Prompt 63 : Fairy

She suppressed an angry moan as her eyelids fluttered. The harsh lights of the library was making her head ache.

Lilith blinked a few times. She kept her breathing low and inaudible. She was sure someone was watching her, but not very carefully. Balthazar would've been noted otherwise. Lilith guessed it was one of the younger trackers. If so, she'd be able to knock him or her out in a couple of minutes…

Maybe a sleeping spell? Or should I just go for paralysis? Lilith didn't waste too much time on her decision. She turned her head, blowing blonde strands of hair out of her face. She saw someone sitting in a chair. It was the short female tracker. Lilith felt hope. This would be very simple, very quick.

As Lilith slowly got up from the floor, she realized the girl—was it Ilana?—was preoccupied with her cell phone. Clicking noises filled the room, masking the soft taps of her moving feet.

The girl sighed. Lilith froze. "I don't have time for dates anymore," she murmured to herself.

That makes two of us, Lilith thought humorlessly. She tiptoed over to the tracker. Her fingertips noiselessly sparked with magic. Her hands shot forward, touching both of the girl's temples. She gasped, but was unable to do anything. The magic took effect, taking away muscle function.

Lilith made her way to the windows. Using magic, she smashed one. She winced at the sound of crushed glass. Shouts began to fill the hallway. Lilith quickly escaped the library and found herself on the outside. She saw a car parked on the street and made a snap decision.

After working her way into the car, she placed her hands on the wheel. Hope I still remember how to drive, she thought, frowning to herself.

.

.

.

"Adelaide!"

"Ouch. Take it down an octave," she grumbled into Dave's phone. "What's up?"

"Bad news," Becky said anxiously. "Lilith got away. She used a paralyzing spell on Ilana. Jocelyn's freaking out."

"Where's Balthazar?" Adelaide asked. Dave's eyes flickered over to meet hers. The mention of his master suddenly brought concern to his face.

"Ask about Becky," Dave urged.

"It is Becky," Adelaide said, irritated. He shouldn't have been worrying about her; he should've been thinking about his fellow sorcerers.

"How is she?"

"Fine. Now, about Balthazar?"

"Balthazar left with Ezra. They're trying to find Lilith and bring her back. No doubt she's going back to Matthias," Becky said. "Percival went with them. I'm with Ilana and Jocelyn, and it isn't pretty. Come to the library quickly."

Grr. Order from a human. Pure torture, especially since saying something back would upset Dave.

"Yeah, sure." Snapping the phone shut, she handed it back to Dave. "We're needed back at the library."

"For different purposes, I guess?" Dave said.

"Lilith got out. Ilana's paralyzed and her mother is very upset, from what I heard. Damn. I wonder if she's going to back out of the job?"

"It wouldn't be much of a loss," Sterling interjected as Adelaide prepared their transportation. "She was always worrying about her daughter and her fighting wasn't the best."

"It's her choice to leave," Dave sighed. "It's probably best she doesn't get involved anymore."

"She was better than nothing," Adelaide said. "The transport's ready."

.

.

.

When they got to the library, the first thing Adelaide noticed was the broken glass. It decorated the floor; no one bothered to clean up the mess, she guessed. Becky leaped up from her seat and hugged Dave. Jocelyn didn't greet anyone. She stayed with her daughter, who was also on the floor.

"No one tried to help her," Jocelyn suddenly piped up. She shot daggers at Adelaide. "They were busy chasing after Miss Thing."

Is that even considered an insult? Adelaide questioned mentally. Instead, she opted for a nicer comeback. "Hey, Jocelyn, I'm sure you could've done something. Your daughter, right?"

She bent down and healed the girl. Jocelyn continued glaring, but it didn't seem to be directed at anyone in particular.

"Sorry about Ilana," Sterling offered. "But look, Addie's already getting her back on her feet."

Ilana came back to her senses within an instant. She flexed her jaw and fingers. "Hmm," she said. "I feel better. Thanks."

"Ilana!" Jocelyn hugged her. "How do you feel?"

"I just said, Mom," Ilana sighed.

Becky, who had been eerily quiet for the entire time, suddenly said, "Jocelyn, you can leave right now if you want. Balthazar said it was up to you."

The woman nodded. "Yes. I'll go now. Come on, Ilana. I don't want to spend too much time on packing."

"Go," Dave said, nodding. "I'll tell Balthazar."

"What is that?" Becky said, jabbing a finger at the broken window.

"It's damaged property," Adelaide said. She felt an itch to add "obviously" after it.

"No, no, that thing that's glowing. Look more closely," Becky murmured impatiently.

Adelaide looked. There was only darkness. The jagged edges of the broken window made it difficult to see any glowing.

"I think it's a fairy," Dave said suddenly. "It was in the Encantus."

"What the hell would a fairy be doing here?" Ilana snapped.

"Ilana," Jocelyn said, appalled.

"Mom, I'm almost an adult. I think I'm allowed to cuss once or twice."

"It's a fairy, all right," Adelaide said. "Let me go—"

Out of the blue, something streaked through the air and landed in her eye. Adelaide shouted a long string of profanities as she tumbled to the floor. She covered her eye with a hand, albeit it did nothing to stop the burning, sharp pain.

"Adelaide!" Sterling cried. "You okay?"

"Just peachy," she said in a low hiss. The pain began to decrease. Still hurt, though.

"It was the fairy," Jocelyn said in a stunned tone. "Didn't you see it?"

"It's hard to see anything with one of my eyes burning like hell."

"The fairy probably poked you or something," Sterling said, attempting to calm her down. "No worries; you'll feel better any moment now."

"Where'd the fairy go?" Becky questioned. "I'm sure it's still around…"

Ilana's eyes widened as she eyed the library's ceiling. "Can you imagine? A little fairy trying to do something so mean-spirited."

Adelaide couldn't help but chuckle. This kid didn't know much about the nature of fairies. "Yeah, well, it succeeded."

"Lilith or Matthias must have sent it," Dave said. "Like with the previous creatures. It's stupid, I know, but who says fairies can't be harmful?"

"They are," Adelaide muttered. "If they bite you with their teeth, despite the size, the wound will receive several magical infections. So be careful around these damned things."

Everyone (save for Adelaide, who was still nursing her eye) exchanged looks of slight worry. While a fairy honestly didn't sound like much trouble, none of them had dealt with one before. And how were they expected to find an incredibly small thing in a huge library?