Satyr Play 03 Pt. 02

The Sergeant gestured for one of her people to follow him.

Roy pushed the gurney to Henry, who took over. Eleanor followed him with Raymond right behind. Two soldiers led them out, and two more, including the Sergeant, followed. The rest of Henry's friends stayed inside under guard.

When they were outside, Henry saw the first three soldiers sent outside were blocking the alley's access to the patio, walled in on the other three sides, the green light pooling on the deck. Raymond immediately placed Minkah on a picnic table. She moaned in pain quietly, and he stretched the strain from his tired muscles.

There was a commotion at the back door, and they looked back to see the old woman in the cloak trying to join them. One of the soldiers was blocking her.

"I need to see what he's doing!" she snapped.

The Sergeant looked at Henry, and he shrugged. "She's Fae. I've found most of them behave like her. I have no issues with her watching."

Mick gestured to her team to let the old woman through. Struggling to maintain her dignity in the cloak, the Fae joined them on the patio. Her old eyes glittered with curiosity.

The Sergeant stepped closer to Camila and took a picture of the wound. She glanced at Henry's surprised look. "It'll help explain why we left the building," she said as she stepped back.

Henry moved to Camila's side and lowered his face down to hers, and kissed her tenderly. He pulled back and saw her calming with the wave of energy he'd just fed to her. "Before we begin, I'm going to give you a large dose of energy. This will help you ride out the operation. Hopefully, it will let you sleep through it. Eleanor is an amazing surgeon!"

Camila's eyes twinkled with joy as he lifted her hand to his chest once more.

"I'd prefer to be fed the usual way," Camila teased as she bit her lip sexily.

Henry's face warmed up. "Yes, well, not in polite company, and besides, you're injured. Hush now!" Once more, he willed the Wild Magic from his body to hers.

"Ahhh! Yessss..." she gasped, and her eyes rolled back. He pulled her hand away and rested it next to her. When he looked to Raymond and Eleanor, they were doing their best to hide their knowing smiles. He did his best to ignore that.

He addressed the surgeon. "We do it the same way we worked on your husband. I'll feed you the magic, and you use your will to form it into the tools you need."

Eleanor smiled at him nervously, but he could tell she was excited to be operating this way again. He dropped his glamor and reached for his daughter, but she wasn't there. Panic clawed at him, but he fought his first instinct. It could just be Baba hiding her. He forced himself to accept that as any other answer threatened to send him screaming into the night. He took some deep breaths and felt himself become centered once more.

He still needed the healing spell, but he didn't need to pull it to himself as he was literally surrounded by it. Instead, he reached into it and connected himself directly to the flow swirling around him. He grunted as he braced himself against the pull and dug his hooves in to keep himself in place. The current was too erratic, so he tried to think of a way to harness the river's power. Immediately, his mind latched onto the idea of a hydropower plant. It was close to what he needed, but this wasn't the same as writing software code. He needed to think of how he was going to design the model in his head. If he could maintain the complete design in his head, he could follow the same process of encapsulating the concept into a packaged spell. It'd worked with the coding idea.

Henry prepared a workbench in his mind. A clean open workspace. He pulled up his memories of the story he'd read as a child of Nikola Tesla designing the hydroelectric power plant in Niagara Falls. The components appeared, and he integrated them into the model he was building in his mind. He felt a thrill rush through him as it felt like he was connecting with the genius of the man who designed a way to tap into the majestic force of nature to power the homes of a nation.

Once he had his design, he had to test it. He let most of the current pass by untouched, but his intake gate, which regulated how much of the healing spell entered, directed the channel to the turbines. In his mind, they began to glow with the healing spell as they spun up to speed. His prototype worked! Binding this design into a package, he saved it as a prepared spell and let it run.

He lifted his hands, which began to glow a bright green from the excess power he was picking up. He dialed his intake back until there was just the soft glow as he was used to seeing.

"I-I think I have it. Sorry, I couldn't use the previous method for pulling the healing spell to me, so I built a new one. Let me know if it feels different this time. Ready?" he asked Eleanor, and she nodded. He lowered his hands to her shoulders, and she suddenly gasped, so he lifted them off. "What's wrong?"

She shook her head firmly. "Nothing. Nothing's wrong. The energy just feels... sharper. More focused, like moving from a flashlight to a laser pointer," she said breathily.

"Are you okay?" Raymond asked in concern.

She smiled. "Yes! It's wonderful! So much power and potential! Let's try again!"

Henry lowered his hands to her shoulders once more, and Eleanor got to work.

Her eyes were so much sharper with this new energy pouring into her. She peered closer until she was focusing at a microscopic level, seeing the smallest cellular tears. Distractedly, she formed a stylus with an equally tiny dot of the healing light at its tip. Her skilled hands, steadied by the magic's strength, guided the tool quickly along torn tissues inside the slash in the Succubus' side, mending the tissues in the deep wound. She repaired the organs first then moved on to the connective and support structures. Finally, Eleanor worked her way out of the repaired gash until she was sealing the latex-like skin.

Once she'd finished, Eleanor closed her eyes and relaxed as she released her grip on the healing stylus, which faded away.

When Henry lifted his hands, Eleanor wobbled, and Raymond steadied her.

"That was incredible!" Mick gushed as she leaned in to take a picture of the area after the operation. She looked to the surgeon. "I've never seen this kind of surgery before!" She looked around in confusion. "Where are your tools?"

Eleanor was tingling madly as the Wild Magic had soaked into her cells during the operation, and now, she was drunk with it. She blinked at the Sergeant, not really hearing her words over the buzzing in her head. She looked over at Mishka. "I'm sorry... Henry. I can't... operate on plasma burns. Damage... too great... too deep. It's dead flesh." She reached out and grabbed one of Henry's glowing hands to console him. Her body went rigid in Raymond's arm as her eyes rolled back. Raymond tugged her back, breaking her grip on Henry's hand.

The public defender stared at his wife in shock as the overload of magic warped her body, stretching her limbs. Her hair also grew in length as the color bled out until it was shockingly white.

"What's happening?" he cried.

Henry watched her wearily. "She'll be okay, but she's going to look different. She's received too much of the energy. It alters the body. It's what happened to Meixiu. I'm sorry. I didn't realize she'd absorb it too."

Henry was suddenly staring into the bright eyes of the old Fae. He shut down his spell for channeling the power, and his hands stopped glowing. He disconnected himself from the Wild Magic's current and swayed as his exhaustion caught up to him.

It suddenly came to him just how much he was breaking his original promise to himself to avoid using magic. It was so seductively easy to use these new tools, especially when they were supported by his existing coding skills and knowledge. This last use was another leap away from his old self and a greater example of his acceptance of his new state. He sighed wearily as he faced the Fae.

"You really are a conduit! Can you charge wielders?" she asked with a slight desperation in her voice.

Henry shook his head. "The magic is not compatible. I understand it's toxic to old realm wielders."

The old Fae pouted. "I've never seen magic used in his way. Who taught you how to control it?"

Henry shook his head. "Sorry I've never had any lessons. It's kind of a learn as you go experience. So far, I've managed to not kill myself, so that's a bonus."

He moved around the old woman to check on Minkah. Her eyes were slightly open but very glassy. "Hey. I'm so sorry you got hurt." He looked at her burnt shoulder, and his mind went to his experience with burns. A shudder went through his body as he tried to push those thoughts away. Looking closer at the burnt flesh, he realized he might be able to fix this, but he wasn't sure how safe it would be to run his healing program on someone else. He barely survived himself.

"Minkah? Can you hear me? Blink if you can understand me." She blinked slowly once and held his eyes. "I have a spell for healing burns, but I've only ever used it on myself. It's horribly painful, but it works."

"What do you mean you used a spell on yourself? That isn't possible!" the Fae barked.

Henry just glared at her then looked back to Minkah.

"Do it."

He almost missed her words but saw the intensity in her eyes. "It's dangerous—"

"Do it!" she hissed.

Henry nodded and looked at the Sergeant and Raymond. "I'll need your help in holding her still while the spell replaces all the dead tissues."

"That's not possible!" the Fae snapped once more, but Henry just ignored her.

Mick stepped closer and took a picture of the scorched flesh of Minkah's shoulder and upper arm. She moved down to stretch across the woman's legs at Henry's direction.

Raymond moved Eleanor's body to a second picnic table and gave her a troubled look before joining Henry.

"I ran this spell on myself when I was badly burned by a lightning strike—" He twitched at the memory but pushed on. "It sheds all the burned cells then replaces them with new cells—"

"Not possible—"

"Would you shut the fuck up?" Henry shouted at the old woman. "Not helpful! Either be quiet and watch or go back inside!"

The woman's mouth was opening and closing in shock at being addressed so rudely, but she shut up and watched.

"Thank you." Henry looked back to his helpers. "No glossing over the fact that the process really hurts. I passed out, but I'd set up the spell to continue autonomously until it was done—" He looked sharply at the Fae who'd made a choking sound.

Looking into Raymond's eyes. "I need you to keep hold of her arms and upper torso. I'm going to stand at the top of the table to power the spell." He saw he had their complete attention. "Ready?" They grimly nodded as Raymond took his position.

Henry examined the spell he'd made for the burn. He made a copy in his mind as he'd have to change how it was powered since he didn't have the same linkage. He also ensured the instructions were generic enough to use on anyone with burns. When he had his new program linked up to his power plant spell, he connected himself to the Wild Magic stream once more, feeling it pull at him. Standing above Minkah, he looked down into her eyes. "I'm going to start now. Do your best to ride it out." She nodded slightly, so he placed his right hand on her upper chest to send the spell and the energy into her. His left hand rested gently on her left cheek to calm her and feed her power to survive.

He launched the spell.

Henry opened the intake on the power plant spell and felt the energy surge through him into Minkah's body. Raymond and Mick gasped as they were picking up the overflow.

Minkah shrieked as her shoulder began to dissolve. They watched in horror as the burned areas melted off her body. She roared with a mix of terror and rage as she thrashed under the tight grip holding her to the tabletop. The dead and damaged cells were gone, and the open wound was sealed in a coating of green light.

The new cells were rapidly growing and filling in the wound. Minkah's cries were strangled by the pain tearing through her. Her thrashing became more violent, and Mick called out for Yablonski to help her. The wide-eyed soldier rushed up to the opposite side of the table to grab one of Minkah's legs while the Sergeant held the other down.

"It's going well, Minkah. Almost done," Henry said gently as he poured energy into her body.

He was suddenly looking down at humanoid but very feline features. Under the stress of the pain, her human form shifted to that of a Bastet, and he was surprised at her elegant but alien beauty. The overall difference between her Human form and this true form wasn't enormous except for being covered in short black fur, larger eyes and feline pointed ears, a small T shaped nose, and her jaws containing some nasty looking fangs.

Slitted pupils glared up at him, mad with pain. She roared, then lifted her head to sink those fangs into his right forearm.

"GGGNNNN!" Henry grunted through clenched teeth, but he couldn't lift his hands from her body, or the spell would lose power, and Minkah would bleed out.

She was biting down so hard, and he was bleeding badly, but looking at her shoulder, he saw it really was almost done.

Minkah's jaws suddenly relaxed as she'd swallowed the blood. Her eyes closed as her head dropped back to the table.

Henry was still bleeding. He looked to Raymond. "You can seal the puncture wounds?"

He blinked at Henry in shock, then nodded.

First, Henry confirmed the spell had gone dormant, then he lifted his right hand and presented the punctured forearm to the Vampire. He quickly numbed the area with his tongue then licked the wounds until they closed.

Henry watched Raymond slump over Minkah's body then slide off. The Sergeant caught him on the way down.

Minkah wasn't returning to her Human form. Henry wasn't sure how shapeshifters maintained their Human appearance. He began to worry that the Wild Magic he poured into her to heal her had messed up her ability to change. He looked desperately to the old Fae, who frowned at him.

"Shapeshifters don't use glamors. Just wait," she snapped.

Minkah suddenly switched to Human faster than he could blink, and he saw she looked the same. He breathed a huge sigh of relief.

His patient healed, Henry stepped back from the table, but the world kept moving. He was running on empty and had nothing left to keep his legs under him. As he toppled forward, he saw the frightened and desperate look on Yablonski's face as the man tried unsuccessfully to catch him.

The Silver Soldier wasn't any more successful at cushioning his fall.

-=-

Mick looked at the fallen people and realized this hadn't gone as well as she'd hoped it would. She looked to the old woman in the cloak, but she just had a sour expression on her face as she spun and walked back into the building.

"Help! Mick!" Yablonski called out from the other side of the table. She walked around and saw Yablonski was stuck under Henry, who looked human once more, wearing a white t-shirt, jeans, and sneakers. How the fuck does he do that? She had so many questions! She wondered if she would get answers to them. With Colonel Crane, there was a good chance she would.

She felt Henry's strong pulse then worked with Yablonski to lift the big man enough to get her soldier free. They gently rested Henry back onto the patio deck. They stood together and looked at the two resting and fully healed patients on the tables and the unconscious people who'd healed them. Only Henry looked unchanged by what had just occurred here.

The Sergeant moved closer to the woman Henry had just healed. She took a picture of the perfect, smooth skin where raw, cracked, and blistered skin had been before. Obviously, it was impossible, but she saw it happen. Her burnt skin was still on the ground under the table. She took a picture of that, too.

She looked to the tall man who'd helped hold her down, and he'd changed as much as his wife had. While he'd only added two inches to his height, his hair was long and white as well. His face had changed shape, too, though he could easily be taken as his brother or cousin as there was a strong resemblance to his original features. She looked to the surgeon, and her face was slightly longer with cheekbones to kill for. Damn.

Mick sighed. "Keep an eye on our sleeping beauties out here while I go in to get more assistance for carrying them back inside." Yablonski nodded as she left.

Inside she found the group had moved to the seating area of the lobby. General Baines was storming into the chamber with murder in his eyes and the marine at his heels.

"Where is he?" the General barked.

"Who, General?" Mick said as she saluted the man. She relaxed a little as she saw Colonel Crane entering the lobby with the others.

"The man with the ability to open doorways to other worlds! The biggest security risk this world faces," the man snapped.

"He's not your biggest risk at the moment."

Mick turned to see the large red-bearded man standing a few feet behind her. Next to him was a blonde beauty who hadn't been part of the group she'd met at the elevator's earlier.

"Would that be you, then?" Baines snarled.

The redhead snorted. "Not by a long shot. Your biggest opponent just landed her castle atop a twenty-story office tower in lower Manhattan."

The General paused as the words made no sense to him. "What? Landed her castle? It flies?"

"No, it... teleports from one spot to another, but this time it was beginning to tip and fall at its point of departure. It brought that angular momentum to its destination. No idea how much damage its arrival caused to the office tower. I understand a British Air Force jet just unleashed a series of missiles against the tiny offshore island in Ireland—"

"Carrickhesk," added the lovely blonde joining him.

The big man nodded to her then looked to the General. "This destroyed the foundations, so she had to quickly move her home to its alternate location, here in Manhattan. You can confirm these activities in both locations. Just don't get too close to the castle here. She's insane and deadly."

Crane caught up to the General and gave him an annoyed look before looking to Mick. She gave him a nod to indicate all was good, and she saw him relax a little.

"I'm Colonel Crane, and this is General Baines of the US Army. There've been some unusual developments tonight, and they all seem connected to VRL."

Mick saw his eyes veer from the big man to someone approaching from the elevator lobby. The bold click of heels against polished granite made Mick turn to look as well, and her eyes widened to see an absolutely gorgeous woman in a tailored business suit approaching them. There was something about her eyes that drew your attention, but it was her lips flashing a brilliant smile that captured it. It clicked in her mind. This was the black latex skinned woman who'd had the axe wound!

"Welcome to VRL, gentlemen. I'm Camila Villamor, the CEO. Maybe we could take this conversation to my office where it's more comfortable?"

"I'm not sure if that's such a good idea," Crane managed to say, and Mick's respect for the man skyrocketed.

"Colonel, I can vouch for Ms. Villamor's character and integrity, and so can Mr. Dawes here," Hugh said as he entered the lobby with the Director of Homeland Security. Dawes looked to the CEO, and his eyes widened as did his smile. Mick turned back to look at Camila and approached her with a suspicious look.

"I bear no ill intent. I'm wearing my Human appearance for comfort alone. Their attraction is just part of my nature," Camila said to her quietly. "The Colonel is particularly impressive, though, isn't he."