. 'You're drinking the magic? Does the council know this?'

Jake scowled at both of them and began walking. 'It was necessary.'

'Necessary to become a Feeder to fight the Feeders?' Tye said, matching his pace.

'It's not the same,' Jake objected. 'Magic from a bottle isn't addictive. Only feeding from humans causes the addiction. What we do is perfectly safe and—'

Tye snorted. 'Safe for your victims?'

'Our victims are monsters,' Jake said.

'Do you bother to check that?' Tye asked.

Jake clapped his hand on Tye's arm, stopping him. 'Never accuse the knights of—'

Orange fur suddenly sprouted on Tye's hands and cheeks. 'Never put your hand on me.' He wrenched his arm away.

'Guys?' Lily said. It felt as if they were about to launch into each other like rival frat boys at a bar—except one of them had warrior training and the other sometimes grew claws. Stepping between them, she put a hand on each of their chests. 'This isn't the time or place for this. Isn't it bad enough what happened with the council? Do we really need to fight amongst ourselves too?'

'You're certain everything you do is right,' Tye said to Jake. 'Do you even listen to the gargoyles anymore?'

Jake clenched his fists. 'You have no idea what it's like on the front lines.'

'I live on the front lines,' Tye said, with an edge to his voice that Lily had never heard.

'And how do I know you haven't killed to do that living?' Jake said. He stepped around Lily to stand inches in front of Tye.

'Stop it, both of you!' Lily said.

'Go ahead and try me, kitty cat.' Jake said. 'I'm trained to take down monsters like you. Like father, like son.'

'I don't need training to know which of us is the monster who needs taking down,' Tye said. Claws poked through Tye's fingertips. 'And I believe my father already kicked your ass.'

Jake lunged at Tye.

'Stop!' Lily said.

She was knocked back as the two boys wrestled, slamming each other against the trees.

Lily dove for the nearest one. 'Stop them,' she ordered the tree. 'Hold their arms.'

Branches curled around Tye's and Jake's arms, coiling tighter and tighter. Both Tye and Jake yelped as their arms were pinned back. They struggled.

'Don't hurt them,' she told the tree. 'Just hold them.' She put her hands on her hips and scowled at both of them. 'You. Are. Not. Helping.'

Tye and Jake glared at each other.

'He's everything that's wrong with the knights,' Tye said. 'He can't tell the difference between allies and enemies.'

'I know a monster when I see one,' Jake said. 'Lily, we can't trust him.'

For an instant, she contemplated leaving them both there, trussed up in branches. 'Do you trust me?' she asked Jake. 'Or do you still see a monster when you see me? And how about my mother? Is she a monster? Worst