Satyr Play 03 Pt. 01

Suddenly, a being of ruby red and black was sitting on the sofa, her skin looking like wet latex, her curvy body begging to be touched, and short horns rose from her temples through her long flowing ebony hair with red streaks.

In a blink, she was Camila once again. She looked contritely to Henry. "Sorry. I'll give you a warning next time."

Lorelei glanced over at Henry, who was awkwardly crossing his legs with his arms in his lap. Before she could ask him about it, Sigrid spoke up.

"I'm a Valkyrie. I don't use a glamor, but I can summon my armor, weapon, and wings. They glow a very bright white, which makes it hard to see, I'm told." She smiled at the artist.

Mary was next. "I also don't have a glamor. What you see is what you get. I'm... tough."

Roy chuckled at her description until Lorelei looked at him. "Lycanthrope." He dropped his glamor and switched back after she yelped in surprise.

Mary grinned. "Roy is bigger and scarier than his crew, but they're all werewolves too. Good people, though."

Lorelei smiled timidly at her then looked to Henry.

"Did ya wear yer kilt today?" Roy said with a scowl, and Henry's face reddened.

"I think so," he said.

"Don't face us unless you're sure," Roy asserted.

Henry nodded and stood. He took a few steps away and presented his back to the group.

Lorelei gasped when Henry was suddenly transformed into a creature unlike any she'd seen. His upper torso was powerfully muscled with thick arms and large three-fingered hands. His hair hung down his back, longer than he wore it when human. His ears projected outward and were covered with fur! Most shocking were the large white ram's horns on his head and his furry lower half.

He was wearing a kilt, so she couldn't see if the fur on his goat's legs went all the way up to his ass. Broad cloven hooves had replaced his human feet.

"Lad, are you working out? You seem... bigger," Roy asked.

Henry glanced at him over his shoulder. "Uh, no, I haven't been," he said hesitantly.

"Are you going to turn around?" Camila asked him.

He looked down then over his shoulder at her. "I-I'm still showing from your effect on me."

Camila chuckled happily. "Then, by all means, turn around."

Sigrid frowned. "Camila. Not the time or place."

Henry sighed and slowly turned to face them. He kept one hand in place to hold down the bulge in his kilt.

Lorelei's eyes widened. It was Henry. There was no question. For all the physical differences, the same person was looking at her from those beautiful eyes. She bit her lip, then glanced quickly over at Camila, who watched her with a knowing little smile. A blush warmed her face.

"D-do you have any magical abilities?" she asked.

His face showed his embarrassment. "Uh, I'm not a wielder, like you." He looked down as a strange expression of frustration flashed across his face. "All I seem to be able to do is cause people to have sex."

"What?!?" she squeaked in shock.

His expression swung between shame and embarrassment. "Sorry, that came out wrong." He took a deep breath. "Satyr's can cause spontaneous orgies. It's a pheromone release. People around me will suddenly lose all their inhibitions and have sex."

She blinked a few times, then her eyes widened. "The subway and the dance club attacks!"

He winced. "Yeah, not really attacks. Just me losing control of an ability I didn't know I had."

Sigrid explained. "Baba Yaga delayed Henry's sexual maturity by forcing a Human disguise on him for most of his life. It caught up to him recently, now that he is in his true form all the time."

"Henry, don't forget you can bump humans up the evolutionary ladder to become Hidden Races. That seems to me to be a significant magical ability," Mary reminded him.

He looked at her sadly. "That's more of a curse than an ability."

Lorelei was staring at Henry in shock again. He closed his eyes and rubbed his face with his hands. He no longer needed a hand to hide his groin as the conversation had killed any desire he felt.

"Baba connected me... directly to a realm of Wild Magic. I'm saturated with it. When I had sex with Marisa, Camila's daughter, she overdosed on the Wild Magic, and it burned out her glamor spell, changed her physically, and linked her to the new realm, too. Wild Magic is much stronger than the old realm's magic." His voice ran out, and Camila took over the description.

"Marisa became a more powerful Succubus. With the stronger magic backing her, her abilities improved. I've also fed from Henry, and while I avoided the overdose, I've been strengthened with a link to the new realm as has Sigrid and Roy—"

"Through his blood, not the other. We haven't had sex!" Roy asserted definitively.

"His blood?" Lorelei gasped.

Roy held up his hands. "Henry was badly injured! I had to lick the wound to heal him. It's something Lycanthropes can do. I just... swallowed his blood," he explained.

Henry shook his head wearily. "We were rescuing Nate. It doesn't matter. For conduits like Lycanthropes, Valkyries, Succubi, and Vampires, Wild Magic upgrades their abilities. I lost control of my pheromones when I was with my Human friends. We had sex, and they all changed. For Humans, they become... conduits? Mary became incredibly strong and tough though I'm not sure what kind of Hidden Race she is. Sandy's hair grew and became sentient, so she's a Gorgon? Dayshia's eyes changed so she can see through glamors, but I don't know the name of what she is. Tish became a Faun. That's another name for a Satyr." His expression twisted again. "Roger... he became a monster. The New York serial killer." He looked at Lorelei, who was watching him wide-eyed with shock.

Sigrid put her hand on Henry's shoulder. "Henry, we spoke about this. You have to let it go. How each person deals with their new state is completely in their control. According to those who knew him best, Roger wasn't stable to begin with."

Henry hung his head and nodded. When Sigrid pulled her hand back, he switched back to his Human glamor.

"Are your human friends hidden away since they changed so dramatically?" She glanced over at Mary. "Present company excluded."

Sigrid shook her head. "Aside from Roger, Henry arranged for his friends to get glamors, magic disguises, so they can continue to live and work amongst Humans. They are all doing quite well and are very happy with their new lives and abilities," Sigrid answered.

"If the Hidden Races Council is as cautious about threats to discovery as you say, why haven't they arrested Henry? His activities seem at least as dangerous for public exposure as my paintings," Lorelei asked.

Roy nodded. "There's always the possibility they'll change their minds, but Baba left them with a warning to keep their hands off. He was also protected by the Fae by order of Queen Mab, but she's since been ousted. If the Council's need to contain him exceeds their fear of these two powerhouses, we'll deal with that at the time. We don't give up on our friends."

"Well said, Roy," Camila said with a proud smile. She looked to Lorelei, who seemed to be processing the information she'd been given. "I think that's probably enough background for tonight. It's a lot to digest. Go home and sleep on it. If you have any questions, please give me a call tomorrow. I'll leave instructions for your calls to be directed to me. If I'm not available, Sigrid or Roy can be."

"Not Henry?" Lorelei blurted and immediately bit her tongue as she glanced in embarrassment at the man.

Camila smiled. "Certainly Henry, but not tomorrow, as he'll be in Washington, DC, demonstrating the firewall software he wrote for several government agencies." She grinned at Lorelei's surprise. "Henry's a brilliant programmer."

"That's another reason the Hidden Races Council should keep their hands off of him. His absence would draw the attention of the US Government," Roy suggested as the thought came to him.

Sigrid nodded approvingly. "Let's file that away for when it's needed."

Lorelei stood, so everyone else did as well. "Thank you for dinner and for taking me into your confidence. I'm really beginning to get a better picture of the true world I'm living in. I don't know how this witch pulled me out of the past, and I won't thank her for what he did to my life, but for the first time, I feel like I have people on my side." The others smiled and nodded.

"We'll bring you down to Digby and Danno in the lobby," Roy said.

"Goodnight!" Lorelei said to the group. Everyone said their goodnights as well before Roy and Mary left the office with her.

Henry dropped into his chair and began putting the chicken he set aside from his dinner into a napkin. He triple-wrapped it with napkins then looked up to see he was being watched. "What?"

"Preparing a little snack for the trip home?" Camila asked.

He snorted and shook his head. "No. There's a neighborhood stray cat I've seen. It looked hungry last time, so I'm bringing it some dinner."

"Henry, I don't think your building allows pets," Sigrid said.

"I'm not taking it in. I'm just feeding it!" he protested.

"That's how it starts. It looks at you with those pitiful eyes, and next thing you know, you're carrying a fifty-pound bag of kitty litter," Camila teased.

Henry sighed. "I'm not taking it in! And it doesn't have pitiful eyes. They are quite beautiful and unique. One yellow and one blue eye. Very pretty."

"Huh. That is a unique combination," Sigrid said as she moved closer to Henry. "Don't forget, you owe me a rain check on our evening." She rested her hands on his chest as she looked into his eyes.

He leaned forward and kissed her until she gently pushed him back.

"Ohhh, no fair doing that to a girl before heading home," she moaned.

"Sorry," he said with a little smile.

"Our next date is going to be at my place on a Friday night, so there won't be any work activities the next day and no interruptions!" she said with a pout.

He lifted his cell and opened the calendar app. He scrolled and checked. "You're in luck. This Friday night is open."

Sigrid's delighted squeal was a loud and happy sound as she grabbed him in a hug. Henry couldn't stop himself from laughing. He tapped the date and entered Sigrid's initials on Friday night.

He looked over at the fond smile on Camila's face.

"Don't be late for work tomorrow. You and Mahati leave for the airport at 9AM."

He sighed and nodded. He walked over to the CEO, and he saw her smile begin to get wider. He kissed her with his hand deep in her hair on the back of her head. She gasped slightly into his mouth as he caressed her lips.

Henry pulled back. "Good night, ladies."

He stepped from the room and heard the giggles behind him. That brought a smile to his face. He collected a bag from his office to carry the cat's treat in, then headed downstairs.

The trip home was quiet and uneventful, and soon he was walking along the waterfront walkway towards the condo. When he passed by it, his eyes went to the small shrine set up for the two murdered youths. Someone was adding fresh flowers. It wasn't going to fade from the public mind until their murderer was caught and punished.

Henry looked forward and smiled as he saw the black cat waiting by the bench. It spotted him and trotted closer. It meowed sweetly as it reached his feet. He stopped and bent down to let it sniff his fingers. Once it was comfortable, he stroked its head.

It moved behind him and looked back, meowing to him.

"Sorry, I can't go on a walk with you tonight. I need to get to bed as I can't be late for work tomorrow. But I have a treat for you." He sat on the bench and unwrapped the napkins to expose the small pile of chicken.

The cat jumped up on the bench and sniffed at the offering, then looked up at him. "It's the chicken from the Pad Thai I had for dinner. I thought maybe you would like a better meal than what you normally get on the street." He examined the cat's body. "You don't seem to be too skinny, so you must be a good hunter, as well as being so pretty," he said.

The feline watched him with her startling, mismatched eyes. Then it dipped its head and began to eat.

Henry smiled and relaxed back against the bench as he watched the cat quickly polish off the chicken. He casually looked around and saw they were alone. He looked back at the cat and smiled. "I made a new friend today, and she's special, like me. Baba pulled her from the past, too."

Blue and yellow eyes lifted to look at him seriously as her pink tongue licked her lips.

"And that isn't even the most interesting thing about her. She's a wielder, but her magic doesn't come from the magic realms. That means Earth must have magic, too! She's a Naiad. I'm not totally clear on what that means, but she's really nice. She was so lonely. Do cats feel lonely? No one should feel that way. I know what it is to be lonely, and it's a terrible thing. I'm so looking forward to introducing her to all my new friends."

The cat rubbed its head against Henry's leg. He automatically ran his hand over the cat's head, neck, and back in long strokes. Shortly, the cat was purring deeply. It crawled up onto his lap and laid down, feet tucked under it.

Henry was so comfortable and calm from petting the cat, he began to nod off as his hands continued to stroke it slowly.

"Henry?"

He jolted awake as the cat leapt from his lap and ran away. He watched it disappear, then looked around to see Dayshia staring after it as well.

"Oh! Hi Dayshia."

"Oh, hi?!? What are you doing sleeping outside on the bench!" Dayshia said in outrage. "The serial killer is still out there!" She glared at him, and he stood.

Henry cringed apologetically. "Sorry! I was just feeding the cat. Then I petted it, and it was so soothing I-I guess I nodded off."

Dayshia clucked her tongue at him. "You have to be more careful! There is something weird about that cat, too."

"No! It's so sweet!" Henry exclaimed in protest.

She hooked her arm around his and pulled him towards the door to the condo. "You're too innocent for your own safety."

Henry glanced back, but there was no sign of the cat. He let himself be pulled away.

-=-

Minkah, in her Human form, strode towards the entrance of the subway to make her way back to the safe house once more. Her night was... disturbing. How she'd behaved with Henry— her target, was far beyond her usual professional standard. She ate the food he'd brought her! Rule number one: Trust no one and especially not the target! The chicken was delicious, and she was immune to most poisons, so the risk was minimal, but still!

Then to top it off, she let him hold her while he slept!

She was going back to the safe house to review all of her actions since taking this mission. Her professional detachment had somehow been compromised.

The only positive outcome from the evening was learning of the Naiad! The Hidden Races Council would want to hear about that! She had no doubt she'd receive an immediate hit order for her to take the Naiad out.

She thought about how Henry described her and realized how it would make him deeply sad. That wasn't really a consideration for her completing her duty.

She'd have to investigate further before disclosing what she'd heard. She'd need to identify which of their new friends was the Naiad. Only then could she report on it.

This delay had nothing to do with Henry— her target!

-=-

Meixiu slipped through the shadows with ease tonight. Henry's blood was still amping up her senses, so she was aware of every movement. She was able to filter out insect, animal, and plant life motions and concentrate on those caused by Humans. She hadn't encountered any non-Humans in her route tonight, but that wasn't really unexpected with the curfew and the limited numbers of Hidden Races. Sigrid mentioned that Roy's theory had the serial killer lying low for now as he'd fed. Still, she felt a need to patrol. To keep her eyes open while remaining invisible to others.

One of her new abilities, courtesy of evolving, was her enhanced eyesight. While she'd never had issues seeing her way in the dimmest of light, she now saw further into the wavelength spectrum. Infrared and ultraviolet were now within the range her eyes could see if she concentrated. Seeing Infrared was particularly handy as she could now avoid walking into areas lit up with infrared light. This typically indicated the presence of motion-detecting cameras or floodlights.

She paused when she noted the street ahead was lit up with cone after cone of infrared. This was either a very cautious neighborhood or the sign of a very convincing door to door salesman.

Meixiu passed this street by and noticed odd movement three blocks ahead. Two figures were leading a third into a darkened lane behind a row of houses. The one being helped was stumbling.

She leaped forward, keeping to the shadows and remaining as silent as possible. She raced across the distance as quickly as she could, then jumped and climbed up a nearby tree to move out over a branch that had visibility into the lane. The smaller of the beings was holding the wrist of the third to her mouth. Meixiu saw her pull back and touch the person's neck and face before nodding to the taller companion, who pulled the opposite wrist to his mouth.

They were vampires! They seemed to be acting like she did when she fed. Meixiu had never met another vampire before. She had no idea if there was some protocol for this.

The larger vampire lowered the arm, and the small one did another check on their victim's health. Then she tucked something the large vampire handed her into the third's pocket and guided the... she saw him clearly now, young man to the sidewalk where he walked away. The farther he got, the steadier his footsteps.

Meixiu could now see the features of the small one, and it was a dark-haired woman. She was watching the Human she'd fed from, ensuring he was okay. The large one hadn't stepped from the shadows yet.

Instinct made her leap from the branch in a dive. She twisted in midair to land as soft as a leaf behind the smaller female. She took a grip on the woman's neck as the large male dropped from the tree before them.

He snarled, but the woman just held up her hand to stop him. Meixiu could see the tension vibrating in his muscles. Meixiu knew she could jump back into the shadows and disappear, so she took a chance and released the woman's neck. "I mean no harm, but I will defend myself." She held his eye and pushed with her will, and his eyes widened as he felt her strength.

He showed her his palms in a peaceful gesture.

"You are... like me?" Meixiu asked.

The female turned to face her and looked at her closely. "I'm not sure. You feel... stronger than any we've met, but we haven't met many."

"Why were you watching us from the tree? Were you following us? We are exceptionally cautious," the male asked, his deep voice still holding the tension from earlier.

"I was three blocks away when I spotted you leading the Human into the alley. Its movements were distinctly different from yours," Meixiu answered. "I was curious, as I have never met any of my kind before." She looked to the woman. "You touched the Human oddly after you fed."

The male looked at the dim lighting of the lane entrance then traded a look with the female before looking back to Meixiu. "We would never have been able to see that level of detail from that distance!"

The female shook her head at her partner. "Maybe introductions are in order. I'm Eleanor Hollings, and this is my husband, Raymond. I'm a doctor, and I was ensuring the man wasn't harmed by the feeding. Raymond is a public defender."

Meixiu felt better about this couple hearing that. She saw them looking to her expectantly and recalled what Henry once called her. "I am Meixiu, a wealthy woman of leisure." She giggled at their surprised expressions. "Until recently, I was a slave. I served a cruel master for over a century, but I inherited everything he owned when he died. A friend, who helped free me, gave me that title."