Satyr Play 02 Pt. 02

"Does he have proof? X-rays?" Sigrid asked.

Sandy and Dayshia both shook their heads. "Tish wasn't allowing them to do anything until Henry arrived. Being vocal about it too," Sandy asserted.

Henry looked back to Sigrid whose expression showed her doubt. "At a minimum, you'll have to avoid this doctor. That probably means you shouldn't return to work at that hospital. I'm sorry," she suggested.

Tish seemed to be thinking about that. Then she looked up into Henry's eyes. "If you can heal me then you can heal others!" she exclaimed.

He shook his head. "No. If we expose the fact that magic is real, then all of the Hidden Races are at risk. They'd be hunted down and killed or end up in a lab, dissected to find out how it works. A horrifying end." He sighed. "We can live normal-ish lives, hiding in plain sight in our disguises but we can never, ever let any humans know we exist. That includes family. They can't know!" He glanced at Sigrid, and she nodded to pick up the explanation.

"There's a Hidden Races authority which enforces this secrecy. They are... brutally effective in ensuring the fact of our existence stays a secret. I don't know the numbers, but apparently, we are few while the human population counts in the billions. We don't have a census. It would be too disheartening to know just how outnumbered we are," she said. "To start, why don't we go downstairs and have some breakfast. Marisa and I went out to pick up some basics first thing this morning."

Henry stepped closer to Tish. "I'm so sorry this happened to you. All of it and to all of you!" he said including Sandy and Dayshia in his apology. "I'll make it up to you in any way I can."

"We'll discuss it later," Dayshia tersely said as she moved to follow Sigrid downstairs.

The others followed, but Tish held back and touched Henry's chest to stop him as well. He looked at her curiously.

"Drop the disguise."

He looked at her in surprise, realizing she'd be able to see... everything. She raised an eyebrow at him, so he did as he was told.

She looked down and smiled. "Hoo. That's what I remember. Dayshia's right. We'll discuss how you can make it up to us later."

With a sexy smile, she turned and followed the others downstairs.

Henry activated his glamor once more and paused when he felt a pinch. He took a moment to adjust for the sudden tightness of his pants. He didn't know why his glamor didn't compensate for that.

-=-

Ikehorn stumbled into the bedchamber the Queen assigned to him in the New York castle. He leaned back against the closed door and sucked in a painful breath as his broken ribs grated together. Blood flecked his lips as his lung was punctured as well.

He locked the door and stepped away from it. He managed two steps then stopped. A tremble went through his body as he recalled the beating he'd just received. He faced the door and muttered a few words of power.

If Mab's trained ogres tried to enter now, they'd be liquified most painfully. He knew the Queen would kill him for that, but he was never letting them touch him again.

He painfully made his way to the bed, desperate to rest on its surface. The willpower needed to suppress his healing was reaching its limit. He needed to heal himself soon, but the Queen forbade him to use his new abilities until he reached his bed, under his power.

She... hadn't been pleased with his report that he'd been forced to heal the third human pet of the Satyr. Disclosing the truth about his new ability had been a calculated risk. He'd seen his death in her eyes at that moment. Her control was eroding badly as her new master spell drained so much energy from her. Before she struck him down, he presented the alternate trap he'd used to catch the Satyr. He explained how much more compelling it was as all three of the female pets were affected plus one male. The favor the Satyr would have to ask for left him at the mercy of the Queen.

There'd been tense moments while Ikehorn watched Mab swing between her impulse to kill him and her pleasure at now having an excellent bargaining position.

"Ikehorn, you continue to surprise me. I am very pleased with this new solution. I will summon the mages once more. This will be a new challenge for them, yes?" The Queen smiled at him, and he finally allowed himself to breathe. He bowed deeply and reverently.

"There is still the matter of your failure to fulfill my original plan because, how did you put it? Ah yes, you were forced to heal the female. It seems like you've forgotten how to prioritize your Queen's needs over your own. I can help you with that," she sweetly said as she made a gesture.

Ikehorn's arms were suddenly caught in the tight grip of one of Mab's pet Ogres. Large, barely sentient savages, they were loyal servants and brutal enforcers. The fact that Queen Mab now had them around her in the castle was yet another sign of her diminished capacity. Resorting to the violent thugs meant her subtlety was leaving her.

"Ikehorn, listen carefully. You are not to use your healing abilities until you reach your bed. Heal yourself before that, and it will be the last healing you do. Is this understood?"

A cold sweat flushed across his body as the Ogres smiled at the Queen.

"Don't kill or cripple him. Aside from that, you have three minutes to show my dear Ikehorn how much damage you can do short of those two conditions.

A second Ogre grinned and made a big fist.

Ikehorn lost track of how many times the brute hit him. All of his concentration was reserved for holding back the healing impulse.

When it was over the Ogre holding his arms released his grip and Ikehorn fell to the floor.

"You may go now. Remember, not until you reach your bed," Mab said sweetly.

His left arm was broken from the overly enthusiastic grip of his captor. He had broken ribs, a punctured lung, some missing teeth, a crushed nose, and more cuts and bruises than he could count. He pushed himself to his feet and shuffled off with as much dignity as his body allowed.

As he reached the door, he heard her snapping at the Ogres. "Clean up that blood! Not with your tongues! Revolting morons! Finish licking then mop the floor!"

Now Ikehorn's bed was before him, but he stopped himself and slowly made his way into the washroom. He dropped his glamor to stand naked before the sink. He gently cleaned himself so he wouldn't get the sheets dirty.

Finally, he walked back to the bed and faced it. "Thank you, Queen Mab, for the valuable lesson," he said aloud. He picked up the sensation of her satisfaction. So... she'd been watching.

He pulled the sheets down and eased himself between them. As he fully relaxed on the mattress, he finally reached for the healing, and a massive flash of green light lit up the room.

He lay there panting from the effort and the memory of the pain. That would linger for some time.

"Ikehorn?" Mab called out.

Her voice seemed to be coming from the ceiling. "Yes, my Queen."

"You will arrange for Henry to be here on Friday. They should arrive at 10 PM. The mages were summoned for Henry's pet Humans. There will be a party that night with the main event at midnight. This is the optimal time for the spell. Do not fail me again."

"Yes, my Queen."

As his exhaustion pulled him into oblivion, he made a mental note to contact the Satyr the moment he awoke.

He wouldn't survive another lesson from Mab.

-=-

After breakfast, Sigrid and Meixiu left to pick up groceries, cleaning supplies, toiletries, and some changes of clothes for the ladies while Marisa told them she'd sit down with the ladies and Henry to bring them up to speed on their new reality and for a question and answer period.

Dayshia spoke first. "I need to contact our boss, Margaret, and let her know we won't be in... for a while. What do I tell her?"

Marisa nodded. "Tell them you took Tish to see a specialist and you may need up to a week," she said with a shrug.

Dayshia nodded then dialed and got through to her boss. From the look on Dayshia's face after she gave the excuse, her boss wasn't happy. "It's for Tish," she finally said glancing guiltily at her friend who just nodded.

"Listen, has Roger contacted you?" Dayshia asked then her expression became worried. "Ok, I'll keep in touch. Thanks, Margaret." She hung up then looked at the expectant faces.

"Roger's in the wind. He didn't answer his cell when they called him; we probably have messages on ours too. There's been no word of him at the hospital which is in complete chaos since our departure. Hospital administration is on everyone's ass for the weird shit that happened last night. It seems everyone fell asleep and the techs in the security room somehow deleted a week's worth of recordings up to last night, so they have no visuals of what happened. They're blaming it on a gas leak."

Marisa nodded. "Good."

Dayshia turned her attention back to Henry. "How soon can we get these disguises?" she asked bluntly. Then she frowned. "Will this... glamor let me see you in your disguise again? It's hard to not stare at your..." Her eyes rose from his groin to his head. "...horns. Especially with that faint pulsing glow."

Henry stared at her. "Pulsing glow?" She nodded as she looked to them again. He shook his head as he didn't want to know. "Glamor spells powered by the Wild Magic do strange things to the laws of physics as I've discovered. But you're new eyes still see right through it, so I have no idea." He sighed. "I'll contact Ikehorn this afternoon to set it up."

They walked through the house towards the sitting room and admired the art hanging on the walls. Tish stopped dead before one of them. "I'm no art expert but... is this a Renoir?"

Marisa looked to the painting of the lovely young woman brushing her hair. "I doubt Walter hung up anything but originals. I understand he wasn't the sort to tolerate forgeries in his collection." The others looked around at the sculptures and paintings with a new appreciation.

"That would make this art worth a fortune! Where is the owner of this house?" Dayshia asked.

"He died a couple of months ago. He was a dragon. Apparently, they really do hoard treasure," Henry said.

Dayshia stopped to look at him in disbelief. "Really. A dragon. Firebreathing and all?"

Henry just nodded. "He was... not a nice person. He held Meixiu captive in this house for more than a century. He blinded her with magic. He... he did something bad to me as well. He's the reason I can no longer use the glamor of Stanley." At Marisa's look, he stopped.

"What was that?" Dayshia said suspiciously.

"What was what?" Marisa asked.

"You just sent Henry a warning glance to shut him up," Dayshia insisted.

Marisa sighed. "Your new eyes are very perceptive. Henry was talking about something the Hidden Races Council has forbidden us to speak of."

"Excuse me? These people can make it illegal to talk about stuff?" Sandy asked incredulously.

"Let's have a seat in the lounge, and I'll give you a rundown on the key players and the rules we live by."

They moved into the sitting room, but Tish stopped in the doorway. "The windows aren't covered. What if someone sees in?"

Henry glanced at the large windows and could see the driveway outside. "Marisa, stand in front of the window there. I'm going to go outside to see what I can see." She moved to stand where he directed as he walked outside. From the driveway directly before the sitting room windows, he couldn't see Marisa. He saw an empty room instead. He realized Walter must have added some kind of spell, enchantment, or whatever wielders called their magic, to the windows to hide the people inside. He went back inside to join the others, gently easing Tish into the room.

"The windows show the room, but no one inside is visible. Must be another spell," he explained with a frown.

He took a seat on a couch and Tish moved to sit down next to him with a coy smile. She was watching Dayshia who was sitting on the chair across from them.

The ebony beauty frowned at Tish. She tossed a pillow to Henry. "At least cover that thing up."

Tish pouted mischievously. "No fair you get x-ray vision too!"

Dayshia gave her an incredulous stare. "I don't understand how you can be so calm about what happened to you! He made you into a Satyr! Then there are those people... what did you call them?" she asked looking at Henry.

"The Fae."

"The Fae broke your back because they wanted something from Henry. He's right! He dragged us into this crazy world of magic and monsters!"

Sandy bristled. "Dayshia! Don't you dare blame Henry for the actions of those people! If they were civilized beings, they wouldn't have resorted to such terrible acts! Henry is a good person! He doesn't think like these Fae! He could never have known they were going to hurt us!" she growled.

Tish took up the argument. "I don't blame Henry for my injuries. I agree with Sandy. He couldn't have known. What matters to me is what he did after he found out! He healed my broken back! That's impossible by everything I know about these kinds of injuries. The damage was too severe. As I laid in that hospital bed all day, the best outcome I could see in my future was a life being confined to a wheelchair. I'm a runner! That wasn't the life I wanted, but it was the life forced upon me. I can't begin to tell you how grateful I am for being rescued from that!"

Dayshia held up her hands. "I accept that his ability to heal you was... above and beyond. But couldn't he have left you- left all of us, as human?"

Henry's shame deepened as he accepted her blame. He knew, in his heart, he deserved it. Suddenly Sandy's hair reached across the room to wrap its silky locks around him in a hug. He picked up a distinct feeling of gratitude for bringing her to life. He felt Sandy's joy as well. He lifted his eyes to look over at her.

"Kesini and I thank you for giving her life! I'm delighted to have my new friend!" Sandy exclaimed. She looked at Dayshia and Tish and grinned at them. "Kesini means one with beautiful hair."

Tish held out a hand and a tendril of the blond hair wrapped around it. She smiled as she felt its affection. "Amazing!" she sighed. She caught Dayshia's uneasy glance and gave her a gentle smile.

Dayshia huffed. "Aren't you the least bit upset about how much you've been changed?" she insisted looking at her friends. Sandy just smiled and shook her head. She gently tugged on Kasini, and she released Henry to coil up on Sandy's lap.

"Being a Satyr isn't something I imagined for myself," Tish snorted in amusement. "How could I have imagined this?" She shook her head in disbelief with eyes filled with wonder. "Magic is real! I've become a creature of magic! How fucking cool is that?!? And I feel incredible! Truthfully, how do you feel?"

Dayshia looked between her two friends with a conflicted expression. Finally, she sighed. "Ok, I feel good. My back doesn't hurt from carrying these," she gestured to her large breasts. "My feet don't hurt either from carrying the rest. But I don't look human! I'm not human! What about my plan to meet a nice young man and get married and have kids!"

Tish barked a laugh. "Since when did you have that plan?"

Dayshia gave her a haughty look. "I don't tell you everything."

Marisa smiled. "Let me take you through a few of the new rules you'll need to be aware of." She had their attention, so she began.

Henry sat back and watched his friends coming to grips with their new lives, and he had to admit they were taking it far better than he had. He was ready to accept their hatred of him for what he did but, aside from Dayshia, they were expressing no such negative emotions. Especially Tish. But then, she liked the idea of magic while he'd wanted to deny its existence. Still did, if he was honest with himself.

The conversation went on as the ladies asked questions and he learned a few things as well.

He started to worry about getting them glamors and introducing them to the Queen of the Fae- he froze, and Marisa caught his look.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"Uh, we need to do something about their legal standing amongst the Hidden Races; the treaties between the Fae and them. I mean, I'm pretty sure Tish is going to be covered by mine but where do Sandy and Dayshia fit into the treaties? Which Hidden Race do they belong to?" he asked.

Marisa looked at the two women. "Good question. We need to bring in legal counsel. I'm going to call my mother to arrange for Mahati to come to speak to us," she said as she popped to her feet to make the call in the next room.

"Who's Mahati?" Dayshia asked.

"She's VRL's external lawyer," Henry explained. "I understand she's moving into the condo next to mine with her sister." He saw their interested looks. "There's something I should mention about the building. People from the Hidden Races inhabit all the odd-numbered floors. Only humans are allowed to own the units on the even numbered floors."

"Are they going to demand I move out?" Sandy gasped.

Henry frowned. "I don't know. I hope not. We can ask Mahati. I doubt this has ever happened before."

Tish patted his leg to get his attention, and he was very conscious of her hand on his thigh.

"When do I get to meet the other Satyrs?" she asked.

Henry opened his mouth then closed it to take a swallow. "There aren't any. Until last night, I was the only one. My... people were wiped out by angry mobs of humans millennia ago. My adoptive grandmother is a powerful witch. She somehow pulled me from the past the night my parents were murdered. She raised me in the present."

"Why would she do that?" Dayshia asked.

Marisa shook her head as she walked back into the room. "That's a question you never ask Baba Yaga. She had plans for Henry. She may still. It's generally a good policy to avoid her at all costs." She looked at Henry's frown. "Sorry, but it's true. She has agendas no one can fathom and powers no one can match."

Henry hung his head and nodded. He knew it was true, but he couldn't shake the bond he felt for the old woman.

Marisa gave him a sympathetic smile then looked to the others. "Let me just clarify something I was speaking of earlier before Tish woke. When I first met Stanley, I went by the name Paloma, and my glamor looked much different than it does now. I was a little shorter, raven-haired, and not quite as busty." She grinned at Henry, and he blushed. She looked back at the attentive gaze of Henry's friends.

"When I discovered he was a Satyr I- well, as a Succubus, I was intensely drawn to him, and we had unprotected sex, twice. I had no idea of his link to a new realm of Wild Magic nor was I expecting to be affected by it. As it was my first exposure to his Wild Magic and I received so much, it burned out my old glamor which was powered by the old realm of magic. It also changed me physically. For conduits, first exposure to Wild Magic seems to enhance our existing states. Because my physical changes were so dramatic, when I received my new glamor it incorporated those changes, and I looked nothing like my old self. Like Henry, I had to take on a new identity. I became Marisa, cousin of Paloma. I now have to call my mother Aunt in public. You can see how complicated it gets to maintain the secret." The ladies nodded thoughtfully.

"That said, I just spoke with my mother. She's going to meet us here tonight with Mahati and Roy, our head of Security. She's going to ask Mahati to speak to Michelle Beaumont to get a copy of Henry's Treaty. As Henry mentioned, it should cover Tish, but we will see what we can do for Sandy and Dayshia."

He looked to Marisa. "Is Michelle going to join us here too?"

The lovely blonde blinked at him. "I don't think so but she might."