Enchanted Ivy by Sarah Beth Durst Page A
Authors: Sarah Beth Durst
Tags: United States, Fiction, General, People & Places, Action & Adventure, Family, Juvenile Fiction, Magic, Fantasy & Magic, Performing Arts, Education, Adventure and Adventurers, School & Education, Adventure stories, Multigenerational, Body; Mind & Spirit, Dance, Locks and Keys, Magick Studies, Universities and colleges, College stories, Higher, Princeton (N.J.), Princeton University
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she gazed at it. The stone eagles multiplied as her vision swam again. Beyond the gate, she saw Nassau Street. A traffic light held cars at an intersection. Go through the gate, Tye's voice repeated in her memory. "Why?" she wondered. But it hurt to think through the aching haze. It was simpler to obey.
Lily plunged through the gate.
Everything flashed white.
Seconds later, Lily lay flat on her back on grass, not sidewalk. She stared up at the front of FitzRandolph Gate. She saw the Princeton seal ... but the stone eagles were gone.
In their place were twin eagles with feathers of metallic gold. The birds screeched and then lifted skyward from the stone pillars. They circled above her, shadows against the cloudless sky. She saw another bird with firelike feathers streak between them, and she saw a shape that looked like a winged lion, silhouetted against the blue. ... Where am I? she thought. What's happening to me? She tried to scramble to her feet and collapsed forward onto her hands and knees.
She lifted her head. A tiger paced slowly toward her. His
104
tail lashed from side to side. Her heart started to thud so loudly in her ears that it muffled all other sound. Gritting her teeth, Lily pushed herself to standing.
Muscles shaking, she backed away as the tiger approached. Run, her mind whispered. Run! But she couldn't. She stumbled.
The tiger shimmered as if he were drawn in smudged ink. His fur rippled, and he collapsed and then stretched upward. Legs shot down, and arms reached out. Slowly, the blur solidified into a boy with orange and black hair.
"Tye," she breathed.
He caught her as her knees buckled, and she crumpled.
105
CHAPTER Six
Lily heard a murmur of voices, and she tried to open her eyes. Her eyelids felt as if they were glued down. She raised her hand to touch her face, and she felt cloth. She forced her eyes open and saw a white cloth wrapped around her hand.
Bandages, she thought. How nice. Her vision faded.
Next time she woke, she was on her back, looking up at a ceiling of wood tiles. At first, they wavered and spun, but then they resolved themselves into a static geometric pattern. She turned her head, but the motion made her vision blur again. Figures standing near her looked like streaks of white light and shadow.
She felt panic rise up into her throat, choking her. "Tye?" she said. It came out as a croak. She tried again: "Tye?"
"The were-tiger boy isn't here," said a voice that sounded
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like a waterfall. Words cascaded down. You could drown in a voice like that, she thought.
She squinted, but her eyes wouldn't focus right. The voice's owner was a white smudge against a brown background. She thought she saw a streak of gold. "Where is 'here'?" she asked. "Who are you?"
"If she's awake enough to ask questions, then she is alert enough to answer them," another voice said in a deeper tone, tinged with a growl.
"Patience," yet another said, an airy voice this time, almost amused. "She was drained to nearly nothing. All your fine interrogation skills are useless on the unconscious."
Drained. Jake had used that word. It matched how she felt, as if the marrow of her bones had been sucked out and she were about to collapse from the inside out. Her heart hammered loud and fast in her ears, and she wondered what the airy voice meant by "fine interrogation skills." "What do you want?" she asked.
She felt a breath on her cheek, hot and fetid. A voice rumbled, "We want to know how many humans you've killed to survive."
"What?" Her eyes teared as she strained to force the blurs and streaks into shapes. "I don't understand. I've never hurt anyone."
"Impossible," the airy voice said.
Another voice said, "Tye has vouched for her."
"Children can be deceived," the deep voice rumbled. "In
107
this case, he may wish to be. You'll answer us now, half breed. Are you a Feeder?"
"No!" she shouted. Lily sat up and felt as if fire shot through her head. She squeezed her forehead and felt the
Lily plunged through the gate.
Everything flashed white.
Seconds later, Lily lay flat on her back on grass, not sidewalk. She stared up at the front of FitzRandolph Gate. She saw the Princeton seal ... but the stone eagles were gone.
In their place were twin eagles with feathers of metallic gold. The birds screeched and then lifted skyward from the stone pillars. They circled above her, shadows against the cloudless sky. She saw another bird with firelike feathers streak between them, and she saw a shape that looked like a winged lion, silhouetted against the blue. ... Where am I? she thought. What's happening to me? She tried to scramble to her feet and collapsed forward onto her hands and knees.
She lifted her head. A tiger paced slowly toward her. His
104
tail lashed from side to side. Her heart started to thud so loudly in her ears that it muffled all other sound. Gritting her teeth, Lily pushed herself to standing.
Muscles shaking, she backed away as the tiger approached. Run, her mind whispered. Run! But she couldn't. She stumbled.
The tiger shimmered as if he were drawn in smudged ink. His fur rippled, and he collapsed and then stretched upward. Legs shot down, and arms reached out. Slowly, the blur solidified into a boy with orange and black hair.
"Tye," she breathed.
He caught her as her knees buckled, and she crumpled.
105
CHAPTER Six
Lily heard a murmur of voices, and she tried to open her eyes. Her eyelids felt as if they were glued down. She raised her hand to touch her face, and she felt cloth. She forced her eyes open and saw a white cloth wrapped around her hand.
Bandages, she thought. How nice. Her vision faded.
Next time she woke, she was on her back, looking up at a ceiling of wood tiles. At first, they wavered and spun, but then they resolved themselves into a static geometric pattern. She turned her head, but the motion made her vision blur again. Figures standing near her looked like streaks of white light and shadow.
She felt panic rise up into her throat, choking her. "Tye?" she said. It came out as a croak. She tried again: "Tye?"
"The were-tiger boy isn't here," said a voice that sounded
106
like a waterfall. Words cascaded down. You could drown in a voice like that, she thought.
She squinted, but her eyes wouldn't focus right. The voice's owner was a white smudge against a brown background. She thought she saw a streak of gold. "Where is 'here'?" she asked. "Who are you?"
"If she's awake enough to ask questions, then she is alert enough to answer them," another voice said in a deeper tone, tinged with a growl.
"Patience," yet another said, an airy voice this time, almost amused. "She was drained to nearly nothing. All your fine interrogation skills are useless on the unconscious."
Drained. Jake had used that word. It matched how she felt, as if the marrow of her bones had been sucked out and she were about to collapse from the inside out. Her heart hammered loud and fast in her ears, and she wondered what the airy voice meant by "fine interrogation skills." "What do you want?" she asked.
She felt a breath on her cheek, hot and fetid. A voice rumbled, "We want to know how many humans you've killed to survive."
"What?" Her eyes teared as she strained to force the blurs and streaks into shapes. "I don't understand. I've never hurt anyone."
"Impossible," the airy voice said.
Another voice said, "Tye has vouched for her."
"Children can be deceived," the deep voice rumbled. "In
107
this case, he may wish to be. You'll answer us now, half breed. Are you a Feeder?"
"No!" she shouted. Lily sat up and felt as if fire shot through her head. She squeezed her forehead and felt the
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