Satyr Play 02 Pt. 02

He shook his head. "Far more damning, you're physically endangering someone I consider important to me."

She looked at him. "Who?" She shook her head as it came to her. "You can't mean the infant? She's a stranger to you! She can't-"

"I watched her grow, and I witnessed her birth. She's part of me! Of course, she's important to me. She's my daughter!"

Mab looked at him with a strange, angry and anxious expression. She finally shook her head. "You're lying about her importance to you." She gave her head an angry shake then pushed the thoughts from her head. "No!"

She slipped from the bed and pranced over to her closet to find a gown. "It is so refreshing to go without a glamor and look this good!" She stepped out of the room.

Henry looked across to his... daughter and his heart began to pound. He had to save her. She couldn't die! Not when she was just born. Not like this!

Gritting his teeth, he began to pull on his bindings with everything he had. He recalled Sigrid saying he didn't know the limits of his strength, so he fed that into his efforts and every muscle bunched and strained.

He was almost at his limit when he heard it. A high pitched creaking. With renewed energy, he threw his head back and pulled just a little harder. His muscles were beginning to tear, but still, he strained with everything he had.

The frame suddenly failed with explosive force, and splinters flew outwards from the shattered pillars. Henry fell forward onto the mattress and scrambled to get to his hooves to catch Mab's old body as it fell from the dying vines. The damage he'd caused sent a cascade of failure through the entire bed frame. He gently lowered her to the mattress. Her blue eyes were fading, and the lost look in them tore at his heart. He began to cry as he rested his forehead against hers.

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!?!" Mab screamed as she returned from the powder room. She cursed as she stepped on a sharp splinter.

Henry ignored her as he pulled at the healing spell. He needed his daughter to live. To get better. She needed to be young again! He wasn't a wielder. He could pull the energy to him, but he didn't know how to shape it. He needed help!

His body bent backward in agony as fire raced over his nerve endings. He screamed and almost lost consciousness. The pain ended, and he looked over his shoulder to see Mab grinning as she shook her tingling fingers.

He glared at her. "Monster. You're a foul monster."

Mab's new face contorted with rage before she hit him with another bolt of pain. He grit his teeth and tried to endure it but ended up screaming once more. He threw his hands up to block her, and the space between them ripped open.

The rest of the magic bolt went through to the other realm and played harmlessly over the beautiful glass surface of Xiong's back. He had no nerves to carry the fire. He could store the energy though. He was getting quite good at that in their new home.

Xiong turned and looked at the surprised face of the woman. He felt the familiar mind of the one who saved him nearby. Henry reached out to it to commune and Xiong instantly picked up the situation. He was saddened that the child was in danger. He looked to the green-eyed woman and released some of the energy he'd saved to give it back to her. She flew back to crash against the wall and slump down to the floor, her ankle bent at an unnatural angle. Xiong realized he'd given the energy back harder than she'd given it to him though he still felt flush with the delicious energy. He bid farewell to the sad one who released his grip on the gate once more so he could concentrate on saving his child.

As it closed, Xiong wished him luck. He recalled his children and knew how special they could be.

Henry felt a spark as the gate closed and he tapped his horns against Mab's old body. That draining sensation came back then it grew stronger and stronger. He looked up and saw a thick rope of silver light emit from his horns and splash across the room. He tried to aim it, but it swung wildly. When it struck his daughter's true body, Mab screamed as she woke. The silver rope suddenly split and its other end snapped to the other half of the magic spell, Mab's original body.

Mab looked down at herself as she began to grow younger. She screamed as she dropped below 25 and the effect accelerated.

The doors to the room exploded inwards, and a huge Ogre rushed in only to stop in shock at the scene. He didn't know what to do. The sounds of battle entered the open doorway. He glanced nervously behind himself.

"HELP ME! I'M YOUR QUEEN!" Mab screamed before her body dropped more years, taking her into her teens.

A mental push accompanied the command so the Ogre couldn't resist it. In that moment, he saw the bright new future the Fae healer had given him stripped away but he was powerless to stop it.

He rushed across the room and picked up the Queen as he ran. The guard didn't slow, even though the silver beam was ripping years from his body as he ran. He tucked the Queen against his body and leapt against the fifth story window, crashing through to fall into the garden below. He rolled midair to protect her and land on his back.

The silver thread broke the moment they passed through the window, and the entirety of it snapped back to focus on Mab's old body. The years peeled away turning into decades and soon centuries. Wide blue eyes stared up at him as he struggled to control the flow, but he quickly realized he couldn't slow it down much less stop it. Mab's body became younger and younger as Henry desperately tried to pull away physically. If he couldn't prevent it, she was going to regress into nothing.

He managed to stumble a few steps away from the bed when he heard a noise behind himself. He just had time to turn to see Baba dropping the body of an Ogre over his horns. The massive weight crushed Henry to the floor and broke the thread of magic. The dead weight atop him absorbed the energy and winked out of existence in a silent implosion. The corresponding sudden expansion of the vacuum slammed Henry violently against the floor.

Henry lay there slipping in and out of consciousness as Baba walked past him. When she came back into his view, she was holding a baby girl. She set the baby on the floor next to him and whispered words that tickled and teased his hearing. Henry hissed as his right hand flattened on the floor, and the fingers splayed. He couldn't move anything but his eyes, so he watched the baby's tiny right hand do the same thing on the floor next to his. He looked up at Baba as she knelt next to them.

"Ba...ba?" he gritted out.

She looked to him, and her eyes held a strange mix of emotions. He thought, hoped, he saw compassion in there, and maybe even love, but it was gone before he was sure. "She's still dying. She's a creature of the Wild Magic trapped in an old realm body. You can't help her but I can. Hush now."

Baba pulled her ornate scissors from the pocket of her apron and opened the blades as Henry's eyes widened in terror.

When she slammed the points through their hands into the wood floor, she severed his right ring finger at his palm, and the baby's as well.

Henry tried to scream, but he couldn't draw a breath in his frozen state. His eyes went to the baby and saw she was wailing silently as well.

Baba pulled the scissors free, wiped them on her apron carefully and put them back into her pocket. Then she gently lifted both fingers and switched their places. His finger was bigger than the baby's entire hand.

He watched in horror as she whispered some words he couldn't quite hear, and the pain began again. The tiny finger was connecting to his severed knuckle and growing to fit. Nerves linked up, tendons reattached, veins reconnected, and sensation returned with a vengeance. He saw his severed finger was shrinking and binding itself to the baby's hand as she struggled to cry. He tried, but he couldn't move to protect her.

The magnitude of what Baba was doing exploded into his consciousness, and he struggled to speak. The ring! He had to stop her from putting his curse on the child. It wasn't fair to her! He locked eyes with the crone, and for the briefest moment she appeared to be considering his plea for her to stop this madness, but she looked away.

When the baby's finger had grown to fit his hand, he was shocked to see it looked like his old finger, minus the ring. Baba whispered again and lifted the baby in her arms. The witch touched his horns, whispering once more, words that sent sharp pains through his brain, and the subtle draining sensation stopped. She turned away and walked a short distance before pausing to look back at him.

"Goodbye, Boy," she said with sad eyes.

"no... please... don't take her..." he managed, but Baba stepped back into the shadows and was gone.

The moment she was gone the binding on his body released, and he screamed. All the pain, rage, horror, sorrow, and frustration burst forth as he could no longer contain it. It was too much. His mind finally shied away from the onslaught, and he passed out.

A small mercy.

Chapter 44

The fifth floor, Mab's domain, wasn't just protected by the Ogres at the base of the stairs. While they prevented access to the top level, a squad of Fae soldiers suddenly arrived in the hallway behind them.

Bringing up the rear of their group, Sandy, Dayshia, and Tish were the first to hear them and only had seconds to react.

"Magic Attack!" Tish gasped as she triggered her shield. Sandy and Dayshia got theirs in place a split second before blue lightning struck the air before them. They shrieked in fright, but the bolts just fizzled out as the electricity scrabbled across the surface of the shield. In fear, the women linked hands and watched their shield form a wall and spread out before them, blocking the next volley of blue lightning. Michelle huddled down behind them as well, trembling in fear.

A streak of white leapt over their protection to shoot towards the soldiers. It struck with tremendous force, tossing their bodies against the floor and walls like rag dolls. As quickly as it began, the battle ended with Sigrid standing over the fallen Fae soldiers. She poked a few with her spear, but they were down and out. She trotted back to the friends and grinned widely.

"Excellent defense coordination!" she exclaimed. The three just looked at the Valkyrie in awe and nodded weakly. She took up a position beside them with her shield at the ready.

"Save your energy for Mab!" Camila called out from the middle of their group.

Up ahead, Roy and Mary were going toe to toe with the four Ogres defenders. Both were holding their own, much to the rage of their opponents. Mary was taking a pounding but released that energy with devastating blows against their bodies. Bones were snapping, and blood sprayed, but the brutes wouldn't stop their attacks regardless of the damage they took. Their rage consumed them, leaving no room for rational thought.

"We need- to finish- this!" Mary gasped to Roy.

He saw the Ogre holding the top of the stairs turn and charge back towards the Queen's chambers. "You ready to get serious?" Roy asked her as he sent his opponent flying back against the wall. It shook off the blow, ignoring its missing ear and roared.

Mary gave Roy a quick look "Seems the only way," she said with a frown as she broke the leg of the guard rushing at her. It still managed to slam her into the corridor wall, but she rushed back to kick it in the ribs, driving it back to strike the stairs with its back.

"Why aren't they using guns?" Dayshia muttered to Sigrid.

The tall blonde gave her a grim smile. "They can't fire one inside the castle without risking the building's magic bindings. The building isn't truly here. Mundane explosions send shockwaves through magic. It wouldn't be good to have the building fall into the between with all of us inside."

Dayshia looked closer but to her augmented vision the building's integrity showed no sign of disappearing.

"I'll explain later. I'm going to assist Roy and Mary. Hold the line!" She spun and leapt over their group. She drew her sword and prepared to surge forward as she saw an Ogre jump at Mary. She lifted her shield just in time to block the spray of gore as Mary drove her fist through the brute's skull while Roy swept his claws upwards, opening his opponent's torso from groin to throat.

"Dammit, Roy!" Sigrid bellowed as the dead guard's shredded guts rained down from above, splashing off the shield.

He surged forward to finish off his last opponent with a savage bite through his throat.

Panting, blood dripping from his jaws, he turned to look into Mary's eyes just as she snapped the neck of the goon she was choking out. She didn't shy away from his gaze, and he grinned at her.

"You're one messy motherfucker," she said.

He switched back to his glamor and began to laugh when a terrible cry sounded from up the stairs.

He and Sigrid were the first through the door with Mahati close behind, spell prepped for launching, balanced on her fingertips.

But Mab wasn't there.

Baba Yaga wasn't there either.

And there was no sign of the baby Roy had seen growing in Mab.

As Sigrid was bringing Henry around, Roy moved to the massive hole in the window and looked down to see the dead body of the last guard. His body landed on the grass, but his head struck a stone walkway. Roy frowned as he spotted Ikehorn's body crumpled on the ground a short distance away.

Sigrid knelt next to Henry who suddenly burst into deep, soul-crushing sobs.

"Henry? Are you hurt?" she asked gently.

He rolled his head from side to side slowly.

The room pulsed slightly then dimmed.

"Shit! We have to go! Henry, get up!" Sigrid said as she grabbed his shoulder.

"What's wrong?" Sandy nervously asked as she watched Sigrid haul Henry to his hooves.

"Oh my god! It's slipping away!" Dayshia gasped as she finally saw what Sigrid meant.

"Mab is pulling the plug on her castle!" Camila exclaimed. "Hurry! We have to get out of here before it takes us with it!"

-=-

Marisa was still exhausted from her efforts and running up the stairs drained her even further. She looked to Nate in desperation as she didn't know if she'd be able to keep up.

Nate dropped his glamor, scooped Marisa up in his arms and jumped out the window. His wings snapped open and, after a brief moment of terror, they found themselves gliding around the building. Marisa clung to him with her face pressed tightly to his neck. They tumbled onto the soft grass when they reached the bottom. Marisa lay next to Nate gasping for breath. When she felt her heart rate dropping back to normal, she looked over at him and saw he was grinning at her.

She reached over and slapped his shoulder. "Don't ever do that again!" she scolded.

"On the contrary, do it again!"

Marisa looked up and saw a teenage girl looking down at her.

"Ah ah ah! Stay right there," Mab said as she gestured to Marisa who was struggling to rise.

Suddenly, Marisa felt like a giant's hand was pressing her into the grass which covered the rooftop. Nate leapt to his feet but Mab touched his forehead, and he blinked in confusion at her, his facial muscles going slack.

"Aren't you going to glide me to safety, my dear Nathan?" Mab asked.

"yes... Marisa, of course," he said, distractedly.

Marisa stared up at Nathan and struggled to get a breath, to call to him and wake him from the spell, but she was beginning to see spots before her eyes.

"Sorry, I haven't quite gotten control over this body or its magic just yet," Mab said with a shrug and a gleam in her eye. She led Nathan away and waved goodbye to Marisa with a cruel grin.

All Marisa could do was watch Nate climb up onto the ledge, hug the young woman to his chest as his wings spread wide. He tipped over the edge and was gone.

Marisa couldn't breathe. She needed to scream, but she had no breath. She looked towards the castle which was flickering light and dark. She needed help, but she couldn't call for anyone.

And Nate was gone.

-=-

Camila stared at the window where her daughter had been carried through. Roy was standing at the edge and nodded.

"They're gliding. Going around the building. They're ok. We have to go now!"

"Michelle, can you take someone down the outside with you?" Sigrid asked.

The woman looked at her and nodded. "But I can only hold onto one."

"Take Dayshia and move away from the building once you get down. Find Marisa and Nate," she instructed.

Michelle immediately dropped her glamor and held out her hand to Dayshia.

"Kesini- she says she wants to climb down as well!" Sandy exclaimed nervously. "She can do it."

Sigrid nodded, and Sandy rushed to the window's edge and lifted off her feet as Kesini took control. Sandy squeaked only a little then smoothly flowed out the window and down as her hair found or made grips in the stone, lowering her quickly down the outside wall.

Michelle spun a web and bonded it to the window frame. Then she hugged Dayshia to her chest and used her front legs to support the woman as well while she lowered herself out the window.

Mahati looked panicked, and Sigrid picked up on that immediately. "What's wrong?"

"I'm not a fast runner. I'll never make it in time," she squeaked.

"Sigrid, take her out the window. Glide her down but go dark. The illusion is failing so you'd be visible otherwise." Camila said.

The Valkyrie looked to Meixiu. "I can climb down as well!" the petite woman insisted.

Sigrid frowned but nodded. She looked at her remaining friends. "Hurry!" she said a little desperately then lifted Mahati against her chest and sprung backward out the window, spreading her wings once she was clear.

Meixiu was immediately out the window and climbing downwards.

When it was only the four of them left in the room, Tish seized Henry's hand and tugged at it as she dropped her glamor. "We have to run!"

He nodded and followed as Roy rushed by holding Camila's hand.

Henry was only dimly aware of the rush to exit the building as they ran down the stairs. His hooves unerringly found the steps and his muscles pumped to keep up with Roy and Tish. Camila was in Roy's arms now as they could move faster that way.

"This wasn't how I envisioned us running together!" Tish gasped with a worried smile. He locked eyes with her, and that halted his slide into a dark funk. Mab's horrific theft, Baba's cruel act, they had to take a back seat to the imminent danger to Tish. The building suddenly dropped an inch under their feet.

"We're not going to make it to the ground floor!" Roy yelled as the group ran down the stairs from the third.

Henry saw a possible exit ahead. "The window!" he yelled in response.

Roy put on a burst of speed and shot away as Henry and Tish charged down the final steps.

-=-

It took Sigrid a significant effort to glide carrying a passenger and keeping her wings dark, so the grass caught her by surprise and they bounced and tumbled on the lawn, knocking the wind from them.

She looked up at the castle which was fading from this reality significantly as the radio towers bled back into their actual location. She rose and pulled Mahati to her feet. They ran around the building until they saw the others gathering around someone on the ground. As they got closer, Sigrid saw it was Marisa.

"What happened?" she called out.

"She can't breathe! Something's holding her down!" Sandy cried out and tried blowing into her mouth, but her chest couldn't rise.

Mahati reached out to feel the spell, and she looked back nervously at Sigrid. "I can't break the spell. The magic is too strong! It's trying to flatten her to the roof's surface."

Kesini suddenly stabbed deep into the ground around Marisa's body. Muted sounds of destruction began as Kesini ripped through the roofing materials, then the support structure beneath until Marisa suddenly dropped ten inches. They heard her suck in a deep breath then wheezed it back out as the pressure returned.