Enchanted Ivy (30 page)

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.

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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,

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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!"

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"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.

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CHAPTER Seventeen

With every breath, the dragon stretched and swelled. Lily sagged onto the chapel steps and stared upward as the stone gray scales shimmered with flecks of emerald and gold. The dragon's tail extended into a curl, and his wings expanded until they blocked the evening sky.

Mr. Mayfair's face twisted and reddened. "Foolish girl, what have you done?"

Lily tried to stand, but her knees folded under her. Silence roared in her ears. She could see her grandfather was shouting, but she couldn't hear him.

Above, the dragon jackknifed. He flattened his wings against his now full-size body and dived toward Mr. Mayfair. The aged knight sliced up at the sky with his sword. Landing on the plaza, the dragon wrapped his front talons around Mr. Mayfair.
"You tricked me,"
the dragon said. His voice

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punctured the white noise that filled Lily's head.
"You will pay with pain."

"You failed me!" Mr. Mayfair shouted. "You killed my son, not the girl!"

The dragon pushed off his hind claws, and the concrete flagstones cracked beneath him. As the dragon lifted him into the air, the old man hacked with his sword at the dragon's scales. The ring of steel on stone echoed across the plaza.

"Our alliance is ended,"
the dragon said. He bit into Mr. Mayfair's shoulder, and Mr. Mayfair screamed as the dragon drained him.

Grandpa struggled to his feet.

Lily watched without understanding. She wanted so badly to sink into the stones and rest. But the tiny part of her brain that was still able to think told her that she couldn't. Tye still needed her.

Gritting her teeth, she dragged herself up the steps and then stumbled into the chapel. She crawled up the marble stairs to the choir box.

Tye lay at the edge of the fairy's dried blood. Lily knelt beside him and untied the ropes around him with shaking hands. "Wake up," she said. It hurt to talk. Her head throbbed. Her lungs ached with every breath. "Please, Tye." She leaned against his chest and laid her head on his shoulder. "Please."

"Lily?" Tye's arms wrapped around her.

"Please. I need you to be okay," she whispered.

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Tye opened his eyes. "You're drained. What the hell happened?"

She felt like crying, but she couldn't summon the strength. Her muscles felt like stone. Everything hurt. She felt bruised from the inside out. "I released the dragon."

He swore.

"Lily, hold on," he said. "I'll take you through the gate. But you have to stay awake."

She tried, but her eyelids fluttered closed.

"Lily!" He shook her. "Open your eyes. There's a good girl. Come on, I'll carry you." She sucked in magic-less air and tried to focus on Tye. "Look at me--that's right."

Her vision tilted and darkened.

A second later Tye lifted her up. She laid her head against his chest and felt his heartbeat through her cheek. "I like you," she said.

"Very nice," Tye said. "Don't die, and I'll take you out for ice cream."

"I like ice cream," she said.

And then she screamed as every bone in her body felt as if it were shattering. Lightning lanced over her eyes. She heard voices around her shouting, and she felt her body spasm.
"She won't make it!" "Put her down!" "There, right there!" "Open her mouth!"
She felt cool, thick sweet liquid pour into her mouth and hit her throat. She coughed and gagged.
"More! Make her drink it! Lily, baby, please, you have to drink this!"

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She heard Jake's voice. "Take mine!"

And more was forced down her throat. She swallowed and swallowed. The magic spread like fire in a forest. It coursed through her. Her blood blazed. Her skin sparked. She opened her eyes and saw pure light.

"Lily, my Lily!" Grandpa cradled her against him.

High above, the dragon circled, a dark shadow against the starry sky.

Lily felt arms around her. She breathed in the smell of earth after rain, and she knew it was Tye who held her this time. Her cheek rested against his chest. She must have blacked out again. She tilted her head to see his chin. Above them was the East Pyne arch. They were tucked under it. Tye was looking out at the plaza, so she followed his gaze.

The knights were spread across the flagstones, and the dragon spiraled above them. Flattening his wings, he dove. His empty talons stretched toward the knights, and they fought back with swords and knives and spears.

It wasn't enough for him to have had his revenge on Mr. Mayfair. He seemed determined to punish all of the knights.

Over the sounds of the battle, Lily heard the music of the plants, louder and clearer than ever before. The notes tumbled over her like a waterfall. She thought of Mom's piano playing in the lobby of Vineyard Club. Mom had been playing
this
music, she realized. Lily hadn't heard the plants clearly enough before to recognize it.

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"Tye?" she whispered. Her throat hurt, as if she had swallowed flames.

"He's toying with them," Tye said grimly.

The swords ricocheted off the dragon's scales. He breathed fire, and a knight screamed as orange flames engulfed him. He dropped to the ground, and other knights piled on top of him, trying to smother the fire. The dragon soared back into the air, out of reach.

"It'll take the Air Force to bring him down," Tye said. "And then ... the secret will be out. Despite everything we did ... this is it."

She looked up at the dragon. "But we have our own air force."

Tye frowned at her.

Jumping to her feet, Lily grinned. She felt magic vibrating inside her. Her bones sang with it. "Come on--ride a dragon with me?"

Quickly, Lily and Tye crossed to the magic world.

The tiger man was in the yard, coordinating the aftermath of the battle. He listened to Tye's explanation and then ushered them to the concrete stadium across campus.

A few minutes later, Lily was ready. She was strapped to a ruby red dragon's back with leather belts, and she held reins in her hands. On the back of a second dragon, Tye signaled that he was ready too.

Tye's father yelled to them, "Keep them over campus! We

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have to limit exposure!" He slapped Tye's dragon on the leg. "Now, fly!"

The two dragons flapped their enormous wings and then leaped into the night air. Pumping, they shot upward. Lily felt the wind hit her face, and the trees' song fell away. Flanked by griffins, the dragons flew toward the gate. At Nassau Hall, the griffins peeled away, leaving the two dragons with their riders alone for the final approach.

Tye's dragon flattened his wings, extended his neck, and tucked up his talons. He shot down toward the gate. Lily's dragon dove after him.

Seconds ahead of her, Tye's dragon bashed through the iron decoration, sending the Princeton seal spinning through the air.

Lily's dragon flew right behind him. She felt the impact as the dragon's flanks scraped against the stone pillars. The pillars cracked. White light flashed. And then they were through.

On the other side, the dragons veered up over Nassau Street, silhouetted against the backdrop of the starry sky. Lily spotted the Chained Dragon instantly. He was weaving between the chapel spires, a gray shadow against the dark blue sky. "There!" Lily shouted, but the dragons had already seen their kin.

Talons extended, the Chained Dragon dove toward the plaza. Lily screamed. Her dragon echoed her scream with a trumpeting roar. Below, she saw figures: Grandpa, Jake, other