Prompt 65 : Dryad
"What do you want to know?"
Lilith sounded surprisingly willing. Maybe it was because Adelaide had shooed everyone out of the room.
"A lot of things," Adelaide muttered in response.
Lilith propped herself up on her elbows. "Was killing Cesar difficult?"
"Nope. He was kinda weak."
"The werewolf?" Lilith questioned.
"I didn't deal with that, but the trackers seemed to handle her pretty well."
A frown took shape. "Really?"
"Matthias must be a real pushover. I was expecting some hard Morganian stuff. Stuff like mini Horvaths and hydras," Adelaide mused. "No personal attacks either."
"He's…not a professional, sure, but he's good," Lilith said. She suddenly turned pink.
Oh, that's disgusting, she thought. "I have a question for you."
"Shoot," Lilith replied.
"You and Matthias… Have you two slept together?"
The blonde's eyes grew large. Adelaide almost thought they would pop right out of her head. Her cheeks were pinker now too. Adelaide shook her head. The answer was very obvious.
"He's a hundred years old," Adelaide said sharply.
"No he isn't. He and I are only a couple of years apart."
She appraised Lilith. "So that's why you're helping him. I never thought you were like that." But in her mind, she was looking back into all the time she spent with Lilith. The time she had with Matthias. Never once did she find a trace of adoration in her friend's voice. The emotional connection must've taken place after Adelaide left.
"The hell! I really do like him, Addie," Lilith said. Her demeanor was serious. "He likes me too, you know."
"I don't know. And frankly, I don't care. But I am interested in how this plays into his goal."
Lilith's blush died down. "It doesn't. He and I are just trying things. His plans are separate from our relationship."
"Trying things? You seemed happy back at the apartment," Adelaide noted. "I'm sure this is another one of his tricks. And you're falling for it as he intended."
"You need to stop accusing people, Adelaide," Lilith said, a hint of irritation in her features.
"Let's get back to the original topic. What's he going to throw in our faces next? A banshee?" It was an unlikely guess, but a guess nonetheless.
"No banshees," Lilith replied. "I can't tell you, of course, but I don't want any scars on my body." After a deliberate pause, she said, "A dryad."
Adelaide's eyebrows furrowed. "What are those?"
Lilith pursed her lips. "Don't expect me to tell you everything, Addie. A dryad is a tree nymph. That's all."
"What the heck is a nymph?" The unfamiliar words taunted her. They reminded her of the average education she had as a Morganian apprentice.
"Shh." She put a finger to her lips, and her head hit the floor.
.
.
.
"A dryad," Balthazar began, "is a creature of Greek mythology. They're disguised as trees but can have a human appearance as well. They're supposedly very beautiful."
"Fun," Adelaide murmured. She was still a bit sore over Lilith's sudden fainting.
"Ignore her," Dave encouraged his master. "We have more important things to focus on."
"I take it you know what a dryad is?"
"Mythology was a mandatory subject at my middle school," Dave said impatiently. "Did Lilith say where we could find this dryad?"
"No."
He didn't look pleased with her response.
"Dryads are usually located in forests and places with a lot of greenery," Balthazar explained. "It might be hard to find one in New York City."
"I know," Sterling suddenly interrupted. "Check the Botanical Garden. I've seen a dryad or two hanging around there."
"Are you sure?" Becky asked tentatively.
"Definitely. Come with me; I'll show you where."
Sterling guided them to the garden. The rest stayed with Lilith. It was closed, but magical means provided them with a way to enter. Sterling directed them to the dryad's home. Adelaide only saw trees and shrubs. A leaf crunched under the sole of her boot.
"The dryads are shy," Sterling said. "They don't mean anyone harm either. Well, these dryads won't."
"I don't know why Matthias would use dryads as an offense," Dave said, eyeing the trees as if they would turn into ferocious creatures. "If you're right, then it won't do much good for him."
Sterling put his fingers to his lips and whistled. The trees immediately began to take shape. The thick trunks grew slimmer and slimmer, the roots shrinking back. The color of the tree's head turned less green, and more auburn. Adelaide blinked in awe as she took in the stunning beauty of the dryads. They looked like humans but their features were perfect and their skin was as smooth as a pearl's. They even smelled good. One of the two dryads giggled at Sterling. The other one even winked at Dave.
"Shy. Yeah right," Adelaide muttered under her breath.
Sterling turned pink for a moment. "The dryads like to flirt," he offered in their defense, although it wasn't much of an argument.
"Do any one of you know someone by the name of Matthias?" Adelaide asked.
The taller of the two spoke. "He comes here sometimes. We watch him, but he's not interesting."
"Not at all," her friend added.
"Of course, there was one time he came, and was upset. That was interesting, so we listened." A pause. "He mentioned an important name."
The dryads were thrown off guard when the trio demanded information.
In an affronted tone, the tall dryad told them, "It was the Prime Merlinian. We nymphs don't dabble in sorcery or their histories, but we know he is quite the high figure. He was speaking with someone else, on a device called…"
"A cell phone," her friend interjected. "That's what it's called."
"Right. A cell phone. He said things of amnesia. We didn't understand half of the conversation; we stopped listening."
"You didn't hear anything else?" Dave asked. Disappointment colored his tone. Adelaide felt a bit of sympathy for him.
"No," the two said simultaneously.
"Are you completely sure?" Sterling asked.
"We're sure." With that, the two of them began to morph back into trees.
Adelaide couldn't help but say, "What a waste of time. Let's get back to Lilith."
"At least we know he was here."
"That's not good enough, unfortunately," Sterling sighed. "Oh well. Maybe Lilith will talk to you again, Adelaide."
"Maybe." But she knew for sure there would be no more hints.
And suddenly, as if on whim, Dave dropped to the ground. His head hit the roots and dirt before anyone could catch him, causing a loud noise. Adelaide and Sterling exchanged winces. Had he been awake, that would be painful. The two of them bent down and checked him for head injuries or cuts. He was all right, despite being unconscious.
"Crap," Sterling groaned.
"Crap indeed," she agreed. "What happened to him?"
"I don't know. Balthazar or Veronica will know." He began to use magical transportation before he was cut off. A hacked cough came from Dave's lips.
"Dave?" Adelaide called in disbelief.
He coughed again. Tiny drops of red appeared out of his mouth. Feeling more startled than before, Adelaide began to check him over again.
"Oh. This is bad. Really bad." Sterling quickly assessed Dave before coming to a conclusion. "It's poison."
"Poison?"
"Yeah, it's something I picked up during my apprenticeship. Some dryads have a scent that more or less affects sorcerers. I didn't notice today because I was fine when I saw them…"
Adelaide recalled how sweet the females smelled. That must have been the poison. However, nothing was happening to her or Sterling.
"How is it I'm fine and you're fine, but he's not?" The blonde jabbed a finger at Dave.
"I don't know," she snapped. "But the sooner we get him to Blake or Veronica, the sooner they can help him."
"It totally slipped my mind. I should've mentioned the poison earlier—"
"Oh no, you should've asked me out to tea and crackers. Why mention something as little as poison?" She held Dave up in her arms. Her free fingers monitored his chest for a heartbeat. Luckily he was still breathing but he was out of commission.
"I'm sorry!" Sterling tried to help, but she pushed him away.
"I have healing properties," Adelaide said, just beginning to recall. "I can heal him right away." Pressing two fingers to his temple, she murmured something about rotten luck while watching the process begin. It was fairly simple.
"I don't see anything working," Sterling said worriedly.
"No, no. It's fine," she assured him. After a few minutes, she sensed Dave was stirring.
He opened his eyes groggily and faced two surprised faces. "I fainted, right?" His voice sounded strong, despite his sleepy appearance.
"Yes," Adelaide said. "Sterling conveniently neglected to mention the dryads' poison."
"I'm really sorry, Dave," he quickly said. "But you're okay now."
"Healing, remember?" Adelaide helped him stand up. "To the library. Right now."
"We didn't get any useful information out of the dryads, huh?" It was more of a statement than a fact.
"Yeah," Adelaide sighed.
"Oh," Dave said.
Her mood matched his tone. Neither of them were happy with the results.