Satyr Play 03 Pt. 01

Her eyes flicked back to him as he smiled at the blonde, whose intentions for him were clearly visible in her blue eyes. Minkah felt a brief stab of jealousy but brutally pushed that aside.

She decided this observation session was over. She needed to refocus her mind on the mission. She'd go for a walk to clear her head and—

Minkah saw the big redhead approaching from the far entrance to this gallery. She read his intent in his body language and automatically turned to walk the other way. She briefly collided with the tall, pale woman before moving on to exit the room. She kept moving until she was outside. A brief glance back showed no sign of the redhead, but a tall, dark-skinned woman in a dark suit was watching her intently. Minkah's cover was blown. Considering the red-bearded man was the head of VRL security, this woman was obviously part of his team. Minkah headed down the sidewalk but sensed no followers. She walked away to go back to her safe house.

There, she'd take a moment to get her focus back. She'd stake out her target's home later tonight to watch for an opportunity to capture him.

She had to get this mission back on track.

-=-

"Are you all right, Miss?"

"What?" Lorelei asked in surprise as she turned to look into the concerned eyes of the large red-bearded man standing next to her.

"You were bumped fairly hard," the man said, quickly scanning her for injuries.

Lorelei couldn't stop the smile from popping up on her lips at his genuine concern.

"I'm fine. It wasn't too bad, though she could have apologized," she responded.

He seemed to be breathing a sigh of relief, but worry was still present in his expression. Then she caught movement in the corner of her eye and looked to see the gorgeous brunette who'd followed him into the gallery. Were those red highlights in her hair?

"Is everything all right, Roy?" the woman asked, and Lorelei picked up a hint of a Spanish accent.

He looked back toward her. "Yes... I believe so."

The woman focused on Lorelei, and recognition flared in her eyes as her smile widened. "You're Ms. Reichenbach! The painter!"

Lorelei was surprised as she wasn't expecting anyone to recognize her as she did her best to keep her face out of the papers. She nodded in confusion.

The woman held out her hand as she gestured to the paintings around them. "It was seeing you in this context that made me recognize you. I'm Camila Villamor."

Lorelei shook the soft hand and smiled hesitantly. "You can call me Lorelei."

Camila gave her another brilliant smile. "This is my good friend, Roy Duncan."

Lorelei shook his hand as well. His concern hadn't wholly faded, and that made her a little nervous as she still felt fine.

Camila continued. "A friend of mine recently inherited an estate which contained one of your paintings. Incredible!"

"Oh! Thank you," Lorelei felt a little more at ease until she spotted the tall blonde joining them with the gorgeous man in tow. Why? Her stomach tightened as the butterflies duked it out inside. From this close, Lorelei could see the woman had quite a muscular physique!

"Camila? Roy? What are you two doing here?" the large woman asked, a hint of annoyance in her tone.

"Hi Sigrid, this is Lorelei Reichenbach! She's the artist who painted the river scene we found in Meixiu's mansion."

Blue eyes turned to look at her. "Oh... OH!" The woman's voice went up in surprise.

"What? Is this VRL night at the Met?" the handsome man quipped as he joined them. He smiled shyly at Lorelei, who was puzzled by his question.

"Henry, this is Lorelei Reichenbach. She painted Meixiu's river scene painting. The one that seems to move?" Camila said, holding his eyes.

Henry's eyes lit up. "Yeah, that's a beautiful painting!" he said with a smile and reached to shake her hand.

When they touched, Lorelei gasped as a spark jumped between them. He looked equally surprised as he pulled his hand back, flexing it to relieve the tingles.

"What did you mean about VRL night?" Lorelei asked, recovering first.

Camila answered smoothly. "We all work at VRL. I'm the CEO, Roy is Head of Security, Sigrid is Head of Human Resources, and Henry is our CIO."

"And?" Lorelei prompted as that didn't explain the dating couple's surprise to see them.

"We came to ensure you were safe," Roy said.

Lorelei's nerves began to hum. "Safe? In what way?"

Roy glanced around, but his team had cleared the gallery. He sighed in relief. "From the Hidden Races Council."

Lorelei sang a quick tune to freeze everyone in place as her eyes flew wide. She prepared to run. Then she watched the group look at each other. "What was that?" Henry asked curiously.

Camila's eyes showed compassion. "I believe Lorelei is a Naiad. That puts her at risk from the Hidden Races Council."

"W-Why doesn't my singing work on you?" Lorelei blurted nervously.

Roy glanced around again. "This really isn't the place to talk about that. I don't know who that woman who bumped you works for, but she was an agent, so it's likely she was Council," he replied. That made Lorelei's nerves flare again.

Henry looked between the others then held out his hand to Lorelei once more. "These are the good guys. They saved me from the Council as well."

Lorelei hesitantly took his hand in hers once more, and the spark was smaller this time, but as they continued to hold, a definite tingle could be felt. Her eyes opened in surprise as it felt like... the flow of a river, of a sort.

"What-what are you?" she asked with a quiet voice.

Henry grinned as he looked to the unease on the faces of the others. "Yeah, that's... one of those things we're not supposed to talk about. But you're right, I'm not Human. Can we go someplace private to talk about this?" He released Lorelei's hand as he looked to Sigrid. "Rain check?" She nodded with a pout.

"My team will make us a corridor to the side entrance, and our ride will meet us there," Roy said.

"Your team?" Lorelei asked.

"He's the Head of Security. He likes to keep his team close by," Camila said with a gentle smile, and Roy frowned at her.

As they headed to the gallery exit, Roy stopped them. "The Human guards seem to be in some distress."

Lorelei suddenly realized her song must have caught them. She sang another little tune to relax them and to make them forget what they just saw. She nodded to Roy, then they moved on.

"My team noticed your little test back in the lobby of VRL and brought it to my attention." He gestured to the cameras in the rooms they passed through. "The surveillance cameras caught the behavior of the people, and it stood out like a red flag. You'll want to be aware of that." He smiled at Lorelei, and she saw he was trying to be helpful, so she nodded.

"Two of my crew can no longer recall what they saw once they heard your song. Is that reversible?" he asked.

"Yes," she responded, and relief crossed his features.

They walked through the museum toward the side entrance, Henry pointing out some of the art to the others as they went. Lorelei observed how comfortable this group was with each other, and she felt a longing to belong. She was tired of being lonely. The fact that her singing had no effect on them meant she couldn't manipulate them, and that felt... liberating, and a little unsettling as she couldn't rely on her abilities to assist her. She'd have to make friends the old fashioned way, and she wasn't particularly good at that.

Henry was looking at her again. "Everything okay?" he asked gently.

She blushed. "Yes, I'm just not used to people being... unaffected."

He grinned. "I think you'll find we're pretty susceptible to a smile."

She couldn't help but grin back at him at his corny words.

Sigrid groaned. "Henry, that was so cheesy!" she teased him. "You're such a flirt, and this was supposed to be our date!"

He held up his hands in surrender, his expression innocent of guile. "I wasn't flirting! I was—" He stopped and dropped his hands when he saw Sigrid was just teasing him. He gave her an annoyed look, which pushed her over into a burst of giggles.

Lorelei was amazed to hear such a girlish sound from a woman who looked strong enough to punch through one of the museum's stone columns. Their open and genuine behavior with each other relaxed Lorelei's nerves. She just didn't pick up any signs of ill intent from them, especially Henry.

Roy got a faraway look in his eyes then relaxed. "The agent left the area." He looked to Camila. "Where to?"

She thought about that for a moment. "VRL? My office?"

"Can we order in? I'm starving!" Henry pleaded.

Camila smiled at him fondly. "Yes." She looked to Lorelei. "Any preferences in food?"

Lorelei blinked. "Umm, not really. I'm not overly fond of pizza... or sushi."

"Thai?" Sigrid asked, hopefully.

Lorelei smiled. "I like Thai."

Camila nodded.

They left the building and crossed the sidewalk. They shuffled the order with the extra passengers, and Henry sat in the middle bench seat of the central vehicle that Lorelei was directed to. Then they were driving back to the office.

"So, you were at VRL today?" Henry began.

She smiled shyly. "Yes, I needed a better place for my investments."

He grinned. "VRL is an awesome investment house! And I'm not just saying that as the CIO. The people are the best! Even these guys!" He said, hooking his thumb toward the back seat where three big men in dark suits sat. She heard them chuckle.

She was feeling much more at ease and was looking forward to getting to know the people of VRL.

Henry, especially.

-=-

The Thai food was delicious and filling, but the conversation quenched the curiosity in their new friend.

Even Henry, who'd heard this a few times, found it fascinating when Camila, Roy, and Sigrid work together to paint a chronologically accurate picture of the Hidden Races' history and how they remained separate from Humanity for so long. He glanced at Mary and saw she was equally enthralled.

As the trio reached a point where Lorelei entered the picture, they glanced towards Henry's grin. "Wouldn't it be great if we could record this for all new initiates!" he said.

Camila raised a perfect eyebrow to look at him. "You know that's not—"

He raised his hands. "I know, I know, but man! If I'd been told all this at the beginning as you did for Lorelei, it would have made so much more sense to me."

The CEO gave Henry a sympathetic smile. "Sorry, we must be getting better at it since we had you, Nate, and now Lorelei to explain it to."

Henry nodded. "I wonder how many more surprises Baba will be springing on us."

Lorelei watched Henry's melancholy expression and Roy's uncomfortable grimace hearing the witch's name. She turned her attention to the big security man. "You seem far more uneasy about her than Henry does. I admit I don't believe I've met her, but as you've described her, she doesn't seem that frightening."

Roy scowled. "Aye, she looks like a wrinkly ol' grannie, but this disguises how powerful she truly is. While she might have once come from humble beginnings, her mind is no longer that of a Human. It's alien, cold, and cunning." He gestured to Camila, Sigrid, and Henry before looking back at Lorelei. "Henry is the only one she's treated with any kindness. We're all less than bugs to her."

Lorelei looked to Camila, whose face was frozen as she recalled her exposure to Baba's power on their flight back from Japan. The CEO sensed Lorelei's gaze and gave herself a little shake.

"It's true. She's a creature who lives in the shadows and speaks directly into your mind from that darkness." She shuddered.

Lorelei's face froze as she recalled the night she discovered her powers, the cold voice speaking to her from the dark waters, and how even the river pulled back from it.

Roy was watching her and leaned forward intently. "You have met her!"

Lorelei shook her head. "No. Not directly. But I recall a night when a voice spoke to me from the darkness of a deep river. It was an ancient voice. It told me to wake and to sing.

Roy surged to his feet and paced to the far side of the office.

Lorelei twitched as he rose and watched him cautiously. Henry's hand landed on hers gently, and she felt herself relax.

"Roy finds her difficult to deal with. His mind can usually determine possible outcomes but not for her. No one can guess her intentions. She's playing a game, and we're all pieces in it, but we have no idea what the endgame is."

"Exactly, Henry! That's precisely why she scares the piss out of me!" Roy gasped in relief.

Lorelei looked to Henry. "You were the first of her time rescues?"

He shrugged. "I actually have no idea. It might have been you—" He stopped when he saw Roy, Camila, and Sigrid all shaking their heads doubtfully. "What?"

Camila looked uncomfortable. "We can't be sure of anything the witch does. However, we all agree that you had to be her Plan A, so to speak. She was in direct contact with you as you grew up. The others must be contingencies if Plan A wasn't successful. Mab saw to that, or was part of Baba's plan all along."

"Nathan Walker was— is an Incubus?" Lorelei said, correcting herself when she saw their unease.

Camila nodded. "Yes, though he doesn't have a very strong link to his magic. You're a Naiad, and from what I understand, a powerful one." She stopped and looked to Sigrid. "Would you mind if we tested to see which realm of magic you are linked to? Henry and Nathan are linked to the realm of Wild Magic. I'm assuming you are as well."

"How? What kind of test?" she asked, looking at the woman nervously.

Camila smiled. "Nothing invasive. It's actually easier with wielders as you project your powers. Magic has a scent, and those who are sensitive can detect it. If you use your magic, I should be able to detect which realm the magic is from."

Hesitantly, Lorelei sang a little tune to make everyone feel calm.

Camila leaned closer and inhaled deeply. Her face showed confusion. "It's not the new realm... and it's not the old one either!" She looked to Sigrid and Roy with wide eyes. "I'd swear it's from here! It just smells like... here. Nature!"

Roy frowned. "Magic isn't native to this plane."

"Lorelei is the only Naiad I've ever met. Baba might have done something to her Magic as she did with Henry and Nathan, but... I'd swear she's just linked to this plane. Linked to Nature itself!"

"Maybe that's how all Naiads were?" Roy guessed.

"So, why didn't Baba link Lorelei to the new realm as she did the others?" Sigrid asked, puzzled.

"Baba's least favorite question. Why," Henry sighed.

Roy thumped back into his chair. "Aye, you won't get anywhere pondering that one with her," he growled in frustration. Mary patted his hand with sympathy.

Lorelei frowned. "I don't like the idea of being a pawn in a game I don't know the rules for." She looked to Henry. "How do I know how to react? How did you deal with it?"

Henry smiled sadly, recalling Baba's almost eager anticipation when she told him of his ability to extinguish all of Humanity. "Baba raised me as a Human. Albeit a small one who had to deal with the cruelty of the other kids and bullying. It wasn't an easy childhood, and the affection I was shown was limited. When I discovered what I really was, she told me how the humans murdered my parents and killed off the Satyrs. I suppose she was expecting me to harbor resentment from how I was treated and want to see their extinction... but I don't. She raised me to be a Human and acted towards me as a Human grandmother would. Because of that, I developed a strong affection for her. Maybe that's why I'm protective of them. When we reached the focal point of Baba's plan, there was a moment when I could have ended my life and taken all of Humanity with me. But, because of these people," he gestured to the ones sitting in the room. "I had a reason to live, and I wanted to protect Humanity."

He dropped his head forward to look at his hands in his lap. "I'm the happiest I've ever been in my life because now, I finally have friends!"

Henry looked up and over at Lorelei. "I'd like to include you."

She smiled and nodded. "I'd like to have friends, too."

Roy cleared his throat. "As your friends, we'll do our best to protect you. You're a special case as you come from an ancient race of Naiads, and the Hidden Races Council is guilty of their genocide. It was a very dark time in their history. It took decades for them to create a treaty between all but two of the Hidden Races. Those two, Naiads and Djinn, flatly refused to hide from Humans. I don't have any information on how they did it, but it only took a week for the Council troops to eradicate every member of those races and all evidence of them. Your existence might be problematic for the Council, so keeping a low profile is critical."

Roy glanced at the others before fixing his gaze back on Lorelei. "Which brings me to the topic of your art. Your paintings are magic. I mean, they demonstrate actual, working magic. If that comes to the attention of the Council, they will increase their efforts to hunt you down to stop you."

"Do you expect me to go into hiding?" Lorelei asked in concern.

"No, but I'm concerned about that agent from the museum. The fact that she didn't act against you might mean she wasn't certain you were her target or that she was there for an entirely different mission."

"See Sigrid! I told you there was a spy at the museum! There always is." Henry enthusiastically exclaimed to the blonde. She just smiled and rolled her eyes.

Roy got back on point. "I'd like to assign some of my guys to keep watch over you. I captured some video of the agent. I'll have my guys watch it and keep an eye out to see if she attempts to approach you again."

"Do they need to be in my condo?" Lorelei asked.

"No, not unless that would make you feel safer," Roy suggested, and she shook her head. "I'll give you the contact number, and they'll join you at the door of your building to travel with you. It'll be three teams of two, which will rotate every eight hours. Speaking of the team, could I ask you to reverse the memory block on my two observers now?"

"Sure," she said with a nod.

Roy smiled and went to Camila's desk to call the two men upstairs.

A short time later, Pete and Kirk arrived. They immediately locked eyes on the stranger in the room. Roy smiled at Lorelei, who gazed at the two men and sang a brief phrase. The two men looked at Roy in question.

"Do you recall the anomaly in the lobby you brought to my attention," he asked.

"Yes... shit! I also recall not remembering it!" Pete said in concern. Roy looked to Lorelei in question.

"I simply lifted the block on the memories, but I didn't remove any memories of their dealing with it," she explained, and Roy nodded. He looked to his men.

"I'm going to assign you as the second shift for a plainclothes surveillance team for our new friend Lorelei Reichenbach. There's an agent who may be targeting her. I'll send you a video I captured of her. Memorize her appearance and movements. Contact Digby and Danno as they'll be the first team. Walter and Leo will be the third team. Get everyone familiar with the agent as well. We are observing and protecting only."

The two men nodded to their boss, then to Lorelei before heading off to get things moving.

Roy addressed Lorelei. "You normally travel by subway?" She nodded. "Okay. We won't change your patterns, but you'll have the two agents with you at all times."

She nodded, then looked nervously at the others. "You've seen what I can do and know what I am. I now know this isn't something we're supposed to do, but I feel very exposed here."

Camila nodded. "I'm a Succubus. I'm dropping my glamor."