Enchanted Ivy by Sarah Beth Durst Page B
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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cloth bandages on her hand. It stung where the dragon had bit her. "I'm not a Feeder. I'm not a half breed. I'm not anybody." Until today, nothing unusual had ever happened to her. She was just ordinary Lily who worked in her grandfather's flower shop, took care of her mother, and obsessed about her grades.
"You crossed the gate on your own," the waterfall voice said. "You are a Key."
Lily's vision was clearing, though her head still throbbed. She saw a horse directly in front of her. She lifted her gaze, and the horse's torso flattened into a human stomach. She stared at the intersection of human skin and horsehair, and then she looked up into an elderly man's face.
Centaur, her brain helpfully supplied.
Behind the centaur was a man with orange and black tiger fur streaking his face. Beside him, a two-inch-tall man with orange butterfly wings perched on the shoulder of a porcelain-skinned woman with black-as-night hair and sharply pointed ears. Next to the elven woman was a stack of stones, loosely in the shape of a person, that moved and breathed as if it were alive. And lastly, there was a unicorn.
Lily stared longest at the unicorn. She felt as if she were looking at a shaft of moonlight. He was iridescent white, as
108
smooth and flawless as a Michelangelo sculpture. His golden horn shone like an angel's halo.
"How do you feel, child?" the elven woman asked. Her tone implied that she didn't care what Lily's answer was or if she answered at all. She peered down at Lily as if she were an only mildly interesting science experiment.
Lily could be dreaming. She could be unconscious, knocked out when Jake had let her fall onto the stone plaza. Or she could have lost her mind. Given her family history, that was the most likely option. It was much more likely than the idea that Professor Ape had told the truth. "I need my medicine," Lily said, attempting to keep her voice calm. "Where's my grandfather?"
"Who is your grandfather?" the tiger-faced man rumbled.
"More importantly, who are your parents?" the elf asked. She caught Lily's chin in her hand, and Lily felt the pressure of fingernails against her cheek. Lily froze. The elf was doll-like beautiful. She shouldn't have been frightening, but there was something too perfect about her face. She looked more like a department store mannequin come to life than a real woman.
"My grandfather is Richard Carter, and my mother is Rose Carter," Lily said "My father was William Carter."
The tiger man asked, "Was?"
With his tiger face, he should have looked like a costumed performer, but he didn't. The fur was real, and there was no faking the heavy jaws or the cat-slit pupils. He looked as if he'd
109
begun to transform into a tiger and stopped partway. Under his gaze, Lily felt as if she'd been cornered by predators. His yellow eyes bored into her. "He died in a car accident a few months after I was born," she said. "I never knew him." She'd never even seen a photo. ... Oh, God, was this why there were no photos? Could he have been--
No, she thought. If her father had been one iota out of the ordinary, Grandpa would have ferreted it out. He was too protective of Mom not to have thoroughly screened her husband.
The rock creature shifted, and Lily heard the crackle of gravel. He spoke: "What is your purpose in coming here now?" Each word thudded.
"I just ... wanted to get into college," Lily said miserably. It sounded ridiculous given the circumstances. "I didn't do anything wrong!"
"How old are you, child?" the elf asked.
"Sixteen," Lily said.
The tiny man whistled low. "Sixteen years without magic ..."
"Impossible," the tiger man said. "She must be a Feeder. She must be held and reeducated. We cannot allow her to return--"
The unicorn interrupted him. "She would never survive the length of time required for reeducation. The magic would overload her body."
"I'm telling you the truth!" Lily said. "I never heard of
110
Feeders before today. All I did was walk
"You crossed the gate on your own," the waterfall voice said. "You are a Key."
Lily's vision was clearing, though her head still throbbed. She saw a horse directly in front of her. She lifted her gaze, and the horse's torso flattened into a human stomach. She stared at the intersection of human skin and horsehair, and then she looked up into an elderly man's face.
Centaur, her brain helpfully supplied.
Behind the centaur was a man with orange and black tiger fur streaking his face. Beside him, a two-inch-tall man with orange butterfly wings perched on the shoulder of a porcelain-skinned woman with black-as-night hair and sharply pointed ears. Next to the elven woman was a stack of stones, loosely in the shape of a person, that moved and breathed as if it were alive. And lastly, there was a unicorn.
Lily stared longest at the unicorn. She felt as if she were looking at a shaft of moonlight. He was iridescent white, as
108
smooth and flawless as a Michelangelo sculpture. His golden horn shone like an angel's halo.
"How do you feel, child?" the elven woman asked. Her tone implied that she didn't care what Lily's answer was or if she answered at all. She peered down at Lily as if she were an only mildly interesting science experiment.
Lily could be dreaming. She could be unconscious, knocked out when Jake had let her fall onto the stone plaza. Or she could have lost her mind. Given her family history, that was the most likely option. It was much more likely than the idea that Professor Ape had told the truth. "I need my medicine," Lily said, attempting to keep her voice calm. "Where's my grandfather?"
"Who is your grandfather?" the tiger-faced man rumbled.
"More importantly, who are your parents?" the elf asked. She caught Lily's chin in her hand, and Lily felt the pressure of fingernails against her cheek. Lily froze. The elf was doll-like beautiful. She shouldn't have been frightening, but there was something too perfect about her face. She looked more like a department store mannequin come to life than a real woman.
"My grandfather is Richard Carter, and my mother is Rose Carter," Lily said "My father was William Carter."
The tiger man asked, "Was?"
With his tiger face, he should have looked like a costumed performer, but he didn't. The fur was real, and there was no faking the heavy jaws or the cat-slit pupils. He looked as if he'd
109
begun to transform into a tiger and stopped partway. Under his gaze, Lily felt as if she'd been cornered by predators. His yellow eyes bored into her. "He died in a car accident a few months after I was born," she said. "I never knew him." She'd never even seen a photo. ... Oh, God, was this why there were no photos? Could he have been--
No, she thought. If her father had been one iota out of the ordinary, Grandpa would have ferreted it out. He was too protective of Mom not to have thoroughly screened her husband.
The rock creature shifted, and Lily heard the crackle of gravel. He spoke: "What is your purpose in coming here now?" Each word thudded.
"I just ... wanted to get into college," Lily said miserably. It sounded ridiculous given the circumstances. "I didn't do anything wrong!"
"How old are you, child?" the elf asked.
"Sixteen," Lily said.
The tiny man whistled low. "Sixteen years without magic ..."
"Impossible," the tiger man said. "She must be a Feeder. She must be held and reeducated. We cannot allow her to return--"
The unicorn interrupted him. "She would never survive the length of time required for reeducation. The magic would overload her body."
"I'm telling you the truth!" Lily said. "I never heard of
110
Feeders before today. All I did was walk
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