Satyr Play 02 Pt. 02

"Ohhhhh!" she tittered then froze as she saw the burning desire in his eyes. "Now? Here?!?"

He nodded. "Send Bev home for the night and put the closed sign in the window. I saw a couch in the back room." He suddenly grabbed her hand and pressed it against his chest. "Can't you feel my heart racing?" He pulled the hand slowly down his chest, over the hard muscles of his stomach and stopped over his growing erection. It was a useful skill to be able to will that into being. "Can't you feel what you're doing to me?" She was gasping and trembling as her fingers squeezed. "I need to be with you! Please!"

It was his begging that tipped the balance. The manager marched to the door of the back room and pushed it open. "Bev, I'm closing up early tonight so you can go home now. Quickly, dear."

Moments later Bev hustled out of the back room with her purse and jacket, a surprised expression on her face. She glanced over to Nate then rushed out the door.

Meredith locked up behind her and flipped the open sign on the door to closed.

Nate walked backward towards the back room slowly unbuttoning his shirt, exposing the muscles of his chest. Meredith stalked after him with a wicked smile on her face. Once they reached the sofa, she pounced like a tiger and carried him down to the cushions.

It was his turn to squeak in surprise.

A little over an hour later, he gave Meredith a final kiss at the door of the shop. He admired her beautiful blonde hair spilling over her shoulders then tore himself away, missing her pleased smile. He marched away with purpose in his step. Once he was out of sight of the store, he allowed himself to sag as he began to look for a cab. He was exhausted! Meredith was insatiable! He allowed himself a smile. She was also pretty damn skilled at sex! Bedding older woman was new to him, aside from Camila of course, but she was a Succubus, so she didn't count.

He'd done his best to not feed on her as he didn't want to ruin Bev's work situation.

He finally managed to get a taxi, and once he'd convinced the fellow to take him to the address, Henry gave him he settled back to rest. He checked his pocket and realized he only had three condoms left. He'd had six earlier in the day.

Thinking ahead, he wondered who was staying with Henry in this mansion? Would Marisa be there?

With that thought in his mind, he let himself nod off.

Chapter 40

Henry felt his cell buzz and glanced at the screen. It was Nate, texting from the driveway. He left the sitting room, went to the front door and stepped outside. He saw the man smile from the back seat of the cab. The front passenger side window went down, and Henry passed the driver his credit card as Nate climbed out of the taxi. Giving the driver a good tip, Henry completed the payment and the driver headed back to the city.

Nate stood next to him gawking at the size of the building. He looked at Henry with a grin. "Who owns this?

Henry smiled at the man's easygoing nature. "It used to belong to a lawyer... who was a dragon and did some very bad things. Then, he died. Now... I think it belongs to a friend of mine. Come on inside."

They moved through the front door, and Nate's eyes widened when he spotted the art on the walls. "Oh my... you weren't kidding about the art," he said reverently.

Henry watched his expression with interest. Clearly, the man recognized some of these paintings.

There was another knock on the front door, and Henry answered it as Sigrid and Marisa joined them in the front hall.

"Oh! Hello Nate! I wasn't expecting to see you!" Sigrid said in surprise as she glanced to Henry.

"Uh, sorry. I invited him," Henry said quietly.

"It's fine Henry." She could tell he needed his new friend to be here. Nate was smiling at Marisa, oblivious to anyone else in the room.

With a relieved smile, Henry opened the door, and Camila was suddenly in his arms. He blinked in surprise as he looked into Roy's concerned eyes.

"Are you ok?" the big redhead asked.

"Yes, thanks," Henry replied quietly.

Camila pulled back to look deeply into his eyes. She opened her mouth but stopped as they heard the deep rumble of a motorcycle rolling up the driveway. It stopped before the house, and the rider pulled off her helmet. Mary glared at them but locked her eyes on Henry.

"I knew if I followed him I'd find you!" she said to Henry while pointing at Roy.

Henry stepped around Camila and Roy to walk to Mary who'd parked her bike.

"Mary, I'm so glad you're here. We can finally talk, and I can answer all of your questions. I'm so sorry I couldn't explain earlier, but you'll understand why soon."

She held herself stiffly. "I heard through a contact at the station. There was another occurrence of that gas attack. This one was at the Javits Center. Affected a smaller group of women this time. That was you, wasn't it." It wasn't a question. He nodded. "And was it you at the hospital where everyone fell asleep, and security wiped the footage?"

"I was there, but I didn't do any of that." He sighed. "There are reasons for those... actions at the hospital. To protect people. A lot of people. Can we go inside so we can explain it all?"

She still seemed hesitant, but he just waited as there was nothing he could say to make her accept his word.

Finally, she nodded, and they went inside. Nate rushed excitedly back to the front hall with an enormous grin on his handsome face. "This place is amazing!!! It's like a museum! I recognize the style on a lot of the paintings and sculptures! Definitely some from the masters, pieces I've never seen before! OH! You have to see this painting in the study! It's a scenic of a river, and I'd swear the water's moving! It's mesmerizing!!!" He paused in his gushing as he noticed a new face. "Oh! Hello!" he said with a nod to Mary. "Are you one of us too?"

"Nathan!" Camila and Sigrid sighed.

"Oh! So sorry! Just a little over excited about the art!" he said then looked to Mary with a chagrined smile. "Don't mind me."

She looked at Henry with a raised eyebrow.

"All part of the explanation," he said.

"We brought dinner for everyone," Roy said pointing back to the truck.

"What did you bring?" Sigrid asked.

"A little of everything. I need help carrying it in," Roy replied.

Sigrid, Henry, and Nate followed him out and carried the bags back to the house. The scents made Henry's stomach rumble with hunger. When he was inside, he saw Mary staring at Sandy, Dayshia, but especially Tish as they descended the stairs from their rooms on the second floor. They were wearing some simple dresses and tights purchased for them, and Tish had opted to skip the tights for her furry legs. Mary's head whipped back to give Henry a shocked look.

He gave her a guilty nod. "They changed like you did, but in different ways. Please let me introduce Sandy Marlow, Dayshia Morrison, and Tish Evans. This is Mary Carsten."

"She was changed too?" Dayshia asked, tearing her eyes away from Nate to look closer at Mary. "She looks human to me."

Mary was awestruck by the beauty of Dayshia's eyes. "Human?" she mumbled.

Henry moved past Mary but stopped next to the three ladies. "Mary's change won't require a disguise, but she was significantly changed." He looked to Nate who was watching the ladies but trying not to be obvious about it.

"Dining room is down here!" Roy's voice called out to get them moving, and Henry continued with Nate right behind him.

His friend moved close. "Is that the situation you were talking to me about earlier?"

Henry looked him in the eye and nodded grimly.

"Wow. All four?" Nate's eyebrows rose.

"Mary was the first. A little while ago. In total there are five. There was another person in the hospital room last night. Roger Jensen. He disappeared before we could bring him back to the house," Henry said quietly.

The dining room had one of those classic long tables that would comfortably seat twenty. He wondered if Walter had ever hosted that many people. Sigrid was setting the food out at one end. They put the bags on the table, and Sigrid and Roy began unpacking them.

"A man too? Not that I'm judging!" Nate said with a grin, and Henry snorted. He was grateful Nate was here.

"No, I have no idea how Roger received the... stuff but if I had to bet I'd say Kesini stuck some in his mouth. I saw her... collecting some after we'd... finished." Henry replied awkwardly.

"Sorry, which one is Kesini?" Nate asked as blond hair stroked the back of his hand. He looked to the petite woman with an enormous amount of hair. Some of which was floating before him.

Henry pointed to the hair. "She is Kesini. And she is Sandy. She's a good friend and a neighbor in my building. This is Nathan Walker, a friend I recently made."

Sandy was smiling brightly at Nate as he shook her hand. "It's lovely to meet you and Kesini!" he said charmingly.

"Thank you!" Sandy responded gleefully.

Seeing Dayshia approaching and how she was watching Nate with a shocked expression, he remembered she saw through glamors. It was too late to warn him. He had no idea what Nate's natural state looked like, but it was completely drawing her attention.

"This is Dayshia, very good friend of Sandy and her co-worker as well," Henry said. "Nathan Walker. My new friend."

"Enchanté," Nate said with a cheeky smile as he raised her hand to his lips. Dayshia squeaked a little.

Henry leaned in closer to Nate's ear. "Dayshia's eyes see through glamors."

"OH!" Nate exclaimed in surprise. He wasn't sure how to behave, and his flustered expression seemed to set Dayshia's mind at ease. She smiled timidly at him. Kesini took Dayshia's hand and gently guided her by Nate.

Tish was next, and Nate's face opened up in a smile. "I've seen classic paintings of Fauns, but I never thought I would meet one in real life," he said in delight.

Tish smiled at him and glanced to Henry. "I think I like the name Faun better than Satyr. It's softer and feels feminine."

"It suits you," Henry said with a nod then realized that sounded a little flirty. Her smile and the twinkle in her eyes told him she thought so too. She ran her fingertips across his chest as she walked by.

Mary was last. "This is Mary Carsten. Mary, this is Nathan Walker." They shook hands and said their hellos. Henry saw the food was ready and people were taking seats, so he gestured for them to sit at the enormous table.

Camila, Marisa, and Meixiu joined them, and he saw Nate perk up when Marisa sat across from him.

Henry looked down the table and smiled to himself. His friends. He knew he owed them so much and he was going to make things right for them. Tonight, he was going to try to put that out of his mind and just enjoy-

His cell began to ring, so he pulled it from his pocket to frown at it. He moved to the next room to answer. "Yes?"

"Mr. Gable. This is Ikehorn."

Henry's frown deepened. "Yes?"

"Queen Mab has indicated you should arrive no later than 10 PM on Friday evening. The mages will be prepared for your friends at that time."

Henry felt a little relief, but his dread picked up. "What- what does she want in return?"

There was a moment of hesitation then Ikehorn responded. "I don't know. That, you will need to negotiate with Queen Mab."

"Right."

"Expect a late evening as there will be a party following the mage's work which will conclude sometime after midnight," Ikehorn explained.

"I doubt anyone is going to feel like partying."

"That... is non-negotiable," Ikehorn said reluctantly.

"Oh... fine. See you then." Henry hung up. Shit. He took some deep breaths to calm his nerves.

"Is everything ok, Henry?"

He looked to see Camila in the doorway, a look of concern in her eyes.

He put a brave smile on for her. "Sure. I was just making arrangements for the glamors. Apparently, there's a party afterward."

Camila's expression didn't lighten. If anything, she seemed more unsettled. "The Queen is throwing a party?"

He nodded as his smile slipped away.

She moved forward and it was her turn to show a brave face. She gathered him into her arms and hugged him. "We'll all be there for you."

He sighed in relief. "Thanks, Camila."

They walked back to the dining room and took seats. The choices were Thai, Chinese, Burgers, Pizza, and salads. He grabbed a couple of slices of pizza and settled back. Everyone but Mary chose something to eat and began. Mary stuck to bottled water.

As they ate, Sigrid began a process to bring the group together. She started by introducing herself and gave a little blurb about what she did. Camila spoke next, and the pattern was set. Once it went around the table, Sigrid began talking about what it meant to be one of the Hidden Races. What new and unique responsibilities the 'newbies' would now be facing.

Camila picked up the conversation to give them an overview of some of the different races they may meet but stressed that, except to Dayshia's eyes, they would appear as humans as they wore glamors, magic disguises the Fae produced for the Hidden Races that cannot provide their own.

"I still don't exactly understand what a glamor is," Mary stated.

Sigrid nodded. "Sandy, Dayshia, and Tish were changed and require spells to make them appear Human so they can live amongst the Human population. Your change didn't alter your appearance, so you don't need one. Races like Satyrs or Fauns, Succubi, Incubi, Lycanthrope, Fae, Arachnids, and others, all need to put on a Human disguise. It's a magic spell, a construct made of magic energy itself, which is bound to you and alters your appearance, so people and cameras see the disguise and not the real you. It can be turned on and off.

Mary looked to Roy. "That night in the alley. The large wolf monster. That was you?"

He nodded. "But we're not monsters. That's a term left to those with malicious intent and evil tendencies."

Mary thought about that and nodded to herself. Then she looked to Henry. "You're wearing a glamor?"

He nodded.

"What are you?"

He glanced at Roy then back to Mary. "One of the first things I learned when I discovered I wasn't human was, you don't ask questions like that. Assume everyone is human and behave like they, and you, are human. This protects everyone but especially yourself." Seeing Mary's frown, he went on. "Now, we're in a controlled environment, so it's safe to drop my glamor here.

He pushed back from the table and brought his napkin with him. He unfolded the cloth and held it before his groin. He gave the table an embarrassed smile. "I forgot to wear my kilt under my glamor." He turned his eyes to Mary and dropped the disguise.

She lurched to her feet in surprise. "You're a- you're a..." she gasped as she stared at him wide-eyed.

"A Satyr. Only one of my kind until last night when Tish became... a Faun," he explained. Mary moved up to stand before him.

"You changed her as you changed me? How?" she asked.

"When I was very young, I was linked to a different realm of magic than the rest of the Hidden Races. Their magic has no effect on humans, but the new magic is powerful, chaotic, and does affect humans. My body is saturated with it. My... semen is charged with it as is my blood. If ingested, it can cause dramatic and random changes in humans. With sufficient quantity, it links the person to the same realm of magic as me, so their abilities become powered by the stronger magic.

"You knew this when we had sex?!?" Mary barked.

"That's why I insisted on the condom!" he returned.

She blinked at him as her recollection wasn't entirely sharp for that night. "If you had a condom on then how?

"You removed it for me. There was a lot still on me so..." he leaned in to whisper. "...you used your mouth to clean me off."

She glared at him. "And you didn't stop me?"

He blinked in surprise. "You caught me by surprise, so I didn't have time to stop you. You had my wrists cuffed behind my back, under me!" he argued.

Nate snorted, and Sandy couldn't stop her blurt of surprised giggles. Tish had a big grin on her face as well.

Henry's face was burning as he looked back at the table to see the smiles there. He looked back to Mary who was struggling to deal with her mixed up emotions. His heart hurt to see that. "I'm sorry. I tried to prevent it but I failed, and that's on me. I will do whatever I can to make it up to you. You won't need a glamor- uh..." he had a sudden thought, so he turned to face Marisa. "Is Mary linked to the new realm? Is her change complete?"

Marisa stood and walked around the table as Mary watched her nervously. "It's ok, I just need to take your scent," Marisa said to ease the woman's concerns. She leaned in to put her face next to Mary's and inhaled deeply.

"I take it you're not human either," Mary said quietly.

Marisa leaned back and smiled. "No, I'm a Succubus." She dropped her glamor. Mary gasped at the intense beauty of the alien looking woman standing next to her. "Mary's definitely linked to the new realm. The link is strong so her change should be complete," Marisa said confidently.

Nate, sitting next to Mary, gasped as well and stood to drop his glamor as he stepped closer to face Marisa. The pearly white of her skin sharply contrasted with the darkest black of his. He reached out to take her hand.

Marisa's sight flared again as she felt an undeniable pull towards the handsome Incubus. Images flashed through her mind, layers upon layers of intensely personal possibilities... the potentials were overwhelming. She closed her eyes and pushed with all her might to stop the onslaught and gradually her mind calmed as her ability slipped into its paused state once more.

Strong arms were around her, and that felt warm and safe and natural. Her eyes opened, and she saw Henry watching her from a few steps away. She couldn't read his expression as it seemed to be rapidly changing. He threw his glamor on as he looked away and excused himself, walking from the room. She heard the back door open and close.

She gently pushed back from Nate, and he looked at her in concern.

"Are you ok? You were trembling, and you began to collapse," he asked quietly.

"Yes, I'm better. Thank you." She glanced into his eyes and felt that tugging again, so she quickly glanced away. Her eyes landed on her mother's all too knowing gaze.

Sigrid was getting to her feet to go after Henry, but Camila reached out to catch her hand. "Please. Let me." She stood and left the room. She'd wanted to speak to him since she arrived. It was about time she did.

-=-

Mary looked at Roy who was finishing up his dinner and gestured for him to join her. He wiped his mouth and stood to follow her to the side of the dining room.

She looked up at him. "I need to know. How was VRL involved in what happened to Detective Harmon?" she asked quietly.

Roy nodded and sighed. "Not all Human minds cope with the sights you've seen tonight. Good on you for dealing with the changes so well." When she just held his gaze with an expectant expression, Roy continued.

"Some months back Henry was kidnapped by some Fae. The kidnapping was caught on amateur video, and it went viral. Detective Harmon and Detective Morris investigated. Henry managed to get free, but when they met him at his condo, he couldn't tell them the truth, of course. He's terrible at lying, but the case reached a dead end as the loose ends had been tidied up by the Fae. Detective Harmon continued to investigate though Morris wanted nothing to do with it. Harmon followed Henry and got tangled in the middle of a power struggle between two powerful witches, both of whom were using Henry for their selfish purposes. Harmon arrived with the stronger of the two witches, and he must have seen her do something truly terrifying as he was almost catatonic with fear. Truthfully, she scares the piss out of me just to be in the same room with her, so I suppose Harmon didn't stand a chance. Camila can heal minds if the trauma doesn't go too deep. She tried to help Harmon and went on some dates with him afterward, trying to fix the damage, but she could tell he was slipping away. He finally didn't show for a date, and that was that."