Page 81 of Incubus
A male voice followed it. “Because you won’t be leaving.”
Chapter 31
Dryads.
Nathan recognized the sidhe of the forest easily in their natural forms, almost blended in with the trees with the way the rain was still falling. They were every shade of green and brown that existed, their skin mostly a pale green, with no real clothing, just vines and branches covering them like they were made out of the earth. Their shape was still human, their genders distinguishable even without them speaking, but when they moved over the wet and muddied ground it was as if their feet reached out like roots to pull them forward.
“Youwere controlling the golem?” Nathan said, itching to retrieve the shotgun he had lost in the mud. “I thought dryads were only light fae.”
“No,” Sasha said, eying their shotguns just as anxiously. “Remember the story of Hansel and Gretel? They weren’t eaten by a witch. Why do you think they got lost in thewoodsin the first place?”
"You don't say." It never surprised Nathan to discover that certain myths, legends, and folktales were often based on something real. "What, no gingerbread house for us?”
The dryads came up on either side of where the three of them were lying in the mud. Vines from the female twisted out from around her feet to take hold of the three lost shotguns and pull them out of reach.
Now that the dryads were closer, Nathan could see their slit green eyes.
“Why were you attacking people?” Jim demanded, still having to yell over the rain to be heard. "Is that the only thing dark sidhe are good for?"
“Oh, we don’t care about any of those other humans,” said the male.
“We wantedyou,” said the female. She moved her gaze squarely onto Nathan. "Word was the Grier brothers teamed up with a seal to track down the sidhe holding the coveted bounty. A few attacks on humans were an easy task to lure you.”
Nathan’s stomach plummeted.
“Word travels fast in the Veil,” said the male. “Everyone wants this bounty. You are a great prize, Nathan Grier, and the reward is doubled if we also provide the changeling.” He looked to Jim with equal accomplishment.
Panic was quickly tightening in Nathan’s gut, but before he could dwell too long on how foolishly they had walked into a trap, he jumped at the sudden feeling of movement beneath him. Nathan tried to move and get to his feet, but fresh vines were growing up out of the earth and wrapping around his limbs faster than he could struggle free. He could see the same happening to Sasha and Jim beside him.
Nathan’s back slammed to the ground as a thicker vine spread across his chest and yanked him down. The falling rain made itdifficult to breathe and he turned his head to the side gasping, unable to move anything other than his neck and fingers.
“I’m sure a seal andincubuswill only increase the bounty further,” the male voice said from above them.
Even with his head turned to the side, Nathan had trouble getting enough air. The rain was coming down harder and his body was starting to sink into the soggy, mud-covered ground beneath them. “I’m pretty sure the bounty isn’t dead or alive, assholes!” Nathan yelled as best he could, turning his head the other way to see if he could get a look at how the others were fairing.
He could only see Sasha’s nearby hand, clawing at the dirt.
“I suppose we wouldn’t want to hand over a corpse,” said the female.
Just when Nathan thought he was about to swallow a few more mouthfuls of water, the rain stopped striking his face. He could still feel water pounding on his lower half but, as he blinked skyward, he saw that the dryads were forming a small shelter over his and the others' faces out of winding roots and branches. Nathan spit and gasped for breath at the relief.
“Nathan!” he heard Jim call.
“I’m fine! I’m going to be sick and miserable for the next week after all this, but I’ll live. How areyoufeeling, Jim?” Nathan asked pointedly, assuming his brother had been trying to use some sort of power from the start and was having little luck.
Jim didn’t reply.
Nathan looked again to where he could see Sasha’s hand still struggling and pulling at the vines holding them down. Super strength didn’t appear to be working this time either.
"There is a little-known doorway not far from here," said the female. "We are going to enjoy watching your new master Turn you, Nathan Grier, but the true spectacle will be your brother's Awakening."
The shift in the air was palpable after that, reminding Nathan of that night in Minnesota when Jim's powers first made their appearance. The vines in contact with Nathan’s skin, right around his wrists, started to tingle, and when he looked down the length of his body, he could see the larger vines on his chest glowing.
Then Nathan realized they weren't glowing. They wereburning.
“Jim!”
The vines started to recoil from around Nathan's body just as he feared his clothing was about to set on fire. His wrists were a little singed, but he found himself more distracted by the screams coming from the dryads.
