Enchanted Ivy

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."

"Please accept my apology," the fairy said, "with this gift." Removing her hand from Lily's mouth, she laid both hands on Lily's shoulders.

Mr. Mayfair rose from the pew. "Your apology and gift are appreciated." In one hand, he held a sword.

He's going to kill me, Lily thought. "You need me alive," she said. Mr. Mayfair crossed the choir box. His expression was still casual. He might as well have been approaching to merely shake her hand. "The magic army ... they'll return peacefully to their world if they can. But if you kill me, they'll be trapped, and you'll have new enemies." She tried to back away, but the fairy held her firmly in place.

Mr. Mayfair raised his sword.

Lily tried to throw herself to the side, but the fairy's hands were like shackles. Lily kicked and flailed, but the fairy held on without budging.

As the sword sliced through the air, the blade caught the blue light of the stained glass. It flashed on the stone walls of the chapel. Lily felt wind in her hair. She heard a wet thunk.

The hands on her shoulders loosened and then slipped away.

Behind her, the fairy fell to the floor.

"Our alliance is ended," Mr. Mayfair said in his gentlemanly voice. He wiped his sword, now red, on a black choir robe that hung from the coatrack. He selected a second robe and lifted the fairy's head up by her blood-soaked platinum blonde hair. He wrapped the head in the robe as if it were a Christmas present.

Blood seeped around Lily's shoes. It soaked into her sneakers, and it stained the white marble floor. She heard roaring in her ears, and her vision swam with black spots.

Mr. Mayfair spread a third robe across the body. Only the tips of the fairy's wings remained visible. They looked like broken cobwebs. "Sit, my dear," he said to Lily. "You look pale, and we may have a long wait." He sounded as concerned as an ordinary grandfather.

She wet her lips and tried to ask, "Wait for what?"

Despite her cracking voice, he understood her. "For the battle to end."

"Are you"—she couldn't stop her voice from shaking—"going to k-kill me?"

He sighed. "Eventually, I probably will. You are a danger to mankind, as well as an abomination in the eyes of God, though perhaps less of one than she was." He nodded at the fairy's wrapped-up head. It lay on a pew. A tendril of blonde hair had escaped the binding.

Lily bolted for the door. She slipped in blood, but she threw herself forward anyway. Moving faster than any ordinary human being could, Mr. Mayfair sprinted in front of her. He leveled the sword at her chest. "I said, sit." He gestured with the point toward a pew, and she retreated until a pew bumped the back of her legs. She sat with a thump.

Mr. Mayfair fetched some ropes from a pile of what looked to be more choir robes. Returning, he wrapped them around her, encasing her like a fly in a web. The ropes bit into her skin, and she yelped.

A streak of orange and black fur dashed behind the coatrack. Tye!

He'd come to rescue her, again her knight in shining fur. Lily felt her heart soar, but she kept her eyes focused on Mr. Mayfair. She had to keep him from noticing Tye. "You're psychotic," she said. "You're an egomaniacal psychopath with delusions of heroism."

Mr. Mayfair secured the last knot. "You should take a few psychology classes once you enroll here," he said. He coiled the remainder of the ropes beside Lily. "You'll find them beneficial, regardless of your major. Have you given any thought to your major?"

Speechless, she stared at him. A corpse lay three feet from her, her sneakers were soaked in blood, she was hog-tied to a pew, and he wanted to talk about her major?

"Perhaps economics?" he suggested. "Your grandfather claims you have a knack for business. I believe you assist with the accounts for the florist shop?"

"I'm going to live long enough to have a major?" she asked.

"The situation has changed, and I'm capable of flexibility," he said. "So long as your life benefits humanity more than your death, you will continue to live. Of course, I need to be certain that I can trust you."

"You can trust me," Lily said. "I am totally trustworthy."

As she finished speaking, a tiger sprang from behind a pew and launched into the air directly at Mr. Mayfair's back. As smoothly as if he'd known the attack was coming, Mr. Mayfair spun with his sword raised.

"Sword!" Lily screamed.

Midleap, Tye veered, contorting his tiger body above the pews to avoid the blade. The sword grazed his fur, and Lily saw specks of red blood fly. She screamed again and strained against the ropes.

Tye landed, paws forward, against a pew. Under his weight, the pew tipped and crashed into the next pew. Sword arcing through the air, Mr. Mayfair advanced on the tiger boy. Tye twisted aside and swiped at Mr. Mayfair with his claws. Mr. Mayfair dodged, and the sword blade flashed again. Tye crouched, and the sword nicked his shoulder.

Rearing up on his hind paws, Tye swatted at Mr. Mayfair's sword arm. His paw impacted, and Mr. Mayfair staggered backward and the tiger boy hurled himself at the knight. Mr. Mayfair dodged again. His sword flashed toward Tye's flank. Tye jumped up onto the stone railing, narrowly avoiding the blade.

For an instant, the tiger boy perched on the railing. Behind him, the chapel stretched soundless and beautiful. He crouched, ready to spring again.

Mr. Mayfair lunged across the choir box and thrust his sword at Lily's neck. She didn't have time to scream. He halted an inch from her throat. In a calm voice, he said, "That's enough, kitty." The tip of the sword touched Lily's throat. She sucked in air shallowly.

Balanced on the stone, the tiger boy froze with muscles poised for another leap.

Everything was silent.

"Change yourself and join us," Mr. Mayfair said, as civilly as if inviting Tye to join him for a cocktail party.

The tiger boy hesitated. He could escape, she thought. One leap and he'd be down on the chapel floor. "Go!" Lily shouted.

"She'll be dead before your paws hit the ground," Mr. Mayfair warned. He pressed the tip of the blade against her neck, and Lily felt a prick. Involuntarily, she gasped.

Tye didn't move.

"Don't trust him," she said, barely a whisper. "Remember, he freed the Chained Dragon. He was responsible for our parents' deaths. He was responsible for the death of his own son. He's willing to sacrifice his grandson. He won't hesitate to kill us."

"I never hesitate when the cause is right," Mr. Mayfair said. "It is a burden that I bear, and do not think that I bear it lightly. But you don't need to die today, Tiger Boy."

Tiger fur shimmered. In seconds, Tye crouched on the stone railing as himself. He rose, balancing. "Tye, please, jump! Run!" Lily said. "I need you free. You have to take my mother through the gate. You have to take your father and my grandmother and all of them."

Tye climbed off the railing. "Sorry, Lily, but I'm not losing you."

Her heart sank. With both of them caught, the FitzRandolph Gate was sealed.

"Wise choice, young man," Mr. Mayfair said. "Come here and sit beside your overly melodramatic young friend."

Without a word, Tye sat next to Lily.

Mr. Mayfair wrapped the remaining ropes around Tye.

"What a rare opportunity," he said. "For once, you are not under the watchful eye of your gargoyle friends. None of them were here to see you enter this chapel, were they?"

"Please don't hurt him." Lily struggled against the ropes. "If you hurt him, I'll ..." She tried to think of a suitable threat and failed. "Don't you dare."

"You, my dear," Mr. Mayfair said to Lily, "have an alarming tendency toward heroics. You are quite a bit like your father, you know. If he had merely run instead of staying to protect you and that creature you call 'Mother,' the dragon would have spared him." He rose and crossed to the opposite side of the choir box. "How fortunate for me that I have appropriate leverage."

Out of the corner of her eye, Lily saw Tye sprout claws on his left hand. He began to saw through one of the ropes as Mr. Mayfair bent over the pile of robes next to the coatrack.

He returned with the mass of robes draped over his arms. Lily saw spray-paint orange hair amid the robes and suddenly she couldn't breathe. Mom. He laid her mother on a pew and removed the robe from her face. Mom's head lolled to the side.

"She's breathing, Lily," Tye said quickly. "It's okay. She's alive."

Lily gulped in air. He was right. Mom was alive. Her chest rose, shuddered, and then fell. Her eyelids fluttered but didn't open. "What have you done to her?"

"She was ... resistant to leaving your grandfather's side, and so I was forced to drain her to ensure complacency," he said. "Such devotion from a monster. So unexpected."

"She's not a monster! She's a good person." Lily's eyes were glued to her mother's face. Mom looked so pale. Her cheeks were sunken. Every wrinkle stood out like a sharp black line.

"She isn't a person at all," Mr. Mayfair said. He shook his head. "My son was lost as well, but unlike Richard, I did not choose to shelter an abomination. I treat monsters as they deserve to be treated." She noticed he didn't mention Tye and Jake's mother.

Tye detected the omission as well. "My mother was 'lost,' too."

"She was a traitor to humanity," Mr. Mayfair said, "as your very existence proves."

Mom's breathing sounded so strained, as if each inhalation were squeezing her lungs. "If you're such a paragon of virtue," Lily said, "then why didn't you ever tell your grandson what you did, that you were responsible for his parents' deaths? Bet he would have called you the abomination."

For an instant, a shadow of pain crossed Mr. Mayfair's face. It was the first time she'd seen any emotion but unruffled calm. "Jake is young and idealistic," he said. "Someday he will understand that I serve a greater good."

"He won't understand if he's dead," Lily said. "Please, what 'greater good' do you serve by keeping my mother? You have me. You have Tye. You can let her go. She's not a threat to you."

"She isn't a threat," he agreed. "She's insurance." He pulled a flask from his pocket, propped Mom up, and poured silver liquid into her mouth. In an instant, Mom spit and coughed. Her eyes snapped open.

"Mom!" Lily said. "Are you okay?"

Mom looked at Lily, at the ropes, and at Mr. Mayfair, and then she began to scream. He clapped a hand over her mouth. She whimpered. "Perhaps I should have left you drained for longer," he commented. Mom's eyes flickered everywhere.

"Calm down, Mom, please," Lily said. "Everything's all right." The lie rolled easily off her lips. "Take a deep breath. Now exhale."

Mom obeyed.

In a minute, Mr. Mayfair removed his hand.

"Now," he said, "listen to me carefully. You want your daughter safe, yes?"

Mom nodded. Her eyes were wide.

"She inexplicably wants you safe as well," Mr. Mayfair said. "So this is what we will do: When the battle ends, you will both accompany me to the gate. Lily will return the army of potential Feeders, and she will help me repair the damage she's done to my reputation with the knights and the gargoyles. You will walk through the gate, and the dryad queen will return my grandson. Do you understand?"

Mom's eyes were like a storm. "If you harm my daughter—"

"Good," he said. "We understand each other. If you disobey me, I will kill her. If Lily disobeys, I will kill you. Are we clear?"

Wordless, shaking with fear and fury, Mom nodded.

"And you?" Mr. Mayfair asked Lily.

Eyes glued on Mom, Lily nodded, too.

Mr. Mayfair took a call as calmly as if he were in an office. "Splendid!" Lily heard him say. "Send the army and the prisoners to the gate. We'll meet them there. Begin damage control." He paused. "Wonderful. Thank you." He slid the phone back into his pocket. "Excellent news," he said. "We won."

He untied the ropes around Lily, and then he pulled her and Rose to their feet. Smiling at them, he picked up the fairy's head wrapped in the choir robe.

As Mr. Mayfair led them toward the door, Lily glanced at Tye. He had nearly sliced through his ropes. If she could distract Mr. Mayfair for only a second ... Trying to send a hint with just a look, she met Tye's eyes.

I love you, he mouthed.

He what?

Startled, she slipped in the fairy blood. Mr. Mayfair caught her arm. That was all the distraction Tye needed. He cut through the last frayed rope and sprang from the pew.

But Mr. Mayfair was faster. Drawing his sword, he lunged forward. In a move so fast that Lily could barely see it, he slammed the hilt down on Tye's head.

Tye crumpled onto the marble floor.

Mom screamed and screamed and screamed.

"Foolish boy," Mr. Mayfair said. He leveled the sword at Mom. "Silence."

Mom stopped.

"Is he ...," Lily began. She saw Tye's chest rise and fall. He was alive.

Without another word, Mr. Mayfair fetched the ropes and retied him. This time, he lashed Tye's fingers together. He left him cocooned in rope, unconscious on the floor. Then he slid his sword into a scabbard under his coat.

"You are a monster," Mom said.

He blinked at her. "That is almost amusing, coming from you."

Scooping up the robe with the fairy's head, he propelled both Lily and Mom out of the choir box, down the stairs, and out of the chapel.

Outside, the sky had darkened. The sun had sunk below towers and turrets, leaving behind streaks of bruised rose. As they descended the chapel steps, Lily noticed that her footprints were rust red smudges on the stone—the fairy's blood.

"Lily?" Mom's voice was strained. "That dragon ... I know him...."

Lily looked up at the Chained Dragon. He was silent, sleeping to conserve his magic. "How can I trust that you won't just get rid of me, Mom, and Tye after we've helped you?" Lily asked Mr. Mayfair.

"You have little choice but to trust me, my dear," he said.

She didn't think that was a comforting response.

Looping his arm around hers, he escorted her across the plaza. In his other hand, he held the robe with the severed head. Looking dazed, Mom walked beside them. She kept shooting glances back at the stone dragon; he continued to sleep.

Stay calm, Lily told herself, and think. There had to be something she could do, but what? Overwhelm him with her fantastic power over lawns? She'd seen him fight. He was stronger and faster than a tiger. Her best hope was the ivy vines in East Pyne courtyard.

But Mr. Mayfair bypassed East Pyne. Instead, he marched them straight toward Nassau Street, exiting campus via a service driveway and keeping to the center of the road, away from any greenery.

Lit by street lamps and lights from storefronts, Nassau Street was as silent and empty as a vacant lot. Cars had been diverted to side streets, and campus police warded off pedestrians. Yellow tape cordoned off the entire Nassau Hall yard. Recognizing Mr. Mayfair, one of the guards waved them through the blockade. As they passed, Lily tried and failed to catch the security guard's eyes.

Using the side entrance, Mr. Mayfair propelled them onto the lawn. Grass shivered as it touched Lily's bloody shoes, but the trees didn't hear her silent yells.

Mr. Mayfair halted in front of the gate and said to Lily, "You are to think of your mother and follow my lead. No heroics. Are we clear?"

Lily swallowed. "Crystal."

He pulled Mom closer to him, and they waited.

Coming from beyond Nassau Hall, creatures marched, limped, slithered, flew, crawled, and walked across the shadowed yard. A few were carried. Others winced in pain with each step. Lily saw blood and dirt streaks on faces and exposed skin. In the distance, she spotted her grandmother, tall and unearthly, surrounded by the usual 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 done if I'd lost you. Can you stand?"

"Yes, sir." Jake struggled to his feet. His hair was plastered to the sweat on his forehead, and his face was waxy and pale.

"Get yourself to Vineyard Club and see the doctor immediately," Mr. Mayfair said.

"Thank you, sir." Jake dredged up a smile for Lily. "I hung in there like you said. Knew you'd be back for me. You truly deserve to be a knight."

She had to speak. If he left, she'd be alone with Mr. Mayfair. She'd wasted all her other chances. Lily began, "Jake—"

"Tell the doctor to wait for my orders before transferring Richard Carter to the hospital," Mr. Mayfair said. "I'd like to be there to ensure that he's in good hands." He smiled at Lily. "Was there something you wanted to say, my dear?"

Numbly, she shook her head.

She watched Jake limp across the yard.

As Jake rounded Nassau Hall, Mr. Mayfair patted her on the shoulder. "One item left on the list: the humans." He steered her back through the side entrance and through the blockade of security. As they passed the guards, Mr. Mayfair nodded to them. "Tell your men that they can stand down. The threat is over. Humanity is safe."

The nearest guard saluted. "Sir, what are your orders for the civilians?"

Keeping Lily close to his side, Mr. Mayfair detailed plans for what to tell the people who had seen more than they should have. He barked orders, and campus security sprang into action. The battle at Forbes was to be explained as a maintenance issue. Prospect Avenue was closed for "renovations." They were to contact the media to begin damage control, monitor the Web for photos and other incriminating evidence, and compile a list of all potential leaks. Vineyard Club would be bringing all of their considerable resources to the cover-up, but security had to plant the seeds now. It took Mr. Mayfair fifteen minutes at most to disperse the guards. While he talked, Lily tried to form a plan. There had to be a way to escape, save Tye, and protect Grandpa. She just had to think of it. She was supposed to be smart, Ivy League smart. Think, Lily! she ordered herself.

But Mr. Mayfair was stronger and faster, and he held all the cards. She discarded every plan that sprang into her head. None of them would work. She couldn't do this alone.

As the guards dispersed, Mr. Mayfair said to Lily, "Let's check on your friend in the chapel, shall we?" Leading her away, he seemed as pleased as a cat in sunshine. Of course he is, she thought. He's won. He was whistling as he ushered her toward the chapel. With each step, she became more convinced that she was going to die.

I need a miracle, she thought.

Staring up at the chapel spires, she prayed for one. But instead of avenging angels coming to save her, all she saw was the dragon writhing on the stone facade. Tears rolled down her cheeks. "Please ...," she began.

And then, across the plaza, she saw her miracle: her grandfather, hobbling toward them, with Jake at his side. Jake waved to them.

"Grandpa!" Lily cried. Oh, thank you. She was saved. She started to laugh and cry at the same time. When they met in front of the chapel, Lily threw herself at Grandpa and wrapped her arms around his neck. He was awake. He was alive. He was here. Everything was going to be okay. Grandpa would fix everything.

Jake was beaming. His cheeks were a healthier pink, she saw, and he wasn't swaying as he stood anymore. "I went to talk to the doctor, as you said, and Mr. Carter was there. Pulled out his own IV and insisted on coming once I brought him up to speed."

Grandpa staggered under the force of Lily's hug and then patted her back. "I'm all right, my tigerlily. Everything's all right."

"Richard," Mr. Mayfair admonished, "you should be resting."

Lily noticed that Grandpa's muscles were trembling.

Grandpa frowned at Mr. Mayfair. "Joseph, we need to talk. Is it true that you returned my Rose to the magic world?"

"Your daughter is fine," Mr. Mayfair said soothingly. "She's with family."

"I was supposed to accompany her. She was supposed to be reintroduced gradually and carefully," Grandpa said. "She has no memory of who she was. She'll be frightened."

Mr. Mayfair's voice dripped with concern. "Don't upset yourself, Richard. Your health is fragile. I did what was best for everyone. You were not available to consult, and it was my place to decide."

His health was fragile. Taking a step back, Lily studied him. One arm was bandaged from shoulder to wrist. His face was a sunken mask of wrinkles. He wasn't Superman, she realized, and he was in no condition to save the day. In fact, by coming here, he had put himself at risk. "You should be back in bed," Lily said. "I'll take you." Looping her arm around him, she began to walk fast, pulling Grandpa with her.

"Lily, not yet," Grandpa said. He dug his heels against the stone. Even weakened, he stopped her. "There's something that I've come to say to Joseph, and it isn't right for me to delay." He turned to face Mr. Mayfair.

"Grandpa, whatever it is, I'm sure it can wait...."

"Joseph, you know I have the utmost respect for what you've done for Princeton, indeed for humanity, over the years," Grandpa said.

Mr. Mayfair executed a half bow. "Thank you. I appreciate your—"

Grandpa held up a hand. Lily noticed his fingers shook. "Lately I have watched you, and I have been disturbed by what I've seen. There has been no new research added to the library in decades. There have been no trips to the magic world, no summits with their leaders. The gargoyles have been marginalized. But worse, you have shown lapses in ethics that are alarming. I am sorry, Joseph, but when the knights convene tonight, I must call for a vote of no confidence."

Stunned, Mr. Mayfair stood as still as the statues on the chapel.

Jake stammered, "B-b-but ..."

Lily thought that she had never been more proud of her grandfather. He'd seen the clues to Mr. Mayfair's corruption, even if he had no idea how truly evil his friend was. In as calm a voice as she could manage, she said, "Grandpa, we need to run now."

Grandpa, Jake, and Mr. Mayfair all looked at her.

"He'll kill you," she said. "He'll kill anyone who stands in his way. He killed Jake's parents. He killed your son." She tugged on his arm, the one not in bandages. "Please, Grandpa!"

Throwing his head back, Mr. Mayfair laughed. "Oh, my dear. You have had a rough day, haven't you?" To Grandpa, he said, "Your granddaughter is a lovely girl, but she has had so much happen to her in the past twenty-four hours that she's obviously misunderstood much of what she's learned."

"He had an alliance with the leader of the Feeders," she said.

Sputtering, Jake said, "H-how can you say that? My grandfather is a hero!"

"Your grandfather was going to let you die," she said.

Jake shook his head. "You're wrong," he said firmly. "Tell her she's wrong."

Mr. Mayfair's smile was tight. "Of course she is," he said. "She's imagining plots and conspiracies where none exist."

"He wants to close the gate between worlds permanently," Lily said. "Grandpa, he plans to kill me."

Grandpa patted her hand. "Lily ..."

He had to believe her. "Dragon! Chained Dragon, wake up!" she called. "Tell them how he used the fairy to make a deal with you. He promised you freedom in exchange for killing a baby half dryad by FitzRandolph Gate. He was responsible for all those deaths."

The dragon lashed his tail. "Free me, and I will avenge myself on the traitor!" His voice made her feel as if she'd swallowed a snake. It twisted and writhed inside her.

Grandpa was pale. "Rose always suspected a knight."

"Death to the betrayer!" The dragon screeched and scraped stone. Bits of the facade crumbled under his claws, but the chain held tight. "I will see you suffer as I have suffered! Your blood will paint the stones!"

Mr. Mayfair's smile vanished. "Richard, you cannot seriously believe—"

Lily said to her grandfather, "He's lied to you. All these years."

"There have been too many secrets, too many lies," Grandpa said. He touched Lily's cheek, and Lily realized he was apologizing to her. She'd have preferred a better apology, but if this one saved her life, she'd accept it. "We will bring the matter before all the knights tonight. Present the evidence and let the full Vineyard Club judge. Everything out in the open. How does that sound, my tigerlily?"

She opened her mouth to say that it sounded great.

Jake sputtered. "B-but ... but there is no evidence! You can't take the word of that ... that killer." He pointed to the Chained Dragon. "I'm sorry, Lily, but I stand with my grandfather."

"Of course you do," Mr. Mayfair said. "Richard, drop this crazy idea. You cannot bring this for discussion with the knights. It will undermine my authority needlessly."

Above, the dragon thrashed as he hurled threats and insults down at Mr. Mayfair. "I will dine on your flesh. I will feast on your entrails. False knight!"

"You want proof?" Lily asked. She pointed to the chapel doors. "Right now, Tye is inside, bound in ropes. Mr. Mayfair did that to him. And my mother ... we can bring her back from the dryads. She can testify that he drained her and threatened her. And what about the goblin? He sent a goblin to attack me. We can find the goblin."

Jake was gawking at the chapel entrance. "Tye is in there?" He began to climb the steps.

Mr. Mayfair held out a hand and stopped him, saying, "You can't possibly be listening to this drivel."

Gently, Grandpa said, "If it's drivel, what do you fear? Let him go."

"Yes, yes, see the betrayal!" the dragon cried. "Feel my pain!"

"Jake, I order you to step down," Mr. Mayfair said.

Lily heard a hint of desperation creep into his voice. Jake heard it, too. His eyes locked on to Lily's. "Your brother needs you," she said.

Jake's face twisted. "Forgive me for doubting you," he whispered to his grandfather, and then he took a step toward the chapel antechamber.

Before Jake could react, Mr. Mayfair brought the sword hilt up and slammed it against his head. Jake crumpled to the ground. "You will understand when you're older," Mr. Mayfair said, and then he turned toward Grandpa.

"No, don't!" Lily screamed.

Mr. Mayfair sprang toward Grandpa. Grandpa dodged backward, and his knees caved. He collapsed on the plaza flagstones. Mr. Mayfair leveled his sword. Grandpa fought to stand as Mr. Mayfair advanced, but his legs again folded under him. Bringing up his arm, he turned his head as Mr. Mayfair raised his sword. Sunlight flashed over the blade.

Lily did the only thing she could think of doing. She jumped as high as she could and grabbed the ribbon of stone beneath the dragon. "Stop him!" she cried. "Avenge yourself!"

The dragon's head darted down, and his jaws latched on to her arm. He sucked, and she felt the world spin. It only lasted a few seconds—the dragon was half-free already. All he needed was a taste of magic. With a cry, the beast snapped the chain and burst off the arch.

The Chained Dragon soared free.