Before she knew it, the morning light was making patterns as it shone through the window onto their naked bodies. She watched the little circles and triangles dance on Han’s bare back. He snored lightly. She stretched and felt every muscle in her body protest. After being thrown into a tree, sex probably wasn’t the best activity, but it had been worth it for her.

Smiling she rolled over and looked into Seraphina’s eyes.

“What the hell. Don’t you knock?” Penelope grabbed a sheet and covered herself. Han fell onto the floor, out of the bed and jumped up with the comforter covering his lower half. He rushed out of the room, to the bathroom, without a word and Penelope heard the shower start.

“Get it, Penelope! Look at you,” Seraphina said. She let out a cat call that embarrassed Penelope even more.

“Oh that’s annoying,” Penelope said.

“Sorry I interrupted the morning after. I have big news, though. We’ll wait until he’s out of the shower. Come and make me breakfast, please.” Seraphina walked out to the kitchen.

A glance at the clock told Penelope it was close to seven a.m. There could have been at least two more hours of cuddling and making out, but Seraphina had ruined it. Penelope shuffled into the kitchen, and put the coffee pot on and then she went to the refrigerator to look for eggs. There was some lox in there, so she took that out and set up some cream cheese and crackers for the fae to enjoy while she waited. Then, she went to work on scrambling eggs.

Han came out of the shower and went to his room to get dressed. Penelope felt as if she should be embarrassed, but she just wasn’t. She was almost proud of what had happened between them. She pulled the bacon from the tray and squished her nose up. She hated the way it felt between her fingers. She was just putting the last of the bacon in the pan when he emerged from the bedroom, fully dressed and looking sheepish. It was adorable. Coming to the table with plates in hand, Penelope sat down and helped herself to the lox.

“Okay Seraphina, what’s the big news?”

“I know who one of the cloaked figures was,” Seraphina said smiling as if she’d won some great prize.

“Who?!” Penelope hoped she knew who the magic weaver was, the one she felt she knew.

“Lucas Drip, he’s a fae. We’ve tried to capture him, but his partner is hiding him well.”

“This is someone you know?” Han asked as he shoveled bacon into his mouth. Penelope blushed, thinking of how he’d worked up such an appetite.

“Yes, and I’m a little worried this might be my fault,” Seraphina said as she got up to get some coffee. “I may have had a hand in driving him to this. It goes far beyond making the trees sick.”

“You better start from the beginning.” Penelope said taking a trip to the coffee pot in preparation.

“So, first of all, you have to know that I once liked Lucas. I did what I had to do and I’m not proud of it.” Seraphina looked at the table as she spoke.

“There’s no judgment at this table, for sure,” Penelope said nodding encouragingly.

“So, first I did try to create a war between the Slamorians and the Alornians, because that’s what Rytas wanted me to do. Penelope, you know how persuasive he can be.” Seraphina said.

Penelope decided not to let Seraphina that know that Rytas really hadn’t had to try that hard to convince her to give him an influence spell. She hadn’t known he was going to use it to take over the way he did, but she knew it wouldn’t be used for anything good.

“Once I met Donovan, however, my feelings changed. I didn’t think Rytas was on the right path and that meant I had to take drastic action and go against my people. It’s not something I’m proud of, but at this point, it was the right thing to do.”

Both Han and Penelope nodded. Seraphina got up and started to pace.

“Lucas and I had gone to school together. When I went to break Donovan out of the prison, he was the lucky one guarding it.”

She wrung her hands and then put them behind her back.

"I hit him with a vase and knocked him out. Someone he trusted." Seraphina started to pace again lost in the memory.

"That's all? I thought you’d killed his puppy, the way you were acting." Penelope said leaning back in her seat.

"No, that's not all." Seraphina took a deep breath.

Penelope felt bad she'd said anything.

“I let Donovan and Walter take him. They took him underground and got him to talk. They wanted to know what Rytas was planning. He is a loyal fae, and he wouldn’t give up his king without torture.”

Seraphina was on the verge of tears and Han walked over to put a comforting arm around her. Penelope felt a sting of jealousy but reined it in. He was just being nice and giving comfort to someone she liked. She needed to get it together.

“I turned on one of my own. That’s why I think he’s turned into this destroyer of worlds.”

“Why are you so certain Lucas is the one?”

“Dae saw Lucas, before we were attacked. He was talking to a woman with long black hair and they both put on the cloaks. She knows for a fact it was him.”

“And the woman?” Penelope asked eagerly. Finally, she could figure out who this mystery woman might be. She was almost certain the energy she could feel, when she reached out for it, was feminine. It felt like a maternal figure, but not a very nice one. She took this to mean it was a woman, so the description fit.

“She didn’t recognize her.”

“You said this goes beyond making the trees sick?” Han asked.

“Yes, the dryads have gray spots on their bodies like the trees and the nymphs are weakening. It’s affecting them all: water nymphs, moss nymphs, flower nymphs, you name it.” She shook her head. “We think it’s because they were closest to the forest. It’s going to spread. It will start with the fae because we’re next in line with nature, but then could move onto the weres and even the humans.”

“Wait,” Han said. “Please explain the difference between dyads and moss nymphs.”

“You don't know? What were your taught in school?” Seraphina was shocked at his question. Penelope was a bit surprised too. She thought all paranormal kids knew what everything was.

“I didn't pay attention.” Han looked at his feet, and Penelope wanted to hug him. He looked so vulnerable.

“Nymphs are the spirits of the water, flowers, nature. If there's a thing in nature it has a nymph.” Seraphina said. “Dryads are more powerful nymphs, especially for the trees.”

“So, they're basically the same thing,” Han said.

Seraphina slapped her forehead and walked away.” I can't.”

Penelope sensed the talk was going downhill and tried to bring everyone back around.

“Okay, we need to go and talk to the dryads. Once we know what’s going on with them, we can try to find a cure. I’m going to need a lot of my books from storage.” Penelope was talking but mostly to herself. She made her way downstairs to the basement, where the things that were still packed lived.

Witches in their family had gathered their spells and knowledge in notebooks, for decades. Her grandmother, Bella, had been an excellent nature weaver. The flowers and trees bent to her will if she needed them to. Penelope just hoped she had a little of that magic in her.

“Alright let’s go talk to the dryads.” She came up the stairs carrying books heaped up over her head. They toppled as soon as she walked into the kitchen and Han rushed to help her.

“How are we going to find them?” Han asked.

“I'm going to do a location spell. I think I have everything I need to make it work.”

Using a complicated spell, to which she was quite proud she pronounced all the words correctly, Penelope created the location spell that showed them where the dryads were hiding, using smoke.

“Wow,” Han said, “That may be the coolest thing I've ever seen.”

How food it felt to be using her magic to do something right for once. It was something she could get used to.

The three set out to find the dryads after a quick lunch. Luckily Penelope’s house was close to where they were hiding. Dryads were good at masking their surroundings, so that they could hide in plain sight. Without the spell, they may never have found them.

“Why do you think this is where they're hiding?” Han looked skeptical as they climbed the narrow trails that went underneath Blue Falls. The waterfall was the center of everything.

“Did you not see the smoke?”

“I did but in the smoke, all I saw was a bunch of water falling down. I don't know how you got that they were hiding under Blue Falls from that.”

Seraphina laughed, “There are only two places where water would be significant in this territory. It would make sense that they're hiding under the waterfall.”

“The spell isn’t exact. It more just gives me a general idea where they might be. I used my brain for the rest of it.” Penelope smiled at him hoping Han knew she was teasing.

His cheeks flushed a little but then he smiled at her. She felt a little flutter in her stomach. It could be possible she was really falling for him. The feeling she felt swelling her heart scared her most of all. Penelope stopped and held her hands up in front of her. They'd almost reached the top of the waterfall and a small cave was directly in front of them.

“I don't remember this being here,” Han said. He walked up and knocked on the side of the rock. “Solid.”

Penelope hoped she hadn't used up all of her magic doing the locator spell. Sometimes she needed some time to charge back up. She brought her hands up in the air above her head. Facing them towards the face she said,  “Let what’s hidden be shown.“

“You guys have the simplest spells, don’t you,” Han said. Penelope glared at him and concentrated. She brought her hands down and round quickly. She gasped as the cave folded down like a piece of paper. Inside was a large rock cave that went back into the mountain and was tall enough for them to stand in. That's where the dryads were sitting. There were at least a dozen that they could see. But the indention beneath the waterfall went back a lot further. Penelope noticed there were some nymphs floating around as well.

“Way to go, Witch. Now you've put everyone in danger”, the dryad closest to them said. He didn't open his eyes while he was talking. He looked older. He had thick bark on his arms, instead of limbs which were thick with leaves as the younger ones had. He sat cross-legged and didn't move an inch as he talked.

A nymph that she decided must be part of the waterfall hovered near to Han. She faded in and out in the glistening way the spirits did. She kept touching his shoulder, dripping water down his shirt and then laughing at herself. The nymphs were gorgeous and looked like grown women, supermodels, although they acted more like children.

“So the nymphs are girls, and the dryads are boys,” Han said in a moment of silence.

This actually got the old dryad to crack one eye open to look at him, “That's irrelevant in our world. Come on and I'll take you to our leader. He'll want to know why you've revealed our location.” After what seemed like an eternity and, after a lot of popping and cracking noises, the dryad stood up. He walked slowly on thick trunk legs towards the back of their hideout.

As they followed him, they passed more nymphs giggling and floating around. There were dryads sitting on both sides of them - all quiet with their eyes closed. When they got to the end of the dwelling, the same rock that surrounded them went up the wall about another two feet. At the top, just over the rock wall, you could see the waterfall tumbling down behind it. Vines snaked over the top and created a curtain that hung down.

A small dryad sat on a stack of rocks. It had small limbs for arms and legs and sparse leaves. Two larger dryads, on each side, flanked the small creature. Around his seat, there were several other dryads of his size.

“King Saprus,” the old dryad said. “This witch has uncovered our hiding place.”

“Tell me why you are here.” the king had a squeaky voice like a small child.

“Is the king a five-year-old?” Han asked looking around as he was being punked. The smile on his face would have been adorable, if he wasn’t insulting royalty. Both Penelope and Seraphina elbowed him. He let out a grunt and fell silent.

“I'm trying to find the people responsible for causing this sickness to fall on the forest,” Penelope said. “If I can find the source I can work on fixing it.”

“They should not be here Saprus,” another small dryad said. This one sounded like a little girl.

Han started to say something but stopped himself. Penelope made a mental note to give him a lesson in magical creatures later.

“My sister is nervous. You will have to excuse her rudeness,” the king said, “Las, we have guests. You have to be friendly.”

“You don't understand that by their being here we are all in danger.”

Penelope had a bad feeling, and the rock walls started to shake all around them.

“Las, what have you done?” the king looked as scared as Penelope felt.

“I'm sorry, brother,” the little dryad pulled the leaves on her chest away and revealed the bark underneath. It had little pockets of gray sludge in between the cracks in the bark. Little specks of black appeared to be eating away at the wood on her chest. “They said that if I didn't cooperate all of us would get it.”

Penelope’s heart broke for her. She was just trying to save her people. The dryads put so much on their youth. The kings were always the youngest and responsible for the decisions.

“Oh Las,” the king softened, as rocks started to fall all around them. “You have to go. They want you for some reason.”

“Too late,” a large man stood in between them and the king. He'd not been there before. Han immediately moved forward to attack him, but he raised his hand. Han flew back against the rock wall.

“Lucas,” Seraphina started, but he opened his hand and closed it rendering her speechless. She tried to yell at him, but all Penelope saw was her mouth moving with no sound.

“How did you get so much power?” Penelope asked.

“Never you mind, Witch. The point is I have it and I'm in the mood to wipe put some dryads, starting with little Las.” Lucas said. His eyes were wide and pupils dilated. She wondered who was really controlling Lucas and his actions.

“You don’t have to use it for bad. I used to use it for bad.” Penelope started but with a flick of the wrist, he threw her against the rock wall, too. Her body ached all over and blood dripped down her face again.

Lucas raised his arms again, to throw something else at her. “Dryads, help us, please. We’ll fix this; we’ll fix Las.” Penelope wanted so badly to help. She wanted so badly for Las and all the creatures to get better. If she could, she thought, she’d reach in and take the gray from the little dryad.

The nymphs started to spin around Lucas. There were five of them, all with different appearances. They spun faster and faster as some of them wound vines around him. They covered him from head to foot making it impossible for him to move.

“She’ll kill you all,” Lucas yelled before they covered his mouth, confirming to Penelope, that his accomplice was a woman.

It was obvious to Penelope that the dryads were only going to buy them enough time to get away. Lucas would break through the vines with the power he seemed to possess. If not on his own, he’d get help from his partner who had to be somewhere pulling the strings.

If she’d had the time, she’d have loved to ask him who this mysterious witch was. It had to be a witch, and a really powerful one. The three of them ran towards the entrance to the dryads’ hideout and then, up to the top of the waterfall. From there, they could make a quick exit back down towards Penelope’s place. She’d have to put up wards against Lucas and his partner in crime, to protect everyone.

“I should have had him,” Han said as they ran. “I couldn’t even get close.”

“It’s not your fault,” Penelope said. “He has a really powerful witch helping him. It’s no one I know though. All the witches I know use their magic to grow herbs outside.”

“What kind of herbs?” Seraphina asked.

“Some grow the illegal kind; some just grow what they want to cook with.” Penelope looked over her shoulder as they ran through the woods. No one was following them, yet.

“Okay then,” Seraphina said. Penelope noticed she’d slowed down on the getting away plan.

“Look, we need to focus on getting far away from the dryads and back to the house. I don’t want any more of them to get hurt,” Penelope said. “That little girl said they promised they’d make them all sick. That means it hasn’t spread through them yet. They can control it.”

“So why go after dryads and nymphs?” Seraphina picked up her speed, but just a little bit. “I get being mad at me, but Lucas is mad at the whole world. He’s turned into this - I don’t know what.”

Supervillain, Penelope thought but she didn’t say it aloud.

“His eyes didn’t look right. Maybe he started with the desire to get back at the fae and the person helping him manipulated him a bit. He didn’t look fully under control to me,” Penelope said feeling relieved when her driveway came into view. They rushed inside and she wasted no time running around to each corner of her house and putting up wards, to keep Lucas and his mystery evil sidekick out.

“So, now what?” Han asked, after he’d watched her strange hand movements and hectic pace around the house.

“I’m going to call my first meeting of the paranormal council,” Penelope said. “You two will need to be there to back me up.”

“Are we going to them?” Seraphina asked.

“No, I’ll have the meeting here,” Penelope said with more confidence than she felt.