Read Online Enchanted Ivy by Sarah Beth Durst - Free Book Online
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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to need teams ? Like intramural sports? Varsity creature-chasing?
"Got a code thirteen, last seen in East Pyne courtyard." He closed the phone, flashed her his megawatt smile, and said, "See? All set. You can continue your test."
66
She couldn't just resume her test as though nothing was wrong. Tye was missing, and that thing was still out there! She didn't know these "teams." How did she know they'd take this seriously? "It's not like I encountered some overly aggressive squirrel. It wore clothes."
"It will be taken care of," he said. "Trust me."
He had the most trustworthy face she'd ever seen. It was like being told "you're safe" by a superhero. He must have inherited that aura of competence from his grandfather. Still ... "You sound like this happens all the time," she said.
He hesitated, and his forehead crinkled as if he were thinking very, very hard about how to answer. "Not all the time," he said at last. "Everyone's test is different. I've never heard of a Feeder attack as part of the test, but it would be too much of a coincidence otherwise."
Lily gaped at him as she tried to wrap her mind around what he'd just said and everything that it implied. "This was intentional ?" she said. She thought of Mr. Mayfair's and Grandpa's reactions, more concerned about her guard than the creature that attacked her. She thought of how Tye had said that the Feeder had wanted Lily, not him. What the hell kind of test was this? Ordinary admissions tests didn't include mutant monkeys. The SATs didn't bite. "I could have been seriously hurt," she said. If Tye hadn't been there ...
"I'll make sure no other Feeder bothers you," Jake promised.
"There are more of those things out there?" She thought
67
of how Grandpa had left to check on Mom. Maybe he hadn't been worried about Mom's usual flightiness. Maybe he'd been worried about Mom's encountering a Feeder. Lily pulled out her cell phone and dialed Mom's number. No answer. She tried Grandpa's. No answer either. "I have to check on my mother," she said.
"Hey," Jake said as she hurried out of the courtyard. She heard him jogging to catch up to her. "What about your test?"
Screw the test, she thought. If Mom was in any danger because of Lily's test ... If creatures like that were loose on the campus because of her test ... If Vineyard Club was responsible for allowing vicious, unnatural creatures to roam around in highly populated areas because of her test ... She hadn't agreed to that. "Admissions tests shouldn't involve blood," she said. She'd fill out an application form and submit her essays just like everyone else. She had a decent shot at getting in on her own merit, right?
"You're safe now," he said, "and so's your mom. Your grandfather is with her--he was heading for the dorm, wasn't he? You don't have to worry."
Lily snorted. That was like saying, Hey, you don't have to breathe today. "She doesn't travel much," she said, a massive understatement. They should never have brought Mom here. "She's used to her and me being together." Mom rarely left the triple-decker that was their home. She worked on the first floor in the flower shop, Grandpa lived on the
68
second floor in his antique-laden apartment, and Mom and Lily lived on the third floor (the attic, really). They'd made it into their sanctuary and filled it with items that made Mom feel safe. The apartment was littered with art: leftovers from Mom's pottery phase (they had a shelf full of lopsided vases), her mosaic phase (she'd retiled the bathroom to resemble a Turkish bath), and her mobile phase (they'd hung a dozen spiraling mobiles of birds and sailboats and kites). Skylights flooded the apartment with sunlight, and every shelf, table, and windowsill held plants. Morning glories crawled over their kitchen window, and a miniature rose garden covered the entire dining room table. Without all of that, Lily knew that Mom wouldn't feel safe here, but she'd never thought that Mom actually wouldn't be safe here.
"Got a code thirteen, last seen in East Pyne courtyard." He closed the phone, flashed her his megawatt smile, and said, "See? All set. You can continue your test."
66
She couldn't just resume her test as though nothing was wrong. Tye was missing, and that thing was still out there! She didn't know these "teams." How did she know they'd take this seriously? "It's not like I encountered some overly aggressive squirrel. It wore clothes."
"It will be taken care of," he said. "Trust me."
He had the most trustworthy face she'd ever seen. It was like being told "you're safe" by a superhero. He must have inherited that aura of competence from his grandfather. Still ... "You sound like this happens all the time," she said.
He hesitated, and his forehead crinkled as if he were thinking very, very hard about how to answer. "Not all the time," he said at last. "Everyone's test is different. I've never heard of a Feeder attack as part of the test, but it would be too much of a coincidence otherwise."
Lily gaped at him as she tried to wrap her mind around what he'd just said and everything that it implied. "This was intentional ?" she said. She thought of Mr. Mayfair's and Grandpa's reactions, more concerned about her guard than the creature that attacked her. She thought of how Tye had said that the Feeder had wanted Lily, not him. What the hell kind of test was this? Ordinary admissions tests didn't include mutant monkeys. The SATs didn't bite. "I could have been seriously hurt," she said. If Tye hadn't been there ...
"I'll make sure no other Feeder bothers you," Jake promised.
"There are more of those things out there?" She thought
67
of how Grandpa had left to check on Mom. Maybe he hadn't been worried about Mom's usual flightiness. Maybe he'd been worried about Mom's encountering a Feeder. Lily pulled out her cell phone and dialed Mom's number. No answer. She tried Grandpa's. No answer either. "I have to check on my mother," she said.
"Hey," Jake said as she hurried out of the courtyard. She heard him jogging to catch up to her. "What about your test?"
Screw the test, she thought. If Mom was in any danger because of Lily's test ... If creatures like that were loose on the campus because of her test ... If Vineyard Club was responsible for allowing vicious, unnatural creatures to roam around in highly populated areas because of her test ... She hadn't agreed to that. "Admissions tests shouldn't involve blood," she said. She'd fill out an application form and submit her essays just like everyone else. She had a decent shot at getting in on her own merit, right?
"You're safe now," he said, "and so's your mom. Your grandfather is with her--he was heading for the dorm, wasn't he? You don't have to worry."
Lily snorted. That was like saying, Hey, you don't have to breathe today. "She doesn't travel much," she said, a massive understatement. They should never have brought Mom here. "She's used to her and me being together." Mom rarely left the triple-decker that was their home. She worked on the first floor in the flower shop, Grandpa lived on the
68
second floor in his antique-laden apartment, and Mom and Lily lived on the third floor (the attic, really). They'd made it into their sanctuary and filled it with items that made Mom feel safe. The apartment was littered with art: leftovers from Mom's pottery phase (they had a shelf full of lopsided vases), her mosaic phase (she'd retiled the bathroom to resemble a Turkish bath), and her mobile phase (they'd hung a dozen spiraling mobiles of birds and sailboats and kites). Skylights flooded the apartment with sunlight, and every shelf, table, and windowsill held plants. Morning glories crawled over their kitchen window, and a miniature rose garden covered the entire dining room table. Without all of that, Lily knew that Mom wouldn't feel safe here, but she'd never thought that Mom actually wouldn't be safe here.
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