Chatoyant College Book 9: Sundered

Chapter 90: Dryad

"But it has an aura like a person... or at least like a faerie," said Dawn. "Wouldn't that mean she has to be in there?"

"Maybe not," said Corrie. "It's a much more magical tree than anything else. It's a faerie tree."

"It's almost as much a part of Leila as the part that moves around," said Edie. "It's not just a tree. It's also her home and sometimes her body."

"So it could just have picked up all the magical essence from being around her all the time?" asked Roe.

"Or more than that," said Edie. She sighed and turned back to pick up her bracelet and keys. "It's inherently magical just like people. At least, that's what I'm guessing, from the fact that it has an aura but she doesn't seem to be there."

"She never explained to you exactly what her tree is?" Dawn asked.

Edie shook her head. "Not that I can think of. I don't think she even explained what I've just told you. I just picked it up from the way she acts toward the tree."

"But it makes sense," said Corrie. "She's a dryad. This is her tree. Remember how in the Chronicles of Narnia the dryads died when you cut down their trees? I don't know if it's even possible to cut down Leila's tree, but I bet she's just as connected to it as those dryads were."

Edie swallowed. She definitely didn't want to think about Leila that way. "Either way, she probably isn't here, so we should go back to the faerie court and see what Ever knows." She was anxious to get going, to figure out what on earth had happened to her girlfriend.

"Wait," said Dawn. "I have one more thing I want to try."

Edie sighed. "What is it?"

"Going into trance to look at her made me think of it. The whole point of trance magic is that we can use the magic we see around us. Maybe one of us can try using the magic from the tree."

That didn't sound safe... but it did seem like a good way to see whether Leila was in the tree or not. Edie frowned, trying to think about it. "Is it even possible to draw on other people's magic?"

"I've wondered about that, and I think it must be possible," said Corrie. "It looks pretty much the same as the magic in all living things and such. But Professor Lal did warn us about the magic on campus being unpredictable, and I would think a faerie tree would be even more unpredictable than other stuff."

"I'll use it to create some water," said Dawn. "That should be the safest. I'll just try to create a little bit of water with it, so if it explodes it will still only be some water. And I know the right way to take myself out of trance now, so it should be safer than the time I created all that wind in class. Plus, if she's in there, I bet she'd notice. And it would wake her up."

Edie thought that if one of them was going to use trance magic and draw on Leila's tree, it should be her, but she was nervous of trance magic. She'd tried it, but only based on what the book had taught her, and that had been bad information. She nodded. "Okay. Just be careful."

"I will," said Dawn with a smile. She took a deep breath and stared steadily at the tree. Edie looked around uncomfortably, wondering how long it would take for something to happen. Naomi, still standing at the edge of the clearing, grinned and waved at her. Edie waved back. Rico was peering out into the trees. Edie wondered if he could see anything. Was someone coming? She started to walk toward him, but stopped and spun around when she heard Dawn gasp.

"Are you okay?" asked Corrie.

"Yeah," said Dawn, putting one finger to her temple. "I think I just gave myself a headache trying so hard. Give me a second." She closed her eyes for a few moments, then stood up. "Yeah, it's going away now that I'm out of trance." She shook her head. "That was weird. The magic of the tree must be protected somehow."

"Why? You couldn't use it?" Edie asked.

"No." Dawn looked down at her hands. "Not the tiniest bit of water. It was like it moved away from me when I reached for it, except that it still seemed to be in the same place."

"Maybe it woke Leila up," said Edie. She turned to look at the tree again. "It might take her a little while to wake up all the way. Then we can explain. Um, and apologize."

"That's a good plan," said Dawn.

Edie walked up to the tree, put her palm on it briefly, then took it away. She didn't know what Leila needed to be able to emerge from the tree. After a moment, she went back to where she had been sitting and waited.