"Tye!" The ape's stone eyes bulged. Uttering a string of curses, only a third of which Lily recognized, he pried himself away from the wall. Legs, paws, and a tail emerged from the stone. He scurried down the arch. "Unprecedented," he muttered. "Rash." He grasped Tye's fur with his paws and clambered onto his back. "You had best be correct, prefrosh. If all you saw was a pack of squirrels--"
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"I wish they were squirrels," Lily said. She climbed onto the tiger's back behind the gargoyle and wrapped her arms around his stone waist. It felt like hugging a rock.
"Wave like you're in the parade," the ape instructed.
Plastering a smile on her face, Lily waved like Miss America. Tye bounded across the sidewalk and then joined the parade. The alumni clapped and cheered.
Tye broke through the crowds on the other side of the street. Lily continued to wave until they were safely up the hill and into the gardens. In seconds, they were on the other side of the garden and heading for 1879 Hall.
As they ran through the arch, the monkey gargoyles swiveled their heads to watch them pass. A few skittered down from their perches. But Tye didn't slow. He raced onto Prospect Avenue.
Professor Ape cried, "Hold! Fall back!"
"Oh, no," Lily breathed.
Emerging from behind one of the clubs, a troll crept along the stone wall in front of Vineyard Club. Lily spotted pixies perched on the telephone wire. A dead bird lay on the street beneath them. Goblins skittered across the roof of Vineyard Club.
The Feeders hadn't disappeared into the world.
The Feeders were here.
Tye pivoted and raced back toward 1879 Hall. Lily clung to the stone ape as they bounded up the steps. At the top, Lily looked back over her shoulder. Nothing had chased
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them. The Feeders were closing in on Vineyard Club.
"Hold here!" the ape instructed. He leaped off Tye's back and then scrambled up the brick wall to the campus security phone under the arch. As Lily slid off the tiger boy's back, Professor Ape stabbed the red emergency button with a stone finger. "Code forty-four. Prospect Avenue. Vineyard Club is focus."
Monkey gargoyles scurried over the bricks as Tye transformed back to human. The monkeys crawled over him and wrapped their stone arms around his neck, arms, and legs. He patted them.
"What's a code forty-four?" Lily asked.
"Lockdown," Tye said. "Campus security will blockade the street to protect civilians."
"It won't be enough," the Literate Ape said.
Now that she was looking for them, Lily could see Feeders everywhere: slipping between parked cars, slinking along the hedges, climbing over stone walls. She counted far more than fifty rogue magic creatures streaming toward the club.
"There must be hundreds," Tye said, staring at the street.
"She didn't want to be hunted anymore," Lily said. "This was her plan."
"Forbes ... they were testing the knights in preparation for this." He shook his head. "She must have gathered every Feeder for hundreds of miles. I didn't even know there were so many."
The Literate Ape was grim. "Over the years, criminals
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have sneaked into this world when Keys crossed, but most are simply the children and the children's children of all the magic creatures who were trapped here when the gate closed."
"But this is why the knights exist, right?" Lily said. "It's not like they're defenseless." She thought of the cabinets full of knives and swords.
"It won't be easy or quiet," Tye said.
"But they'll be okay," Lily insisted. She thought of Mom and Grandpa inside, helpless.
Tye looked pale. He stroked one of the monkeys that clung to his shirt. "If the battle isn't quick, campus security won't be able to contain it. It won't stay secret. Not with a campus full of alums."
"Gather all the gargoyles," Professor Ape said to the monkey gargoyles. "Tell them the unimaginable has happened. Tell them our secret is in jeopardy. Tell them war has come to the warriors."
Chittering, the monkeys scampered away. Lily watched them swarm over 1879 Hall. Stone tigers, goblins, and dwarves peeled away from the stone. Lions climbed down from their pedestals. As the gargoyles marched toward Prospect Avenue, the monkeys scattered and spread across campus to rouse more.
"Will it be enough?" Lily asked.
"I don't know," the ape said quietly.
Together, the three of them watched as the knights poured out the front door of Vineyard Club. Shrieking
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and screaming, the Feeders charged toward them.
There had to be something more they could do. Think, Lily! she ordered herself. "Tye, if we ask ...," she began.
"It won't work," Tye said.
"How do you know--"
He flashed her a lopsided grin, but the smile didn't reach his eyes. "Soul mates think alike." And then he shook his head. "The council will never agree to help. Not now."
Professor Ape drew himself up tall. "They must," he said. "Suit up in your fur, boy. It's time for me to go home."
Squeezing her eyes shut, Lily clung to the Literate Ape as Tye carried them across campus. He paid zero respect to paths or obstacles, barreling through bushes and leaping over bike racks. Lily felt her teeth bash together. She opened her eyes in time to see the gate speeding toward them, and then she saw the white flash as they crossed.
Tye skidded to a stop in front of the forest.
The Literate Ape leaped off the tiger boy's back. "We will speak to the council," he announced to the gold eagles. Lily noticed that the eagles were covered in scrapes and scratches. The ape didn't wait for their response. Leading the way, he marched to Nassau Hall.
The stone man had only an instant to throw open the door to the council chamber as the Literate Ape plowed forward without pause.
Inside, the council was in session. The tiger man, the
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unicorn, the centaur, the tiny man, and the elf all broke off conversation as the ape, Lily, and Tye barged in. Lily buried her fingers in Tye's tiger fur to hide how much they were shaking.
Rising to his feet, Tye's father bowed. "Welcome home, Ambassador."
Others echoed his welcome. Lily noticed that no one welcomed her or Tye.
With no preamble, Professor Ape said, "The Princeton knights are under attack. You must summon every available warrior, pass through the gate, and join the battle."
The unicorn spoke. "With all due respect, Ambassador, we will not."
The ape's eyes bulged.
Had he really expected them to leap to their feet, wave their swords in the air, and charge to the defense of the knights? Yes, Lily thought, he had. Beside her, Tye shifted from tiger to human. Like Lily, he stayed silent behind the ape.
"You cannot turn your backs on the knights." Professor Ape said. "They're your allies."
"Our alliance with the humans is void," the centaur said.
Professor Ape punched the air with his fists as if he wanted to knock sense into all of them. "This university was founded to promote understanding and cooperation between our worlds. It is the purpose of your existence here. You cannot turn your backs on the humans."
"Our responsibility is to our people," the elf said, rising to
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her feet, "as well as to our principles. We do not and will not condone Feeders of any kind."
"I know these knights. I know each man and each woman, and I know they are not Feeders." The ape thumped his chest for emphasis.
The tiger man snorted. "Oh? You know? With all due respect, Ambassador, you have been stone for most of your tenure."
Lily noticed that the ape's gray stone flesh had darkened to brown fur. His angular face had softened into more lifelike curves, and his eyes were now milky white, instead of stone. He was shedding his gargoyle traits, albeit slowly. Now he vibrated in very unstonelike fury.
He's going to fail, she thought. She had to say something.
The tiger man wa
sn't finished. "Show me one knight who is worth the risk to our people. Show me one that's worth saving."
"Jake," Lily said. "He's here right now, held by the dryad queen."
Tye leaned close to her and said under his breath, "Lily, you know my father hates him. Jake reminds him of losing my mother."
"That's what makes Jake perfect," Lily said, loudly enough for Tye's father and the council to hear. "If he can find something to save in Jake, then he has to save them all!"
"So be it," the tiger man said. He strode out of the chamber. The other council members filed out behind him. He threw
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open the door to Nassau Hall and roared across the yard, "Bring me the boy held by the dryad queen!"
With a caw, the gold eagles pushed off their pillars and soared toward the sky. Lily saw the eagles circle once over the yard and then spiral down into the forest beyond the gate. As she watched them, the Literate Ape joined her.
In a quiet voice, he said, "You are bold. I admire that."
Moments later, the trees thrummed and branches quivered. Soon, the leaves shook as if in a high-speed wind, and the dryads emerged. Lily spotted her grandmother. Her pale green hair was curled on her head and decorated with leaves in the shape of a jeweled crown. Her dress swept around her in green strands like weeping willow branches.
Behind her, two green-skinned men carried Jake. The other dryads flanked them. They moved closer, then lowered Jake to his feet. "Oh, no," Lily whispered. He looked even worse than she'd feared. His face was pale and covered in slick sweat. His hair clung to his forehead.
Standing in front of the council, Jake swayed. Lily started forward, but the ape clamped a stone-cold but fur-covered paw on her arm. "He must speak for himself."
Jake's eyes widened as he focused on the monkey gargoyle. "Professor Ape, you left your post!" He took a step toward the Literate Ape, but one leg caved. He rested his hands on his knees for a second and then straightened. "Why are you here? What's going on?"
"First, we must ask you questions," the centaur said.
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Fanning out in front of him, the council began to question Jake. They grilled him on his childhood, his training, his knowledge of their world, his opinion of the other knights. ... Lily watched him shake and tremble as if every sentence were a stab to his lungs.
Finally, Lily couldn't stand it anymore. "Stop it! You don't need to know his favorite breakfast cereal or how often he clips his toenails. Can't you see he's a good person? He's worth saving."
Everyone looked at her. Jake flashed her a smile, but it was a weak smile that trembled at the corners. Lily felt her face flush bright red and wished she'd kept her mouth shut.
"Are you our enemy?" the tiger man asked Jake bluntly.
"Depends," Jake said. "Am I going to die today?" He straightened his shoulders and looked directly into the eyes of each of the council members. The council members exchanged looks, and Lily couldn't read their expressions.
Oh, God, she thought, it's not going to work. She pictured Mom trapped in the club, not leaving Grandpa's side as the Feeders closed in, and Lily felt sick.
Beside her, Tye cleared his throat. "Council, you're asking the wrong questions." He took a deep breath as his father fixed his cat eyes on him. "It doesn't matter if he's a good ally or not. It doesn't even matter if we like him or not. If we don't aid the humans, we will become their enemies. We can't afford that. We have to keep peace between the human and the magic worlds."
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The tiger man stared at his son, as if stunned that Tye had had the audacity to speak. Beside her, Lily felt Tye shrink back. She covered his hand with hers.
Jake frowned. "Aid them in what? Lily?"
"Feeders are attacking Vineyard Club," Lily said.
He jerked as if struck. "I have to help them. Take me back!"
Professor Ape stepped forward. "It is clear from this young man's testimony that we gargoyles have failed our purpose. The new generation of knights has doubts and fears about the magic world that we alone were not enough to assuage. You must make a gesture of goodwill if relations are to be repaired."
The elf spoke. "Of course the half breed wants relations repaired, but we don't travel between worlds. We have no need--"
Speaking up again, Tye said, "If you don't help the knights, then the battle will become public and everyone will see magic creatures as the enemy. If that happens ... the humans will come here. They'll force a Key to open the gate, and they'll send their armies. Count on it."
The tiger man flexed his claws. "We are not defenseless."
The ape snorted. "It won't be enough. There will be retaliation on a scale that you cannot imagine. Humans outnumber us by the millions. Casualties of a war would be catastrophic. Princeton ... both Princetons were founded to prevent such an occurrence."
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The centaur leveled his gaze at Jake. "Young knight, do you concur?"
"Yeah, we'll kick your ass," Jake said. "And right now, that's fine with me." He doubled over in a fit of coughing.
Tye held up two fingers. "Only two ways to avoid humans pouring through that gate and raining death, destruction, and unprecedented mayhem on our world. One, you help the knights now. Or two ..." He looked directly at his father. "You shut the door. You kill Lily and me."
Silence spread across the yard.
Jake doubled over again in another fit of coughing. Tye went to his side and wrapped his arm around Jake's waist. "Lean on me."
Raising his head, Jake stared at him.
Lily held her breath. It felt as if everyone, including the trees, was holding his or her breath, too, waiting to see how Jake would react.
"Thank you," Jake said, and leaned on him.
Both of them looked at the council.
The tiger man sighed gustily. "You have made your point." He turned to the council. "I will lead our warriors into the human world. Summon them here."
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CHAPTER Fifteen
Lily waited by the gate as dreams and nightmares trickled into the yard. Looking out over the warriors, she saw wings and tentacles, scales and fur. She saw skin of emerald and ruby and sapphire, as well as moonless-night black and earth brown. A few warriors were as tall as the oak trees. Others no larger than moths darted through the air.
"Follow me," the tiger man boomed. He strode toward the gate.
Hastily, Tye stepped against a pillar. His left arm and foot vanished. Lily mirrored him and leaned against the other pillar. She stuck her arm into the human world.
Without pause or even a glance at his son, the tiger man strode through the gate and disappeared. Others followed: a lion with feathers instead of fur, an eight-foot troll, a lady
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centaur, three unicorns. Soon, a steady stream of creatures flowed through the gate.
As the stream slowed to a trickle, Jake begged the dryad queen, "Let me fight."
"Our daughter is not yet returned to us," the queen said. She leveled a finger at the two dryads who flanked Jake. "Keep him here."
"No! Let me go!" Jake cried. The two dryads held his arms tight.
Lily's grandmother swept toward the gate with her entourage. "Mom's inside Vineyard Club, second floor," Lily said.
Leaning forward, the dryad queen brushed her lips against Lily's cheek. The gesture felt as soft and cool as a leaf. "She will be brought home." Before Lily could respond, the dryads disappeared through the gate.
Jake continued to thrash in the grip of his captors. Lily crossed to him. "Jake," she said. She touched his shoulder. "Jake, it's okay. We'll come back for you. I promise."
He sagged against one of the dryads. "Just ... help the knights, okay?"
She opened her mouth to tell him about his grandfather, but he was trembling so violently that she couldn't do it. If she told him, he'd shatter. She'd tell him as soon as he was well. "Hang in there," she said as she hugged him.
Tilting his head, he leaned toward her and pre
ssed his lips against hers. He held the kiss as if breathing her in. Stunned,
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she stared at him wide-eyed. He smiled at her as he drew back. As racked with pain as he was, his smile still had the power to melt icicles. Lily cast around for something to say.
"Go," he said. "I'll see you soon." The dryads led him away. She watched as he stumbled and then disappeared into the forest. Barely able to walk in a straight line, she stumbled back to the gate.
Silent, Tye waited for her.
She stopped in front of him.
He still didn't speak.
"Look, you don't know I'm your soul mate," Lily said. "You barely know me at all. I have terrible habits. I swallow toothpaste. My socks don't always match. I'm not good at small talk. I'm just about the most unpopular kid in my class, a close third behind the guy who doesn't shower and the girl who's a compulsive liar. Besides, it's not like Jake and me ... He was just being nice."
"You are my soul mate, even if you don't know it yet," Tye said.
She had to look away from the fierceness in his golden eyes.
"But we have a battle to win first." Without waiting for her to reply, he walked through the gate, vanishing as he crossed the threshold.
She followed him.
On Nassau Street, a crowd of pedestrians clustered on the sidewalk. Drivers had climbed out of their vehicles. Several
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stood on car roofs and hoods. Everyone was staring at the stream of creatures that flowed toward East Pyne. A few were taking photos. Uh-oh, Lily thought. So much for secrecy.
"New part of P-rade!" Tye called to the crowd. A few cheered.
"You really think that will do it?" Lily asked.
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