Enchanted Ivy

She glanced back at Vineyard Club. Mom was in there and so was Grandpa, helpless as the battle raged over the street. Lily told herself she was being smart, not cowardly. Both Mom and Grandpa would have wanted her to run.

Beyond the blockade, Tye disappeared through the 1879 Hall arch. With the approval of the Literate Ape, Lily passed through the line of security guards and climbed the steps to the arch.

She looked back again and saw a column of fire shoot up from the center of the street. A red orange figure ran toward the barricade. Lily saw flames running up and down his arms. He pitched forward as he was tackled from behind by a woman with tentacles that writhed on her back.

'Hold the line!' one of the security guards barked.

Lily fled.

She ran for the gardens, but once there, she kept running. As much as she wanted to bury herself in the comfort of the petals and leaves, she didn't dare. Tulips and roses couldn't keep her safe from monsters. Continuing through, she heard the chants and cheers of P-rade.

Lily joined the fringes of the crowd as they shouted, 'Hip-hip, tiger-tiger-tiger, sis-sis-sis, boom-boom-boom, bah! Oh-six! Oh-six! Oh-six!' A fire truck passed with its lights flashing. Alums threw candy from the ladders. A real tiger paced in a cage on the bed of the truck. Cheering with the crowd, she summoned up a fake smile.

Only a day ago, she'd planned to be here at P-rade with Grandpa and Mom. She'd intended to walk with him down the street when it was his class's turn.

She should have found a way to reach Grandpa and Mom. She could have used the chaos of the battle somehow. She could have hidden in the hedges or commanded the trees to hide her. And if you'd been killed? she asked herself. Tye's father was right. She had to stay safe. Once the Old Boys and the magic army defeated the Feeders, she could return and save her family. She just had to be patient and it would all be over soon.

She continued to clap and shout with the crowd, learning the P-rade locomotive. The marching classes shouted, 'Hip-hip, tiger-tiger-tiger, sis-sis-sis, boom-boom-boom, bah! Oh-nine! Oh-nine! Oh-nine!' and she chanted back.

As the end of the parade passed in front of her, the crowd surged off the sidewalk. She was swept forward with the alums from the Class of 2009. Some alums linked arms and spun in a circle. Others sang loudly and badly. 'In praise of Old Nassau we sing; hurrah, hurrah, hurrah! Our hearts will give while we shall live; three cheers for Old Nassau!'

As they marched down the street, other alums peeled off the sidewalks to join P-rade, until the road between the Gothic dorms and the brilliant green lawns was filled with people laughing, dancing, and cheering.

Soon, she told herself, everything will be okay. Soon, the knights and the magic creatures would defeat the Feeders; Grandpa would wake and stop Mr. Mayfair; Mom would regain her memories; and Jake would return to the human world. She simply had to wait and march. In unison with the Class of '09, she punched her fist into the air and shouted, 'Hip-hip, tiger-tiger-tiger!'

'Hello, little Key,' a bell-like voice said behind her.

Lily spun around.

The fairy smiled at her and laid a perfectly tanned finger against Lily's lips. 'Shh,' she said cheerfully. 'One scream, and I'll snap your neck.'

'You wouldn't dare.' Lily couldn't stop the quiver in her voice. 'We're in a crowd.'

'Ahh, but I have wings,' the fairy said.

She's right, Lily thought. The fairy could kill Lily, flash her wings, and then fly away in the confusion that followed. They might as well be in an empty alley.

'Come walk with me, sweet cakes.' The fairy wrapped her arm around Lily's shoulders.

'I'm too valuable to kill,' Lily said. 'I'm rare.'

'Oh, sweetie, don't overvalue your importance,' the fairy said, half hugging her shoulders. 'My allies are already here, and as for my enemies ... If you die, either they become my allies or they die. Either way suits me. You might be useful to me, sugar, but only if you cooperate.' The fairy beamed at her. 'Now, smile, lovey-dove. Show these nice people that we're friends.'

Lily plastered on a fake smile as the fairy guided her up the street, in the opposite direction from the parade. She tried to think of a plan. If they veered closer to the trees, Lily could touch a branch or leaf ... but the fairy kept them to the center of the paved road and wove among the marching alums. Smiling like a deranged mannequin, Lily avoided catching anyone's eye. Last thing she wanted to do was cause another innocent's death. The fairy waved at the thinning crowds and cooed at the babies until at last they were beyond the end of the parade.

The fairy led her past Nassau Hall. With all the alums marching in the parade, the heart of campus was deserted. 'Please, tell me what you want,' Lily said. 'Maybe we can compromise. I know you aren't really evil. We just want different things.'

'Aw, you're so sweet,' the fairy said. 'But really, honey, I am evil.' She smiled prettily as she dragged Lily up the chapel steps, beneath the sleeping dragon, and into the chapel foyer.

'What do you want?' Lily asked, her voice a high squeak. The fairy didn't need the solitude of the chapel to kill her. As she'd pointed out, she could kill Lily anywhere and no one would stop her. So why bring her here?

'I want what everyone wants, of course: To be safe. To be free to pursue that which makes me happy without fear of persecution or a messy, icky death. And you, my dear, will ensure that safety for me.'

The fairy propelled her to the marble steps and unhooked the rope. Lily dragged her feet, trying to delay reaching their destination until she had a plan. Any plan! But the fairy simply tugged harder, and Lily stumbled up the stairs behind her. At the top of the steps, the fairy opened the door to the choir box and thrust Lily in before her.

A man knelt in one of the pews, his hands clasped in front of him in prayer.

'I have brought you a gift,' the fairy said.

The man turned his head.

It was Mr. Mayfair.

CHAPTER Sixteen

'She isn't dead,' Mr. Mayfair said. Raising his eyebrows, he regarded Lily as if she were a specimen in a lab that had survived a dip in formaldehyde. 'Very curious.' His voice was so calm and urbane. Lily shrank back and felt herself start to shake.

'She can be,' the fairy said, 'but I thought perhaps you'd wish for a way to return that pesky magic army to its home before she dies.'

'How thoughtful of you,' he said blandly.

'Accept her as my apology to you,' the fairy said. 'I hope you will not count my one small instance of disobedience as a breach of our arrangement.'

Oh, God, Lily thought. I'm going to die.

'Indeed, it was not in our agreement for me to lose warriors at Vineyard today,' he said. Lounging against a pew, he continued to sound as if he were pleasantly discussing the weather.

Lily felt herself start to cry. She choked back tears and told herself it wasn't over yet. She could still escape. The fairy patted Lily's cheek fondly as she said to Mr. Mayfair, 'I bring you this gift to show I wish to continue our old arrangement: I will be at your beck and call if you will ensure I am not hunted.'

'Your numbers have swelled considerably,' Mr. Mayfair said.

'If you wish to guarantee their safety too, those Feeders will be loyal to you,' the fairy said. 'Think of it: a whole army at your disposal. A few civilians may fall to pay for your army, but isn't your noble goal worth a few sacrifices?'

'Noble!' Lily shouted. 'You—'

The fairy clamped a hand over Lily's mouth. 'Hush, child, the grown-ups are talking.'

'After today, many of my knights again will view magic creatures as allies,' Mr. Mayfair said. 'Separating the worlds will now be even more difficult. You have set me back a decade's worth of careful work.'