Enchanted Ivy

entourage of dryads. Lily also saw a flock of unicorns, sweat stained and dirt covered. The Literate Ape and the other gargoyles marched with them. The Princeton knights were interspersed among centaurs, medusas, elves, goblins, and trolls.

'Friends!' Mr. Mayfair called. 'Congratulations on an important victory!'

As the creatures fanned out across the darkened lawn, Professor Ape crossed to Lily and Mr. Mayfair. 'We missed you at the battle, Joseph,' the ape said.

'I had a task to complete,' Mr. Mayfair said. 'Believe me, it was vital.'

'Grave accusations have been made against you.'

'Yes, I am aware,' he said. He smiled fondly at Lily. 'The young are easily confused, but we have sorted it out now, haven't we, Lily?'

She had a chance to shout the truth. Here was an audience, primed to listen. He'd skipped the battle, and the ape was suspicious. But Mom stood as straight and still as an oak tree, and Lily imagined a knife pressed against Mom's back. 'I was wrong,' Lily said softly.

Mr. Mayfair flourished the choir robe. It fell to the ground in a puddle of cloth, and he held up the fairy's head. 'Behold, the leader of the Feeders!' he cried. 'I have been hunting her, and at last I was victorious! This girl was a witness, as her shoes can testify.'

Everyone looked at the blood on Lily's sneakers.

Mr. Mayfair addressed Professor Ape. 'I owe you an apology. I doubted your kind. I believed you were all like this fairy.' He lifted the severed head higher into the air. 'Today I have been proven wrong, and I am more grateful than you will ever know. I hope this is the start of a new era of cooperation between our peoples.'

As the ape beamed, the knights and magic creatures burst into tremendous applause. Lily scanned the faces in dismay. Tye had said that people believed what they wanted to believe. The knights and creatures wanted to believe Mr. Mayfair was a hero. Only the Feeders snarled and glared. A few strained at the ropes that held them. Others were perfectly still, swords at their necks or knives at their backs. One of the goblins cried.

Pushing to the front, Tye's father scowled at Mr. Mayfair. 'A very pretty speech,' the tiger man said. 'But we will need your assurance that your people will cease the Feeder-like behavior of draining and drinking magic creatures.'

'After a victory such as this, we will not need to. The practice shall cease,' Mr. Mayfair said. 'You have my word.' Lily had never heard anyone lie so smoothly or with such sincerity. Truth throbbed through his voice. 'I know we have drifted apart and that much work remains to rebuild relations between our worlds, but perhaps a start can be made through this child.' He placed a hand on the back of Lily's neck—a casual gesture, but she was aware of how fragile her neck was and how hard he could grip. 'She will send you home!'

Cheering, the army surged forward, pushing the prisoners before them.

Lily was driven back toward the gate.

'Slowly!' Tye's father shouted. He drew his sword and positioned himself between Lily and the creatures. She glanced at Mr. Mayfair, and he nodded. She leaned against the pillar and straddled the threshold. Half of her body disappeared into the magic world.

'Very well. Begin,' Mr. Mayfair said.

Prodded by knights and gargoyles, the Feeders filed toward the gate. The line of monsters was flanked by the council's army. She saw elves, trolls, goblins, satyrs, winged lions, snake women ... A few times she wasn't certain if some creatures were actually Feeders, but their eyes gave them away. The Feeders shot her looks that ranged from sullen to so full of hatred that she felt as if her skin would blister from the stare. Sometimes she had to look away—and when she did, she saw Mr. Mayfair, with his hand on Mom's shoulder, watching her.

Once the Feeders had passed, the Literate Ape led the gargoyles to the gate. 'We wish to assist our brethren,' the ape announced to Mr. Mayfair. 'Please care for the knights in our absence.'

Mr. Mayfair bowed. 'Of course.'

One by one, the gargoyles crossed through the gate. Lily saw chips and scratches on the stone monkeys as they scurried by her. The Unseeing Reader limped past with help from a stone lion. Even the stone eagles flew through. Lily wanted to scream, Don't leave!

As the last gargoyle left the human world, the knights dispersed from the yard. Oh, no, she thought. Stay! Please! Soon, only Tye's father and the dryads remained.

The tiger man sheathed his sword. 'I must assist on the other side as well,' he said. 'My son ...'

'Will be with you soon,' Mr. Mayfair finished smoothly. 'He wished to remain at the club to assist the injured knights. He's a good boy.'

'Yes,' Tye's father said. 'Yes, he is.'

The words were in Lily's throat. If anyone could take on Mr. Mayfair, it was Tye's father. All she needed was a word or a phrase. Just a clue. One sentence. But then her mother made a small chirp: 'Oh!' Lily noticed that Mr. Mayfair's hand was behind Mom's back. Mr. Mayfair smiled at Lily.

She let Tye's father leave.

At last, only the dryads remained. The yard was empty shadows. Oak trees whispered wordlessly, a steady hum, as the dryads walked to the gate.

The dryad queen approached Mom. 'My daughter,' she said, as if tasting the word. 'Rose, my child, you live!' She clasped Mom's hands in hers as Mr. Mayfair shifted to stand behind Lily. In the small of her back, Lily felt a cool, sharp point press against her.

Mom's eyes filled with tears. 'I don't ... I don't remember you.'

The queen touched Mom's cheek. 'You will, my Rose.' And then she frowned. 'Child, what did you do to your hair?'

Now Lily believed that this woman was Mom's mother.

'Come,' the queen said. 'We will take you home.'

Mr. Mayfair interrupted. 'Return my grandson first.'

Looking at her entourage, the queen snapped her fingers. 'Fetch him.' Several of the dryads filed through the gate. To Mom, the queen said, 'You will love our home. You may not remember it, but you had your own grove and garden. You had orchids and irises that were the envy of us all. You had roses that defied winter. And your lilies ... your lilies were your delight and glory.'

'My lily now is my delight and glory,' Mom said. 'She must come with me.'

Mr. Mayfair's smile was like winter. 'She has work here. Her friend Tye is expecting her back. He will be very disappointed if she doesn't return.'

'You should go,' Lily said. She tried to put into her eyes that she meant it. If Mom was safe ... She had to know that Mom was safe. 'I'll be there soon.'

Mr. Mayfair held up his hand. 'First, my grandson.'

In seconds, Jake popped through the gate. His knees buckled, and he collapsed on the slate sidewalk. Mr. Mayfair didn't move. He kept the blade on Lily's back.

Beckoning to her entourage, the dryad queen said, 'Now we leave.'

'Lily!' Mom's voice was shrill.

Lily felt tears wet her cheeks. 'Go. I love you.' On the other side, Mom could tell the dryad queen the truth. The council and their warriors would charge back through. They'd stop Mr. Mayfair.

'I never forgot that I love you,' Mom said to Lily.

And then the queen led Mom and the dryads through the gate. They vanished as they crossed. Instantly, Mr. Mayfair pulled Lily away from the pillar. Lily pretended to stumble as she reached for a tree, her mind screaming to the oak—

Grabbing her shirt, Mr. Mayfair yanked her back to the sidewalk. 'You have been doing so well. Don't fail me now,' he said softly. 'It's nearly done.'

He's right, she realized. It was nearly done. He had what he wanted: The bulk of the Feeders were returned, the magic army and the gargoyles were on the other side, and he had two Keys under his control. He had no more reason to keep her alive.

On the sidewalk, Jake moaned.

Releasing Lily, Mr. Mayfair knelt by his grandson. He gripped Jake's shoulder. 'I don't know what I would have